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Simon O’Connor
Husband, step-father, foster dad, and longtime student of philosophy and history. Also happen to be a former politician, including chairing New Zealand's Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Committee.
One of the striking aspects around modern media is not so much the bias that various outlets pursue, but deliberate ignoring of stories and perspectives of importance.
In recent days, it became known that the Ministry for Ethnic Communities gave $30,000 to an organisation to effectively promote a pro-Palestinian view of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The ministry should never be using its funding to promote political perspectives, and I would have the same reaction if the ministry had chosen to fund Israeli groups.
That taxpayer money is not misused by supporting political causes is set in stone and also why questions were rightly raised a week ago when, accidentally, Erica Stanford sent a National Party video to school principals via her ministerial email. In this case, she swiftly apologised and acknowledged it was not how things are done.
And yet with the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, activists within the organisation not only ignored one of the golden rules of the public service but actively went out of their way to ensure funds went to this group’s one-sided political view.
To add insult to injury – or perhaps absurdity to absurdity – it also turns out that another $70,000 was given to the same organisation via the Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism Fund (led by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and managed by Internal Affairs).
Yes, you’ve read that right, a supposed charitable trust in New Zealand was given a total of $100,000 of your hard-earned taxpayer dollars to promote a sympathetic message around terrorism so as to prevent violence and extremism. You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried!
Serious questions should be asked of those at the ministries as to how this was approved, let alone entertained at all. It demonstrates a worrying, but unsurprising, ideological compromise in said ministries. Let’s be clear, people at the Ministry for Ethnic Affairs in particular should be fired and the minister should be demanding public accountability. Bear in mind, as well, this is the ministry that MPs last week said they have no idea what it does or achieves.
Similarly, questions should be asked around the Asturlab Cultural Centre seeking the monies. Who are they, what do they believe, what values do they subscribe to? If they are sympathetic to Islamic fundamentalism and the likes of Hamas, they should not only have to repay the money but be closed down.
The same is true of the Islamic group in Auckland hosting a vigil for the Ayatollah in Iran or the restaurant owner in Lower Hutt who wanted to lament this tyrant’s death. I’m all for free speech, but we do not need to be importing this political and religious madness from overseas.
This is a critical distinction people need to understand. If we value free speech, we need to support the values which underpin it. Democratic freedoms that we (mostly) enjoy in New Zealand rest on a Judeo-Christian understanding of the world. One doesn’t need to be Christian to appreciate this, for the architecture of our society and of the West, is founded on beliefs that every person has innate dignity; men and women are equal; all life is valuable – including the unborn, disabled, or dying; and we all have an active role to play in this world rather than a more fatalistic or nihilistic view.
Free speech only exists to the extent that we promote, and protect, the values that underpin it. We should never be funding groups whose fundamental view of the world is opposed to this value and others.
If one of the reasons mainstream media has not reported on these matters is for fear of offending said groups, or spurious appeals to free speech, then we have a much more serious problem in play. Whether as individuals, government ministries, political leaders, or the media –we must all speak up for the values that are the foundation of our society, and challenge those actions which undermine them. If we do not, then civilizational decline is the inevitable result.
We need to stop fuelling surprise
The price of oil and fuel is all the talk in New Zealand and around the world currently, and understandably so.
My first observation is everyone from government to various corporate boards should have been better prepared.
Using boards as an example, they spend enormous time rightly considering challenges facing their businesses, from health and safety to AI and much more. And yet, many seem surprised by this current conflict. The same is true of government.
To be blunt, nothing could be more predictable than what is currently happening in the Middle East. It was well signalled that there would be an attack and yet governments and companies were unprepared. Perhaps if they spent less time considering the more politically palatable topics of the day such as DEI or the Treaty, boards and other leaders would have time to consider the blindingly obvious – in this case, conflict in the Middle East and the consequent impact on fuel access.
The government and various boards also need to be asking what is the next crisis? An obvious one is Communist China deciding to attack Taiwan. President Xi has been very clear of his intentions around this, with many looking to 2027 as the time he will move – both symbolically but also due to expected military capability by then. But I fear too many boards and government advisors are also ignoring this very real threat.
When autocrats and dictators say they will do something, believe them. I recall speaking very clearly about this when in parliament, and remember the discussion with colleagues around whether Vladimir Putin would invade Ukraine or not. Many thought his military build up was just sabre rattling, whereas I sat on the side that listened to what he was saying; seeing what he was doing; and expecting the attack that eventually came.
The same can be said of the various Islamic groups calling for the destruction of Israel, USA, Christians, and the West. We should believe them and not make excuses to explain such utterances away, and doubly so when we see an ever growing list of actions – such as Bondi Beach – that back these destructive intentions up.
A final point. The Greens and others are finally waking up to the fact – though not admitting – that we need oil and gas. Never forget though, it was the previous Labour government that banned new oil and gas exploration. As we suffer the consequences of the current conflict in the Middle East, perhaps we should reflect on how we could better ensure our own energy needs. We do not seem to have learned from the Covid era either, including the current fuel panic mirroring our then obsession with toilet paper!
New Zealand must ensure that we are globally connected, but not to the detriment of our own sovereignties.
In media
I recently sat down with the amazing Erica Komisar, LCSW, to talk about parents and children, and the urgent need in our societies to ensure strong attachments so as to develop strong, resilient children.
As Erica notes, its not about ‘having’ children, but ‘being’ with your kids as much as you can. I couldn’t help agreeing too when we spoke about how governments don’t care about your kids – they just want parents back in the workforce to drive the GDP.
A fantastic and wide-ranging discussion, and an essential one for those wanting to understand more about a child’s formative years and what can be done to give them the best start at life.
I was also pleased to join discussions with both Duncan Garner as part of his ‘Editor in Chief’ podcast, and Sean Plunket and his ‘Free Speech Fridays’:
This article was originally published by On Point.
