I think Michael Woodhouse has been treated poorly. There are other white men who work less hard than him and should’ve been bumped down the National Party list instead.
But he’s been punished because he’s not in right friendship group in National, and he’s a bloke. That’s really what it comes down to.
Now, the Nats will try to avoid admitting that he’s been punted down the list for being a bloke, because they know that heaps of their voters don’t like this kind of diversity nonsense. But that’s absolutely part of what’s happened.
Luxon’s been banging on about the need for diversity since before the Tauranga by-election, where the spot to be National’s candidate was fought over by four white men in suits. They got so much grief for that- so Luxon ramped up the calls.
Now, of the top 30 on the National list- 15 are women, just like Labour.
Six sitting male MPs have been dumped into insultingly low list positions in the 50s- Joseph Mooney, Scott Simpson, Stuart Smith, Tim van de Molen and a couple more who deserve to be further up.
And way higher up the list at 20, 21, 22, 23 and 27, there are five women you’ve probably never heard of because they aren’t in Parliament. That’s very high on the list for newbies.
Now, personally I hate this stuff. Because I would hate anyone to think that I got any breaks because I was a woman.
But this is how it works in politics. And parties have to do this, they have to play the diversity game.
And they have to play, because the media play. The media are obsessed with whether political parties or corporates or whoever have enough women or Maori or people of colour or members of the rainbow community.
And if that is what the media care about, then that is what the media will writes stories and headlines about. And therefore, it becomes an easy way for opponents to attack a party.
Just like National got attacked and got negative stories and negative headlines for having too many white men last year.
And so the political parties, if they want to give themselves the greatest chance of winning an election, have got to neutralise any weak spots that can create negative headlines. So they have to play the diversity game.
Look at the current parties in Parliament- every single one of them have a man, a woman and someone Maori in the top four.
This is the way it is, and this is the way it will be until we stop being fixated on gender and race. Until then, white men will be bumped down, like Michael Woodhouse.
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and commentator who hosts Newstalk ZB's Drive show.
11 comments:
It's a pity that the push for diversity does not include diversity of opinion in areas such as climate change. Different views, and being encouraged to air them, is a sign of a healthy, honest and open organisation imho.
Heather I am a female.. Same thing happens in workplaces. They have become like all-girls schools and some female managers are very nasty to other women.
So National's government is going to be less competent than it should be by promoting people by gender/race rather than by ability. Just like Labour.
That's all you get from this kind of inclusivity crap. People appointed to important jobs who can't do them.
Media stories only matter if the public believe and react to them. A good proportion of the NZ public need to learn to think for themselves and stop being spoon-fed bollocks by our MSM.
Many have taken that step but there's a long way to go yet.
I am not a fan of Micheal Woodhouse. He told me he supported paying David Bain $925 K compensation that was not compensation when he believed Bain was guilty as otherwise, Joe Karam would not give up. What he meant was that not paying could cost National votes. I was told the same by Amy Adams. We are meant to call these people Honourable.
I remember talking to a Black South African colleague while living in Botswana in the late 90s. He had had to leave South Africa in the 1980s as the police were after him for political agitation. He went to Aus and got a PhD in chemistry there. He had little reason to love the White South African especially the Afrikaner (White of Dutch/Belgian/French origin). But he was aghast at the fervent application of positive discrimination seeing incompetent Blacks appointed and competent Whites being long-term unemployed. "Most of the brains in South Africa are in White heads," I remember him saying. "We should be making use of them."
We are told that the positive discrimination stops when a beneficiary thereof enters a job or a training programme (med school for instance). I know better and so do you unless you are exceptionally naive. So do competent women I have met who are utterly contemptuous of the appointment of incompetents on the basis of sex and/or race.
I agree - it's not a compliment to the 'inferior' categories. How can we stop this happening?
Here's a novel idea for Luxon and National. How about they just develop some backbone and either ignore the media on the issue or just say they are appointing the best people in the positions they are filling.
Yes, I know it is an anti woke position to take but if they do not stand up to the media, the media will be like little kids and push their woke agenda even more. If it is gaining votes they are after, I would suggest that they would gain more than they lose by showing a bit of strength and independence in their stance.
The proponents of diversity always argue it is about equality of gender or race, very seldom about intelligence. Not much diversity within current Labour caucus - they are all thick!!
Congratulations Ross - you nailed it . National had better find some backbone and tell voters exactly where they stand against NZ ethnic divisiveness , farmers and the ridiculous Methane lie that has been exploded by IPCC but still swallowed by Luxon , the impossible ZERO Carbon ideology , juvenile crime and law and order , and the ongoing loss of the seabed and foreshore .
I honour ACT for caring for the future , and suggest thinking blue voters ensure National win electorate seats but give their party vote to ACT to ensure NZ does not become the next Rhodesia - Zimbabwe.
What you are advocating, Heather, is that we should bow to the news media.
Keep bowing and they keep making the rules.
Not here. They need to be told to get stuffed.
Sadly, Luxon and Seymour are only interested in bowing.
Or perhaps, after all the years he has been in parliament, it was time for him to move on. National has been rather average for quite a while, so a good sweep out and new people could be a sensible move at this point.
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