Bryce Edwards
Democracy Project
Dr Bryce Edwards is Political Analyst in Residence at Victoria University of Wellington. He is the director of the Democracy Project.
Could a backlash to “woke politics” be the basis for the revival and return of New Zealand First? The Winston Peters-led party held its first post-defeat conference in the weekend, in which the main theme was NZ First’s very clear focus on culture wars issues as a way to rebuild popular support.
Peters gave a speech taking aim at a variety of woke politics and policies currently in the ascendancy under the Jacinda Ardern-led Labour Government. You can read the transcript and watch his speech here: Winston Peters’ full speech at New Zealand First AGM.
Peters’ speech was clearly aimed at what he calls the “woke elite” or “Ngati Woke”, and amongst his targets were cancel culture, the Auckland cycle bridge, the He Puapua report, ditching referenda on Maori wards, the decision to buy the land at Ihumatao, increased state usage of te reo Maori and especially “Aotearoa”.
On the latter he asked: “Who signed up to this plan to change New Zealand’s name? Who was asked. When were you asked?”. He pointed out, for example, that the recent Climate Change report, titled “Inaia tonu nei”, used the word “Aotearoa” over 1300 times but “New Zealand” only 161 times.
On what he calls “racial separatism”, Peters complained “Everything in 2021 is now rights-based – or indigenous-rights based – demanding co-governance”. He says that Labour are “enabling a wave of rights-based activism in-and-outside of Government.”
Tackling the recently announced feebate for electric vehicles, Peters asked the Government: “how many working-class people, regardless of their ethnic background, are going to be able to afford your EV alternative?”
For a report on the anti-woke focus of the leader’s speech, see Derek Cheng’s Winston Peters announces New Zealand First will be back in 2023.
Peters and his party are focusing their critique of the current Government on what political scientists call post-materialist issues – such as ethnicity, gender, personal behaviour, free speech, etc.
In contrast, his party intends to brand themselves as being focused on “materialist” issues such as housing, access to healthcare, incomes, and general economic equality. Even when it comes to appealing for Maori support, Peters is pushing his credentials as focusing on and delivering materialist results rather than post-materialist cultural issues.
For example, in talking to Waatea News, Peters has said this week:
“You know what Maori want. They want decent and safe and hygienic house that they can afford. They want a decent health system for their mother or their baby or themselves need access. They want a decent education system they can climb on and the last thing they want is first world wages. So which party stood for that rather than all this other woke stuff and every other project that may sound kind but for the mass of ordinary Maori in their daily grind in struggle street, they need a voice”
– see: Peters pitching for Maori voice.
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