GUEST BLOG: Jackie Foster – HOW DOES THIS GOVERNMENT STACK UP
Without digging to deeply, it only took a matter of hours from being sworn in for the nation to start seeing fractures appear within the coalition.
Let’s be real though, we can always rely on Winston to say what he thinks even if it is totally inappropriate, out of context or just downright wrong, Winston will always be there to entertain.
The advocacy I’m involved in is in for a real shake up, cultural reports gone, three strikes being reintroduced, and let’s hope a new police commissioner.
It is not for me to comment, yet, on the proposed restructure of our judicial system, but I will be looking for the awesome results we all heard being promised during the election campaign.
Of interest to me has been the appointment of Mark Mitchelle as both minister of police and minister of corrections, which gets me wondering if we have a conflict of interest in the making, simply from the position of how can you be the catcher and releaser at the same time?
Paul Goldsmith as minister of justice, raises a few eyebrows, given his qualification is a master’s in history, so I’m hoping that he doesn’t intend on taking the judicial system back in time, also the minister of treaty negotiations, which makes more sense given his degree.
A fantastic appointment is Karen Chhour as minister of children, what an achievement given her background. She is the very person who understands what Oranga Tamariki needs to sort itself out, because it seriously needs a total revamp.
Moving forward it will be interesting to see how the labour party turn out to be as opposition, something that is desperately required for any good government to work properly, so let’s hope we see all the ex-ministers preforming the way they should be.
It sure is going to be an interesting three years ahead, so let’s see if this new government will be a government or as Martyn and many others have said will it be a coalition of chaos?.
Jackie Foster, CEO, Social Justice Aotearoa
Karen Chour needs to learn the TOW I watched her on the debates she is useless.
So you have done better? i dont think we have ever seen a politician fight for children like Karen does. She is well suited for the job.
When did any ministerial appointment rely on them being experienced in that area. This applies to all parties.They need to. Be able to listen to the trained public servants employed to give that advise . They then take the details to their caucus and work out if the suggestion fit with party plans.
But Trevor this goverment are not listening, they are even turning off the flow of that advice; I suppose so as they can’t be caught out by OIA requests – arrogant and devious in the extreme.
Her experience comes from being in CYFS care not exactly and endorsing qualification for her role. When she was sent to the Maori debates (by Seemore) and she was the only Maori on the panel that knew nothing about the TOW and she said she didn’t know enough as did the rest of the panel. In fact, the rest of the panel said it shows how little her leader (Seemore) cares and thinks about the TOW when he sent Chour there to debate.
Why is the author hoping that the police commissioner will resign, yes Karen Chour was in cyfs , but is she now there to whitewash the charges that are in care.We all know what Seymour thinks about the treaty. One remembers the stolen generation, when the Australian’s took the paler aboriginal babies and children and tried to make them Europeans, that didn’t end well. Are our children in danger of this happening from one trauma to another
It’s very early days. Your article is at least relatively neutral/positive, which is refreshing. Yesterday I was coming out of winz and I saw a mum with her child, they looked as wan and drawn from hunger as characters from a Dickens novel. This has so made me stop and think about the reality of many people’s lives and the odd free sausage doesn’t really make that much difference, so it’s good to see there is a minister for children.