Many people were surprised by the outcome of the US Presidential Election last November. Along with others (including most pollsters in the US) I expected Hillary Clinton to win.
Having had the privilege of spending time in the US, I can vouch that our countries are firm friends. New Zealand and the US differ in important aspects, but we share common history, and a belief in democracy and freedom of speech. I expect our relationship to continue to be of the highest importance. And it is precisely this close relationship that gives us both the privilege and the responsibility to speak frankly with our friend when challenges arise.
Since the election, we have seen some concerning things coming from the Trump administration. Inflammatory rhetoric and discriminatory decisions based on race or religion don’t reflect my values, and I don’t think they represent the values of New Zealanders either. As a country, we are fair, principled and welcoming to people, no matter their background. As a city, Dunedin has welcomed refugees with open arms. I’m proud of our inclusivity and compassion.
Building walls and banning travel based on religious denomination jars with our values. So does the rejection of objective journalism, ‘alternative facts’, abandonment of diplomacy, and the abject denial of climate change. Alongside a visceral anti-intellectualism, the rejection of evidence as a critical ingredient in policy-making appears de rigueur in the new administration.
New Zealand needs to stand up and speak out against what Donald Trump is doing. We have always had proudly independent foreign policy. We’ve taken strong positions in the past, like going nuclear free and declining to send soldiers to Iraq. In those situations we stuck to our principles yet succeeded in maintaining our relationship with the US, because we saw in each other an underlying confluence of values. We have both been outwardly focused and liberal democracies.
That’s why I’ve been disappointed with Bill English’s response to Trump. He hasn’t advanced the values I know that New Zealanders strongly stand for. We have a new Prime Minister, but he does not seem prepared to lead on the world stage.
Any conversation with the US needs to be clear —New Zealand will not be complicit in hateful and discriminatory policy. It’s as simple as that.