Freedom of speech

Another attempt to produce a photo which can act as an image for one of Martha Nussbaum’s ten Central Capabilities. The tenth Capability is "having control over one’s environment." She includes two aspects here; the first being the ability to participate effectively in political choices. 

New Zealand is now less than three weeks away from the Parliamentary elections. We have a three year cycle, which has been criticised as too short to allow a Government to effectively plan and implement change. Many of our Governments have worked effectively within the three constraints. Our near neighbours (across the ditch in Australia), have a four year term and rarely do they have a four year Government. There seems little wish to lengthen the term a Government may have.

The Labour opposition was struggling to make any real inroad into the support for the ruling National Party, moving from 27% to about 30% in the polls. National was remaining in the high 40s. As if they had been accessing my thoughts, Labour abruptly chose to stop being a Tory lite party, and challenged the electorate to support a greater social conscience. A new leader, a young energetic woman with rather more charisma than the previous leader has seen a rise of about 10% with a fall in National support of almost the same amount.

Because we have MMP, small parties can have Parliamentary representation without winning any electorate seats, provided they get at least 5% of the Party vote. Greens did moderately well last election, and were looking good to go better this time. The resurgence of Labour has seen a drop in support for the Greens. I was told that one or more Political commentators have advised voters that a vote for the Greens is a wasted vote. I would beg to differ, and suggest that a party vote for Labour is a wasted vote as they will win enough electorate seats to almost match their percentage of the vote. Thus a party vote for Labour (or National, come to that) will have a much smaller effect than voting for the Greens. And, since MMP was introduced twenty years ago, there has been no Party which has been able to form a Government without entering a coalition. Labour will need the Greens.

We have a long tradition in this country of taking our elections seriously. Voter turn out is usually high, although it is much less than it was when I was young (at which time over 90% of the voting public did vote). Many of us would feel ashamed of our country if the turnout was as low as in the US presidential election last year. Most people, then, are not only able to participate effectively in political choices, they do so. 

It is possible in this country to paste up an exhortation to vote, as the author of this torn “poster” did. That someone chose to disapprove and damage it by way of attempts to remove it, does not mean that he or she was wrong to do it. Rather the person who damaged it could be seen as guilty of an attempt at censorship of free speech. Yet all that has been done is to rip and damage the poster. Nothing more violent was even threatened.

I think that New Zealand promotes and supports our citizens in developing and using this particular capability.