What Can We Do?
Part 1 of 3: This One Covers Future Government Considerations
Warning 1: There is a Nazi theme at the end of this article related to the disabled community.
Warning 2: This article could be boring!
One day, last year, I excitedly opened up a Substack post that was about how to fight back, and the answer at the end was disappointing for me: subscribe to that writer.
I wish I had such powers.
Here’s Part 1 of a series that examines things you, I, we can do in the face of a government that is taking us along an undesirable path that includes - but isn’t limited to:
Privatising our health system despite evidence it increases avoidable deaths; a flailing economy - record GDP drops since 1991, highest business failures for 10 years, record unemployment; anti-environment policies, profit above people, etc.
The list goes on.
I’ve grouped the actions into three categories.
This is Part 1 (Future Government Considerations)
Note: There will be many more ideas that arise as the conversation evolves; indeed, as you read it.
That’s part of this - evoking waves of brainstorming.
I have chosen not to elaborate in exact detail or you and I would be here for a very long time - but hopefully it stimulates conversation and thoughts on the matter - and helps us enact the power and ideas of the people.
We have time to formulate & refine.
Do we need to reinvent the wheel?
One important caveat is this:
As always, there is a lot of good work and ideas that have been proferred, and studied in depth, over the years.
There is a lot of talk about revolutions and new systems, but my opinion is - much of what we desire is here.
The combinations may change, and so new means are good - but, in reality, there is a lot we can utilise.
And there are a wealth of people and resources that can be brought to bear.
What was required was always sustained execution and a change in collective values that favours short term thinking to thinking for generations ahead.
And a willingness to invest, and re-balance spend.
Uprooting many of the root causes that have led to much of our social and economic challenges will be required.
Individual Responsibility
It requires a change in our individual values too.
For example, taking responsibility for what is, playing a constructive role in whatever way makes sense for you, looking forward, and being willing to do our individual best to sidestep ego.
On the left, that may or may not include being less judgemental, being less willing to shoot your own side for not being perfect - or align with 100% of your wishes.
And maybe, stop going in with full force demanding miracles and quick results from a left leaning government if they get elected - after quickly forgetting we were just begging for scraps from the right one a few years ago again.
Talking is easy. Criticism is a breeze.
There but for the Grace of God go I doesn’t just apply to what society considers undesirable behaviour- it also applies to those with more money than we can dream of and those in the strongest positions of power. Yes, it even applies to David Seymour.
Could you guarantee you wouldn’t become an asshole if faced with that opulence and opportunity?
Are you moved by an extra $50,000 in your bank account, or your partner being able to get you a new TV show to promote your business? How about a seat at the table of power after having low self esteem your whole life and discovering adulation?
To be clear: I am far from perfect. I’m frequently frustrated by feelings of injustice - from the small to the large. I’ll clap back if I disagree, and I will always push back on abuse of power.
Still, awareness is the first step - otherwise the risk we become what we criticise is always present.
The Good In The Bad
In my reflection, there is good that this Government and hate group leaders such as Brian Tamaki have done amidst it all:
They have united many that were disparate.
They have led many to political awareness - too many of us were asleep at the wheel.
They have rapidly shown us that our role and responsibility counts
They have provided a differentiation of values to money/bigotry/deceit
They have showed us what we once had - what was missing, as well as what was incomplete
They have increased awareness of the corporate and big money that is steering the wheel - perpetuated by junk tanks cum advisors
They have demonstrated trickle down economics is a failure
Stay Alert
If there was one thing I want everyone to know now - in the same way I wanted everyone to know about Atlas Network a year ago - is this:
They play the long game.
Rome - and Trump - wasn’t built in a day.
If they touch hate speech laws, and use “free speech” as their pretext to remove discrimation, allow hate speech, and disseminate misinformation/disinformation - we must fight.
If they restrict our ability to protest peacefully, we must fight.
This government is cementing as many laws as it can to change this country’s constitution and structures.
It is also readying the lines of offence when opposition parties try to change it.
They are growing members among their affiliate entities - Hobsons Pledge, Free Speech Union, Taxpayers Union, media channels such as The Platform etc. - and cultivating extreme views, based on misconceptions and lies.
They are moneyed up. Many have teams of staff and professional firms working for them.
They are trying to create a larger support base based on grievances and co-opted and distorted the word “woke” as a means of attack.
In this David and Goliath battle of money and resources, your commitment to your chosen values - and the larger picture - cannot waiver.
If you critique, please consider the larger picture at all times.
This week, FSU quickly jumped on the “condemn Tamaki” bandwago - but this is the same organisation that wants to REMOVE hate speech laws to make it legal for Tamaki to preach his hate to the entire country
What Must Be Done
1. Campaign reform laws - Review and implement appropriate measures from the Independent Electoral Review & Implement Financial Transparency for Third Party Lobbyists
Australia’s Anthony Albanese has been fighting these battles in Australia.
The Independent Electoral Review in New Zealand recommended these measures -
Here are some of their recommendations:
Eliminate the protected disclosure regime which allows large money donors to remain anonymous.
Tighter control over third-party promoters. In the last election there was a $2m surge of money from these groups, including a secretive American linked organisation.
Prohibiting registered third-party promoters from using money from overseas persons to fund electoral advertising during the regulated period etc.
2. Disinformation laws - Review and incorporate
We can and should look to disinformation and misinformation laws that are practicable.
Australia’s Labour Prime Minister lost his battle to give powers to the Australian Communications Media Authority powers to set rules to remove certain speech on platforms, such as content from foreign actors seeking to undermine Australian democracy.
Trump has instituted a ‘Freedom of Speech’ Executive Order while scrubbbing away environmental and LGBTQ words from government communications
It is not an easy battle.
And no doubt “Free Speech Union” - championed by the likes of Jordan Williams and Chris Trotter - had been set up in advance to fight such efforts.
But it’s an area worth tackling because experts all agree it is a direct assault on democracy.
3. Anti-Corruption Body - Strengthen powers of anti-corruption bodies while increasing the transparency of watchdogs
This is not an area of expertise, but I welcome a Anti-Corruption unit.
New Zealand has the Serious Fraud Office - but for whatever reason, we have seen them unable to launch investigations into New Zealand First and Casey Costello’s handling of tobacco policies.
To put it bluntly, copying and pasting tobacco lobbying notes into one’s official policy documents should be pretty damn indicting - even if it’s hidden under a complex web of financial transactions, bitcoin and the like.
To be fair, New Zealand is a small country - they are no match for international conglomerates which see more money than NZ’s entire GDP.
But still - we must try to evaluate the options ahead of us, and consider how to stem corruption and/or the perception of corruption, which erodes trust in governments and public institutions.
4. Public Service Journalism - We must reinvigorate and strengthen public service journalism and state broadcasters.
We must hire and retain trusted, professional journalists for public service journalism. We must bring trust to organisations not funded by large lobbyist groups, and corporate media companies / ownership.
We must modernise public service journalism for different channels e.g. social media as well as TV and print
5. Adopt tactics and alliances to reduce reliance on American technology and trade
This includes their social media networks and tools.
It includes re-forging strategic alliances and defence.
Right now, the National Government Coalition is endangering the Paris Climate Change Agreement which puts our trade relationships with UK and Europe at risk. They have been warned by our officials.
This Free Trade Agreement is already saving exporters over $100m per year in tariffs and could increase exports by up to $ 1.8 billion per year by 2035. i.e. Over the next 10 years, that’s $18bn.
We need a strategic government who is less talk, and less putting key strategic allies at risk - especially as Trump ascends to his full potential.
6. Strengthen education systems - Including teaching about history, critical thinking, civil discourse, civil partipation (voting) and understanding the trade offs in decision making
7. Public information campaigns that dispel critical and damaging economic myths such as “Government debt is like running a household” and “trickle down economics”
8. Invest in emerging and high growth sectors - including renewables, climate resilience, home grown technology platforms.
9. Implement constitutional protections for the separation of powers between court and the government.
10. Partnership with Māori - if that relationship has not been irretrievably harmed by the end of 2026
11. Sustainable housing
12. Evaluate the ability to salvage the tragic “slash and burn” of our health system, investments, and staff over the last 15 months. Tackle smoking.
Also: re-implement smoke-free generation which contains $46b of benefits to Kiwis
Review all of Casey Costello’s policies - particularly as they are tobacco lobbyist wish lists
13. Revisiting our values and assumptions as a nation - and that includes standards of happiness, worth, planning for the short term over long term.
14. Other policy areas include, but are not limited to:
Law and order, inequality, social services, funding mental health, support of disabled communities, sports and recreation, conservation, infrastructure, transport, workers’ rights etc.
But I have addressed some of which I feel are the root causes for much of the malaise today.
And which, even if another government was formed today - would keep us in the cycle.
The Risks Shown by the Ardern Period
When Ardern tried to implement campaign reform laws in 2022, ACT’s Seymour and National’s Luxon accused Labour of ‘ramming it through without consensus’ and trying to “screw the scrum”.
Ardern - when I look back and know what I know now - was from a generation who wanted to be conciliatory, co-operative, and champion the values of working together.
They probably wanted to follow due process and be respectful if possible.
She tried for the moon - 100,000 Kiwibuild homes, and built 14,000.
Labour was slammed.
Meanwhile Bishop plan is to increase and then cap homes by only 3000 while canning 60% of social housing builds in 2025. According to Bernard Hickey’s analysis, that’s only a net increase of 145 homes this year.
To add insult to injury, 13,000 construction jobs have been lost under National so far.
Do we prefer the one with out of this world ambition and who lost with courage but still built 14,000 resilient homes?
Or do we want the smarmy politicians who are all hat and no cattle?
Those values are what lead many to appreciate her - yet it’s also the values that have allowed the right to win.
“Stupid!”
We scream.
But personally - were you there? Did you know what we know today? Did you know we are even more out-gunned and out-resourced today than when Labour was last in government?
And even if the answer is yes, I knew that! - I do believe it was tougher than it looked, and it’s far easier to attack than to do that job
Otherwise we would have all stood up by now to try that job, wouldn’t we?
When Ardern’s government, in partnership with the Green Party, moved to entrench a law to protect our water assets from privatisation, she was attacked from all sides.
Media headlines blared it as a mishap - but I often wonder ‘What did Labour and the Greens know that we didn’t?'
Yes -
The risks are contained in a corporate media that is friendly to the Opposition at every turn.
We can learn from what happened if we are smart.
Much of what I’ve outlined here is not complete - but only a start.
There are elements in there - that if unaddressed - may cause further erosion as more extremity is cultivated here in Aotearoa as we speak / read.
Warning: Nazi image below
Note: Hitler was one of the first fascist politicians to realise the tremendous power of propaganda.
The Nazis effectively used propaganda - and controlled information channels - to win the support of millions of Germans in a democracy and, later in a dictatorship, to facilitate persecution, war, and ultimately genocide.
The stereotypes and images found in Nazi propaganda were not new, but were already familiar to their intended audience.1
i.e. Extremism is often a curve of first dehumanising groups or casting them as costing “you” and then slowly moving to abuse.
I understand it’s not easy to read.
There was a reason why we have hate laws.
And in my opinion, there is a reason why those with an agenda want to remove them.
NEXT SERIES
I will publish these with gaps in between to allow for reflection and discussion. But they include:
What you can do in your life
What we can do together
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND FINANCE MINISTER PROVIDES SOME COMIC RELIEF TODAY
CARTOON - Chris Slane
OUR CONSERVATION LANDS
REFLECTION OF THE DAY
Re Labour's plan to build 100,000 homes but only reaching 14,000 - people forget very quickly about Covid and its consequent supply line issues.
I was told recently by a staffer in MBIE about the agency that was created to develop the delivery of public housing at such scale and speed. From land acquisition to planning, council consenting to public transport, utilities to materials and appliances - everything scoped in-house to solve all the issues upfront and wholistically before rolling it out all over the place - no stone left unturned.
Imagine where we'd be now if Covid had never happened, if that very sound reality had not been affected by lockdowns, materials and expertise shortages, etc...
It would've been breathtaking.
There has to be a mechanism for locking in cross-party agreements, that cannot be unpicked later on for political gain.
There have to be cross-party obligations on retaining publicly-funded amenities, entities and buildings, so hospitals, public housing, power companies, banks etc remain in collective ownership.
For my 2 cents worth we need to take some lessons from the right and have a less polite and apologetic left wing when facing down media and opposition parties - especially when it comes to scandals, and those have seemed mild in comparison to the right wings clangers. Also the noise around three waters should have been ignored as this coalition ignores anything regarding opposition to their policy implementation.
The discourse around tax needs to change. I see on so many social media posts people complaining about paying tax. They bloody need to be educated! I don’t understand how they imagine a country would function without tax paying for infrastructure that EVERYONE uses daily and is essential to modern life. The alternative of course is user pays for every minute thing and I think faced with that reality they’d change their mind quick smart about so called ‘socialism’, ‘wasteful’ govt spending and publicly owned entities.