GUEST EDITORIAL - A Sad Passing?
By Trevor Ammundsen.
I read a quote from Marc Ellis the other week. Marc, an ex All Black, TV Celebrity and still a successful businessman is in the process of moving to Italy. His reason I will quote; “I certainly think New Zealand’s finest days are behind it. We are not at our peak. You don’t feel the same vibe or energy anymore”.
When I read that quote, I felt quite sad, not because he said what he did, but because it was true. We are not the country we used to be. I am not wishing to leave the country however, so Marc’s quote led me to think about what has caused this and what can we do about it.
There are a number of reasons for our lack of vibe. An obvious one has been the weather; it has been quite depressing this year. Too much rain has dampened our spirits and the best efforts of our Climate Minister have not helped at all. I am unsure why he thinks he can cure global warming within thirty years, when he cannot even divert a few rain clouds.
Another reason is the performance of our Government. I thought we would never see a Government that would make Robert Muldoon’s National Government look good, but the current lot have achieved this. With a bunch of destructive policies, they have managed to ruin major Industries such as energy, farming, tourism, education and many more. Then they kicked in with some anti-democracy moves, some would say racist, such as Co-Governance and priority of service based upon ethnicity rather than need. No wonder we are feeling morose.
But I think the real reason for the sadness the country feels is the passing of the Green Party; I am sorry to be blunt, but this once loved party is no more. When they were formed, the Green Party was respected; we admired the way they showed love for rare snails and dolphins equally. They made us concerned for the flora and fauna of our nation. Here in Coromandel, we were believers and actually selected the Green candidate to represent us for three years in the nation’s Parliament.
It was only three years however, as the electorate awoke from their group bedazzlement and decided to go back to more practical representatives at the following election. The Green party started to slide slowly, but picked up pace when they elected an Australian to lead them; an unsmiling lad, possibly that is where the gloom started from. The years passed, as did the Australian, but the slide continued and now the party is no more.
Last week the Green Leader, Marama Davis, delivered the death rites by announcing that her party was to not worry too much about saving the Earth; they were going to focus on righting the wrongs of the past, again and again. In fact, rather than worrying about the condition of the land, they were going to insist the new Government bought it and gave it to them. With this bold stroke the Green Party morphed into Te Pati Maori Rua Party.
We will all be poorer for the passing of this once well-respected Political Party and must sympathise for the dilemma facing Maori voters with a choice of twins to select from. But it is onward and upward. Put aside your grief and smile at the world. Possibly Marama has given us a reason to be cheerful.