Days after a young woman with autism gave birth her baby was uplifted from the maternity ward, without warning and by government social workers. Illustration / Paul Slater
Oranga Tamariki’s profound lack of empathy
I’ve tried to have empathy for Oranga Tamariki in the case of the new-born removed from his mother Sarah (Weekend Herald, Aug 17).
They undoubtedly have a challenging and thankless job where often there are going to be families hurt and wounded. Tragically, in this case there was such a litany of missteps in how Sarah and her mum were treated, along with ignorant assumptions made about who they were, that it bordered on criminality.
The errors started at the birth, and any woman who has been induced will understand how brutal labour can be, especially when it concludes with a C-section. What followed was hard to read because the staff expected Sarah to “perform” as a new mum, not considering Sarah’s disability and her physical and emotional state.
This displayed a profound lack of empathy compounded by the social worker making a one-dimensional assessment of Sarah’s fitness to care for her child. The social worker didn’t have adequate knowledge and training about the complexities of autism, and she set in motion unequivocal decisions that destroyed a family.
Peter Boshier provided a balanced and sympathetic report, giving due consideration to both sides, but he emphasised more than once that Oranga Tamariki appeared not to understand autism and didn’t attempt to learn more about it. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for Oranga Tamariki to have made an effective care and protection plan for Sarah and her baby, when they were so narrowly prepared to act as judge, jury and executioner based on entrenched prejudices about Sarah’s disability.
A paltry ex-gratia payment of $7500 can’t make up for what was lost. A heartfelt apology however, with a promise to do better, be better, may inform and improve a more in touch and compassionate Oranga Tamariki. Our children’s futures depend on it.
Mary Hearn, Glendowie.
Tall poppy problem
Benjamin Plummer’s account of his brother’s experience of being abused as a rugby player makes distressing reading (Weekend Herald, Aug 17).
Tall poppy syndrome is a sad indictment of New Zealand society but is symptomatic of a general malaise that shows many as having an inferiority complex when it comes to people who see others as better than themselves.
To try to cut down people who are doing well is a dangerous pastime as those who are successful may not see it as necessary to put up with this and leave the country. Harry Plummer, Benjamin’s brother, obviously has the rugby skills not only to do well in New Zealand but also overseas, where he could ply his trade as a professional rugby player earning far more than he ever would here.
This could also apply to other people who stand out from the crowd. These include innovators and risk-takers.
People like Harry Plummer need to be given every opportunity and encouragement to rise to the top and not be abused. Who would blame him if he eventually decides to leave these shores to play in front of people who appreciate his skills and are willing to pay far more for them than we are?
Bernard Walker, Mt Maunganui.
Righting wrongs
I hope Ngarimu Blair’s account of the deceit, lies, brutality and theft that led to Ngati Whatua losing almost all their land will help those who object to preference now given to Māori understand why this is now so essential (Weekend Herald, Aug 17).
It is not possible to right the terrible wrongs of our past actions, but it is quite possible to accept that today we have no choice morally but to do what we can to help Māori recover from the devastation we imposed, by making sure we spend what’s needed to improve life for Māori whether it’s in the area of health, housing or the welfare of children.
Giving preference to Māori over any others is one very small step towards taking responsibility for our part in kicking Māori to the bottom in every area of life. We owe this to ourselves if we want to claim that we are decent human beings who understand what fairness is.
Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central.
Bizarre chorus
Thomas Coughlan’s ecstatic praise of the coalition Government (Weekend Herald, Aug 17) is just another example of the bizarre chorus which has broken out since the Reserve Bank tweaked the OCR.
You’d almost think it was Christmas come early and time for us to ennoble Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis for their achievements - deliberately creating unemployment to slow down the economy. Who cares about the social costs?
Our great leaders will now focus on catching out errant beneficiaries and disabled people who should be looking for work. Such wisdom and compassion.
I’m speechless. As economist Craig Renney pointed out, it’s like saving a toe by cutting off the other leg. The costs of austerity are much too high, and come down hardest on those who have least.
Meanwhile, damage to the environment and sidelining of the Treaty continue at pace. I can’t see we have anything to celebrate.
Vivien Fergusson, Mt Eden.
Think Big redux
The news this week that the Government has now secured a 12-month contract to use some of the Methanex long-term gas supply is both encouraging and somewhat alarming at the same time.
It is understood that the Canadian-owned, but Taranaki-based manufacturer Methanex, has agreed to “mothball” its plant for a considerable period in order to sell the stored natural gas the plant uses to Contact Energy and Genesis Energy.
Methanex manufactures methanol and the manufacturing plant was one of a number of major investments into petrochemical and energy-related projects brought in under the Muldoon-led National Government in the early 1980s to increase New Zealand’s self-sufficiency and at the same time stimulate our economy.
“Think Big” was controversial, but the methanol plant was designed to utilise New Zealand’s abundant natural gas. Ironically as it is today, many of the “Think Big” projects were sold to offshore interests, such as Canada’s Methanex.
In case you are wondering, methanol is used as an industrial solvent to help create inks, resins, adhesives and dyes and is additionally used indirectly in the pharmaceutical industry and is exported in considerable quantities.
Now we find Contact Energy, once government-owned, and Genesis Energy, which has a 51% government cornerstone shareholding, forced into purchasing the natural gas at a price considerably greater than the return that Methanex can get for the methanol it would have produced.
The two New Zealand energy providers need the natural gas to manufacture electricity to make up the shortfall in current electricity production due to an absence of rain and wind in our “renewable " energy, and this of course rings major alarm bells in regard to safeguarding New Zealand’s increasing future energy requirements.
As it stands today it appears that New Zealand’s energy supplies are hanging on by a very slender thread and just maybe we need to “Think Big” again and quickly?
Randal Lockie, Rothesay Bay.
Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones asks what is the point of the Electricity Authority if it fails to ensure proper electricity supply and affordability. My question is what is the point of Shane Jones if the best he can do is berate the Electricity Authority in floridly aggressive terms, telling them to “man up” or else become “road kill”. Only the Government has the power to regulate the industry by restructuring a flawed market. Its reluctance to intervene might have something to do with it being a major shareholder of the gentailers and therefore a beneficiary of the gentailers’ excessive profits.
Andrea Dawe, Sandringham.
Why does Norway have the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund and can afford lots of things that are nice to have while New Zealand has a broken electricity market? Could it be that one country had an experiment in radical free-market economics while the other wisely retained control of its natural assets for the benefit of its citizens? NZ is being effectively held to ransom by its largest single user of natural gas and one that has made several decades worth of enormous profits. If Methanex ever had a social licence to operate it is well past its use-by date. It is long past time to review the sweetheart deals of the 1980s.
William O’Donnell, Sandringham.
Regulations must be changed so that anyone who installs grid-tie solar panels on their home or factory should be paid 100% of the spot price for every watt-hour of electricity they pump back into the grid. This regulation change would not cost the Government or taxpayer one cent. Millions would be invested in solar and everyone except the power company executives would be happy. The electricity crisis would end.
John Caldwell, Howick.
The Ministry for Regulation sounds suspiciously like the “Department of Administrative Affairs” from the BBC TV series Yes Minister or the “General Assistance Department” from their radio series “The Men from the Ministry”.
David Wharton, Chatswood.
Now that Darleen Tana has publicly stated she “hasn’t got $10 to rub together”, her base salary of $168,000 while in Parliament seems a very compelling reason why she is so adamant about not stepping down.
Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
The authors of the American Constitution should be appalled at the current state of presidential elections. How can it be democratic when only the richest candidates have a chance? Just think how much good those millions of dollars squandered on party publicity could do for the general public.
Jeanette Grant, Mt Eden.
When I hear the term “high-trust model” from a government agency, I immediately interpret that as “minimal government control and an opportunity for villains to take advantage”. The Accredited Employer Work Visa Scheme is a classic example of this feeble approach to legislation. It should be repealed immediately and re-set with proper controls.
Nick Rowe, Greenlane.
The Paris Olympic Games were truly a memorable occasion but there was one aspect of the Games I found disappointing and that was the outfits worn by the carriers of the medals to the award ceremonies. What shapeless boring outfits and as for the headgear, ugly comes to mind. Surely French flair could have come up with a more vibrant colourful and exciting outfit. Mind you what does an 84-year-old male know about fashion!
Mike Jarman, One Tree Hill.
He had earlier been locked up for outrageously dangerous driving. It was caught on video.