Living in NZ these days is a bit like poor old Alice in Wonderland, nothing makes sense, everything is the opposite of what it should be - “curiouser and curiouser”. For Alice it was a bizarre dream but for NZ it is a cold, stark reality. To those of us who have read He Puapua and know this government’s attempts to hide it from the public, to the extent that it was never mentioned in Labour’s 2020 election manifesto, it seems inconceivable that their support could actually grow.
This should be our Watergate moment! In many ways it’s far more important. After all, Watergate exposed a president willing to authorise illegal spying on political opponents - bad enough. He Puapua proposes to “gift” half the parliament and all Crown land and water to one minority race and then for good measure change our culture, legal system, education system and health system to favour Maori ahead of everyone else, with no public consultation, debate or referenda. The final nail in the coffin is to give preference and tax breaks to the iwi conglomerates that will be created from our national wealth, driving other companies out of business.
In any other democracy that would be earth-shattering and almost certainly result in the resignation of the Prime Minister and demands for an immediate election.
But not in New Zealand. Why is that? The mainstream media (MSM) hold the answer to that question.
For at least the last few years, they have relinquished their traditional role as the standard bearers of fair and balanced news reporting, in favour of cheerleading the Labour Party. Give me an L….give me an I….give me an E! The TV “news” is a carefully edited selection of stories which typically paint the government in a positive light, with occasional half-hearted criticism to uphold the impression of independent coverage. Anything potentially embarrassing is simply not reported or is used to cast racist assertions on those raising it. The vast majority of the public probably use the media as their principal, if not only, source of information and analysis. Now we’re starting to see how this article’s opening paragraph can be explained.
The Labour leadership are also clearly to blame and it shows how far they are prepared to go to enact their separatist, racist agenda. But with something this big and potentially damaging I don’t believe they would have considered it unless they knew they had the media in their pockets.
With a duplicitous government and MSM, all traditional channels of protest are ineffective. The Maori wards legislation process demonstrated that loud and clear. The government and media did everything in their power to ensure support for the bill, while stifling any dissension and negative submissions. It was a disgrace! Expect the same result on the Climate Change Commission recommendations and the proposed NZ history curriculum.
Our opposition has attempted to hold the government to account and publicise He Puapua but it’s a hard road. All the media have to do is report the calls of racism from the Left, then stir up talk of leadership challenges and poor popularity ratings until National self-implode, pick another leader then figure out what went wrong. There has to be a surge in support from the public to sustain the opposition parties and give them momentum to drive this home.
As this week’s NZCPR newsletter states, we need to take action and fight back. Quite right, but the question is HOW? In my view, we need a cohesive, coordinated plan. Encouraging small numbers of people to protest at meetings or events is commendable but unlikely to succeed. They are easy pickings for the media, activists and the internet woke brigade. Branded as racists, white supremacists, and worse, individuals or small groups will be abused from all sides until they run for cover - I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Then you can start demanding tougher hate speech legislation to keep them in line. These tactics have been employed by the Left for the last 20 years. ...and very effective they are too. Ask any climate sceptic!
For protests to have a chance of working against an unsympathetic Establishment they have to be big...really big. Ideally, the protest happens at the ballot box but it is likely that actual mass protests will be needed to achieve this. I don’t think we have anywhere near enough people who know, care or understand what He Puapua is about yet and we certainly don’t have a plan to mobilise them. We first have to inform the public about the intentions and consequences of He Puapua and what it will mean to them, their children and this country.
That, to me, is the first step on the road to turning the tide against this divisive government. How do we get the message across to the public without the media? I confess that I don’t know the answers but enough sharp minds working together can at least have a crack at it. One thing is certain though, as the latest poll shows, if the public are not informed it’s a racing certainty that Labour will be re-elected.
Derek Mackie is a geologist with a keen interest in current affairs.
8 comments:
It's Watergate and Brexit rolled into one. But far worse. At least the UK had the opportunity to vote in a referendum
Thank you sincerely for a very accurate picture of the curent dire situation. Please continue with your efforts. They are read by an insufficient number of people but hopefully the ones that do read (and I include myself) will be most defnitely passing on the message one way or another and if we all did that constantly until 2023 then surely we must make some headway until somebody comes up with a centralised and co-ordinated protest strategy. Hang in there.
I think we will have to try and get this into the overseas media in the UK, USA and Australia.
We have this crazy situation with water rights with legislation already in parliament, court cases going on, considerable negotiation processes underway and yet the media still deny there is anything to see here. David Seymour's big mistake was assuming the power shift would be to a democratic body which Ardern was easily able to bat away. Mistake number 2 by Collins was assuming normal legal ownsership structures will apply. Iwi will have control over the likes of water supply and will make decisions to benefit themselves but this will sit outside any legal ownership basis as we know it. We can see what is going to happen to the farming sector. They will be subject to decisions on water that will not be subject to any legal or democratic accountability. We are already seeing it in Councils with non elected Iwi having full voting rights.
I note Don Brash's similar article ( Bassett, Brash & Hyde) where attempts to buy advertising about He Puapua in the media have also hit a brick wall. The Government has shut down the advertising space on this. That is a frightening thought that the media is under such a tight grip. This is a Coup which I think Muriel has referred to before.
I have for the first time started reading blogs and posting comments just to really encourage those who are fighting to preserve our democracy. I agree with your assessment on He Puapua, luckily it has now seen the light of day.
We have donated to the appeal against the Opotiki seabed ruling and I hope many others do the same. I am not sure this government will wholeheartedly fight this ruling,
We need an alternative unbiased TV channel. We only watch Sky Australia.
ACT and National have to set aside their differences and join forces because we are heading down a Marxist road which doesn't have return ticket. Independent signage to inform and expose the public of those media, private companies and unions who support the Fascists and the ramifications.
They must also make clear which laws and regulations made by Labor they will repeal .
Re MSM
Ever watched the Truman Show? Feeling like you are Truman? Ever wondered how the world portrayed by the MSM doesn't remotely look like the world you and those you know inhabit? Worth another watch.
Being in my 90th year I do not have much time left so time is too valuable to waste. Consequently I did not read past the opening paragraph of Te Huahua since I did not want to waste time reading fairy stories. How can so-called intelligent 21st Century people perpetuate such nonsense? If this is indicative of what follows it does not deserve consideration.
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