John Robinson: A message to demonstrators

For many years a proposal to divide New Zealand into two people, in direct opposition to the early call that “Now we are one people”, has been built up.  Supporters of racial division have threatened those who stand up for equality, becoming ever more active with many efforts to prevent or close down any debate of the current government policy of co-governance, in a series of determined attacks on free speech.[1] 

There has been no willingness to listen to any alternative point of view by this Government and its supporters, and thus no dialogue.  Many of the public remain unaware of what the policy means and how it is being put into action.

Once again, we challenge these zealots to explain their ideas and meet with other New Zealanders in an open forum.

Karl du Fresne: Politics isn't all dirt, even if it sometimes looks that way

Don’t despair. Things are not as bad as they seem. At least that’s the optimistic message I’ve taken from all the unedifying political argy-bargy of the past few weeks.

It’s easy to think the worst, mind you. First, there was the YouTube video of Christchurch students moronically chanting “F… John Key”. That was a low in New Zealand politics, but it took only a couple of weeks to be surpassed in loathsomeness by a “song” – I use that word in the loosest possible sense – in which a semi-literate swamp-dweller snarled that he wanted to kill John Key and f … his daughter.