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The social unrest plaguing London has been brewing for years and a Christchurch youth affairs expert says that, because the problems are just, as bad social unrest in New Zealand is inevitable. Bronwyn Hayward has been based in England studying political issues affecting youth culture for the past three years.
She said the riots that have attracted the world’s eye to London were inevitable, and the social problems that sparked the violence have been simmering in New Zealand for some time.
“It feels as though I have been watching a slow train wreck for three years,”
“I’m not surprised it’s come to this, but I am really sad. So many social commentators warned the British Government it would end in this. They were told it would be a summer of violence, but they were in denial and no-one listened.”
She says the same issues are present in New Zealand but they are expressed differently. “In New Zealand, we won’t see the concentration of youth city rioting, but we do see and will see more youth suffering.”
Young people’s suffering was not expressed on New Zealand streets but in the fact that New Zealand consistently had the world’s highest rate of youth suicide, she said.
Hayward is a senior lecturer in political science at Canterbury University. She has been awarded a $1 million international research grant
Source
Stuff.co.nz
Image: Rugbynews.co.nz
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News category: New Zealand.
