Sunday, September 18, 2016

The UN should mind its own business

It incenses me when the UN sticks its nose into New Zealand's social and political affairs. Anne Tolley has apparently been challenged in Geneva over child poverty and naming the new agency the Ministry for Vulnerable Children. According to RNZ:

"...Unicef NZ executive director Vivien Maidaborn, who was part of the delegation, said the panel had expressed concern about the new ministry.
"The comment that was made was, 'I don't understand why you would call a Ministry the Ministry of Vulnerable Children when it could just have been the Ministry of Children. You're in danger of overtargeting towards vulnerable children at the expense of rights to all New Zealand children.'"

This is bullshit.

Most New Zealand children do not need the government in their lives. They do not need a Ministry. Their parents give birth to them, care for and feed them, raise them and send them into the world without any help from a government agency that concerns itself with the care and protection of children. Sure they might receive some tax subsidy and use public education and health services but that is the nature of the beast right now.

Around 3-5 percent of children are in circumstances that even a libertarian would acknowledge  (in the absence of private charities) require state intervention. The argument is about the nature and timing of that intervention.

Seriously, how can genuinely vulnerable children at risk of abuse, neglect, and failure to develop, be 'over-targeted'?

New Zealand has every right to tackle its own problems in the way it believes will work best. I know what I would have said to the UN.


7 comments:

Allan said...

Well said Lindsay, I couldn't agree more with your comments. The UN in my opinion is a total waste of time and money, filled with individuals Who think that they are important who spend their days sticking their noses into other countries business. They should be treated with the contempt and disdain they deserve. The MSM gives them far to much publicity and like you my blood boils when I read the clap trap that is put out by these idiots.

Anonymous said...

Look on the bright side: the UN has less than six months to run. President TRUMP will pull funding and then it's all over.

Around 3-5 percent of children are in circumstances that even a libertarian would acknowledge (in the absence of private charities) require state intervention.

Nope: whether or not their are private charities, there are no circumstances when state intervention is required --- or even should be permitted. it really is that simple.

Kiwi Dave said...

It sounds job protection to me - hey, I know what's going on in NZ and I'm doing something about it.

Don W said...

@ Anonymous
" There are no circumstances when state intervention is required".
So you don't believe in a state police force or a state defense force .?

Anonymous said...

" There are no circumstances when state intervention is required".

there are no circumstances when state intervention is required to deal with the situation of children

So you don't believe in a state police force or a state defense force .?

certainly not a state police force. Most policing in advanced capitalist countries is private already: given e.g. Texas-style gun laws, there is no need for state police to rights other citizens do not. State defence should also be outsourced to private providers, especially once liberal delusions like the "Geneva conventions" and "non-proliferation treaties" are eliminated.

Don W said...

@ Anonymous
Are you suggesting that children don't have the right to be protected from harm.? So if they are born into a bad family situation, then it is their bad luck,?
If police and defense was privatized how long would it be before they became a gang of mercenaries working for the highest bidder and instead of protecting our rights, violating them.

Anonymous said...

Are you suggesting that children don't have the right to be protected from harm.? So if they are born into a bad family situation, then it is their bad luck,?

Self-sufficient nett-taxpaying citizens have rights. The most important right is freedom from interference by the government. All other rights flow from that. If you wish to set up a private charity or company to help out parents, go right ahead.

If police and defense was privatized how long would it be before they became a gang of mercenaries working for the highest bidder and instead of protecting our rights, violating them.

Private police would clearly do better than the state police we have now - at least, we could fire the company and hire another one. Policing is no different to roading or water or rubbish collection or internet --- something much better provided freely in the private sector. And as I said above: most "policing" in NZ and the US is already private. There are 1500 private police companies in NZ compared with just one state police force; The private security industry is worth at least $3 billion compared to the entire police budget of about $1.5Bn.