Sympathy of Distraction

Look over there - Trump, the Hīkoi, a pantomime PM, ignore what's important.

You take a mortal man
And put him in control
Watch him become a God
Watch people's heads a-roll

Just like the pied piper
Led rats through the streets
We dance like marionettes
Swaying to the symphony of destruction

Song: Dave Mustaine.

---

Look over there, not here.

The problem is, I told myself this morning as I contemplated that Q&A was still covering the US election, that Trump was too successful. Nobody expected a clear victory, and now they have to fill a lot of airtime with not very much.

You can imagine how the business case went… Send the whole team; there will be lots to talk about. After the election, we can cover the protest marches, the accusations of fraud, and maybe even a riot. C’mon, if there will be tanks on the streets of America to keep the peace, we have to be there. Leave Jenny-May behind; she can cover all the political stuff while we’re gone - what’s the worst that could happen?

Image: TVNZ.

The issue was that nothing really happened. The election had a clear victor, and there will be a smooth transfer of power. As long as the guy who was going to deny the result gets all he wants, democracy is not under threat—well, maybe not this week.

There are only so many times you can show bewildered Democrats asking how this could’ve possibly happened with fine words about listening to the people next time, all the while knowing that nothing will change and they will never accept any fault. Next time, it’ll be more celebrities and meaner insults for the people who don’t want them; that’s got to be the answer - don’t these poor, uneducated saps realise how lucky they are to have them?

So, the media cycle continues with newsworthy events that have little to do with our daily lives, and even where they do, there isn’t much we can do about them.

Donald Trump has a call with President Zelenskyy from Ukraine, and he puts Elon Musk on to talk with him, showing off to his little friend as he becomes all-powerful once more. I mean, that’s normal, right? Well, it is now. There isn’t much point in worrying about these things. Perhaps this focus on the US is distracting us from more important things here?

Eyes on the prize

As we know, the Treaty Principles Bill has been brought forward. It was announced the afternoon before the US election and introduced in Parliament the day after the vote. The timing means that Christopher Luxon won’t be in the country for the first reading debate.

If you believe Seymour, Luxon, and others, the timing was purely coincidental and not at all done to slip the news out while the media was distracted, to get ahead of the anticipated protestors, or to minimise any association with the Prime Minister. How could we be so cynical?

Here are the chaps from BHN talking with Moana Maniapoto about that:

These are the key dates, courtesy of RNZ:

• The Bill was introduced to Parliament last Thursday

• The Hīkoi begins today, departs Cape Reinga tomorrow, and arrives at Parliament on 19 November

• The first reading debate on the bill is this week. PM Christopher Luxon will not be in the country during that reading

• After the first reading, the Bill will be sent to a select committee for a six-month public hearing process

• After the select committee, the Bill is to be sent for a second reading debate in Parliament - where all parties but ACT have promised to vote it down

In the words of spokesperson, Eru Kapa-Kingi, “We always knew a shuffle like this would come along, this is not unexpected from this coalition, they have shown us who they are for the past year. However this timing change does not matter, our kaupapa could never be, and will not be overshadowed.

This just gives us more kaha to get on our whenua and march for our mokopuna. Bills come and go, but Te Tiriti is infinite, and so are we. Our plans will not change. Kia kaha tātou.”

Toitū te Tiriti spokesperson Eru Kapa-Kingi at Waitangi Day commemorations 2024. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver

Is the bill a distraction, too?

This protest is important, and we must oppose this bill, but is that the point, too? We get distracted by a straw man, something that, as far as Christopher Luxon claims, is never going to receive the required support and take our eyes off of things that are even more important?

You can imagine the scene of the coalition negotiations…

Luxon: Right, boys. We’re here to maximise returns from NZ Inc.; there’s still some value to extract and privatise. What I need from you is a bit of distraction. Some of these people aren’t going to take kindly to us selling things off; they seem to think they own them.

<laughter>

Luxon: If we’re going to privatise healthcare, water, and all these other things that are not part of our core business of making money, they’ll need to think about something else.

Seymour: Well, we’ve got Nicole McKee all ready to bring back those guns that were cancelled after that unfortunate business at the Mosques; that ought to get them worked up. I can hear them complain, “moan, moan, it’s just like America, whine, money from the NRA, boo, hiss, cry, no one needs these death machines.”

<louder laughter>

Luxon: Ha Ha, Yeah, that’ll piss them off. I can hear the experts pontificating on RNZ or the ‘Disgruntled of Devonport’ letters to the NZ Herald. Heck we might even let them publish a few of the really pathetic ones to give our supporters a laugh. Ha ha - look at these losers, scared of guns; what a bunch of crybabies.

Winston: How about this then, we give a massive tax cut to tobacco companies, based on research from those tobacco companies, with no benefit to consumers, in fact far from it, and all the money goes to… you guessed it, tobacco companies.

<gasps>

Luxon: But where will you find someone as morally corrupt as that? Surely even Shane Jones has his limits?

<more laughter>

Winston (chuckling): Don’t you worry about that; you haven’t met Casey Costello yet. She’d blow smoke in the face of a pre-schooler and then complain that she was the victim if anyone criticised her for it.

Seymour (rolling up sleeves): You guys are amateurs. I’m going to redefine the Treaty, tell people that it wasn’t a partnership after all, rewrite the articles to something simple and meaningless and castrate the Waitangi Tribunal by stacking it with ex-Act party leaders.

Luxon: You are an absolute rotter. Make it happen; it’s genius. They’ll be so busy marching up and down the country complaining that they won’t notice us selling it out from under them.

And what about Luxon?

What if the Prime Minister himself is the distraction? If all the Corporate Speak, the absence of meaning in his words, his frequent absence from these shores, is just another thing to get us talking about something unimportant?

Leaders with aptitude might veer onto subjects that matter; you can’t be having that if you want to sell a country without anyone noticing.

Jacinda cared too much. She always asked people to think about things that mattered—about lives, kindness, and decency—which are anathema to the coalition’s objectives. You can’t have a leader with all that compassion and empathy. Focus is something a leader should repeatedly say they have, not something they should actually do.

Key was almost as bad. Sure, he put across that fake common-man, oh-shucks persona, but only the most simple-minded ever really fell for his yeah-nah schtick where he just pretended he couldn’t recall anything.

Towards the end, many people said, Nah, yeah, you know exactly what you’re doing; no wonder they called you the Smiling Assassin earlier in your career. You smile pleasantly, even while stabbing most of us in the back.

So, what did they go with this time? Someone without compassion who could authentically convince people that he had no idea what was going on.

It might seem that National simply lacked anyone else with the talent to do the job, and that’s almost right. But what if Luxon’s aloof act is just that? What if he really does know how much groceries cost or the difference between Te Puke and Hawaii? What if he only pretends to be an out-of-touch, barely interested bystander?

Image: BeFunky.

I’m just kidding - I think that’s exactly what he is. But that doesn’t mean the rest of us should be.

So, yes, I absolutely support the protest against this ghastly bill, but let's not forget all the other things this government is doing that will have impacts long after we’ve forgotten about Costello’s cut-price tobacco heaters, McKee’s automated weapons, David’s deplorable bill, or even Christopher “out of touch” Luxon.

What do you think those big issues are that we’re being distracted from?

The things we’ll look back on with regret when this repugnant piece of legislation has done its job and stirred up hatred for Seymour’s re-election campaign and then been abandoned as Christopher Luxon re-enters the fray, the cavalry here to save us from the monster he gave life to.

Take care all of you lovely people, especially those of you who might be involved in the Hīkoi or will be supporting it in some way. I hope the noise is so loud that Christopher Luxon hears it - wherever he is.

This might not be to your usual musical taste, but give it a go and you might be pleasantly surprised. Dave Mustaine has always had a lot more to say that most in this genre.