Maxim Institute - real issues - No 239 8 February 2006

www.maxim.org.nz

Food in schools To do no harm What unites us

IN THE NEWS Part of a team Election spending still not resolved

FOOD IN SCHOOLS

The public's hearts and minds seem to have been captured in recent times by the push for providing food in schools for children from low income families. National Party Leader, John Key, is promoting business partnerships with schools to supply food to children. United Future Leader, Peter Dunne, is reviving a long dead milk-and-apples scheme for every school. And not to be outdone, the Prime Minister is announcing that, thanks to the beneficient leadership of the government, there is no need for any such scheme.

The debate about urban poverty and social disconnection is long overdue and the fact that some children are going to school with an empty stomach is a big problem. It is alarming that there are families in New Zealand who struggle to feed their children before school. Watching the community and businesses, like Tasti foods, step in to help those families says something about the strength of our nation's social fabric.

However, it's not just important that we help to feed those children but it is important how we feed them. We need to be careful that in dealing with dysfunction we do not generate more. For example, if a single mum is struggling to get by, and her son's school starts providing breakfast then it's likely that she'll stop feeding him in the morning. The challenge then is to devise a way that businesses such as Tasti can work in partnership with homes and families, rather than taking on their role and placing greater burdens on schools.

Rather than expecting schools to feed children, we ought to be empowering and helping families to help themselves, to feed their own children. We need to begin at a deeper and more basic level, with families and parenting. Rather than looking to schools to step in where families are failing we should be considering the reason they cannot feed their children, and how we can help them do better.

TO DO NO HARM

Euthanasia advocate, Dr Philip Nitschke is continuing his pursuit of controversy and celebrity this week by informing the Dominion Post that he is preparing to escort a group of New Zealanders to Mexico so that they can legally purchase Nembutal, a powerful suicide pill dubbed the "death drug". Dr Nitschke is planning to help them to buy the drug, which is illegal in New Zealand. Dr Nitschke is aware that it is a crime to bring the drug into New Zealand yet he is still willing to assist these men and women to access the drug, justifying his actions by arguing that they do so at their own risk. Nembutal is a class C drug used by vets to euthanise animals, and its import is punishable by up to 8 years in prison.

The spectacle of Dr Nitschke, a medical professional avowed to "do no harm", encouraging vulnerable and frightened people to purchase suicide drugs is profoundly worrying. People are not animals to be put down; they have inherent dignity and a supreme claim on our care and compassion. A culture of compassion, and a culture which affirms and values human life, is something we all ought to aspire to. That means both supporting the ill when they need it, and rejecting the "false mercy" and utilitarian calculus propagated by euthanasia advocates like Dr Nitschke. His journey to Mexico should concern us all, for it undermines the very foundations of human dignity and the respect for life which is the first duty of the medical profession.

WHAT UNITES US

As we celebrate Waitangi Day this week, a new poll has found that 55 percent of New Zealanders consider Waitangi Day "insignificant". In the over-50 age group, this was even higher, at 62 percent. Conversely, 73 percent of Maori called the day "significant".

Waitangi Day has often been the focus of controversy. But at its best, the dialogue between cultures which takes place at Waitangi is not only constructive, but vital for our national life. Some, such as United Future Leader Peter Dunne, have called for a new national day, a generic "New Zealand Day". The idea that we could establish such a day devoid of history denies the reality that it is our history that unites us. The significance of Waitangi Day lies in its historical roots. It represents the rich and flawed heritage of cultural dialogue that commenced with the Treaty. A new national day in addition to Waitangi Day would lack this fundamental significance.

On 6 February 1840, two very different cultures agreed a basis of union, and began to build on a foundation of agreed mutuality. Despite our chequered relationship, that basis of union is a special part of our history. Lord Bledisloe, who gave the grounds at Waitangi to the nation, said in his speech there in 1934: "Waitangi, the birthplace of this nation, now belongs to all alike, Pakeha and Maori, North and South Islanders, and the descendants and champions of both sections of its courageous pioneers.... Shall not this fact conduce appreciably to the spirit and the consciousness of nationhood?"

It is this spirit of cooperation, union and solidarity that gives meaning to Waitangi Day and makes it a national day. Our history belongs to all of us, and the legacy of our ancestors, both Maori and Pakeha, continues to challenge and inspire us today. Ignoring or erasing it is not the way forward. Instead, we should approach Waitangi ready to celebrate, and ready to listen to our history and to one another.

Read more about the history of Waitangi Day

IN THE NEWS

PART OF A TEAM

Four outstanding New Zealanders were this week awarded the Order of New Zealand, the highest honour in the country. The Order of New Zealand was established on 6 February 1987, "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity." The Order is limited to a membership of 20 living 'Ordinary' members at any one time, however 'Additional' members may also be appointed in celebration of special events. This week Professor C.K. Stead, Sir Paul Reeves, Sir Brian Lochore and Sir Owen Woodhouse were added as Additional members, in commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Institution of the Order.

A common thread that is apparent between the newly appointed members is a deep respect and reliance on the support of family and friends. Professor C.K. Stead, leading New Zealand writer, attributes much of his success to his "tremendous family support". We need to remember the importance of family, and the support we can provide for others. Sir Owen Woodhouse sums it up when asked for his reaction to being awarded the honour: "My immediate feeling is what I owe to others. There's not many useful things you might achieve that are properly solo efforts."

ELECTION SPENDING STILL NOT RESOLVED

The election spending row has reared its ugly head again this week. NZ First is currently awaiting legal advice on the findings of the Auditor-General, Kevin Brady, before it decides whether to challenge his decision or pay back the amount they owe. Labour Party President, Mike Williams, has backed down from a statement made earlier in the week to the effect that if NZ First successfully challenged Mr Brady's findings, Labour may reconsider their pledge to repay the misspent money. He has given a reassurance that the intention of the Labour party is to repay all $768,000 outstanding.

TALKING POINT

"It is well to remember on the present occasion that one hundred years ago British statesmen were confronted by problems originating on the shores of this very Bay, problems which in their solution called for the pledge of a nation's faith to the Maori people. That pledge was given by Britain's then responsible ministers through the Treaty of Waitangi..."

Lord Bledisloe

ENDS

© Scoop Media