When a Government Does Not Plan to Listen

An article by Frank    7 Comments

The current situation we have been putting a spotlight on with NZAid and Murray McCully has been a revealing issue. What it has revealed relates to the fragility of democracy, the reality of political speak and the danger of preconceived agendas.

I did not vote for either of our major parties here in Aotearoa/New Zealand, but in my role as a radio announcer I had the pleasure of listening to the thoughts and opinions of many who did.

The election last year was the third I had the pleasure of engaging as a radio announcer and over the years of talking to people, the sentiment that built against Labour was strikingly obvious, especially over their last term in government. It was apparent that many people perceived, rightly or wrongly, that the power had corrupted the party and that they were no longer listening to the public. Instead it was perceived that they were simply pursuing their own agenda with no regard for truly consulting the public. Amongst other things, this was one of the reasons many voted for National.

In National and their leader, John Key, the public were under the impression that they were getting a government willing to listen to them. They believed they were getting honest, open transparency. Indeed, there have not been any surprises so far and the party seems to have been true to its word even going so far as to hear the public and back down on a proposed law change regarding internet copyright law because the public truly spoke out with the Blackout campaign. On that issue, National needs to be congratulated in its willingness to listen.

Right now we need to ask questions about how far that willingness to listen extends. As with any political entity, this government is still one that needs to be held accountable to the democratic system it operates within. I don’t think I am going out on a limb when I assert that where matters of public interest are to be engaged and large sums of tax-payer dollars are to be affected by any action undertaken by the government, the public expects a certain amount of due process to be exercised that enables us to be heard on such issues.

With that in mind, how are we to react when our government initiates a review with a particular agenda in mind that involves half a billion dollars and a complete restructuring of an entity that has been endorsed in its current structure by experts and committees both within Aotearoa/New Zealand and the rest of the OECD? More importantly, how are we to react when such a review is undertaken with no pursuit of, or space for submissions from the public or the very sector it involves? When such a thing is done with something so large, one can only believe that in this particular case, the democratic process is being subverted for an agenda that ignores the voices of experts who would counsel otherwise and sidelines public opinion. For that, any government must be questioned and held accountable.

That is exactly what is happening with the review of NZAid currently being undertaken at the request of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade with the specific goal of folding NZAid back into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). If the proposed change occurs in the given time frame, the voices of experts around the world would have been ignored, the public would have had no say on the structure of the entity that administers our half a billion dollar foreign aid and development budget and thus the democratic process would have been subverted.

Is this what the New Zealand public foresaw when they voted for openness, honesty, transparency and a willingness to listen? I think not and for that reason (amongst others), I urge the current government to halt its current trajectory with NZAid, open the review up to public submissions and the select committee process. Do not let power corrupt you so soon in your first term. Do not assume that you know better than the public. Listen to the experts and don’t corrupt our aid money.

If you would like to voice your concerns about the proposed changes to NZAid, check out www.dontcorruptaid.org.nz We are active within and endorse this campaign.