Summarised by Centrist
Dr Muriel Newman says the Labour Party’s significant election defeat is a backlash against “woke” politics and identity-focused governance in her latest essay, “A rejection of woke”. The loss, she argues, is rooted in the public’s disenchantment with divisive policies that categorised citizens by race, gender, and sexuality. Newman points to the contentious 2023 Census and education policies as symbols of the alienation felt by many New Zealanders.
She also condemns Labour’s handling of protests and the secretive “He Puapua” blueprint and the steamrolling of Three Waters, which aimed for Māori sovereignty without public consent.
“A fictitious reinterpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi as a 50:50 partnership was used to justify co-governance and tribal rule. And …the media were ‘bought off’…to promote their ‘partnership’ fiction.”
Newman calls on the new National-led government to dismantle these divisive policies and re-establish a society based on unity and equality. Newman opines that the National government’s success hinges on its ability to reverse Labour’s unpopular changes and address the real concerns of voters.
