OPINION
As a friend of mine said, it has been another sad and distressing week in New Zealand. Once again, we have had a week of predictable outcomes. Jacinda Arden has convincingly lost the plot, had she ever known what the plot was. The Maori Caucus are running the show: the first 14. Democracy as we believed it to be is rapidly becoming a quaint nod to our past in this brave new world of New Zealand’s version of apartheid. We have seen the fulfilment of government lies and obfuscation in the face of some 88,000 submissions of concern with five waters, or whatever number they will finally settle on, and with the Maori Tea Party wanting full ownership of all water, as the goal outlined by a bloke from Ngaruawahia, aka King Tuheitia, in September 2012 said: “We have always owned the water.” Key hits back: Maori King ‘just plain wrong’ on water – NZ Herald
Time will tell.
We have seen the inability of the Minister of Justice, Kiri Allan, to hold a tatty piece of paper with its so-called graphs the right way – each time she held it up and waved it around in parliament to convince us that crime was, in fact, decreasing under the Labour regime and increased under National, it was upside down. It is surely reassuring that the Ministry of Justice is in safe and capable hands as we continue to see criminals of all stripes given woke/joke sentences or no sentence at all. Time will tell.
And too we have watched the uplift of an infant from its concerned, worried and distraught parents. The successful outcome of the surgery is, of course, wonderful, and the family need now to be able to focus in peace on his recovery and wellbeing, along with their own. As it would be for any other family and any other child undergoing open heart surgery – and there are many. The state had to intervene and take the action it did, as to do otherwise would set a precedent that they could not risk, and so the outcome of this case was always a foregone conclusion. The system had to uphold its opinions and the parents’ rights had to be removed to allow the surgery to proceed the way the High Court deemed the only way possible. The actions of all parties except the infant at the centre of it all appear to have become questionable as the saga played out. Baby W was the star of the show.
No one knows categorically if blood from mRNA-injected donors is safe. There are opinions and they may well be correct; however, there is insufficient history and testing to know, and it is only months, years, down the track that anyone will be able to state without doubt that there is in fact no risk. Just as we were told about the safety of the ‘vaccine’ in the first instance. And how is that playing out? The fact that the protesters and the parents were labelled, predictably, as “anti-vaxxers” and “right-wing conspiracists” and either following or providing “mis” and “mal” and “dis” information did not surprise, but as always, dismayed. The mRNA injection is different from what we previously understood vaccines to be, and so those cautious or concerned about its use are not, by definition, “anti-vaxxers”. It is entirely reasonable and possible to agree with and wholly support vaccination but be concerned about the mRNA vaccine. It is the unknown that causes panic, and the longer-term outcome is yet unknown.
Time will tell.
Let’s compare the action, or inaction, of the state and the justice system in the cases of ram-raiders, and so-called joyriders: these thugs stealing cars (lock up your Mazda Demios) and attacking retail outlets. Does the state determine that those involved as children need to be under the guardianship of the court as they require help and their parents are preventing and/or not providing the appropriate treatment, ie supervision, discipline, consequences for actions, etc? No, it does not. Instead, it is decided that these criminals need “wrap-around support”, and as taxpayers we pay dearly for that.
Wraparound “is an ecologically based process and approach to care planning. Building on the collective actions of a committed group of family, friends, community, professional, and cross-system supports. Mobilizing resources and talents from a variety of sources resulting in the creation of a plan of care, that is the best fit between the family vision and story, team mission, strengths, needs, and strategies.” (IWS – Education in New Zealand)
To get access to the Intensive Wraparound Service (IWS), seek a referral from one of these:
- a member of the ministry’s learning support staff
- a resource teacher, learning and behaviour (RTLB)
- the student’s Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) fund-holding school (including day special schools).
The referrer discusses the referral with the school, parents, whanau or caregivers before going ahead.
Not a state-mandated support system then. Does it work?
Time will tell.
Is there not a comparison to be made between the actions of caring, loving, frightened parents of an infant whose rights are overturned, and those parents who apparently do not care if their kids are facilitating anti-social behaviour that sees victims terrified (or dead), lives wrecked, businesses ruined and in the absence of “wrap-around support?” Punish the good and absolve the bad?
Time will tell.
No doubt the ram-raiding issue will continue to be blamed on poverty. A poverty of parenting is not the same as financial poverty. I am not suggesting that a simplistic relationship exists between poverty, parenting and offspring outcomes, it is clearly more complex than that; however, there must surely be some quid pro quo in return for welfare monies. The reasonable requirement that children attend school, for example, and that they are under parental control and supervision. Why do many at-risk families produce so many children? That is a rhetorical question given the generosity of the ’state’ is the taxpayer. If you cannot or will not look after your kids, then don’t have them. And if you don’t look after them then accept that you should be made liable for their appalling behaviour. If poverty is the driver for the appalling youth crime statistics, then the fact that the country is experiencing a cost-of-living crisis and seeing those once referred to as the middle class now becoming the recipients of food bank provisions, then will we come to see the children of these middle-class parents ramraiding the local dairy in stolen Mazda Demios? Joyriding and plundering?
Again, time will tell.
We are sitting on a ticking time bomb. Can we defuse it?
Time will tell.
And yet there was also some good news.
“Wellington-based writer David Cohen has penned a column for the (Telegraph) newspaper published on Friday, titled: In New Zealand, our love affair with Jacinda Ardern is coming to an end.” (msn.com)
The basis for a ‘love affair’ is surely respect, trust, effective communication and a commitment to work through concerns and issues. Jacinda Ardern can hardly be surprised that even her ardernt supporters are falling out of love with her.
Time will tell.