Politics in New Zealand

Before you start thinking that this is the Mecca of peace, prosperity, and scenic views, do consider a few aspects of New Zealand politics, government, and economics:

Does New Zealand have a constitution?  Most people I’ve asked say “not really.” The World Book notes: “The United Kingdom gave New Zealand a constitution in 1852, when it was a British colony. But through the years, the New Zealand legislature has changed almost all its provisions. For all practical purposes, the nation today has no written constitution.”  Their tax rate is very high; with income and GST combined, their top rate approaches 50%.  There are numerous social benefits for the unemployed, single parents, homeless, etc….even a stipend for $400/week if you are an Artist.  Some people bemoan the fact that in various situations, you can get more money in welfare than you could by working full time! The redistribution of wealth is in full swing, and there seems to be no abatement in sight.

NZ has had a socialist, feminist, (and believed-to-be-a-lesbian) Prime Minister (their chief exectuive) in office for 8 years now. Some families I’ve met are desperately hoping she will lose the next election, but she’s evidently somewhat corrupt, basically buys votes from the public by promising extravagant benefits, and supports a lot of anti-family laws and programs.  One one hand, we can look at this and think, “Yes, I suppose we can survive a Hillary presidency like NZ survived the Helen Clark regime,” but on the other hand things are evidently a lot worse here than they were a decade ago.

One example of such is the recently passed national “Anti-Smacking” law, which makes spanking children illegal, even though over 70% of the general public did not favour the bill. Most homeschoolers are very much against this, and trying to collect signatures for a referendum to overturn it, but I get the sense that many of them feel that their government is out of control, and that the socialist, atheist state is now a permanent fixture. The general feeling I get is that most people feel revival is very unlikely if not impossible. Many are leaving for Australia, and there’s even signs up trying to discourage the “brain drain” that’s happening. 

Really, I doubt that the future here is much brighter than it is in the US or Canada. Although the population is small (just over 4 million for the whole country), there seems to be a strong central government that gets reelected by promising the redistribution of wealth to those who can’t or don’t want to work. Although their government has no great debt, their economy is very tied to the US, and they will definitely suffer during the coming global depression.  (Note: always end your blog post on a positive note!)

However, the people I’ve met are happy, caring, cheerful, hardworking folk, and so whatever the state of politics, there will always likely be some who will keep on praying for their country, and their National Anthem is a gem. One would think that as long as they don’t change that song, they’ve got a chance.  The first two verses are:

God of Nations at Thy feet, In the bonds of love we meet, Hear our voices, we entreat, God defend our free land. Guard Pacific's triple star From the shafts of strife and war, Make her praises heard afar, God defend New Zealand.   Men of every creed and race, Gather here before Thy face, Asking Thee to bless this place, God defend our free land. From dissension, envy, hate, And corruption guard our state, Make our country good and great, God defend New Zealand.   You can read the whole thing and/or hear it at: http://www.mch.govt.nz/anthem/index.html