Malvina Minor: An Anti-Democratic Code

Normally it’s the long serving governments that slowly reveal their instincts are anti-democratic. At their pith all politicians of every hue are anti-democratic.

The signs are obvious. For example, you see Ministers and Prime Ministers appoint more and more of their craven party cronies to quangos and SOE boards, without taken into account their ability to do the job. You see them showing less tolerance to those with different viewpoints. Witness the axing of coronial crusader, Garry Evans because too many civil servants and politicians had taken exception to his differing viewpoint. Democracy’s inconvenient embrace of diversity of opinion is tiresome to these wise tyrants.

But today we witness the anti-democratic instincts of the minor parties as they sat their slowly shaking their heads like disappointed parents concerned about the behaviour of the Labour and National children in the House.

What they reveal is how little respect they have for our Parliament and its democratic traditions.

Don’t yell. Everybody has the right to be heard. Show respect. Blah Blah.

Sorry Mum. Sorry Dad. It’s called punk music and if you don’t like it go enroll is some evening pottery classes because never mind the bollocks we are talking Westminster Parliamentary tradition here. Parliament ain’t bleeding Hayley Westenra.

There is a reason that our Parliament runs the way it does. The Westminster tradition requires a Government and an Opposition. The Government’s job is to rule and stick it up the nose of the Opposition that that’s what they are doing. The Opposition’s job is to oppose and depose the Government.

It’s called accountability and it’s messy. But it works.

Look at the US Congress where they do their best “to just get along”. The Democrats weren’t in opposition in 2003 so when the worst President ever brought the invasion of Iraq to Congress they crawled over each to vote for it.

If the Democrats were an Opposition in 2003 perhaps they would have opposed and maybe they wouldn’t be in the pickle they are in 2007 where they want to oppose the war in Iraq, but they don’t want to appear the hypocrites they all are. Having an Opposition oppose an executive by right and duty provides very important future democratic alternatives.

Finally, the values of contempt (for ideas) and disrespect (for ideas) are healthy in the Parliament and not so outside the House. If some New Zealanders find the views of some politicians in Parliament contemptuous and an MP represents that viewpoint then they should be allowed to represent that contempt. To hell with respect. I say to MPs it’s your democratic duty not to sign.

Malvina Minor is a treble from Ngaio.

ENDS

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