Shirley Julian

New Zealand/Aotearoa

Inspired by a remark made calling Parliament "Mickey Mouse" after MMP came in and Winston Peters kept the country guessing for 3 weeks while he negotiated with each party for the most power. He eventually went with the National Party and became Deputy Prime Minister only to resign about a year later again plunging parliament into disarray.  

About this time there was talk of relocating the Beehive in order to build more offices for the increased number of members under MMP. So the Beehive appears to have a slight tilt.  

The dollar signs on the border indicate how everything revolves around finance. Then there is the controversy about our flag which still goes on today.

The "Buzzy Bee" has become a New Zealand icon and symbolizes the work that goes on in Parliament even though the Beehive is full of Mickey Mouse.

This was a "fun" quilt to make and attracted much comment at the time. I believe that my observations at that time are still appropriate today.