Winston Smith has written movingly about a rare success story from his supported housing experience but observes;
Now, instead of holding up the likes of Catriona as a shining example that one's childhood doesn't have to pre-determine your path in life I have to listen day in day out to the disempowering mantra that young people with anti-social behaviour problems behave the way they do due to their negative childhood experiences. A convenient theory that then allows the young person to self destruct and the agents of state intervention to abdicate all responsibility.
Labour MP Kelvin Davis gets angry about Iwi benefiting from the privatisation of prisons;
I see some iwi are rubbing their hands together in glee at the prospect of being able to get rich by locking their own up.
It goes to show how high the aspirations of some of our Maori leaders are. We now aspire to bung the bros in the hinaki and watch the dollars roll in. The longer and more often we can put them away, the sooner we will be able to afford to expand the prison and lock even more away.
The Frogblog laments what they claim is the stacking of the Welfare Working Group with the "far right".
Presumably under pressure from ACT, the Government seems to be unable to resist finding places for wingnuts on the various advisory groups it is setting up. Yesterday it continued this trend by appointing Business Roundtable communications consultant and former ACT Party President Catherine Isaac (formerly Judd) to its Welfare Working Group.
Karl du Fresne nails it in his usual concise fashion;
THE LEFT keeps moaning that wages in New Zealand are too low, which is perfectly correct. They complain that the government hasn’t delivered the promised higher-wage economy – again, all true.
But just let anyone suggest that something meaningful be done to free up the economy, increase productivity and stimulate income growth – such as reducing taxes and government spending – and who’s the first to howl in protest? Why, it’s the Left.
And last but not least my friend John Ansell has written about an exhibition he went to see earlier this week. Thank you John.
1 comment:
Kelvin Davis has a more recent post on the same subject.
Mr Davis, by all accounts, did a stirling job, in Northland, turning a low decile,low achievement school into a school that any community would be proud of.
Sadly, Mr Davis has chosen a career in politics.
His skills, similar to those lost when Allan Peachey opted for politics also, are denied to those who benefit most.
Mr Davis, in this second post on the negatives of private prisons run by Maori, has some commendable views on where emphasis on early correction of bad behaviour could be concentrated.
These views are wasted on Red Alert.
They are wasted on Labour.
They are wasted in Parliament.
They would be valuable in his home community in Northland.
Unless he feels that the taxpayer should be funding this or it will not happen, then he could be steering countless young people destined for life on the wrong side of the law into a better direction.
Surely Iwi in Northland would embrace his foresight, and just as surely would approve Treaty payments being well spent in the pursuit of such worthy objectives.
Mr Davis has very real skills in promoting Maori achievement (not just Maori), but they will amount to nothing in the political cauldron.
He is an inspirational leader in the development of young people, but he is pitching to the wrong forum.
kurt
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