Pandanus Petter

I am postdoctoral research fellow working with colleagues here and in New Zealand to understand the historical and contemporary political uses of our shared phrase 'Fair Go' in an era of growing inequality. I also investigate the way politicians try to connect everyday people to the political process through the work they do in their electorates. I use a variety of methods and approaches such as digitally assisted archival text analysis, surveys, interviews and participant observation. With my work I hope to shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of our democratic system as it currently functions and point to the ways positive change can be brought about. This is especially vital in a time when the challenges we all face are too important for us to fall back on corrosive and disempowering cynicism.