The irony is that the most toxic part of the meth hysteria was the way Housing NZ treated innocent beneficiaries…
Evidence used for meth evictions, costs questioned
A state house tenant was evicted from her home and stung for $20,000 over a now-discredited meth test and because she had a relative that “may” have been involved with drugs.
…the neoliberal revolution 34 years ago transformed our Public Service from doers and builders (like Ministry of Works) into mangers of services and the focus is to allow industry to do whatever it likes with a threadbare budget to police and enforce.
Look at the illegal fishing fiasco that MPI have fucking well endorsed and over seen.
Look at the pure evil required to throw the most vulnerable onto the streets using meth hysteria as your justification.
Look at how the only thing our counterproductive prison industry is doing better at is helping prisoners commit suicide.
Look at the way WINZ continues to mistreat beneficiaries with impunity for a tinder date.
Our welfare agencies pre the neoliberal revolution were instrumental societal building blocks that ensured egalitarianism. The neoliberal welfare state is there to beat the bejesus out of anyone poor enough to need their help.
The Left has always looked at the State as the builder of an egalitarian society, we need to start appreciating that actually they are the greatest weapons used to beat down the poor.
There is a building reality within the Government that there must be a huge overhaul of the public service.
The sudden reshuffle of neoliberal management…
Upheaval in public service after sweeping changes
Sweeping changes in the public service have seen some of the country’s top civil servants shuffled between agencies, including the hugely powerful Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
…is to pretend that change has occurred before NZ First starts demanding wholesale reform. Labour are still too frightened of annoying the PSA, so it will be NZ First who starts purges against neoliberal public servants.
As that purge builds momentum, we must look to solution based reforms that detoxify welfare agencies, and surely in that regard we must listen to Māori and the rightful implementation of tikanga and kaupapa into welfare policy.
If you look at the Urban Māori Authorities who engage social contract policy at the very coal face of poverty, you see how their philosophy of the holistic individual is built into the provision of that social service.
I believe that NZ society desperately needs to adopt Māori collectivism into our central tenants of faith as to who we are and how we treat one another.
If beneficiaries were treated holistically by welfare agencies rather than punitively, if the provision of social aid actually cared in a kindness kaupapa, then those human beings in desperation would have the space to heal and rebuild and become productive members of our society in a community resourced to care.
We must come up with our own kiwi socialism, our own identity of positive economic solutions and rebuilding the public service to being doers and makers within a kindness kaupapa rather than sadistic managers must be our first project.
+100 Brilliant POST!
1000% correctly said Martyn,
The meth scare was a elaberate scam by National Party carpetbaggers to rort and steal all those homes for peanuts (under $20k) in a scam to take them under false information and use them to make vast profits.
They must (be siezed back now by the state) for the rightful re-distribution to the occupants from whom they were taken falsely from and the perpertators of this scandalous deseptive sealing of public property under false evidence.
Then these criminals must be tried and jailed.
WINZ and MSD, yeah, we wish to ensure you get paid what you are entitled to, BS:
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2018/05/23/social-security-benefit-rates-in-new-zealand-set-at-will-by-governments-ignoring-socio-economic-realities-and-evidence/
(published 23 May 2018)
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/social-security-benefit-rates-in-n-z-set-at-will-by-govt-ignoring-evidence-nzsjb-23-05-18.pdf
(as on 23 May 2018)
But then again, the government can play a better role, and pass laws that are effective and bring needed change, if they wanted.
Sadly most politicians have NO clue about how the benefit system works, so they increase one bit, e.g. the Accommodation Supplement, but ignore that the same increase gets turned into a decrease of another benefit supplement many need also, e.g. Temporary Additional Support or Special Benefit, leaving noone getting those better off after all.
BS stinks, this government stinks also, as they did not do their homework, that is, provided they were not dishonest to us from the start.
Nicely put, Martyn. A kiwi socialism might begin to heal the wounds of the last 30-odd years of neo-lib fidcal fascism. Maybe. But don’t count on the propertied middle class from rolling over meekly.
Glenn Innes and Panmure is prime Auckland Real Estate on the Tamaki Estuary, the original State Houses were built there in the 1930-40’s when the early migrations of Maoris came to Auckland to work in the manufacturing sectors ?
Hi Martyn
I admire your thoughts immensely.
But are you suggesting that all Maori are in desperate Poverty ?
That they receive no welfare ? That they are like many whites and some other Ethnicities who also receive no welfare – or very little ?
Do you want the Regions to Prosper ? Or just the Maori ?
My own view is that we must seek equality from the Capitalist Cult. The Bennetts; The Bridges; The Smiths; with their multiple properties and ease of living.
With their support from Hosking; Espiner; other Herald Low Life.
I feel an unease as to how the Capitalists have managed to amass so much obscene grubby money. Pokie Machines I suppose. As well as huge Land Holdings. They have the same stench about them that we associate with : “ill gotten gain”.
At any rate, taking equity money off the capitalist cultists will not harm them very much. They are rolling in greed and cash.
The gnats didn’t just sell thousands of state houses they sold lots of prime land to developers to boost up their coffers just before the last election to create a false belief that they were good economic managers. When really they cut , slashed and sold anything they could get away with and they did (get away with this) cause too many stupid naïve NZders believed them and still do.
They were going to build us some new schools and hospitals with the State Asset Sales however they forgot ?
Instead the money went to the Clinton Foundation and a Chinese Investment Bank ?
Yet its all here just how it was done and why we still have these treasonous neo liberals in our parliament.
New Right Fight – Who are the New Right?
http://www.newrightfight.co.nz/pageA.html
And although the meth rort is but the latest, after reading the above you will understand exactly WHAT these people are,… and I say ‘what’ and not ‘who’ for a reason.
If the government wants to solve the housing crisis, here is a way.
Set up an affordable 3D printed house service for state housing and low cost housing. These houses are being produced NOW and the government should be bringing the tech to NZ with a license our own version or however it works, rather than relying on traditional methods such as the construction industry to advise which has become a slow, expensive and Ponzi scheme .
A 3D housing service in NZ would also be valuable to have after disasters or with global warming.
Starting thinking of the future NZ!
Affordable house can be 3D printed for $4,000 in less than 24 hours
https://singularityhub.com/2018/03/18/this-3d-printed-house-goes-up-in-a-day-for-under-10000/
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/innovation/why-3-d-printed-homes-may-save-lives-well-environment-n730606
https://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/icon-3d-printed-affordable-homes.html
https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/americas-first-3d-printed-houses-99189/
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/health-26543569/patient-s-face-rebuilt-with-3d-printed-parts
… ‘ Our welfare agencies pre the neoliberal revolution were instrumental societal building blocks that ensured egalitarianism ‘ …
…the neoliberal revolution 34 years ago transformed our Public Service from doers and builders (like Ministry of Works) into mangers of services and the focus is to allow industry to do whatever it likes with a threadbare budget to police and enforce ‘ …
——————————-
Mr Bradbury ,… the neo liberals never wanted ‘egalitarianism’ .
Egalitarianism is anathema to them. It means that they have to share with the odious general public, … those peasant – like and contemptible ‘deplorables’.
What they wanted was a ‘ level playing field ‘ .
Remember Jenny Shipley and her mantra of a ‘ level playing field’ ?
That particularly odious bitch didn’t mean a level playing field for the likes of you and me,… oh no ,… that was a euphemism for endorsing Ruth Richardsons welfare cuts and Employment Contracts Act 1991. And privatization.
A level playing field to enable the theft of the public of New Zealand’s collective wealth, – and it was that cadre that did indeed invent bogus reports to justify the selling off of our SOE’s,… at bargain basement prices. And as we later found out,… the mass unemployment and poverty that followed , – AND the INEFFICIENCY of privately run surrogates that replaced those tax payer built and paid for SOE’s was all based on a self serving LIE.
Heres an example:
Remember how Jenny Shipley constantly reinforced the fairy tale about a ‘level playing field’ , and others chimed in saying ‘prices will be lowered because of competition’? Even the most treasonous of them all – Roger Douglas pushed that lie. That’s how far back it goes.
And then we had Telecom and the former state owned Power company’s electricity prices skyrocketing directly thereafter, – in both cases privatized and buying our tax paid for infrastructure for a paupers song , adding no value whatsoever but rather barely spending anything on maintenance at all – then SACKING most of the workers ( they called it ‘downsizing’ )- and finally,- ramping up prices to exorbitant levels.
So much so that now people , especially children have died in cold, damp moldy state houses from entirely preventable third world respiratory diseases. And that is only two areas affected. Every major facet of our former social democracy was poisoned by that process.
We don’t need to remind people of neo liberal / National party attempts to let state houses degrade in order to privatize rental accommodation for the poor- adjusted for free market profits, of course…
Look at rotting schools in Northland. Just look at the totally unacceptable moldy crap growing in Middlemore Hospitals walls. They are a modern testament to the destructive treason’s of neo liberal politicians past and present. Look at our dismantled rail system, and on and on it goes.
Back to the Third world with Ruth , Jenny , Judith ,Paula and Anne. And Key and English and the like.
——————————-
…is to pretend that change has occurred before NZ First starts demanding wholesale reform. Labour are still too frightened of annoying the PSA, so it will be NZ First who starts purges against neoliberal public servants.
As that purge builds momentum ‘ …
——————————-
Now.
I’ve said it before in recent posts that these neo liberal traitors are currently , as we speak ,… shitting themselves when the Right Honourable Winston Peters then becomes the Right Honourable Winston Peters Acting Prime Minister.
There’s a reason I like to give the full title.
I like to see vicious traitors and self serving advocates of treason squirm.
I do not think Peters and his party will make a purge overtly , or too obvious . But purge there is going to be.
——————————-
… ” We don’t like extremists, – we believe in laws and policy’s that support the mass majority of New Zealanders , and not just a small elite ,… who may have gotten control of the political system and the financial funding of political party’s , … shows that in this campaign ” …
– Winston Peters.
23/9/2017.
——————————-
There is , in that statement a veiled and poignant directional objective and was, – if anyone cared to take it seriously at the time, a rather large clue as to whom NZ First was going to head into negotiations with to form a government.
Before that ?
A desperate attempt to try and smear Peters in the lead up to the general election. Via a classic ‘leaking of details of Mr Peters unpaid WINZ payments to the media and on to the public’…. it was a clumsy and foolish ploy and it failed miserably. So much so that those involved may now be sued. That sets a precedent.
And sends a message.
And that message is this : the age of the depredations of the neo liberals is ending in this country.
It is then up to us as a people, … once cleared of the parasitic and pervasive influence of extremist ideologues , to decide what sort of society we really want. Possibly built more along the lines of Maori collectivity , – regardless, – a collectivity based on decency.
But first must come the purge.
Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride.
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