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Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi: ‘’Part of the founding colonial mythology of our nation state was the desire to create an egalitarian society,’’ says columnist Khylee Quince.
OPINION: Former Prime Minister Rob Muldoon once campaigned on the slogan promising “a fair go for the ordinary bloke”. Kiwis frequently exclaim things are “fair enough” when assessing the merits of a situation. “Fairness” is often held out as the core defining value of New Zealand culture, referenced across the political, social and cultural spectrum in our history and contemporary society. Claims to perceived unfairness are therefore commonly raised in our community – whether they be in relation to decisions about securing vouchers for managed isolation spots, to facing an underarm delivery in cricket, or entry schemes to competitive university programmes.
IT IS DIFFICULT to attach a name to the ideology currently guiding the actions of the New Zealand ruling-class. For the past twenty years the Left has been content to call it neoliberalism, but in the third decade of the twenty-first century that term has less and less purchase on reality. The new ideology which has emerged, let’s call it “wokeism”, is a radical fusion of neoliberalism, environmentalism and identity politics – and its powerful enough to disrupt profoundly the political, social and economic institutions of New Zealand society.
That wokeism will generate massive resistance is certain. Its assault on the traditional order will leave more and more people feeling unmoored and vulnerable. Inevitably, a political movement will arise to contest the wokeists’ claims and policies. This movement will not, however, be driven by the traditional Left, it will be the creation of an angry and radically populist Right. What’s more, the transformational ambitions of wokei
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The Richard Seddon statue outside the Beehive has been the subject of regular pranks, but our parliamentary institutions have never suffered from the sort of anarchy witnessed in Washington DC last week. OPINION: Anarchy in the US! New Zealanders watched in horror as right-wing American thugs, incited by the president, invaded the Capitol. They were on a mission to hang the vice-president and were aided by some police and politicians. Even though his own vice-president was in danger, President Trump was apparently reluctant to take any action or send in the National Guard. Many of us wondered if the same thing could happen here. Yet even during our worst disputes, such as the Waterfront Strike and the Springbok Tour, the New Zealand Parliament has never had a Capitol-style attack.