Missing Luxon

Hobson's Dredge, and a ten foot pole.

I step off the train
I'm walking down your street again
And past your door, but you don't live there anymore
It's years since you've been there
Now you've disappeared somewhere, like outer space
You've found some better place

Songwriters: Ben Watt / Tracey Thorn.

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What a mess has been left in the wake of Donald Trump’s military action in Venezuela.

Columbia is vowing to fight back if they’re next, and Denmark says it’ll be the end of NATO if the Americans invade Greenland.

China, which took the majority of Venezuela’s oil, is saying “dude, where’s my petrol?” and losing any remaining reason not to return Taiwan to the motherland.

Meanwhile, in America, Maduro has pleaded not guilty and says he’s still the President of Venezuela.

At a time of such turmoil, the international community looks for an independent voice of reason, and many are asking themselves…

Where is the Prime Minister of New Zealand?

The problem is that nobody knows where he is, plus, of course, the international community was thinking of Jacinda as someone who might speak sense, forgetting that a soft-boiled egg has replaced her.

We’ve heard some fabulous responses from NZ politicians. I especially enjoyed those from Marama Davidson of the Greens, who began by saying,

“Greens call on Luxon to show leadership!

The Prime Minister Christopher Luxon needs to show leadership and moral courage and condemn the US for attacking Venezuela.”

And ended with:

“The PM needs to show an understanding of how this action risks the already fragile stability and sustainable pathways to justice for the world and impacted regions.

He must condemn this invasion now.”

Christopher Luxon practices slap bass with El Presidente. Image: Whitehouse.gov

And that from Oriini Kaipara, who I think is still representing Te Pāti Māori, which had similar sentiments:

“As MP for Tāmaki Makaurau and on behalf of Te Pāti Māori, we call on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and the New Zealand coalition government to publicly condemn US President Donald Trump’s attack on Venezuela.”

But not a peep out of the National Party, or the leader of the country, leading some to ask - where the bloody hell is he?

Of course, there have been inevitable suggestions of Te Puke, as if he would spend his holidays there.

Luxon in Te Puke. Photo / Mike Scott.

Realistically, he’s probably in Hawaii, and perhaps being in the States, is unwilling to say anything that might require him to take an unplanned, non-optional visit to the mainland.

The funny thing is, I recall him saying how hard he works, and I posted…

Do you remember when Luxon used to boast about returning to work the first week of January?

Well, where is he? The lazy skiver.

It seems that our self-proclaimed hard-working PM was unavailable…

How very Prime Ministerial, at a time of great uncertainty, to point people in the direction of one of Winston Peters’ tweets. What leadership.

Cynthia joked that he’d gone to Venezuela to sort out trade, and although she was laughing, I don’t think it’s a bad idea. Forget an FTA with India that excludes our leading exports; let’s send Luxon to the front to come back with a slice of those oil reserves.

Vicki suggested it didn’t really make much difference, as he didn’t have any portfolios anyway. A sentiment shared by Maureen, who said, “Give him his dues, after all, he did say he was going to be a different sort of PM, I guess he got that bit right because he’s a fkn lazy one.”

Hobson’s Dredge.

Meanwhile, back in Aotearoa, just as the National Party uses Tama Potaka to front offensively bad policies, Hobson’s Pledge has installed Elliot Ikilei as a figurehead to make that racist organisation appear less so.

You may have seen posts from the White Knights of the Pledge, or Ikelei himself, appear in your newsfeed - someone is spending quite a bit of money on promotions, it seems. For example, I had this one come up:

And I shared it, posting:

How pathetic, to be a prop for a group of sad old men holding on desperately to racism while pretending they want equality. Sad.

Doug commented, “What an absolute bellend. Don Brash has managed to pull together a small gaggle of pale old farts, each with a chromosome missing.”

I don’t know about chromosomes, but Brash has indeed gathered a group of entitled pricks who are used to being on top in society and who feel threatened by thoughts of equity, or god forbid, actually respecting Te Tiriti.

Michael put it brilliantly, “Who wants to reinvent the sad old days of Kiwi Keith's Khaki Kulture and arrive at Brash's Beige Blancmange? Aotearoa is enriched by the cultural, social, economic and environmental progress resulting from Māori having the space to be who they are in the only country they can call home. I don't see any downside to the symbiosis of cultural diversity.”

Dave said, “Following their logic.... most New Zealanders want Seymour deported, they're just afraid to say so.” Although, as it happens, many of those responding were not in fact afraid to say so.

Todd pointed out the rhinoceros in the room, “So white youth are going to get harsher penalties in court for first-time offences like brown youth get? Is that what he's talking about?”

Suffice to say, most of my audience wouldn’t touch these pricks with a ten-foot pole, speaking of which…

Fly high, proud Kiwi.

A pole vaulting pole can be as short as 10 feet, but is undoubtedly longer for those at the highest levels. Yesterday, I read an article in Stuff about our champion pole vaulter, which made my heart swell.

What a fabulous young Kiwi she is. Here are a few things she had to say:

On Climate Change, “Probably the biggest thing… is who you vote for,” she said, noting this included local and national elections. “It is probably not a surprise that I’m usually a Green supporter”, and when voting, the environment is “probably my number one priority.”

On things Māori, “I’ve also learned how much Te Ao Māori, the Māori world view, cultural practices and tikanga play into such important things when it comes to sustainability.”

And on the Treaty Principles Bill, “I think all that probably needs to be said is that I think of myself as Tangata Tiriti, so a person of the Treaty, because I'm Pākehā.”

“That's how I see myself, I think the Treaty has a huge place in our country. So I absolutely support being Tangata Tiriti and supporting Māori.”

What a wonderful contrast to the small-minded hatred of Don Brash’s deplorable followers.

In response, Christian said, “the kind of person that would give Sean Plunket a medical episode.”

A few angry Trolls arrived on the thread, and Karen noted, “Funny how this makes some people so mad they act like the crazy drunk uncle at Christmas in the comment section.”

Imagine being angry at a young person taking the time to learn Te Reo and caring about the planet - you really have to wonder.

So there we are, Luxon is still on holiday and too busy relaxing to be interrupted by major world events, the people who support Hobson’s Pledge are either deluded or bitter close-minded racists, or possibly both.

But at the same time, there are young Kiwi for whom learning Te Reo, respecting the Treaty, and caring about the environment are essential. They are the future of this beautiful land, not the angry racists in Hobson’s Pledge and not a leader without leadership.

Have a good Tuesday, folks. Take care, and I hope you enjoy the song at the end.

Ngā mihi,
Nick.

To end today, one of my favourites, Everything But The Girl with Missing.