Recent weeks have felt pretty rough for the left. The resignation of Grant Robertson, the loss of his towering intellect, wit, and compassion. The heartbreaking loss of Efeso Collins, a young man with so much positivity who wanted to do good things for people. All the while this government seems to get worse by the day. As awful as they’ve been so far, I suspect worse is to come - that the upcoming budget will damage our society as badly as the neoliberal nightmare of the late 80s and early 90s.
Some of you have approached me asking - how we stand up to this? How we can resist the things this government is doing to our country, which so many of us don’t want? Social media discussions, writing newsletters, are all well and good, and they’ll be even more important with the decline of our mainstream media, but what can we actually do to stop them? Or at least slow them down, making things difficult for them? The purpose of this thread is to discuss ideas of nonviolent protest and resistance.
Chlöe Swarbrick said in an interview recently that democracy is not just something we do every three years. I agree, whether it be protests, petitions, strikes, or calling the government out in a haka, there must be a lot we can do that utilises the power of people.
What are your thoughts? Any creative ideas? A bit of fun or humour never goes astray either.
Thanks Nick. Good to start such a thread. I dont have any new ideas right now but I am determined to be involved in any activity that occurs. I’m so damned angry at the racism, the poor bashing and the ‘ couldn’t give a stuff ‘attitudes of the CoC …. We must collectively continue to call this out. I have a friend who has started just sending regular emails to Luxon to voice her thoughts and maybe that’s something I might start doing. Imagine if thousands of us did this regularly.
I have been feeling powerless and horrified at the same time. Went to Waitangi, wore my Toitū te Tiriti tshirt - that felt like some action. Have written to Luxon but will write more. I think letters to people like him are 'water off a duck's back' as my father used to say. I want things like car stickers that say 'I didn't vote for this Govt' because not many did. I don't think that most National voters would have envisaged this result. I think we should start getting plans together for how to get more people voting next time than ever before. I'm up for marches, peaceful protests, delegations to ministers' offices, letterwriting, flag waving- you name it. I lived through Muldoon and Richardson. This feels much worse.
A good way to start would be informing everyone on who and actually what is the Atlas group. Unheated, factual, evidence based and in a way everybody understands. Their negative roll in Brexit and the Referendum on the Voice in Australia.. the ugly racism and division that they and groups like Hobson’s Pledge weaponise to whip up the illinformed and fuel a partisan media. Politicians with ties to these groups should be called out.
We also saw how quickly and effectively Māori were able to rally and protest in large numbers to protect Te Reo and the Treaty. From abroad this received great coverage and was really impressive. A day of mass peaceful protest in every major city would attract attention the world over and sideline NZ’s biased media groups. Powerful speakers could highlight to the world what is happening here. This simply cannot stand.. not in Aotearoa. Bring it on!
Thanks Nick, I don't have any ideas, but I will fully support good constructive effective ideas to remind this Government that we are their bosses and they answer to us. I wrote the following on Twitter: Is it a coincidence that we have a Government bought and paid for by the Atlas Network and now we have no media to make them accountable? Food for thought.
Support the Wellington Poua - wahine standing up against these bullies.
Winston could be the weak link. He is of age when he starts to consider his legacy, if he thinks he is to be remembered as a kūpapa he may crack and bring down this circus. Keep reminding him that people will not forgive or forget his betrayal.
Thank you Nick, glad you’re taking this up… we really need to act now and not wait until the next election. I fear that by 2026 the manipulation of the masses will be so massively leaning to the right that the left will be unable to gain any ground and will be just left behind (excuse the pun) … I am so proud of the girl’s hakas!
I think that coming up with well coordinated strategic actions is very important.
People like Annette Sykes, Chloe Swarbrick and the people alongside Kingi Tuheitia who are already speaking out will be important to listen to and there will be ideas and actions that we can support. Supporting any actions we see that confront this government like the Hurricanes women. Using the available channels at increased 'volume' with emails, protests etc.
One memory of the 81 protests is attending a meeting early on where strategies were being discussed and rehearsed. These came out of existing groups like HART and CARE. So thinking of existing groups that an act. Could be political or Unions.
Staying informed to make sense of the patterns emerging and the players. eg Atlas organisation's I'm NZ and calling out the links with Govt actions and policies New Zealand Iniative, Tax Payers Union, Hobsons Choice ( as Nick and Gerard Otto are doing) Talk about what you are noticing
Acting on righteous anger stops it turning to depression.
We can complain, write stuff, but unless we actually DO SOMETHING, it has no effect. Within our political structure, it seems to be a split between Left and Right, Compassion and Entitlement, where those who are "entitled" to their status in our society want that to be maintained, supported by the Westminster structure supporting the Entitled (and White) Ruling class. We have a communist dictatorship, doing whatever they want with no consideration for the effects. Any change can only be from protest that is visible, active and continuous, a NZ wide protest movement, in every center, and every city, we need a few people to put a hand up to organise, I put my hand up for the Wellington Region, who Else????
I'm part of a local environmental group, who in a couple of weeks, are going to take our new local National MP on a tour of our area of operation so she can see for herself the challenges the environment faces even under the existing regulatory framework. She just squeaked in to what's generally a left-leaning electorate. I think there will be quite a few newcomers in this position - if you have one locally it's definitely worth contacting them as I suspect at least a few of them are finding they are in a Government they didn't sign up for and might be persuadable to even a small extent.
I'm reminded of the special hatred and venom that Hitler reserved for Charlie Chaplin. A mob such as this is liable to be impervious to serious criticism. What deflates self-important idealogues and their chauvinists is pointed humour. The cartoons are great. We need more pillorying and mickey-taking. They will hate that.
When I see current political polls i despair at the continued support for the CoC. I wonder, how can this be? Am I imaging the evil occurring? Support for the LW declines - what is going on? Reading online comments and items such as Nick's korero gives me courage that I am not alone in my thinking and willingness to stand idle as these clowns ride roughshod over Maori and decent kiwis. My way forward is to remain calm, keep my family close and informed (at times they think here she goes again 😅 but their lights are slowly going on) Information out to all in every region of NZ both digital and paper. Form a fund to support this action
Building community and connecting with allies is one way to fight back and build positive momentum. Catch up with your neighbours, friends or relations you haven't seen for a while (and who you know are OK politically), organise street parties or discussion groups. Organise social activist groups to write letters to the paper, visit MPs etc. It's not too hard to start a chat with your neighbour on the footpath. You can start with something mildly provocative to test the water, such as wouldn't it be great to have a cycleway here, or isn't it terrible that the government wants to stop school lunches for the local school. You might be surprised to find that they are feeling as worried and angry about things as you are.
My partner and I have felt so frustrated over the last year. We are annoyed with people's apathy and gullibility with regard the predictability of this government even before the election. We have attempted to get involved in the local Labour Party as we live in an electorate that swung left but now has a National Party person. The Labour meetings we have attended have zero sense of urgency and lack any sense that if they wait to appoint a Labour candidate the National Party will be fully embedded in this electorate. I know the Left has been somewhat dessimated but Labour in particular seem to asleep. I have never felt so much fear for this Country as I do now...
I was talking to a very sharp left wing friend recently and she said if there was an election today she thinks Nats would romp in. This is of course, very depressing but probably true. I like the idea of a bumper sticker or decal for windows so we know who is with us. Plenty voted quietly for National etc but won’t admit it now. Posting one’s colours to the mast says loudly that we don’t like the shit that’s going down. I’m really struggling in my middle class neighbourhood because I simply don’t want to be “friends” in any shape or form with right wingers. They say things like, “it is what it is” or “I don’t watch the news” to avoid any discussion. They admit they can’t think of any policy they like from Nats but would vote for them again. I don’t know how to combat this unspoken racism, greed etc. By being willing to state your position overtly with bumper stickers or window stickers we at least know we have a tribe we can work with. Also others suffering know we care and want to change what’s happening.
The protest movements of the 70s and 80s were very effective. They were well organised and they attracted people of all ages and walks of life - teenagers, mums, dads, cleaners, builders, seamen, factory staff, teachers, nurses, lawyers, academics, public servants of all ilk (you name it they were there) and even a good turn-out of politicians. They were pretty much run along non-partisan lines ie. they did not openly support any political party. That is important. It took time, but boy... did they have a huge effect in the long run.
I would suggest building up a long list of "silent protests" across NZ in well frequented public places in all towns, cities and villages. No walking or shouting involved. Just stand there with the appropriate placards. It would need to be organised on a national scale with donations from members of the public to cover logistical and material costs. Parliamentary grounds is an obvious place to start - perhaps on every sitting day between 2pm and 3pm, weather permitting. The movement would hopefully grow in size and stature from there.
The result would not immediately be apparent but over time the number of people adversely affected by this govt.'s policies and actions is going to massively increase, so there should be no shortage of people willing to become involved.
One of the things the right does well is coordinate their lines of attack. They seem to have long term and short term goals. The long term started with Reagan, and especially Thatcher. “There is no such thing as society” was her mantra. This has permeated all their ideas since. Break down society and social thinking. The classic long term divide and conquer. And with voting patterns being what they are, it’s working.
Crosby Textor have and the Atlas Network have managed the medium and short term well. Brexit, Trump, the vote in Australia are all testament to that.
Somehow the left need to do the same thing. Where that lead comes from I don’t know. Party strategists, the CTU, unions, NGOs. We all need to be singing from the same hymn sheets. Different verses perhaps, but the same song.
Further to my comment above about nailing our colours to the mast, our neighbourhood supplied pride flags for free for anyone to display on their homes for Pride month. I hope that this made the rainbow community feel supported as quite a lot joined in. We do it each year now. It also brought out the fundamentalist “Christians” who actually shouted at primary school aged students. I think this brought others on the fence closer to the rainbow community so it back fired badly for them. Sports team could wear a logo (contentious I know), car bumper stickers, mailbox stickers along the lines of #not my government etc? I also wondered about numbering the stickers so the support could be clearly identified.
Chloe Swarbrick becoming co-leader of the Greens could potentially be a turning point in Center-left, left politics. If the Greens take up more social justice plus green policies, they could take enough Labour votes and encourage young people to make a difference in election 2026. Maybe they will appeal to younger people who don’t vote and inspire them to political activism.
I live in a very 'blue' electorate (Cambridge) came from a very 'blue' electorate (Coromandel) .... the best thing we can do is 'speak out' when we hear 'them' going on about Maori Rights, The Treaty, the 'wasteful spending' (that kept people alive and the economy functioning whilst hiring hundreds of frontline people to give the vacc etc etc.) It's interesting the comments I get on fb, but no one will actually talk about it to my face? As soon as you come back with some 'facts' they attack or run. Just like Nicole Willis! No substance no answers just blaming and attacking. We have to use our voices to speak up and have our answers ready. It's hard when you hear good 'friends' rubbishing and complaining! But speak up we must! Otherwise theirs is the only opinion that gets voiced.
I am afraid that we have all been gullible and believed in the myths of democracy and freedom in western capitalist societies. When in fact these myths have always provided cover stories for heirachical societies where power and control are exercised in top down authoritarian ways. The myth of white supremacy was a cover story to rationalise colonisation. The current cover story for sweepng aside the natives is the need for equality and democracy and the evils of tribalism and god forbid we should end up in a communist dictatorship. I suspect that David Seymour naively believes in the libertarian ideaology he pushes. And Atlas network are the mouth piece for that particular strand of the cover stories. But in reallity the people who are making the money are in charge and have always fought any threat to their power.
Anyway I suspect that we should get a whole lot more people on board with the realities of the world of power for any revolution to gain ground rather than just get everyone arrested and villified. A link here to a video from one of my favourite global journalists. It is long and is part of a series talking with Aaron Good who wrote "American Exception: Hegemony and the Dissimulation of the State" It is fascinating. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ1P_b13l28&t=575s
But the general public in the midst of current issues won't digest hours of content. but we can, and develop stories from it that can be disseminated. e.g the idea that we may have a version of political democracy but we do not have economic democrarcy and that economic democracy is worth fighting for. thats all for this day. thank you Nick for opening this so important discussion. look forward to reading more comments.
Join a political party such as the Greens and get out there and support them. Watch their new MPs maiden speeches - they are so impressive. They give me hope. And we so need hope.
Write/email or tweet to your MP (or ring their offices) all the email addresses on online as are the office phone numbers. Leave a message about what concerns you if the answer phone is on (it often is). Suggest your friends, whānau and neighbours watch Parliament TV on demand if they complain about things. We must be part of the process in order to transform the process.
And if David Seymour stops free school lunches we will need a mass turnout at his offices (when he is there) and to bombard him constantly. Plus anyone meeting any NACT MP must remind them politely that they are elected members and must represent all the people. They need to know they are the baddies!
Mis-information repeated daily via media from Government Ministers about finance and the previous Govt's lack of action needs to be rebutted or explained within the context of the time. I think politicians and anyone in the know needs to repeat what is true and what isn't. This isn't happening. Please do this Grant Robertson before you leave, and Chris Hipkins and previous ministers as soon as you hear mis-information.
IMO we need to be strategic, as they are, and vote for a Labour Green Coalition Govt, ie Green candidate Labour Govt or vice versa next election to gain experience for the Greens and to support each other to fix the damage done. In the meantime i intend to never be quiet or complicit, to get in the way of environmental damage via peaceful protest, and to challenge and call them and all their racist mates out every chance I get.
This is an excellent approach. It's been my thoughts for some time.
I follow G News daily and know that all the members there are on the same side of the fence, which makes it an excellent communication platform and which Is needed to go forward.
I know there are many out there that would support this process. I did invite family and friends to G News to increase members and give them a platform to express themselves. Interestingly enough, many others did the same.
All this may take some time, but I believe that's where we need to start. A communication port!
From there, I'm not sure which would be the best approach, whether a physical protest, referendum or what? Will you be the platform Nick?
I did some homework on this subject a couple of months ago eg; How to produce a Snap Election. One of the suggestions was to convince the Governor General who has the authority to make the call. But then again, the numbers need to be high. We need to do something, we sure as hell don't want a repeat of South Africa.
Is there no end to the dredging of vast vat of failed and binned policies and past and lost causes that this three strategy coalition with no cohesive intent will serve up?
Farmers in the Manawatu have been breeding out wool growth to avoid unnecessary shearing and proceed with the real business of meat with an aside of milk and cheese perhaps. The government - King Canutish - imagines it will be able to turn around world trend to phase out major use of wool. It seems headed to reintroduce live sheep export and the cruel practice of shipping. They have cut off a sensible plan to sustainable and pure water - losing billions of dollars - and leave us to private enterprise chaos and doing what making money dictates. Recipe for another disaster.
Kia ora koutou and thanks Nick. Personally I would like to see a general strike that brings the government down.
However.....that may be wishful thinking. So in lieu of that I agree NVDA is one of our avenues of protest: turning up in our rohe for various protest actions, particularly when the issue is, for instance, the threat of or actual destruction of Maori initiatives, te reo, Te Tiriti.....that tau iwi show up and be seen and heard!
Every week (nearly!) I have been emailing my MP ( who is labour) and cc-ing n the relevant minister from the CoC and Christopher Luxon. I have heard that writing a long-hand letter is effective as it has to be opened, read, responded to etc.
There are many groups springing up around the motu, oartre tangata whenua issues....join up and do our bit!
I like the ideas of bumper stickers, t-shirts, and talking to those around us.....they will be voting in the next election. And bombard social media with facts about the Atlas Network! The most difficult thing will be to believe what we're doing is having an impact so we all need our community of support. I'm very ready to be out there demanding accountability from this 'government '.
Notice that this Crooked Coalition has canned the Three Waters Agreement, and so now Atlas private equity firms are going to get in for the kill: "privatize, privatize, don't let any state-owned assets evade your eyes, strip them clean before those dumb Kiwis realize": check out Chris Hedges https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shv9g-4xXww
In the short term poke fun at them, do a bit of humorous consciousness raising egour SACK the Government after their first 90 day trial" campaign. 28 February
Our best weapon, if we feel like hitting back, is to have a lineup of better candidates for their jobs, lining up. So, Chloe, Debbie, Rawhiti, Annette? Who else wants another chance?
Good ideas here. But can I get something through to everyone. Switching from one Left party to another for whatever reason won't change a thing - while it might make us feel better because we like their policies or their energy, or their new leader or whatever. I 've been around a bit. I remember in the harsh days of the 1990s, unions responded to attacks from government by poaching other unions members. It still goes on to an extent. It is on the basis is "my union didn't do this for me" or "this other union will give me better discounts" or "their fees are cheaper" or "we don't like their leader" or "this union will take my grievance when the other one won't". Did this build unionism? No. The only thing that changed the landscape, particularly for private sector unions was organising, education and action. If you want ideas, go look at some of the organising going on with cleaners, South Auckland workers, Pasifika communities, I can share chapter and verse how we won changes for low paid workers. It is hard work, not just going to a meeting.
My fear is that those who will be punished under this government are too busy trying to feed their families, working two jobs, wondering how they can afford to renew their rego or bus fares etc. Voting is possibly not high on your agenda if you are living on the streets because you weren’t deemed worthy of a motel voucher. I think National would win soundly if there was an election right now. How do we help those to vote next election who possibly feel powerless and exhausted?
I just watched Jack Tame’s interview with Chris Bishop. I would have thought there would have been checks in place that would make it impossible for ministers to grant themselves dictatorial powers that would enable them to green light any project, regardless of the environmental damage, with no challenges or public submissions allowed. Apparently not. Bishop said the intention was to disrupt the status quo and allow projects to go ahead regardless of previous court decisions. Lobbyists will get a hearing; members of the public, interest groups, and experts beyond the expert panel (which ministers can ignore), will not. They will force through as many of their (and their friends’) projects through as they can in three years. Democracy and transparency are their enemies.
Thanks David. Something simple and not necessarily aligning with a party could be good. Eg # not my government. Not very punchy though. Can the cruel coalition ….
The Next Hundred Days March. They had how many things on their list? 49? I bet we could hit 50. That’s half a thing a day. Maybe we aim for one thing every two days, eh? Yeah, that would be better.
Thanks everyone for valuable comments. In addition I am interested in how to wake up or activate the complacent traditional older right wing voter who due to lack of engagement in social media is often largely oblivious to what is actually happening. Due to being 72 myself I know many such people. I often feel stymied by the old dictum that its sort of inappropriate to discuss politics and religion at dinner which perpetuates the personal comfortable echo chamber of many in this cohort. It is time for a massive fight back and somehow we need to enlist those who gave little thought to what and whom they were actually voting for.
Fred Ross (1989) Axioms for Organizers is an excellent book with pithy axioms on how to get things done e.g., SOCIAL ARSONIST: a good organizer is a social arsonist who goes around setting people on fire. And, YOU CAN'T WAIT: There are never enough resources or troops, but you can't wait and you can't admit the possibility of defeat because the opposition is probably going through the same thing. The loser is the first one to say it can't be done.
(Ross was a famous grassroots civil rights organizer in California).
Totally agree with your thoughts Nick. As a Kiwi in Aus two big lessons came out of the Voice loss defeated by Atlas. Maori unity is great but they won't protect the Treaty without consolidating support in key Pakeha electorates. Also locally undermine the popularity of coalition MPs - particularly NZ First which hopefully will bring about an early collapse of the current government.
Somehow we have to change peoples' behaviour so they engage with the way this country is governed. I asked a pharmacy assistant yesterday if she knew when prescription charges were coming back. She didn't have a clue that it was even going to happen. I said it was discussed during the election. "Have a nice day" was here response.
People seem to be so susceptible to propaganda. Lobbying to get practical politics included in the high school curriculum would help, and also educating the masses to think critically and evaluate the quality of what they read or see in the media and online, including government policies etc. This is digital information literacy 101 - here is a definition we developed as part of a research project.
"Digital Information Literacy (DIL) is the ability to recognise the need for, to access, and to evaluate electronic information. The digitally literate can confidently use, manage, create, quote and share sources of digital information in an effective way." (Source: https://shorturl.at/mqMN2)
Misinformation practices need to be stopped, and people encouraged to use evidence-based reasoning particularly when doing something as important as voting.
I have pointed out that all the evidence I have seen indicates that both a bridge or tunnel across cook strait is unfeasible, asked the question because the crossing is part of State Highway 1 why do not they proceed with the purchase of 2 ferries and the upgrade of the ports.
Also with the change in policy re interest on mortgages for rental properties will that infact bring the cast of rents down or only maybe bring rents down.
Thanks Nick. Good to start such a thread. I dont have any new ideas right now but I am determined to be involved in any activity that occurs. I’m so damned angry at the racism, the poor bashing and the ‘ couldn’t give a stuff ‘attitudes of the CoC …. We must collectively continue to call this out. I have a friend who has started just sending regular emails to Luxon to voice her thoughts and maybe that’s something I might start doing. Imagine if thousands of us did this regularly.
I have been feeling powerless and horrified at the same time. Went to Waitangi, wore my Toitū te Tiriti tshirt - that felt like some action. Have written to Luxon but will write more. I think letters to people like him are 'water off a duck's back' as my father used to say. I want things like car stickers that say 'I didn't vote for this Govt' because not many did. I don't think that most National voters would have envisaged this result. I think we should start getting plans together for how to get more people voting next time than ever before. I'm up for marches, peaceful protests, delegations to ministers' offices, letterwriting, flag waving- you name it. I lived through Muldoon and Richardson. This feels much worse.
A good way to start would be informing everyone on who and actually what is the Atlas group. Unheated, factual, evidence based and in a way everybody understands. Their negative roll in Brexit and the Referendum on the Voice in Australia.. the ugly racism and division that they and groups like Hobson’s Pledge weaponise to whip up the illinformed and fuel a partisan media. Politicians with ties to these groups should be called out.
We also saw how quickly and effectively Māori were able to rally and protest in large numbers to protect Te Reo and the Treaty. From abroad this received great coverage and was really impressive. A day of mass peaceful protest in every major city would attract attention the world over and sideline NZ’s biased media groups. Powerful speakers could highlight to the world what is happening here. This simply cannot stand.. not in Aotearoa. Bring it on!
Thanks Nick, I don't have any ideas, but I will fully support good constructive effective ideas to remind this Government that we are their bosses and they answer to us. I wrote the following on Twitter: Is it a coincidence that we have a Government bought and paid for by the Atlas Network and now we have no media to make them accountable? Food for thought.
What a song, it takes me back to better days.
Support the Wellington Poua - wahine standing up against these bullies.
Winston could be the weak link. He is of age when he starts to consider his legacy, if he thinks he is to be remembered as a kūpapa he may crack and bring down this circus. Keep reminding him that people will not forgive or forget his betrayal.
Thank you Nick, glad you’re taking this up… we really need to act now and not wait until the next election. I fear that by 2026 the manipulation of the masses will be so massively leaning to the right that the left will be unable to gain any ground and will be just left behind (excuse the pun) … I am so proud of the girl’s hakas!
Some current thougts
I think that coming up with well coordinated strategic actions is very important.
People like Annette Sykes, Chloe Swarbrick and the people alongside Kingi Tuheitia who are already speaking out will be important to listen to and there will be ideas and actions that we can support. Supporting any actions we see that confront this government like the Hurricanes women. Using the available channels at increased 'volume' with emails, protests etc.
One memory of the 81 protests is attending a meeting early on where strategies were being discussed and rehearsed. These came out of existing groups like HART and CARE. So thinking of existing groups that an act. Could be political or Unions.
Staying informed to make sense of the patterns emerging and the players. eg Atlas organisation's I'm NZ and calling out the links with Govt actions and policies New Zealand Iniative, Tax Payers Union, Hobsons Choice ( as Nick and Gerard Otto are doing) Talk about what you are noticing
Acting on righteous anger stops it turning to depression.
Think what has been successful before.
We can complain, write stuff, but unless we actually DO SOMETHING, it has no effect. Within our political structure, it seems to be a split between Left and Right, Compassion and Entitlement, where those who are "entitled" to their status in our society want that to be maintained, supported by the Westminster structure supporting the Entitled (and White) Ruling class. We have a communist dictatorship, doing whatever they want with no consideration for the effects. Any change can only be from protest that is visible, active and continuous, a NZ wide protest movement, in every center, and every city, we need a few people to put a hand up to organise, I put my hand up for the Wellington Region, who Else????
Tracy Chapman 🧡.
Perfect. To voice a revolution.
Unity I guess.
Learning & speaking Te Reo.
Respect our Culture.
People before Money.
Thanks Nick.
Off to work.
Look forward to ideas.
I'm part of a local environmental group, who in a couple of weeks, are going to take our new local National MP on a tour of our area of operation so she can see for herself the challenges the environment faces even under the existing regulatory framework. She just squeaked in to what's generally a left-leaning electorate. I think there will be quite a few newcomers in this position - if you have one locally it's definitely worth contacting them as I suspect at least a few of them are finding they are in a Government they didn't sign up for and might be persuadable to even a small extent.
I'm reminded of the special hatred and venom that Hitler reserved for Charlie Chaplin. A mob such as this is liable to be impervious to serious criticism. What deflates self-important idealogues and their chauvinists is pointed humour. The cartoons are great. We need more pillorying and mickey-taking. They will hate that.
When I see current political polls i despair at the continued support for the CoC. I wonder, how can this be? Am I imaging the evil occurring? Support for the LW declines - what is going on? Reading online comments and items such as Nick's korero gives me courage that I am not alone in my thinking and willingness to stand idle as these clowns ride roughshod over Maori and decent kiwis. My way forward is to remain calm, keep my family close and informed (at times they think here she goes again 😅 but their lights are slowly going on) Information out to all in every region of NZ both digital and paper. Form a fund to support this action
Building community and connecting with allies is one way to fight back and build positive momentum. Catch up with your neighbours, friends or relations you haven't seen for a while (and who you know are OK politically), organise street parties or discussion groups. Organise social activist groups to write letters to the paper, visit MPs etc. It's not too hard to start a chat with your neighbour on the footpath. You can start with something mildly provocative to test the water, such as wouldn't it be great to have a cycleway here, or isn't it terrible that the government wants to stop school lunches for the local school. You might be surprised to find that they are feeling as worried and angry about things as you are.
My partner and I have felt so frustrated over the last year. We are annoyed with people's apathy and gullibility with regard the predictability of this government even before the election. We have attempted to get involved in the local Labour Party as we live in an electorate that swung left but now has a National Party person. The Labour meetings we have attended have zero sense of urgency and lack any sense that if they wait to appoint a Labour candidate the National Party will be fully embedded in this electorate. I know the Left has been somewhat dessimated but Labour in particular seem to asleep. I have never felt so much fear for this Country as I do now...
I was talking to a very sharp left wing friend recently and she said if there was an election today she thinks Nats would romp in. This is of course, very depressing but probably true. I like the idea of a bumper sticker or decal for windows so we know who is with us. Plenty voted quietly for National etc but won’t admit it now. Posting one’s colours to the mast says loudly that we don’t like the shit that’s going down. I’m really struggling in my middle class neighbourhood because I simply don’t want to be “friends” in any shape or form with right wingers. They say things like, “it is what it is” or “I don’t watch the news” to avoid any discussion. They admit they can’t think of any policy they like from Nats but would vote for them again. I don’t know how to combat this unspoken racism, greed etc. By being willing to state your position overtly with bumper stickers or window stickers we at least know we have a tribe we can work with. Also others suffering know we care and want to change what’s happening.
The protest movements of the 70s and 80s were very effective. They were well organised and they attracted people of all ages and walks of life - teenagers, mums, dads, cleaners, builders, seamen, factory staff, teachers, nurses, lawyers, academics, public servants of all ilk (you name it they were there) and even a good turn-out of politicians. They were pretty much run along non-partisan lines ie. they did not openly support any political party. That is important. It took time, but boy... did they have a huge effect in the long run.
I would suggest building up a long list of "silent protests" across NZ in well frequented public places in all towns, cities and villages. No walking or shouting involved. Just stand there with the appropriate placards. It would need to be organised on a national scale with donations from members of the public to cover logistical and material costs. Parliamentary grounds is an obvious place to start - perhaps on every sitting day between 2pm and 3pm, weather permitting. The movement would hopefully grow in size and stature from there.
The result would not immediately be apparent but over time the number of people adversely affected by this govt.'s policies and actions is going to massively increase, so there should be no shortage of people willing to become involved.
One of the things the right does well is coordinate their lines of attack. They seem to have long term and short term goals. The long term started with Reagan, and especially Thatcher. “There is no such thing as society” was her mantra. This has permeated all their ideas since. Break down society and social thinking. The classic long term divide and conquer. And with voting patterns being what they are, it’s working.
Crosby Textor have and the Atlas Network have managed the medium and short term well. Brexit, Trump, the vote in Australia are all testament to that.
Somehow the left need to do the same thing. Where that lead comes from I don’t know. Party strategists, the CTU, unions, NGOs. We all need to be singing from the same hymn sheets. Different verses perhaps, but the same song.
Further to my comment above about nailing our colours to the mast, our neighbourhood supplied pride flags for free for anyone to display on their homes for Pride month. I hope that this made the rainbow community feel supported as quite a lot joined in. We do it each year now. It also brought out the fundamentalist “Christians” who actually shouted at primary school aged students. I think this brought others on the fence closer to the rainbow community so it back fired badly for them. Sports team could wear a logo (contentious I know), car bumper stickers, mailbox stickers along the lines of #not my government etc? I also wondered about numbering the stickers so the support could be clearly identified.
Chloe Swarbrick becoming co-leader of the Greens could potentially be a turning point in Center-left, left politics. If the Greens take up more social justice plus green policies, they could take enough Labour votes and encourage young people to make a difference in election 2026. Maybe they will appeal to younger people who don’t vote and inspire them to political activism.
I live in a very 'blue' electorate (Cambridge) came from a very 'blue' electorate (Coromandel) .... the best thing we can do is 'speak out' when we hear 'them' going on about Maori Rights, The Treaty, the 'wasteful spending' (that kept people alive and the economy functioning whilst hiring hundreds of frontline people to give the vacc etc etc.) It's interesting the comments I get on fb, but no one will actually talk about it to my face? As soon as you come back with some 'facts' they attack or run. Just like Nicole Willis! No substance no answers just blaming and attacking. We have to use our voices to speak up and have our answers ready. It's hard when you hear good 'friends' rubbishing and complaining! But speak up we must! Otherwise theirs is the only opinion that gets voiced.
I am afraid that we have all been gullible and believed in the myths of democracy and freedom in western capitalist societies. When in fact these myths have always provided cover stories for heirachical societies where power and control are exercised in top down authoritarian ways. The myth of white supremacy was a cover story to rationalise colonisation. The current cover story for sweepng aside the natives is the need for equality and democracy and the evils of tribalism and god forbid we should end up in a communist dictatorship. I suspect that David Seymour naively believes in the libertarian ideaology he pushes. And Atlas network are the mouth piece for that particular strand of the cover stories. But in reallity the people who are making the money are in charge and have always fought any threat to their power.
Anyway I suspect that we should get a whole lot more people on board with the realities of the world of power for any revolution to gain ground rather than just get everyone arrested and villified. A link here to a video from one of my favourite global journalists. It is long and is part of a series talking with Aaron Good who wrote "American Exception: Hegemony and the Dissimulation of the State" It is fascinating. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ1P_b13l28&t=575s
But the general public in the midst of current issues won't digest hours of content. but we can, and develop stories from it that can be disseminated. e.g the idea that we may have a version of political democracy but we do not have economic democrarcy and that economic democracy is worth fighting for. thats all for this day. thank you Nick for opening this so important discussion. look forward to reading more comments.
Join a political party such as the Greens and get out there and support them. Watch their new MPs maiden speeches - they are so impressive. They give me hope. And we so need hope.
Write/email or tweet to your MP (or ring their offices) all the email addresses on online as are the office phone numbers. Leave a message about what concerns you if the answer phone is on (it often is). Suggest your friends, whānau and neighbours watch Parliament TV on demand if they complain about things. We must be part of the process in order to transform the process.
And if David Seymour stops free school lunches we will need a mass turnout at his offices (when he is there) and to bombard him constantly. Plus anyone meeting any NACT MP must remind them politely that they are elected members and must represent all the people. They need to know they are the baddies!
Mis-information repeated daily via media from Government Ministers about finance and the previous Govt's lack of action needs to be rebutted or explained within the context of the time. I think politicians and anyone in the know needs to repeat what is true and what isn't. This isn't happening. Please do this Grant Robertson before you leave, and Chris Hipkins and previous ministers as soon as you hear mis-information.
IMO we need to be strategic, as they are, and vote for a Labour Green Coalition Govt, ie Green candidate Labour Govt or vice versa next election to gain experience for the Greens and to support each other to fix the damage done. In the meantime i intend to never be quiet or complicit, to get in the way of environmental damage via peaceful protest, and to challenge and call them and all their racist mates out every chance I get.
This is an excellent approach. It's been my thoughts for some time.
I follow G News daily and know that all the members there are on the same side of the fence, which makes it an excellent communication platform and which Is needed to go forward.
I know there are many out there that would support this process. I did invite family and friends to G News to increase members and give them a platform to express themselves. Interestingly enough, many others did the same.
All this may take some time, but I believe that's where we need to start. A communication port!
From there, I'm not sure which would be the best approach, whether a physical protest, referendum or what? Will you be the platform Nick?
I did some homework on this subject a couple of months ago eg; How to produce a Snap Election. One of the suggestions was to convince the Governor General who has the authority to make the call. But then again, the numbers need to be high. We need to do something, we sure as hell don't want a repeat of South Africa.
Is there no end to the dredging of vast vat of failed and binned policies and past and lost causes that this three strategy coalition with no cohesive intent will serve up?
Farmers in the Manawatu have been breeding out wool growth to avoid unnecessary shearing and proceed with the real business of meat with an aside of milk and cheese perhaps. The government - King Canutish - imagines it will be able to turn around world trend to phase out major use of wool. It seems headed to reintroduce live sheep export and the cruel practice of shipping. They have cut off a sensible plan to sustainable and pure water - losing billions of dollars - and leave us to private enterprise chaos and doing what making money dictates. Recipe for another disaster.
Kia ora koutou and thanks Nick. Personally I would like to see a general strike that brings the government down.
However.....that may be wishful thinking. So in lieu of that I agree NVDA is one of our avenues of protest: turning up in our rohe for various protest actions, particularly when the issue is, for instance, the threat of or actual destruction of Maori initiatives, te reo, Te Tiriti.....that tau iwi show up and be seen and heard!
Every week (nearly!) I have been emailing my MP ( who is labour) and cc-ing n the relevant minister from the CoC and Christopher Luxon. I have heard that writing a long-hand letter is effective as it has to be opened, read, responded to etc.
There are many groups springing up around the motu, oartre tangata whenua issues....join up and do our bit!
I like the ideas of bumper stickers, t-shirts, and talking to those around us.....they will be voting in the next election. And bombard social media with facts about the Atlas Network! The most difficult thing will be to believe what we're doing is having an impact so we all need our community of support. I'm very ready to be out there demanding accountability from this 'government '.
Notice that this Crooked Coalition has canned the Three Waters Agreement, and so now Atlas private equity firms are going to get in for the kill: "privatize, privatize, don't let any state-owned assets evade your eyes, strip them clean before those dumb Kiwis realize": check out Chris Hedges https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shv9g-4xXww
In the short term poke fun at them, do a bit of humorous consciousness raising egour SACK the Government after their first 90 day trial" campaign. 28 February
My favorite revolution song https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=AFckPkukF7g&feature=shared
Our best weapon, if we feel like hitting back, is to have a lineup of better candidates for their jobs, lining up. So, Chloe, Debbie, Rawhiti, Annette? Who else wants another chance?
Good ideas here. But can I get something through to everyone. Switching from one Left party to another for whatever reason won't change a thing - while it might make us feel better because we like their policies or their energy, or their new leader or whatever. I 've been around a bit. I remember in the harsh days of the 1990s, unions responded to attacks from government by poaching other unions members. It still goes on to an extent. It is on the basis is "my union didn't do this for me" or "this other union will give me better discounts" or "their fees are cheaper" or "we don't like their leader" or "this union will take my grievance when the other one won't". Did this build unionism? No. The only thing that changed the landscape, particularly for private sector unions was organising, education and action. If you want ideas, go look at some of the organising going on with cleaners, South Auckland workers, Pasifika communities, I can share chapter and verse how we won changes for low paid workers. It is hard work, not just going to a meeting.
My fear is that those who will be punished under this government are too busy trying to feed their families, working two jobs, wondering how they can afford to renew their rego or bus fares etc. Voting is possibly not high on your agenda if you are living on the streets because you weren’t deemed worthy of a motel voucher. I think National would win soundly if there was an election right now. How do we help those to vote next election who possibly feel powerless and exhausted?
I just watched Jack Tame’s interview with Chris Bishop. I would have thought there would have been checks in place that would make it impossible for ministers to grant themselves dictatorial powers that would enable them to green light any project, regardless of the environmental damage, with no challenges or public submissions allowed. Apparently not. Bishop said the intention was to disrupt the status quo and allow projects to go ahead regardless of previous court decisions. Lobbyists will get a hearing; members of the public, interest groups, and experts beyond the expert panel (which ministers can ignore), will not. They will force through as many of their (and their friends’) projects through as they can in three years. Democracy and transparency are their enemies.
Thanks David. Something simple and not necessarily aligning with a party could be good. Eg # not my government. Not very punchy though. Can the cruel coalition ….
The Next Hundred Days March. They had how many things on their list? 49? I bet we could hit 50. That’s half a thing a day. Maybe we aim for one thing every two days, eh? Yeah, that would be better.
Can give it a go then. A name, short just to label a group?
A communist concept, ""all people treated the same, all do as required, all support the state..."" kind of along the lines of the DS proposal.....
Good thoughts Marlene - thank you!
Thanks everyone for valuable comments. In addition I am interested in how to wake up or activate the complacent traditional older right wing voter who due to lack of engagement in social media is often largely oblivious to what is actually happening. Due to being 72 myself I know many such people. I often feel stymied by the old dictum that its sort of inappropriate to discuss politics and religion at dinner which perpetuates the personal comfortable echo chamber of many in this cohort. It is time for a massive fight back and somehow we need to enlist those who gave little thought to what and whom they were actually voting for.
Don't mean anything really, just that it is part of the communist manifesto, and wonder how it would go down with DS supporters?
Christopher.Luxon@parliament.govt.nz
mailto:Christopher.Luxon@parliament.govt.nz
Fred Ross (1989) Axioms for Organizers is an excellent book with pithy axioms on how to get things done e.g., SOCIAL ARSONIST: a good organizer is a social arsonist who goes around setting people on fire. And, YOU CAN'T WAIT: There are never enough resources or troops, but you can't wait and you can't admit the possibility of defeat because the opposition is probably going through the same thing. The loser is the first one to say it can't be done.
(Ross was a famous grassroots civil rights organizer in California).
You can download the PDF here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/61d1f584bc553c1fec6241a7/t/61fd58111b1cc611d3e4eb4b/1643993119895/Publish+Version+for+CA+HOF+%26+Print_92114+%281%29.pdf
Totally agree with your thoughts Nick. As a Kiwi in Aus two big lessons came out of the Voice loss defeated by Atlas. Maori unity is great but they won't protect the Treaty without consolidating support in key Pakeha electorates. Also locally undermine the popularity of coalition MPs - particularly NZ First which hopefully will bring about an early collapse of the current government.
Somehow we have to change peoples' behaviour so they engage with the way this country is governed. I asked a pharmacy assistant yesterday if she knew when prescription charges were coming back. She didn't have a clue that it was even going to happen. I said it was discussed during the election. "Have a nice day" was here response.
People seem to be so susceptible to propaganda. Lobbying to get practical politics included in the high school curriculum would help, and also educating the masses to think critically and evaluate the quality of what they read or see in the media and online, including government policies etc. This is digital information literacy 101 - here is a definition we developed as part of a research project.
"Digital Information Literacy (DIL) is the ability to recognise the need for, to access, and to evaluate electronic information. The digitally literate can confidently use, manage, create, quote and share sources of digital information in an effective way." (Source: https://shorturl.at/mqMN2)
Misinformation practices need to be stopped, and people encouraged to use evidence-based reasoning particularly when doing something as important as voting.
I have emailed Mr Luxon.
I have pointed out that all the evidence I have seen indicates that both a bridge or tunnel across cook strait is unfeasible, asked the question because the crossing is part of State Highway 1 why do not they proceed with the purchase of 2 ferries and the upgrade of the ports.
Also with the change in policy re interest on mortgages for rental properties will that infact bring the cast of rents down or only maybe bring rents down.
this is interesting and suggests a strategy of writing legislation for parliament. showing what is possible. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-11/anjali-sharma-taking-government-to-task-on-climate-change/103410358
What about Chloe on tonight’s news?? She’s fired up!!