The Protest, The Backlash and the Perception of Freedom

 I heard a lot from the protesters that their ancestors fought for rights and blah de blah.

Yes, I know. Mine fought too.

But here is a key difference.

Regardless of WW1 or 2 or other conflicts, our people were invited to fight for those rights. Their 'king and country' made that invitation to go and fight for and defend those rights. They went as representatives of a nation. They were united as members of the BIE or later, the Maori Battalion and proudly they represented us all.

 I do not agree with how they were treated post conflicts, however, the call was issued and we went. Together!

 No one asked for this protest. It was self initiated. Some of its leaders were self aggrandizing on a massive scale. You didn't represent US as a people. You weren't fighting for me or my family and this is an example of what I will show my kids is NOT a cause that fought for you. I will still point them towards their whanau in WW2 who really made the sacrifices on their behalf. I will not show them that in 2022, at parliament, a rag tag bunch of loud mouthed self appointed zealots damaged the national Parliament grounds.

 You didn't even remotely come to a viewpoint I could in all conscience agree with. In fact, it seems by video taken and comments made by several participants that you couldn't even agree with yourselves. You had vaccinated arguing with anti-vax, you had a woman proudly declare that she was going to leave her husband of three decades or more because he got boosted. You had people setting fire to things despite the calls from others not too. There were so many messages that no one knew what you stood for in the end.

 You stand there, and blame others for your circumstances, decrying other peoples choices while claiming to stand for freedom of choice.

 I was accosted quite harshly by someone who said I was not making my own choice, belittling my desire to be precautious for wearing a mask. Despite what you may think, that IS my choice. If I was afraid I wouldn't have flown to Auckland or use public transport to get to and from work, or even go outside my doors. To me wearing a mask is no different than looking left and right when I cross a street. It's amazing that if my freedom of choice was contrary to what they thought my choice should be then its not really my choice.

 I've not always agreed with the actions of the government and yes, there has been damage done. People have lost jobs, circumstances have changed dramatically. Jobs and economies can be rebuilt. I've heard someone say that the people who have died have mainly been old or had issues. I snapped back to one person saying, "and that makes it ok? That justifies your witless statement?" Someone dying from cancer and just because their 81 makes it ok? Some simple human kindness seems to have gone amiss in recent years and is out of the ability for some now. Thats what is really sad.

 I have no issue with a right to protest, but protests have a message. They have a theme, and they have validity. No doubt that when the mandates lift and I believe they will soon, you will claim victory.

 Do I agree with all the police tactics? No. But I agree even less with the occupation (lets call it what it was), I deplore their treatment of Mana Whenua, especially at Pipitia, and some lady filled with her own self importance and getting seen by the world, she didn't bother to check her own geography.

 You've ignored calls from Mana Whenua and you've ignored calls from the Kingitanga to go home. So...who do you listen to? Not that it matters any way. This whole event will just be seen as a sad part of New Zealand history, consigned to a footnote in a wikipedia page.

 You complain about not being free? If this were any other country the Military would have been out in force and most of you, kids or not would have been in prison before now. Tear gas would have been used on mass and you’d have been dragged way in a trail of blood and sweat and there would have been deaths. You were and are absolutely free to protest. But another one of your confused perspectives is rights without responsibilities. You want the cake and eat it too.

 You absolutely have freedom of choice. But as with anything, choices come with consequences. You choose to drink and drive you accept the consequences. You choose to belong to a club, or a group that has specific standards or expectations, you forego things for that admission. Some places require you to do something as simple as wear shoes (or clothes for that matter) or face being denied entry. We have these mandates already in play yet suddenly this one comes up and it’s a problem.

 Maybe a bit more critical thinking than letting the rabbit hole suck you in. (Woops...too late).

Not time to deny another crisis is looming

 For those who tend to think I'm a little one eyed and I think the sun shines out of this governments posterior then take a read of this.

THIS IS NOT A TIME TO DENY WE ARE EITHER IN OR GOING TO BE IN SHORTLY, ANOTHER CRISIS.

We're still dealing with the impacts of a government who held the seat of power for 9 years, fiddled with the books to make surpluses look good, while selling off state housing assets, re-arranging numbers to make benefit numbers look better and denying a housing crisis existed, all while slashing spending on essential social services and failing to take action on children in state care because it "wasn't politically popular", that New Zealand does not need to have this again around the very real situation of costs of living.

Prime Minister. Don't be like John Key and his group. Not all of us sit pretty on larger six figure salaries and subsidised travel. A $12 block of cheese and $3 per litre gas may be ok for cabinet ministers who get driven around all day, but to those on the lower incomes, 'stuff's getting real'.

On a personal level, generally we are ok. We don't live in the lap of luxury but we're not on struggle street either but we are making choices we didn't have to make just a few short months ago. 40% of our income fortnightly goes on rent alone. It costs now $25 more to fully tank our car in the last four months and that is looking for the gas station that offers the most value for money. Generally I don't subscribe to the notion that there is a significant difference between one brand to another.

But what you as a government define as a crisis is irrelevant. No one cares about the apparent justifications as to why this and that happens. The issue is that these rising costs negate any impact that raises in minimum wage levels or pay increases have, therefore, individually, there is no economic benefit in real terms. You raise a benefit by say $3 a week, but my normal every day shop, or other living expenses top $3.50 or more, which easily right now can be done, then I'm actually worse off. That is a crisis. You're trying to tell me that my situation is not important and urgent. 

We all know that more than half of our cost of fuel alone is one form of tax or another. Whether that is a regional fuel tax, levies, GST, even a temporary cessation of one or more of these, even if it is not GST, would provide some relief from these impacts even faster, and more sustainably than increases in benefits and minimum wage rates. If we removed 30c per litre of levies, 10 litres saves someone $3, 20 litres $6. In my car alone from empty, about 55 litres, is about $16.50 a tank.

The sentiment I felt from this non-admission, was the same as I heard Dr Megan Woods last year on breakfast say that a $10 a week rise in rent is not detrimental.  To whom Dr Woods. Not to you? Surely not. But what about those who's weekly rent is tantamount to 60% of their income or more. Surely, in this governments second term they can't be that out of touch already. Some of the signs I am seeing are almost reminiscent of National's third term arrogance. 

I don't agree with Mr Luxon's plan either. Sadly the National party as previously stated have a tendency of fidgeting as opposed to fixing. The thing is if we lose income, our ability to spend is going to need to be fixed, and National was just as bad at borrowing as anyone else on average. Mostly because they were more like the government who was walking into the supermarket only to remember they had forgotten their wallet somewhere else.

But if we aren't in one right now generally, you cannot discount the fact that to many, we're already there and that any increases already planned for benefits and wage increases are already taken up with the cost of living.

If this isn't a crisis. What is?