Local Bodies: Our Vulnerable Less Safe Under National

Written By: - Date published: 1:25 pm, October 16th, 2012 - 7 comments
Categories: class war, crime, national, poverty, welfare - Tags: , ,

Dave Kennedy (bsprout) at Local Bodies…

“National is building a safer New Zealand. We’ve embarked on a comprehensive programme of reform to protect communities, prevent crime, and put victims first.”

So says National MP Eric Roy in his latest blog post where he claims credit for the improved crime statistics. What Mr Roy conveniently ignores that the highest levels of offending ever in New Zealand occurred under a previous National Government in 1992 and since 1997 overall offending rates have been in steady decline despite the Government in power. He also ignores the fact that it is crimes of dishonesty that has dropped most substantially but violent crime and domestic abuse is on the increase.

This is also no time for self congratulation. Children in New Zealand are at greater riskof injury or abuse than most other OECD countries (29th out of 30) and we are one of the worst countries in the OECD for assault mortality. Sexual assaults have also risen considerably (up 15% over the last year) and so have our levels of domestic violence (over 2000 more police callouts over the last year). Even though our elderly are amongst the wealthiest in the world our levels of elderly care are shameful when few rest homes can meet basic requirements. We live in a violent, uncaring society and our most vulnerable are suffering.

It appears that the majority of the money being spent by this National led government is focussed on the bottom of the cliff stuff. Money has been spent on extra police and there will be investment in a child abuse data base, both are dealing with effects, not the causes. Even the police have voiced concern that they are having to regularly deal with mental health sufferers (call outs have doubled over the last 10 years) who should be the domain of trained professionals and proper facilities rather than police cells.

New Zealand has one of the fastest growing levels of income inequity in the OECD and we are suffering all of the consequences of inequitable societies.What we need is investment in families so that parents can stay at home looking after their preschool aged children without guilt or having to live in poverty. We need investment in those who are at the front line of support so that they can be paid a living wage and we can attract the best people to do this valuable work (we shouldn’t have rest home ownersmaking huge profits on the back of a cheap workforce and minimum standards of care).

We need an increase in family incomes, more jobs, greater investment in early childhood education and teaching in general. We need a welfare system that actually supports people into better situations, not punishing them for not succeeding. I want to live in a country that considers money spent on helping people as an investment,not a cost.

This National led Government is not being honest about the real statistics regarding personal safety and if it was being really sincere about making a difference they wouldn’t be spending $12 billion on roads that don’t pass basic cost benefit analysis, $36 million on the America’s Cup challenge and only $20 million on saving our most vulnerable children.

7 comments on “Local Bodies: Our Vulnerable Less Safe Under National ”

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  1. tracey 1
    16 October 2012 at 3:44 pm

    I remember when national voters bemoaned the “we know best” attitude toward kiwis. Whatever else they are, no one has the arrogant we know best like this govt.

    • Dr Terry 1.1
      16 October 2012 at 4:35 pm

      Agreed, tracey.

      As one who has been involved both in helping mental health suffereres AND being himself a mental health sufferer, I agree totally that this is the domain of trained professionals and proper facilities. A few years back such was the case, until sufferers found themselves thrust back “willy-nilly” into the community to cope as best they could. Consequently, they end up thrust into cells and gaols, scapegoats of society.

      Sure there are government sponsored “mental health centres” which in my experience often employ poor quality staff and are inadequate to meet the enormous need that exists. We must restore in-house facilities for the mentally disadvantaged, where they receive caring treatment and “space” for rest, safety, and recovery prior to re-entry into the community at large.

      Yes, it is so true that money be spent on people as an investment, not a cost.

  2. karol 2
    16 October 2012 at 4:46 pm

    We need an increase in family incomes, more jobs, greater investment in early childhood education and teaching in general. We need a welfare system that actually supports people into better situations, not punishing them for not succeeding. I want to live in a country that considers money spent on helping people as an investment,not a cost.
     
    Agreed.  I fear for the kind of society NZ is becoming. I have no faith in the lauding of a drop in NZ crime, as shown by the official stats.  Partly it’s due to the changes in the way domestic violence incidents re recorded (as shown in the linked article in the post).
     
    Really good to see some of these statistics analysed.

  3. One Tāne Huna 3
    16 October 2012 at 5:48 pm

    Simple stuff. In any sensible discussion it would be apolitical.

    The government is wedded to ideology. not facts, not truths, not even truthiness.

  4. PlanetOrphan 4
    16 October 2012 at 6:03 pm

    Well said “Notices and Features”

    There’s one reason things improve in Aoteoroa , “The People”

    That Gnats’ trying too steal credit for these things makes me sick.

    • Dave Kennedy (bsprout) 4.1
      16 October 2012 at 6:35 pm

      PlanetOrphan-National is also trying to take credit for the Greens home insulation scheme at the same time as claiming that the Geens have nothing positive to offer. There is so little that they have done that has proved successful that they have to take credit for others’ ideas.

      • PlanetOrphan 4.1.1
        16 October 2012 at 6:38 pm

        Damn good people those Greens , bless them 🙂

        And the Gnats’ are trying to prosecute Kim Dotcom for copyright infringement ….. bloody Hypocrites M8!.

        All Gnats’ are the worst plagiarists in Aoteoroa M8!