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MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Worzels World - The Estates of DemocracyI was at a bit of a do, the standard Kiwi sort where barbequed meat and salad containing green leaves are served. Wine, beer and conversation are also often taken. Sometimes even in moderation. I was greeted by an older lady, a sometime reader of this column.
“Here’s our member of the Fourth Estate,” she said and went on to pose a question. “If the press is the fourth estate, what are the other three?” My native cunning suggested that she had not asked this from a thirst for enlightenment but instead believed that either there were no other estates or that if there was I would not know what they were. She was wrong in the first instance and right in the second. My answer should have been as follows. There are four estates that are the pillars of the political system, traditionally called democracy. First is the legislature, which we call the Government. Their job is to make the law and manage the state. In a democracy they must have the support of a majority of the public. In an ideal democracy this will be a well-informed public. The second estate is parliament where proposals from the legislature can be publicly debated – where those not enjoying a majority of popular support can still offer alternatives or shine a light on plans or laws that may not enjoy popular approval. The third estate in a democracy is the judiciary. They must be free of any political influence or bias. It is their job to test and apply the law. In New Zealand they make an oath to perform their duty ‘Without Fear or Favour’. And the fourth estate, as almost everyone knows, is a free and independent press. Or perhaps in these latter days we should term it media. It is their job to keep the voting public well informed. These four estates exist to serve the greater good of the greatest number of the general public. The late Hugo Chavez was an extremely popular president in his own country of Venezuela. He was much disliked by a United States that had become dependent on the free flow of cheap Venezuelan oil. Despite landslide victories in ten consecutive democratic elections he still had to survive a US-sponsored coup where he was kidnapped but refused to resign. He was only returned to office by a popular uprising backed by sections of the Venezuelan army loyal to democratic principles. He observed, as well he might, that ‘Democracy is simple but implementing it is very difficult.’ When any of the four pillars of democracy are absent or fail to adequately perform their function there is democracy no longer. One symptom of our own obviously diseased democracy is that the fourth estate fails miserably in its duty to keep the general public well informed. There is too much going on to be informed about it all and most of it is boring. The job is a difficult and often costly one, especially as obtaining honest, spin-free information is like looking for a wedding ring in a septic tank. Doing it neither increases readership or ratings nor makes for a bigger bottom line. So the general media have given up trying. They instead concentrate on captivating, titillating and entertaining. And who can really blame people for preferring banal diversion when the reality is so depressing? In the case of the law, our system of justice fairly groans under the weight. No one has read it all, not even the politicians who create it. Some is difficult to understand, and often one law will contradict another. How difficult it must be for even the most sober of judges to stand up against political pressure and public opinion and do what is just and fair rather than simply rubber stamping ill-considered legislation and pocketing their taxpayer funded pay. As Justice Heath labours over the rates judicial review he will be under enormous pressure from many angles. It is his job and his duty to disregard this and make the best call he can on the basis of law and natural justice. It takes a strong and principled person to do that, for no matter what the result there will be some who will despise him for it. Even the most basic tenet of democracy has long been absent in New Zealand. Recent governments have not had the support of a majority of the voting public, informed or otherwise, but formed coalitions with other parties in order to govern. It is clear that our democracy is operating at less than robust good health. Government ‘of the people by the people for the people’ certainly sounds good but as president Chavez showed it takes courage and commitment by both the politicians and the people for it to become a reality. Can we once again show the courage and commitment that once made an egalitarian New Zealand ‘Gods own Country’ or will we remain content to have our policy and our future dictated by global corporate interests and the power brokers they support? ■prof_worzel@hotmail.com There is too much going on to be informed about it all and most of it is boring. The job is a difficult and often costly one, especially as obtaining honest, spin-free information is like looking for a wedding ring in a septic tank. |
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