Submissions have just closed on the council's plan to establish Māori wards. The manager says "most submitters seemed to not want Māori seats".
No kidding.
Now, there are two sorts of democracy; one is what we are in at the moment, the election, where we get to have a vote and that vote counts. The other is the bit where they say they want to hear from people on any given idea, or decision, and they will listen.
The difference in this one is it’s a con. They won't be listening at all. They say you can have a say, so you think you have had a say and that what you say is irrelevant, but if they don’t say you can have a say they worry that a lot of people will say we didn’t have a say.
When it comes to the Māori seats on the council, or indeed any council, what you say will make no difference and, as such, you have wasted your time.
But it does go to show why the likes of ACT are onto it with their co-governance stance. That stance is more popular than any council, or indeed most media, would have you believe. The unfairness of it is not the fact Māori, or indeed any race, should have a say or a voice, because they can and they should.
And they can, through the well-established mechanism they call democracy.
But in that is the danger. In hijacking that mechanism they take democracy away from most of us, but pretend they haven't by deciding to do something they know is not representative of what the people think, but also by lying to us and telling us we can have a say, which technically we can, but under the subterfuge that it actually is representative and means something when it doesn’t.
The old rule when councils decided they wanted Māori seats or wards was if the voter got a petition going and raised enough signatures. They had to hold a vote.
The Government changed that rule because each time we had a vote the councils lost. That is democracy and they didn’t like democracy so they made it so you can't have a petition.
Instead, they do what they want anyway and treat you like a sucker and ask for submissions and pretend your view counts.
Back to the real democracy i.e the election. If this is a big deal to you and you want something done about it there are parties that will change it
And unlike a submission your vote actually counts.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
The difference in this one is it’s a con. They won't be listening at all. They say you can have a say, so you think you have had a say and that what you say is irrelevant, but if they don’t say you can have a say they worry that a lot of people will say we didn’t have a say.
When it comes to the Māori seats on the council, or indeed any council, what you say will make no difference and, as such, you have wasted your time.
But it does go to show why the likes of ACT are onto it with their co-governance stance. That stance is more popular than any council, or indeed most media, would have you believe. The unfairness of it is not the fact Māori, or indeed any race, should have a say or a voice, because they can and they should.
And they can, through the well-established mechanism they call democracy.
But in that is the danger. In hijacking that mechanism they take democracy away from most of us, but pretend they haven't by deciding to do something they know is not representative of what the people think, but also by lying to us and telling us we can have a say, which technically we can, but under the subterfuge that it actually is representative and means something when it doesn’t.
The old rule when councils decided they wanted Māori seats or wards was if the voter got a petition going and raised enough signatures. They had to hold a vote.
The Government changed that rule because each time we had a vote the councils lost. That is democracy and they didn’t like democracy so they made it so you can't have a petition.
Instead, they do what they want anyway and treat you like a sucker and ask for submissions and pretend your view counts.
Back to the real democracy i.e the election. If this is a big deal to you and you want something done about it there are parties that will change it
And unlike a submission your vote actually counts.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
6 comments:
Mike, I thought Wayne was probably the mayor who is one of the few who would stand up to the racist bs we are subjected to by the people who work for us. Perhaps I'm wrong.
It could be worse, you could have the wgtn mayor!
Example A through Z of what democracy isn't:
3 Waters:
88,000 written submissions - ignored.
10,000 oral submissions requested - ignored.
Legislation changed constantly after submissions ended.
Legislation attempted to be entrenched without parliamentary consultation.
Legislation passed under urgency.
This is not New Zealand democracy this is Feudalism (or tribalism, you can choose).
Anna, totalitarian suits what these greedy part maori elites are. Kiwialan.
All only too true Mike.
A slight twist in this lot to give an impression of democracy; a choice was given between all elected maori wards or a hybrid model with one appointed by external maori activists, Ngai Tahu fashion. Having already to suffer the Independent Maori statutory Body 5th column in its midst the Council presumably does not want a bar of the appointed scheme and hopes the voting will sort. (The IMSB is an unelected ratepayer paid bunch selected by external activists, and who sit and vote on committees, presumably fed material by coordinated external maori activists and keeping them informed of internal council workings).
I have made many submissions over the decades. Barely detect anything which may have been influenced. Few trouble to read and the msm, especially nowadays, makes no attempt to research the submissions or to review. I suspect the most effect comes from copies forwarded direct to persons of substance.
My submission on this alone, despite only a page, involved about a day of work and was based on previous govt submission, maybe two days work. No consultation payment, unlike maori style. In the time I could have painted my roof and saved thousands.
I suspect few councillors make any attempt to read submissions. These pass before some collator who, to be employed by Council, is sure to be confirmed pro maori. They interpret and allocate replies to categories, unavoidably tainted by their prejudice.
Incredibly, when it dawned on the Council that maori were too lethargic to respond in numbers, they effectively called for a greater effort. No such encouragement for 75% or so others. The results can reasonably be expected to be proportionately skewed to maori. (It is likely that, fully aware of their power of cancellation, maori know they will get seats without the token formality of submission).
When will those (i.e. taxpayers and rate payers) who pay for all these corrupt processes wake up to this scam?
Will they ever wake up?
The stopcogovernance.kiwi committee are using 'iwi mafia' instead of elite maori, we believe it to be a more descriptive and less controversial name that defines the group more closely.
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