Excellent article that sums up much of whats ailing NZ. The complaint culture compliments the sense of entitlement embedded in many Kiwis.
Maybe Willis can start her " destruction of the public service" ( MSM's interpretation ) by dismantling the institutions feeding the grievance industry. BSA has gone ( to be replaced.?). Next the Waitangi Tribunal - most legitimate claims have been settled, the few remaining that arent settled are because of Iwi infighting not from a reluctance from the Crown.
Kiwis need to learn self responsibility, get off our backsides and solve our own problems. As a nation we also need to look forward not backwards. We shouldn't burden the next generation with guilt from the real or imagined acts of early settlers 200+ years ago.
A brilliant exposition of the malaise that is dragging our country down. Rather than looking for solutions, the focus is on complaining about the causes and rewarding those who complain and those who support the complaint process, the grievance industry troughers. We all know who they are - oops, there I go myself!
Very good Sir Hobbit, so very true, & well composed. I would prefer those avid whingers woke up each day and rejoiced in the many joys they so freely inherit simply by virtue of being born in this land. The Treaty Trough of course is our best/worst example and you are right to highlight the WT. Indoctrinating ‘their’ young with a culture of victimhood is damaging and actually rather horrid.
One critique if I may: You conceded the popular narrative of ‘health inequities’ among Maori & Pasifika. The vast majority of these are ethnically correlative (save some genetic factors for Polynesians - kidney, gout, diabetes but diabetes for example is driven more by lifestyle than genetics) - you might as well have said there are health inequities for people who like Hip Hop music. (Note also how ‘Maori’ always associate with Polynesians in healthcare because there are nil significant genetics for ‘Maori’). Indulging the ‘inequities due race’ myth is not helpful. Healthcare should be based on need, not race, and we should have honest discussions about smokers, druggies & fat, lazy people.
I read Hughes' The Fatal Shore in my early 20s, at a time when Antipodean history was considered by many to be dull and irrelevant and a history degree would often include no papers in NZ, Pacific Island or Australian history.
The Fatal Shore completely blew that view out of the water for me.
A good reminder of this book. Hughes was famous and it was a good read. But I had forgotten it was written as early as 1993. I doubted that stuff would catch on here. But I don't think Groundswell and the like are an image of the left. They do not want more institutional protection of themselves; they want repeal and decontamination by the left.
I wonder what the grievance industry around the Treaty costs taxpayers?
I heard a replay today of Nicola in Parliament responding to Winston's idea of boosting the foreign service.
That response could be applied to this issue as well; it was something like "so you want to take money away from the likes of hip operations, to expand your Ministry?"
As you point out, it is now very pervasive.
We had a case in our office, during a performance review, where the agenda is to help the person improve their contribution to the business and their individual skills, by identifying what they do really well, and what could be improved (and discuss how the business can help with the improvement).
The person decided there was criticism, and complained to the ERA, stating they'd been subject to bullying. The cost and disruption for a relatively small business was significant, and unprecedented for that business that had operated for around 40 years.....
It's often misused. Often "complaints" are notifications. Within certain industries and within government, notifications are often madated for certain things (e.g. child protection concerns). The imprecise use of the term contributes to its diminishing reputation.
It's a word of course and maybe in 75 more thought should have been given to our NZ idiom. No-one likes to be categorised as a complainer. But what is a better word for complaint/s in 2026
Excellent article that sums up much of whats ailing NZ. The complaint culture compliments the sense of entitlement embedded in many Kiwis.
Maybe Willis can start her " destruction of the public service" ( MSM's interpretation ) by dismantling the institutions feeding the grievance industry. BSA has gone ( to be replaced.?). Next the Waitangi Tribunal - most legitimate claims have been settled, the few remaining that arent settled are because of Iwi infighting not from a reluctance from the Crown.
Kiwis need to learn self responsibility, get off our backsides and solve our own problems. As a nation we also need to look forward not backwards. We shouldn't burden the next generation with guilt from the real or imagined acts of early settlers 200+ years ago.
Thank you Halfling.
I remember a quote, it pertains to mental ability;
“An ass can kick down a barn door, but it takes a builder to build one”
Keep on keeping on
Steve
A brilliant exposition of the malaise that is dragging our country down. Rather than looking for solutions, the focus is on complaining about the causes and rewarding those who complain and those who support the complaint process, the grievance industry troughers. We all know who they are - oops, there I go myself!
Is there any hope?
Very good Sir Hobbit, so very true, & well composed. I would prefer those avid whingers woke up each day and rejoiced in the many joys they so freely inherit simply by virtue of being born in this land. The Treaty Trough of course is our best/worst example and you are right to highlight the WT. Indoctrinating ‘their’ young with a culture of victimhood is damaging and actually rather horrid.
One critique if I may: You conceded the popular narrative of ‘health inequities’ among Maori & Pasifika. The vast majority of these are ethnically correlative (save some genetic factors for Polynesians - kidney, gout, diabetes but diabetes for example is driven more by lifestyle than genetics) - you might as well have said there are health inequities for people who like Hip Hop music. (Note also how ‘Maori’ always associate with Polynesians in healthcare because there are nil significant genetics for ‘Maori’). Indulging the ‘inequities due race’ myth is not helpful. Healthcare should be based on need, not race, and we should have honest discussions about smokers, druggies & fat, lazy people.
I read Hughes' The Fatal Shore in my early 20s, at a time when Antipodean history was considered by many to be dull and irrelevant and a history degree would often include no papers in NZ, Pacific Island or Australian history.
The Fatal Shore completely blew that view out of the water for me.
What a great essay. Thanks.
A good reminder of this book. Hughes was famous and it was a good read. But I had forgotten it was written as early as 1993. I doubted that stuff would catch on here. But I don't think Groundswell and the like are an image of the left. They do not want more institutional protection of themselves; they want repeal and decontamination by the left.
I wonder what the grievance industry around the Treaty costs taxpayers?
I heard a replay today of Nicola in Parliament responding to Winston's idea of boosting the foreign service.
That response could be applied to this issue as well; it was something like "so you want to take money away from the likes of hip operations, to expand your Ministry?"
As you point out, it is now very pervasive.
We had a case in our office, during a performance review, where the agenda is to help the person improve their contribution to the business and their individual skills, by identifying what they do really well, and what could be improved (and discuss how the business can help with the improvement).
The person decided there was criticism, and complained to the ERA, stating they'd been subject to bullying. The cost and disruption for a relatively small business was significant, and unprecedented for that business that had operated for around 40 years.....
A question and a comment.
#1: how do you create your images?
#2: published this piece with the Sax Institute in 2023 (https://www.saxinstitute.org.au/evidence-check/patient-characteristics-and-interventions-associated-with-complaints-and-medico-legal-claims/). It's on healthcare complaints, but worth considering as health is the largest industry. This is the SR: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13643-024-02501-8.
To answer the first question. I use AI to create images. Chat GPT, Copilot, Claude and Gemini. I describe what I want depicted and the artistic style.
The word complaint came with the Ombudsman Act 1975 based on a translation of the Swedish law.
It's often misused. Often "complaints" are notifications. Within certain industries and within government, notifications are often madated for certain things (e.g. child protection concerns). The imprecise use of the term contributes to its diminishing reputation.
It's a word of course and maybe in 75 more thought should have been given to our NZ idiom. No-one likes to be categorised as a complainer. But what is a better word for complaint/s in 2026
Opportunities for Improvement? Straight out of the HR playbook 😀
HR?
Human resources.
Tks