Voters in Australia and New Zealand resoundingly rejected leftist candidates and proposals in their nation’s respective elections this past weekend.
On Saturday, Aussies overwhelmingly voted down a constitutional amendment proposal that sought to create an “Indigenous Voice to Parliament.” This commission, according to the Associated Press, would be “comprised of and chosen by” so-called “Indigenous Australians” and “advise the Parliament and government on issues that affect” their community. As of this article’s publication, preliminary election results indicate nearly two-thirds (61 percent) of Aussies opposed the amendment, with the majority of every state voting “no” as well.
Despite receiving favorable coverage from legacy media outlets, the proposal seemingly acted as an opportunity for leftist activists to shoehorn racial politics into the Australian Constitution. While speaking to reporters after the measure’s defeat, Peter Dutton, the head of Australia’s opposition Liberal Party, criticized Australia’s leftist prime minister for pushing the referendum and claimed the amendment aimed to “divide Australians based on their heritage, or the time at which they came to our country.”
“The proposal, and the process, should have been designed to unite Australians, not divide us,” Dutton said. The Liberal Party leader previously predicted passage of the measure would “divide the country down the middle” and “change the way of government very significantly, because of” its broad language.
Opposition to the amendment also stemmed from fears that Australian leftists could use the amendment as an excuse to pay indigenous Aussies reparations with taxpayer dollars.
Meanwhile, New Zealanders resoundingly ousted their nation’s left-wing government on Saturday, leading to the formation of a center-right governing coalition. The election also paved the way for Christopher Luxon, head of the conservative National Party, to take over as prime minister. Under Luxon, this will be New Zealand’s “most right-wing government in a generation,” according to The New York Times.
The election signifies a humiliating defeat for New Zealand’s left-wing Labour Party, which was helmed for years by now-former Prime Minister Jacinda Arden. Arden, who resigned from office in January, earned a reputation as a leftist tyrant for her handling of New Zealand’s Covid response. Much like other Western leaders, the former PM used the pandemic outbreak as an excuse to strip citizens of their basic freedoms.
In spring of 2020, Ardern’s government issued a nationwide stay-at-home order for citizens that severely restricted “non-essential travel” and business operations. Within a matter of days, the lockdowns escalated as more Covid cases were reported, leading Ardern to move the country to “Alert Level 4,” the harshest of all lockdown policies where “all New Zealanders were instructed to stay at home and to have physical contact only with those in their ‘bubble.’”
The first week of the shutdowns was later found to be illegal by the country’s High Court.
She also attempted to blackmail Kiwis into getting the Covid shot, saying in October 2021, “If you are not vaccinated there will be everyday things you will miss out on.”
Ardern admitted in an interview with the New Zealand Herald the same week that the purpose of the policy was to create a two-tiered society, where the jabbed are granted certain privileges and the unvaccinated are not.
“So, you’ve basically said, you probably don’t see it like this, but two different classes of people — if you’re vaccinated or unvaccinated. You have all these rights if you are vaccinated,” the outlet asked Ardern, who replied, “That is what it is, yep.”
Since her resignation, Arden has been appointed to two fellowships at Harvard University.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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