Democracy Under threat

We should stop kidding ourselves that we live in a democracy.

A democracy shouldn’t have its citizens in fear of saying anything that might embarrass or annoy the government.

This is what has happened in the case of the policeman who as the head of a local marae gave accommodation to homeless people thereby embarrassing Paula Bennet  the then minister and the national government for its inaction.

This man has become the latest victim of the attack politics that the national government had become expert at.

The worst aspect of this saga is that the police have demonstrated that they are no longer independent but are now complicit with the government and will prosecute anyone, including one of their own, once they are instructed to.

An added twist to this is that coincidentally this same man who has demonstrated time and time again his dedication to his own people and community has been charged with kidnapping after a family came to him desperately looking for help with their under-aged daughter.

Fortunately the jury used some common sense and found him not guilty, but the question remains, who do the police serve and why are they not held to account.    

The other demonstration of democracy gone is when newspapers and other main stream media peddle this nonsense without any balance or question as to where the story came from.

It wouldn’t take much of a journalist to find out where this story originated.

At best it shows the media as being lazy and accepting a story without having to put in any effort, at worst it shows complicity with the government to persecute a critic of government policy .

This is not a democracy but a totalitarian state where all dissent is ruthlessly crushed.

Go Nuts