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More Ranting

Entry 234, on 2005-10-11 at 13:34:59 (Rating 3, News)

I want to respond to continued ranting from the business and right-wing political communities regarding their views that Green policies are potentially disastrous and should be avoided. It may seem ironic that I'm responding to this ranting by ranting myself in this blog, but I guess that is just one of the great mysteries of the blog phenomenon!

The right of New Zealand politics (National and Act), various extreme pressure groups (such as the Business Round Table) and some foreign commentators (including one interviewed this morning on National radio, who I unfortunately don't have a name for) all dismiss Green, and left leaning politics in general, as dangerous, but are they right?

If you've read my other blog entries and gained the impression my politics are slightly left of center, you will no doubt realise I would answer this question: no, they are not dangerous in the general sense. They might be dangerous to business groups who wish to maintain their privileged position, but in general some element of left or Green politics is a good thing.

I most certainly don't agree with all Green policies, for example: I think we should consider using nuclear power, and genetic modification is a technology we should also use, but responsibly. And I think they place too much importance on the Treaty of Waitangi, and want to place too much importance on maori issues, such as the language. I don't care about the legalisation of soft drugs, such as marijuana. I do agree with their social agenda and the importance they place on maintaining good environmental standards. So a government comprised mainly of a center-left (or in my opinion just center) party like Labour and a Green party is, I think, a perfect combination.

I have no doubt that the tactics coming from the right of politics which try to make the Greens look scary to voters have been motivated by self interest. Luckily they didn't entirely succeed, but I'm sure the Green vote would have been higher without the dirty tricks. So maybe we will have slightly slower growth as a result of the policies of the new government, but if that means we will have more sensible foreign investment, lower property prices, a better environment, and more control over the worst excesses of business, I say: great, give us slower growth!

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