Effect on New Zealand
Short Term Consequences
Vietnamese Refugees
Polarization of Opinions
From the start of the anti-war protests there were polarised opinions towards or against the government's involvement, with the lesser numbers being against the war. However as the war continued and especially in the early 70’s, towards the end of the war, there was mass mobilization of the protest against the war which showed that huge numbers were turning against the government's decision. This shift came from the revealing of the horrific details of the war which more and more people saw as wrong. The polarisation came from people who wanted to believe in the decisions of the government versus those who were beginning to question the alliances that New Zealand had made, especially those that drew it into the Vietnam war. The opinion that New Zealand shouldn’t have been involved in the war wasn’t only expressed through media but also in the treatment of the returning soldiers. Because of the video’s and images surfacing of the war many of the returning soldiers were attacked as murderers and “baby-killers” because of the slaughter they had had to have been part of. Returning soldiers suffered not just from physical wounds but also mental illness, such as PTSD as well as large numbers and their offspring suffering from effects of Agent Orange. There was polarisation between the recognition of the soldiers fulfilling their duty and the suffering of the Vietnamese people. Of the 3,400 New Zealand veterans more than 600 were affected by Agent Orange and this was greatly ignored by the government. But in comparison there was more than two million Vietnamese who lost their lives and millions lost their homes. The scale of the devastation in Vietnam was huge and many New Zealanders felt disgust and grief that their country had played a part in it.
EFFECTS ON THE NEW ZEALAND LABOUR PARTY
At first the New Zealand Labour Party was wary of publicly opposing the government's alliance and war decisions however by the early 1970’s in part of their electoral campaign was to remove all troops from Vietnam.While most troops had already been removed, when elected in 1972 the Labour Party officially withdrew all troops. This decision attracted young protesters in agreement with their ideas and who opposed the National parties wish to stay with alliance ideas. Some of the young protesters attracted would later go one to be a major part of New Zealand government for example Helen Clark who later went on to lead New Zealand. The Labour Party, unlike the National Party, wished to change its foreign policy to make New Zealand far more in control of the decision to do with outside conflict etc. they called this “new thinking”.
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>>CHANGE IN FOREIGN POLICY Consequential change in foreign policy by the labour party. Many of the Labour Party had been anti-war protesters and wished to pull New Zealand completely out of ANZUS. While the Vietnam war brought in huge change in New Zealand’s foreign policy, especially post war, we did not actually pull out of the ANZUS alliance until the nuclear free protests. Due to the opposition to the ANZUS alliance in New Zealand some tensions were created which later allowed New Zealand to make its anti-nuclear stand. At this point New Zealand had weakened its ties with both the US and Britain. The aim of the change in the foreign policy was to allow New Zealand to make its own decision on matters first based on its people alone not based on foreign political pressures such as from the US.
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Long Term Consequences
DECLINE OF ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT
Having been a huge part in the removal of troops from Vietnam, by the mid 1970’s the anti-war movement had greatly declined as it no longer had the huge political issue to strive against. Many saw this as the end of the greatest era of radicalization. However the counter-culture movement was still strong and simply shifted and grew into other protests.
>> OTHER PROTEST ISSUES STEMMING FROM ALLIANCE
With the quieting of the anti-war protests other protests began to surface such as the re-emergence of women’s liberation struggles and new protests on environmental issues and gay liberation. Another protest that came about with strong links to the ANZUS alliance was the nuclear free protests. These were protests on a large scale, similar to the anti-war protests. The Labour Party fulfilled its electoral promise and sent a New Zealand Navy ship to Mururoa in order to protest against nuclear activity. While New Zealand did create an anti-nuclear policy it did not actually pull out of ANZUS. Around the mid-80s, when the protests occurred and New Zealand banned nuclear weapons testing, America froze New Zealand out of the ANZUS Treaty.
Having been a huge part in the removal of troops from Vietnam, by the mid 1970’s the anti-war movement had greatly declined as it no longer had the huge political issue to strive against. Many saw this as the end of the greatest era of radicalization. However the counter-culture movement was still strong and simply shifted and grew into other protests.
>> OTHER PROTEST ISSUES STEMMING FROM ALLIANCE
With the quieting of the anti-war protests other protests began to surface such as the re-emergence of women’s liberation struggles and new protests on environmental issues and gay liberation. Another protest that came about with strong links to the ANZUS alliance was the nuclear free protests. These were protests on a large scale, similar to the anti-war protests. The Labour Party fulfilled its electoral promise and sent a New Zealand Navy ship to Mururoa in order to protest against nuclear activity. While New Zealand did create an anti-nuclear policy it did not actually pull out of ANZUS. Around the mid-80s, when the protests occurred and New Zealand banned nuclear weapons testing, America froze New Zealand out of the ANZUS Treaty.
Key Ideas
Refugees coming into New Zealand, because of the loss of the war, introduced a new culture to the country and as they integrated into the country they made homes for themselves and their future generations who still live in New Zealand today.
There was a polarization in New Zealand due to the Vietnam war, to do with a difference in opinion between those who dissented and those who support the government's choice to aid in the war.
The New Zealand government's choice to be a part of the war and the consequential protests lead to the rise of the Labour Party who offered a solution to the problem that had been created. This also lead to the change in New Zealand’s foreign policy in hopes that the issue would be avoided in the future.
With the resolving of the Vietnam war the anti-war movement declined and morphed into other protest movements such as the anti-nuclear protests.
Refugees coming into New Zealand, because of the loss of the war, introduced a new culture to the country and as they integrated into the country they made homes for themselves and their future generations who still live in New Zealand today.
There was a polarization in New Zealand due to the Vietnam war, to do with a difference in opinion between those who dissented and those who support the government's choice to aid in the war.
The New Zealand government's choice to be a part of the war and the consequential protests lead to the rise of the Labour Party who offered a solution to the problem that had been created. This also lead to the change in New Zealand’s foreign policy in hopes that the issue would be avoided in the future.
With the resolving of the Vietnam war the anti-war movement declined and morphed into other protest movements such as the anti-nuclear protests.