NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

<i>Dialogue:</i> Up is a long way from our down

8 Aug, 2001 07:31 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

By GARTH GEORGE

The Knowledge Wave Conference has come and gone, the politicians, bureaucrats, academics and entrepreneurs have gone home - and I fear that New Zealand will simply continue to stumble along as it has done now for years.

Not that the conference wasn't desireable - even necessary - and a credit to those whose wish for a better New Zealand is so great that they went to the trouble of organising it and paying for it.

But it will not have the effect they so earnestly desire because all it did was add to what is really wrong with this country, the reason we are standing still as a nation, if not going backwards.

And that is that we as a people are demoralised. Our sense of self-worth has been so battered that I wonder if we'll ever recover. That's not surprising.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

For nearly 20 years we have been told we're not good enough, not smart enough, not quick enough, not tough enough, not industrious enough to heave ourselves into the 21st century.

For years we have constantly been compared negatively with other countries, such as the United States, Ireland, Israel, Hong Kong - none of whose people bear the slightest resemblance to us in character or personality - and told that unless we pull our socks up we will never foot it with the rest of the world.

For nearly 20 years we have been promised a better deal for ourselves and our families, but those empty promises have never come true.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rather we have seen the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and more numerous, our public utilities and businesses sold off to foreigners, our health, social welfare, law and defence services decline and, for the majority of us in the middle, a sharp erosion of our disposable incomes.

And day after day, year after year, those of us who make up the majority of the populace have been bombarded with the idea that somehow we're to blame for, and must pay for, alleged injustices perpetrated by our ancestors on our indigenous people.

The result for us collectively has been the same as it would be if all this happened to us personally.

If you tell a man (for clarity I use man throughout for both sexes) long enough and often enough that he is not good enough, he will get angry, bitter, resentful, rebellious and either violent or apathetic.

If you tell a man long enough and often enough that he's not as good as the bloke across the street, he's not going to try to be like that bloke, he's going to adopt an attitude that says, "Thank God for that, I wouldn't be like that so-and-so for all the money in the world."

If you keep promising a man something worthwhile and don't deliver, then he's not only going to lose faith in you but in all your kind, which explains why politicians, bureaucrats, economists and businessmen are held in contempt in this country.

And if you tell a man often enough and long enough that he should feel guilty because he is responsible for the sad and sorry state of a large number of neighbours - when he knows damn well he isn't - and must pay, then what you get is not empathy but enmity.

So it's not surprising that most of us look at the articulate, well-endowed and self-important peacocks who strut their stuff at things such the Knowledge Wave Conference, yawn mightily and whisper, "Get stuffed".

I wonder if it ever occurred to anyone to ask the man in the street, your everyday New Zealander, what he wants?

Does he want to work better, smarter, quicker, tougher and for longer hours just to acquire more and bigger and dearer and flasher consumables? Does he see slaving at a job for a pittance paid by an increasingly wealthy boss (and probably a foreigner to boot) as the be-all and end-all of his existence?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Does he want to be like the Aussies, the Irish, the Americans, the Israelis or any other foreigner you like to name?

Does he really give a damn whether his wonderful little country at the bottom of the world, richly endowed by nature and conducive to a laidback lifestyle, stays only on the fringes of the global community?

Or would he rather just be himself, a Kiwi, doing what he does best to the extent that he wants to, cheerfully paying his taxes to help those less fortunate than himself, satisfied with a roof over his head, three meals a day, a warm, dry bed, sufficient clothing for all seasons and a serviceable vehicle to get around in - with a few dollars left over to indulge in whatever takes his fancy?

If we can first, by treating him fairly and equitably, deal with his anger, resentment and bitterness, and by apologising and making amends heal his sense of betrayal, perhaps somebody might ask him?

*

garth_george@nzherald.co.nz

Other Herald features

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Our turn

The jobs challenge

Common core values

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand|christchurch

Golden retriever rescued after being stuck on a cliff

New Zealand

Pet dog rescued after falling down cliff during family outing

08 Jul 05:00 AM
New Zealand

'Unprecedented' changes around Antarctic have implications for NZ

08 Jul 04:55 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Golden retriever rescued after being stuck on a cliff

Golden retriever rescued after being stuck on a cliff

Two-year-old golden retriever Remmy rescued after being stuck on a cliff for two hours. Video / George Heard

Pet dog rescued after falling down cliff during family outing

Pet dog rescued after falling down cliff during family outing

08 Jul 05:00 AM
'Unprecedented' changes around Antarctic have implications for NZ

'Unprecedented' changes around Antarctic have implications for NZ

08 Jul 04:55 AM
Police search for Michael Tautari, urge public not to approach him

Police search for Michael Tautari, urge public not to approach him

08 Jul 04:36 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP