Upping the Angst

Overall, people live much longer and more comfortable lives than they ever have before. That is even when you take into account the health issues of the developing world, and, nations involved in conflict. We live in a golden age but we won’t recognise it. Anxiety and irrational fears are on the increase. High speed, hard sell mass media means that we are told a lot of things that are really none of our business. And, we are told in an alarming exaggerated way. Repeatedly, until sales and ratings drop and the next sensation comes down the wire. Our great grandparents often never knew of conflict and disasters in other hemispheres until well after the fact, if at all. And they certainly never had the vicious impact of troubles brought home in high definition drama. They didn’t usually live as long as we will but they seemed to be happier. When they had worries, wisely, they kept it from their children.

People have always worried about their health and safety. We are hard wired for worry. This was most fortuitous in the days when, if you stepped out of your cave without pessimistic vigilance, you could be torn apart and eaten alive by a sabre toothed tiger. For most of humanity’s existence, you were doing very well if you lived long enough to perpetrate your genes into the next generation. If you are an adult now, you will probably live into your eighties. If you breathe up some second-hand smoke or eat a bacon butty you will have more than ten minutes to live. Relax and enjoy. And keep your kids away from too much TV news. They worry more than we do.

WHANAU AURA

There has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the Whanau  Ora launch - the new way to get families off the poverty tread mill. 

We think we know what Whanau Ora was meant to be and what it is going to be. 

Now the above diagram is half crap and half sense. The Green segements  are the important bit. 

There is still too much of a sense of entitlement within the ranks of Maori leaders for them to make much of a difference. Self reliance and and personal responsibility are not intrinsic Maori values otherwise we would not need Whanau ora. The reliance on the collective is part of the problem. 

However we see much merit in a focus on the Whanau taking more responsibility for its own. and at the end of the day the families who are most in need  may eventually  benefit from a reconnection to their tribal roots but  a night class in computer literacy and nutrition could well provide more benefit. 

Now for a start the one point that everyone does agree on is that there are a group of families through out the country who are in a hell  that many of us know little of. Sometimes of their own making sometimes not. Its about intergenerational dis-functionality, despair, hopelessness, and a life that is  nothing more than an existence and their existence is dependent on the state. 

One of the issues has been the handout mentality that has been entrenched in our past socialist welfare system. The sense of  entitlement is deep rooted in the collective psyche of the poor and dare we say it Maori. 

For us the most exciting things about Whanau Ora  is  that  government departments would finally be called on to work together. 

Thats got to be a winner. 

There has also been some cynicism over the level of funding  -- no new money  . Fantastic! That's great.  It means all the crock of shit programmes that have not provided any social payback can be canned. The new Minister  of Whanau Ora, Tariana Turia has the  various agency chief executives reporting direct to her and she will want progress quickly. 

Thats  got to be music to the ears of all taxpayers and beneficiaries. 

The bad things is that the way it is designed could lead to the possibility of misuse funds as it relies on a measure of ' bulk funding.'

The example that was used to provide how it would work was a bit simplisitic.  

However the solutions are not going to be simple and sadly the changes will not happen overnight. We just hope that the groups who have been selected to roll out the first wave of Whanau Ora  realise that there is an awful lot riding one some pretty quick and demonstrable outcomes from this policy change.  So when the government departments don't deliver,   the - in the field providers, shoud have an open line direct to  the Minister so she will be able to tell  the Chief executives  in no uncertain terms to sort out their departmental deficiencies. 

It is a lot to expect people who don't make decisions about their existence to suddenly make the psychological shift to self determination and in the end nothing will be achieved unless the individuals and whanau take responsiblity for their lives. However we  believe that there are some very good providers out there , who with the freedom to do things their way and the ability to  make government departments deliver for their clients will see Whanau Ora become a reality. 

THREE YR OLD TAUGHT TO SMOKE BY MOTHER

Believe it or not...

A welsh mother has narrowly escaped jail for child abuse after she was caught teaching her 3 yr old to smoke.

We dont like tobacco, we want to see tobacco displays banned - its a childrens health issue - full stop.