MARCH 14 2020 LISTENER 3
EDITORIAL
There is no ‘other ’
A
s New Zealand commemorates the first
anniversary of the Christchurch mosque
massacre, we need to do more than passively
reflect on how the tragedy cemented our resolve
to remain an inclusive society.
In the immediate aftermath of the mass
killings, this country
intuitively displayed
an empathy the rest of the world found
remarkable and rare. The spontaneous
outpouring of support by so many New
Zealanders, wherever they were and
whoever they were, was an important
illustration of who we collectively believe
ourselves to be.
But the actions of the alleged gunman
also revealed some unpalatable truths
about our connections to the vast global
iceberg of racism and hatred enabled by
sophisticated dark-web communications.
Hard for the security services to track or
dismantle, these networks insidiously
encourage the views of otherwise isolated
figures.
Racism is evident at times in its more
public counterpart – the everyday
“othering” of different ethnicities.
Although this fear-based response to
population change has fostered a surge
of political nationalism in parts of the
world, it has seldom been a major theme
here. Indeed, the potential for profitable
race-based politics appeared to have
been quashed following the outcry
over Labour’s Phil Twyford’s absurd
“Chinese-sounding names” housing survey. His clumsy pursuit
of a racial cohort to blame for the market’s price distortions was
overwhelmingly and justifiably mocked and reviled.
As his subsequent ministerial stewardship has confirmed,
Twyford often appears tone-deaf and he seemed at the time
genuinely aghast at the hurt caused to immigrants. The same
excuse cannot be made for New Zealand First’s Shane Jones.
Despite his affecting the affable persona of “Jonesy”, tactless
shooter-from-the-hip, he carefully crafts every salvo. Last year,
when he said Indian immigrants couldn’t expect to “bring your
whole village”, it was a calculated put-down, doubling as a racist
disinvitation to some of our most-talented immigrants.
Last weekend, when he said Indian students had “ruined”
many of our education institutions, he barely even bothered
with nuance.GE
TTY (^) I
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AG
ES
It hardly matters whether
Shane Jones believes
what he is saying or is just
practising his lines for NZ
First’s tactics in the coming
election campaign.
This was racism, plain as day. He has not resiled from it – saying
only that if others think he’s been racist, he will live with it.
T
here have been, and may remain, exploitative, low-quality
training institutions, some of which were run by immi-
grants. More needs to be done to protect vulnerable people
- many themselves immigrants – from
such predation and Jones could have
said that without fear of contradiction.
Instead, he chose to frame the problem
as one of Indian migration. From any
politician, let alone a member of the
Cabinet, this is unforgiveable. When
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said of
the mosque-goers, “They are us”, it was
a sentiment of inclusion. She told a press
conference that she disagreed with Jones:
“I will be telling him that, and I will also
be asking him to reconsider the way that
he talks about these issues in the future.”
She needs to do a lot more than that.
Jones was banging the bigots’ drum – and
serving notice that he intends to continue
doing it.
When it comes to NZ First, Ardern
is showing the lack of authority more
readily associated with a relieving teacher
unable to deal with the boys in the back
row who will go on disrupting the class
until the end of term because they know
she cannot control them.
She needs to censure Jones publicly
and strongly. It hardly matters whether
he believes what he is saying or is just
practising his lines for NZ First’s tactics in
the coming election campaign. The party is free to talk about a
population policy and immigration, but singling out a particular
ethnicity crosses a bright line that is unacceptable to the public
and is embarrassing for the Government.
Ardern has dealt with NZ First leader Winston Peters’
belligerent antics over fair questions about party funding by
refusing to comment and framing it as a party matter for him to
deal with. But there is no get-out clause with Jones talking about
immigrants. By tolerating his missiles, branded racist by much-
respected Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon, Ardern looks
worse than ineffectual.
She should demand that Jones apologise. Peters’ behaviour
is damaging enough, but Jones’ utterances are a stain on New
Zealand’s tolerance and inclusion. If he must indulge himself, he
should do so from the backbenches until voters decide his fate. l
Shane Jones