This piece was contributed in April 2005, not long before "Sunday Supplement" was axed.
DOMINIC PAUL BARON
Do
we need a new flag? Does overthrowing the monarchy matter?
We have a much more important issue to decide before spending time and money on flags and figureheads, and that is: When will we, the people of this nation, grant ourselves our first democratic constitution?
What we have is an ¨ancien régime¨ that has usurped our sovereignty through a ragbag of decrees and arrangements. These were imposed by force of arms over a century and a half ago. Since then they have been tweaked by ¨add-ons”. None have ever been ratified by the people since we still lack that essential tool with which to ratify anything, namely: a democratic constitution.
Because this is a political Leap Year a feeble 10watt bulb of democracy will be switched on for a few hours on a day selected by the régime. Then we will be bombarded with that hypocritical phrase: “Have your say!”
That’s the last thing the establishment wants! We saw that with crystal clarity when the notion that we, the people, should decide what is to be meant by ¨marriage¨ was brushed aside with contempt. We saw this also when with even greater arrogance it was affirmed that we, the people, lacked the intelligence to decide whether we really need a ¨Supreme Court¨.
What the régime and its sycophants really mean by ¨Have your say! ¨ is: ¨Be good sheep and vote so we can continue to boss you around, and brag about ´our democracy´ and ´our leadership´! ¨
So why do we allow ourselves to be deceived like this? Is it through relentless repetition that many people have come to confuse mere representation with ¨democracy¨? Surely we must all know by now that voting once every three years for people we did not select, and for fixed menus of policies that we did not choose, is not democracy?
Why do I call it illegitimate? Because the thing that calls itself “parliament” is a usurper. It has never been set up under the authority of a constitution created by the people. It claims to be “sovereign”, but this is a lie because sovereignty belongs exclusively and inalienably to all of us.
Three of the newest national Constitutions on this planet are those of South Africa (1997), Fiji (1998) and Switzerland (1999).
But only the new Swiss Constitution is democratic, as indeed was the one that it replaced, which the people of Switzerland granted themselves in 1878. Its democratic credentials are unmatched anywhere in the world. Its founding principle is that it requires its own ratification by the people in a referendum, and it is equipped with real democratic tools for its own amendment directly by the people.
Even better, that democracy is replicated through all levels of local government. Imagine if we had this: the people of Wellington could have instructed their local administrators to complete the original motorway over thirty years ago! All referendums in Switzerland, both local and national are binding.
The
thing that calls itself "parliament" is vile enough when serving as
the mouthpiece of the political parties, but it is disgraceful when it decides
"conscience" issues. It is wrong that 0.005% of the people dictate
the rules by which all of the people must live. By their very nature, those
self-selected few are totally unrepresentative. Whatever the issue: the
drinking age, how to treat prostitution, whether parents can smack their
children, ratifying international treaties, these decisions must be made by all of us. The
people of Switzerland granted themselves those powers over a century ago. It is
time for us to grow up and shed our political nappies.
There is a way in which we can bring down this rotten
régime, and that is by refusing to take part in its fraudulent ¨elections¨. If
an overwhelming majority of us do not vote, there will have to be a
constitutional convention at which we would at last grant ourselves our first
democratic constitution. In so doing we would be creating a Republic... that
will be the time to design the new flag for Aotearoa.