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The AAAP village. (Photo: supplied)
The AAAP village. (Photo: supplied)

OPINIONSocietySeptember 29, 2020

You can’t eat kindness

The AAAP village. (Photo: supplied)
The AAAP village. (Photo: supplied)

Brooke Stanley Pao, the incoming co-ordinator for Auckland Action Against Poverty, has some choice words for the current government on exactly what ‘kindness’ without action achieves for people living in poverty.

Back in 2017, before Jacinda Ardern was sworn in as prime minister, she said she wanted the new government to be “empathetic and kind”. We’re all familiar with the “be kind” mantra, but I question its ability to achieve… well, anything. Ardern asked landlords to chill with raising their rent, when the kind thing to do would be to introduce rent controls. Work and Income staff were asked to have more compassion when dealing with people, when the kind thing to do would be to provide liveable incomes for all. What’s happening on the ground in our communities is the opposite of “being kind” and we’re over it.

People receiving benefits can’t eat kindness. They can’t pay their overpriced rent and power bills with it. They can’t buy food with it or take their babies out to the movies, or have a nice family meal out during the school holidays with it. “Be kind” means nothing to the families Auckland Action Against Poverty (AAAP) serve in our communities. It means nothing when you fail to uphold the principles and values of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It means nothing without meaningful action and practices behind it.

Work and Income must have missed the “be kind” memo because people are still being declined basic assistance and care. The winter energy payment is running out in October. Those in emergency housing will be charged 25% of their entire income. Supposedly 30,000 more people are going to have more money in their pockets because they will be allowed to work a whole eight hours at minimum wage before their benefits are affected.

Implementing initiatives that only affect tens of thousands of people isn’t enough when hundreds of thousands of people live below the poverty line here. The government is choosing to stay on the same status quo track its been on for generations.

Many of us are familiar with how Metiria Turei was run out of parliament before the 2017 election, simply because she shared her truth about what she had to do in order to survive as a young single mother. Our incredible volunteers, many of whom are receiving benefits, have been harassed online for sharing the truth about their own lives. AAAP – alongside other organisations like Child Poverty Action Group, KidsCan, Action Station, the Welfare Expert Advisory Group, unions, the Human Rights Commission, and the Children’s Commission – have been demanding the government transform our welfare system and still not enough is being done. We have seen the government respond to gun laws and Covid-19 with swift decision making. It can no longer say it has not heard us or that it is unaware of the extreme levels of poverty that exist in Aotearoa.

It’s so much deeper than having enough money to thrive. Current benefit levels are the state’s way (the colonial way) of saying “This is what we believe you’re worth, and the only way out of poverty is through paid work”, when so many of our people contribute meaningfully in roles outside of this colonial construct. These rates continue to perpetuate and uphold a colonial narrative about the value of a human life. Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the agreement that allows all tauiwi to be here and we cannot move forward without establishing this as an entrenched and founding document of Aotearoa. We can not address any of the continued injustices of colonisation until we first recognise Te Tiriti.

Despite all of this – the continued undermining of sovereignty, strict obligations and sanctions those accessing benefits have to meet, and the scrutiny by case managers at Work and Income, random people on the internet, and racist family members – the people and communities we serve at AAAP are all aroha and heart. There is sharing, and a genuine sense of family and community here, something we could never come close to quantifying in dollar terms. These communities have real kindness and empathy for each other, and it shows in the way they show up for each other through all the violence, trauma, sadness, and judgement from others. We are incredibly honoured to fight for and with them for systemic change, and it is our privilege to serve them at AAAP.

Back in August we launched our Liveable Incomes For All Campaign, asking political parties to commit to increasing benefits to liveable levels, individualising income support and removing benefit sanctions within three years. The only parties that accepted our invitation to talk on these issues were the Māori Party and the Green Party, and they both showed us that they’re willing to fight for our people in the halls of power in support of the changes we need. The Labour Party, a couple of hours before the first leaders debate on TVNZ, told us that it could not commit to any of these things over the next term in government.

We here at AAAP believe in upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We believe all peoples have intrinsic value and the right to exist. We believe in liveable incomes for all, that people are owed their own money. We believe that all people do mahi whether it is recognised or not, and we believe in our government investing in building enough public housing to meet the needs of our people.

We want more than kindness. We want the political bravery necessary to lift people out of poverty. Anything else is lip service.

George Fowler as Gardener Hugo in The Glitter Garden (Photo: Roc+ Photography/supplied)
George Fowler as Gardener Hugo in The Glitter Garden (Photo: Roc+ Photography/supplied)

SocietySeptember 28, 2020

Despite online abuse, a joyful drag show for kids is set for sell-out success

George Fowler as Gardener Hugo in The Glitter Garden (Photo: Roc+ Photography/supplied)
George Fowler as Gardener Hugo in The Glitter Garden (Photo: Roc+ Photography/supplied)

The children’s theatre show that is making some conservatives furious opens in Wellington this week. Emily Writes spoke to co-creator George Fowler about the controversy, and the empowering message behind the play.

When we talk over the weekend, George Fowler is on top of the world despite the challenging week he’s had. On Wednesday, his debut play The Glitter Garden opens in Wellington to a sold-out audience. For the last 48 hours, he’s also been the subject of relentless online abuse, kicked off by a post from The Taxpayer Union criticising government funding for the play.

“It’s been a rough few days to be on the internet,” he says. “At first it was super funny because they gave us heaps of free advertising. And then it got pretty sad and depressing. It sucks to be reminded that people who believe such nonsense about queer people exist. I do take comfort that the criticism is not even close to valid. Literally when I read horrible slurs and stuff I just wish they could come to the show and be softened by it.”

The Glitter Garden is a show Fowler wishes he’d been able to see when he was a child. His goal – to help young people know they’re free to be who they are and deserve to be accepted and loved – is what has carried him through these last few days.You might think a play about self-acceptance wouldn’t cause much controversy, but after The Taxpayers Union posted about the play Fowler and the rest of the Glitter Garden cast received a torrent of abuse, much of it homophobic.

Despite the hatred, Fowler is taking a philosophical approach. “We’re doing OK,” he says. “It really does prove that there’s a need for a show like this. It is hard though. It makes me so sad to see that there are grown ups in the world so shit scared of kids being happy and themselves.”

The show will go on and Fowler says the cast and crew are safe. “There’s a big difference between a ‘die fags’ comment online and that becoming a real life threat. We have a really smart production team – both them and Circa Theatre are doing a great job looking out for us.”

The cast of The Glitter Garden. (Photo: Roc+ Photography/supplied)

Fowler says seeing the play as a child would have changed his life. “Glitter Garden is for all kids, but especially for little weirdos. It’s a big silly rallying cry for the importance of self love and self expression. I play Gardener Hugo who is too scared to get things growing in his patch. He makes a magic wish on a dandelion and his garden come to life as magical drag creatures. He learns all sort of lessons about being kind, being himself and being brave.”

The angst from conservatives seems to be coming from people who have never seen a drag show and think drag is something it isn’t. “I mean anyone who has actually seen drag knows it’s not inherently a sexual or sexy thing – it can be, sure, but really it’s just dress ups for grown ups,” Fowler says.

He would know. As Hugo Grrrl, Fowler is the winner of the TV competition House of Drag and a performer of five years. He’s also a Wellington institution: his face is on billboards advertising mask-wearing on buses and his “wee” cabaret company puts on hundreds of shows every year. He’s joined in The Glitter Garden by other drag celebrities Eva Goodnight, The Everchanging Boy and Robin YaBlind. The show is co-created and directed by Wellington-based playwright Lori Leigh.

The idea that drag is only sexual is a strange one. Anyone who’s attended one of the Wellington Drag Brunches knows they’re a family affair with Disney numbers and singing princesses and princes.

“Drag is inherently interactive and visual and bright and glittery. It’s an art form that specialises in telling simple stories in a short amount of time. It’s perfect for kids,” Fowler says.

Circa Theatre’s Linda Wilson agrees. “We programmed The Glitter Garden because a drag musical extravaganza for children – the first of its kind in the world – provided much needed representation to the youth of Aotearoa. We wanted them to know that you can express yourself however you see fit in and that can be as big, bold, beautiful and shimmery as you want.

“When the LGBTQIA+ community faces such persecution and hatred worldwide, we’re so proud to stage this world premiere, so that The Glitter Garden can be a beacon of light to young kids everywhere, to let them know that they belong.”

Telling the story that you are loved without conditions is crucial to young people. Research by Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures at The University of Auckland found 57% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex young people experienced symptoms of depression. Mental health issues and suicide rates also remain disproportionately high in the rainbow community.

“Had I known that who I was and how I was feeling was OK when I was younger, my life would have been very very different,” Fowler says.

With a message of equality and joy, it’s little wonder the show is so popular outside of the realm of musty old bigots.

“Everyone deserves to feel fab, you know?”