The Continuing Evolution of Democracy in New Zealand
I moved to New Zealand in 2015, and compared to the other countries I have lived in – Scotland, France and Portugal - I would say it is the fairest society of the four. Indeed, New Zealand regularly makes it into the top positions in rankings of the most honest and least corrupt countries in the world – usually alongside the Scandinavian nations.
Shortly after I moved to New Zealand in 2015 at Cape Reinga, New Zealand’s northern tip
Image | Colin Mairs
Our country is in the international spotlight a great deal these days, or at least it feels like it. I’m often told by friends overseas how they hear a lot about our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the news, and how they are envious of the leadership we have from her. I’ll leave you to guess which country or countries those friends might live in.
Jacinda Ardern became Prime Minister of New Zealand in late 2017, and in doing so she became this country’s third female Prime Minister, following in the footsteps of Jenny Shipley (PM 1997–1999) and Helen Clark (PM 1999–2008). Jacinda is riding high on a wave of popularity and looks set to secure her second term in our upcoming general election next month. Perhaps you’ve heard that those elections were recently put back four weeks from the original scheduled date. Is there a tempting comparison with another country for anyone there?
New Zealand’s Parliament building, nicknamed “The Beehive”
Image | Colin Mairs
The elections were scheduled for September 19th, 2020, but due to a resurgence of Covid-19 in Auckland, the country’s largest city, Ardern announced that the date would be shifted to October 17th. You might wonder if there was a great outcry or suspicion over her doing this. In actual fact—not really. Political analysts say that if the moving of the election date benefits anyone, it would be Jacinda’s opponents.
For a bit of context, Jacinda Ardern is the leader of the Labour party, which is the left of centre social-democratic party. The main opposition party is called National (right of centre conservative). The National leader, as of July 2020, is Judith Collins. She is the third National Party leader in 2020, and has her work cut out in firstly bringing unity to her own party and then in presenting herself as a formidable alternative to a leader with international star appeal, who posts selfies with school kids on her Instagram account, and who has ushered in a whole new vocabulary to a typically cut-throat sphere with her conversations on a “politics of kindness”.
A photo featured on Jacina Ardern’s Instagram
Image | Jacina Ardern
In beginning to discuss politics in New Zealand, I must acknowledge that people from other countries may well regard the traditional notions of Left and Right as being shifted farther to the left here. One example of this more socially liberal outlook is that when legislation to decriminalise abortion was passed by Parliament earlier this year, it had support from members of all political parties. Another example is the country’s anti-nuclear position, which is regarded as a key element of government policy, irrespective of party, and of New Zealand's distinctive political identity. Do those issues split the left and right in your country? New Zealand's approach to governance has historically emphasised social welfare, multiculturalism, social integration, and suppression of far-right politics.
The country’s first Labour Prime Minister, Michael Joseph Savage, did a lot to sow the seeds of New Zealand’s world-leading welfare state in the 1930s. He led New Zealand in the post-Depression years focussing on government assistance for jobs, housing, health and social security. In a recent poll he was named New Zealander of the 20th century. How many other countries do you think would name a political leader as their countryman or woman of the century nowadays?
Memorial to New Zealand’s first Labour Prime Minister, Michael Joseph Savage, in Auckland
Image | Colin Mairs
Prior to the beginnings of the Welfare State, New Zealand’s world-leading moment in politics came in 1893, when it became the first country in the world where women were able to vote in national parliamentary elections. This was pivotal to its perception worldwide as a pioneering “social laboratory.” As you may know, in most other democratic nations, it was only after the First World War that women won the right to vote. One of the main people influential in New Zealand’s suffrage movement was Kate Sheppard, who is honoured on the New Zealand $10 bill. She is one of two women on New Zealand bank notes, the other being Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, on the $20 bill, as constitutional monarch and head of state of New Zealand. The other three denominations of banknotes feature a mountaineer ($5), a Māori politician ($50), and a scientist ($100). Who are the people on the banknotes of your country and what do you think that says about a country’s societal values?
New Zealand $10 bill featuring suffragette Kate Sheppard
Image | Collin Mairs
New Zealand’s history as an egalitarian democracy, or at least its trying to be one, goes back even further. The nation’s founding document —the Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840—was supposed to establish a partnership of equals between the Crown (the British government) and the Māori tribes. The English language version of the Treaty stated that Māori would agree to recognise the sovereignty of Great Britain over New Zealand, and they would give the Crown exclusive rights to buy lands they wished to sell. In return, Māori would become British subjects and would be guaranteed rights of ownership of their lands, forests and fisheries. In theory they would be equal in rights and privileges to any other subject of Her Majesty. It sounds quite fair and egalitarian doesn’t it?
A reconstruction painting done in 1939 of the Signing of the Treaty of Waiting in 1840
Image: Marcus King, Archives New Zealand from New Zealand, Wikimedia Commons
The reality was quite different. The dishonest acquisition of Māori lands by government agents along with other perceived breaches of the Treaty led to The New Zealand Wars (1845 to 1872). The aftermath saw the confiscation of land on a massive scale by the government from both "loyal" and "rebel" Māori tribes alike. I think you’ll agree that it is an understatement to say this is not in keeping with egalitarian ideals. In more recent times, however, there has been an attempt to right the wrongs of the past and to reinforce the moral principles of the Treaty.
The Treaty of Waitangi Settlement Process, which has been in motion for the past few decades, aims to settle historical claims of breaches of the Treaty. This has put many long-standing grievances to rest. At the end of each tribe’s negotiations with the Crown, a settlement package is agreed upon—this will often include an official apology; the renaming of certain places back to their Māori names; cultural redress; and economic redress, which is usually in the region of several hundreds of millions of dollars, sometimes billions. Can you imagine something like that happening in your country?
All nations have painful and sometimes shameful moments in their past, some in their present. All nations deal with them in different ways. Exact equality is perhaps an unattainable ideal, but New Zealand’s attempt to make things more equal by settling historical claims of past government wrongdoing is one of the most fair and democratic examples I have come across.
I’m sure that with the upcoming general election we’ll be in the spotlight a little more. Look out for those columns in the international section of media coverage that tell you the election result. Will Jacinda secure her second term? And how will New Zealand respond to the two referendum questions we are answering on the same day? One is on the legalisation of recreational cannabis use, and the other on end of life choice, which would give people with a terminal illness the option of requesting assisted dying. Moral and religious beliefs, lifestyle choices, and deep emotional feelings all come into play with these two referendum questions, meaning that it is difficult to predict the results of either. That tends to be the way with referendums. Whatever the outcome, we can be confident that the democratic process is being followed and we’ll begin to write a new chapter in the history of this young nation.
Information delivered to all voters ahead of the October 2020 elections
Image | Colin Mairs
