Bawa Arora –
Law and Order has become a subject of discussion in the media and among the public.
I have been a resident of New Zealand for more than ten years now.
My research tells me that the ethos of New Zealand is that of a classless nation where people who have the means support those who do not. It used to be a country where theories of social contract and communities and neighbours supporting each other were the norm rather than an exception.
Modern life with its increasing professional demands is placing strains on our work life balance. This has over the years changed our views on how we connect with our neighbours as well as in our communities. The increasing role of social media in diminishing personal contact cannot be underestimated.
The National Government
The present government has been in office for about nine years. It was voted because of its promise to create jobs, lift economic growth and help us build on our Kiwi lifestyle. The economy has proven its resilience and managed natural disasters and the global financial crisis well. The fundamentals of our mixed economy are strong.
Job creation has been one of the goals of the current government and get more and more New Zealanders into employment.
Employment gives birth to goals and aspirations.
These drive our ability to work harder and smarter as well as train for new skills or education. This has also meant that the government can use the money saved from paying income support to people towards providing public services. Again, based on the numbers, it appears that our government has had success in achieving its goal.
Weakening family values
However, despite the best of intentions there may not have been enough motivated people who want to start work and fulfill their aspirations for a better future for themselves and their families.
It has resulted in a situation where people now want to live beyond their means.
This directly relates to the fabric of family values weakening.
The situation is being worsened because of our children participating in unlawful activities to satisfy their unfair wants. Hence the spike in robberies on shops that sell tobacco and liquor products.
This brings us to the larger question – is there a buyer for these stolen goods?
Without a buyer to pay for their loot, I doubt if these youngsters will risk their present and future to steal. Perhaps tracking buyers and holding them to equal account as we seek to hold the perpetrators of these crimes is one way of finding a resolution to our law and order problems.
Our role as members of the community is neither to scaremonger nor to wash our dirty linen in public. We have to educate each other and work holistically with all agencies towards finding long term solutions to issues that impact our daily lives and most importantly our children’s future.
Bawa Arora is an immigrant from India and has been in New Zealand on Permanent Resident status for more than 10 years. Please read our editorial, ‘Remove the cause, not the symptoms’ under Viewlink.
