Shut down by the ‘thug’s veto’
Today I was due to speak to Massey University’s Politics Society in Palmerston North, which invited me 21⁄2 months ago.
Yesterday, vice-chancellor Jan Thomas announced the university had cancelled the booking due to ‘‘security concerns’’, my involvement with Hobson’s Pledge, and my views on Ma¯ ori wards on councils, which she says ‘‘come dangerously close to hate speech’’ and fail to recognise ‘‘the values of a Tiriti o Waitangi-led organisation’’.
She also references my ‘‘support’’ of Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux (which was merely support of their right to speak, not an endorsement of their views).
The vice-chancellor’s position is a disgraceful contradiction of publicly funded universities’ role in hosting robust debate and the free exchange of ideas.
Tomorrow night I am scheduled to take part in a debate at the University of Auckland. We now fear it too will give in to the vocal minority. It must commit to providing a secure environment for free speech, lest it spark a domino effect that will wipe away the long-standing tradition of free expression on university campuses.
These issues are not limited to university campuses. Several visiting international speakers are now all vulnerable to the ‘‘thug’s veto’’, by which anyone can shut down speech they disagree with by threatening violent protest.
Don Brash, Free Speech Coalition [abridged]
Airlift for Brexit
I have this morning written to presidents Merkel and Macron suggesting that, in the event of Britain crashing out of the European Union, the remaining EU members establish an airlift of essential supplies into London.
It would be based on the Berlin airlift of 1948 and would produce wonderful political and emotional resonances. To be cautious, I suggest that the insignia on the German aircraft be removed and replaced with the EU flag, as we would not want anybody in London worrying that the Germans have renewed the Blitz.
I don’t know if the English would willingly accept emergency supplies of German sausage and French pate (in both cases the quality of their diet would improve), but I suggest it’s an idea worth considering.
David Nicholson, Karori
Low-balling lessons
Finally the realities of current procurement practice is dawning. And about time. There is a wealth of procurement expertise in Wellington, hence the awareness of the likely impact of such practices has been recognised for a long time.
The Government now concedes that ‘‘low-balling’’ contracts is a national and unacceptable risk for projects, workers and any key sector of the economy. The objective of striving to achieve the lowest cost procurement outcome, and to hell with the consequences, is just not acceptable.
But we have our very own regional procurement outcome for Wellington that is unacceptable.
For us in Wellington city, an efficient bus-focused public transport service needs to be just that. By low-balling our bus contracts in 2017, Wellington city has, instead of best-practice bus provision, seen the introduction of a lower-cost provider with frequency, reliability, driver and new route network issues. The contracting process could easily have protected ratepayer and the New Zealand Transport Authority liability but the procurement practice followed means we now have our very own on-going regional and unacceptable risk that is surely a plague on Wellington city. Murray Jaspers, Khandallah [abridged]
It’s about choices
The propaganda being distributed by a government department to our newspapers regarding the Treaty is getting tiresome. I grew up with alcoholic parents and was out on the street at an early age. I learned to be careful with money. I saved and invested and made a life. Inequality does not come from the system and cannot be blamed on others. It is the choices we make in life that determine our situation. Dan McGuire, Nelson