A Cartoon History of Management

Late in the 20th century it seemed New Zealand had escaped the violent sorts of racial tension that have afflicted other countries. But early in 2004, the country’s collective smugness and the Government’s complacency is being seriously tested. While most New Zealanders have been prepared to compensate, in various ways, for the injustices delivered on the indigenous Maori, an exaggerated PC-ness which has expressed itself in numerous ways, ranging from lengthy Maori language preludes to most public functions to petty rules seemingly favouring Maori in some institutions, clearly irritates middle New Zealand. New opposition leader, Dr Don Brash, desperate to build his party’s support, dressed up the racial card with some sophistication and superficial logic that immediately gave National major polls surge. Whether the support holds, when the former banker’s market economy logic is seen to be short of an understanding of history and cultural sensitivity, remains to be seen.