Māori MPs on marriage equality

I want to acknowledge and thank Louisa Wall for her passion and hard work that has ensured the huge victory for justice and equality that was seen last night in her Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill passing its First Reading in Parliament. Louisa, of Ngāti Tuwharetoa and Tainui descent, entered her bill into the member’s bill ballot shortly after President Barack Obama came out in the support of marriage equality. Her political discernment and timing in entering it at that time was excellent, and Kevin Hague also entered a bill at the same time which would have effectively the same outcome.

For me it’s a no brainer that we should eliminate all discrimination in law, particularly when it discriminates against such a large marginalised group in society. It’s worth checking how our Māori MPs voted on this bill.  There are 20 Māori MPs in Parliament, and 17 of them were in the group of 80 who voted in favour of the bill last night. Only 3 Māori opposed the bill.

All of the Māori MPs in both Labour and the Greens voted in favour.

All of the Māori Party and Hone Harawira supported it.

Of the Māori in National, only Simon Bridges opposed the bill.

All the Māori in New Zealand First, Winston Peters and Brendan Horan, opposed the bill.

New Zealand First voted against the bill because they claim to want a referendum on the issue, which is a bit of a cop out really. We shouldn’t need to waste that much money to remove discrimination in the law. Winston Peters shouldn’t have made his MPs take a party line on this issue, and should have allowed them to vote with their conscience.

What is most surprising is that many of the Māori MPs who have taken conservative approaches to other moral issues like Shane Jones, Tariana Turia and Te Ururoa Flavell, all voted in favour of the bill. This is welcome, and credit to all of them for their support.

It’s clear that Hone Harawira has buckled to pressure within the Mana Party but credit should go to him as well for making the right decision.

Overall our Māori MPs performed well on this issue, with a few disappointing exceptions. 

Getting it right: Why Labour's failed to fire

Labour has a great message, great people, great vision for New Zealand, but who would know?

The problem I believe is quite straight forward.

Labour has failed to stir peoples' emotions. They are too quiet, too cautious, too invisible. From the top down. They haven't sparked emotional reactions in anyone, about anything.

They haven't stimulated, aggravated, agitated, provoked, annoyed or amused. They are just there.

It's like they're more comfortable being ignored than criticised.

So they are being ignored.

Except Louisa Wall. She's promoted the Marriage Equality Bill that has inspired some, elated some, made some uncomfortable and some are just plain pissed off. People are emotional about Louisa's Bill one way or the other.

She's been interviewed on TV, radio, newspapers. She's been seen, heard, read about, talked about, praised, condemned and just plain criticised.

Good on her. She has been noticed.

And in every interview I've seen or heard, she is calm, eloquent and on message. Her critics come across as irrational rabid nutcases.

Now her colleagues need to do the same. They need to skirt with controversy, to wear their hearts on their sleeves, go out on a limb. They need to be positively controversial. Cause right-wing outrage. Make people talk, make people think, make people argue, get people emotional, piss people off - at home, at work, at the pub, at school, on talkback, where ever two people meet - provoke a reaction.

Just throw some outrageous lefty ideas out there and sit back and watch the reaction, gauge the feedback, stir the pot and revel in the attention.

They won't win over staunch conservatives, but so what? Those conservatives will moan and bitch about them out in their communities. Free publicity.

They'll win back some of the swing voters and lefties looking for Labour to show some mongrel.

Labour has a great message, but they're pretty damn dull in promoting it. It's too much to expect Joe Public to tune in to that message when its not in their faces.

They could do worse than look at Louisa Wall's example of how to do things.

Kelvin Davis

Refusing to budge on marriage equality

Hone Harawira is refusing to moderate his stance on marriage equality, or at least that’s how he came across on Radio Rhema (the Christian radio station). In a revealing interview Hone claimed to have never voted for something he didn’t believe in. When questioned on what’ll happen when his personal view clashes with Mana’s view, Hone was unclear.

Well, Hone can’t afford to be unclear. He’s on record as saying that the movement is bigger than he is. This seems to suggest that he’ll follow any decision the party makes. However, saying that you’re unsure what will happen in the event of a clash seems to suggest that Hone’s backing away from his indication to vote according to the party position. Like I said last week, the Maori Party provides an excellent case study what happens when you ignore your members.

I think Hone will have to cave. After all, there isn’t a split within the Mana Party. There is a split between Hone Harawira and the Mana Party. On marriage equality Hone’s view is divorced from the Mana Party’s view. Some Mana members, or Hone apologists, are attempting to write off the issue as unimportant. Others are claiming marriage is not a Maori concept and, therefore, unimportant. This ignores the fact that marriage, although a western concept, is one that the huge majority of Maori adopt. Therefore, Maori are invested in the issue. Furthermore, the Mana Party is more than just a Maori party. It’s a radical party too, in other words an anti-discrimination party, and cannot claim radical status while upholding marriage discrimination.

Most interestingly Hone claimed never to have voted for something he didn’t believe in. This is admirable, but not a practical stance for a leader of a parliamentary party. After all, Hone isn’t in Parliament representing himself – he represents Te Tai Tokerau and the Mana Party. Hone is obligated to follow the party line even if he doesn't agree. Any actions otherwise legitimise the Maori Party's claim that Mana is really the Hone Party.

I support Hone Harawira and I support what the Mana Party stands for, but on marriage equality Hone is being regressive and I don’t support his position or his justifications. Lastly, Hone’s opposition to marriage equality makes this gesture to the gay community look hollow. A cynic would say Hone’s position reaffirms this gesture to Destiny Church.