Fairness is in New Zild parlance means 'giving everyone a fair go in life, in business and in whatever sport anyone may choose to participate in' from tiddleywinks to professional golf. It also means fairness in employment whether the employer or the employee, whether employed full time or part time or casually.
Transparency International released a report letting us all know we were considered by the remainder of the world and who found us generally without corruption in comparison to other first world nations, but the report went onto say that we had done little to deal with any weaknesses in New Zealand business since 2003.Not only had the present government not ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption but we had done little to extend the very necessary need to protect and extend the integrity we New Zealanders expect particularly from our Politicians.
As New Zealanders we have always been aware of the problems around lobbying and the power wielded by the Prime Minister and Cabinet, oft times inappropriately it would seem to outsiders - the results justifies the means to the end result. The partnerships we see under MMP would seem to be about who holds the power rather than what if best for our peoples, our country and our future as a clean green independent and able nation.
Lately these problems have become the focus of the media, though probably not the focus of the long term unemployed, hungry young people and those without a roof over their heads.
A number of years ago Parliamentarians decided that they wished to run Parliament like a Private Business, with all its shades of black and grey and to that end the necessity for all Heads of Government Department not to present responses to Parliamentary Questions etc. in an honest, non politically coloured and honest manner but from then on all Government Departments were apparently expected to take on board the politicians in powers requirements for the future of our country without reference to proof that whatever they wanted might not be best for New Zealand and New Zealanders, our land and rivers, our education and health, our business and employment and anything else that affects the population as a whole.
As we have seen in the past few weeks we are steadily going down the gurgler in most aspects of life in New Zealand - poverty education, housing and health.
Throwing money at problems, as the present Government does, will not result in a resolution of the problem, as would seem apparently to be the way in private business and industry. What government has failed to note would seem to be that in private business and industry people are employed to work out resolutions an options towards problems whether sales to market, engineering problems or simply the manner in which the business functions, because if they do not employ people to do this the business owners business will crash, close or simply fade away and yet again more people will be unemployed.
It is a bit like the present problems of an enormous shortage of trades people in New Zealand - builders, plumbers, electricians, painters and decorators, drain layers etc. Some twerp of a politician was heard to pronounce that if industry needed tradespeople then they would pay for their training and therefore the big three Government Departments of Railways, New Zealand Post Office and Telegraph and the Ministry of Works would cease to sponsor trades training as they had done for many years before.
Did private industry take up paying for the training of trades people from apprentice / cadet to full registration? No. Why should they, they could now bring people in from overseas to do the work. We are now mortifyingly short of trades people and guess what we also have a lot of 16 to 30 years olds without work and for whom trades training may well have been the solution.
The final result of this process saw the sale of these successful Government businesses to private industry. Hurrumph
We used to respect those people who were thinkers, for their ability to consider the future based on the present and the past and planning that future for the business of Government Departments and its customers whether they be parliamentarians, business people or other government departments. The result was business grunt developed through knowledge and continual attention to detail and the necessity to engage in community we call New Zealand.
The best example I have of that is the loss of industrial inspectors as a cost saving activity. Of course private and public industry would care for their workers and there would be no major hiccups if there were no overseer inspectors to assure the workers (and the government departments, private industry and small and big business)that things were safe. Well this concept did not work and private and public industry have not stepped up to lead the drive for a safe workplace and it is the small business and big business owners that cut costs and corners and without a separate and independent inspectorate the losses of lives and limbs will continue.
I think the comparison is the judiciary which continues to fight hard to keep the politicians out of its business and remains independent, aiming at all times to keep its integrity in place and openly available for review and further consideration from its clients, the general public.
Parliament needs to realise that although presently we are seen to be corruption free it takes a great deal of hard work to maintain the standards, know about what needs to be done and to manage the necessary processes to assure New Zealanders we aim to remain corruption free of don't the politicians care?
Come on the Government we need you to show real integrity towards our peoples not just to throw money at problems and bring in overseas trained people to do the work. Lets see a bit more fairness and open-ness in your work for us, because that is whom you work for not yourselves and business.