Last week, one of New Zealand’s most important public intellectuals, Professor Jane Kelsey gave her valedictory lecture at Auckland University.
Attempting to evaluate the impact of her career on New Zealand Politics is difficult to achieve in one column.
The sheer level of important groundbreaking fights she has led and championed have shaped the very fabric of New Zealand’s civil rights.
Her campaigns against neoliberal globalisation and the power of trans nationals over our economic sovereignty, her fight to have the Government recognise the Treaty, her fights against the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and free market dogma alongside her numerous books critiquing deregulated capitalism mark her as one of our great Public Academics whose peers are Dr Moana Jackson, Dr Ranganui Walker and Bruce Jesson.
Her role has been to champion the rights of those invisible to existing power structures and to provide space for their lived experience. Her importance to progressive politics makes her a global cultural treasure who must be platformed as often as possible because the insight and oversight she brings to the hegemonic structures of power in our Democracy are simply unparalleled.
This may be the end of her University career, but Professor Jane Kelsey’s importance to the debates at hand means she has a far longer journey still to travel.
Kia kaha Jane.
First published on Waatea News.
Agree Martyn. An old style academic who is probably grateful to be retiring!
Prof Kelsey won’t ever retire. Even if she isn’t widely prominent she will still be thinking and trying to assist the principled and practical amongst us towards what will be beneficial and needed by us all. Thanks for your work inspiring us to keep trying to limit hegemony and hubris Professor Jane.
Prof Jane might feel this song from Blood Sweat and Tears strikes a peal of her bell.
They sing And When I Die – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la9Iy0RTvCI
It sounds a depressing song but it’s one with hope still alight.
I hear that’s it’s cold way down there,
yeah, crazy cold way down there
And when I die and when I’m gone,
There’ll be one child born and
a world to carry on, to carry on
As one who suffered through her class at Law school, good riddance to this condescending hypocrite, endlessly criticizing the world order from the comfort of her cozy, taxpayer-funded sinecure.
Sean You seem to fall into the group that have been encouraged by their background and authority role modelling, to question everything that doesn’t come out of the mouths of their own people, fathers or cohort. It must be very hard for you to hear something outside of the parameters of your own cohort’s beliefs and prejudices.
Seriously? All your comments boil down to is picking at the weaves of New Zealands social fabric
What the fuck has any of you done to weave it back together?
Ada Your description of what you feel was wrong about Prof Jane sounds like the way you think yourself. I would be very obliged if you would stop your little barbs and critiques under what I say.
I find the short thrusts at others where nothing useful is added, and people carrying on a personal jousting as a poor way to spend their brainpower and a misuse of this blog. TDB is one of the few sites in NZ where people can discuss the urgent matter of where our country and society is degrading and try to work out why and what can be done to conserve the good,
If you don’t agree with me, please just ignore me and I will suffer your rejection. I hate the habit of ambushing and detracting an individual commenter by some people who set themselves up in judgment. This happened on The Standard and I didn’t expect to see it here. I certainly dislike hate-speech proponents. I do try to limit my hates to practices and just a few of the truly mean and vicious.
This blog works when we add something to the discourse, and we need free speech though with certain limits. Please don’t make sly digs at attempts to understand behaviour and the driving forces behind people of interest, because thinking about them helps to learn what to expect from them, and sometimes helps to learn about ourselves. What drives you to keep niggling on at me?
For those who might be interested in actual information, my valedictory lecture can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id7DCOTrdHU.
Thanks Prof Jane. Cheers. The quaint Irish wish might be right to quote for you.
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
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