I’m no fan of the people who threw the Lamington at Len Brown. They are the same crew who waltz into every social movement in Auckland, suck the life out of it and move on.
(And, those of you who read my Dear Len letter know I’m not a fan of Len Brown either.)
But the only winner out of this lamington incident was the Port’s board and the (I’m sure) the self-image of the egotistical morons who threw it. It cost the Maritime Union. It belittled those of us who are infuriated at the Mayor’s response. And it was just plain stupid.
I’m interested in political communications because the only way to change the world is by inspiring, supporting and being relatable to ordinary workers and their families. How to engage with them, learn from them, and change to make their lives better is the art of (left-wing) political comms.
The Lamington incident set back the otherwise quite well run (sure not perfect) Maritime Union PR campaign.
The Maritime Union started on the back foot. There was immense message saturation of, frankly, lies.
They built a campaign around families, values and about work life balance. They asked New Zealanders to think about their lives and how they rely on knowing their shifts to plan child care, social life, sport and generally being a human being.
The Lamington turned people off. Sure not the readers of this blog, but the ordinary people who I door knock in central, west and south Auckland. They hate this stuff. They’ll switch off. And it will be that much harder to get them to re-engage with the cause. It’s an example of why it’s so hard to get them to engage politically at all.
It’s exactly these people who the campaign needs to reach out to: they voted for Len brown and Labour (if they did vote); it’s their industries that the breaking of the Maritime union will flow into; they feel the brunt of the loss of conditions; they feel the brunt of a National government.
Politics should be about them. Not the self-congratulating gratification some idiot gets for throwing something at the Mayor.
I know it’s just a lamington. But it’s an example of stupid things that just keep pushing non-voters and infrequent voters away: politics not about them and their struggling.
So, next time, have a brain. Please.
Then again, I doubt they speak to anyone else other than the voices in their own head.
Jimmy Reid
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