Call For “Sir” Roger To Go

Democrats for Social Credit deputy leader and finance spokesperson, Chris Leitch, is calling for Roger Douglas to be stripped of his knighthood.

In a letter to Governor General The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, Mr Leitch says it is incompatible that people with such opposing philosophies as Richie McCaw and Roger Douglas should both hold a high honour.

Richie McCaw has fostered a spirit of teamwork, of selflessness, and service to community and team, and to the country.

Many Kiwis in hospitals, at schools, and at community events, have benefited from visits by McCaw and other team members, and he and the team have set an example that all New Zealanders can aspire to.

He has used his profile to raise funds for many good causes, including being a patron of the Catwalk Trust and Southern DC3 Trust. He has also been dedicated to the re-build of Christchurch, fronting many fundraising efforts to restore his home city.

Roger Douglas promoted a culture of self first, profit at the expense of everyone else, and benefit to the rich and overseas interests at the expense of the country.

He devoted the greater part of his maiden speech in Parliament in 1970 to the case against foreign investment in the domestic economy, and for external protection of the domestic economy.

Yet just prior to the 1984 election he pre-empted a 20 per cent devaluation of the New Zealand dollar and caused a currency crisis. Currency speculators made hundreds of millions of dollars in profit, all met by the taxpayer.

Thousands of Kiwis lost their savings in dodgy finance company crashes in 1987 and around 200,000 more, often retirees, in 2008 as a result of the Douglas’s economic changes and lax legislative oversight regime.

From an egalitarian society prior to him becoming Minister of Finance, changes he wrought have brought about the largest gap between rich and poor in New Zealand’s history.

It is inconceivable that both philosophies can be held in high esteem at the same time, and therefore one honour has to be rescinded.

ENDS

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