Getting our House in order

Kia ora Chris

I’m not sure you’re the right person to write to. I don’t really know what a Leader of the House does. But with so many blokes called Chris in Parliament, I figured I should pick one and hope for the best.

I don’t need to tell you how petitions to Parliament work. A petition is one of Aotearoa’s most direct forms of democracy, and one of our most visible: pretty much anybody can start one. These days it’s easy as - you just go to the Parliament website, give a few contact details, then say what your petition is about.

Of course, there are some checks and balances. Otherwise, there’d be all sorts of ugly stuff. Parliamentary staff have to OK your petition. It has to tick a few boxes, including that it’s succinct, not defamatory, and about something Parliament is able to address. It’s a little odd there are no rules on what petitions can or can’t be about - but at least there’s a requirement that petitions ‘use respectful and moderate language’.

And so I was surprised - that’s an understatement - to find the Parliament website hosting this petition: That the House of Representatives create legislation to remove all Muslims from New Zealand. There’s 127 signatures so far.

I mean, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act says “A person who belongs to an ethnic, religious, or linguistic minority in New Zealand shall not be denied the right, in community with other members of that minority, to enjoy the culture, to profess and practise the religion, or to use the language, of that minority”.

OK, maybe that’s not a good example. Laws can be changed, rights eroded; petitions can seek both. But this isn’t just about laws. It’s about morality. On 15 March 2019, we swore to ourselves and to each other, this isn’t us. We said we’d stand by our Muslim whānau, whatever it takes. Perhaps we should have been clearer, this offer was for a limited time only.

Maybe Parliament’s hosting of this petition is about protecting free speech? I’m not convinced. I mean, I’m a fan of free speech, mostly - but I still prefer quality over quantity. And if my social media is anything to go by, racists aren’t struggling for opportunities to be heard. If anything, it’s never been easier to ply their trade.

Here’s what else is bothering me. The guy who launched the petition has an uncommon name. It’s also the name of a guy who posts things like “I stand with isreal return the hostages or die” and calls for the guillotine to be used against the government. A guy with the same name, living in the same part of the motu, was jailed for going to a WINZ office, telling terrified staff to stand back, and smashing their computers with a bayonet. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d like to be assured these same-named men aren’t all one person.

Parliament is imperfect. It’s imperfect because it’s democracy: of the people, by the people, for the people. People can be shit, but it doesn’t mean we can’t get better. And maybe, just maybe, Parliament has a role to play - the chance to find some moral courage, pull on its big kid pants, and lead the way.

Yours in anticipation,

Anna

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