27 September 2007

www.maxim.org.nz

'The world needs heroes' Protecting transparency A colony no longer

IN THE NEWS Final electoral boundaries released Police Act Review free-for-all More information for Australian parents

'THE WORLD NEEDS HEROES'

The makers of the video game Halo 3, launched this week, are throwing around the marketing slogan 'the world needs heroes,' but what does that really mean?

Two leaders who have come to light recently seem deserving of this title. Often those with influence or position fail to recognise the power they wield to unite others and inspire them to do great things, but good leadership requires the ability to take people with you—something that visionary philanthropists Gareth Morgan and Nicholas Negroponte both understand.

They have set out to make a difference in the areas of the world that need the most help. Both men have started with a good idea, worked out a strategy for implementing it and then, most importantly, invited the rest of us to lend them a hand.

Gareth Morgan's plan is really quite simple. After making a small fortune out of the sale of Trade Me last year, he has already personally gifted large sums of money to worthy causes. He is now also offering to match any New Zealander's donation dollar for dollar (up to $500,000) for a UNICEF water and sanitation project in the Magu District, Tanzania, that could dramatically increase health and provide greater freedom for education.

As a man who knows a lot about finance Dr Morgan has realised that money alone will make little difference, but investment is a different story and this is the focus of his plan. UNICEF, the aid organisation he is an ambassador for, states each dollar invested in the project 'yields as much as $35 in positive value.'

Nicholas Negroponte is the founder of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) organisation and has announced a 'Give 1 Get 1' programme in relation to the organisation's laptops. The goal of OLPC was to design a laptop that could be produced for the meagre sum of US$100, and then distribute them to children throughout the world to provide them with an education that can help pull them out of the poverty cycle. Some critics argue that this scheme does not deal with some of the more primary needs of children in developing countries, but it is nevertheless a wonderfully innovative scheme.

Through the use of crank handles and solar power these laptops could help speed up development and bring opportunity for those who need it most. Again by appealing to the public to 'Give 1 Get 1,' people are being drawn out of their everyday experience and encouraged to step up and take responsibility—leadership calling people to be more, to aspire to more, than they were before.

The people heading up each of these projects have looked ahead from a damaged present into a changed future—they took up a vision and then invited us to become part of it. By inspiring, they are able to enlarge their ideas from a single point of one person or organisation and to take their community with them, calling others to join them in their initiative. 'The world needs heroes,' lots of them.

Read about the UNICEF water project in Tanzania

Visit the One Laptop per Child website

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PROTECTING TRANSPARENCY

The office of the Ombudsmen has released its annual report, identifying a 'worrying trend'; some government agencies are attempting to circumvent official information disclosure rules, which they claim do not properly protect some information. It is imperative for democracy that those entrusted with holding important information should be readily held accountable, and that the system allows reasonable transparency on matters of public interest.

The Official Information Act (OIA) contains provisions that allow members of the public to request access to specific information held by government agencies or ministers; however, it also includes provisions that allow such requests to be refused for certain reasons. The OIA covers all official information; it increases accountability, by allowing public access where appropriate, and therefore the credibility of government departments, but also protects sensitive information by providing grounds for refusing to provide information when necessary.

Report of the Ombudsmen Nga Kaitiaki Mana Tangata, expresses concern that some government agencies have been attempting to exclude certain information from coming under the provisions of the OIA, saying that it falls outside of the Act even though as official information it clearly does not. Given that the Act provides a way of striking a good balance between protecting sensitive information and ensuring public accountability, the report says it is 'somewhat bizarre to hear agencies argue that certain information is so sensitive that the only way to protect it is for the OIA not to apply.'

If the agencies have a legitimate claim, the report goes on, the appropriate action would be to ask for an amendment to the current law, rather than twisting it to suit their purposes. Such fast-and-loose behaviour 'should always be regarded with a healthy degree of suspicion.'

The office of the Ombudsmen, and laws such as the OIA, play an important role in our society, helping to ensure that the public can trust those in positions of authority. These people, given the responsibility of holding such sensitive information, must be held accountable for ensuring that proper processes are followed, and this includes following the law.

Public access to information is one key way of helping prevent corruption in a democratic system by maintaining the ability of the public and the media to scrutinise what the Government is up to. The law must not be twisted and abused—if it really does not provide enough protection for sensitive information then it needs looking at, but flouting it should just not be an option.

Read Report of the Ombudsmen Nga Kaitiaki Mana Tangata

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A COLONY NO LONGER

26 September 2007, Dominion Day, marks the centenary of a small but important step to independence; the Royal Proclamation granting New Zealand the title of 'Dominion' within the British Empire. No longer was New Zealand to be called a colony, but she advanced another step towards full equality of status.

It is true, as Colin James points out in the New Zealand Herald that: 'Nothing of substance changed that day in 1907,' except the name; things like full New Zealand control of foreign policy and the adjustment of offices, titles and symbols came later. But the grant of Dominion status was an important symbolic change, the next step in a gradual process which, in the end, affirmed our historic roots, but gave us leave and power to run our own affairs, standing on our own feet.

The classic definition of Dominion status came in 1926, when the Imperial Conference said that Britain and the Dominions were 'Autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another,' but 'united by a common allegiance to the Crown' and 'freely associated' through the Commonwealth. It is, perhaps, these parallel concepts of freedom and association which give Dominion Day its contemporary relevance, although the title 'Dominion' has lapsed except in the mast-head of a newspaper. The day is a good time to reflect on the process of our nationhood.

We are an independent country, well able to hold our own in the family of nations. There are various pausing places on our journey to independence: settler government; the ratification of Statute of Westminster; the nationality law; the Constitution Act 1986; and of course, Dominion Day, to name a few. But the story of New Zealand's independence is a story of gradual change, an anchored progress down a natural course.

Even if we no longer think of the United Kingdom as 'Home' with a capital 'H,' we have received much good, much which is strong and wise from her: our legal and religious codes, our heritage of liberty, and our stable and durable Constitutional arrangements all have British fingerprints, bearing witness to the benefits of our long 'association,' a family bond of shared heritage, forged deep and sealed in the blood of our war dead.

It would be a tragedy if our much-lauded national maturity lost its appreciation of these facts and institutions, and their history. Dominion Day is a day when we should appreciate the benefits of a cultural anchor cable, one composed of many strands, both European and indigenous. It is a day for history and for the celebration and remembrance of it, in all its checkered imperfection.

But that is not the end of the story, nor should it be. Association with our heritage, and the remaining symbols of it, is, and should be, free. We should look forward to our future as a confident and distinctive nation with a growing sense of identity, rooted in our history but looking forward, looking upward, outward and 'onward' to a changing world. It is our heritage of freedom with association, progress with connectedness, and independence without acrimony that we can celebrate and be proud of this week, determined to build on a broad and solid foundation.

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IN THE NEWS

FINAL ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES RELEASED

The 2007 Representation Commission has released the final electoral boundaries and names to be used in the 2008 and 2011 elections as adjusted to meet the current census data. With a general election likely to be held next year it is important to find out the new electoral boundaries.

Find out whether your electorate has changed

POLICE ACT REVIEW FREE-FOR-ALL

The Police Act Review has taken a fresh approach to legislation with the launch of a Wikipedia style addition to its website. The site allows anyone to edit the proposed Policing Act 2008 as they wish in conjunction with other contributors. In some ways this use of technology can be seen as bringing the legislative process closer to the public, however, whether an editing free-for-all will produce any constructive ideas is doubtful.

Visit the Policing Act Review Wiki

MORE INFORMATION FOR AUSTRALIAN PARENTS

A major commitment of The Future of Schooling in Australia, a framework document for education policy, is to provide greater 'reporting on school performance' by all schools. This increase in information will enable parents to make better decisions for their children's future. The report also recognises the value of paying more for high-quality teachers as they improve the 'life prospects' of students.

Read The Future of Schooling in Australia

TALKING POINT

'Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. ... the gross national product ... measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.'

Robert Kennedy (1925-1968)

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ENDS

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