Robin Cox: An Open Letter to All NZ MPs

Dear MPs

You are responsible for determining the future of this great country through your actions during the next two weeks. Empathy is one of the greatest qualities anyone can possess. This is a plea for you as a collective group to show selfless empathy free of political self-interest as you reach out to ‘every’ Kiwi.

Do you care that Hailey’s dream of beginning a teaching career is in tatters? Do you care about Verity, Jodie, Scott, Brodie, Donna, Carolyn, Kevin, Kylie, Erica and Evelyne—the list grows longer and longer each day, ironically more women than men—of people who stand to lose their jobs because of the ‘no jab, no job’ draconian mandate and the way it is being carried out, which ‘all’ parties appear to support? It makes a mockery of the ‘Be Kind’ messages we have heard on numerous occasions from our Prime Minister and others in recent times.

All these committed Kiwis deserve to be treated with empathy, compassion, dignity and respect. They are ‘real people’ who genuinely want to use their gifts and talents to build a great country and can do so with or without a pfizer vaccine.

I am an ordinary Kiwi who feels privileged to live in this beautiful country. As a retired history teacher and former school principal, I have been wondering how potentially hundreds of years of teaching experience will be lost—a disservice to our students and many others. You clearly have no idea about education if you think any country’s education system can thrive within this thinking. And this is just ONE profession being affected by a threatening mandate.

The lockdowns which you appear to support in different ways will create significant challenges to our young people for decades. You are probably not aware that one of the worst learning environments for youth is that in which fear abounds. Collectively you have created such an environment. Read the global (and New Zealand) research on the impact of the pandemic and lockdowns on youth. Have you thought about the increased anxiety levels, the rise in depression and how you will fund and staff significantly increasing mental health challenges?

Can you empathize with the thousands of people who have lost their businesses and all their employees who have lost jobs, and the impact of all this on whanau and especially our youth? How much do you genuinely care? Why the deafening silence from most of our politicians during the past few months?

I am unaware of one Member of Parliament who has stood up and quoted all the research, with proven examples, which shows other successful treatments of all strains of the COVID virus. Why is this? Do you genuinely believe that every doctor, especially those with years and years of experience and who have successfully treated the COVID virus without the need for a vaccination, are all liars or ‘conspiracy theorists’?

Why have GPs been threatened with a potential medical disciplinary hearing if they give patients an exemption from the vaccination? The horrific stories people are sharing after visits to their GPs should cause every Member of Parliament to hang their head in shame—again, that deafening silence about how people are being treated in your constituencies!

It is inexcusable that we live in a brilliantly orchestrated state of fear which is fueled on a daily basis by the most biased government-supported media I have come across in a First World country.

Where is the integrity, the commitment to make sure that ‘every’ voice in your electorate is heard? Where is the ‘selfless’ leadership expected of anyone in public office in whom people place their trust? Why this deafening silence?

Someone I always admired was Helen Suzman, who stood as a lone voice in the South African Parliament apartheid days for over twenty years, representing the millions of disenfranchised voices. She said—an apt message to the 2021 New Zealand Members of Parliament— “I stand for simple justice, equal opportunity and human rights. The indispensable elements in a democratic society—and well worth fighting for.”

Later President Nelson Mandela said of Helen Suzman: “Your courage, integrity and principled commitment to justice have marked you as one of the outstanding figures in the history of public life in South Africa.”

When you stand in front of the mirror, hand on heart, would President Nelson Mandela or anyone else describe your contribution to New Zealand in 2021 in words similar to those?

So, I wear my green ribbon—not aligned to any political party—every day as I stand alongside the tens of thousands of Kiwis being maltreated by the decisions taken in 2021 by sitting Members of Parliament. No-one can be excused. The deafening silence. The green ribbon represents the cry of the voices for freedom. Mine is a Voice for the Voiceless, my grandchildren, who deserve better, and who deserve to be running around freely in a safe and secure school environment free of masks. Pressuring them to have a vaccine about which NO-ONE in the world has any idea of the long-term consequences is grossly irresponsible.

I wear my green ribbon with unashamed pride and stand for:

• A united New Zealand.
• The right of every Kiwi to decide whether or not they wish to have a pfizer vaccine without being discriminated against;
• My abhorrence of the ‘no jab, no job’ mandate, which is unjust, unethical, immoral and divisive;
• My abhorrence of the COVID passport and everything associated with it (research: Sharpeville massacres—is this a disruptive outcome you wish to see in New Zealand as your decisions further divide our people?). I urge you to learn from history;
• My abhorrence of the ‘fear’ which has paralyzed this nation, and which all 2021 Members of Parliament have either actively or tacitly supported;
• My disappointment of the 2021 Members of Parliament who have failed to tell their constituents the ‘whole’ truth about how the COVID virus and any strands of this virus can be treated.

Are there any Members of Parliament who will courageously break party ranks and wear a green ribbon in solidarity with all our talented and skilled Kiwis whose skills this country desperately needs and who stand to lose their jobs during the next few weeks?

Nineteen-year-old Joan of Arc, the daughter of peasant parents, sacrificed her life to take back her freedom. She said, “One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying.”

If you genuinely believe that dividing a country by pushing through unjust, unethical and discriminatory mandates is the best way to effectively unite the team of five million, then so be it.

Helen Suzman also said, “It’s the answers, not the questions, that are embarrassing.”

What will your legacy be when the history of the 2021 New Zealand Parliament is written?

Think again about Hailey’s dreams which you are shattering. Place yourself in the shoes of William with his years of experience teaching his tamariki sport, music and kapahaka, outdoor education and social skills. Place yourself in the shoes of Scott, father of six, and one of those passionate, dedicated and committed teachers most school principals would want to employ. Pause and reflect on the millions of lives affected by the decisions taken by the sitting Members of Parliament. Please don’t respond with the easiest of answers and inform me that you are listening to the majority of voices of your constituents, or tell me to look at the questionable World Health Organisation’s website, for such a response shows no understanding of the content of this letter.

What will be your legacy?

Robin Cox