Saturday 5 May 2018

May Day Concert huge success People Together united.


Wheeler’s Corner
“Connecting Citizens Who Care“. Every Monday at 4 pm on Access Manawatu 999AM” Join Peter’s blog http://wheelerscornernz.blogspot.com/  


 20 6th May 2018

1. Here are two very different discussions relating to Maori Wards, the first compares the views of anti-everything Māori Don Esslemont, he is the old part Scot / part English part etc. individual who cycles around town spouting his ‘One Law for all”, with his chest badge [homemade] blowing in the wind and many if not all who are confronted by it, especially those working or visiting local community centers are offended by its message, and Palmerston North’s elected Mayor Grant Smith who represents the huge majority of Councillors [12 out of 15]. You decide which one is more believable?   

In the second video, you are confronted by well-known ex-leader of the National Party and very short term leader of the Act Party Don Brash and pitched against him is Andrew Judd ex-Mayor of New Plymouth who has learned the lesson of being a New Zealander and has now come to recognise the need for a partnership between the two founding elements of our nation in the local government area. Once again you decide which one of these two represents New Zealand in this day and age.



The rest of NZ instead shows a much greater interest in other political activities of a more meaningful nature. Direct moves to help the homeless and support for our hard working Midwives who have had their wages depressed for over a decade, along with other public health Nurses who are on the frontline. The last government let the Care Givers down to such an extent that they [the Government] were taken to the Courts and LOST, only then then were they forced to increase Care Givers wages…But hey what’s new, we’ve been doing it for years ever since Roger Douglas and his mob adopted neoliberal rip-off behaviour as the norm. Between him and Ruth Richardson working class people were attacked via GST and tax hikes. The exception was the top tax rate which was lowered…guess whom was paying who…

Funding for health was depressed while the country spend millions on a discussion on a new flag, future spending on health took a beating while at the same time governments reduced the top tax rate for the wealthy. Today the Opposition, pleas to keep spending big on highways to nowhere: while country roads and bridges rot because of a lack of repairs.

Even our local newspapers has become less local, the so-called new compact version [honest media people call it a tabloid] because it now has become simply a centrally printed paper with the odd bit of local advertising and a few soft regional items. Investigative journalism is a thing of the past. This motly crew pictured are called Journalists, but are they?
In real terms this bunch of rat-bags are simply opinionated money grabbers, none of them has produced work that could ever be considered ‘Investigative journalism’. These are ‘Yes men’ of the highest order. Anyone of them would go down a treat working for ‘Fox News’. Note: Far right on the top row is ‘David Seymour’ so-called ACT party leader, funded by the tax-payers of NZ so as to pretend that the National Party has a friend in Parliament. I will concede that he is not a real journalist…just a pretend one. Since we the tax-payers are unwillingly paying his bribe / bride price if you'll forgive the PNG term, I feel justified in including him in this gallery of rogues since the MSM treats him as intelligent!.

3. After taking a one year break [2017] the May Day concert was back on stage celebrating International Workers Day 2018. It was a a special night because it honoured Kristine Bartlett Kiwibanks 2018 New Zealander of the year. Kristine fought tooth and nail via her Union to get the National Government to pay equal pay to female workers in the home care industry. The Government tried to block this desire by using every trick in the book. But in the end the Courts [more than one] ruled that the Government was breaking the law…and the government was FORCED to increase specific care workers’ salaries [which up to the time of the court cases were based on the minimum rate [around $15 per hour]. During the 2017 general election the National Government attempted to claim some credit for increasing some care givers hourly rates…history shows that they tried over and over again to have the courts’ rulings cancelled out…The Government of the day were liars and were rightly made to recant. It was a great victory for the power of unions and the solidarity of people like Kristine Bartlett and her supporters.

Brazen Hussies in 2016 in The Square.
Various Unions and organisations had information available for those attending the May Day Concern. One of those ‘Vote Yes to Maori Wards’ had a table with some handouts available…Some unknown person wanted to add to the table a cutout of the ‘Hobson’s Pledge and One Vote for all half page add…but he and his so-called organisation lacked the guts or openness to approach the organisers of the Concert…this has been so typical of their misleading and false information that they have imported and used to justify their racist behaviour..

It was a great nights entertainment, The Brass Razoo Solidarity Band, The Dean McKerras School of Dance, Michelle Robinson Dance Theatre, the Kate Martin School of Dance, Jimmy [a local singer / composer] The Brazen Hussies, all competed for the May Day Cup…and the winner was “The Brazen Hussies”…and not forgetting the dynamic Peter Hicks from Tasmania a song writer and composer of world class.

Big thanks to the Peoples Theatre, the Globe and the Peoples Radio Station, Access Manawatu, and all those who played a part in the concerts wonderful presentation.

“Every great work
Every great accomplishment
Has been brought
Into manifestation
Through holding,
To the vision

Florence Scovel Shinn:

Peter J Wheeler



1 comment:

Wheeler's Corner NZ said...

I received this by email...I have deleted the name of the woman concerned:
"5 minutes before the concert began, a woman called [Name deleted] who I know attends the Catholic Cathedral and who has mental health issues showed me her cutout of the Hobsons pledge advert and said i have a few of these to put up, can i use that noticeboard?

When I saw it I was furious. I said no you can't put them up. She said that's not fair you are preventing an alternative view. I said [name deleted] go and organise your own concert. This is a workers event, you are not to put any of that up. We strongly support Maori Wards. She kept saying that I was preventing an alternative view. I was so angry with her I walked away because i consider she has a mental health problem and i didnt want to do anything silly like ripping her advert up in front of her as I felt like doing. I didn't realise there were other people there too that supported Don Brash