Playschool Politicians

It is no wonder that we have all started to lose our faith in the people that run our country since speculation and accusation around spending and allowances has been rife. And now we find that not only has Hone Harawira been sight-seeing on a political trip overseas, but that he has also written a rude and derogatory email condemning those that criticised his jaunt in Europe.

First it was the politicians’ housing allowance that was abused, then their travel, transport and holidays came under fire and now we hear that fellow country-leaders are stabbing each other in the back with rude and unnecessary comments.

It seems to me that they are behaving like playschool children, sneaking around behind the teacher’s back, stealing biscuits and milk that don’t belong to them and picking at each other. Why then do we stand for such behaviour? Especially from the people we hope will run our country in the best way possible. We certainly wouldn’t put up with it from our own family and friends.

There has certainly been a vast amount of uproar about the recent events, not least because of the fact that the rest of the country is scrimping and saving through these tough times but then it turns out that our hard-earned cash is being used to send politicians around the globe and support the upkeep of multiple homes! But what I find hard to stomach is the hypocritical behaviour of politicians like Rodney Hide…he accuses John Key of being an implementer, not an leader and then he spends taxpayers money to go on a jaunt around London with his partner. Well if I didn’t find him irritating enough to begin with, this has certainly tipped me over the edge.

Unfortunately, we have nothing stronger than our voices to speak out about these travesties. But they may be powerful enough. That is the only reason why Bill English admitted he was in the wrong (although he never actually apologised did he?). I am not implying that we all start protesting! But the simple act of writing letters, making phone calls to radio stations and expressing our dislike of certain behaviours will always make a difference. At the end of the day, the politicians are in the position they are in due to the positive votes from the nation. If we are express our distaste for certain actions, then we show these leaders that their actions need to be corrected and that their behaviour does not warrant them being in power.