Maxim Institute - real issues - No. 261

Maxim Institute - real issues - No. 261 12 July 2007 www.maxim.org.nz

A vote too far Britain breaks through Groups seek local government funding IN THE NEWS Submission on Prostitution Reform Act High Court considers Field case Juveniles to be treated as juveniles in Connecticut courts

A VOTE TOO FAR

The Youth Parliament 2007 has been sitting this week, giving young people a chance to see how the government of the country works, ask questions of real ministers, sit on select committees, and debate issues from NCEA to climate change. Engaging young people in the concerns of the community they live in, and the body politic they are about to join, is important for democracy. Institutions like the Youth Parliament bring to the forefront the duty and privilege that is democracy.

Promoting the civic education of our young people is vital, and neglecting it does actual harm. Many young people are granted the vote at 18 with little idea of its importance, the role and duty of electors, or the historical struggle and wider context attached to the exercise of the franchise.

This is why civic education measures in Sue Bradford's recently mooted Civics Education and Voting Age Bill are worth debating. The first half of the Bill would put into the school curriculum greater emphasis on 'the Treaty of Waitangi, the constitutional law and conventions of New Zealand, the structure and electoral processes of central and local government in New Zealand, the New Zealand legal system, and the rights and responsibilities associated with citizenship of New Zealand.' A more explicit emphasis on civics in schools, and teaching about our constitutional fabric and the 'structure and...processes' of democracy would help to promote the importance and the duties of democracy, and a sense of citizenship, heritage and common identity.

The second half of the Bill would lower the voting age to 16, and this proposal should not be welcomed. While there are many articulate, educated and politically aware young people, there must be doubts about whether the average 16 year old has either the capacity or the inclination to engage properly in politics, which requires a long view and a broad perspective. Maturity, balancing priorities and prudence are things we try to teach our teenagers as they grow through to adulthood to give them the character and life experience they will need before they go into the polling booth. Like the Youth Parliament, we should listen to the concerns of young people. Like the Youth Parliament, we should educate young people for their future role. But giving the average teenager the vote is not a logical extension of this; it is a vote too far.

Read more about the Youth Parliament http://www.myd.govt.nz/ayv/youthparliament/youthparliament.aspx

Read Sue Bradford's Civics Education and Voting Age Bill http://www.greens.org.nz/searchdocs/other10945.html

BRITAIN BREAKS THROUGH

The Centre for Social Justice, a think tank associated with the British Conservative Party, has released its policy recommendations for tackling family breakdown and social disconnection. After diagnosing the problem in a series of Breakdown Britain reports on issues including joblessness, drug addiction, family breakdown and educational failure, the Centre has now come up with some recommended solutions.

After extensive consultation with community groups and civil society, they have produced Breakthrough Britain. This report advocates a revaluing of marriage, the promotion of charitable giving, the reform of the family benefit and tax system, extensive welfare reform and measures to encourage volunteerism, among many other things.

The report recommends that the 'anti-marriage bias' of the tax and benefit system be remedied and that the words 'husband,' 'wife,' 'spouse' and 'marriage' be returned to 'full public use.' It also proposes new alcohol taxes to be spent on rehabilitation, stricter controls on gambling and drugs, and the creation of new 'pioneer schools' in poorer areas, with greater freedom to run themselves. It calls for the expansion of credit unions, legislation to ensure a 'level playing field' for religious charities and the fostering of a 'welfare society' instead of just a 'welfare state.' The report also recommends that welfare should come with 'clear work expectations,' that the 'third sector organisations' of civil society should have a greater say in and 'greater opportunity' for service provision, and that British Labour's focus on children should be balanced with a corresponding focus on parents and families.

The report's recommendations are bold and innovative, but solidly grounded on the prescriptions of traditional conservatism: a reliance on the family and the community instead of just the State, a concern for the poor and dispossessed, and a bracing tendency to ignore the fashionable in favour of the effective. The huge, complex and interconnected problems of Britain's 'broken society' will not be fixed overnight, and the devil is in the detail, with protests already from some quarters and some justifiable concerns over specifics. While there are issues to be ironed out, the report represents a very big first step in the right direction.

Read Breakthrough Britain http://87.106.6.204/default.asp?pageRef=182

GROUPS SEEK LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING

Eleven organisations in the Auckland region have joined forces to draft a Bill to 'ensure the long term sustainability' of the services they provide. The Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Bill, which will be introduced to Parliament next month, seeks to secure a regular funding levy for the eleven groups. They are considered 'vital' and 'part of the essential fabric' of the region, and they have exhausted their existing 'self-funding' options, such as charitable donations. While this will be positive for the groups involved, there are suggestions that the community is not playing the role that it should in funding valued services.

The organisations included vary widely in their areas of concern, from The Auckland Festival Trust, New Zealand Opera Limited, and Auckland Observatory and Planetarium Trust Board, to Surf Life Saving Northern Region Incorporated, and the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust. Currently these groups struggle to make ends meet, as their funding is sporadic and uncertain.

The Bill would establish a mechanism to provide regular, ratepayer funding for them, which would supplement their funds from other sources. Funding would come directly from the rates received by the seven councils that make up the wider Auckland region. The Bill sets an initial level and a maximum level of funding, putting a cap at two percent of the total rates received. Market research shows that a majority of people surveyed are prepared to pay an increase of two to four percent in rates to fund these organisations, and that there is a high level of public support for them.

No doubt this Bill will benefit these organisations, but it is saddening that ratepayers who have indicated they value these services will only give additional support if forced to by a rates hike. While there is community support for these and other organisations, it seems exhausting self-funding options is a common problem. The reasons for this may be many and varied -- apathy or lack of disposable income both spring to mind -- and there may be good arguments for having local government fund some particular services. However, as a general rule the whole community needs to take responsibility for its service providers; not just verbally appreciating the job they do, but also supporting them as best they can, without needing to have it added on to their rates bill. After all, a decent society is built by a culture of generosity and philanthropy, not compulsion.

Read the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Bill http://www.together.org.nz/bill/docs/togetherbill.pdf

IN THE NEWS

SUBMISSION ON PROSTITUTION REFORM ACT

Maxim Institute has made a submission to the Prostitution Law Reform Committee as part of its review of the operation of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003. We submitted that the Act is not achieving its objectives -- the evidence shows that prostitution in any form is harmful to all those involved. The primary focus of the submission is on providing a way out for those involved in street and underage prostitution. We also submitted that buyers of street prostitution should be criminalised to recognise their exploitation of vulnerable men and women, just like buyers of underage prostitution.

Download Maxim Institute's submission http://www.maxim.org.nz/files/pdf/submission_plrc.pdf

HIGH COURT CONSIDERS FIELD CASE

For the first time, the High Court has had to consider when it should permit a Member of Parliament to be prosecuted for corruption and bribery in the case against Taito Phillip Field. The Crimes Act 1961 requires 'leave of a High Court Judge before a Minister of the Crown or a Member of Parliament is prosecuted' for these offences. The Court said the requirement to obtain leave recognised that MPs are 'likely to be more susceptible to ill-founded, vexatious or politically motivated allegations.' The Court considered various factors that are relevant when deciding whether to grant leave, such as good faith and the public interest. The case will now return to Court so that these factors can be applied.

Read Burgess v Field http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/from/decisions/documents/MalcolmJamesBurgess vPhillipHansField.pdf

JUVENILES TO BE TREATED AS JUVENILES IN CONNECTICUT COURTS

The New York Times reports that the US state of Connecticut has recently passed a bill increasing the jurisdiction of the juvenile court; 16 and 17 year olds will now be prosecuted in the juvenile, not the adult, system. For serious cases prosecutors are permitted to seek a dispensation from juvenile court judges to refer the case to an adult court. Sending a juvenile through an adult remand system ignores the greater chance of rehabilitation that exists for youths, and is more likely to work as a training ground for future criminals. Connecticut's recognition of the different approach needed for young people is to be applauded.

TALKING POINT

'Good order is the foundation of all things.'

Edmund Burke

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