Geraldine Travers: Little place for 'I win, you lose' mindset

Geraldine Travers

Before the election Dame Anne Salmond correctly claimed that the contest we were facing was not between left and right but a contest 'between different generations and philosophies '.

Having had the benefit of working with young people for the past 40 years, I recognise the accuracy of her statement.

In years to come we will look back on this moment and recognise that New Zealand changed at this point, whether we regard that change negatively or positively.

In 1993 New Zealand voted for a new electoral system thereby abandoning 'first past the post'. Under that system the reins of government were handed to that party which gained the majority of the seats regardless of whether that party had claimed more than 50% of the votes. In the most egregious example, in 1981 the National Party gained power with only 39.8% of the vote.

We abandoned that system in favour of one that meant that no party would on its own have an absolute majority so that minority viewpoints could be represented, thereby creating a government which is more democratic.

As an educator I read many times of the skills needed in order to be a successful adult in the 21st century. Many of these fall under the heading of 'soft skills' and include: communication, team working, listening, building rapport and building teams.

Our national curriculum lists 'relating to others' as one of the five key competencies. While competition is healthy, there is now very little place for the 'I win, you lose' mindset.

This time the keys to the kingdom were handed to the leader who had most acquired the 'soft skills' but in any such a competition the younger person has a huge advantage over those who live out the paradigms of the past.

Even in the sandpit we reward those who play nicely with others. The parties who now hold power do so because they have proven that they have greater facility with '21st century skills'. There is no credit for having the greatest number of seats if 'you sit in the sandpit alone. ' This is the essential essence of MMP.

Over the past three decades we have become used to a system where some have been winners while others have been losers producing inequality the like of which has never been seen in New Zealand before. I am told that Hawke's Bay has produced the highest levels of inequality in the country.

A saying often attributed to John F Kennedy is ' the rising tide which lifts all boats' and I suspect that this is the world that the young would like to see and accordingly voted for, and it behoves those of the older generation to support them in achieving a better, kinder and more decent future for all.

Geraldine Travers, MNZM, is a Hastings District councillor and a former principal of Hastings Girls' High School. All opinions are the writer's and not those of Hawke's Bay Today.