Dialogue: If we only knew it, we've already got what it takes

We need not so much to redefine our core values as to rediscover and cherish those we already possess,
says PETER DUNNE*.

The Common Core Debate on values is both timely and welcome. Our country is in a state of turmoil about our national identity. We seem betwixt and between. We know we have a bicultural history, but we also know we are an increasingly multicultural society. How do we balance the two?

We have historically been a prosperous nation, based mainly on our agricultural strengths, but changing economic conditions and the onset of globalisation are altering all that. Our relative prosperity is slipping and we seem unsure about the way to redress that.

The welfare state, under which so many of us were raised, has virtually crumbled under its own weight and we struggle to find an effective replacement.

The changing international order and the break-up of old alliances have left us strangely isolated and seemingly unsure what role, if any, we should seek to play in the new defence and foreign relations environment.

All these dilemmas are symptoms of a much deeper national uncertainty. Despite generations of national introspection, we have yet to resolve the quintessential question of what it really means to be a New Zealander today, and what are the special values and characteristics we possess by virtue of the fact that we live in these islands.

That lack of definition underpins our hesitant and uncertain approach to issues as diverse as family disadvantage and child abuse, through to the future structure of the Defence Force. We are simply increasingly uncertain of what we stand for these days.

And these trends are likely to accelerate over the years ahead. The technological revolution and the irresistible tide of globalisation will continue to make it difficult for nations to carve their own niche.

As well, the face of New Zealand will change sharply over the next 50 years, as we become far more multiculturally diverse than we are.

Yet while the overall scene is one of turmoil and even more rapid change, conducive to greater levels of uncertainty, there is a quiet revolution occurring in our society from the ground up. After nearly two decades of radical social and economic change, New Zealanders are yearning for a time of consolidation built around accepted core principles and values.

For most New Zealanders, no matter what their individual circumstances might be, the most basic concept is that of family. Our families are the group we seek to be with at times of celebration, such as Christmas or Easter, or at times of desolation.

Therefore, the concept of support for families and the values of mutual encouragement and care we ascribe to families are critical for most of us.

From the family, we then move to the wider, mutually interdependent network of the neighbourhood, the suburb, the town or city, and the nation - what we call the community.

One of the criticisms many New Zealanders have is that although, whatever our cultural background, the family is the most basic and critical component of our society, there is no recognition given to that in the way our Government behaves.

Too often, the Government seems more interested in looking after itself than facing the real issues. Indeed, we seem to have gone to almost the opposite end of the spectrum in our mounting fawning to political correctness.

New Zealanders could well be forgiven for thinking we operate at the ends of the spectrum, rather than across it. Tragically, because the nature of the family has changed radically over the years, as a society we have become too timid to take a stand in favour of the traditional family that the vast majority of us are still part of.

As a result, despite being the basis of our society, the family no longer rates officially as a point of reference in determining our nation's core values.

Too often we lose sight of the family's role in building a cohesive society.

Such a move is out of step with the values of many, which is why United Future takes the unashamed stance of saying that the filter through which every policy must be measured is whether it is beneficial to the family. The other core values that many New Zealanders feel have been lost sight of flow from that basic commitment to the family.

Our nation was built on the twin concepts of rugged individualism, tempered by commitment to the wider community. We are progressive people, adaptable to change, but we are also compassionate people, with a strong commitment to those less fortunately placed than ourselves.

Yet there is a strong sense among us that one of the things we have lost sight of in the necessary reforms of the past two decades is our sense of commitment to each other. At the same time, our welfare system has often seemed to leave behind those who need help, while bending over backwards for those who do not.

That latent sense of Kiwi fairness has been remarked upon at many points of our history (a fair deal for the average bloke was the apogee of Muldoonism) and its modern exposition is that of tolerance for an increasingly culturally diverse nation.

In turn, this manifests itself in a peculiar sense of curious tolerance for emerging multiculturalism, and increasing wariness of what is often seen as an increasingly strident biculturalism. Latent Kiwi fairness arising from our commitment to our families means we also possess a much deeper tolerance of diversity than we care to admit.

It is, therefore, not so much a case of redefining our core values as it is of rediscovering and cherishing those we possess.

A society based around the primacy of the family, mixed with a recognition of social responsibility to the wider community, has a cohesion we might often feel is lacking. Beyond that, it also has a measure of confidence about its future and its emotional security that means it can address with a measure of confidence the wider issues referred to in this essay.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, or seek to reshape it completely, we need look no further than our history to define our core values as a nation.

* Peter Dunne is the leader of United Future.

Herald Online feature: Common core values

We invite to you to contribute to the debate on core values. E-mail dialogue@herald.co.nz.