Public interest at risk more than business interests this election

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This election is not just about which political party wins. It’s about the privilege of multinational corporates, including the all-powerful media. It’s about access to minerals and resources needed to prop up the prevailing economic order and to stave off a transition to a more sustainable and resilient one. It’s about access to our own and international fisheries – and their survival. It’s about whether workers are treated humanely or like wage slaves. It’s about the future of the welfare state. It’s about sovereignty, and it’s about the hope of our nation for generations to come.

The stakes are very high – not just for you and me, but for our children, and their children; for our environment, and, for the world. If a National led Government are re-elected on September 20th, the opportunity and promise of our country will be sullied that much more. It will be a sad reflection on how many New Zealanders have been conned by the facile and devious propaganda of a corrupt government and their spin doctors in the mainstream and social media.

Because the stakes are so high, the media, as tentacles of the multinational octopus that is modern capitalism, has been all out to paint the opposition as lacking in credibility, as poor economic managers, loony, impractical… They’ve waged a concerted and relentless campaign, not just in this election year, but in every year, to project Labour as weak, dishonest and clumsy. Nicky Hager proves that much of that was a beat up. Ironically the mainstream media attitude towards the Greens alternates between a ‘funny money, far left’ mantra, to support of certain policies – perhaps because the Greens are less of a threat in terms of leading a Government. As also indicated in ‘Dirty Politics’ there’s been a systematic attempt to discredit Kim DotCom, and Internet/Mana. This week’s headlines about a rift between the two parties over cannabis policy promotion is a case in point. Healthy disagreement (even when expressed in Hone’s forthright terms) is no bad thing between two separate parties seeking an alliance. We should be concerned when there’s not that tussle of priorities, but according to the media it’s a fatal flaw.

Ironically of course, election of a Labour-led Government isn’t that much of a threat to the prevailing economic order at all. There’s more at stake for our country from a National led Government, than there is for business from a Labour-led one. All the scaremongering about the ‘far left’ is hot air. There remains only a marginal ‘left’ in most Western democracies. No-one in New Zealand is proposing forced nationalisation of assets or industries, more industrial socialism or democracy, collective ownership of property – the things that might really reduce economic and social inequality. Labour and the Greens certainly aren’t suggesting any radical economic, or environmental steps that would seriously threaten the power of capital and its accumulation in the hands of the few.

But what National propose, is a further consolidation of power among the already very wealthy, increased national and personal debt, social problems that will persist for generations, and environmental damage beyond repair. To make matters worse, it also represents a surrender of foreign policy in favour of American interests in far flung corners of the world where we should retain a principled and independent stand.

To ensure a future New Zealand worth living in, we individually must make that principled stand ourselves, in this election.

14 COMMENTS

  1. Good article Christine Rose, the system here is corrupted in favour of multi National corporations over our small local business and workers.

    One way to find out how much influence Multi National Corporations may be having now in controlling our Government, is to hold a Royal Commission now into the corruption already found within this National Government, in the public interest.

    I just signed this petition — will you join me?

    So far 5000 have signed the petition and we would like to see many more.

    Governor General of New Zealand: Investigate all the allegations of corruption in the National government
    To: Governor General of New Zealand

    The petition is really important and could use our help. Click here to find out more and sign:
    http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Governor_General_of_New_Zealand_Investigate_all_the_allegations_of_corruption_in_the_National_government/?keArPbb

    Thanks so much,

    https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Governor_General_of_New_Zealand_Investigate_all_the_allegations_of_corruption_in_the_National_government/sign/?aeArPbb

  2. This could be the last “real” election. If the TPPA gets signed then future elections are for who gets the baubles of office and who decides on the colour of dog collars: the rest goes to corporate America.

    • Interpret John Key’s words from the leaders’ debate as you will:
      “I genuinely believe we’re on the cusp of something very special. We’ve got a fantastic country, we’ve got a great opportunity to make our country wealthier, more confident, a country that’s really going ahead, a multinational country, a multicultural country doing extremely well.”

      “a multinational country” – indeed.

      View the video – the above is at 1:23.

      • We certainly are on the cusp of something special. We are on the cusp of being able to show the dirty politicians what we think of them and their dirt. I hope we take this opportunity or we will be condemned to their dirt becoming ingrained in our political system and become normalized.

      • L0L0L0L!!!…..Was that a Freudian slip ? – or was that a Freudian slip !??!

        ‘A MULTINATIONAL COUNTRY’

        I love it !! that says it all about Key and his corrupt anti – sovereign little buddies.

  3. A discussion for after the election, but I think we are economically speaking is post-capitalism. By that I mean, one of the basic principles of capitalism is profit/loss – and, that has stopped happening. The multinationals and corporations, just keep taking profits – that is a very unattainable economic model. Yes, for the rabid right, at the micro level business still have profit/loss but on a macro level it is a different kettle of fish. And I agree with Christine, a massive section of the elite are full of self interest in our election.

  4. Well said. I don’t get to vote having been disenfranchised by the three years overseas rule. I find it chilling how blithely NZ overrules article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights, and the last time I was in New Zealand was to bury my mother.

    If I could vote though, I probably wouldn’t vote Labour, in spite of Cunliffe looking like the best talent Labour has produced since Cullen. Bryce Edwards nailed it last night – Labour just aren’t left enough. A government that isn’t going to reverse the depredations of the Key kleptocracy and wind back the failures of rogergnomics isn’t even interesting.

    It would be Greens or IM for me, in spite of the lack of mature fisheries policies – the other parties have nothing of substance in the area either.

  5. National Ltd™ has, for the last six years, been in stealth mode quietly privatising New Zealand’s health system. It would appear these machinations are being driven not by any real desire to improve health outcomes but, rather, to facillitate the desires of multinationals now negotiating the TPP. Unions in the UK have started sounding the alarm bells . . .

    . . . A group of high-profile trade unions have backed a growing campaign opposed to a new transatlantic trade deal critics claim will make the privatization of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) irreversible . . .

    . . . yet another reason to not vote for National Ltd™ or Labour.

  6. Well said your article.

    I feel confident that we will have a Labour Green coalition as the result of our forthcoming election!

    I like the idea that the Greens will influence Labour – in a good way.

    I like the way the PM is running scared about Labours Capital Gains Tax. That will sort out all those greedmongerers for sure!

    Lets get everyone we know to get out there and cast a vote for a good NZ and get rid of the evil ones that are in power at the moment.

  7. Another extremely good reason for not voting National was articulated by Gordon Campbell in his excellent article that Bomber abbreviated here at TDB…
    “19. National and its crackpot allies in the Act Party still believe cutting taxes is a path to growth.
    Elect Act in Epsom… and New Zealand will once again be at risk from the bargain bin remnants of US right wing political thinking. Flat Earth Alert : Act Leader Jamie Whyte already wants to scrap the Overseas Investment Office and make New Zealand the first and only developed country to have no rules on what foreign investors can buy and control. Those who laugh may be forgetting what happened in 2011 with charter schools, which were sprung on New Zealanders after the election, without ever being mentioned during the campaign. By such methods, National outsources its extremist ideas that lack a mandate – but which are delivered through the back door regardless via its coalition deal with Act, without putting National’s ‘moderate’ brand at risk.”

  8. Well said Christine. If National wins this time the self-interested right-wing lobby groups and those who are right at the heart of dirty politics will take the win as a green light to go for the systematic dismantling of the welfare state, labour laws and environmental protections. That is why they are putting up so much money and resources into ensuring that their National, ACT and Conservative puppets will triumph. They are being ably assisted by the bulk of the MSM who doggedly promote the myth of John Key as the fairy godmother (after all nobody can hate a fairy godmother, can they?) who can wave their wand and make everything better. We in New Zealand deserve a lot better but if we go ahead, prostrate ourselves on the ground and invite National to walk all over us on Saturday week then we deserve what we get and we will sure get it all right. They already have it all planned for us for the next three years – and it won’t be pretty.

    • Watching key flopping around and getting aggro after Nicky Hagar’s ‘Dirty Poltics’ hit the streets was exceptional to watch. It then occurred to me that the nats were expecting to slide to 3rd base for another 3 years. They would have too. We owe Mr Hagar a huge debt. This book gave a lot of people the impetus to wake up and understand that we can no longer afford to pay these people to further drive us into the ground, and we got angry. We know that we are cogs in a vast machine, somehow, some cogs now think they are the machine, and are therefore entilted to dismantle and shed cogs of said machine. Not this time!!
      I voted today, and it was pleasing to see alot of others in our small town waiting for their turn to change the ‘machine’ we are suffering under today.

  9. Just a word ,….when Labour and the Left wins….there will need to be a steady , ‘done by increments ‘, dismantling of neo liberalism. I say steady so as to minimize the structural stress and lessen the ‘lag’ effect that may happen as adjustments are being made.

    You can vote for any party – the Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck party-but as long as their economic ideology is based on neo liberal principles…you will rapidly produce the same end results :

    Policies designed to enrich the super wealthy , impoverishment of the greater populace, an erosion of civic infrastructure, curtailing of human rights, introduction of even more invasive state surveillance….

    In other words it is the economic ideology that is the root cause…Mont Pelerin society, free market neo liberalism.

    The alternative to that is Keynesian economics…such as NZ traditionally practiced before the destruction of Roger Douglas and his neo liberal reforms. It was the time of NZ’s greatest time of prosperity…and still is the foundation for the most wealthiest nations per capita today : Scandinavia, West Germany to name a few.

    Yes there are many issues relevant to today’s NZ , but the under girding reasons why many of these exist is directly attributable to this neo liberal ideology.

    Therefore…it behooves people to not only look at policies,..but equally as importantly…what economic IDEOLOGY drives those policies.

    Equally as important to any policy is the premises by which it is foundered on…this guides the motives , which form the agendas….which in turn dictate the policies.

    You will notice that NO political party openly advertises the fact that they follow neo liberalism…that would give the game away. Instead it will be dressed up as a ‘level playing field’…personal initiative, personal ‘responsibility’ ( all basically endorsing the ‘survival of the fittest , dog eat dog philosophy )….and while in moderation these things are good….it never is applied in moderation.

    There are many clues and signs what economic model a party advocates…generally those that are miserly with social issues, hard on welfare, deliberately blind to a growing struggling working poor class,….yet always seem to be enjoying the fruits of their largesse and denying there is a problem…..miserly tax policy instead of a wage increase that would significantly lift people out of poverty , pandering to large corporate interests over popular opinion, asset sales..and so much more…ALL of which has happened here in NZ.

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