OPINION
Simon Anderson
Simon Anderson is a technology consultant and citizen photojournalist based in Auckland.
I copped a fair amount of flak for publishing footage of two politicians sitting together outside a cafe. The essence of much of the criticism was that politicians are entitled to private lives – which of course they are – and that filming them in public was an unwarranted intrusion. Here I’ll explain why I think the circumstances are newsworthy.
First, some background for the benefit of those overseas that contacted me wanting to know who these people are. The young lady is Golriz Ghahraman, a firebrand member of parliament for the radical Green party until she resigned in disgrace in January. With her is the Speaker of the House of Representatives Gerry Brownlee, of the centre-left National party, and nominally the ideological opponents of the Greens.
Cross-party friendships are common in parliament and Mr Brownlee and Ms Ghahraman are known to be good friends despite their political differences. Their meeting was probably just two former colleagues catching up socially, when one of them is going through a tough time. The issue is that Ms Ghahraman is the defendant in ongoing criminal proceedings and The Right Honourable Mr Brownlee is a senior politician holding high office.
I think that meets the public interest test to qualify as newsworthy. Ms Ghahraman resigned from parliament when charges of shoplifting from high-end fashion boutiques were levelled against her: charges to which she has subsequently plead guilty. Despite this plea, the expectation amongst New Zealanders is that she will not be convicted for these offences and instead she will be discharged. We further expect she will be appointed to an NGO, think tank or amenable political party offshore, arranged by her friends here in New Zealand.
New Zealanders are so accustomed to selective law enforcement and a two-tiered justice system that we’ve become adept at predicting the outcome of criminal proceedings simply by considering the defendant. The charges seem almost immaterial: all that seems to count is who the defendant is.
And Ms Ghahraman is nomenklatura, a member of the Establishment. An Establishment that, it appears, would prefer the charges against her to simply disappear. The consensus seems to be that ‘The pretty little girl does have some wacky ideas but at the end of the day she is one of us. Losing her political career should be punishment enough.’ Such consideration is seldom afforded to the little people.
Given the public perception of a foregone conclusion, one would think the Establishment would seek to avoid perceptions of impropriety. Not so: the Establishment does not care what the little people think and, further, doesn’t care if we know it.
In civilised societies the legal system works differently. When a judge happens to know the defendant appearing before them in one of those lucky countries, they routinely recuse themselves to avoid any real or perceived conflict of interest. Ms Ghahraman’s case has been presided over by her long-term colleague Judge Maria Pecotic. No perception of impropriety there…
Also, in civilised societies, politicians go to great lengths to avoid the perception of political interference in the justice system. Again, things work differently in New Zealand, where some view it as perfectly proper for a person holding high office to enjoy lunch with a former colleague while that friend’s criminal proceedings are before the court.
I take the view that it isn’t. Ordinary citizens might wonder at the subject of conversation and, further, if it was taxpayers who paid the bill. Here is my prediction: later in the year Ms Ghahraman will be discharged without conviction. The Establishment will maintain that perceptions of judicial impropriety or political interference in the decision are unfounded. The Establishment’s friends in the legacy media will trumpet this sentiment from the rooftops. And Ghahraman’s political connection will arrange a soft landing via a tasty sinecure at some offshore organisation.
All above board: nothing to see here.
And perhaps so…But I’m going to keep looking anyway and I hope others do too. Democracy dies in darkness.