DO NO HARM

Two months ago, I had a conversation with a fellow traveller who is Tangata Tiriti and who had contested their party’s candidate selection for a General seat. I asked, “Is the current system working for Pākehā in New Zealand?”  They answered, “No.” 

Well, it isn’t working for Tangata Whenua either.  So why do so many of us still participate in it?  It’s not as if it’s the only game in town; we do all have other options, and some of us are actively engaged in running those.  But the fact remains that, until the current system is transformed out of existence, we must participate in it in order to mitigate against the worst excesses and atrocities that it sends our way.

That mitigation shows up in resistance to the activities of Orwellian Ministries that disrupt whakapapa and uplift whenua.   It manifests in pushback against the weakening of human rights in favour of corporate rights.  It is seen in pursuit of legal rights that have been eroded by political interference.  

Sadly, it is rarely seen in those who stand for election, and is even less evident amongst those who win.

Nevertheless, even with that history in mind, I cast my vote for the 15^th time in a general election. But this time I did so based solely on experience augmented by information direct from the websites and policy documents of the respective parties.  I did not read or watch any media reportage or commentary on the various campaigns, and I made no comment of my own in that regard. 

I voted on day one of the election, then did not give the process any further thought or effort until 5.50pm on Thursday 19^th October when I tuned into the New Zealand Herald’s livestream. 

The waiting journalists gathered in Parliament sounded like clucking chooks, and someone must have realised it was not a good sound, because after ten minutes they turned the audio off leaving us with surreal silent video.  Then Winston strode in a little before 7pm to begin his delivery.

It was not until he uttered the word, “Labour”, that I realised how much I had not wanted to hear the word, “National”.  For, even though I know the history, I also know that the increasing number of fragile people in this country could not take another three years of governance under the most relentlessly venomous front bench I have ever seen. 

As my fellow traveller had confirmed, the system was not working for any of us.  But that deficiency had been given additional venom by a government that had weaponised and actively used it against us. 

Under the new government I sense people are cautiously feeling a tiny bit of hope for some respite from dystopian Ministries, some relief from corporatisation, some respect for the rule of law.  My message to the new government is simple; there’s a lot of hurt out here.  if you can’t heal us, at least try to do us no harm.