Setting the Agenda

TWO BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS TODAY. The first came from the New Zealand Initiative and purported to be about improving our education system. The second came from the Supreme Court of New Zealand and had the effect of stopping the Ruataniwha Dam in its tracks. On the face of it these two announcements have nothing whatsoever in common. What links them, however, is the way in which both demonstrate how dramatically Kiwi neoliberalism’s room for manoeuvre has shrunk.

OKAY, so the game is rigged. Well spotted. Now, what should be done about it? That’s the $64,000 question. Because understanding that one lives inside a corrupt system does not automatically lead to political action. Indeed, it’s as likely to lead to resignation and despair as it is to anger and revolt.