Mana editor Joe Trinder

Cameron Slater is disappointed on how the Waikato times wrote an article on poverty in Jebson place in Hamilton. This despicable article compared New Zealand poverty to slums of Bombay. First let me clear this up for Cameron, New Zealand is not over populated and is one of the most resource rich breadboards of the world and still fails to house and feed its population.  India is overpopulated due to the unmitigated disaster of British colonisation as the same people suffering poverty in New Zealand didn’t prosper from British colonisation.

Cameron and  National want New Zealand  to be perceived as this mythical brighter future where poverty is ignored or just doesn’t exist. This type of perception building is really dangerous for the country because it leads to poor government  and a licence to ignore poverty, In an economy where the wealthy  are already succeeding.  Whale oil consistently complains about the left wing media focusing on poverty but will never acknowledge that National have as much control over the mainstream media as it does over whale oil.

The reality the squalor of streets like Jebson place are an embarrassment to the National party because they are responsible for this poverty. In an economy where there is a strong focus on making farmers and senior management wealthier the difference between the haves and have not’s becomes larger. This isn’t the kiwi way  we have a strong tradition of  hapu  living in a communal lifestyle when humans first came to these shores.

When Cameron and the Nats describe New Zealanders that live in state housing they use stereotypes these people are “lazy” and aren’t trying hard enough to find a job. They refuse to acknowledge unemployment is hovering around 6% and  Nationals inability to lower unemployment. The people that live in state housing are the 6% that can’t find meaningful employment simply because there aren’t enough jobs.

Well done to reporter Aimie Cronin for this article and the Waikato times for revealing to New Zealanders the harsh conditions their fellow countryman live in. As this National government has blinkers on to the squalor and poverty of our state housing sector never before in the history of New Zealand have so few wealthy ruled over so many.