MWWL, David Rankin and Billboards

I’ve missed a bit of news over the past few days so I’ll briefly comment on a few issues in this post:

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Hannah Tamaki has failed in her bid for the presidency of the Maori Women’s Welfare League. From Radio New Zealand: 

The new national president of the Maori Women's Welfare League (Kataraina O’Brien) says the co-founder of Destiny Church, Hannah Tamaki, who was also vying for the role, did not go about things in the right way.

This, I think, is true. Hannah Tamaki took an unorthodox approach to her campaign. Previous campaigns for the presidency have been, for want of a better term, discrete. However, Tamaki took a glamorous approach to her campaign producing professional campaign material and travelling the country attending league functions and so on. In my opinion this gave her an unfair advantage over the less well-known and less wealthy candidates. Hannah Tamaki also appeared in the media, on numerous occasions, and passed comment on her bid and the League’s attempts to stymie her. The precedent is for members to keep contentious issues within the league and refrain from commenting to the media. Tamaki, quite clearly, departed from this precedent.

I think this is the best outcome for the League. Hannah Tamaki’s bid has reenergised the otherwise declining movement. It would not have been in anyone’s interest for Tamaki to win – I know if she had of won over the weekend a vote of no confidence would have been moved immediately. This would have divided the league even further.

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David Rankin has opened his mouth again, this time labelling Margaret Mutu a racist after Mutu called for a restriction on white immigration. From Stuff.co.nz:

Mutu's controversial comments came in response to a Department of Labour report which found Maori are more likely to express anti-immigration sentiment than Pakeha or any other ethnic group. 

The head of the university's department of Maori studies, Mutu agreed with the findings and called on the Government to restrict the number of white migrants arriving from countries such as South Africa, England and the United States as they brought attitudes destructive to Maori. 

Firstly, I agree that some white immigrants bring racist attitudes, however restricting “white immigration” is probably, and I do not want to devolve into semantics, racist. Certainly Joris De Bres, the Race Relations Commissioner, seems to agree. In a free society people are entitled to their own views - even if those views are repugnant. There is no infallible mechanism to prevent racist migrants from coming to Aotearoa and I suspect Professor Mutu knows this. In my opinion, this is not a debate worth having. The racists from both sides, Maori and Pakeha, will ensure any debate turns toxic while the clowns like David Rankin will add legitimacy to anti-Maori sentiment.

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I covered a fair chunk of the country over the past week and made a few election-related observations. Firstly, Labour MP Sue Moroney’s billboards dominate Hamilton West. I didn’t see anything from the incumbent Tim Macindoe. Sue probably stands little chance of winning the seat given the way the party vote went in the previous election and Labour’s current performance in the polls. Hamilton West, and Hamilton East too, are considered bellwether seats. Nearly every party since 1972 that has won both seats has gone on to form the government. In my opinion Hamilton is a very rural city. Hamilton services the Waikato hinterland (i.e. the farms which make up most of the Waikato) and this pro-National hinterland probably influences the political leanings of Hamilton residents. Having said that, Hamilton West, in contrast to Hamilton East, is quite working class and the seat has been held by Labour on more than a few occasions. So maybe I am too slow to write off Sue.

I was also in the Hawkes Bay and couldn’t drive more than a kilometre without coming across a National Party billboard. Either National is recycling the “building brighter futures” line or some enthusiastic supporters are erecting signs from the last election. The Maori Party candidate, Na Rongowhakata Raihania, also had a few billboards which were, to be honest, visual chaos. Too many colours, the contrast was too sharp and his name is too long. Good to see he has got a head start over the competition though. Labour’s signs were also prominent in the Manawatu, especially in the small towns surrounding Palmerston North. Palmerston North is the only rural seat Labour holds and you would expect them to put in a big effort to retain it.    

My unvarnished opinions

I really only blog on Friday now so here are a few issues that caught my attention over the past week:

Hone Harawira has announced his intention to push for the creation of a Maori Parliament. Although his motives are commendable and the underlying principle is strong, in practise such an idea is regressive and impractical. This is the sort of thinking that characterised the 19^th century – not 2011. I agree with the statement that Maori politicians are beholden to party interests, but I do not think a separate Maori Parliament is the answer. Kaupapa Maori parties are the answer, meaning parties like the Mana and Maori Parties. If Maori politicians in mainstream parties are not representing Maori interests then we can vote them out. We do not need to chuck them in a separate chamber and have them fight among themselves. Maori in Labour and National play an important role – they effect change from within. That change may be incremental and they may have swallow poison at times, but it is an important role nonetheless. If Maori are not represented in mainstream discourse then non-Maori will walk all over us. This is the sort of policy that will excite the flaxroot, but it is not the sort of policy that will ever be enacted.

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Continuing my Hone Harawira theme, he has published an open letter explaining to his supporters why he attended the Destiny Church Conference. I am glad he has and thank him for offering supporters like me an explanation. I still do not support his decision to attend, but I admire his honesty and commitment to people, even when those people may be unsavoury.

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Now jumping to Destiny Church. Hannah Tamaki, wife of Brian Tamaki, is running for the presidency of the Maori Women’s Welfare League (MWWL). Many senior members have expressed concerns that the Church is attempting something of a hostile takeover. I do not know what is behind this move. The MWWL is one of the most respected Maori organisations in the country. Former Presidents include Maori heroes like Princess Te Puea and Dame Whina Cooper. I worry because the MWWL is strictly non-sectarian, whereas Hannah Tamaki is a fundamentalist who injects religion wherever she walks. Brian Tamaki is a man with ulterior motives as well. What is he trying to achieve? A take over of New Zealand?

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The Maori Youth Council presented a report to the Minister of Maori Affairs, Pita Sharples, outlining their proposals to improve the lot of young Maori. The report is brilliant and recommended reading for policy makers and any other interested parties. One of the more controversial recommendations, which has been picked up by Sharples, is compulsory te reo courses for teachers. A good idea in principle. I support the idea, but only if it receives broad support and endorsement from the teacher’s union’s. I think Patrick Walsh’s suggestion that compulsory courses will cause resentment is overblown. Sure, a few will resent the idea, but many will realise that te reo courses are in the interests of professional development and the key to better relationships with Maori students. But maybe compulsory courses could be restricted to teachers intending to teach at schools with a high Maori roll to avoid creating resentment among teachers who will never come close to teaching Maori students. Finally, Winston Peters points out that there are not enough te reo teachers to teach Maori let alone every teacher in New Zealand. I thinks he makes a good point.  

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Len Brown has shown once again that he is the most progressive political leader in the country. The Auckland Mayor has indicated that he can and will work with Hone Harawira. Admittedly, local government is different, but good on him nonetheless.

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David Rankin has, once again, done himself a disservice. Rankin, following on from his “King of Huntly” smear which was both ignorant and disrespectful, has now claimed that Brian Tamaki is the most effective Maori leader. First of all, Tamaki is a church leader – not a Maori leader. Secondly, “effective leader” is a matter of definition. If you think an effective leader is someone with the power to manipulate and brainwash then yes, he is a damn effective leader. If you think an effective leader is someone with the ability to effect groundbreaking change, then no he is not an effective leader. Tamaki has influenced the lives of many individuals, most for the better, but he has also played an integral part in perpetuating hate. Rankin is a media whore. He just likes to see his name out there. I’m not listening to him anymore. Tariana Turia is right – Rankin is not even the King of Kaikohe.

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Speaking of Tariana Turia, she has openly displayed her hostility to class politics. Turia says:

 “It's a class party. It’s not a Maori party, They will have to take into account all the interests of everybody else, whereas our focus has always , and we are unashamedly putting our people first and we do,”

So been a class party is all of a sudden a slur? I would take it as a compliment. The interest of the poor are the interests of Maori. But anyway, Mana is a class based party as well as a kaupapa Maori party – an interesting fusion.

WTF? (updated)

Stuff is reporting that Te Tii Marae will charge non-Maori media a $1000 entry fee. Surely this is not tikanga Maori.

I agree with David Rankin;

Ngapuhi leader David Rankin today said the decision by "the village idiot and his uneducated disciples" was racist and shameful.

"These self-appointed bullies are doing great harm to our people," he said.

"Many of our people outside of Northland will be depending on the nightly news for information about Waitangi Day, and this small, unelected group are threatening to ban media coverage for the sake of their own personal greed."

He said the fee amounted to "cultural apartheid" and he would be advising all media that the marae was open and free of charge this Waitangi Day.

Never do I accuse Maori of discrimination but this is racist. It’s downright reverse racism. I have no problems with Te Tii Marae demanding a koha, that is to be expected, but a compulsory entry fee of $1000 amounts to extortion. Maori are better than this.  

UPDATE: It appears the entry fee applies to all media, Maori media included, only the local iwi radio station is exempt. Therefore, I retract my ‘racist’ comments, however I still think an entry fee is wrong. The Marae chairman has made the point that; 

“We have to put up marquees, feed everyone, clean up the mess afterwards. The money helps with looking after the marae for the community here that has it all year round, not just for one day.
“The marae goes into debt for this and that has to be covered. We are a small village looking after a national marae,”

With this in mind the entry fee seems justified but I was under the impression that the Marae receives financial help from the government on Waitangi Day.