Let's get back to basics
April 08 10:36 AM
AUTHOR: Peter Dunne
When I was a kid we had a poster on the door of our toilet which read “When you’re up to your arse in alligators, it sometimes hard to remember you set out to drain the swamp.” It is a salient reminder to all of us, politicians particularly, about not losing focus, and always remembering our basic purpose.
Over the last couple of weeks there have been three issues which I see coming within this category. They are all good initiatives, fundamentally focused on making live better for New Zealand families.
First was my announcement that the sale and promotion of synthetic cannabis products is to be restricted to persons over the age of 18 years. While an outright ban might have been preferable, it is as far as we can reasonably go at present, but I am hopeful of law changes in the future that will enable us to do more. The bottom line is that these so-called legal highs are dangerous, as a number of newspaper articles since have evidenced, so whatever restrictions we can place on their availability is a good thing – for families, parents, and young people.
Then came the announcement that a Game Animal Council, another UnitedFuture initiative, is to be established. Again, when all the rhetoric about the whys and wherefores is removed the basic point remains that this is about a better deal for recreational hunters, and giving them more say in the management of particular categories of animal. Given New Zealanders’ attachment to the wide open spaces, and the prominent place hunting enjoys in our traditional lifestyle, this is another family-friendly initiative that recognises and values a traditional aspect of our lifestyle.
Finally, there was the government’s decision to effectively underwrite AMI Insurance to the tune of at least $500 million, as it struggles with the consequences of the Canterbury earthquake. This is a company owned by its policy-holders, with 85,000 clients in the Christchurch area alone. Many of these are families struggling to get their lives together again after the earthquakes and the last thing they need right now is uncertainty about whether their insurance cover on their homes and possessions will be honoured. Underwriting AMI was, in these circumstances, a genuinely family-friendly response.
It is actions like these – good, solid, practical stuff that makes a real difference – which reminds me why I am in politics – to do what I can to make New Zealand the best place to live and raise a family. It is also why I reject I utterly the simpering, preening, dogged loyalty to a party position that passes for too much of politics today, as that is the fundamental reason why so many people are simply turning off and despairing that the political process can make a difference.
Draining the swamp is what counts, not the gnashing teeth of the alligators.