Logie Jan: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLogie Jan: General Debate[Sitting date: 26 November 2014. Volume:702;Page:856. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JAN LOGIE (Green):We have just heard from the last speaker Alastair Scott about how the Government is creating an environment where people can take the opportunities that the Government is laying down for them as if we are living in some utopia of opportunity and engagement.I would like to talk this afternoon a little bit about some concerns I have from what I have been hearing in the community. I have recently been quite worried by the number of very senior well-respected community leaders who have been saying at public events that basically there is no point expecting anything from the Government or even in engaging with the Government. Of course we are hearing this sentiment every single day on talkback radio in the media and in our communities. We saw this sentiment realised in the last two elections with our appallingly low voter turn-out.I get it but it worries me and it worries me deeply because it threatens my hope in change. I get it because sometimes I struggle to get through question time without despairing of the hope of the future of this country. I get it when in just the last week we have seen male senior public servants including the chief of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet standing alongside Roger Sutton while he breached confidentiality around a decision that found him guilty of misconduct—a huge mistake with national consequences but one not condemned proactively by a Minister.We have seen a report that clearly says the SIS released partial information and misinformation that was used to discredit an Opposition politician—another mistake apparently but nothing to do with the culture of this Government. The Prime Minister has publicly condoned the use of his office for smear campaigns suggesting that that is just politics. There is now a possibility that if a gap arises in Cabinet Judith Collins will be back despite her socially irresponsible decision to shelve the Law Commission work on sexual violence in the face of massive public demand and evidence and the now established fact that she closely associated with and fed information to attack bloggers who were trying to take down a senior public servant.The public is now being told that everything is fine this is acceptable this is politics. We have been told that a 1-week consultation is perfectly acceptable for a piece of legislation that is 45 pages long and curtails core civic and civil rights and provides increased surveillance because our Government has our best interests at heart because that is what good leadership looks like! No wonder people are giving up. It makes me tempted to give up.Underlying all of this is something that is almost invisible: the erosion of some of our core democratic structures. Research that came out this week from Victoria University found that now 10 percent of community organisations believe debate is actively silenced compared with less than 1 percent in 2008. Almost 60 percent of them believe that an organisation’s funding is at risk if it criticises the Government. Over a quarter of community organisations now have gag clauses in their contracts preventing them from criticising the Government and 70 percent—up from only 42 percent in 2008—believe that New Zealand has positive attitudes that encourage public debate in this country.This is the foundation of our society. If a Government is to function effectively it needs to listen. Every single citizen has the right to a voice and we need to be encouraging them or we are going to lose our democracy. Where is the point going to be where suddenly people tip over and lose total confidence? This Government—every Government—has a responsibility to our people to all of our people to listen to respond to act with integrity. That is why the Green Party is in Parliament.