Who Dropped the Ball?: Democracy in Crisis

New Zealand once prided itself on its commitment to equity and justice; it was supposedly a place where ‘Jack was as good as his master’. Now we live in a country where terms like ‘domestic violence’, ‘child poverty’ and ‘youth suicide’ are all too familiar, and we take it for granted that an elite class of super-wealthy live in our midst. How did this happen?
David Chapman examines our recent political history to establish where and why our leaders dropped the ball. In doing so, he finds a system of democracy that is open to abuse – one in which party squabbling dominates, long-term planning is virtually impossible, politicians can lie with impunity and politics is driven by self-serving agendas.