The perils of a lower voting threshold
To those bemoaning the policy horse-trading of the new coalition government, welcome to the world of compromise politics.
You are now seeing a fairly benign version of what multi-party coalition members must accede to in order to move forward.
There could be a lot worse to come. That band of dreamy idealists we call the Electoral Commission — the ones who recommended that 16-year-olds have the vote — also want to reduce the party qualifying threshold for MMP to 3.5% from the present 5%.
Considering the current array of fruitcake parties seeking election, that outcome would be at best chaotic, and there are, of course, both amusing and tragic international examples.
On the faintly amusing side, Italy, with a 4% threshold, has had 69 governments since World War 2, one every 1.1 years on average.
Soberingly, Israel has a threshold of a mere 2% of the vote, meaning that every extreme religious group or ultra-right faction elected to the Knesset must be pandered to, in order to govern.
That result is horrific, as all can presently see.
Important conversations
The recent column by Dr Anaru Eketone (ODT 18.12.23) states that in relation to the recent vandalism at Te Papa, he would condone covering up what he believes is misinformation.
I believe that in his role as an academic, he should be more concerned about hiding information.
The Treaty of Waitangi took a great deal to reach agreed wording — bearing in mind that there was no written language in New Zealand prior to European arrivals.
But what is vitally important to grasp is just why the various tribes wanted to enter into such an agreement in the first place.
The answer was the inevitable result of the continuation of the Musket Wars which raged in New Zealand between 1806 and the mid-1840s. Of the estimated 100,000 to 150,000 Māori living in New Zealand in 1810, by 1840 it is estimated that between 50,000 and 60,000 had been killed, cannibalised, enslaved, or forced out of their former tribal lands.
The most authoritative history of these series of brutal wars can be found in R. D. Crosby’s The Musket Wars. Ron Crosby, a lawyer appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal, has produced an account of this period of history and his work has been widely acclaimed by many, including Michael King.
And yet, this period of our history so scholarly documented in this book, surely deserving of "conversations", is largely unknown. If New Zealand is going to have "conversations", then the basis of those discussions needs first and foremost to be based on truth.
On the other hand
An excellent column by Anaru Eketone on the principles of the Treaty. If only those on both sides of the debate would read and act upon it in good faith.
Sadly lacking
Astonishing scenes at the city council meeting of December 12, where the mayor voted against his own motion. Dunedin has enjoyed a range of high-calibre mayors in recent decades, who all had a grasp of how council works. That is sadly lacking now.
Crisis management
"It is now urgent" translates to "it should have been addressed some time ago".
"We take this very seriously," translates to "it is a failure of good management to regularly review and address issues and now there is a crisis".
Advance our own culture
Cultural expression, through the language of performance, is vital to the wellbeing of society and its subsets of tribal allegiances.
Ōtepoti's music tribes are well served by organisations which bear the city's name. We have a distinctive cultural expression via ensemble music, fine arts, theatre, and wearable arts.
We should be happy not to have strong representation in the current government. With any luck at all, we may be able to continue to develop a strong regional cultural expression to reflect our independence.
However, if national cultural organisations are unable to present the South with what they hope is a cultural expression of nationhood, then they need to change their titles. For many years now NZ Opera has not been a cultural force in Te Waka a Maui. NZSO seems destined to playing only token gestures. If neither can live up to their names their funds should be re-evaluated.
Southerners have the opportunity to develop cultural voices and taonga which will be a better fit. Self-reliance, via regional funding, is the order and the challenge of the day..
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
