UPDATES

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This is a follow-up post to this one.

I don’t usually do hyperbole, nor am I a pessimist. I take the attitude, one which I have taught my 22 year old daughter, that anything is possible, perhaps not the way in which you perceived the outcome could be achieved, but possible with some lateral thinking. I take on challenges simply to prove people wrong. I am classed as a “type A” person. I stay busy. I am generally an ambitious, positive, goal-oriented human being. I am the only sibling to have a university degree, and of course I couldn’t be an under-graduate, I had to get a Masters degree in Law (second class honours, first division). I worked my butt off to form a client base and become an owner of a firm. I have done dozens of triathlons and other endurance events over the period of 20 years, including three Ironman triathlons. I am currently learning Mandarin. I am, as my wife tells me, a “high achiever”. I like living life to the full and working toward the next goal. Presently, I don’t have one, which has led me to struggle mentally over the last two years, because I cannot “drift” through life. It’s just not me.

One of the reasons I decided a few years ago that entering parliament was not for me is simply that I did not believe that under MMP, my style of personality would achieve anything. Sure, I get consensus, and the 80/20 principle and all that. I am a committed team member, as exhibited by my 26 years membership of the Act Party. And believe me, the party has been through some rough and tough times, but apart from a small foray into National in 2018, I’ve used Dave Dobbyn’s words, and stayed loyal. Loyalty is both a strength of mine, and a weakness. But if I could not be an “achievement politician”, I was not interested. Trading on the margins of MMP to get a “small win” isn’t, and wasn’t, for me. This is important to what I write below.

What’s this all about? Well, that’s a general background into my personality profile. I provide it to show that I am the antithesis of a pessimist. I genuinely believe that most people are good and can be trusted (another weakness). I practice Mind Power (John Kehoe), positive affirmations and the like.

So there you go, my book has been opened.

Why am I telling you this? Because with this post I am about to be the most negative on this country I could possibly be: The general background being provided lest I’m accused of being a “negative nelly”.

First, why should I, or do I, care?

We had friends around for dinner last night and the general topic of the direction this country is going in came up. One of the guests, a female, said, as I got agitated over various issues and described how I often wake up at 3am with my brain racing, that I think about it things too much and to just enjoy the moments in life. In other words, and she actually said this, I shouldn’t care. I should just enjoy life because you can’t change anything. I have tried that. I really have. But my DNA prevents it. My mother is a feisty, spirited, tough widow from Northern England and in all of her 86 years she has not backed down to anyone. She’s the toughest, and most opinionated, person I know, also with the biggest heart, and I’m her son. It’s in the blood. I’m a person that is passionate about many things, and this country is near the top of those. So I cannot sit idly by and watch this country, my home for 53 years, deteriorate around me.

Deteriorate? Really?

Well, yes. And rapidly. For the remainder of this post, I’m only going to provide excerpts of information and leave the readers to draw their own conclusions.

Every statistic on every social scale is heading south, and quickly. I’ll start with the most important one in my book: Education. If, into the future, we are to limit or reduce crime, and if we are to raise wages and provide better standards of living, then these will only be achieved with a highly educated society. Where do we start with education.

Education

The Oracle on this stuff is Alwyn Poole. His musings on Kiwiblog are mandatory readings. Independent economist, Cameron Bagrie, summarises it neatly, “Education today defines the economy in thirty years. The school kids of today are the
business owners and leaders of tomorrow. We are in trouble if you look at attendance and achievement.”

Declining literacy and numeracy (i.e. students in our schools not being able to read and do basic maths).

Alarming results have come from a pilot of new literacy and numeracy assessments for NCEA. The new assessments are scheduled to be introduced as part of the Ministry of Education’s review of the NCEA system.

Just one third of the pilot students passed the writing assessment, and only two thirds passed each of the reading and numeracy assessments.

Maori and youth in general being left behind.

Rapidly falling attendance (i.e. truancy).

Budget deficits at Otago University from falling enrolments.

The shambolic polytech merger.

Economy

Current account deficit the worst it’s been in 32 years. If it continues, there is huge currency risk for this country, amongst other economic fallout. It bears pointing out that this current account deficit is worse than Greece.

Largest increase in food prices in 32 years.

A 300% increase in government debt since 2008- a period of only 14 years.

Crime

Violent crime up 33% since 2017.

Not only is violent crime shooting through the roof, there are fewer prosecutions, fewer convictions and fewer prison sentences.

Retail crime skyrocketing.

Then there’s health, health and health.

In the middle of nurses leaving for Australia by the thousands, see this:

At least state home housing waiting lists have improved :).

Feel free to discuss all of this in light of the Australian government’s decision to provide simple access to its economy for Kiwis now. I have to say that at a personal level, it’s looking very attractive. It will become even more attractive if either Chris is prime minister after this year’s election.

I’m really trying to stay positive for this country but these declines are going to be exceptionally hard to turnaround unless hard decisions are made. And I just don’t see either main leader with the intestinal fortitude to do that.