Clive Bibby: Breaking the dependency cycle for good.

After studying the background to our national dependency stats, any reasonable observer will come to the unmistakable conclusion that the real problems lie with a relatively small minority who are genuinely in need of care that the State is almost always capable of providing.

In other words, many of the seemingly tragic examples of families forced “through no fault of their own” to be living in cars or sub standard shelter while suffering from the health issues associated with those environments, are to a large extent a political construct exacerbated by a party (or parties) desperate for power and a blatantly anti-government MSM.

My contention will most likely be followed by delusional rebuttals from those who have built an industry on the backs of the so called “forgotten masses” who claim to be victims of adverse climate and economic circumstances beyond their control.

Who’s right? I reckon we already know the answer.

Remember this!

The one thing that New Zealanders (ever since the first arrival of immigrant settlers from afar 800 years ago) have been and still are most proud of, compared to just about any other country on the planet, is our concern for those less fortunate wherever they may be living or the nature of their circumstances.

This character trait has become part of our DNA. We are renowned for our compassionate reaction to disaster events throughout the world - I’d go as far as to say we are as famous for it as the All-Blacks’ brand. It forms the basis upon which we allocate our Foreign Aid expenditure - mainly to the island nations of the South Pacific with whom we have most in common.

History shows that the Savage/Fraser government 1935-49 laid the groundwork for what was to become a Welfare State without peer.

Successive governments of different political persuasions, both here and overseas, have added to or detracted from the original concept but generally our model has remained intact and is looked upon with envy by those with much greater social problems.

However, given the early success of our home-grown model, it is somewhat disappointing, if not embarrassing, to witness how the system is being abused to the extent it is these days.

Instead of building on the post WW2 communal attitudes of individual responsibility for those less fortunate, society has allowed the growing numbers of seemingly disadvantaged families to become dependent on State run agencies for the total provision of care and sustinance that would normally be the responsibility of the working parents.

The end result is one of families who grow up, educated to believe this sort of dependency is a “right”, not a privilege.

Unfortunately, instead of saving us from ourselves, it has become the basis on which political slogans and campaign policies are developed and governments are elected, while at the same time draining the country of the financial resources needed to grow the economy and fine tune the welfare system that is sufficient to sustain the bulk of the populace who live here. But we can’t have it both ways.

We either identify the real need that exists and stick to a plan that accommodates it as a separate item or we continue down this current path of encouraging unwarranted dependency and the consequences for the wider population such irresponsible actions ensure.

Things will not improve until we vote for political parties that are promising to break the dependency cycle.

We should reward them for their courage.

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.