February 09, 2017
Election 2017 – Bill English promises a Police State (and so do Labour)
Election 2017 – Bill English promises a Police State (and so do Labour)
MARTYN 'BOMBER' BRADBURY OPINION:
Bill English has launched his State of the Nation address for Election 2017, and his vision held no joy for those wishing to see a Government that focuses on compassion and rebuilding our scarred and fractured communities.
The Prime Minister's first point was to hold up his Government's welfare statistics as evidence that he was focused on real change. He proudly proclaimed tens of thousands are no longer receiving benefits.
There should be little pride in this statement.
What National have done over the last 8 years is to constantly create new reasons to disqualify beneficiaries from getting a benefit. From dense paper work that is difficult to understand to juvenile policies like cutting a persons benefit off for missing two phone calls from the Department, this isn't about the welfare of the individual, it's a cost cutting exercise so National have money to give away as a tax cut in this years election.
The Government have no idea whatsoever where all of these beneficiaries are going because they conveniently don't track that. It is difficult to see how these lower numbers are doing anything for the welfare of those people or the wider community. It seems that the Government Agencies have become so powerful and frightening that people will do anything they can to not interact with them.
That's a hardly a recipe for social equality.
If Bill English's State of the Nation entree was concerning, it was nothing compared to his main course.
The National Government have decided that the way to tackle New Zealand's poverty and social problems is to throw half a billion dollars into the Police.
You read that right, apparently we need to invest $500 million dollars into giving the Police new staff, new non emergency phone lines, more helicopter air time, more policing units and of course, more Police powers.
1000 new Police staff doesn't sound like the way we rebuild our fractured communities. Imagine what we could do with 200 new teachers, 200 new nurses, 200 new counsellors, 200 new doctors and only 200 more police.
Ideas like that don't win elections unfortunately.
Playing to middle New Zealand's fear of crime is an easy election dog whistle, which is why it's so disappointing that Labour are also wildly promising the same number of Police.
National heard that and seem to have raised them another 150.
The New Zealand Police force have already admitted that they are 'unconsciously' racist, they did that on Waatea Radio last year, and with 10 000 already in prison (60% of them Maori), it seems counter productive in the extreme to give Police another half billion as some type of solution to the current social problems we are seeing.
Welcome to Election 2017 where the voters fears will be manipulated for the same political interests that always manipulate them.
Martyn Bradbury
Editor – TheDailyBlog.co.nz
Waatea 5th Estate
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Radio Waatea and it's Board would like to advise that the opinions posted are those of Martyn 'Bomber' Bradbury and not the views of Radio Waatea, it's Management or it's Board.
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