News Worthy - 12 November 2004

Newsworthy is different this week. The body of the Unknown Warrior exhumed from the fields of France was taken yesterday and entombed.

Against the background of the event Hansard (the official Parliamentary reporter) reported my speech in the General Debate in these terms:

The arrival of the unknown warrior to lie in State in the Legislative Chamber is an opportunity to reflect on the values which New Zealanders' espouse.

Most of us think little of these issues but the hallmarks of the New Zealander include:

· A commitment to tradition - both Maori and non-Maori share that value · A ruggedness and self-reliance which characterises the settler tradition · A belief in law and order · A commitment to the family and in the wider context a commitment to friends and comrades

The present Government does not support those values. That is manifested in so many ways.

It is seen in the pursuit of the social engineering agenda which the Government relentlessly pursues.

The change is insidious. A good analogy is the fate of the frog . When it is dropped into boiling water, it hops out, substantially unscarred. When it is dropped into cold water and the water is then brought to the boil, the frog is boiled alive.

Social change is all around us. It is to be seen in the legalisation of prostitution which has removed the criminal sanction from that activity.

It is to be seen in the steps which the Government has taken to advance the course of republicanism:

· the decision to stop appeals to the Privy Council when around the world, countries are looking outside their jurisdictional boundaries to resolve disputes · the degrading to the Honours system · the decision taken for no good reason that Queens Counsel should be renamed Senior Counsel

In the context of the family, the Care of Children Act moves the focus away from parental rights and responsibilities to a wider group of caregivers who may have the most fleeting relationship with the child in their care.

The Government is determined to pass the Civil Union Bill which will provide state sanction for same-sex couples, which will enable people in marriages to reassemble their relationship as a civil union and to invest in de-facto couples the responsibilities of married couples when de-facto couples have deliberately opted out of the more formal structure of marriage.

We need to reflect on whether our traditions which are very much of the New Zealand heritage are being advanced by the present social agenda. I think they are not.

Who really believes that the Police should send taxis in response to 111 calls?

Who really believes that it is not justified to take the life of an intending killer who enters a farmhouse.

Who really believes that a criminal should be compensated for his experience in jail?

Who really believes that the problems of a mother on the Domestic Purposes Benefit are solved by having more children to serial partners?

National does not - we stand against that.

Those who went to war and did not return in most cases left mourning families behind - wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and parents. They died for a cause which reflected the traditional values which I have referred to.

Whether they volunteered for reasons related to the enthusiasm of youth or the duty of service, they were warrior figures who were prepared to commit their lives to the cause they believed in.

The values of society over long timeframes have an immutable quality. That quality is worthy of nurture and maintenance. If we salute the Unknown Warrior we must also commit to perpetuating the values which he or she stood for and which our society should unstintingly support.

Political Quote of the Week "1,000 friends are not enough, but one enemy is too many."-- retired Vietnamese Colonel Nguyen Trong on the occasion of President Clinton's visit, 17 November 2000

12 November 2004 No. 15

12 November Auckland City Council unfurling of national flags
13 November Richard visiting residents around Ranfurly Road.
14 November Scouts' Youth Foundation AGM 15 November Early Childhood Education Awareness Week
17 November Launch of NZ Oxford Dictionary
18 November National Party dance at St Aidans - $10.00 per person - Supper provided - Ct: Sue Chatfield 520 3532
19 November Monaco National Day - flag will be flown on Auckland Harbour Bridge 20 November Grey Lynn Park Festival 23 November Order of St John AGM
24 November Justice & Electoral Select Committee hearing of submissions on NZ Sign Language Bill in Auckland
26 November Ellerslie Flower Show
27 November Opening of NZ Guangdong Chamber of Commerce
28 November Mt Erebus Memorial service at Holy Trinity Church 29 November Epsom Newsmaker's breakfast with guest speaker Rt Hon Jenny Shipley. Ct: Elizabeth Rackley 623 2598 - Tickets: $35 in advance $40 at the door. 2 December Auckland Grammar School prizegiving

Richard Worth

Visit my website for more information at: http://www.richardworth.co.nz

ENDS

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