Your Beautiful Heart

And so many others like it.

Where is your beautiful heart?
Not yet set free
But how do you go these days?
Lonely I be

Songwriter: Steve Abel.

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Yesterday had much that was newsworthy, an awful lot for our wee islands.

From storms causing power outages and chaos to fires driven by the wind, to an enormous wave of support for those striking, and the first funeral of a former PM that I can recall since the memorable events marking the departures of Muldoon and Lange.

Bolger is a tough one; on the one hand, his government oversaw Māori claims as no other had before, but on the other, he allowed Ruth Richardson to rip apart what little fabric of society had remained after Douglas.

I was a young father at that time, and I remember the pain his government caused people I knew. Yet in hindsight, and driven by the wisdom of his later years, he seemed a more decent, compassionate man than the one we have in charge now.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was one of several speakers. Photo / Rob Kitchen / The Post.

Something I will share is Steve Abel’s story, recalling the time Sam Hunt was on a flight with Mr and Mrs Bolger. It’s well worth a look; you can find it here, and it makes clear why the current people in charge will not be remembered with such respect, lacking Bolger’s understanding and mana.

It’s not about politics.

This morning, I read an article from my hometown about a Rotorua Hospital doctor who collapsed “mid-procedure” because they had not taken a break for six hours.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) delegate and Rotorua Hospital Emergency Department nurse Denise Taplin told the crowd she recently responded to an emergency call bell after a doctor collapsed, “She was at six hours into her shift – she made sure that all her colleagues had gone off for a break and had something to eat, but she hadn’t.”

It made me want to shout in the faces of Simeon Brown and Christopher Luxon that this is not about politics; it’s about the fact that our health system is struggling, and the load on those working in it has reached breaking point for them and their patients.

Hundreds of Rotorua strikers gathered along Tutanekai St, holding signs and flags. Photo / Megan Wilson

Reading the article gave me a lump in the throat; seeing people protesting on the streets where I grew up was surprisingly moving. Maybe you felt the same way seeing the protests where you live or come from.

Get it out of their system.

I felt less positive about another article, this one relating to Sir Brian Roche, who, I think, has acted deplorably during this strike.

He has come across as intransigent and unmoved by the claims of the various sectors, paid for advertising to attack those striking and buggered off on an overseas holiday at a crucial time while demanding a resolution.

His levels of condescension was in Nicola Willis territory as he spoke to Mike Hosking, saying:

He wasn’t moved by yesterday’s scenes, adding that they saw what was expected, and people got it out of their systems.

He says it’s now time to get back to the negotiating table and find a solution, as New Zealanders deserve better.

What a prick. Saying he expected people to have gotten this out of their systems clearly shows he doesn’t take the issues raised seriously.

New Zealanders do deserve better, but that, in my view, doesn’t look like people forgetting the issues and getting back to work; it means backing them until the government is forced to respond meaningfully.

The bit that really made me think ‘you just don’t get it’ was when he said yesterday’s scenes didn’t move him. I found the scenes incredibly moving as they reached around the world, Luxon’s legacy even appearing in The Guardian.

Image: The Guardian.

I posted the article, and Annette commented, “Yay! The more of this kind of ‘attention’ the better..... The biggest Con of a government in NZ history.”

Leah wrote: “I saw Erica Stanford speaking in parliament this week. Her attitude and her visible loathing towards teachers are actually quite disgusting. I remember sensing the same self-assured hatred towards her constituents from Paula Bennett. You can see it on Brooke van Velden and Seymour, too.”

Kymberlee noted, “Meanwhile, Luxon is busy whining to the council and crowing because they gave him a rates rebate on his luxury holiday home!!”

He certainly is entitled, but yesterday we saw tens of thousands of Kiwis who were not focused on themselves.

We are many.

Ex-Labour MP and, hopefully, future one, Michael Wood, shared this photo, which gave me pause. The determined faces of many different people made me feel a bit emotional.

Crowd of protestors. Photo: Michael Wood.

This was my Aotearoa, people of all races standing together in the interest of our country. I posted the following message with the photo:

If you thought we did pretty well during Covid, you miss Jacinda, support today’s protest, and can’t wait for this government to be gone; today showed that thousands of Kiwis feel the same as you do.

Leah commented, “That’s my kinda Aotearoa, diverse, inclusive and united.”

Denise noted, “No one is running around with gallows or setting fire to things either. I support all the social services and have loathed this government from day one.”

Annemarie wrote, “I was so disappointed that our rally was cancelled due to the weather. I totally intended to wear my G News ‘I love Jacinda’ t-shirt! I was even going to attend after working three nights in a row and only getting 2 hours of sleep. Next time, and under this COC, there WILL be a next time.”

If you’re interested in one of those G News t-shirts, you can order them here.

I’ll leave it there for today. If you were unable to attend yesterday’s protest, or yours was called off due to the weather, rest assured, there will be further strikes.

Sir Brian Roche might like to think the strikers will have “gotten this out of their system”, but they aren’t doing this for fun. Unless the government gets serious about addressing the issues that matter to so many Kiwis, I’m sure there will be further protests.

Have a good Friday, and I hope you weren’t too badly affected by the extreme weather. Take care, all of you lovely people.

Ngā mihi,
Nick.

To end today, here are Green MP Steve Abel and Kirsten Morrell with Lonely I Be.