You can imagine my hoots of derisive laughter at Andrew Coster being named head of the ‘Social Investment Agency’ (don’t worry, no one else had ever heard of it either until a couple of days ago) in order to “...[advise] the government on commissioning services for vulnerable people...” according to the NZ Herald. The article rather hilariously talks about a ‘hiring process’ and other twaddle, suggesting Coster’s job isn’t anything other than being fired as police commissioner and a government too sooky to pass a special bill through parliament officially firing him, as I would happily have done.
Regardless, this whole caper is designed to fail. The “vulnerable people” in question are the bottom 10 per cent of the population. They’ve never been told they need to follow rules, live regular-type lives and face sanctions for breaking rules. Instead they’ve been patted on the head, told nothing is ever their fault, that they are victims and have no need to either take accountability for their actions or act like adults.
If you really wanted to change things, a good way to start would be to dust off the results of the anti-smacking referendum – and ignore those who deceitfully claim it means somehow laying into children with a baseball bat. Then bring back the strap and cane to schools. Take these little [rascals] from age five and say, ‘Here are the rules, you must obey them. If you don’t, it’s six of the best. Do it a second time and it’s another six of the best – and so on until you do as you’re told and behave.’
Something as simple as that would do more good than Coster and Willis poncing about pretending they will achieve something and that the underclass will suddenly see the light. But New Zealand has no plans to tell the truth and actually solve any problems.
