More Democratic Infrastructure: Iwi backed new Supermarket, Mārae Civil Defence, Ministry of Green Works, New Mental Health First Responders, Artist Benefit, Māori Parliament, Student Union, Universal Migrant Union, Retirement Village Unions and Pensioner Unions
We need more Left Universalism.
We need to lift the tax yoke off working people, beneficiaries and the middle classes and we need to put it on the Banks, the Corporations, the Billionaires and the mega wealthy.
We need more Democratic Infrastructure, not less!
Why do we need these things?
Because the climate is shutting down and we face a bleak future where Billions will suffer and die thanks to catastrophic climate change.
This change will be forced upon us whether we like it or not.
This demands more connections, more bonds that bind us together to emotionally, socially, economically and politically survive what is coming.
Māori communalism is going to teach us a lot.
Here are some thoughts:
Iwi backed new Supermarket: Bring in a 3rd player into the supermarket duopoly that is Iwi backed with a focus on cheap prices for consumers, best prices for producers and high wages and work conditions for workers. Take 30% of the Supermarket Industry by force (allowed under the Commerce Commission powers) and use this as the backbone for a new food security system.
Mārae Civil Defence: Use Marae as the backbone of Civil Defence throughout NZ with resources based there alongside new building grants to strengthen those Marae.
Ministry of Green Works: We need to be able to build our own infrastructure.
New Mental Health First Responders: A whole new branch of first responders to deal specifically with mental health issues to talk people down and seek help rather than calling then Police and arresting people.
Artist Benefit: As part of a degrowth Capitalism model, pay Artists to make public art, use that art as a means to deal with the wondrous grief caused by the destruction of the planet.
Māori Parliament: An indigenous Parliament that amplifies Māori political voices.
Universal Student Union: Allow Student Unions to be the incubators for tomorrows politicians and stop students simply being cash cows for corporate education.
Universal Migrant Union: Stop migrant worker exploitation with universal student membership.
Retirement Village Unions: These scumbag retirement villages abuse their elderly and sick clients, universal Retirement Village Unions would stop them being exploited.
Pensioner Unions: Give our elderly a voice!
We don’t comprehend how bad things are going to get environmentally, the speed of heat that is happening right now shocks scientists and with research suggesting AMOC will shut down BEFORE 2050, we are in a a realm of violent change whether we want to acknowledge that or not.
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Re-establishing the provincial government, and decentralising power back to the regions, could reduce discontent and resentment by giving Kiwis more say in their everyday affairs.
Auckland could become a city-state province with very few trade restrictions, befitting its position as New Zealand’s major trading centre.
Wellington could become a federal capital like the ACT in Australia, or Washington DC in America, in which representatives of the provinces would meet to pass federal laws. It may or may not also have a government just for Wellington Province. This would ensure there was a minimum of disruption for Wellington and for the remaining central government in the transition to decentralisation.
Tuhoe, who have always claimed independence on the grounds that they did not sign the Treaty of Waitangi, could become a self-governing province. They would only be subject to federal law, and would otherwise have the freedom to set their own cultural agenda.
Nelson and Westland provinces could legalise cannabis and grow it on a wide scale, as well as legalise cannabis cafes that serviced both the local and the tourist markets.
There would still be a central government whose jurisdiction was defence, diplomacy, trade, immigration etc
The overarching message here is good, but rather than proscribe these specific solutions (one size fits all and missing key stakeholder input) how about we draw out guiding principles and apply them with funding, to uplift communities and ensure self determination
Let’s explore ideas such as Marae and Council aligned / land providers community urban farms that also address identity, mental health, democratic dialogue, providing and cooking local nutritious food with less packing and carbon etc. this approach generates way more value for people and planet than say a third supermarket chain that just perpetuates the same old problems….
Apart from a Maori Parliament your ideas hold a lot of sense .
With the supermarket idea they have the land the money the expertize and the growers all under the one umbrella .
They are often the first to call on in a disaster so why not make it more formal.
I am sure the workers from the islands would feel happy working through the indigenous group who they relate too.
The elderly often do need a voice especially if your are not Pakeha and English is a second language.
The all arts need support not just the main stream.