Benn's RR report on Todd McClay and Easter Sunday trading
The New Zealand government allowed retailers in Queenstown and Taupo to trade on Easter Sunday.
Mr McClay now says that was "unfair", presumably to retailers in other centres such as Rotorua. He may be right about that, or he may be wrong. Parliament at the time clearly did not think that it was passing legislation which was unfair to anyone.
But never mind that. Let us accept that it was "unfair" as Mr McClay now claims. He then had two remedies open to him. The first and most obvious solution was to repeal the offending legislation. The second was to allow Sunday trading throughout the country.
Yet, curiously, Mr McClay did neither. Instead he passed the buck to the territorial local authorities, allowing them to impose any solution they saw fit, however "fair" or "unfair" that might be. So "fairness" was never the real issue for Mr McClay. If it had been, he would not have left local authorities free to continue with supposedly "unfair" rules.
The New Zealand government is employing a tried and tested liberal strategem whereby an anomaly is deliberately created and that anomaly then provides a pretext for more far-reaching reforms. For example, restrictions on the sale of alcohol are relaxed, which then fuels demands for a more permissive attitude towards the sale and use of cannabis, quickly followed by legalisation and taxation of the cannabis trade, and eventually, by the same logic, legalisation and taxation of methamphetamine and other drugs. The same approach has been used to make gambling casinos, houses of prostitution and many other highly profitable but morally suspect activities into pillars of the New Zealand economy. The government's ultimate object in the case of Easter Sunday trading is not to make for a better or fairer society, but to undermine the public holiday system in New Zealand, which rests on Christian foundations, and at the same time to erode the influence of the Christian church upon state and society.
That real object was well laid out by Darryn Cosgrove who pointed out that Christians are a minority of the public, that in the opinion of those like himself the Biblical account of the resurrection is nothing more than a fairy tale, and that the Christian religion should not be allowed to obstruct people from increasing their material wealth on Easter Sunday. However Mr McClay cannot state the matter so baldly as Darryn does, if for no other reason than that he still relies on the support of Christian voters to keep him in office.
Christians can respect people such as Darryn Cosgrove who staunchly, openly and sincerely deny Christ, not least because the Apostle Paul himself fervently denied Christ until the time of his epiphany on the road to Damascus. It is more difficult to respect Mr McClay when he argues that he only wants a system that is "fair". The Easter Sunday trading dispute is really all about whether capitalism and commerce should prevail over Christianity and community, and while it may not be politically expedient for him to admit the fact, Mr McClay is firmly on the side of commerce and capitalism.
This one is a real head-scratcher!
I am a five-letter word and people eat me.
If you remove the first letter I become an energy form.
If you remove the first two letters, I am needed to live.
Scramble the last three letters and I am a drink.
What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
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Latest scams to look out for 👀
Neighbourly hopes to keep you safe by keeping you informed of the latest scams circulating. This week, we are sharing two common text message scams:
NZTA / Waka Kotahi scam:
- The scam is a text message saying it's from New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, and it encourages the recipient to pay an overdue road toll by visiting a fake website, threatening to take the matter to court within 15 days if they don’t pay up.
- The aim is to trick people into giving away their personal details or pay them money.
- While it is not the first time toll payments have been utilised by scammers, the threat of court action could see more people fall victim.
- The sender will either be a unknown phone number or unknown email address.
Want to report one of these scams? Do so, on Netsafe
NZ Post scam:
- This scam arrives by test message and says it's from NZ Post.
- The premise is that delivery of your parcel was unsuccessful so in order to rearrange delivery. you must click on a link to give your correct address.
- The aim is to trick people into giving away their personal details or pay them money.
- NZ Post advises people not to click the link, but to report the message to the Department of Internal Affairs by forwarding it to 7726.
Think you may have fallen prey to a scam? Get in touch with Netsafe or contact your bank if it involved your bank details.
Remember, if you didn't expect the message and you are now asked to share personal details or money, then stop contact and seek advice elsewhere.
Feel free to share any below that you've encountered recently. This may help others across the country be aware.
Poll: Have you had a pen pal?
With the invention of the internet and mobile phone communication, pen pals seem to be a thing of the past but it was a common practice at one point.
Did you have a pen pal? Where did you meet them? Share below!
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66.9% Yes
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32.8% No
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0.3% Other - I'll share below!
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