From the very first time I visited New Zealand, as it was then mainly called, on Midnight Oil’s first, exhaustive tour of Aotearoa’s towns and cities some 40 years ago, the presence of Māori culture was palpable, albeit still peripheral to the casual eye.
This was in stark contrast to the situation across the ditch, where Australia’s indigenous peoples were then rarely sighted, other than on the sporting field. Fast forward to today and in both countries, much has changed: indigenous issues are mainstream, the contribution of indigenous people is substantial.
To the regular visitor from Australia, the “land of the long white cloud” is notable as a place where Māori stand at the core of the nation – central to its identity, prominent in sport, politics, arts and community and clearly referenced in language and the cultural expression of the successful, tolerant nation that New Zealand is widely acknowledged to be.
For many Australians, including the 6.3 million who voted in favour of an “Indigenous Voice to Parliament” last year, there has been an uncomfortable awareness that, in comparison, the progress of recognition and support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – with the indices of health and wellbeing significantly below the national average – has been painfully slow. It is also true that for Māori and Pasifika, there remain similar gaps and these gaps ought to be bridged successfully.
Yet in your country, partly due to the existence of a treaty between the original occupants and the British Crown who attempted to take control, you are further down the track towards embedding indigenous rights and aspirations. Add the absence in New Zealand of states within a federation (anyone watched our State of Origin rugby league competition recently?), which make national initiatives harder to implement, and the impediments to political progress are not as great as in Australia.
In the recent unsuccessful referendum on the Voice, the far-flung states of Queensland and Western Australia were significantly opposed. And the politics of localism, alongside the emergence of a dishonest, far-right social media push financed by business elites, likely played a role in the failure of the proposal.
This is not to excuse the obvious lack of progress in Australia, and although it may not seem apparent to Kiwis when there is now discussion about rolling back some initiatives that support Māori, the analysis still rings true for me. Yet, having recently returned from playing a well-attended Waitangi Day concert in Auckland – where there was much contention around the issue of Māori rights, and reflecting on the failure of the Yes campaign in Australia, notwithstanding the large numbers of people who ticked that Yes box – it seems clear our joint journey towards a better shared future is in danger from extreme politics with scare campaigns and racist commentary on social media.
One of the greatest inheritances both nations possess is the relative absence of historical religious, sectarian or ethnic rivalries imported from distant lands. Indeed, many people flee “trouble spots”, as they are called, to start new, peaceful lives on the basis that the commitment to equality and opportunity, free of rancour and stigmatising, is genuinely held Downunder.
What a tragedy it would be if in both countries we allowed those voices of envy and stereotyping to drown out the calmer voices wanting to continue our joint forward movement toward greater equity and national harmony. May reason, compassion and clear-headed conversations guide our path. And may we continue to value and promote indigenous culture and aspirations that so fundamentally embody our national identities.
Peter Garrett was fronted the Australian band Midnight Oil and served as a minister in two federal Labor governments.
