by Judy Gill

In New Zealand the so-called “progressive” Left has developed its own form of watermelon politics—green on the outside, red on the inside. What began as environmental idealism has morphed into a moral crusade combining climate alarmism, decolonisation, and Te Ao Māori spirituality. The movement’s leaders speak of healing Mother Earth and dismantling colonial capitalism, but the language has become less about science and more about sanctity.

Politicians such as Green co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick, and Te Pāti Māori’s Debbie Ngarewa-Packer frequently link “climate justice”, Indigenous rights and solidarity with Palestine. “Progressive” commentator Martyn Bradbury has done the same, blending cultural spirituality with political activism. The pattern mirrors a global trend in which left-wing movements form temporary alliances with causes that share an anti-Western narrative even when their underlying values diverge.

The clearest example is the embrace of the Palestinian struggle without acknowledging that Hamas, the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, is not a secular liberation movement but a religious-political organisation seeking to impose Islamic governance. Across Europe and North America, this has produced what analysts call the Red-Green-Rainbow coalition—a loose partnership between neo-Marxist radicals, environmental activists and Islamist movements. Each sees itself as resisting imperial power; each believes it is on the side of history. Yet their social visions are incompatible.

The same moral confusion has crept into New Zealand’s discourse. By blending environmental piety, Te Ao Māori spirituality and imported revolutionary politics, progressives risk turning activism into a kind of civil religion. When that happens, dissenters are treated as heretics rather than fellow citizens, and secular democracy becomes the casualty.

The lesson from abroad is clear. When political movements borrow the moral certainty of religion, they may feel righteous, but they lose the ability to govern plural societies. The Far Left’s new faith unites people against the West but cannot agree on what should replace it. In that sense, New Zealand’s watermelons may yet discover that moral zeal makes perfect useful idiots for causes whose ultimate goals are far from progressive.