A Progressive Paradise: Is Aotearoa as forward-thinking as we think?
Shaneel Lal says that despite NZ banning conversion therapy there is still a way to go. Photo: Vogue/ Hōhua Kurene.
2023 is an important year for women of New Zealand, marking the 130th anniversary since being the first country to give women the vote. Flaunted on our ten dollar note, Kate Sheppard and the suffragettes’ actions, which aided in amplifying women’s voices, took the world by storm. Coined as a “progressive paradise,” New Zealand’s culture has long been associated with being at the forefront of global change, with successes and notable moments, such as women gaining the vote, moulding New Zealand’s perceived narrative and image.
But upon closer inspection, cracks seem to be forming in the “forward-thinking” fabric of our country. With severe issues within NZ’s climate crisis, mental health crisis and care for our LGBTQ+ community leaving us to question whether New Zealand really is the progressive phenomena we believe it to be.
In 2020, CNN recognised New Zealand’s government to be one of the “most diverse parliaments in the world”, with 11% of lawmakers identifying as being part of the Rainbow community. With only 3.5% of people within New Zealand identifying as LGBTQ+ at the time, this statistic could appear to be astronomically healthy or, even, over represent the community. It could be easy to assume that because of this presence in government, our rainbow community experiences a safe Aotearoa.
However, this is not always the case.
Only on the 15th of February 2022 was the conversion therapy bill passed within the New Zealand court. Shaneel Lal, New Zealand LGBTQ+ activist, mentioned in a Vogue article that, “the problem with banning conversion therapy is that it is not the same as ending conversion therapy.” Banning requires someone being caught for putting someone into conversion therapy, whereas ending the cycle of conversion therapy comes with education and changing the intrinsic culture of a place. UC student and member of the LGBTQ+ community, Alice Thompson, mentions that New Zealand should ensure the safety of our LGBTQ+ people as it is the “bare minimum.”
UC Club QCanterbury, is dedicated to giving students a safe space.
Thompson commented that changing the firmly engrained homophobia within some of New Zealand is “a battle. It’s like trying to push a train backwards.” The same sort of resistance can be seen within our trans healthcare rights. In Re:news’ 2023 article “Will I die waiting for healthcare”, Vivien Beduya, New Zealand journalist, covered the protests happening in Tamaki Makaurau.
Beduya comments that, “thousands of New Zealanders need gender-reaffirming surgeries, but the public health system is struggling to meet these needs.” Beduya interviewed a series of protestors who mentioned the process to be “fatphobic, distressing, and inaccessible.” One protestor exclaimed how hard it is to see, “the pain and suffering people are going through.” Although, this is only a snippet into the some of the struggles our LGBTQ+ community face within New Zealand, there is still enormous adversity.
Sex education, and whether NZ sex education is up to scratch, has been a topic that has been debated heavily within schools and educational providers. Eleanor McEwen is a UC student who is part of the student exec on both QCanterbury and Thursdays in Black. When asked about whether New Zealand is “all talk” about our systemic sexual violence issue, McEwen says that “instead of there being all talk, there is almost none.” In New Zealand, sex education is only compulsory until year 10. McEwen mentions that this is not productive in, “targeting students at the right time.”
Thursdays in Black’s annual “What I was wearing exhibition.”
In simply participating within dialogue had in the Thursdays in Black environment, McEwen mentions that “people are coming out of school with no knowledge on things like STI checks, different forms of birth control etc.” McEwen highlights the “lack of consent education,” particularly the way that consent is taught within schools.
“Consent is not necessarily just a yes, it has to be enthusiastic and willing.” New Zealand seems to neglect the over-and-above humanity that is required within teaching sexual education to New Zealand citizens. McEwen urges that citizens, “should not have to rely on mainstream sources to learn about a fundamental part of the human experience.”
There seems to be a long-held ideology that New Zealand has pioneered a blueprint for how indigenous people, such as our Māori and Pasifika people should be treated in society. Te Tiriti o Waitangi was, in its most basic form, an agreement signed between Great Britain and numerous Māori chiefs in 1840. The document was translated into Māori but was poorly done so and mislead the chiefs.
For example, the translation of Article1 led the chiefs to believe that they were surrendering governance of the land, as opposed to sovereignty. This resulted in the crown essentially taking over Māori land settlements and eroding the mana of Te Ao Māori. In modern times, monetary reimbursing, attempting to give land back, and other measures have been implemented to provide some sort of compensation. However, decolonisation scholars mention that “peeling away coloniality is like peeling away a layer of skin.”
The new wave of “decolonisation” has seen the implementation of naming buildings by Māori names or hanging the odd bit of Māori art around the classroom and classing these actions as “woke.” This is simply superficially band-aiding the problem. The Ministry of Justice recognises that Māori people are more overrepresented within all stages of the criminal justice system, making up 52% of people in prison, but only 15% of the overall New Zealand population. This overrepresentation has been contributed to the inherent racism that resides within New Zealand. With classrooms, government set ups, and acts of tokenism all coming from a white, Eurocentric point of view, it can be clear to see the discrimination heavily engrained into the underpinning of our society.
New Zealand’s clean, green, leafy landscapes are usually seen dominating magazines and making global recognition. Our beautiful beaches, waterways and greenery seems to put up a smokescreen that New Zealand is extremely sustainability focussed.
Not all actions are equal when it comes to climate change, and, according to the IPSOS Global Advisor Survey, New Zealand seems to be prioritising those higher impact actions at the bottom of the list. The survey also recognised that New Zealanders are “doing less overall than [their] international counterparts.”
With the upcoming election, there has been a lot of chat about the “Let’s Get Wellington Moving” campaign, which sets out to put light railing into Wellington’s urban areas. This action would ultimately cut down usage if cars and lessen net carbon emissions. Thompson comments that this project would “be far more accessible and save people a lot of money on an individual level.”
Not only this, but other transport companies, such as Air New Zealand, have been quick to aggressively frame itself as an environmentally conscious company with hefty sustainability reports published alongside their financial reports. However, even though the company has put significant funds towards finding eco solutions, Air New Zealand is still a main contributor to New Zealand’s carbon footprint. The airline has attempted to implement initiatives such as the “carbon offset” programme, which, with every tonne of carbon added to the atmosphere above the 2020 baseline, has been promised to be taken out again through other means. But these measures feel like a band-aid to a much bigger problem, with us chasing to fix our already created problems rather than fix the inherent infrastructure that is creating problems for our climate crisis.
New Zealand’s image is often highly regarded as a beacon of change when it comes to global status. Our inclusive and forward-thinking community seems to be slightly overstated, especially when a magnifying glass is put upon actual happenings within the LGBTQ+ community, sex education, honouring our Māori and indigenous people, and our contribution to mitigating the climate crisis. New Zealand’s narrative seems to receive a gold star, but after taking a deep dive, maybe it’s time for this “progressive paradise” to be a little more honest about what lies underneath.