In the middle of Political NZ :Prime Minister Helen Clark visits Vic

Prime Minister Helen Clark

The perks of being in a small country about the size of CA with a population of 4 million- and being in the capital of this country..in the middle of the national elections: The Prime Minister comes to visit your campus during her lunch hour! Just crazy man. Can you imagine our president doing that? hell no. What an experience this was! FYI: new Zealand not only was the 1st country in the world to let women vote, but also it was the first country to have a female national leader such as the Prime minister! Way to Go KIWIS!

The elections were coming to a close last week, so "Aunty helen" came for a visist to Vic. Now, ive heard that Victoria is a campus known for having a more open minded and accepting population of students. we are more arty, we are more interesting, we are more political involved, and we are more capable of having riots and protests. From seeing the entire quad go into a massive sea of red Labour party balloons to seeing a half naked guy in a g string supporting the less progressive National party...it was a crazy afternoon! I was so excited to hear the PM speak. She got a huge positive response from students here. and it showed- on saturday the polls came in and she won the majoirty. NZ is an intersting country when it comes to politics. their are quite a lot of parties to choose from to represent your govt in parliament. Also, you vote for a PM, and then you vote for a Party. Which is cool bc then you dont have to depend on just one person's platform (i.e BUSH in the US). it takes away the whole Big Man syndrome, where a leader has too much control. the two biggest parties this time were Labour- helen clark's party, and National- with Don Brash as the elector. Brash is NOT that favorable here...ppl do not like him that much. He is considered a bad choice, because he wants to erase all the prgress the labour party has made. Bottom line: Labour=progressive, open minded, taking a stand against big countries (bullies like th US and Mr bush) and fighting for that they believe. NZ has come a long way since the Labour has been in power. And word has it that national takes that away. It is thought that Brash doesnt have the guts to allow NZ to take a stand against the bigger powers like Bush and his army.Helen represents the Labour party. which is a much more progressive party in NZ. They are responsible for moving much of NZ ahead, and they are quite inspring for us Americans. For example, it is SO refreshing to hear that though a small country in size and population, NZ is not fearful of taking a stand. The New Zeland people have a history of progressive movements and open minded beliefs, that work to uphold equal representation for its people. Not only were they the first country to allow women to vote, they were also the first to have a woman leader, such as helen as Prime minister. HOW cool is that?! Furthermore, NZ is highly concerned with the envoronment. Much of the focus lies on taking care of what we have as natural resources. also, there is a massive campaign to keep NZ GREEN. It saddens me to think how NZ is one of the least polluted countries on this planet- however all the junk the northern hemisphere has pumeped out into the atmosphere, has formed a Hole in the O zone- which unfroutunately sits right above NZ and antartica.


Back to Helen: So she supports a Nuclear Free NZ. this country has some GUTS- unlike the neighbor Australia, NZ has fought to stand up to bullies like bush in the US and not allow any US ships to come into their waters. They are taking a stand against nulcear testing in the South Pacific. they are fighting hard to better the lives of NZ's students by offering interest fre loans and opportunites for students to get an education. I was most happily surprised when I realized that the Labour party was teaming up with the Green Party (which got a lot of votes this election- NZ'ers love the environment). So now, NZ has a gov't with a woman leader, wanting to better the country, its people, and the environment. For such a small country NZ knows how to make a difference, and have its voice heard internationally. way to go NZ.

I realize that I am a measley american college student who does not know much of NZ politics. but i am just observing and reporting in my journal what i see. hope its interesting to you.


In other news:

I am meeting with the Education Director of Te Papa, New Zealand's national museum tomorrow morning. I will job shadowing her for the day, meeting with the team members, asking questions, taking a few tours behind the scenes, and just nosing around. I am SO excited. As many of you know, I am interested in pursuing a career in museums. and going to grad school for museum studies at some point. SO, this is a big deal for me and a great opportunity!

I will keep you posted as to how the meeting pans out.

Tonight, its a flat dinner with the flatmates at Satay Kingdom, my favorite little Malaysian eatery. That is something i will miss like crazy at home....MALAYSIAN food is out of this world! kid you not!
------------------------------------
on another note: these are some photos of helen clarks talk, as well as some misc. photos of the City, my flat, and my school. I had some comments from people wanting to see my school...dont worry daddy im actually studying i promise! oops that reminds me- i gotta run to class!

Cheers!, shelly

---

---