Labour – why have you forsaken us?

The media have read Tumeke and they are now starting to question these outrageous new powers the Police have gained from National and ACT ramming through legislation late at night under a misuse of urgency. The media have read Tumeke and they are starting to question the outrageous bias of TVNZ with their party political broadcast adverts. The media have read Tumeke and they are questioning these vast new expansions of surveillance power to all state agencies.

The media have been reading Tumeke, but has Labour been reading Tumeke? Why have you forsaken us Labour? Why have you allowed those awful Union Thugs, Shane Jones and Clayton Cosgrove try and out red neck the Nats as these new erosions of civil liberties are rammed through straight into law!

Why have you forsaken progressive NZ Labour? Why have you voted for these breaches in our human rights? Are you still frightened by trying and losing at the 2008 election? Is that it? Are you frightened National will paint you out as ‘weak on crime’ if you stand up to these erosions of our civil liberties?

What if Phil Goff had challenged these powers? John Key isn’t in the country, Phil could have free hit after free hit. What if you filibuster the process again, this time turning on the biased media (and in the wake of the Bill English party political broadcasts, you can refer to the msm as biased now and people can see it) and attacking them for not covering the manner and process with which National are ramming these changes through.

What if Phil Goff had focused on promoting a fair process where we sit down for dialogue rather than ram legislation through and the far reaching impact of these powers need to be debated. What if Phil Goff had argued that we demand fairness in our process and that was why Labour would filibuster every misuse of Parliamentary process, to camp out at Parliament, calling for other NZers who are concerned with the undemocratic haste of National and ACT ramming through law barely anyone has read. Imagine the focus point of all those groups who are being hurt by this process right now? Labour could have rebuilt their credibility by standing shoulder to shoulder with those groups.

What if Phil Goff stood up for NZers rights rather than roll over? Because that’s what you’ve done by voting with National and ACT on these erosions of our civil liberties by building the foundations of a Police State.

See if Phil Goff had stood up, that would show voters that Labour had the courage of their convictions. Just as the global economy is on the brink of the W recession, things are going to get much worse and a great social democrat is what NZers will want to turn to in times of deep uncertainty over leaders peddling hard right economic policy sold as social policy.

Why have you forsaken us Labour?