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When you have two of the largest NGOs in the world, sitting round the table together talking about consicous collaboration on climate change campaigning, you know governments will sit up and take notice.
I wanted to slap the young climate change activist, as full of herself as this planet is of greenhouse gases. She was making a climate fool of herself and needed to shut up. The thing is with these green greenies, who come into a multi-national NGO in the media spotlight, it all goes to their heads. The founding mothers and fathers of these global movements were never paid a cent for the work they did, we weren’t on designer clothing salary. Our sweat and tears enabled this young upstart to mouth off, to show off, and it made me cringe. I noticed her handmade leather boots and the tailored jacket, the salon hair cut and the manicured nails. I felt mischevious and couldn’t resist throwing a curly one her way about A1 aggregate reduction targets in global effort sharing. I knew she wouldn’t know what I was talking about. Hehehe. That shut her up!
This collaboration, this decision to unite to combat climate change, has been a long time coming. It makes common sense to join forces. Add up the membership of these NGOs here in New Zealand and it would probably represent more than a quarter of our population. That’s a lot of people putting pressure on the government to do the deal at the climate change conference in Copenhagen!
The former Prime Minister accepted a packet of sausages from Peter, The Mad Butcher, on stage at her farewell last weekend. She’s off to head the United Nations Development Programme and climate change is on her mind. She had told me so when we interviewed her for the film the day before. She handed the plastic bag to her husband, Peter, who was sitting behind her on stage. “What the hell are we going to do with these?” he whispered to her in front of a crowded hall. They were flying out within 2 hours. He was going with her for a week, to prove that she did indeed have a husband, and probably help her unpack.
The sausages will be in the freezer when he returns, but he’ll be eating them on his own. Outside the venue a wall of tv cameras where waiting for Helen and entourage to exit. They were not allowed inside, but our cameras were. They glared at us as we came out filming the departure. Eat your heart out TVNZ!
I was confused at the writing on the envelope in my mailbox the following Monday. It looked like mine. I couldn’t remember writing myself a letter, but I do a few strange things from time to time, like putting my glasses in the fridge. I opened the envelope and saw the signature. Helen had obviously been clearing her desk in preparation for the move to New York and had filled in her personal release form for our her interview in the ‘bombs and scones’ film. I looked at the e-mail address. It was simply her first name, no fanfare – not like the climate change activist - the humility and understatement of a true world leader.
We asked her about makeovers and hair styles. “I do my own” she answered “I had to be taught how!” I can imagine her in front of the mirror, trying to get it right with the blow dryer, not smudging the lipstick.
There’s more than Mad Butcher sausages awaiting her return to Aotearoa/New Zealand. The queues of cross-cultural representatives stretched across the hall, patiently waiting their opportunity to say goodbye, thank you, and to pass on gifts, revealed the dimensions to her popularity. She is a dearly loved by this tiny nation at the bottom of the world, this farmer’s daughter who enjoys a good read in a bunk in a frozen hut several thousands feet up on some faraway mountain. Voted the most popular Kiwi, beating Sir Ed, one can feel the void already. Come back soon!
They don’t do barbies in New York and they would probably cringe at the thought of Mad Butcher saussies. But that’s who we were are, and she is one of us. You can have her for a while America, but remember, she’s ours and we want her back.
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