Successful Beach Bid a Slap in the Face for Government?

We did it! We came together and we bought a beach! From the random musings of two mates over Christmas to nearly 40,000 of us donating what we could or wanted, we as a nation now have a new addition to our DOC estate. A beach that was in private hands is now to become part of the Abel Tasman National Park, which surrounds it. This is great news and the perfect, and right, result to this story. It will be a fantastic addition to an already stunningly beautiful National Park.

However, while we all celebrate the purchase of this amazing part of our nation, and rightly so, I can't help but feel a tinge of sadness over this whole process. Sadness because it shouldn't have needed to require two mates kicking off a crowd-funding appeal to have this beach added to the DOC estate. The government should've stepped in and just purchased the land and added it to the surrounding National Park. But, unfortunately, for too long the government stayed quiet and non-commital. They are the "Johnny come lately's" in this process. The spin doctors in Wellington will be working hard to sell this as a great win for New Zealand and that the government is rapt to see the passion of thousands of Kiwis, as well as being proud to partner with all of those Kiwis in purchasing this land.

But the reality is a lot different. I'm sure that DOC would've liked to have just purchased it when the land was about to go up for sale but the reality is that their budget has been consistently slashed in budgets and their funding wouldn't allow it. It is hard enough for them to have enough money to continue their conservation work without partnering with businesses and community groups - something that the current government is keen to encourage and promote. The minister could have chosen to get involved. So could the PM, who after all is the Minister of Tourism. Cabinet could've come together and decided to purchase the beach for all New Zealanders. But they didn't. And despite this beach being in former Conservation Minister Nick Smith's backyard, it was up to the public to ensure this beautiful beach is added to the Crown's responsibility. Instead the government and the minister stayed silent and in the shadows until it looked like the thing might actually work! It was spineless, sad and very disappointing.

But there is another part to this which is encouraging. We, the people stood up. We made ourselves heard and it is a message that has rung loud and clear from Cape Reinga to Bluff but most clearly heard across the Cook Strait in the halls of Parliament. It is a message that unequivocally says that we Kiwis care about our land and our country and we want our government, who we elect to run the nation in our stead, to listen to us. It states that losing land, whether pristine beach or big farms to wealthy interests is not necessarily in the best interests of our nation. We stood up to the powers that be and said that we want to see the right thing done by the country. We declared that not everything is about money. Some things are more important than a healthy balance sheet or economic prosperity.

It was right that Awaroa Beach was bought and added to the Abel Tasman National Park. It was and is the only sensible decision and the only one in the best interest of our nation. It also says that we aren't as happy with the job the government is doing, despite what there advisors like to tell them and the media. It reminds them that we, the voting public, should never be taken for granted.

So, I say a huge thank you and congrats to Duane and Adam and their team. I say a huge thank you and congrats to the nearly forty thousand who gave. And I say to the politicians, pay attention. We won't go quietly into the night. We want what's best for our entire country, not just for a select few. Don't ever take us for granted.

NZ Awards - Predictable and disappointing

I know that I may get a bit of flak for what I say here so let me start by saying that this is not a criticism of the people involved but rather an observation of how shallow and narrow focused we are as a country.

So last night the New Zealander of the Year was named. And whilst there has been an overwhelming positivity over Richie McCaw winning, when I heard the news I felt a tinge of disappointment, even saying to myself "shame". I felt that tinge of disappointment even more when I heard that Lydia Ko won the Young New Zealander of the Year. Now, I'm not anti-sport. In fact, far from it. I love sport. I love how it can bring people together. I love how exciting and enjoyable it is. To be fair I am quite the sports fan. I celebrated the All Blacks winning the Rugby World Cup. I happily enter into office banter about how a team is going, who should be in or not and all that can be talked about in sport. I have also loved watching the rise and rise of Lydia Ko, marvelling at how composed she is and how easy she makes the game of golf look.

But, and here is where my disappointment lies, picking a sports person as New Zealander of the Year is too easy. It is too predictable and to be honest it is disappointing. What it does do is show how sports orientated this country is. I know there are people who feel that Richie particularly deserves his award but what exactly has he done? Sure, he lead a team of well paid professional athletes to victory in a competition we as a nation feel is ours by right. But that's about it. In the scheme of things it enabled us to forget about the challenges of life for a short while, but apart from the lasting effect this achievement will have in the statistics books, what else has it achieved?

It makes it particularly hard to swallow when the other two finalists have done some very important, significant things that are having, and going to have an ongoing and lasting effect on our society.

Rob Fenwick is a ground breaker, showing that business and environmentalism can go hand in hand. Not only has he looked to grow his commercial interests, but he has done it without compromising on his belief in conservation and sustainable development. He has served on a number of boards with a focus on conservation and sustainability. The company he co-founded, Living Earth, has converted millions of tons of waste into compost.

Then there is Louise Nicholls. If there is ever a person who embodies courage, strength and determination, Louise is it. Not only did she have the courage to speak out over being sexually assaulted by policemen when she was a teenager, she never gave up and had to endure and battle through five court cases. She wanted to hold the men responsible to account and her determination has seen the courts and police look at how they treat sexual violence victims. Now she is working with the police to improve their understanding of what a victim goes through. Her tireless efforts will see generations of police show my concern, compassion and care for sexual violence victims. Our society will benefit from her work for years to come.


And for me this is where the rubber hits the road. We as a society would rather celebrate the momentary joy of a sporting win and immortalise it than celebrate the tireless efforts of others. We would rather find our societal validation in our sporting achievements than take pride in the efforts of our fellow Kiwis to make not just this country, but the world a better place for us and our children. WE elevate sports to a place it does not deserve. And that is sad. Yes it is good to honour our sportspeople, but hey we already do that with their own awards night (the Halbergs). The NZ Awards should be an opportunity to celebrate the amazing achievements of our fellow Kiwis in other areas. 

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 It was great to read this morning to see someone else writing about the disappointing result of the NZ Awards. Alex Braae explains why Louise Nicholls would be a better winner, and I agree - Louise would have been my first choice too.
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/alex-braae-louise-nicholas-should-have-won/

Time to Kill that Attitude!

This week has been interesting. Two incidents have caught people's attention and left me pondering. The first was the entirely inappropriate and utterly disgusting language and behaviour of the two young men who injected themselves into Kim Vinnell's live cross into "Story" on TV3 on Monday night and then the subsequent comments they made the following night when challenged by Kim. The second was the story of the Return of Kings planning mass meetings globally, including in New Zealand. Both incidents were disgusting and sickening, and unfortunately, both showed young men in a very bad light and highlighted an underlying sexism in our culture that needs to be buried and never resurrected again.

Much has been written about the disgusting behaviour of the two young men who injected themselves into a live broadcast and used the phrase "f*** her right in the p***y". When did this ever become a thing to say? It is gross, foul and abhorrent. Just as abhorrent has been the number of people who have jumped in and attacked Kim, and trying to blame her and her camera operator for being disorganised and allowing this to happen. Some of the same people, as well as others, have also defended the two young men with pathetic throw away lines like "it's just boys being boys". The sad fact is this is exactly the same as saying a woman deserved to be raped because of the clothes she was wearing, claiming "she was asking for it because of what she was wearing". It shows an attitude that permeates male culture and needs to end.

And before men jump up and down and claim they have never condoned rape, ask yourself these questions: have you ever joked with male friends about a woman's sexuality or what she would be like in bed?; have you ever looked at pornography?; have you ever oogled at scantily clad woman in photo shoots?; have you ever compared women with friends and rated them in a top 10?; have you ever caught yourself looking at a woman and thought instantly about aspects of her body (for example, "nice arse", "check out those breasts!")? Let's not kid ourselves men, we are all guilty of allowing this attitude to grow and fester to the point that we claim it is all just a bit of harmless fun, or boys simply being boys.

And that brings me to the "Return of Kings" group - an online group who believe women should be controlled by men and whose founder reportedly believes rape on private property should be legalised. I am relieved that the planned meetings have been cancelled due to the justified outrage over this group. However, I am also saddened and sickened to think that fellow men in New Zealand would be interested in being part of this group. But I also realise that in male culture there is a very fine, blurred line between what is seen as acceptable and what is seen as disgusting and inappropriate. In fact, that line has become so blurred for many men it is easy for them to express their disgust at a group like Return of Kings and then joke with their mates about some attractive woman they've just seen walking down the road.

Both stem from a wrong attitude about women. It is an attitude that says that women are less than men. It is an attitude that says it is okay to talk about a woman as if she was some object or thing to possess. It is an attitude that says that men are the ultimate authority and women must be submissive. It is an attitude that says a woman's place is in the home, cooking for their man and looking after the babies. It is sexism pure and simple. As hard and challenging as that may be to read, that is the sad reality. Sexism still exists in this country. It isn't just in the extremities of society or found in deep dark alleys of our culture. It is widespread. We just don't talk about it. We pretend it isn't there or that it is just a bit of fun. And it is time it was dead and buried.

I challenge all men to speak out. To tell their friends that those comments or attitudes aren't appreciated. You may face a bit of ridicule or ribbing. You may be challenged by the perpetrators (who'll be your mates, colleagues, or family) with comments like, "come on, it was just a bit of fun"; "oh, don't be so sensitive" or worse "oh stop being so self-righteous!" You may even be reminded of time when you said similar things, or participated in the same unhealthy conversations. But hold firm. Admit your failings in the past. But don't compromise. If enough of us speak up and challenge us we can kill this attitude off.