Inspirational Kiwis we can be proud of
Being in the news business, we often bring you stories about when things go wrong; stories of hardship, and difficulty, stories about people who’ve been treated badly, or let down by the system.
But it’s good to remember that there are just as many stories out there to be celebrated; stories about incredible people doing inspiring things.
The Kea World Class New Zealanders awards in Auckland last week were an example of that. Hundreds of Aucklanders turned out to celebrate Kiwis who have been successful, both here and on the international stage.
They included movie and documentary maker Chelsea Winstanley, nominated for an Academy Award in 2020 for producing Jojo Rabbit. She has since returned home to set up an Aotearoa and LAbased production company, This Too Shall Pass, to tell authentic stories with unique cultural perspectives.
Another is Jane Henley, a global leader in sustainable building, who also returned during Covid, and who is bringing her skills to bear on the cost of building in New Zealand.
There were others – Black Grace founder Neil Ieremia, journalist and author Anna Fifield and immunologist Professor Graham Le
Gros. Supreme winner Peter Cooper is based in the US but has led iconic developments both here and overseas that have a reputation for encompassing social and environmental dimensions.
The winners spoke with passion; were all inspiring, and were a reminder that as a nation we have a wealth of world-leading talent to tap into.
Let’s hope we make the most of them and harness their creativity; the world will eventually reopen, and we should give them a reason to stay.
The winners also spoke with a lot of pride about the country they call home – pride in the people, pride in the environment, pride in how we pulled together during Covid, pride in the richness of New Zealand’s Ma¯ ori heritage, and pride in their own whakapapa.
That was highlighted by another winner, Avatar director James Cameron, who praised New Zealand’s Covid response as showing we were ‘‘unique in the world’’; the sacrifice and duty to each other that got us through Covid, and respect for New Zealand’s indigenous people were among the things that set us apart, Cameron said.
Maybe it was just coincidence that at the point in Cameron’s speech where he referenced Ma¯ ori a lone heckler interrupted him. Or maybe not.
There is a discernible undercurrent these days; you hear it when people complain about being addressed in te reo, you see it in the complaints about ‘‘wokeness’’ and political correctness when someone is called out for trotting out their favourite old racial stereotypes; and as editor I learn all about it when people email me to cancel their subscription because we celebrated Ma¯ ori Language Week by running our masthead in te reo.
They are a minority, just as the Cameron heckler was a lone voice.
But it’s sad because the things we celebrate that make New Zealand unique should be what unite us, not divide us.
Fortunately, that seems to be something younger generations get. Maybe others just need a little more time to catch up.
The things we celebrate that make New Zealand unique should be what unite us, not divide us.