On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say which we won't understand
Don't accept that, what's happening
Is just a case of other's suffering
Or you'll find that you're joining in
The turning away
Today’s guest kōrero is from Author Catherine Lea. So without further ado, over to Catherine…
I’m so honoured that Nick has asked me to guest post. I love his kōreros and like so many of his readers, it’s great to find someone voicing the same concerns as me.
Because let’s face it, if you trot on over to Twitter (I can’t bear to call it X), you’ll find the same voices shouting into the abyss. And while their voices may reflect our views, there’s an overwhelming feeling that you’re only shouting at some narcissist who’s monetised their account and prospers by making absurd statements.
And once you face that fact, you realise that while you’ve found an outlet, you’re just wheat to the grist.
Let me tell you why Nick kindly allowed me to have a voice here: I’m a relatively privileged Pakeha living in a wealthy area on the Far North.
‘Wealth? In the Far North?’ I hear you demand of your screen. ‘But I thought…’
You did. And you’d be right. I live in a largely right-leaning, affluent, and privileged community surrounded by abject poverty.
But here’s the thing: I moved up here from Auckland five years ago. Prior to that, I was the single carer of two children until my son moved out at the age of sixteen leaving me the single parent of a seriously disabled child until she passed away at the age of thirty-three. A good chunk of my heart went with her.
So I know what it’s like to be a caregiver. I know what life is like when you can’t hold down a full-time job because your child is forever stuck at the mental age of three. I know what it’s like when you can’t afford a house because no bank will offer me a mortgage. And that’s even if I could raise a deposit. I know what it’s like to live hand-to-mouth on a benefit.
I’m not complaining. What would have happened to my little whanau if not for that support?
But I have one thing in my favour, I write books—ones I know about.
So when I began researching my fourth book in the DI Nyree Bradshaw Crime thrillers, I reached out to Jonny Wilkinson, CEO of Taiho Trust for the disabled. I wanted an accurate picture of what it’s like for the caregivers of the North.
I was horrified.
Like a caregiver’s life wasn’t hard enough in Auckland. Remember the furore over the changes to benefits for caregivers because of Penny Simmonds’ handling of decisions around disability funding? There was so much outrage that the government apologised for the hurt they’d caused and handed the portfolio to another minister.
Well, interestingly, Jonny, a journalist and advocate for the disabled, tells me that nothing has changed—that the disabled community and their supporters were brushed aside while other outrages took over. Many of those poverty-stricken caregivers must go on a two-year waiting list for respite, wash wheelchair-bound loved ones outside with a bucket due to limited bathroom access, live hand-to mouth being looked down on as lazy because most never have the opportunity to GET A JOB, as Nicola Willis urges; despite the fact jobs are like hen’s teeth up here.
Having been in their shoes, I felt helpless, my heart went out to them. But what to do?
Then I had one of those epiphanies you read about.
I could do something. I’m a writer—and if you don’t mind my saying so, I’m a bloody good writer. I’ve written crime thrillers since the nineties. I began posting them on Amazon in the 2010s. I thumped out bestsellers in the USA. And spurred by that epiphany, I decided that despite hearing from so many Kiwis, I don’t read New Zealand authors because they can’t write – I set about proving them wrong.
I self-published my first New Zealand set book two years ago. It’s called THE WATER’S DEAD: A DI Nyree Bradshaw Crime Thriller. It has Kiwi characters with Kiwi voices; it’s got a twisty crime with sympathetic characters; it covers the struggles of the north; it highlights the poverty, the inadequate support systems and the culture clashes; it has a main character who battles not just the system, but those issues of the north.
And yes…it’s got MĀORI. Māori characters, Māori cops. Māori heroes and anti-heroes who form the backdrop for a murder mystery.
Yes, I know. Who’d have thought!
When I put it out into the market, Bateman Books saw it and offered me a publishing deal. I got Dover Samuels to read it to quiet all those politically correct who said I couldn’t represent diverse cultures. He loved it.
Bateman Books, I was told, is a bit woke. Fortunately, I also am a bit woke. One of the driving factors in my writing is my passion for bring reality to my readers—woke or not.
So my whole-hearted gratitude goes out to Nick Rockel for inviting me to add my words to his. Because it’s about not having one voice.
It’s about having many.
Nick’s note: Thanks so much Catherine, for allowing me to share your words and for speaking up at the ongoing realities for those who need our disability services - regardless of any smoke and mirrors that’ve appeared subsequent to the initial outrage over cuts.
It was really lovely to talk with you last week, kindred spirits, and I’m very much looking forward to reading The Water’s Dead, which readers can find here. 🙂
If folks are interested in subscribing to Nick’s Kōrero you’ll get 10% off the first year until the end of June.
Catherine Lea
Catherine lives in the beautiful Far North of New Zealand. In past lives, she has sold international satellite capacity, worked in IT recruitment, and run her own communications store. When she isn’t writing, she is playing zombie games on her PlayStation, trying to maintain control of her garden or researching her next novel.
Today’s musical choice is also from Catherine. I’m sure many of you know the words…
No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away from the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It's not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there'll be
No more turning away?
I work in an organisation who finds caregivers, and to add to the huge issues in this sector, the availability of good or qualified carers to support those in need, to give some respite care, to assist in overnight cares etc, is another massive problem post covid, and the current govt gives not one shit about it while pretending they suddenly do. To my mind, this is a demonstration of evil. I feel for the entire community and share Catherine's sense of outrage and helplessness..... I am also excited to know at last of a crime writing Kiwi author who is woke! I'm going to get every book your have written and I cannot wait to immerse myself! Thank you. ❤️
I agree Catherine, there are many of "us" out there, there are also many of "them", the Entitled as Luxon explains it. They are OK, they had a good childhood, they were brought up with privileges, it's simply not their problem! But it IS! It is a problem for all or us, one way or another, we have all the problems and we will have to pay for the results, good or bad. For posts such as these there are many "likes", trouble is, Like is not Action, all the Likes need to do is to form a group, an identified group or entity, not a political party (definitely not another), not violent either, We have a vote, we can make a Civil case against MP's who profit from caucus decisions that they individually benefit from, Conflict of Interest, all such is a Civil matter, not legal, but not within the jurisdiction of Company Law, or Parliament Laws, but a group could fund a Civil Action. I WE do not stand up and DO something, we get what we deserve.