Solidarity is the key word

In 1984 the corruption started, the plan was simple; it wasn’t new because it had been around since the beginning of that century. The aim was to destroy solidarity amongst the working population. This strategy succeeded throughout the world and New Zealand was no different although in NZ it took a little longer, because we were a more equal society in some respects and we had not always followed slavishly the American way. More importantly between 1935 and 1945 we actually had a government elected by the people for the people.  

In modern times [84 till today] here in New Zealand the steps downward into poverty gained rapid momentum with the introduction of a so-called ‘partnership’ deals in the Public Service and later across the whole union movement. Hundreds of thousands accepted the lie of partnership, and it was a lie, that employers, be they government or private sold us.

Those in power have never accepted that people are equal, they fully realised that since the removal of slavery in the old traditional sense the masses of the population needed to be controlled by other means and those means were economic in nature. Two steps were important in creating this situation to develop the mass control over the rank and file.

• Firstly they had to control the value/cost of labour and

• Secondly they had to lead those working into dependence on loans and debits via selling the concept of individual asset ownership rather than community ownership, especially in regard to collective bargaining, housing and such like.

Here in NZ the destruction of unions both public and private was vital and in reality has for the most part been almost fully achieved. They [Unions] are now weak and fail to protect the various gains once achieved. Equal pay is going backwards; wages for the young are being lowered at a rapid rate, and collective bargaining has been diluted to such an extent that in many industries no longer exists. But more importantly collectivism and community strength has been weakened to the level that governments can divide and rule with ease, since the 1980’s governments and businesses have been able to negotiate wages downward other than for those at the top. The government changed the language by calling people who used their services customers or clients and customers or clients have a lot less power than citizens in regard to changing systems. The government backed by private business need to continue with the absolute ability to lock the bulk of citizens into a no-win situation in regard to effecting economic and social change. Hence we see the rapid and growing widening gap, between those who have and those who don’t. Those who don’t have, have no power to even negotiate slight improvements in their overall economic conditions. Changes to the taxation system of late have supported the dumbing down of resistance to the control by mainly overseas controlled vital activities such as banking, trade and commerce.

The next covert step now underway by both government and business is in my view to spread the net wider and bring under control other elements of civil and community society or life and the first of these is without doubt Education with a capital E.

The business/market model has already been forcibly applied in our universities and the result has not been better outcomes for students or teachers or communities or individuals. This is clearly obvious by the huge student debt and millions if not billions are being spent on advertising in private overseas mass media with silly Vice Chancellors of universities appearing on mass media pushing their public relations wares at the expense of academic standards.

The government would have you believe that the Charter Schools introduction is because there is an agreement between the Act Party and National…that is just plain rubbish…it is National Party and Business NZ policy. We all know that the ACT party ceased to exist once Key had a cup of tea with law breaker John Banks and decided to throw him a rotting bone. John Key has a cup of tea [or something stronger] with Auckland Boys Grammar and Whanganui Collegate and the next thing you know they are receiving millions in extra funding, there is nothing unclear about where the PM’s sympathy rests when it comes to aiding private schools.  

So why is the government picking on public schools. The answer is obvious; for schools are the last bastions of rallying points for communities to come together to argue against or fight against the privatisation agenda of both business and government. Schools represent communities and communities represent a danger point in the strategy of divide and rule. The selection of Heke Parata as minister of education is clear evidence that the government in conjunction with private interests fully intended to stir up the education sector, she is so bad a manager and so lacking in intellect that she can’t even retain staff in her own office…and she brought off the Secretary of Education at the cost of half a million dollars and sent her back to England in a huff, in fact she makes Paula Bennett and Aaron Gilmore look bright.

Of course another key factor, if you will excuse the pun, are the various teachers unions, they are simply too organised and too wise to accept the crap about Charter Schools. You see public education is based on solidarity and solidarity is dangerous in a privatised world and in New Zealand without doubt teachers lead in the solidarity stakes. They have yet to call their pupils customers or clients and so they recognise when they are being fed a load of crap by the hundreds of public relations leaches that surround this government.
Teaches simply don’t buy into the view that by maximising profit for a few means education is improved. Our universities are living proof that profit equals learning is simply untrue no matter from which direction you approach it.