tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75157133170682513312024-02-21T00:07:57.727+13:00stargazerstargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.comBlogger735125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-55708742922523620872014-12-06T18:05:00.001+13:002014-12-06T18:05:21.395+13:00"the legacy"<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>it's been a beautiful, bright, sunny day in hamilton. like summer has finally arrived. i was lucky enough to be invited today to a book launch. it was held at the gurdwara guru nanak devji, a new sikh temple being constructed just out of hamilton, in puketaha.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>it's a lovely setting, out in the countryside, there must have been over 100 people there. i was invited by the author, mindho singh, who had researched the life of her grandfather. her writing journey started when she found some diaries and papers belonging to her grandfather, at the bottom of an old tin travelling trunk - indians will know exactly what i mean, but here's a picture:</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHttDxhfhb0J5xeiBQirMteRDUEyNQuJeRAO2wfAn_o0qjsDGrF2aP63nI42BeBYZ-yBuGKOpLmsl7AApV0KpH6KwLipTtkeq-7ZJDg4jVOn4hyphenhyphenRyFcazP4bk-8_fo84qKS9MiIJeMeWeE/s1600/tin+travelling+trunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHttDxhfhb0J5xeiBQirMteRDUEyNQuJeRAO2wfAn_o0qjsDGrF2aP63nI42BeBYZ-yBuGKOpLmsl7AApV0KpH6KwLipTtkeq-7ZJDg4jVOn4hyphenhyphenRyFcazP4bk-8_fo84qKS9MiIJeMeWeE/s1600/tin+travelling+trunk.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>these are still pretty common, particularly in villages.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>so mindho found these papers, and it lead her to conduct in-depth research about the life of her grandfather, searching through archives and records. she said it was really difficult to find records of the early period, as punjabis who had migrated to nz were routinely just recorded as "singh". so she had to rely on verbal interviews and make some assumptions for the early chapters of the book.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>the punjabi community has a long history in the waikato. i recall celebrating 100 years of their settlement here, back when lianne dalziel was minister of immigration i believe (or it might have been a few years earlier than that). they were mostly farmers back in the early days, involved in dairying.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>mindho singh is herself a local legend. she organises events for the waikato punjabi ladies cultural committee, and they have a great fundraiser every year for breast cancer. i can tell you that these women definitely know how to have fun!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>the reason i wanted to write about this event today is because this is a history of nz that isn't often visible, that isn't told in our tv programmes or our movies. but it's a history that needs to be recorded, shared and definitely celebrated. below is a picture of the book cover:</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHZuPbKKI5n-548CgaJMkdLSpsrVxs1DfijTrr4PO6nWfWvemR6zh-OjU5v1fYUs0N9X6BL6k2H6z5bD2jsMdD99_YqG99mi6A3SYzIkRI93Ecc2uSnwMPbTvz0dVpdEeNg5Rd3tepJmD/s1600/the+legend.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHZuPbKKI5n-548CgaJMkdLSpsrVxs1DfijTrr4PO6nWfWvemR6zh-OjU5v1fYUs0N9X6BL6k2H6z5bD2jsMdD99_YqG99mi6A3SYzIkRI93Ecc2uSnwMPbTvz0dVpdEeNg5Rd3tepJmD/s1600/the+legend.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>if you're interested in purchasing a copy, email mkbola21 at gmail dot com. and just to finish off, here's a picture of mindho, sandra mackenzie & myself enjoying the sunshine just before the event began.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiyj5JP6uC55MZZaFfhP4vVBaHwl8UeMcp2vxB3yqWaB63f2EU4qMZgtQuhq3piWpvptV8aNLTfua77wPcJII__RPIZh-7i-nAbH6nEqE3jqHtv9ZhauMilxjv_0ZWMgh0EmF8OsZVSPdP/s1600/legend+book+launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiyj5JP6uC55MZZaFfhP4vVBaHwl8UeMcp2vxB3yqWaB63f2EU4qMZgtQuhq3piWpvptV8aNLTfua77wPcJII__RPIZh-7i-nAbH6nEqE3jqHtv9ZhauMilxjv_0ZWMgh0EmF8OsZVSPdP/s1600/legend+book+launch.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br />stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-67770773008694973022014-11-27T00:10:00.000+13:002014-11-27T00:10:44.520+13:00submission on countering terrorist fighters bill<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>ok, so i'm doing this submission in a rush so it's far from perfect. but it's something at least & we are restricted by this government who only gave us a couple of days to submit on the bill.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>some links:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2014/0001/latest/whole.html#DLM6316017" target="_blank">the bill is here</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - you can make an online submission by scrolling to the bottom of <a href="http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/sc/make-submission/51SCFDT_SCF_00DBHOH_BILL60721_1/countering-terrorist-fighters-legislation-bill?" target="_blank">the page here</a>, entering the text in the box then clicking on the "make a submission" box (yeah, it took me a while to figure that out because i'm terrible with technology, so i thought i'd spell it out).</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - I/S has <a href="http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2014/11/submission-guide-countering-terrorist.html" target="_blank">a good list of points</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - action station have <a href="http://www.actionstation.org.nz/24hours" target="_blank">some questions for you to consider</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - i have a copy of the briefing paper put out by the human rights commission prior to the bill being made publicly available. i haven't been able to find it online, so can provide it to people if they want to give me their email address. you can contact me at info at anjum dot co dot nz.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>so the main points of my submission:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - i strongly objected to the very short consultation period and have asked the committee to ensure adequate time for proper consultation, and to hear everyone that wants to be heard.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - i stated that the government hasn't made a case for stronger measures on terrorism. they are already aware of some 60 to 80 individuals who may pose a risk. they are aware of the number of nz'ers who are fighting overseas. this suggests present laws are sufficient</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - i objected to the SIS having the ability to conduct surveillance for any length of time, without requiring a warrant. no-one should have their privacy violated without sufficient evidence.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - similarly, there should be no ability to suspend a passport without evidence. i noted that innocent people might be prevented from attending family events like weddings or funerals, or professional events such as conferences. there needs to be a case made to allow them to do that.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - i talked about famous overseas cases where innocent people had been unfairly held, including <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/22/usa" target="_blank">yusuf islam</a> & <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Shah-Rukh-Khans-detention-US-apologises-India-talks-tough/articleshow/12648019.cms" target="_blank">shah rukh khan</a>. although this relates to different laws in different jurisdictions, it shows how easy it is for security agencies to get things wrong.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - i also referenced the IGIS report released this week & the GCSB spying illegally on over 80 people as giving little confidence that increased powers will be used in a proper manner.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - i referenced the HRC briefing paper, which had a paragraph noting that infringement on the rights of freedom of expression and privacy threaten the foundations of a democratic society.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>- i talked about people having the right to see evidence that was being used against them (or at least that their legal counsel should have access to this information) and that a person should be able to challenge any decision that has restricted their human rights. this is all part of natural justice.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i've asked to be heard by the committee, let's see how that works. apparently, only a select group of people are going to have the ability to present to the committee, and those people have already been informed. since i wasn't informed, i'm guessing that they won't give me a chance, which is highly unfair.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>anyway, if you get any time tomorrow, please do put in a submission, even if it is a very short one.</b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-11736091378510358522014-10-30T22:45:00.001+13:002014-10-30T22:45:35.693+13:00submission to hamilton city council on "older person housing review"<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">i thought this would be the best place to share the submission i've put in tonight to <a href="http://www.hamilton.govt.nz/our-council/consultation-and-public-notices/haveyoursay/Pages/Housing-Review-2014.aspx" target="_blank">hamilton city council's review of pensioner housing</a>. there is strong support in council for selling these houses, which would be terrible. so this is what i had to say about it all:</span></b><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain">Do you support in principle Council's
proposal to sell all the Council owned social housing properties to a
combination of sympathetic social housing providers and on the open
market?</span></span></b></i><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain">No.</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain"><i><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain">Please includes </span></i><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain">[sic]</span><i><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain"> reasons why you hold this position.</span></i> </span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain">HCC has a responsibility to the this community to provide housing crucial for the well-being of many vulnerable senior citizens.<br /><br />The increasing inequality in New Zealand society, along with an aging population, means that the demand for social housing will. The rise in number of the "working poor" as a result of inadequate wages paid for their work means that people are less able to save. Soaring house prices means that fewer people are able to afford their own homes.<br /><br />The problem of adequate housing is a complex one, which requires investment from both central and local government. It requires a higher level of investment, not the divestment of existing stock. The sale of such stock will cause unnecessary hardship and suffering.<br /><br />The private sector does not adequately or efficiently provide housing for our vulnerable. Too many properties in the private sector are poorly maintained, cold & damp, while speculators seek to make short term capital gains while failing to ensure adequate standards for housing. Moreover, the system of providing accommodation supplements as an alternative to the provision of social housing means that taxpayers are forced to pay for profiteering by those who can afford to own more than one home. Had those supplements been reinvested into the maintenance and upgrade of the houses, then it might have been money well spent. But this has not been the case and I'd refer Councillors to excellent work done by Bryan Bruce (http://bryanbruce.co.nz/feature/child-poverty/inside-child-poverty-full-documentary) and Nigel Latta (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adNlqxKf_Hw&feature=youtu.be) in highlighting the health and social issues caused by inadequate housing.<br /><br />The market does not provide adequately for those who are vulnerable, and government has a duty to ensure that all citizens are looked after. Access to safe and adequate housing is a human right, and I refer Councillors to Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. New Zealand is a signatory to both. I'd also recommend Councillors inform themselves by visiting this link: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Housing/toolkit/Pages/RighttoAdequateHousingToolkit.aspx<br /> </span></span></b><br />
<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain"><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain">Do you have any specific comments in relation to the other options considered by Council? (</span></span></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain"><i><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain">Option 1 (status quo), Option 2 (retain
but lease to social housing sector), Option 3 (Partial sale), Option 4a
(sell all to social housing sector) or Option 4b (sell all on private
market). These option are outlined in more detail in the Options paper.)</span></i> </span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain"> Option 1: the status quo is not sufficient. HCC must invest in the social housing stock to ensure adequate standards. My preference would be that Council actually increase the funds available.<br /><br />Option 2: this may be the best option under present government policy, in order to access government funding. However, should Council consider this option, strict regulations must be put in place to ensure that the housing is retained for older persons, that the standard of the housing stock is kept high. As the Council will remain owner of the properties, they will be able to include and enforce terms of the lease that provide protection for our senior citizens.<br /><br />Option 3: this is not an acceptable option as there is no guarantee that the housing will not be lost from the social housing stock. As stated by Poverty Action Waikato in their submission: "The 2012 sale of pensioner housing units by HCC has resulted in only 12 of the 53 units sold being available for the elderly to rent at affordable rates." <br /><br />Option 4a: There are not sufficient resources in the social housing sector to purchase and maintain all of the Council's social housing stock. A previous sale at Johnson St was only able to go ahead due to an interest-free loan from the D V Bryant Trust. As stated by Karen Morrison-Hume to Radio New Zealand, even if the social housing sector had the funds to invest in that level of social housing, those funds should be invested in the provision of new housing and not in purchasing the Council's existing stock. As mentioned in my answer to the previous question, the demand for pensioner housing will be increasing and Council needs to plan for increasing provision in the long term.<br /><br />Option 4b: This option is unacceptable leave our vulnerable senior citizens in a precarious position.</span></span></b><br />
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<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain">Do you have any other comments in relation to this proposal?</span></span></b></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span id="DeltaPlaceHolderMain"><b>I support the submissions of Poverty Action Waikato and of the D V Bryant Trust.<br /><br />I understand that Council feels hampered by Government policy which prevents local government from receiving funding for social housing provision. However, this hasn't resulted in other Councils around the country selling their pensioner housing. Council should consult with other local government bodies to ensure they implement solutions that preserve the social housing stock and protect the senior citizens in our city.</b></span></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-7258820931340822732014-02-06T20:58:00.001+13:002014-02-06T20:58:18.837+13:00waitangi day reflections<b>another waitangi day almost over. in terms of public discourse, it has gone the way of most waitangi days. people complaining about the negativity, about how the day has no meaning for them, how we should have another day where we can talk about unity, isn't anzac day so much better as a celebration of nz. <a href="http://mauistreet.blogspot.co.nz/2014/02/myths-of-nationhood-why-im-not.html" target="_blank">etc etc etc</a>. </b><br />
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<b>well, i went along to the event put on by the hamilton city council, at 7am in civic square. we started with a powhiri, then had a few speeches, some songs & refreshment. a few years back, we used to have a full day of events at innes common, by the lake, but funding was pulled and that doesn't happen anymore. it used to be a celebration of many cultures, but the faces in the audience were almost universally brown, as they were today.</b><br />
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<b>so now we get this hour and a half in the early morning. and a very sanitised affair it is. no protest here, just like the herald has been boasting today. because we want to commemorate a sanitised version of history, where we all get to feel good about ourselves and never have to question the way our society is structured or the injustices that have happened before and are happening today.</b><br />
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<b>tim macindoe was actually specific in echoing the herald's line that there should be no protests on this day (can't remember the exact words). he, as so many other people around the country have no doubt done, called for unity. but what does this call for unity mean? the unity they're talking about sounds like one where marginalised people stay silent, never say anything uncomfortable. it's a unity based on a dominant group continuing to dominate and marginalised groups not challenging that domination. it's a unity based on unfairness and inequity.</b><br />
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<b>we could also have unity if the dominant group accepted the injustices, talked about them in an honest and respectful way, were prepared to listen & understand, and maybe even stay silent themselves for a while. but i very much doubt that this is the kind of unity we are talking about.</b><br />
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<b>waitangi day is a time when the media is present, when they are reporting, when the nation is paying attention. if this is not the time to raise issues then when is? the fact is that there will never be a good time. the fact is that the people calling for unity or disparaging waitangi day never want to hear what protesters have to say and never want to hear a full and fair telling of our history.</b><br />
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<b>this is in fact a freedom of speech issue. to call for waitangi day to no longer be our national day, to call for an oppressors version of unity, is in fact an attempt to silence certain voices. the kind of voices that very rarely get a chance to be heard in the first place.</b><br />
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<b>this morning, the mayor talked hamilton's 150th anniversary being this year, and she did have the grace to say it was the anniversary of european settlement of this city. i hope that isn't just because of the tainui kaumatua in the audience, i hope that she continues to say this in front of all audiences. but it's too much to hope that the commemorations will talk about what that settlement has meant for local iwi. no-one used the words confiscation or land theft in their speeches today, but that is an inescapable part of the history of this city - so much of it is built on confiscated land. how can we have any kind of commemorations or celebrations that fail to mention that fact.</b><br />
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<b>this is our history. warts and all. it needs to be told. warts and all. anything less is wrong, yet another injustice to add to the history of injustice. why on earth do we need to hide from our own history, or retell it in a way that leaves the important bits out? if it makes some people uncomfortable, then maybe those people need to do a little self-reflection. it's not like anyone is blaming them for what happened in the past - at the most, they will be shown how past events have led to them having a more privileged place in society today. again, i'm failing to see how that's a bad thing.</b><br />
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<b>waitangi day is the best day for our national day. it's a day when we should be political as well as historically focussed, a day when we should feel both proud and sad, a day when we should reflect on both the good and the bad because that's who we are. it should be a tumultuous and challenging day, not a day of false unity based on suppression of voices.</b><br />
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<b>happy waitangi day to all of you. <a href="http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11197348" target="_blank">and read this</a>, it's lovely.</b>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-60140206150023831372014-02-04T22:48:00.002+13:002014-02-04T22:50:13.962+13:00kirikiriroa human rights network and the UPR<b>looks like 2014 is not going to be a good year for blogging - i'm just not finding the time to write, which is a pity because i miss it. this is the first night for a while where i haven't had a meeting or an event, along with a ton of emails or a proposal or something else.</b><br />
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<b>but at least i'm seeing some progress with the work i'm doing. the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cfchamilton" target="_blank">campaign for consent</a> has been keeping me busy, and we've had some wins in the last couple of weeks. we managed to secure funding for a project to put some messaging into student orientation packs, & tomorrow we're having a stick-a-thon to put the messaging on to 3B1 notebooks. the local YWCA is helping out with that. here is the thing we are sticking on:</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFh2-3oyLdeOerKpppxDhm0sj2j8_fk9eV7LSYqYkN3IFmB8EmIyYdjfHwxwX3fkYrKdOBCK28rySXQK_L2zdviyqMC_nqlWIZefEC-wuNIhbcGqlNCWqfW-hSpX1YKo8sEJw92PB7Xgy/s1600/orientation+sticker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFh2-3oyLdeOerKpppxDhm0sj2j8_fk9eV7LSYqYkN3IFmB8EmIyYdjfHwxwX3fkYrKdOBCK28rySXQK_L2zdviyqMC_nqlWIZefEC-wuNIhbcGqlNCWqfW-hSpX1YKo8sEJw92PB7Xgy/s1600/orientation+sticker.jpg" height="320" width="226" /></a></div>
<b>don't know how well that will come out on the blog, but we went for positive messaging around consent. hopefully it will make a difference. we've also managed to do quite a bit of networking & we're hoping for some positive results around that.</b><br />
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<b>one of the things i did want to write about is the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/upr/pages/uprmain.aspx" target="_blank">universal periodic review</a> of human rights, and i may do more on that when i have a little more time to get into the details of the recommendations. it's a process carried out by the united nations that happens every four years. i had the privilege of being part of a group that sent someone to present to a pre-session thing at the end of last year. hamilton has a human rights network, a group of people who have had some training from the human rights commission to be human rights facilitators, a programme they call <a href="http://www.hrc.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Taku-Manawa-Building-Human-Rights-Communities-2011.html" target="_blank">taku manawa</a>. our presentation went under the name of "kirikiriroa human rights network" and was presented by rachel o'connor.</b><br />
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<b>rachel found out about the UPR while doing some further human rights training, and so, because of her enthusiasm, we were able to be part of the process. the bulk of the work was done by her, and the whole experience has been really useful for all of us. our presentation focused on 3 areas: racially motivated crime (the police are still not recording ethnicity data for victims of crime, so we have no idea of how much hate crime happens in nz); the impact of the mass arrival bill on racial discrimination (the political use of fear of masses of people arriving in boats to nz to change this law has been harmful, <a href="http://www.traceybarnett.co.nz/" target="_blank">tracey barnett</a> has written a lot about this); and the refugee resettlement quota (with a recommendation to increase numbers to allow family reunification, which is known to improve settlement outcomes for refugees).</b><br />
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<b>a fourth point noted in our presentation was the need for better consultation with the public regarding the whole UPR process. it was something that didn't receive much publicity in the lead-up & there wasn't much funding provided by the government for consultation (hardly a surprise, because that would mean people would be raising human rights issues which would make the government look bad). hopefully, there will be more ability for people to have input when the next review comes around.</b><br />
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<b>so after organisations had presented to the pre-session, a couple of weeks ago we had the minister fronting up to answer questions & we had <a href="http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1401/Draft%20report%20of%20the%20Working%20Group%20on%20the%20Universal%20Periodic%20Review.1.pdf" target="_blank">other countries giving us their recommendations</a> (pdf), based on largely on what was presented at the pre-session.</b><br />
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<b>one of the issues that comes up with this kind of thing is that various countries with poor human rights records are giving recommendations to improve human rights in our countries. and i bet, when i talk of these various countries, most people's minds will automatically go towards countries in asia, africa & the middle east. there is a narrative that first world countries are superior in human rights to third world countries, and that therefore, third world countries really should have nothing to say about human rights in first world countries.</b><br />
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<b>i find that really problematic for a a variety of reasons. first, the most violent and vicious human rights abuses tend to be as a result of scarce resources, and people fighting over them. in that process, human rights get ignored. scarcity of resources and third world poverty can be linked to unfair global trade practices, historical loss of wealth through colonisation and current loss of wealth through invasion and occupation. a lot of these things are as a result of actions by first world countries. while they may have stronger human rights records within their own countries (and that is debatable), their foreign policy is rife with abuses in other countries.</b><br />
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<b>more than that, human rights abuses in first world countries are often downplayed or ignored altogether. so ireland has had a history of sexual abuse & exploitation of the labour of young women (considered "fallen"); the united states has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and a huge imbalance in the number of black men being incarcerated; australia has major issues re the aborigines and the stolen generation, land grabs and the like. there are plenty of other examples from many other countries, including poverty & access to health care, workplace deaths etc.</b><br />
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<b>the thing is that there are rarely calls for boycotts of first world countries, rarely any challenge to their rights to speak about human rights. that is hugely problematic.</b><br />
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<b>in terms of this process, the individuals who were giving their recommendations on behalf of their countries will have a good background in human rights & their recommendations will be based on the submissions. their recommendations have value, regardless of what is happening in their home countries, and i would hope that all recommendations from all countries are given equal weight.</b>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-64034169121502045032014-01-07T04:09:00.001+13:002014-01-07T04:09:20.312+13:00on elitism and the need for superiority<b>the summer break is continuing, and it is definitely everything i was hoping for. a complete break, where i am not doing anything too much, staying away from all the things i don't want to deal with, and generally just relaxing and enjoying the company of the people i'm with. couldn't have asked for better, and i know how incredibly lucky i am to be in this position.</b><br />
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<b>i have been busy on the internet in various ways, and i'm hoping that it has been useful. i have a post that's been in my head for a while, but just hasn't managed to come out. it's basically about the various ways that people have an inherent need to feel superior to other people. i've probably written about this before, and i certainly don't exempt myself from this tendency.</b><br />
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<b>i think it's a very human characteristic, based on our egos and our need to feel important in the scheme of things. one way to make ourselves look/feel important is by showing that we're better than others, in various ways. we want to be exceptional, better than the rest. mediocrity is something that i think few people aspire to, or at least they tend not to aspire to it in all areas of their lives, all the time.</b><br />
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<b>perhaps it lies in the fact that we want our lives to have meaning, and meaning only comes with success (whatever success means for a particular individual). most of us hate to think that we spent a lifetime on this planet and it was all for nothing - that we achieved nothing, that our time here was not valued by anyone. we want to be valued, we need to see ourselves as being worthy of being valued. so we create ways in which we are exceptional or different or better than that other group of people over there.</b><br />
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<b>there are many ways of creating that exceptionalism, that sense of superiority. we're now used to the traditional ways that people discriminate against others, in fact these are now enshrined in legislation. <a href="http://www.justice.govt.nz/publications/publications-archived/2000/the-human-rights-act-1993-guidelines-for-government-policy-advisers-june-2000/prohibited-grounds" target="_blank">here's a good run-down</a> of the prohibited grounds of discrimination included in the human rights act & the bill of rights act, from the ministry of justice. mostly, people are familiar with all of these, and there is generally a shared societal understanding that feeling oneself superior or inferior on any one of those grounds. hence the reason they are enshrined in law.</b><br />
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<b>that doesn't stop people from discrimination in words, attitudes, behaviour and decision-making. we know we shouldn't discriminate based on family status or marital status, but the level of contempt directed by many at single mothers is pretty high, and pretty damaging as well, since it leads to government being able to enact policy harmful to this group (eg cutting the training incentive allowance, forcing single mums into jobs which means other people will be paid to care for their children, and so on).</b><br />
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<b>we also know that we shouldn't discriminate based on employment status. that doesn't stop a large section of society from heaping judgement on people who are beneficiaries and out of work for one reason or another. sure, beneficiaries aren't all perfect people, but then which group of people is? no one individual is perfect, let alone a subset of people within society. even though we know that to be a fact, we are still happy to pass judgement on the life of others, often without knowing much about the reality of their individual situation.</b><br />
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<b>then there are the things not included in legislation. things like weight, for example. <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=fat+people+discrimination+employment+research&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a" target="_blank">there's plenty of research</a> showing that fat people suffer at work due to judgements made about them. we're constantly encouraged, through media, advertising & the health system, to assume that people are fat simply because they eat too much and are too lazy to exercise. that metabolism plays a large part, that weight is linked to mental health, that there are many physical illnesses that cause weight gain, that there are many medications that people may be reliant on which cause weight gain: all of these factors are ignored in our rush to judge people who aren't considered skinny enough. and then we also judge people who are considered to be too skinny, even though that is often related to metabolism or health issues rather than any moral failing.</b><br />
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<b>one area of elitism that really struck me last year was around education. i value education, i think it's a good thing, and i continue to be a proponent of education being free and available at any age. i've often written about how i see education as a public good, how education helps to reduce oppression and leads to empowerment and greater freedom. and yet, i find i can't stand to see people with tertiary education who see themselves as so much better, smarter, superior because of that education. i don't think the fact that i have an education makes me a person of more intrinsic value than someone who doesn't. that other person may not have had the same opportunities, may not be able to learn in the educational environments or institutions our society has set up, and they may have learned a whole lot of valuable things from their life experiences or from their own reading & interaction. that we should make value judgements about the worth of individuals just because we were able to have access to good quality education seems incredibly patronising and harmful to me. wisdom can come from any person, and when you shut your mind to the possibility of a seemingly uneducated person having something to teach you, you're missing out on a lot.</b><br />
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<b>over this summer period, i saw another form of elitism and it's a difficult one to describe. it's where people feel themselves so far above the rabble, the unthinking masses, and go out of their way to highlight the fact that they are not partaking in some particular activity that the general population is involved in. it particularly bothered me when martyn bradbury wrote on facebook about consumerism, and how it would be nice if people went with as much enthusiasm to our parks, beaches and natural spaces as they did to the shopping malls over the summer break. not a bad sentiment in itself, and one i largely agree with.</b><br />
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<b>but the comments that resulted poured a whole heap of judgement on the people who went to the malls, as if they (the commenters) were so much smarter, so above the whole consumerism thing, so enlightened. it smacked of elitism in a way i found really smug and arrogant. as with the fat shaming stuff, there are people who are in the malls for any number of reasons, and to judge them all is really unfair.</b><br />
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<b>more than that, we're in a society where the sales are constantly in your face, through tv, radio, print media, billboards, screeds of advertising material in letterboxes. it's everywhere. and we live in a society where success is judged by one's possessions. the way to change that isn't to heap scorn on the people who are acting in rational ways given the culture they are immersed in, but to work to change that culture. and you won't achieve that by feeling superior to them. just because you shun the malls and have the ability to enjoy the natural environment doesn't mean that you have more value than the person who doesn't. i could give plenty of examples why, but the point is: why this need for superiority?</b><br />
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<b>i saw it again with people who weren't going to be bothered to see the new year in, what's the point, it's just another day. i can understand that for some people, it might be difficult, they may have bad memories associated with new year's or can't stay up, or just don't feel it's that important to them. i'm ok with that. but then there are those who go further and express sentiments that make it seem they are so much better than all the multitudes who are having new year's parties, and that's when i get annoyed. is it seriously a crime to be with friends to celebrate an occasion that is based on a shared cultural understanding? sure, make a point about excess consumption of alcohol because that really is a problem in our society, but just to look down on people for celebrating the new year? ugh.</b><br />
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<b>i don't think we'll ever solve the essential problem - this need to feel better than others. but at least we can highlight it when we see it, and be aware when we feel ourselves doing it, and try to correct ourselves. as i say, i know i do it too and i have to keep reminding myself to let go of arrogance. the sad thing is that i need so many constant reminders, it's a lesson that never really sinks in well enough.</b>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-17306873553807705942013-12-31T20:28:00.000+13:002013-12-31T20:28:06.210+13:002013: a personal reflectionso, 2013 is pretty much over, and what an incredible year it has been. well, for me personally, it has been a year of amazingly wonderful experiences, strengthening friendships and i guess it has also been a time for me to find out a lot more about myself.<br />
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i started the year hoping to help out with local body elections, then being asked to stand myself. it took me a few months to lay the groundwork that would lead to my decision to be a candidate. it meant consulting a whole lot of people, persuading a couple, and looking for support.<br />
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and i was lucky enough to find a lot of support, sometimes from places i least expected it. but there were so many people who not only believed in me, but were willing to put their time, effort and money into my campaign. it was so incredibly humbling & uplifting at the same time. i've spent many years dabbling in politics, but crippled by a total lack of self-belief and self-confidence. i've never felt i was quite good enough or that i had what it takes. and i know that the confidence has to be built from within, but it sure does help to surround yourself with people who believe in you and won't let you believe anything but the best of yourself.<br />
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during the course of the campaign, i strongly felt like it was the right thing for me to be doing and that i was in my element. i loved the experiences, and meeting so many different people, hearing about their issues and the ways they were struggling. it became so clear that the best solutions come from within communities, and that they need the helping hand of government, both local and central, to make those solutions work. it's people who work in a particular field or have lived experiences to bring to the table who are the most valuable in creating change. the job of a good leader is to find those people, bring them together & facilitate their ability to achieve. while remaining quietly in the background. the latter is something not well suited to most people who are attracted to politics, and yet it's crucially important to step back & let others shine when you really want to get results.<br />
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then the campaign was over, and i had to learn to deal with failure. not the first time, not at all. but it was certainly a more public failure than any i've had so far. however, it was another opportunity to develop strength & resilience, to keep my dignity and remember that there is still so much to fight for. it was a time to for me to remember that i'd been so lucky to have so much support and so many positive experiences, and if the result wasn't what i was hoping for, well that wasn't the most important thing i'd gained from the process. so i gave myself a few days to mope, then got on with other things that needed to be done.<br />
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part of which is work on the central government elections coming up next year. there is so much going on, so many important decisions to be made & a government that must be changed. we need a government that responds to the needs of the marginalised, whether that marginalisation is economic or as a result of personal characteristics like race, gender or ability. we need a government that is prepared to be inclusive of all its citizens, and not prepared to denigrate them to score political points. we need a government committed to ensuring people have jobs, jobs that pay enough to live on; to decent working conditions; to educational opportunities for people of all ages. well, i could carry on, there are so many policies in so many areas i'd like to see put in place, so many things reversed and improved.<br />
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so i expect that's where the bulk of my energies in 2014 will be directed. but not solely. as with 2013, i hope to be involved in planning and organising various events, and working on projects. this year, i was lucky enough to be involved in organising the regional interfaith forum, a community iftar, an interfaith service, a silent march against rape culture followed by a public meeting, a regional conference & fundraisers, & public speaking engagements (especially dear to me was the opportunity to speak at the rememberance for nelson mandela at rugby park). on top of that were the regular board meetings for shama, free FM, becoming a trustee of a new trust called the ethnic nz trust, and helping to set up an ECE centre. there were various media appearances, the most memorable of which (for me) was an appearance on 7 sharp to talk about the boston bombings.<br />
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most of these activities will be carrying on into the new year. i find that i'm looking forward to 2014, and am expecting it to be as tumultuous, turbulent, challenging, exciting & rewarding as 2013 has been. i hope the year goes well for all of you as well; wishing the best for you in whatever circumstances you're facing.stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-89182748231268663892013-12-26T22:52:00.000+13:002013-12-26T22:52:01.638+13:00the spirit of 45: what's missing<b>ah, it's been too long a break from blogging. a couple of reasons. mostly because my life hasn't really slowed down after the local body elections. i think that's possibly part of a coping mechanism on my part - i cope with life a lot better when i'm busy & don't have too much time to think. i do realise this is an "issue", a problem that i should deal with in some way, but who has the time for that, right?</b><br />
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<b>it's also because central government elections are on next year, and a lot of the preparatory work for that is happening right now. and i find that at the moment, i care too much to just sit quietly on the sidelines and let things happen, the way i did for the 2011 elections. i felt strangely unmotivated at that time, by politics or by very much else. but now, i care and it feels good.</b><br />
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<b>but also, i go through periods of time when the words just don't flow. but now i'm on holiday, and i have a bit of space to write again. so here goes.</b><br />
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<b>a couple of weeks ago, i was involved in a fundraiser which was a showing of a documentary film called "<a href="http://www.thespiritof45.com/" target="_blank">the spirit of 45</a>". it was about the labour government in the UK that took power in 1945 headed by clement attlee, and won another term after that. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_of_%2745" target="_blank">wikipedia's summary of the film</a> is as good as any:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><i>Relying primarily on archive footage and interviews, and without a
narrative voiceover, the film recounts the endemic poverty in prewar
Britain, the sense of optimism that followed victory in <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_2" title="World War 2">World War 2</a> and the subsequent expansion of the welfare state, founding of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Service" title="National Health Service">National Health Service</a>
and nationalisation of significant parts of the UK's economy. The film
documents the extent to which these achievements, as Loach sees them,
have since been subject to attack in the decades that followed,
particularly under the Conservative governments of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher" title="Margaret Thatcher">Margaret Thatcher</a> in the 1980s.</i></b><br />
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<b>and here are <a href="http://www.timeout.com/london/film/the-spirit-of-45-2013" target="_blank">a couple</a> <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11175846" target="_blank">of reviews</a>, one from nz. </b><br />
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<b>it was definitely an interesting film, providing a vision of a different way of organising society and the economy. a vision of equitable distribution and full employment, centralised services that weren't based on profit. an alternative, if you will, of the capitalist model, and particularly the neo-liberal version, that we live in today.</b><br />
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<b>as an accurate portrayal of british history, well i can't comment if it is one. not having any particular ties to that country, nor an particular interest in its post-war history, i'm not in any position to judge. i certainly heard comments from those who came to see it, who do have those ties (one even voted for mr attlee in that election), that many things were left out & that it wasn't entirely a full picture of what happened at that time.</b><br />
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<b>certainly, the portrayal of the depression and the issues of poverty were all too real. i found it pretty sad that the major issues covered by the film are all still major issues we are facing here in nz today. housing. employment (or lack thereof). access to healthcare. decent wages.</b><br />
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<b>there is no doubt in my mind that government has a crucial role to play in these areas. the policy of building houses, of centralising the rail transport system & having a strong public health systems are all policies that are as relevant today as they were in 1945.</b><br />
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<b>however, there was one thing that really stood out for me as i watched this film, which was based on historical footage & modern-day interviews with people who were born in the 1930s. it was the absolute lack of people of colour. there was only one shot of a black man, as part of an audience shot, and no-one of colour who had a speaking role. no-one interviewed, none of the experts, none in the archival footage other than this one unnamed black guy.</b><br />
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<b>i really noticed it, probably because i'm a person of colour, but also because i know that poverty and low pay are issues which affect people of colour. a lot. the lowest paid professions in this country - cleaners & the aged care sector - are dominated by women of colour. they tend to have some of the lowest standards of living, not just because of class but because they are often shut out of better paying jobs due to direct discrimination.</b><br />
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<b>that the voices of people of colour are totally absent makes the rest of the film suspect for me. even though i appreciate the ideas that were discussed, and the real life stories of people who had no safety net. i just can't imagine what would make a person so colour-blind, so oblivious to the fact that there was a whole section of society who was missed out of this telling of history.</b><br />
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<b>which then makes me wonder: perhaps those policies enacted by the attlee government didn't benefit people of colour. those new houses might not have been available for those people, access to health still wasn't as good, access to jobs non-existent. now i'd like to see a black person's telling of that history, to see if that government provided any hope for them, any substantial change.</b><br />
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<b>this disappearing of people of colour struck me as well, because there are many political commentators on the left today who would also like us to be invisible and to stay invisible. any mention of issues around race (as well as gender & other markers of identity) are dismissed as "identity politics", because those issues aren't important & don't affect the lives of the ones who are urging us to be quiet, to sit back and wait for the more important issues to be solved.</b><br />
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<b>it may be coincidental that i found <a href="http://bluemilk.wordpress.com/2013/09/25/on-being-told-to-wait/" target="_blank">this quote at blue milk today</a>, from martin luther king:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><i>I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great
stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s
Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more
devoted to ‘order’ than to justice… who paternalistically believes he
can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical
concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait.</i></b><br />
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<b>but it seems so relevant to the idea that identity politics are a distraction and irrelevant. and i can't help but conclude that a film which completely leaves out the narratives of people of colour is hugely incomplete. </b>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-16554499377383794152013-10-28T21:46:00.002+13:002013-10-28T21:46:26.622+13:00labour day reflections<b>must be time for another labour day post.</b><br />
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<b>i promised myself that i would do nothing productive this weekend, and apart from a bit of stuff catching up on emails this evening, i've pretty much stuck to that. having had a pretty hectic year, i really needed the break. time to relax, to day-dream, to just not worry about anything much at all. it was lovely.</b><br />
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<b>but i can't let the day go without acknowledging why we have it. 3 news did <a href="http://www.3news.co.nz/The-history-of-Labour-Day-in-NZ/tabid/423/articleID/319147/Default.aspx" target="_blank">a nice little clip today</a>, except that it was pretty depressing so few people knew the history behind labour day. so <a href="http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/labour-day" target="_blank">here's some</a>:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><i>Labour Day commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day. New
Zealand workers were among the first in the world to claim this right
when, in 1840, the carpenter <a href="http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/people/samuel-parnell">Samuel Parnell</a>
won an eight-hour day in Wellington. Labour Day was first celebrated in
New Zealand on 28 October 1890, when several thousand trade union
members and supporters attended parades in the main centres. Government
employees were given the day off to attend the parades and many
businesses closed for at least part of the day.</i></b><br />
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<b>i'll leave you to read the rest by clicking through. it's a day for commemorating rights in the workplace, except in recent times it's more appropriate to think about rights that have been lost. we no longer have an 8-hour working day, that went with the employment contracts act back in 1991. at that time we also lost award rates that ensured decent wages across various industries, we lost overtime pay.</b><br />
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<b>the damage done to unions has meant that the rights to collective bargaining have been eroded. there is plenty of evidence that unionised workers have better pay and conditions than non-unionised workers, and that the efforts put in by unions benefit non-unionised workers as well. <a href="http://union.org.nz/economicbulletin116" target="_blank">for example</a>:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><i>Their findings on wage settlements for the last year are startling. For those agreements for which they could calculate an increase from June 2009 to June 2010 (some for example don’t specify a wage rate, or don’t have a preceding agreement to calculate an increase from) adult minimum wages in collectives went up by an "annualised" rate of 4.2 percent – the largest they have ever reported. It compares with an increase over the same period of 1.6 percent in the Labour Cost Index (LCI)and 2.1 percent in the average wage, both of which include non-unionised workers and unionised workers on individual agreements. Given that all collectives are union collectives, that’s a strong message about the success of both unions and collectives. Of course, collectives have other improved conditions too, and help to lock in improved conditions (if explicitly included) despite law changes.</i></b><br />
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<b>current legislation before the house seeks to further erode those rights. if you want to get details about the proposed changes in the employment relations amendment bill, check out the <a href="http://union.org.nz/whycutourpay" target="_blank">factsheets on the sidebar</a> of the CTU website. or if you prefer to listen than to read, here's helen kelly explaining the proposed changes:</b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CVLt4e1ZnKE?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe><br />
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<b>if you're in for some heavy reading, check out the human rights commission's submission - <a href="http://www.hrc.co.nz/2013/employment-bill-inconsistent-with-international-human-rights-obligations" target="_blank">you can find a link here</a>. and if not, here's a summary from <a href="http://www.3news.co.nz/Thousands-rally-against-employment-law-changes/tabid/1607/articleID/310942/Default.aspx" target="_blank">the bottom of a 3news piece</a>:</b><br />
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<div class="count_el">
<b><i>The EPMU says the bill will allow employers to:</i></b></div>
<ul class="count_el" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li><b><i>Refuse to negotiate a collective agreement with their employees </i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Pay new workers less than the rate in the collective agreement </i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Opt out of industry agreements in order to undercut their competitors on wages </i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Deny workers meal and rest breaks </i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Reduce the wages and conditions of vulnerable workers such as cleaners when taking over a new contract </i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Dock the pay of workers taking partial strike action </i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Impose more restrictions on the right to strike </i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Refuse to provide employees the information they need to challenge an unfair redundancy or dismissal.</i></b></li>
</ul>
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<b>so on a day when we should be celebrating hard-won rights, i think it's also appropriate to reflect on what we're about to lose and to think about vulnerable workers on low pay and the lack of ability to fight for a better deal.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>migrant workers are particularly vulnerable, especially those whose residency status depends on their job. in recent times, i've found out just how vulnerable young workers are. if they are under 15, there are no terms and conditions, no minimum wage, really nothing at all to stop employers exploiting workers under 15. and they certainly do.</b></div>
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<b><br />so much of the damage and the erosion of work rights can be found in the prevailing attitude that a job is a privilege, rather than a human right. yet this country signed up to the universal declaration of human rights, as have so many countries across the world, and <a href="http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a23" target="_blank">it's right there in article 23</a>:</b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b><i>(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to
just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against
unemployment.</i></b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b>the thing is that, as the first 3news clip i linked to above shows, so many people don't know the history of work or the history of unions and the struggle for workers rights. it's not something that's taught at school, it's not something that is passed on through popular culture. that there are people in the workforce today who don't know that there was once a different way to organise work, a way that ensured much less inequality, much less poverty and a better standard of living across the board, well it's just sad.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>it's up to us to keep reminding people about work rights, and about the erosion that is currently proposed. it's why i'm really looking forward to the taku manawa project i'm doing in conjunction with the <a href="http://www.ywrc.org.nz/" target="_blank">young workers resource centre</a>. it's not much, but at least it will provide just a little bit of education for some young people in the city. </b></div>
stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-76235059281721752542013-10-24T22:11:00.002+13:002013-10-24T22:11:27.160+13:00freedom<b>i don't want to be doing <a href="http://thehandmirror.blogspot.co.nz/2011/07/yet-another-burqa-post.html" target="_blank">another post about burqas</a>. it's not like i haven't written extensively about them. and to put the focus on them again is to reinforce the notion that the only thing important about muslim women are burqas.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>but <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11145337" target="_blank">this happened today</a>, and i find that i can't ignore it:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><i>Yuet Rappard, a farm worker, appeared in front of Justices of the Peace
in the Dunedin District Court yesterday and was found guilty of
offensive behaviour for telling a student to remove her burqa while she
was shopping on May 17.</i></b><br />
<br />
<b><i>Rappard, representing herself, did not dispute that she told a
University of Otago student to take her burqa off at Garden's New World,
but told the court she was expressing her freedom of speech.</i></b><br />
<br />
<b><i> </i></b><b><i>"I said 'shame on you, you should take it off. When in Rome you should do as the Romans do'."</i></b><br />
<br />
<b><i> </i></b><b><i>Rappard,
who moved to New Zealand from the Netherlands when she was a child,
believed burqas should be banned and felt "intimidated" when she saw
people wearing them.</i></b><br />
<br />
<b>when in rome. a tired old argument that i wrote about <a href="http://thehandmirror.blogspot.co.nz/2011/04/when-in-rome-do-whatever-you-damn-well.html" target="_blank">a couple of years ago</a>. but let's pretend for now it's a valid one. the burqa is legal in nz, and ms rappard is in nz, so ms rappard should adhere to local culture & accept the fact that we allow women to wear burqas here. maybe she should accept that in this country, we have a bill of rights act that includes <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1990/0109/latest/whole.html#DLM225512" target="_blank">freedom of religion</a>, and she should be prepared to live with that.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>she might also want to learn about nz history, which involves colonisation and settlement, land theft and institutional injustices by the crown which we are still in the process of resolving. those people who came here at that time did not "do as the romans" (well, actually if you look at the history of the actual romans in their heyday, they pretty much did), they did not adopt the local culture, live a tribal lifestyle, change the way they dressed so they were compatible with the local inhabitants. in fact they did so much the opposite that maori couldn't be spoken at schools, and even today, many maori are shamed or denied employment for following the cultural practice of te moko.</b><br />
<br />
<b>so the burqa-wearing foreign student is following exactly in the footsteps of those who came before her by not changing or adapting her own religious beliefs to her environment. in fact, she isn't quite living up to our history, because she isn't trying to force anyone else to wear a burqa, she hasn't any institutional power to prevent anyone else speaking a language or practising their own culture. she's not in a position to set up land courts and a voting system designed to alienate a people from their land. so that wearing of a burqa is a pretty poor attempt by her, and doesn't come anywhere close to what was going on here in times past.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>let's not forget another fact: the burqa-wearing woman is a foreign student. this means that she (or her family or her government) will be paying truckloads of money in order to purchase an education in this country. it is highly likely that she is from one of those countries where nz education is heavily marketed, where there are important and high-level delegations sent to try to persuade said country to send its student here. education is a big income earner, and this country, at an official level, has invited foreign students here so that this country can make money from them.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>at the very least, if we're going to behave in that way, if we're going to invite them here and charge so much money for providing an education, the least we can do is make sure they are safe while they are here. that's part of what we're selling when we sell our education. it means we're accepting them as they are when we ask them to come here, because i'm quite sure no-one who is selling nz education overseas is saying "oh by the way, when you come here, you can't wear a burqa, because when in rome..."</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>then there's freedom of expression argument, and i've written a whole lot about that as well. in fact, i've had a pretty robust discussion on facebook today on that particular freedom & what constitutes censorship. and i'm oh so tired of the people who think freedom of expression is an absolute right that trumps absolutely any other right that anyone might have, in the way that ms rappard so clearly does.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>we don't have total freedom of expression in this country because we have <a href="http://bsa.govt.nz/standards/overview" target="_blank">broadcasting standards</a>, <a href="http://www.asa.co.nz/index.php" target="_blank">advertising codes</a>, <a href="http://www.presscouncil.org.nz/principles_2.php" target="_blank">press council principles</a>. we have <a href="http://www.hrc.co.nz/report/chapters/chapter08/expression02.html" target="_blank">a very weak section of the human rights act</a> around hate speech, and i believe it is still a crime in the crimes act to directly incite violence by way of speech.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>but we also have other rights. as i've already mentioned above, the freedom to practice one's religion (or to not have to practice one at all). the right to <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1990/0109/latest/whole.html#DLM225519" target="_blank">freedom from discrimination</a>. and certainly the right to be free from <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1997/0092/latest/DLM417078.html" target="_blank">harassment</a> and <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1961/0043/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM330792" target="_blank">intimidation</a> as you go about your daily business. i'd say the last one trumps freedom of expression, especially if you're expressing that freedom by getting into someone's face and shouting your opinion at them. i realise ms rappard denies doing this, but there seems to be more than one witness who is of the view that this is what happened.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>so yes, it's a good thing that ms rappard has been convicted and fined. she hasn't learned anything from this experience though, and relies on the old "PC gone mad" to avoid any responsibility for her own actions or any empathy for the woman she harangued. but at least the nz justice system has sent the message that this kind of behaviour is not ok, and that is something to be thankful for.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>just to finish off, i'm going to recommend <a href="http://pantograph-punch.com/oh-the-places-youll-go/" target="_blank">this piece</a> that someone linked to on facebook today. it's pretty long, but very well worth the read. i can identify with so much of it, having migrated here as a child & feeling very much caught between two cultures and not really fitting in with either one of them. i'm extremely lucky to not have the experience of war that this writer does, and she writes about all of it so very well.</b>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-48196310505222087402013-10-14T23:07:00.001+13:002013-10-14T23:40:03.975+13:00poverty is politicalit's been a while since i've written. as you know, i've been a little busy with other things. that didn't work out, so i thought it must be time to get back into blogging again.<br />
<br />
one thing i wanted to write about was an event i went to last week. it was a competition involving students from the school of management studies. there were 4 groups, and each group presented a media/public relations campaign on behalf of the same client. the client was poverty action waikato, and the campaigns centred around poverty.<br />
<br />
i'd come across two of the groups as i was campaigning. the "step up, speak now" was campaigning for the living wage, and tied their campaign to the local body elections. hamilton city council failed to vote for a living wage for all it's employees earlier in the year, and this group based their strategy on a petition and a push for candidates to commit to a living wage. they had an online strategy that was reasonably successful, and they plan to present their petition at the first meeting of the new council. this group was really passionate, and they understand that decent wages are a critical part of poverty reduction.<br />
<br />
the ten-17 group did a feasibility study around setting up a youth hub in hamilton. they presented the idea to a meeting a couple of weeks ago, and also used an online campaign. they want to focus on young people between the ages of 10 & 17 who are facing poverty, homeless or disadvantaged in other ways. it's a great initiative, & i really do hope they continue to work on it. they did a lot of work in engaging with these young people & collecting their stories. i felt like they really understood the issues.<br />
<br />
a third group was called "not-so-super-annuation". i hadn't come across them, though they did garner a good amount of media attention. they were focused on poverty faced by the elderly. they did a good job of presenting the problem, and they had taken some time to connect with people who were struggling in their retirement.<br />
<br />
yet, they didn't seem to understand the underlying causes nor to present a viable solution. their solution was to educate people, particularly in the 45 to 60 year old age bracket about the importance of saving & investing. they said people shouldn't be relying on the government and that there was a need for a change in culture.<br />
<br />
wow, did i have some major problems with that. first of all, the retirement commissioner & various others have been doing exactly that. there has been so much information put out, aimed at exactly that age bracket. and while the group have actually received interest from the commissioner and others for the work they have done, the solution just doesn't address the problem.<br />
<br />
the problem is that so many of the people facing poverty in their old age just weren't earning enough to save. you can educate them as much as you like, but if they don't have enough income, then saving will not happen. there was no consideration of the issues around unemployment, especially for people who are laid off in their middle age. at that age, it's very difficult to find another job. and it's also hard to retrain, especially when this government has decided that older students can't access the student loan scheme. if you're unemployed & struggling, there is no way you can afford to re-train or re-educate yourself.<br />
<br />
but more than that, their solution assumes that the answer to poverty reduction lies in individual action. it's the response of a neo-liberal generation, brought up in a culture arising from the policies of the 80s & 90s, that thinks personal responsibility is the solution to all problems. a generation who hasn't thought about the fact that these problems arise from the way our society is structured and the only way to resolve them effectively is to change the underlying structure.<br />
<br />
the thing that worried me most about this group was the fact that they hadn't approached grey power or age concern, because they thought those organisations are too political. that sound you heard was me screaming! poverty is political. it is purely political. there is enough wealth, enough resources for every person in this country to live a comfortable life. the issue isn't that we don't have enough, it's that the resources aren't fairly distributed. the way we choose to distribute those resources, as a society, is a political decision. the economic structures our society uses are as a result of political decisions. the way markets, financing, banks, wages, etc etc work in our society is a result of political decisions. we could choose to do things differently, we could choose to structure our society in a way that neither our children nor our elderly would ever have to struggle for food, decent housing and decent heating. but we don't, and that's a conscious choice, and a political one.<br />
<br />
it doesn't surprise me that this group won the competition. the reason for that is because they were being judged on the effectiveness of their PR campaign, not on the strength of their analysis or the effectiveness of their solutions. and there was no doubt that the group had the best results in terms of the reach of the campaign, even if it didn't reach me.<br />
<br />
but it was frustrating to watch and listen to. while the other 2 groups had a much better grasp of effective solutions, a much better connection to the problems and the people facing them, it was clear they were never going to win. and that's because of the rules of the competition, the structure if you will, that they were working under. it just shows that how you create the structure and what you develop as your criteria will determine the outcome. that's why we need to change the rules, the structures, so that the people who are currently struggling so much can live their lives with dignity.stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-90967089583340047912013-07-30T23:18:00.002+12:002013-07-30T23:18:27.283+12:00housing policy becomes a race debate<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i'm once again moved to write about non-local government issues, & the thing that has got me going is the new labour party policy regarding the restriction on property ownership by non-residents.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i'm not opposed to the policy itself. i'd be happy to have such restrictions, to put a curb on speculation by people who never intend to live here. those people come from countries around the world, they often have enough wealth to drive prices up & making owning a home unaffordable for those of us who are living here.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i'd also like to see some restrictions on local speculators as well. a capital gains tax is a start, but won't make much of a difference to house prices. getting to keep 85% of your capital gain is still makes ownership of rental properties a good option. i'd also like to see ring-fencing of losses on rental properties, so that the loss can't be offset against other income. but no party is pushing that as a policy at the moment, at least no that i'm aware of.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>no, the thing that has annoyed me about the non-resident ownership policy is that it becomes an excuse to bash immigrants - even though the policy is specifically not targeted at immigrants. and even for those who understand that difference, there is still a tendency to focus on asians to the exclusion of others.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i've written before about the notion of visible & invisible migrants - it's something i became aware of through research conducted by some friends of mine at waikato university. visible migrants are those of a different skin colour, and very often, the terms "immigrant" & "migrant" are used as synonyms for people of colour living in this country, other than maori. and even in that group, the terms are even more specifically used to refer to asians, africans, & those from the middle east.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>invisible migrants tend to be white people from europe, canada, america, britain, australia & africa (especially south africa & zimbabwe). when people use the terms "immigrant" & "migrant", they tend not to mean this group of people (not everyone, but many people). and so this policy, though it applies to non-residents, is taken to mean predominantly chinese & other asian people. even though they aren't specifically targeted by the policy.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>it doesn't help that there are no concrete statistics so that we can know the parts of the world that current non-resident owners come from. in the absence of actual data, stereotypes prevail. and such stereotypes are exacerbated by an opposition that wants to turn the whole debate into one about race instead of one about housing, to hide the fact that they have very few policies aimed at making housing more affordable.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>as a result, what i've seen, particularly on facebook, are comments directed at various asians, be they chinese, japanese, indonesian or thai, & none of those comments are particularly flattering. even if they are neutral, the fact that asian non-resident owners are being identified while white non-resident owners remain invisible, in itself creates a racial dimension that is unnecessary & in face harmful.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i believe facebook pages are the responsibility of the people who created them, & i really do expect politicians to be strong on challenging racial stereotypes and challenging the process of making some non-residents more visible than others on their own pages. to be silent is to be accepting, especially when it's a space that you have total control of. strong leadership can certainly help to reduce some of the nonsense that's coming out as the discussion goes on - it can't be stopped altogether, but it certainly can be reduced.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>it's the least we should be expecting.</b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-47694028189245146602013-07-23T23:10:00.000+12:002013-07-23T23:10:50.560+12:00a privileged birth<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>so it's been a very long while since i posted here, as i was reminded by someone i met at a meeting tonight. it's not that i haven't been writing posts, it's just that i'm writing them at <a href="http://www.anjum.co.nz/" target="_blank">my website</a>. so please feel free to check in over there regularly - almost all of those posts are related to either to local body issues or to my campaign, but there are some interesting wider issues that come up as i work on the campaign.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i'm moved to write here today about how much i'm over the birth of the royal baby. i've been avoiding most media in the last 2 days, particularly any news bulletins on tv & radio. i just can't bear any more of this coverage. while i wish the baby & his family well, i can't get into the hype around royalty & privilege by dint of birth.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>as many long-standing readers of this blog will be aware, i do have an on-going campaign of sorts, to become the queen of nz. i can report that two people have agreed to be my subjects. i'm not sure how many more i'll need before i can displace the foreign royal who is nominally our head of state. but i can promise fewer scandals, and there certainly will be no baby-having by me. so you can be a little more confident that your news bulletins would focus more on news than on royal antics, should you accept me as your sovereign.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i think i'm especially annoyed by all of this, because it's happening during ramadan, a time when i've been more focused on the have-nots. to be continually reminded of just how much the haves have just makes that reflection even sadder. we can never create a world where everyone is exactly equal, but we can work towards one where there is a lot less inequality, and a lot more financial security for everyone.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>one of the ways we could do that is to stop glorifying privilege by having this kind of blanket coverage in the media - & particularly that part of the media that purports to be giving us the news. a 30-second clip is more than sufficient to let us know the baby is well & all family members are overjoyed. anything more is just free advertising for the commercial enterprise that is the royal family.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>if you happen to be one of those people who are of a similar mindset, consider countering all this royal baby news by making a donation to a charity of your choice that deals with issues around poverty. or, if that's not a possibility, you could consider a submission against the latest changes to our employment laws which will further drive down wages, or consider supporting the living wage campaign. concrete action is the only way to counter this kind of hype. </b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-13780140084415725762013-06-10T23:24:00.000+12:002013-06-10T23:24:00.611+12:00on home ownership<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i've finally managed to get some time to write about stuff - <a href="http://www.anjum.co.nz/?p=159" target="_blank">here's a post</a> over at my website about the hectic weekend i've had.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i was listening to morning report on my way to work & heard <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2558028/is-it-time-to-give-up-the-home-ownership-dream.asx" target="_blank">this item</a> on home ownership. it's basically a couple of economists trying to convince us that nz'ers should no longer dream of home ownership. instead we should be content with renting, although they do tell us that the rental market needs to change so that people can rent for the long-term. nice of them.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>until the rental market changes, what are people supposed to do? and who exactly are they to be renting from? in the world these economists are telling us to aspire to, we would have one class of people who get to own property to rent out, and another class of people who would always be renting. The perpetual tenants are apparently able to build up just as much wealth as the property owners, simply by saving & investing the difference between what they pay in rent & what they would have paid towards a mortgage.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>if that's the case, then they would build up enough wealth to buy a house, surely? so they may as well just own the house they live in. this is assuming, also, that there are in a position to make savings. the problem at the moment, the reason why the home-ownership dream is becoming impossible for an increasing number of people, is precisely because they don't have enough left over to save.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>but more than that, if you listen to the clip, don't you just love (ie really hate) how they dismiss "emotional" reasons for owning a home. as if emotions have no value, no basis in logic and reason. as if emotion is a thing that is divorced from and inferior to rationality. which is nonsense. if owning a home has some benefits that are based on emotional reasons, then those reasons will impact on your general feeling of well-being, and therefore your mental health.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>a paper by charles waldegrave, robert stevens & peter king (which i can't seem to link to, but you can find a pdf via google), makes the following point:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><i>Home ownership often provides an accruing asset which changes people’s perceptions about themselves in positive and independent ways. It also has the extra advantage of providing freehold ownership in later years when most senior citizens are not part of the work force.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>home ownership also has the <a href="http://www.habitatnyc.org/pdf/Toolkit/homewonership.pdf" target="_blank">benefits</a> of providing stability, better educational outcomes for children & better health outcomes.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>so what would be the purpose of trying to convince people that they should give up the dream of owning their own home? it could be to distract from the fact that one of the main barriers to home ownership is income inequality. it could be to try to get us to accept that nothing can be done to make homes more affordable. there's always that pressure to make more land available to developers, which you will also hear mentioned in the interview, as if big sprawling cities will solve the home ownership problem. if you can't afford the transport to get to your job or to decent schools; if there aren't decent amenities & council services, and the cost of these are added to your house, then more land isn't the answer either.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>the whole tenor of this piece, and of the advice given by the economists interviewed, was so defeatist. i found it alarming. it's when we give up hope & stop agitating for change, when believe things can never get better, that's when the already powerful & wealthy become even more so, and when the lives of those in poverty get worse. we can do better than this. it's just a matter of public will, which will then translate to political will.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i've been thinking of bob marley for some reason today, and so i'll leave you with this as inspiration:</b></span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/F69PBQ4ZyNw" width="420"></iframe><br />stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-30344032363069905032013-06-06T23:26:00.003+12:002013-06-06T23:26:37.188+12:00immigration maths<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i've been shifting some of my blogging over to <a href="http://www.anjum.co.nz/" target="_blank">my website</a>, so feel free to check it out. today i've just done a post on the proposed changes to liquor licensing laws in hamilton.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>also, i got this from someone on facebook. it's an excellent takedown of some the anti-immigrant rhetoric that's going around:</b></span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bJX5XHnONTI?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe><br />stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-9422130556540560372013-06-03T22:58:00.001+12:002013-06-03T22:58:25.785+12:00how it should be done<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i've been trying to take a bit of a break this weekend - not always successfully! - mostly because it's the last long weekend in a long while. and also because i'm going to be incredibly busy next weekend, so am trying to build up reserves. i'll be at a leadership seminar on saturday, and on sunday will the be MC'ing at the <a href="http://wifco.wikispaces.com/RIFF+2013" target="_blank">regional interfaith forum</a>. if you're able to get along to the latter, please do register by wednesday. it'll be an interesting event, and we will have the race relations commissioner in attendance. i'm looking forward to meeting up with her.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i was watching the political debate on native affairs, maori television this evening. although i can't vote in the by-election, i know one of the candidates reasonably well so i'm quite interested in seeing how the election plays out. the one thing i can definitely say is that i was very impressed with the way the debate was conducted.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>not only was the interviewer/moderator well informed, but she asked really challenging questions of all the candidates. mihingarangi forbes has a quiet but very effective interviewing style. unlike the interviewers on political shows that air on tv1 & tv3, she doesn't badger the person she's interviewing, she allows them to finish their answer but she doesn't really allow them to get away with not answering. and when they do evade the question, as the maori party candidate did on the issue of male leadership of the party's political wing, it looked quite bad.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>but more than that, i was impressed with the respect the candidates showed each other. they didn't feel the need to talk over each other, they all listened respectfully when it wasn't their turn to speak. they all spoke to the issues and the policies, and didn't feel any need to personally attack or denigrate each other.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>this is the way political debating should be, and i can only express my utmost respect for the candidates, the interviewer and for maori television who have once again shown us how it can & should be done. they have also reminded me why i can't bear to watch the nation or Q&A, even though i'm a person who is politically engaged and enjoys watching political issues being debated. i think the only person who approaches this level on the other channels is john campell, who i have been watching more of in recent weeks.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>so well done maori tv, and i'm now looking forward to the one-hour debate on june 24.</b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-13137075795704364892013-05-30T23:05:00.000+12:002013-05-30T23:05:30.572+12:00same old story<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>if you're wondering why i haven't managed to write anything here in the last few days, <a href="http://www.anjum.co.nz/?p=143" target="_blank">check out my website</a> & you'll see what's been keeping me busy.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>today i've been feeling pretty depressed by the whole cartoon episode. that would be the two cartoons by al nisbett in the malborough express & the christchurch press. the ones that uphold every stereotype of poor people as could fit into one drawing, and that put the central focus on brown people.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>it's the same old story. a tried and true formula. casually used by a wide spectrum of media and particularly the advertising industry. say something outrageous, sit back & desperately hope for the storm of complaints. if they do arrive, trot out the usual lines about freedom of speech & how xyz group in society just need to get a sense of humour. throw in a bit of "PC gone mad", & if really pushed, apologise if anyone took offence (the non-apology that puts the blame squarely on every person but you). bonus points if you can fit in the words "panty-waisted", "thought police", "pinko-facist", or hey, even "namby-pamby".</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>if you don't get any takers the first time around, say something more outrageous the next time. and just keep pushing that boundary until finally the complaints flow. you know you're guaranteed a large segment of the population who will leap in to defend your right to be obnoxious, without the slightest bit of care towards the already marginalised group you have chosen as your target. you also know that said marginalised group doesn't have the numbers or the power to seriously challenge you in any way. and caring about people's feelings has already been accepted by our current cultural norms as a terrible thing to do.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>it's a safe strategy for anyone in the media, as long as you know where to toe the line. where paul henry went wrong was with his timing. had he made his comments regarding ms dikshit in a week when the commonwealth games weren't about to start, & when another nz'er was already under investigation in india, & when the government was concerned about securing a free-trade deal, then he would easily have got away with it, as he had so many times before. his producers, you will notice, suffered no negative consequences.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>but paul holmes, michael laws, hell pizzas, alcohol advertising companies & so many others carry merrily on, using the strategy to their advantage. they just can't lose. neither will the malborough express or the christchurch press. and mr nisbett won't be out of a job any time soon.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>and in the meantime, racist & bigotted stereotypes get more deeply embedded and entrenched in our culture. lack of basic empathy and humanity get tossed down the gurgler. and society becomes just that little bit more nasty, more fractured.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>if there's an answer to any of this, i haven't found it. all we can do is to keep challenging the stereotypes, and using our own freedom of speech to try to push back against this wall of hate. fully knowing that we're playing into the hands of the media that choose to put out this kind of thing as we do so.</b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-80799981108749992502013-05-26T21:08:00.001+12:002013-05-26T21:09:04.910+12:00a nice day<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i was expecting to have a bit of a quieter weekend, but things don't generally turn out as you expect!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>one thing i did this morning was to visit a friend, who <a href="http://kiwistargazer.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/visiting-friend.html" target="_blank">i wrote about last month</a>. well, i have to say that she is doing so much better, and it was lovely to see her happy and improving. she's out of hospital & in a rest home, and has an aim of getting well enough to go back to her own home.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i would hardly have believed it when i saw her a month ago in hospital, but she told me that she was determined not to accept what the doctors said & to fight for her health. i expected nothing less of her, which is why she is so dear to me. it really made my day to see her chatting & laughing.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>on a related note, i went to see the film "song for marion" on friday night. it was such a lovely movie, though really quite heavy with emotion. i felt like the film was sort of played out in my life today as i watched this friend & her husband interacting, and the loving warmth they shared. people can show their love in such intimate & unexpected ways, even when they don't realise they're doing any such thing.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>the "song for marion" theme carried on later in the afternoon when i went to see the GLOW Singers perform. they did a lovely selection of songs, including in maori, chinese & spanish. it really tied together the two parts of my day nicely.</b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-25022503210882117512013-05-23T22:42:00.000+12:002013-05-23T22:42:18.682+12:00this is unhealthy<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i'm not particularly impressed with this suggestion by the waikato district health board (wdhb), to reduce the waiting times at the hospital's emergency department:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><i>Visitors to Waikato Hospital's emergency department could soon be
handed leaflets after their consultation, telling them exactly why the
reason they were there did not rate as an emergency....</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><i>
</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><i>
</i></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><i>
An ongoing struggle to improve the times is being further hindered
by the high number of people who could easily have avoided going to the
ED, the board was told.</i> </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>the reason why the wdhb is concerned about emergency times is this:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><i>Under the Government's health targets programme, each of the country's
20 health boards are set a goal of having 95 per cent of admissions
being seen within the six-hour time frame. Waikato DHB sits in
joint-last place in the rankings on 86.9 per cent.</i> </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>the board knows the reasons why it can't meet its target: overloading. in fact, one of the board members even goes further and gives an accurate assessment of why this is happening:</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><i>Board member Ewan Wilson said he suspected many people would be deterred
by the fear of exorbitant weekend surcharges at medical centres, so
they headed straight to the hospital.</i></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>you would think then, that this board member would have something to say about the provision of affordable after-hours health care. perhaps he would reinforce the notion that people shouldn't be denied medical attention because they can't afford the basic cost of seeing a GP. he might have called on the government to rethink the way our health system is catering for those people inconsiderate enough to feel unwell and need a doctors outside of normal GP working hours.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>but there is none of that. instead, he thinks the wdhb "just need to get harder". in other words, they should discourage people from using the hospital's emergency department, without any concern about where they might go. many of those turned away would just not be able to afford the weekend rates at accident & emergency clinics, even with a community services card. there will be those who don't qualify for a card but are unable to afford the added up charges of a consultation and medicines.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>and if these people don't see a doctor within a reasonable timeframe, they could end up back in emergency & might need hospitalisation because their condition has deteriorated. so really, not much will have changed.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>there are also issues here about excessive profits being made by private providers of accident & emergency care. yes, they are providing a vital service, but i have a reasonable idea of the level of profits that are being made here, and i object to vulnerable people who really have very few options being forced to fork out on high fees just so these centres can make massive profits. again, it's not like they had a choice in being unwell - if they had any choice in the matter, i'm sure they would have chosen a much more convenient time.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i believe in universal, affordable public health care. i believe that access to health care is the right of every person in the country. and while i agree that doctors have the right to earn a decent living, i can't support excessive profits. especially because that is money that could be put back into the health system to provide better services for people who need it.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>we already know that the most impoverished people suffer from the worst health problems. if anything, the wdhb should be thinking of ways to get these people into the health system at the earliest possible stage of their illness. i appreciate they are constrained by government targets and government funding, but at the very least, they should be lobbying the government to change the system instead of trying to shame the sick people who turn up on their doorstep.</b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-3253502250168140392013-05-21T21:29:00.001+12:002013-05-21T21:29:35.187+12:00hamilton city adopts a living wage policy<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i've been making some steady progress on my campaign over the last couple of days. i have now set up a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/VoteAnjumRahman" target="_blank">facebook page</a> for my campaign, and you can find a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/VoteAnjumRahman/notes" target="_blank">policy document </a>there which sets out the my position on various issues. that document was developed by a group of people who have a similar vision for our city.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>a couple of weeks ago, i recorded this video giving a bit of background about myself & talking about why i'm standing for council:</b></span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wz0gicQUgyo" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>it's a bit longer than i intended, but then i always have so much to say - hence the blogging!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>as a reminder of why political activity and activism is so important, the hamilton city council has <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/8698674/Hamilton-City-Council-signs-up-to-living-wage" target="_blank">made a decision today</a> to adopt the <a href="http://www.livingwagenz.org.nz/" target="_blank">living wage policy</a>. it means that 80 council staff (about 10% of the total) will be remunerated adequately for their labour. this move will make hamilton the first city in nz to adopt the policy, and i'm really glad that our council has pushed ahead with it.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>the policy will be phased in over two years. at this stage it only applies to direct employees, and the next step is to have the policy applied to those employed by contractors hired by council. this kind of policy really makes a difference to people's lives - not just those 80 who will be affected, but also to the businesses where they will spend their money, thereby circulating more money through the economy.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>not only that but it will hopefully have the effect of increasing wages in other sectors of the economy as well. with private companies like the warehouse adopting the policy for permanent staff, we might yet have work valued in the way that it should be.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i'm heartened by the fact that 8 councillors supported the policy, with only 5 voting against. that makes it a strong statement by council, and it's a pity that the mayor was so much against it. i really hope this indicative of the feeling around the country regarding this policy. </b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-15766822576494113642013-05-16T23:32:00.001+12:002013-05-16T23:32:05.406+12:00the budget & democracy<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>so, the budget. there's a lot to say, but i really like <a href="http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/05/16/state-of-it-the-devil-is-in-the-detail-budget/" target="_blank">selwyn manning's summary</a> at the daily blog. and <a href="http://publicaddress.net/onpoint/budget-2013-bringing-down-the-house-prices/" target="_blank">keith ng's work</a> is, as usual, exceptionally good. it's not a budget that is going to solve any underlying problems in the economy. it's not a budget that will reduce income inequality, produce more jobs, or relieve poverty. while it was really good to see funding go towards home insulation & rheumatic fever, these are only dealing with symptoms & not causes.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>if you want to really solve those things, make sure people get decent wages, so that they can afford decent housing & they no longer suffer from the diseases related to poverty. i attended a human rights workshop today, and as part of the workshop, we talked about issues that needed to be resolved in nz society & the rights that were most important to us.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>the most important rights to this group were:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - the right to life & to physical safety</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - freedom from discrimination</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> - the right to democratic participation</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>the next most important was the right to work. for me, this is a crucial one, because the issues around housing, education, health & social cohesion tend to be resolved when people have a job that pays enough for them to live comfortably. crime is reduced, many health issues (including mental health) are reduced.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>and for me, democratic participation is one of the most crucial ways that citizens of a country can ensure that their right to work is protected. not only the right to have a job that pays decent wages, but also to working reasonable hours with sufficient breaks, and decent health & safety practices. the right to democratic participation allows communities the power to determine how their communities develop.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>there has been a significant attack on democratic rights over the 5 years. the most obvious is the use of urgency by parliament or the shortening of submission periods for bills that manage to get to select committee stage. this means that legislation is constantly being rushed through parliament, without sufficient consultation, so that the effects aren't well understood, and so that people don't have much of a chance to protest or to lobby for changes.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>but more than that, there have been significant attacks on the powers of local government, with a restriction on what local bodies can or can't do. the amalgamations of local government, starting with auckland and intended to roll across the country, means that local communities are losing power. then there is the fact that environment canterbury hasn't been allowed to have elections since this government came into power, and the rebuild of christchurch has also been suffering because of the removal of democratic processes.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>today's budget had yet another attack on democracy. there is a budget provision which will allow central government to over-ride local government should the latter not free up enough land for housing. so local communities will no longer be allowed to decide if they want to reduce urban sprawl and manage their housing needs in a way that doesn't require long commutes, expensive roading, and all the other additional costs of maintaining a larger space.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i find this appalling and incredibly depressing that the government can take away our powers of self-determination, the right to be consulted and to make decisions about our local environment. we deserve much better than this.</b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-10935600558348874352013-05-14T23:16:00.000+12:002013-05-14T23:16:07.973+12:00disney: being brave is not enough anymore<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i've put my blogging energy towards a post at the hand mirror tonight, about the proposed changes to a disney character that turns a strong, independent young woman into a more sexualised trophy figure. hope you'll take a few mintues to <a href="https://www.change.org/petitions/disney-say-no-to-the-merida-makeover-keep-our-hero-brave" target="_blank">sign the petition</a>.</b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-47695735417776558052013-05-13T19:13:00.001+12:002013-05-13T19:13:08.790+12:00hillcrest park guardians<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i went to a council hearing today to support the "hillcrest park guardians" group, who are seeking increased council funding for a playground. on the surface, it seemed to be a pretty small and localised issue, but it ended up being quite interesting.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>the guardians are a group that got together initially because of the way the park was being used. local high school students would often gather there and have fights. it wasn't particularly welcoming. so they started organising events there, and getting the community more involved with the park.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>they've been pretty successful with that - i was there yesterday for the "hillcrest park youth festival", largely organised by young people. there was music, food, nail polish, and with the beautiful weather, plenty of people having a good time. another example of young people contributing to their community, and being positive role-models for all of us really. there are plenty of older people who could learn a thing or 2 from these teenagers.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>a good park becomes a place of community - a place where neighbours meet & get to know each other. a sense of community that seems to be so much lacking these days, with the push for individual responsibility. not that i'm against the latter, more against the idea that the latter is the only thing that matters, and that we're losing that sense of also being responsible for and caring for each other.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>this particular group has also helped to create that sense of community through their activism. they gathered 500 signatures on a petition, and presented to council today, well backed up with facts and figures. they didn't just ask for more funding, they showed where that money could come from within existing budgets. essentially, there's another park very close to this one which has received almost 3 times the funding of hillcrest park, and the guardians are asking that proposed funding for that park be diverted to this one, given that the other park has had extensive development and maintenance in recent years.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>what was particularly inspiring to me today was the participation of young children in the presentation to council. they looked to be over 5 years old, and the presentation began with a child of around 10 years old giving a speech about what the park meant to him. the other kids were holding signs with pictures showing the current state of the playground & the park. i thought it was wonderful for these children to have practical experience of how their democratic system works, and i hope it inspires them in the future.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i was appalled to hear that earlier that day, the property council had submitted that parks should be sold & privatised, and more of the lands used for parks be opened up for housing development. aside from the health implications for the city, it showed such a callousness towards community and community spaces.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>and funnily enough, even though one speaker had clearly and simply explained where the funding would come from, councillor roger hennebry still felt the need to say there wasn't money available for the extension and upgrade of the playground. he would have been better off addressing the equity issues around one park getting much more funding than the other.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i'll await with interest the outcome on this. i think the group made some extremely good points and presented their case well.</b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-37286562605822841582013-05-10T00:12:00.001+12:002013-05-10T00:12:10.009+12:00letters<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i've had an interesting experience in writing letters to the editor lately. i've written before on <a href="http://kiwistargazer.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/the-power-of-one.html" target="_blank">the frankton markets</a>, and there seems to be a positive resolution to that situation. forlongs have been in negotiations and it looks like the markets are here to stay.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i attended the emergency council meeting on the issue, and managed to speak to a couple of stall-holders. they were people who were just trying to make a reasonable living in a difficult economic environment. so i wasn't too pleased to see a letter from tania hennebry , trustee of WEL energy trust & past council candidate, implying that these were people who were dodging taxes. it was a particularly negative letter, full of aspersions but with no evidence whatsoever.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>it moved me enough to write that she should get to know these people, and that marginalised people are more in need of advocacy than those who have the power and ability to use the legal and institutional processes in their own favour. having seen previous letters from ms hennebry, i was expecting an angry response. however, i wasn't expecting that she would use her position as a trustee of WEL energy trust to attack me.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>here's what she says, towards the end of a pretty long letter:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><i>Ms Rahman states "she will not be an advocate for these people, but prefers to side with those who don't need her advocacy at all". This is rather rich, considering she has benefitted from my advocacy in the past when seeking community funding from the WEL Energy Trust. Her judgement speaks volumes!</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>wow. the fact is that i've never personally benefitted as a trustee of any organisation. i've never taken a cent, not even petrol money. it's a nasty implication. but i really had to laugh when she finishes with this gem:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><i>There is an ugliness which rears its head at election time and doesn't belong in the Hamilton I knew and loved.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>it's just the sheer shamelessness of having this sentence immediately follow the preceding paragraph i quoted, and following a previous letter where she attacked stall-holders without evidence. although, from so many years of blogging, i should be used to people who make comments without logic or consistency, but i'm still surprised when i see something as blatant as this.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i'm sure i'll be getting a lot more of this as the months progress. that's the danger of speaking out, but i really couldn't let ms hennebry's first letter go unchallenged. i'm certainly not interested in responding in kind. it's just not who i am. i think political discourse and debate needs to move well beyond this level, and one can only lead by example so i've written another letter this evening making clear i've not received any personal benefits from WEL energy trust funding, and then gone on to talk about the issue of development of student accommodation in residential areas.</b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7515713317068251331.post-7411926961579303192013-05-07T22:00:00.001+12:002013-05-07T22:00:38.796+12:00RIP dr mike hills<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i went to a funeral today. another labour party stalwart. another man named michael. it's almost a year since <a href="http://kiwistargazer.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/rip-michael-robyns.html" target="_blank">i wrote about michael robyns</a>, a lovely man who gave generously of his time and money. and today i write about <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1305/S00020/obituary-dr-michael-hills.htm" target="_blank">michael donald hills</a>, known to us as mike, or more commonly as mikeandmarylyn because he & his wife were so close & they did so many things together.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>and again, as i did with the funeral last year, i came to realise how one-dimensional my knowledge of mike was. i knew him from the labour party and many a meeting we attended together, many an event we worked on. i knew him as a friend and a neighbour - mike & marylyn live on the same street and we would sometimes go to meetings together in an effort to carpool. i knew he was well-regarded in his career as a psychologist working at the university of waikato. i knew he was a father and grandfather, from the many trips he took to visit his grandchildren or the times when they came to stay.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>but these latter things, while i knew of them, were things i didn't witness myself and so they didn't really form part of the of the picture, as it were, of the person i knew. it was more a theoretical knowledge rather than a practical one. but today, hearing from his family and friends, and from work colleagues, we got a much fuller picture of how much he meant to so many people.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>i didn't know he suffered from epilepsy, although i knew he belonged to <a href="http://www.ibe-epilepsy.org/" target="_blank">an international body</a> that advocates for epilepsy. i hadn't realised the depth of his involvment both locally and internationally:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Frank Gouveia, Epilepsy New
Zealand’s Chief Executive said; <i>“Dr Hills involvement
with Epilepsy New Zealand goes back to the 1970’s. Mike
was instrumental in shaping New Zealand’s provision of
epilepsy information and support services, and in 1979 he
undertook a survey on epilepsy in the Waikato area which
resulted in the initiation and development of the Field
Officer service for Epilepsy New Zealand. It is this unique
service that formed the basis of Epilepsy New Zealand’s
service delivery to people with epilepsy and the New Zealand
community, and one which we are proud to say is still used
to this day”.</i></b></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>At the time of his death Mike was a
current Board Member of Epilepsy New Zealand; Executive
Committee Member of the New Zealand League Against Epilepsy;
and Chair of Elections Task Force for the International
Bureau for Epilepsy.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>you can get more of a sense of what he meant to the IBE by reading the <a href="http://www.ibe-epilepsy.org/mike-hills-book-of-condolence/" target="_blank">book of condolences</a> on their website. i don't think i can bear to read it today, but i know it will say things i do already know about mike. that he was someone who was always ready to work for others, he gave generously of his time & was just as happy working in the background with little recognition. he was thoughtful & very intelligent, and so was of as much value in an in-depth policy discussion as he was in organising a garage sale.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>today i learnt that mike was not only a member of the council of elders, he was also the chairperson. those who knew him from that organisation spoke similarly of his generosity and his competence. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>so tonight i'm going to mourn the loss of, as someone described him at the service, a good man. rest in peace, mike.</b></span>stargazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430290445762377335noreply@blogger.com0