5 December 2012

Ideas for NZ misses big opportunity

“TVNZ’s final Q+A for the year presenting 8 big ideas for NZ to a panel of politicians was interesting but missed a huge opportunity” says NZ Christian Network’s national director Glyn Carpenter.

In a ‘dragons-den style’ format, eight special guests presented ideas ranging from attracting offshore entrepreneurs, increasing NZ’s population, and a levy on wealthy migrants, through to a long long-term tourism plan, a longer term for Government, and creating a train culture.

“But the idea which would have the biggest impact of all did not even feature” said Carpenter.

The sad fact is that the programme highlighted once again the depth of spiritual vacuum which exists in NZ, despite the fact than many of the problems we face are at their heart spiritual issues.

With around half the country claiming some connection to the Christian faith, why was there not one pastor invited to present the case for a faith which has been and still is foundational in our country, and which has transformed hundreds of thousands of lives in NZ for the good, and continues to transform lives today?

Was it because TVNZ did not want to risk offending a small number of people? This doesn’t seem to have been a problem in the past.

Was it because presenting Christian faith in such a context is not ‘PC’? Hopefully none of our media would be influenced by such a consideration.

Or was it simply another illustration that NZ’s media is unaware of the significance of the spiritual dimension in life?

“When it comes to ‘big ideas’ you don’t get any bigger than God. Not everyone is going to agree with us on this one, but it was clear not everyone agreed with the ideas presented on Sunday.

New Zealand Christian Network is a broad-spectrum network of churches and Christian leaders, with a Board of Reference that includes leaders from all the main denominations. It seeks to present a biblically orthodox position on issues, reflecting the views of the majority of Christians in New Zealand.

www.nzchristiannetwork.org.nz

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>