Bipartisanship On The Field And In The House

Ben
Strang, Reporter

Bipartisan is a word
that is often said and talked about, but seldom seen in
action.

Surveys show voters feel the political world
is growing more divided, and more than a third of people
think Parliament is just for arguing politicians.

And
yet, away from the arena of the House, or the cameras and
microphones of the bridge run, New Zealand’s members of
Parliament are a surprisingly collegial bunch.

This is
demonstrated no better than on the sports field.

As
dusk fell over Hamilton and the lights flicked on at Seddon
Park last week, half a dozen MPs from each side of the aisle
were toiling away in the field, trying to secure a victory
for the Parliamentary cricket team.

Green Party MP
Steve Abel steamed in from the Tim Southee end, bowling a
full toss into the pads of former Northern Districts
cricketer Joey Yovich.

The ball was pulled,
powerfully, into the deep. Tom Rutherford, the National MP
for Bay of Plenty, sprinted to his right and plucked the
ball before it went over the rope.

Yovich, caught
National, bowled Greens.

Bipartisanship in
action.

“It’s been a pleasant surprise for me. The
general, at a human level, collegiality of the Parliament,”
Abel says of his first term as an MP.

“I don’t know
how else you’d do it, really. We want to be there to debate
the issues, and as much as that doesn’t get personal, the
better.

“Also, just quietly, there’s no way I’d get
into another cricket team anywhere, because I’m so bad at
it, so I’m using the privilege of being in Parliament to
play cricket.”

The Parliamentary Sports Trust has
teams playing regular games of cricket during summer, and
rugby, netball, and sometimes football, during the
winter.

Sometimes the teams will have representatives
from all six parties take the field.

The Parliamentary
cricket team played seven matches this summer, including its
more than 50-year traditional fixture against a team of
diplomats among them.

An annual fixture against the
media was also a highlight, for the media, who now lead the
series 6-1.

The politicians play to push diplomacy,
community, to raise money for charity, and of course for the
joy of the game.

James Meager, National Party MP,
Minister for the South Island, and more importantly
Parliament’s cricket co-captain, says it’s good chance to
show people politicians aren’t always at each others
throats.

“The kindergarten coverage you see on TV
isn’t what happens most of the day in Parliament,” Meager
says.

“We spend most of our time with members across
other parties in select committees. There’s a lot of
collegiality, and you don’t see that on the TV and on the
news.

“At the end of the day, we’re all here to build
a better New Zealand. And when you get on the cricket pitch,
you’re all acting as one. You’re all on the same team.
You’re all playing for Parliament.

“There’s lots of
pats on the back when a few catches go down, a few more
catches than we’d like, especially off my bowling, but the
less said about that the better.”

Fellow co-captain
Kieran McAnulty, the Labour Party’s shadow leader of the
house, echoes those comments.

“It’s a bizarre
situation where you are actively trying to get these people
removed from their jobs, but you still get on with them,”
McAnulty laughs.

“So often in the news we only see
snippets of politicians having a crack at each other, but
actually the vast majority get along well and work together
wherever possible, and that is evident when we play sport
together.”

Tim Costley, a first term National MP for
Ōtaki and a tall left medium pacer, says games do still
have plenty of banter.

“I think most of it is a bit of
heckling of each other,” Costley says. “Particularly the
media. I see the media have a lot of chat when we play
them.

“It’s a bit of fun right. It’s the spirit it’s
played in. There’s no politics out there. It’s a good way
for Parliament to go out and engage with people and have
some great interactions in the community.”

Given the
hidden camaraderie politicians appear to share, RNZ asked
MPs to share their favourite people on the other side of the
House.

James Meager, of National, names Labour’s
Kieran McAnulty – “He’s genuinely a really decent, down to
earth guy. Totally different politics, and when you’re
sitting in the House you don’t want to be sitting on the end
of some of Kieran’s barbs.”

Steve Abel, of the Greens,
names ACT’s Mark Cameron – “I have a surprisingly good
friendship with Mark Cameron, who is the chair of the
primary production select committee. On certain subjects our
politics differ wildly.”

Mark Mitchell, of National,
names Labour’s Damien O’Connor – “I’ve got a really good
friendship with Damien. He and I were co-captains of the
Parliamentary rugby team for about ten years. We would
travel overseas at World Cups and room together. We’re good
mates.”

Chris Bishop, of National, also names Labour’s
Kieran McAnulty – “We captained the Parliamentary cricket
team together for a number of years. We’ve travelled to the
UK together, to play cricket. We do breakfast TV together,
so I’ve always got on well with him.”

Kieran McAnulty,
of Labour, names New Zealand First’s Mark Patterson – “I’m
genuinely good friends with Mark Patterson, although he
hates me saying that publicly because it doesn’t suit him
politically at the moment. But, you know, I’m an honest guy,
so I’ll just say it how it is.”

Tim Costley, of
National, names Labour’s Peeni Henare – “We’re both really
passionate about defence, and I’d happily have him around
for a BBQ. I don’t necessarily want him running the country,
but I’d have a beer with him.”

It’s a theme that would
continue for all MPs – you don’t have to like someone’s
politics to like someone, or be mates with them.

As
for the sport itself, the Parliamentary side lost by eight
wickets to the Seddon Cricket Club.

But Meager
explains, sometimes they play pretty good cricket
too.

The best performance he’s seen?

“It would
have to be the 150 hit by our friend Mr Strang, hit at
Seddon Park a couple of years ago. Easily the cleanest
hitting I’ve seen.”

For the record, the score was 158,
retired out. Not that anyone is counting.

Proof, if
you will, that politicians and the media aren’t always at
loggerheads
either.

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