Heather Roy's Diary: Child Abuse - Plus Ca change
Heather Roy's Diary
Child Abuse - Plus Ca change, plus c'est la meme chose
In France there's an adage that, roughly translated, says: "the more things change, the more they stay the same". This certainly appears to apply to child abuse here in New Zealand.
August 8 saw some Kiwis heed the call from Christine Rankin to observe three minutes' silence in memory of the short and painful life of abused toddler Nia Glassie, who died from her injuries at Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital. Motorists were urged to stop to take part in the silence, with some jamming traffic by doing so on the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
I don't object to measures designed to keep the plight of abused children at the forefront of people's minds, but careful thought followed by action is preferable to silence; it's difficult to imagine what was achieved by motorists stopping on the bridge - besides frustrating other motorists; some of whom, I suspect, went home and took it out on their kids.
As it is we all know that inquiries will be called for, reports commissioned ... and nothing will change - as Deborah Coddington recently wrote: "Quick as a flash, nothing will happen."
And, while my email inbox is filled with messages demanding that MPs take action, no new legislation is needed. The cruelties perpetrated on Nia already carry heavy penalties.
What's missing is leadership. There is a dearth of intelligent debate that can be readily explained by the TV news phenomenon: interviews rarely last more than seven or eight seconds for fear that viewers' attention will wander, and issues are seldom followed up to determine who was right and who was wrong. News has become entertainment - but when it comes to child welfare, everyone is beholden to go the extra mile; it doesn't seem too much to ask people to concentrate on a serious problem.
At the political level, the lack of leadership is manifest. The problems appear insoluble and, so, no one wants to own them - the Government has set up a cross-Party committee to look at the problem but, I feel, its real purpose is to share the blame around.
Labour is dominated by chardonnay socialists, who don't expect much from the 'lower classes', and the escalation in child murder and abuse is ignored. The attitude is that "we're in charge and we're doing all we can"; clearly an admission that there's a problem is a first step to solving it but it is politically hard for Labour to admit that, after eight years of power, the plight of underprivileged children has never been worse.
I came to politics from the health field, where illnesses and conditions are looked at this way: examine, diagnose, treat. Although individual child abuse cases need the same, the real - hard - issue is how to prevent precious babies, toddlers and children being abused in the first place. Prevention has been lost in the recent debate - but that's where leadership from politicians must begin.
Family violence and child abuse must be examined intelligently, the diagnosis determined - my diagnosis is welfare dependency and breakdown of the family unit - then treated: tackle welfare dependency and remove the incentives that have seen if proliferate. The treatment will take strong, brave leadership from the top. Only when parents, families, communities and politicians work together to protect our young will we see progress.
New Zealand
has had no shortage of strong leaders. This week's 'Lest We
Forget' remembers the anniversary of Chunuk Bair on August 8
1915. Key in that was one of New Zealand's lesser known,
but inspirational, leaders: Lieutenant Colonel William
George Malone. In a week where the short life of Nia
Glassie has seen Kiwis focus on our problems, we should also
look to the history books to help find answers.
Lest We Forget - Lieutenant Colonel William Malone; 1859-1915 (Chunuk Bair) Lt Col William George Malone - immigrant, husband, father, volunteer part-time constable, farmer and lawyer - was a soldier in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He died, on August 8 1915, as he had lived: leading by example on Turkey's Chunuk Bair - which overlooked the Dardenalles, the 'prize' of the Gallipoli campaign.
I was proud to participate in the annual commemoration of Malone and his men - held by my army unit, the 5th Wellington, West Coast and Taranaki Regiment - in Taranaki this year. This man epitomised what all Kiwis crave: real leadership. He was strong but patient, bold yet humble, proud while remaining self-effacing, focused on the achievement of goals without undue sacrifice by others, morally imperturbable. William Malone did not need to write detailed orders - he demonstrated them. He was a man of action, not words.
Much has been written about whether Malone died by enemy or friendly fire. To me, that's far less important than remembering how he lived: before WWI, Malone was active in the Stratford community. In the late 1800s he served as first clerk and treasurer of the Stratford County Council - which he helped found - farmed locally while studying, and subsequently worked as a partner in a local law firm.
This quote from Bean sums up the situation for Malone and his men on August 8 1915: "Of the 760 of the Wellington Battalion who had captured the height that morning, there came out only 70 unwounded or slightly wounded men. Throughout that day not one had dreamed of leaving his post. Their uniforms were torn, their knees broken. They had had no water since the morning; they could only talk in whispers; their eyes were sunken; their knees trembled; some broke down and cried like children."
In 1923, in recognition of his service to their community and his country, Stratford placed a memorial in the form of white marble gates at the entrance to King Edward Park: New Zealand's largest war memorial commemorating an individual soldier. Despite twice being mentioned in dispatches and several attempts to gain a gallantry award, no further formal recognition of Malone's inspirational life was achieved until al Parties voted to erect a memorial in his honour in Parliament's Grand Hall in 2005.
As we remember the short life of Nia Glassie, we would also do well to remember the link between society and its defenders and to contemplate how different the situation in New Zealand society might be today if we had more leaders of William Malone's calibre.
ENDS