INL Digital Edition June 15 2020

16
JUNE 15, 2020
Businesslink
Despite restrictions, our record makes us proud
Peter Dunne
Universal public compliance
has been one of the major
reasons why New Zealand has
apparently been so successful
in curbing the spread of the Covid-19.
Fundamentally, people complied
with the restrictions imposed during
Alert Levels 4 and 3 because of an
overwhelming fear of the risk they
could catch the virus.
The clear and decisive rules of engagement
from the government backed
up that fear. With only a few exceptions,
everyone knew where they stood,
what they could and could not do, and
knew the risks of non-compliance.
Team Five Million
The invocation of the idea of “team
of five million” built up a culture of
our all being in this together, and the
individual privations we were all
enduring being an individually small
but overall important part of a wider
national picture.
In an almost wartime atmosphere,
we were encouraged to believe that
The unfortunate events in
the US over the past two
weeks made me to spark
a conversation amongst
friends to discuss their opinion on
the situation.
I was curious to know if they had
ever been a victim of racism (in any
capacity), and if so, how they dealt
with it. We reflected on our past experiences
and all agreed that racism
is a prevalent and on-going issue.
However, there were differing
views on how we can contribute
towards the change.
I will start with myself.
Painful experience
Yes, I have been a victim of racism.
Not just at primary school when
my family moved from India to
New Zealand but also more recently
when I started working in Sydney.
I greeted a Caucasian couple when
they entered the travel agency in
which I was working and asked
them how I could help. They stared
at me from top to bottom and
replied, “No, we don’t want to be
helped by you.”
As painful as that was to hear, I
knew I had to be professional and so
I guided them to my colleague who
took over. At that moment, I did not
realise it was my skin colour that
brought on that reaction.
I assumed it was because I looked
too junior and inexperienced in
their eyes to help with their enquiry
despite informing them that I was
one of the Assistant Managers in
store.
As their luck would have it, they
were travelling to New Zealand
(which happened to be my area of
expertise), and my colleague asked
me to assist him with the itinerary,
which I did... and the rest is history!
Do I wish I stood up for myself
then? Maybe. I was in a work
environment, and so I had to be
professional, but when I look back,
we were all playing our part towards
the achievement of a greater national
goal, and we all apparently believed it.
Consequently, we accepted a level of
intrusion upon our personal freedoms
that most of us would never ever have
imagined occurring in our lifetimes.
Somewhat more darkly, some even
embraced the notion of snitching on
others whom they felt were not playing
the game. But, in the interests of the
greater good, such concerns were
quickly pushed aside because it was
comparatively easy to go along with
what was happening.
Dissipating spirit
However, those days now seem past
us. That initial spirit has dissipated and
will be difficult to recapture as we start
to think about life beyond Alert Level 2.
In no small part, that is due to the
unexpectedly rapid success in virtually
stamping out Covid-19 in New Zealand,
at least for the time being.
After all, if there are no new cases
being reported, now day after day,
how can there possibly be a crisis to be
concerned about anymore? Or, so the
argument goes.
But a bigger factor is that the urgency
around Covid19 has waned. The absolute
imperative of uniform national
compliance has all but evaporated.
Disturbing trend
When the Prime Minister and the
Director-General of Health – the two
faces of compassionate reassurance but
unflinching authority during Levels 4
and 3 – are photographed conversing
with groups of people, the way we used
to, it is difficult to maintain the line that
for everyone else strict social distancing
rules must continue to apply.
Likewise, when a demonstration of
several thousand people takes place
and the Director-General says it poses
no threat to public health, because we
have no cases occurring, it becomes
very hard to tell business premises that
they still need to regulate the numbers
of people on their sites in the interests
of preventing Covid-19 possible spread.
The issue here is not whether these
things should be occurring – the
government, after all, seems to be
giving clear hints that a move to the
far more relaxed Alert Level 1, when
virtually the only restriction still in
place will be a closed national border,
is maybe barely a week away – but
rather the mixed messages currently
being sent, and the difficulties they are
causing for compliance. Where we once
were united in the pursuit of a common
goal, we now seem to believe we have
achieved that, and are increasingly
The voice to stamp out racism
should be louder, decisive
Discrimination thrives
amidst apathy and
silence
Shreya Paranjape
I wish I had said something in a
polite manner to convey that my
skin colour does not define my
skill level or my knowledge.
Who is an Australian?
My husband was born in India
and moved to Sydney when he
was just over a year old.
He told me that he was once
asked during a conversation,
‘How come you don’t look
Australian?’
He did not think much of it,
and responded with ‘I am an
Indian-Australian,’ (two others
in the discussion were asked a
similar question while travelling
overseas).
While the person asking may
have intended it to be an innocuous
question, but it caused a stir
during our conversation.
Why is it okay to ask someone
why they do not look like a
certain nationality? What does
an Australian (or any nationality
for that matter) look like? Is
there a mould by which we are
identified? No. Questions like
these which may be innocent,
highlight the underlying issue.
Misconception and reality
I spent the first 10 years of my
life in India and was exposed
to many TV commercials with
Bollywood celebrities endorsing
fairness creams.
A large population of India
is influenced by the Western
world, and having lighter skin
is perceived as being affluent
or belonging to a higher class
in society, whereas darker skin
is generally looked down upon.
Unfortunately, this misconception
is the harsh reality.
The same celebrities are now
posting pictures, quotes and petition
links in support of anti-racism
which makes me wonder;
what are they doing behind the
scenes to correctly influence
the millions of followers they
have on social media? Will they
continue to endorse fairness
creams going forward? Will
they continue to post relevant
information about charities/
organisations that support these
causes a month from now and
positively influence their followers
or will it die down because it
is a temporary trend?
Blackout Tuesday
Last week, a lot of the people
who I follow on Instagram posted
a black square for ‘Blackout
Tuesday,’ in support of the Black
Lives Matter movement.
I remember scrolling through
and seeing a number of these
squares and having mixed
feelings.
I was happy knowing that I
had the right type of friends who
supported a movement like this,
but it again made me wonder
what they were doing behind the
scenes to support the cause.
During our discussion, I learnt
that one friend is making an effort
to support local restaurants
and businesses of colour, another
is making an effort to read
relevant literature to gain more
knowledge, while a few others
have donated money towards
various anti- racism causes.
Baby steps forward
All of these might be baby
steps, but they are steps in the
right direction. As unfortunate
and heart- breaking as the
events in the last fortnight have
been, it has opened my eyes and
prompted me to reflect on my
own experiences.
We need to stop turning a
blind eye to such situations and
questions, no matter how big or
small. We need to make a change
in our behaviour, and educate
ourselves and others to the best
of our ability.
My friends and I may not have
been directly disadvantaged
because of our ethnicity or
colour, but that does not make
these situations acceptable.
In today’s world, we have access
to various resources as well
as the power of social media and
it is everyone’s responsibility to
create awareness and make a
change, now.
As Mahatma Gandhi said. “Be
the change you want to see in
the world.”
Shreya Paranjape was born in
India and raised and education
in Christchurch, New Zealand.
She is now employed as a
Corporate Travel Consultant in
London, where she lives with
her husband.
frustrated that we cannot get back to
life as we knew it more quickly.
Covid-19 on the exit
It is probably also a clear indication
that as the numbers of Covid-19 cases
have virtually disappeared the public
interest has started to move on too.
It is now becoming much more
focused on the impact on individual
circumstances – jobs that have disappeared,
the struggle to pay the rent and
the mortgage, the long winter ahead,
and what happens when the wage
subsidies run out. Worrying about
catching Covid19 is increasingly taking
second place to these more immediate
domestic concerns, especially when it
appears that, even at an official level,
things are not being treated as seriously
as they were just a few weeks ago.
While none of this should come as
any great surprise it also shows that the
government’s authority on this issue
has now peaked.
As things start to become more
relaxed, the unique authority the government
possessed and demonstrated
so effectively during the lockdowns
will ebb away and New Zealanders’
natural instinct to be less automatically
obedient to every government call will
return.
So too, one hopes, will the genuine
contest of ideas so necessary to a
functioning democracy, especially in
the lead-up to an election.
Normalcy welcome
The mixed messages of recent days
notwithstanding, most New Zealanders
will welcome and take in their stride
the pending return to something
approaching the normality they knew,
albeit with a typically quiet sense of
pride at what they have been able to
achieve.
They will be hoping Covid19 shows
no sign of a significant return during
the coming winter months, as we begin
to reopen our border. So too will the
government and the public health
authorities.
For they know only too well that
the level of sudden public compliance
and acquiescence achieved during
the lockdowns was but a moment in
time – a shocked reaction to what was
happening overseas and the abrupt
arrival of circumstances that no-one
had properly anticipated.
It is unlikely to be achievable to the
same extent even if future circumstances
warrant it.
Peter Dunne was a Minister of the Crown
under Labour and National-led governments
from November 1999 to September 2017. He
lives in Wellington.
Peace marchers in
New Zealand show
BLM solidarity
Sourced Content
Thousands of New Zealanders
marched at Black Lives
Matter rallies in Auckland,
Wellington and Dunedin on
Sunday, June 14, 2020.
Over the past three weeks,
people across the US have been
protesting over the death of
George Floyd, an unarmed black
man in police custody. Since then,
the ‘Black Lives Matter’ (BLM)
Movement has come to life again
in many countries, with protesters
taking to the streets, demanding an
end to police brutality and racism.
In Dunedin, hundreds of people
gathered at the Otago Museum
reserve to show solidarity with
the movement. They marched
down George Street to the Octagon,
where a rally was held.
The Auckland March
The Auckland march, which
started at Aotea Square, headed
down Queen Street and ended at
the US consulate, where protesters
took a knee and observed a minute
of silence for George Floyd.
The Auckland rally opened with a
karakia at Aotea Square and a mihi
whakatau from Graham Tipene of
Ngāti Whātua, who told the crowd
to “keep it peaceful.”
“Our children are here, so let’s do
it right and fight for what’s right.”
There were some counter-protesters,
including who yelled, ‘All lives
matter’ during speeches, but those
there for the BLM gathering were
told to ignore them, or to take a knee
if they saw them.
Members of the Ethiopian and Somalian
communities addressed the
crowd on the BLM Movement, along
with social justice campaigner Julia
Whaipooti, who talked about the use
of armed police in predominantly
Māori and Pasifika areas.
Not a hashtag or Instagram
“For many of us this is not a new
moment in time, not a hashtag on
Instagram.”
Will ‘Ilolahia, a founding member
of the Polynesian Panthers, told the
crowd they were “a part of history”
and that pulling down monuments
was a side issue to the greater
problem.
He said that those seeking
change should not be despondent
at the slow rate of transformation.
“Aotearoa and the rest of the
world is going to be changed
by you. Not me, I have done my
time,” Ilolahia said and asked the
protesters not to just stand by if
they witnessed racism.
AUT academic Camille Nakhid,
who studied police discrimination
against the African community in
New Zealand, said racism was the
knee on the neck of Māori, Pasifika
and other communities of colour
in New Zealand.
“Everything is talking and thinking
about the murder of george
Floyd in the US and the knee that
was on his neck. But I want to
talk about the knees on our neck,
the Black indigenous people of
colour in Aotearoa. This protest is
because we love who we are. Do
not let them turn our love into hate
against each other,” she said.
Wellington Event
Thousands of people gathered
at the Civic Square, Wellington, to
march to Parliament in solidarity
with the Black Lives Matter movement.
The march was organised by a
group of community advocates,
including Guled Mire.
Speakers included City Councillor
Tamatha Paul, who asked the
people of New Zealand to unite
against racism here. A haka was
performed ahead of the march,
and protestors walked down
Lambton Quay yelling “no justice,
no peace.”
Mire said, “Rallying and showing
up to stand with our African
brothers and sister is incredibly
important but we also need to acknowledge
what’s happening here.
If we are not doing that, it is quite
pointless. We are taking a stand
against racism that manifests here
in Aotearoa. We need to be able to
acknowledge our history. We need
to acknowledge what’s happening
to Māori, Pasifika, including the
community that I come from - the
African community.”
Published under a Special Agreement
with www.rnz.co.nz