Common people

I try not to be overly political because I do not want to alienate people and I was brought up to believe it is not a subject that polite people raise.

Lately however I have not been able to quietly sit by while privileged people speak of less privileged people in derogatory and patronising ways.

When I hear politicians take pot shots at beneficiaries and gang members I get annoyed. It is easy to pile onto the most vulnerable members of society and tell them they must try harder or they'll be punished some more. Easier than tackling the major supermarkets making more than $1 million a day in excess profits "because of "high prices, high profits and high barriers to enter the market".1

I honestly believe that things will not improve until people on benefits are given dignity and respect. A benefit is never going to do more than assist survival. Beneficiaries are poor. They are struggling to house, feed and clothe themselves and their families. When you are struggling to survive, surviving is your focus.

When I hear Luxon speak I have Common People by Pulp playing in my head. He can never understand what it's like. When would he ever be exposed to the desperation of living below the poverty line? His electorate is Botany. He lives in Remuera. He works in Wellington Central.

You'll never live like common people

You'll never do whatever common people do

You'll never fail like common people

You'll never watch your life slide out of view

Look I can hardly comment either. I am privileged. I am well educated. I am white. I own a house and a business. However, I grew up in a working class area and I continue to live in West Auckland. I volunteer once a month at a Community Law Centre and I see how vulnerable people are exploited and preyed upon. Prior to getting sick I volunteered for a local food parcel provider.

What do I think needs to happen?

I stopped practising criminal law because it quickly became obvious to me I was not in a position where I could really help my clients. It was too late by the time they were in the criminal justice system. We need to put our resourcing into children. We need to stop them from getting broken in the first place.

We need to equip parents with parenting skills. We need to break cycles of abuse.

Children ought to be able to know themselves, their culture, language and background and be accepted in all their rich diversity.

Oranga Tamariki is a nightmare. The State ought to be a very last resort. Money is better spent educating and empowering families.

Education ought to be a priority. Everyone needs to leave school being able to read, write, add, subtract, multiply, divide, understand science and be equipped to live a good productive life. No child should be left behind. Resources need to be channeled into the children (and the families of the children) who are struggling.

No one should ever be hungry in this country. We have an abundance of food.

Benefits need to allow people to live with dignity. The benefit needs to be enough for people to house, feed and clothe themselves.

We need to stare down the addiction problems we have in this country. We need more and better addiction services.

We need to understand what attracts people to gangs and fill that need with an alternative that is socially acceptable. I would be very interested to know how many gang members grew up in State care or with one or both parents in jail. If you alienate people, how do you expect they will behave?

Anyway, that's what I think. It is overly political, sorry. But it is why I hear these words in my head when I hear the Prime Minister speak...

You will never understand

How it feels to live your life

With no meaning or control

And with nowhere left to go

You are amazed that they exist

And they burn so bright

Whilst you can only wonder why

1. The Commerce Commission last year estimated supermarkets were making about $430 million a year in excess profits.