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NZNE Newsletter #8 for Sunday, January 1st, 2023

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Social justice is very much in the eye of the beholder

Unlike social justice, traditional criminal justice doesn’t attempt to create positive outcomes beyond a baseline level of preventing direct harm. Social justice is much more ambitious, ambiguous, and contentious than criminal justice. For much of the political spectrum, it means equality of opportunity, while for the far left it means equality of outcomes. Those pushing for equality of outcomes tend to argue that those who disagree with their “superior” opinion are not only wrong, but deserving of condemnation. If a dispute has to be resolved, the arbiter – whether a judge, commissioner, or other public servant – is supposed to be impartial. But these kinds of issues are inherently subjective and partisan, much more so than deciding whether an accused broke a criminal law. The arbiter may be impartial in that he or she doesn’t know either of the parties, but the arbiter will often have an ideological leaning.

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NZNE response to recent articles on co-governance -Part 1

Recently, two articles on co governance appeared in the mainstream press. The Herald article’s title, Who on Earth is Hurt by Co Governance? is somewhat misleading because the article is in relation to the more limited version of co governance that currently exists within the NZ healthcare system. It is not in reference to the radical and expansive form of co governance that has just been passed as part of 3 Waters. Co governance is controversial when it threatens to undermine democratic principles of one person-one vote. When the interpretation of co governance changes and democracy is not being undermined, the controversy around co governance tends to subside. Co governance as an extension of the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi boils down to the policies of the Government of the day. Voters are best to understand where each party stands on co governance and vote accordingly.

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NZNE response to recent articles on co-governance -Part 2

The author of the Herald’s article, Rob Campbell, is the chair of Health NZ and a Labour appointee. So he is presumably pre-vetted to be supportive. Campbell has fully bought into the narrative that the Health system is at least substantially to blame for a shorter Māori life expectancy, not other factors including personal choice. Campbell seems to think the answer is no one is hurt by a dual system but we can think of many who are, for instance the taxpayers if 2 systems are less efficient

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COVID response inquiry ignores fundamentals

It seems the Commission will not address many of the issues the public and political opposition want addressing. This could be a big election issue as parties campaign on expanding the mandate.

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Government attempts to control the narrative -Part 2

Controlling the narrative includes the Government gaming OIA requests and ‘nudging’ ‘bad actors’ off social media. Is Government interference with private interests even legal?

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A shift to fiscal conservatism for this Labour government?

FM Grant Robertson says it's time for government finances to be “more prudent”, and "We need to be flexible, careful, and balanced.” Fiscal prudence is an awfully long way off the present tack. The actions of the Labour Government still seem at odds with the goals of the RBNZ to dampen the economy.

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