Alistair Boyce: Why ‘Golriz’ Matters

The Golriz Ghahraman story is not just about Golriz and certainly not about the obvious deflection of mental health and wider parliamentary culture. The saga is a snapshot in time, emblematic of a failing, vacuous Green party, an exposure of a false, self-righteous ideology. 

I suspect NZ political history will eventually point to the event as a significant and poignant marker of the demise of social justice progressivism based on identity politics. Failed, over-reaching ideology succumbing to conservative reality, just like the 2023 election. So, while Golriz has done the right thing and resigned the issues raised still require ongoing scrutiny, something you will not find in mainstream media (MSM).

We have witnessed a degradation and moral decline of the NZ Green party over several years. The Greens are no longer the guardians of the environment and conservation that they once were. The Greens are now an activist quasi-religious cult where social justice issues, identity politics and climate alarmism rule the agenda. To understand the Greens’ ideology of today it appears necessary to understand postmodern philosophy where there are no absolutes, only constructs, an everchanging mesh of changing power structures. Truth is ‘dependent on context’ (as per the epic moral failure of Claudine Gay of Harvard). Indeed, this ideology permeates through our universities and public sector. The working concept of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a correction to oppression. Under this ideology you can be, behave and exist as anything you want to be. Ultimately you are your own construct made in your own image. Everything is viewed in terms of the oppressed and the oppressor. It is neo-Marxist, or post-Marxist. Even science is up for ‘critical theory’, certainly economics and most definitely market led capitalism. Critical theory is born from postmodernism and underpins a lot of the Greens’ ‘social warrior’ mentality. There is no God. The ends justify the means. The result is chaos (not even a Marxist utopia) because the ideology continually tears down the existing social and economic ‘constructs’ and therefore the social license and replaces it with a fiction. Witness the Greens’ capture of Wellington City Council and operations. We have virtue signalling cycleways and extravagant EV’s but decaying infrastructure.

If this ideology guides your personal lore, then there is no immediate necessity to abide by laws. Society is in a vacuous orbit. Morals are transitory. It is the nihilism of a post religious world. Fiscal responsibility is an oppressor’s construct. A reality where theft can be construed as your personal right because you do not believe in the legitimacy of the victim as they are damned with an oppressor identity and thereby cancelled. Property rights are temporary and transitory.

In relation to the Greens, Chloe Swarbrick reduces alternative arguments to her own as “reductive”, thereby excusing or explaining reality to being on ever-changing continuums. Non-binary transgender ideology is an obvious example of postmodern ideology, and property rights being reduced to a ‘construct’ is another. Living an on-line existence/persona can be another. A believer of their right to a postmodern existence can dismiss any other reality. Detractors to the ideology are labelled as stuck in a ‘reductive’ paradigm, simpletons, not to be taken seriously.

Critics of postmodern ideology contend it is vacuous, condescending and elitist. It is an ideology for persons who do not want to take responsibility for their actions. A childish fantasy, a delusion, denial of reality. For the Greens it allows credibility to climate alarmist action, the righteousness of oppressed groups, legitimising identity politics and even extending to blaming brazen crime on work stress leading to mental health excuse (victimhood of the oppressed).

Greens’ postmodern ideology is the antithesis of conservative politics. A legitimate analysis of the 2023 election is the NZ electorate rejected the derivative social, economic and climate justice policies delivered by the ‘captured’ 6^th Labour/Greens government.

The Values party and the leadership of Rod Donald and Jeanette Fitzsimons is no longer recognizable in the Greens of today. While the ’23 election result appeared good it was on the back of the swing away from Labour. For the Left there was nowhere else to go. The polls are now dropping for the Greens as the well-meaning folk from leafy suburbs get scared off by the violent social justice rhetoric and actions (Posie Parker, pro Palestine/Hamas rallies, Māori activism, virtue signalling over infrastructure), and the lack of genuine and primary policy based on the environment and conservation.

The Golriz brand was revolutionary post colonialist in vulnerable guise. She was the poster girl cosmopolitan refugee, humanitarian lawyer standing up for the oppressed…who needed to masquerade in the ‘Capitalist’ finery that she outwardly condemned but inwardly craved. And she was so entitled that payment for the ‘posh’ goods was just not required, privilege trading on oppression. The absence of any respect for the business sector (the driver of taxes) and the necessary infrastructure of law and order that underpins socio-economic integrity and existence, is palpable in the Greens.

Yet the Greens of today expect society to bow to their visions, the apocalyptic false narrative that will necessarily impoverish the rural sector, small business, ratepayers and hard-working taxpayers. The contemporary example is Wellington where the Greens and Labour have control of the council, and until the recent election, NZTA (Waka Kotahi). This past year over $100m was allocated for cycleways. Unbelievably the already underway harbour cycleway will cost $312m (albeit funding from NZTA). MSM have slowed extolling the virtues of the excessive cycleway projects but are totally ignoring the folly of the sea and wind-swept harbour cycleway. Wellington water cannot even get the minimum requirement of $10m in funding (they only got $2.3m) to keep the water leaks under control. Water supply is in jeopardy and residents advised to buy water tanks. Rates have increased 30% in 3 years and are due to go up at least 20% this year in major part to fund Greens vanity projects (including cycleways, DEI projects and organisations), but not infrastructure projects. The social moral compass has been hijacked. Cycleways that now extend into Wellington harbour in a sea swept, windy, hilly city will not save the planet. The incoming Celia Wade-Brown now wants the discredited light rail back on the agenda, but this time from Wairarapa, as her “personal priority”. The ‘consultative process’ regarding the impacts of cycleway ideology resulted in only dismissive responses to genuine concern. Greens/Labour councillors told business and ratepayers to simply “adjust”, “it’s happening anyway”, and ‘your rates are increasing’.

More examples of Green ideology in action in Wellington include…funding EV chargers for the wealthy (the only car buyers who can afford EVs), lobbying for $2b in light rail for the fiction that future CBD residents will use it, the ‘zero’ waste project adding 2% to rates and a cost of $22m just for food waste bins, regional strategy that bans ‘greenfields’ housing in the region, adding $100m to the $260m cycleway project despite the knowledge of the looming ‘leaks’ crisis.

The Golriz saga is emblematic of the deeper, zealotry and irrational malaise. The Greens want things that make them feel good, give them power but paying, taking responsibility is someone else’s problem. Play the victim, pull out the mental health card. MSM will play the support role and the public will be duped once again.

MSM allowed Shaw and Davidson to turn a PR disaster into a PR coup. Coordinated on the back of the Golriz statement that contradicted explanation with excuse. Parliament is such a beastly, horrible white, male, post-colonial institution (but interestingly not according to the more conservatively inclined Karen Chhour or Casey Costello). MSM swallowed the lines with no critical analysis of timeline or more pertinently the Greens’ own internal culture which can hardly be described as supportive and certainly not objective. Shaw talks of Golriz’s persecution from her entry into parliament 6 years ago, but where were the Greens’ own support mechanisms?

The internecine and cruel world is the internal one of the Greens. Chloe Swarbrick has turned from a “cry-baby” into a cry bully, especially if you are a white, male ‘boomer’, Israeli or pro woman. The Elizabeth Kerekere exit (“they’ve made it untenable to keep working”, “epic failure of leadership”) pointed to a toxic culture on all sides. Shaw himself faced the humiliation of a coup to his leadership but hung on making more strident climate catastrophe and social culture pronouncements. Davidson said she has now lost Golriz as a friend - a statement hardly providing emotional support to a colleague purportedly with mental health issues. Another oppressed woman of colour; ’yeah right’. No evidence was presented, just unsubstantiated rhetoric. The mental health defence is an absolute afront to those genuinely suffering from mental health afflictions as is the ‘women of colour’ victimisation hypothesis. The fall from grace of the first refugee (and this statement is equivocal) MP is unfortunate but emblematic. A human rights lawyer (again equivocal). Reactions to declining mental health might mean a tendency to remain out of the spotlight, out of danger but certainly not to engage in brazen, repeated bouts of high-end (alleged) shoplifting. Yet MSM blindly receive and run the line of deflection. Sympathy has become for the perpetrator, who then becomes the victim.  The cultural report has been premeditated. MSM have pre-determined the verdict.

To understand the Greens, it is helpful to understand postmodern philosophy. The Greens have been captured by destructive and divisive ideology that necessarily overthrows society as we know it. As Winston highlights the Greens have never made it to the cabinet table and in this guise nor they should.

Golriz matters because she signifies and symbolises the vacuous, destructive, ideological nature and moral failure of the current Green party.

Alistair Boyce is the owner of the iconic Wellington pub the Backbencher.