I’ve just finished watching the latest episode of ‘The Bradbury Group’ on YouTube and there were some interesting guests on the show with each making some great contributions but Professor Wayne Hope giving some context regarding the rise of the far right in New Zealand politics:
And I think one of the most points made was made by Professor Wayne Hope was around 39 minutes into the video – to really understand the book ‘Dirty Work’ by Nicky Hager you really have to read the two previous books he wrote which are ‘The Hollow Men’ and ‘Dirty Politics’. It gives a good insight into the origins of the far right politics in New Zealand – rather than it being a recent phenomenon the reality is that such politics have deep roots in New Zealand. For example, Oscar Kightly reminds the audience of the sorts of anti-immigration ads that National ran on television during the 1970s. The sort of far right politics we see in New Zealand are very much reminiscent of Lee Atwater – rather than out right racism what we see in New Zealand is seemingly innocuous phrases being used ti hide what the actual intention is for example the ‘Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill’.
Getting back to voting – for goodness sake, check that you’re registered and actually turn up on election day to vote. Nothing frustrates me when I hear the same people who opine that they’re ‘not political’ right up to the moment when they’re negatively impacted by something – university fees go up, subsidies for bus and trains are reduced so they have to pay more to use public transport etc. Then there is the usual complaining about how they’re not going to vote because their very specific niche issue isn’t being addressed so they ignore all the other issues that need addressing. It is one of the reason I push for civics to be taught in school because as the old saying goes: “you might not be interested in politics but politics is interested in you” with the other old saying being “Democracy is a participation sport and if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu”.
