1984 in 2007: Big Sister is Watching You!!!
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By John Dierckx in Opinion Published: Tuesday, 11 September 07 - 10:43 AM (GMT +12:00) Last Updated: Tuesday, 25 September 07 - 06:13 PM (GMT +12:00) |
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I AM DISGUSTED.
I remember reading Eve's Bite (Ian Wishart), especially Chapter 12, Track And Trace (pages 168-171). With disbelief I read the plans of Children's Commissioner Kiro, to set up an agency that would monitor every child in New Zealand. Referring to Kiro's speech at Barnardos New Zealand’s Annual General Meeting on 26 October 2006, Wishart laid out a vision that was just too ridiculous to even take serious.
Reading the full story at the Scoop website, I smiled and thought who's going to ever, ever, ever take such a load of bull serious. Some quotes here:
“My vision is that every child in New Zealand is safe, nurtured, educated, healthy, and has hope for the future...
Ensuring that children are safe and nurtured, have the resources to develop to their full potential, and have their views considered in matters that affect them, is a fundamental responsibility of governments and communities (Emphasis by me)...
The best results occur when we intervene early in the child’s life before problems become endemic, and also when the likelihood of success is greater."
I don't know about you, the reader, but I can't stop wondering what happened to the responsibilities of parents and of families? The message is nicely packed so far in words that appear to make sense, where it comes to the interests of children. But what worries me is how the responsibilities are being taken away from the parents and heaved over to the government and community.
And for those that wonder where this is supposed to be heading. Here is the real catch.
“My proposal is ... is a 10-year long-term vision for the wellbeing of children in New Zealand. It calls for the establishment of an integrated framework for children and their families. This would provide a systematic approach to monitoring the development of every child and young person in New Zealand through co-ordinated planned assessment at key life stages and supporting families to make sure children have the opportunity to reach their full potential. The assessments would take into account the whole child: their physical, social, educational, emotional, and psychological development.
This adopts a life cycle approach, recognising that as children grow there are some key transition times where there is an opportunity to ensure that they have the skills and resources to manage the transition well. Assessment would be at these key life stages. These would include: early childhood focusing on attachment between infant and caregivers and on physical growth and development; primary and secondary school entry focusing on general health, personal identity, school engagement and social wellbeing; and moving to tertiary education or employment and training opportunities and the transition associated with this.
The framework would build on current universal health, education and social development services provided to all children and young people in New Zealand and co-ordination between these agencies. Individual plans, owned by the child and held by the family, will be developed in partnership with children and families and each child would have a named primary professional responsible for ensuring the child and family have access to services and advice as needed.
The anonymous aggregated data information gathered will also be very useful for educators, health service providers, community planners and child protection services so that they can prepare and plan appropriately for current and future needs.”
It all sounded so ridiculous to me I never even considered it seriously. I mean this is like 1984 in real time. I should have known better seeing what happened with the "anti-smacking bill". In any event I forgot about the whole "Fantasy Island" episode of Kiro until, almost a year later I saw this article in the Dominion Post.
From Parent to State Servant, From Child to Mindless PuppetChild home-screening plan 'insult'
DAVE BURGESS - The Dominion Post | Monday, 10 September 2007
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/print/4195976a6479.htmlA proposal by Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro to have mandatory screening of every baby's home life is the ultimate insult, Family First NZ says.
The estimated $5-million-a-year scheme would make it compulsory for every newborn's caregiver to nominate an authorised provider to assess their family's progress through home visits. Those who refused to take part would be referred to welfare authorities.
The suggestion has outraged Bob McCoskrie, the national director of Christian-based lobby group Family First. "To threaten to refer the overwhelming majority of well-functioning parents and families - who will quite rightly resist this intrusion - to social welfare agencies is the ultimate insult."
Briefing papers are being written for presentation to the Government's task force for action on family violence, which began a $14 million campaign last week to fight domestic violence.
The proposal is in response to shocking child abuse statistics. Regular Unicef report cards, updated this year, consider New Zealand the most dangerous place for children, in terms of health and safety, out of 24 developed countries.
The Paediatric Society estimates 15 to 20 children are killed through child abuse each year.
Mr McCoskrie said the children's commissioner should concentrate on the problems that lead to child abuse, such as gang violence, methamphetamine use, violence in schools and the breakdown in families.
"But she wants to treat all parents as potential child abusers rather than affording them the respect, support and encouragement they deserve - while failing to target the real abusers."
National Party leader John Key said mandatory investigation of all children should be a last resort.
"A targeted approach would allow for more resources to be put in to those with greatest need."
The proposal calls for a database to track the development of New Zealand children, which Mr Key would not oppose. "You have to balance the intrusion of privacy over the need to try to get a resolution to an issue that is of quite great concern. In this case the issue warrants that."
But Mr Key doubted that the scheme could be run for $5 million a year. At-risk families would have to receive concentrated support from agencies such as Plunket.
Child, Youth and Family Services Minister Ruth Dyson welcomed the early intervention programme and said she would discuss the proposal with agencies.
With the introduction of the anti-smacking bill, a sell out in which parents rights were traded in for political interests and in which the outraged voice of the New Zealand population was conveniently ignored, parents rights were substantially diminished and traditional parenting methods were pulled into the criminal arena.
What we will have left by the time this plan is made reality is a situation where we as parents are diminished from caregivers to executors of a government policy. If you don't pass your yearly appraisal or performance review will we get fired, so that government agencies can step in and make sure that the government agenda is clearly imprinted in our youth, ensuring stability for the future. And please rest assured that with stability I mean a future of people that have lost the ability to think for themselves because the have been indoctrinated in the most vulnerable stages of their lives.
I have expressed my concerns on other occasions about the issue based education approach in New Zealand. For those who'd like to read about it from someone else, I would suggest reading page 146-201 of Eve's Bite by Ian Wishart, and see for yourself how ideology is penetrating our educational system, dumbing down and setting children up against parents that do not agree with government viewpoints and ideologies. I spend loads of time with my children to talk about other view points to ensure that they will be able to make their own choices. If there is anything parents nowadays in New Zealand will need to put high on their agenda as a parent it is learning your children to think independently and for their selves.
Should we be worried? YES. Recent history has shown that policy agendas and even laws can be pushed through regardless of what people think and want.
What the hell is this all? In the past years the government agenda has been aimed at hollowing out the family and parenthood. We are now facing the first serious steps towards a completely state dominated family live in which there is no longer room for individuality and privacy of the home.
Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees us:
I do not deny that there are issues that need to be addressed. It is shocking to see the bad scores of New Zealand in Unicef Reports. But those same reports and others also refer to for instance socio-economic issues (poverty) and a related array of problems such as health, alcohol and drugs abuse and gambling. What is the next step? Preventative Custody, where parents are put in jail, government takes over the parenting because based on the statistics there is an enhanced chance that you will smack or abuse your children, will pass on the wrong ideas (like freedom) or are educating them in non-government compliant and therefore subversive ideas?No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
This plan shoves parents all on one big pile as presumed to be incompetent until proven competent. What worries me even more, is the question: who is to decide what is competent and what not?
Who is to decide whether I am a good parent or not? You guessed it: performance measurement will lie in the hands of government officials that are bound by political agendas.
How long before there will no longer be room for teaching your children values that you as a Catholic, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish parent feel are important to pass on to the next generation. How long before cultural awareness will be hollowed out to government approved culture. How long before our children stop thinking for themselves and are nothing more than mindless puppets of the National Dictatorship of New Zealand, afraid to think for themselves because of the potential consequences? How long before parents with specific views will be banned from further parenthood because they pose a danger to compliance to the government agenda by the children they are trying to raise as free people that can think for themselves. How long before parenthood is over all together, and parents are reduced to production units to produce puppets for the state. How long before freedom of thought and speech is redefined as subversiveness that needs to be addressed by sanctions and taking away your child?
And what is the ultimate next step: A government plan to ensure that only those deemed competent to be a parent will be allowed to have a baby at all? A new nation of members of the Kiwi super race of mindless government puppets.
Kiro's plan is an insult to all those parents that do already do great job, to every loving and caring parent in New Zealand. This new scheme must be stopped at all cost. The government has not before showed its hand so clearly. What is Helen and her mob of pigs (Animal Farm) telling us actually? That democracy and freedom have failed in New Zealand? Or is this just another ploy to take our attention away from the fact that as a nation we are failing miserably in addressing the underlying real issues?
I do know one thing:
AN AUTOCRATIC DICTATORSHIP CAN AND MAY NEVER BE THE ANSWER.
I see 1984 enfold in 2007 and I am disgusted.
If this post seems somewhat unstructured and emotional, that is because I am: completely blown away in disbelief.
3 Comments so far: |
Leave a comment |
| You think NZ is bad? | BMan | 09/12/07 |
Re You think NZ is bad
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John Dierckx | 09/13/07 |
| re: nz is bad | Bart van der Wee | 09/14/07 |
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Top | Reply to this Title: You think NZ is bad? Author: BMan Date Posted: 12 Sep 2007 05:17 PM (GMT +12:00) Read the following: http://www.chalcedon.edu/blog/2007/09/what-about-bin-laden.php
Look at how quickly we forget about history! |
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Top | Reply to this Title: Re You think NZ is bad Author: John Dierckx (http://johndierckx.terapad.com/) Date Posted: 13 Sep 2007 02:29 PM (GMT +12:00) BMan, let me start of by saying that anonimity stands in the way of any fruitful dialogue as far as I am concerned. Next time please leave full name. I went over the link and it makes me wonder what your actual comment is. What I see there is what I see here in NZ, propagandistic and indoctrinative practices through the school systems, leading our children to destructive paths where it comes to making up their own minds. I guess that is a risk of isue based education. They do not learn to be competitive like in other parts of the world and are given responsibilities and freedoms they most often can not handle yet because they are led to believe that that's the norm. This would all not be too much of an issue if parents can play an important role in upbringing. This new idea is yet another step in the continuous undermining of the role of parents in the childrens upbringing. We are creating a mindless and indoctrinated future here woith parents being reduced to production units. After birth the Governement will take over. And there are many many issues indeed where the government and interest lobby groups have played a role that is very similar to those propagandists your weblink refers to. If you are meaning to say that there have been worse practices so why worry? I see that as a non-argument. That does not change the situation of anyone and we are dealing with the here and now of New Zealand here. John |
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Top | Reply to this Title: re: nz is bad Author: Bart van der Wee (http://https://www.bart.geek.nz/blog) Date Posted: 14 Sep 2007 06:16 PM (GMT +12:00) John, I like to err on the side of caution when posting for the first time. It was your reference to 1984 that prompted me to post the link. I must find that book and read it again. I was subjected to "Animal Farm" in Form 5 and have never wanted to read Orwell since. I agree with your statement "that anonimity stands in the way of any fruitful dialogue" - unfortunately the Internet can make anonimity very attractive for all the wrong reasons. My three boys will not be facing the state-indoctrination via private or public schooling, my only hope now is that the state will leave us alone to get on with what is important to our family. Bart.
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