Every year we select books that we believe the Prime Minister (and others interested in public policy) would benefit from reading over the summer break. As we apply a non-partisan approach to our work, we also provide copies of the selected books to each of the leaders of the other major political parties. They often reflect the themes or ideas we identify each year that shape our work.
Unlike other years, there has not been a large offering of books in 2020 that I believe would provide the Prime Minister useful insights on how to progress the next 12 months. In terms of COVID-19 strategy there is the hunker-down strategy, the push-it-out strategy or a mix of both – through experimentation and observation. The ramifications of COVID-19 – thankfully – did not significantly impact the physical wellbeing of our people in the short term, but we are not through this ‘hit’ yet. Our trajectory will have changed and there will be challenges that will shock and surprise us. Two new impacts on the horizon are the impact on our education system; one must expect a big review ahead – maybe a revert back to the University of New Zealand model and the other, the impact on our ports – how do we ensure our ports have the necessary flexibility to deal with changes in delivery flows. As an island nation we are always at risk of supply chains falling over; this experience has reminded us that just-in-time supply chain management is not optimal for an island nation. Storage of essential stock in warehouses will add an additional but essential cost to some businesses. Logistics is not a skill that is a natural fit for public servants and we need to up-skill both in PPE and in the health system more generally.
Now to the books. We are pleased to include the 4th edition of our signature book, Nation Dates: Timelines of significant events that have shaped the history of Aotearoa New Zealand (see our blog here for further details). Nation Dates is completed every three years and is designed with new MPs in mind. We think the book provides a great reference point for key historical dates that have shaped public policy and governance, with the idea that we cannot know where we are going if we do not know where we have come from. ‘Ka mua, ka muri’ – walk backwards into the future.
Three books that have stood out this year.
The first is Human Kind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman. Elspeth McLean’s review in the Otago Daily Times can be found here. I found the context Bregman provides on climate change refreshing:
“I am no skeptic when it comes to climate change. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is the greatest challenge of our time – and that time is running out. What I am skeptical about, however, is the fatalistic rhetoric of collapse. Of the notion that we humans are inherently selfish, or worse, a plague upon the earth. I’m skeptical when this is peddled as ‘realistic’, and I’m skeptical when we’re told that there’s no way out.” [p. 134]
The second is Erik Larson’s latest book, The Splendid and the Vile. He tells the story of Churchill’s first year as UK prime minister during World War II in London. In particular, how he, his family and his advisors faced the Blitz and how the country came together under his leadership to face a brutal assault from German bombs. Check out the New York Times review here. In his note to readers, Larson writes:
“I thought about Winston Churchill: How did he withstand it? And his family and friends? What was it like for him to have his city bombed for nights on end and to know full well that these air raids, however horrific, were likely only a preamble to far worse, a German invitation from the sea and sky, with parachutists dropping into his garden, panzer tanks clanking through Trafalgar Square, and poison gas wafting over the beach where once he painted the sea? I decided to find out, and quickly came to realise that it is one thing to say “Carry on,” quote another to do it.” [Note to Readers]
Larson also introduced me to Lord Beaverbrook (William Maxwell Aitken). Although I had heard of Lord Beaverbrook, I became completely enamoured with him by the end of the book. On his first day as Prime Minister, Churchill created an entirely new ministry devoted solely to the production of fighters and bombers, the Ministry of Aircraft Production. That night, he offered Beaverbrook the job to run it. Lawson writes: ‘Churchill understood Beaverbrook, and knew at an intrinsic level that he was the man to jolt awake the still-slumbering aircraft industry’ – and it is a credit to them both that Beaverbrook did. It seemed a timely reminder that logistics, in time of a crisis, is a critical skill that very few fully understand and utilise. It reminded me of our poor response to PPE (see our NZNO survey here).
Lastly, we have included Ron Crosby’s The Forgotten Wars: Why the musket wars matter. His small book reminds us that without the backdrop of the Musket Wars, the New Zealand Wars fail to capture the true challenges that occurred in the 1800s. Challenges that continue to shape the dialogue over Te Tiriti o Waitangi today and how we might acknowledge and build on the 200 year-anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti in the year 2040. In the absence of the Musket Wars in the compulsory addition of history to New Zealand’s educational curriculum, he notes the following effects:
“It is hoped that by the time this book is in print the curriculum will have been revised to include what was the longest period of continuous, tumultuous warfare throughout the length and breadth of Aotearoa, which in large part laid the basis for contemporary inter-iwi and inter-hapū relationships. Māori, and all new Zealanders, deserve to have the crucial period of our history identified and taught in our schools.” [p. 19]
As to how these books might offer insights into the year ahead I will provide my thinking. Bergman’s book reminds me why we need to be skeptical and seek out the truth, often by asking people what they think and undertaking the necessary research, while Larson’s reminds me how a country came together in a time of crisis – getting the right people into the right jobs.
All three authors talk about the need for realism, Bregman in terms of citizens being inclined to be good to one another and throwing away the concept of the ‘thin veneer’. As proven by our nurses, our border control team, and our response to Alert Level 4, New Zealanders did act to protect the whole. Larson discusses realism in terms of how the relationship between the individual and the state evolve at a time of crisis and how honest and clear communication can literally ‘save the day’. Crosby discusses realism in terms of why our history matters and that we need to be honest with ourselves. These are excellent books for understanding the opportunities and challenges that occur during a transition, as we move into a new post-COVID, zero carbon society.
The McGuinness Institute closes for 2020 on 18 December, and reopens early February 2021. On behalf of the team, I would like to wish you a very relaxed summer holiday, with some quiet time as well as great conversations with friends and family, and of course, a good book.
Mere Kirihimete,
Wendy