Derek Mackie: Democracy...mmm, I remember that!

The title "Democracy...mmm, I remember that!" is something I sincerely hope we’re NOT saying to each other in 2040. 

This may seem a far-fetched statement to make but our current government’s obsession with race-based separatism, as the foundation on which to build a future New Zealand, is setting us on a path to just that.

In the government’s mind - which must be a very strange and scary place to be - only one race is worthy of special attention.  By virtue of finding these islands of ours about 600 years before the rest of us, the 15% of New Zealanders that now identify as Maori, or more correctly part-Maori, are apparently entitled to be given rights, powers and legal protection far in excess of all other citizens.  Every other race is lumped together in a group, best called the vast majority.

The government has deemed it unnecessary to seek the public’s opinion on this matter, no doubt because it would lead to unpalatable or upsetting responses and they want to spare the emotionally vulnerable amongst us any trauma.  How kind - the PM’s watchword.  In the recent past, when humans were more robust but less considerate of others feelings, this part of the process was referred to as debate and consultation but nowadays is seen as irrelevant by many governments, including our own.

The government’s covert agenda, set out in its He Puapua report, has flown right under the radar, piloted by Minister Mahuta and cabin-crewed by our compliant mainstream media.  Ultimately, the report recommends that by 2040, the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, Maori will have a 50% representation in a newly created upper house of government.  This would of course give them a right of veto over every decision the NZ parliament makes.  Maori cultural and spiritual beliefs - tikanga - would be adopted in NZ law, making it nigh impossible for non-Maori to win a case involving this issue.  Maori would be given ownership rights over water, allowing them to charge a royalty, and large amounts of land.  These are only a selection of proposals from the report but should be enough to alarm all of us.

The process has already started with the recently passed Maori Wards legislation which removed petition rights for ratepayers, allowing councils to create guaranteed Maori seats without the approval of their electorate.  The process was a disgrace, with the public being given almost no time to enter submissions.  Despite this, thousands were received and about 75% were against the legislation but it still passed unamended.

Most reasonable, fair-minded and liberal people would find all these proposals, at the very least, anti-democratic and a huge backward step into the darker times of the not so distant past.  Surely there are enough bad examples to show us that this is not the way forward for a modern, democratic country which, up to now, has prided itself on following a path which strives to ensure equal opportunity for everyone, regardless of race.

But we live in the weird, wacky world of woke politics where racism and every other ‘ism under the sun is celebrated and embraced.  It’s now perfectly fine to practise racism as long as the group being persecuted was previously the perceived persecutor.  You can call it neo-Marxism or some other fancy term but it is really just “getting your own backism”. 

Favouring one race to the detriment of all others in society isn’t the answer just because it makes you feel righteous and virtuous. It’s playground politics and always ends in a fight after school.  This is especially true and glaringly obvious when 85% of your population end up getting dumped on.  Historically, the American, French and Russian Revolutions spring to mind.

Despite the negligible success rate of separatism, Ardern and Co seem to imagine that things will work out just fine this time around.  Now, if they already had an exemplary record in government you may be forgiven for entertaining their proposals for a split second or so before snapping back to reality, but they have achieved absolutely nothing on virtually every main government policy, with the exception of keeping NZ largely Covid-free. 

We are bombarded with regular television appearances by the PM to remind us of what a great job she’s doing to protect NZ from the virus, while she mismanages everything else and secretly plans to whittle away our democratic rights and divide the country by race.

You’ve got to hand it to George Orwell.  He hit the nail on the head but got the title wrong - it should have been NZ2040, not 1984.  And if you think that sounds like an AirNZ flight number you’d be right because, if this comes to pass, most of us will be catching a plane for some place else.

For every person that truly values democracy, there should be an easy choice at the next election.  Vote for any party you like, as long as they oppose this government’s divisive separatist agenda.  NZ is still a free country and a great place to live but it may not be for much longer.

Derek Mackie is a geologist with a keen interest in current affairs.