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PoliticsOctober 19, 2020

Looking at New Zealand through the lens of the US

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With calamitous US politics stoking fear and division in an already fraught nation, the New Zealand election makes for a calm and refreshing change. 

The front page of the New York Times today reads: “A Regulatory Rush by Federal Agencies to Secure Trump’s Legacy,” referring to the mad rush to pass Trumpian legislation before the end of the term.

The New York Post, however, leads with “Fearful New Yorkers plan to flee city on Election Day: ‘People will go nuts’”.

On television, Fox News leads with “Hearing Footsteps: Biden campaign warns against complacency in memo: ‘Donald Trump can still win this’ ” next to a doomsday clock counting down to election day.

Meanwhile, CNN has gone for dual headlines, with equal sized titles blaring out “These 10 states reported their highest number of new coronavirus cases on Friday,” next to another which says “The legal reckoning awaiting Donald Trump if he loses the election”. Double whammy. 

I can go on and on. But this is a simple snapshot of America in the final two weeks leading up to the most impactful American election in modern history. It has been this way for much of the last year, but the polarisation, fear mongering, and mudslinging is ratcheted up to the extreme depending on where you live and how you get your information.

Seeing this election cycle play out is like a train wreck in slow motion, where the rails are being bent and warped by the triple forces of climate induced weather extremes, a pandemic, and an historic economic recession all at once. 

I moved to Washington DC in August of last year, and every day has been like this, or worse. Imagine living in this pressure cooker for years with no end in sight. No wonder voter turnout is near record lows, and political engagement is falling off a cliff. Americans are worn out by the entire political process. It is crushingly tiresome, with Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s campaign now 400 days long! It is rife with scandal, real and imagined. And in the world’s most advanced democracy, the active use of voter suppression measures, much of the process is downright illegal. 

It is easy to bash America and forget how incredibly large, complex, and young the country is. After all, this country is an experiment between 50 different states and 330 million people, each with their own distinct demographics, history, and identity. But it is also clear that much of the polarisation, the political and legal structures, and rampant misinformation is also an instrument of America’s own making.

I do not think a Biden victory will be the cure-all to America’s many illnesses. A vehement and vocal faction of Trump’s Republican Party will be around for many election cycles. And traditional Republicans will need to find their way in the post-Trump years, because right now, they are sycophants to the cult of Trumpism. For the Democrats, a centrist-minded Biden White House will need to contend with the influential far-left faction of his party. American politics will get much uglier before it gets better. 

When I attended my first Thanksgiving with some American friends, the only rule was “do not discuss politics”. That went without saying, as it was clear how divided the country had become. I had heard stories of how some of my classmates do not bring up politics and are not mutual friends with their family members because of their political affiliations. 

Meanwhile during the lockdown, on virtual hangouts with my family and friends back in New Zealand, we all talked eagerly about the different policies heading into the election, and the fortunes and misfortunes of the different parties. We all had different leanings, but we could discuss the issues without fearing someone would throw their wine glass at the screen.  Watching the New Zealand election campaign, filled with substance, humour, and conducted in good faith, it made me realise how precious that is. Although the US is presently an example of how not to conduct politics, we have seen that in many countries, developed and developing, how election cycles can stoke the fires of tribalism, dividing the electorate into economic and ethnic divisions. In that maelstrom, much of the substantive policy is lost. This weekend, New Zealand has set an example for the world, showing that politics does not have to be so divisive,  where – in the words of the Prime Minister – we don’t tear one another apart. Living far away from home, the contrast between New Zealand and the rest of the world is remarkable. I am one of the few people in the US right now that if told to “go back to your own country” my response would be “gladly!”

But that is not to say that New Zealand is immune to the same elements of conspiracy, division, and dog-whistles. More than 55,000 voters cast ballots in favour of Advance New Zealand and the New Conservatives (almost equal to New Zealand First). As we move on from this election, it is important to keep those voters and their views in mind, because if cast adrift, those sentiments can easily metastasise into what ails America, and much of the world.

So regardless of who you voted for in this election, and how your party did overall, the key takeaway is that we have it damned good in New Zealand, and it’s on us to keep it that way. 

Kia ora, New Zealand.

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PoliticsOctober 18, 2020

The Greens are sprouting

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The Green Party last night represented a new era: the kids aren’t just all right, they’re in charge. Josie Adams and Sherry Zhang were there.

A very small child met us at the doors to GridAKL. “Are you here for the Green party?” she asked. Her name was Melanie and she followed protocol to a T: she got us to scan the Covid-19 QR codes, and took us to the media scrum. She also knocked every sign askew on her way, turning around and chuckling with purpose every time. “What if people can’t read it?” I asked, and she rolled her eyes. “It says ‘Green’.” She was not paid for her work.

Other parties have kids, sure; but the Greens’ kids aren’t there with families (except for Melanie, obviously). There are very few legacy Greens heirs. No, these kids were there to give birth to a new future. Renewable, gay, and plastic-free. Lourdes Vano and Luke Wijohn – organisers of the school strike for climate and both 18 years old – were running as candidates.

One volunteer, just 15 years old, said she campaigned for the Greens because their policies aligned with what she’d need in the future. “They’re the only party that really cares about the climate,” she said.

One of the MPs fighting for the future is Chlöe Swarbrick. Early in the evening, when it became clear she’d likely won Auckland Central, she took the stage. “We fought for something, and we might have just made it happen,” she said. “I want you to remember this moment when anybody tells you that it cannot be done.”

Chlöe Swarbrick during Auckland Central announcements (Photo: Sherry Zhang)

According to Swarbrick and her team, Auckland Central voting stations on Elliot Street and in Aotea Square ran out of special vote forms. “We had to ring up the Electoral Commission and remind them that maybe more people than they thought would turn up,” she said. 

She pointed out that, on the 11% they were polling at the time, her colleagues Ricardo Menéndez March and Steve Abel would get in. Abel smiled and raised a silent, humble fist in celebration.

Menéndez March – Maungakiekie candidate and a harbinger of the dreaded wealth tax – is now officially in parliament, and the crowd went wild when they heard it. No campaigning was allowed on election day, which he said was like a weight lifted off his shoulders. Earlier in the evening he’d dismissed the slightly more positive polls of Friday night. “It’s like your ex calling you at 2am,” he said. It doesn’t really mean they love you.

Ricardo Menéndez March talking to young Green supporters (Photo: Sherry Zhang)

Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw raced up the stairs when they arrived at 9pm, ready to celebrate their achievements. Davidson took the microphone first. “James and I and all of our wonderful MPs, we are thrilled to be able to say: we did it!” The crowd, already cheering, turned the decibel level up.  

“My utmost congratulations to my tungāne Peeni Henare in the Labour Party, who looks like he is ahead enough to be winning and retaining his electorate seat,” she continued. “I have enjoyed working with Peeni Henare and will continue to work with him to represent and get the very best for Tāmaki Makaurau. I also want to acknowledge John Tamihere, who did an outstanding job in the way that only John Tamihere can, bringing an unapologetic kaupapa Māori politics back to Tāmaki Makaurau.” When she thanked “his incredible co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer”, the crowd screamed with joy.

And then, we danced. They played ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’, the quantity of bread doubled, and a giant inflated unicorn came out. It was 9.30pm. 

A very welcoming dance circle invited The Spinoff to bust out some moves to the Pussycat Dolls’ ‘Don’t Cha’, and we accepted. Eliana Rubashkyn, a dance circle participant and advocate for intersex and rainbow issues, said she was excited at what she calls “the most rainbow parliament”. Swarbrick and Menéndez March are both openly queer, as is their party colleague Elizabeth Kerekere, who will be joining them in parliament as a new list MP. 

A unicorn at the Greens’ party (Photo: Sherry Zhang.)

When it became clear the results were settling in – at 7.6% and 10 seats – it was time for another speech. “We are the first support party in the history of MMP to have started and finished a term in government above the 5% threshold,” said Shaw.

“We have made history. You have made history. Chlöe, how’re you doing?” The crowd began to chant: Chlöe! Chlöe! Chlöe! She did a little dance. Shaw’s wife Annabel used the commotion to sneak away and return with a bottle of bubbles. 

“We cannot thank each of you by name, because there are 7,000 of you,” said Shaw. “But I do want to thank you through one person,” he said. “And that person is our extraordinary campaign director, Matt Thomas.”

Matt Thomas has been campaign directing from Australia, where Covid-19 has him locked down. Shaw and Davidson stared down the barrel of a camera: “Matt, thank you. Thanks, Matt.”

As they celebrated re-entry and two more members of parliament, Swarbrick stood next to Davidson and Shaw, a third head on the hydra of progression. The crowd danced again.

“Take care of each other over these days,” said Davidson. “And get some goddamn rest.”

James Shaw, Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick (Photo: Sherry Zhang.)
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