The New Zealand of my youth was a relatively uniform society – although there were variations in wealth as there are today it did not seem to impact on the interactions between people – it was an egalitarian society. It was a bit like having a very large middle class with only a small bit of variation at the very top and the very bottom.
At that stage Maori issues had not really raised their heads which does not mean they did not exist, because for sure they did. Under the surface it was a very tough society – the frontier spirit if you want to put a warm wash on it – but there were serious but hidden problems about the treatment of immigrants, child abuse, ethnic groups, and mental patients for example. It was risky to be too different. But to all of that, the average New Zealander was oblivious.
New Zealand is no longer an egalitarian society, if it ever really was. There are now obvious layers in society and that has created divisions in the ways the people are treated, Some of the problems created are quite enduring and frequent the headlines. Problems like:
- Child poverty
- Family violence
- The homeless
- The incidence of crime and of “criminals”
- Underperformance in education.
And whether we like it or not there is a strong ethnic element to these issues some of which is not entirely rational, and there is some resistance in the so called middle classes (those who pay tax on salaries and wages mainly) to allowing governments to tackle the underlying causes. The most obvious ethnic element is that associated with Maori – without doubt Maori are over represented in all of the problem areas. There is a converse ethnic element with issues like the purchase of houses in Auckland (the data show clearly that Chinese buyers are a minor part of the market) and immigration.
The causes are complex (I would not to pretend to know what they all are although some are easier to discern than others) and require sophisticated, comprehensive long term solutions. However, the solutions handed out by Government – with the tacit approval of the middle class majority – are generally superficial and aimed at relieving symptoms rather than addressing underlying causes.
It all makes for a society which makes you feel slightly uncomfortable at times, but I guess the degree of discomfort is not enough to produce enough pressure for action. Government and Opposition know this very well. These days they both do their own very sophisticated polling and know pretty much where the electorate stand on most issues.
It is easy to say that the solution lies with Government but in a fundamental sense I don’t think that is the case – the solution lies with us, the people! We need to give the message that we are prepared to fund and accept what may sometimes be difficult action and over the long term not just the short term. At the core of any solutions there must be a community consensus that:
- Economic factors like levels of income are fundamental drivers and severe inequalities drive other problems
- Some forms of behaviours are unacceptable to the community
- Finding and implementing solutions will require political fortitude and the electorate needs to signal that it understands and supports that,
All of this is not to say that we have not made progress because we have. Because of the digital age there is a flow of information on these and other topics so that ignorance is no excuse, society in general is more tolerant than it used to be, and there is a genuine political will to tackle some of these areas. There are also community groups who are doing outstanding work on particular issues. But we need much more…
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This is another of Bas Walker’s posts on GrownUps. Please look out for his articles, containing his Beachside Ponderings.
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