Private/Government partnerships in our prisons, schools and hospitals

Who is going to save our kids, our elderly, sick and ----Mmmm our prisoners from the ideology of this dammed national Government? It doesn’t matter that research and experience from overseas continually lends weight against such practices, this Government is hell-bent on following the Private or Private/Government model for our schools, hospitals and prisons. The result--- decreased opportunities for our kids and degrading service for our sick and elderly. More about the prisons later.

I feel like I am on a rollercoaster whereby the Government seems intent on undoing so many issues we have fought for and taken for granted. Many battles have been struggled for in Parliament in the past to lift up people from poverty, exploitation and lack of equal access to education.

We are now seeing the true colours of the National Party. Their first term was one of setting the scene for what is about to come. They are looking at the Conservatives in the UK with envy as they scream out their plans for the British public. If you think that beneficiary bashing is bad here--- watch this space in England in particular.

Today’s announcement about the private prison in Auckland is one that we better get used to. It seems that the operators only met about half of their goals. Is this what we will come to see as a common occurrence as the National Party hoists yet more of this odious model on NZ schools and hospitals. By the time we finally get around to actually challenging the Government where it counts--- at the election box--- it will be that we are in a position of having to once again fight to retrieve what we have lost.

John Key won’t care. He will be living it up at some resort spending the money he has made over the years as an investment banker. We all know what is happening on that scene (Barclays just for one).

So we must make it clear that we don’t want to wait for another election cycle. Will the vast majority of NZers ever wake up? At the moment we have our heads in the sand in a big way.

Do we really care?