New Zealand in crisis

Amy Brooke I 29 June 2024 I The Spectator Australia

Given the destruction the previous Labour government inflicted on this country, and the damage caused by its promotion of Maori superiority and racial divisiveness, this present National coalition should be streets ahead in the polls. One reason it isn’t – among other issues where it is increasingly seen to be out of touch with public opinion – is that the Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, and his National party MPs are not fronting up to a belligerent group of part-Maori extremists, experts in the art of bullying and truth-twisting (commonly known as lying) in relation to crucial issues. Virtual warfare is being waged against majority New Zealanders by a tiny minority, many of them wealthy individuals who, like their ancestors, have benefited enormously by the colonisation of this country. They are by no means supported by the majority of part-Maori, who resent the undue attention they are paid by government. However, not only these radicalised activists, but also both the left-wing media and government bureaucrats are openly opposing the government. We basically have an underground civil war on our hands.

Other factions are also involved. Many are genuinely concerned about the government’s new fast-track legislation and the opportunity it offers for economic coercion behind the scenes. Recently departed MPs now too conveniently operate as lobbyists for powerful business interests. Colossal wind farms, taller even than Auckland’s SkyTower and planned for the Taranaki coast, are a concern, projected to stand 260 metres tall with 110-metre-long blades dotting New Zealand’s coastal waters. The public basically has no say. Similarly with planned solar farms. The one envisaged for North Canterbury would spoil prime agricultural and wine-growing land. A proposed 200 hectares would have four kilometres of about 300,000 visible panels along the state highway, each about four and a half metres high, surrounded by high barbed wire – in an area to which people come for peace, and its natural beauty.

The irony of all this is the unforgivable ignorance of Luxon’s government, still wedded to net zero (abandoned with good reason by governments worldwide) and their misplaced enthusiasm to phase out the use of fossil fuels, to convert New Zealanders to using EVs. They are apparently unaware of the reaction against EVs overseas. Moreover, the Prime Minister is in favour of establishing charging stations the length of the country, despite our already beleaguered electricity supplies.

‘Stupid is as stupid does’ would be a fitting motto for recent governments in this once far more prosperous country. No wonder there are protests against National’s fast-track legislation to shorten development consent processes. However, the latter also made much-needed development difficult. For example, the fast-track proposals would also be an opportunity for the country to at last become far more productive, with an all-clear for resumed mining and much-needed oil and gas exploration dealt deathblows from the Labour-Green alliance.

Much was hoped for as a result of the election nine months ago. Interestingly, many New Zealanders, who once favoured the previous first-past-the-post electoral system, now prefer proportional representation, despite the disproportionate influence it gives to minor parties.

New Zealand First’s Winston Peter, who is our Deputy Prime Minister and a far more experienced politician than Luxon, is regarded as doing an excellent job in relation to foreign affairs. The ACT Party’s leader, David Seymour, is also performing better in relation to racial divisiveness, although unpopular because of his support for abortion up to birth, and his push for greater liberalisation of euthanasia. Apart from Canada’s shocking record under the now infamous Justin Trudeau, very few countries actually support euthanasia, well aware it is not the beginning of just a slippery slope, but of a massive slide downhill, targeting the elderly, the vulnerable and the depressed.

Seymour’s support comes from those areas Luxon dodges. ACT’s proposal to? allow New Zealanders to be consulted in a referendum in relation to the so-called principles of the Treaty of Waitangi is welcome. At present these principles, never actually defined, are determined by an activist judiciary without consultation with New Zealanders. Prime Minister Luxon, typically continuing to act as if he is still CEO of a large corporation, has arbitrarily ruled out supporting ACT’s Bill, although there is pressure on him to do so.

Moreover, despite promises made, the English names have largely not been restored to our government departments and institutions, replacing the unintelligible Maori ones. And ominously, the push of the obscure Tikanga (supposed Maori cultural customs – supported by legal activists) to take precedence over our common law, is a death knell to our democracy. So, too, the fact that around the country, elected local councillors are complaining that council officials are virtually bullying them, dominating the decision-making process.

ACT’s intent, which is to at last put to rest the constant agitation for co-governance by powerful?iwi?(wealthy neo-tribal corporations), should be supported by National, as it would highlight the original intent of the treaty. This was to ensure that all New Zealand citizens had equal rights and protection under the law. Governor William Hobson made this plain, saying, ‘He iwi tahi tatou…We are one people’. Maoris, for the first time, gained legal title to the land they occupied, instead of, pre-colonisation, fearing the coming of neighbouring tribes intent on wiping them out. However, National is already accommodating co-governance of our waterways, our lakes and rivers, with activist part-Maori wrongly claiming they have always owned the rights to them, above all other New Zealanders.

In many other ways, New Zealand is at crisis point. The outcry greeting National’s abandoning its promise of $80 million worth of cancer drugs to at last be available to New Zealanders has prompted a rethink, with more funding now promised, particularly as $100 million instead was being planned for overseas film makers.

Among other issues, a severe housing shortage has not been helped by poor control of the number of immigrants. Rising crime levels have Aucklanders avoiding their inner city at night, dangerous as it has now become, with other city centres also problematic. The cost of living crisis is increasing with higher interest rates causing more mortgage house sales, and restaurants pleading for customers. With the exodus of New Zealanders relocating overseas at an all-time high, sadly, few would now wonder why.

Author: Amy Brooke