Myths of nationhood: why I'm not "celebrating" Waitangi Day

Behold, Waitangi Day Bingo:

h/t @ColeyTangerina and @Megapope

Bingo is a witty critique of Waitangi Day clichés, but it’s also something more: this is the geography of Pakeha myth-making. Each box is a false political claim. Prepare to hear each claim repeatedly and under the worn robe of “debate”.

Waitangi Day angst isn’t new. Respected columnists will declare the day “broke”, less-respected columnists might announce it’s “a day of lies” while others will broadcast accusations of reverse racism. But most will plea for unity. Yet navigate the calls for unity with caution. Underneath the plea is a denial – Maori have no right to protest their lot. This is the movement to rebrand Waitangi Day.

In 1973 the third Labour government introduced the New Zealand Day Act. Although Waitangi Day had always been acknowledged, that acknowledgment wasn't codified in a public holiday. New Zealand Day – a misnomer – was intended to become the foundation of national identity. A splendid celebration of nationhood.

Except it wasn’t. There could never be unity without equality. The betrayal of the Treaty went too deep, and the collateral effects of Treaty breaches went too far, for Maori to accept a celebration of nationhood that didn’t exist. In 1973 Nga Tamatoa occupied Waitangi with black armbands. They declared the day one of mourning for the broken promises of the Treaty including the loss of millions of hectares of Maori land.

In later years protestors stormed the grounds. Tame Iti spat at a Prime Minister. Titewhai Harawira reduced another Prime Minister to a shaking wreck. An aspiring Prime Minister ate mud. The Popata brothers had a go at the current Prime Minister. It’s easy to argue that Waitangi Day represents “grievance”. But it’s more than that. Waitangi Day is the nexus between the national story and Maori realities.

Two world views collide: the spirit of activism and the fist of oppression.

For more than a century Pakeha society had a monopoly on the national story: the Treaty was a rat-eaten relic, Maori were destined to assimilate and New Zealand had the best race relations in the world. Waitangi Day was a celebration of New Zealand exceptionalism rather than an acknowledgement of broken promises.

But the Waitangi Day of Pakeha imaginations isn’t real. Waitangi Day is where Maori pushback against the myths that society clings to: the Treaty is a living document, Maori retain their identity and New Zealand has poor race relations. The health, wealth and education gaps exist and they exist off the back of the broken promises of the Treaty. Waitangi Day is where Maori can reveal New Zealand's separate realities.

But the movement to rebrand Waitangi Day won’t acknowledge that. It’s easier to switch the conversation than acknowledge that one group is dominant over the other. This is the new assimilation – the battle for history and contemporary meaning. There is a regular plea to make Waitangi Day “our” day. The layers of meaning are clear: Waitangi Day belongs to monocultural nationhood, not multicultural pluralism. Sit down or shut up. That disrespects Maori realities. But it also misunderstands the Treaty itself: the Treaty didn't create New Zealand - that came later - the Treaty created a bicultural relationship.

I'm not going to celebrate the birth of a nation or protest the failed promise of that nation. I'll quietly honour the legacy of resistance and those who are getting it done. I'll acknowledge that colonisation isn’t a distant tragedy, but an on-going process. Maori know it because they experience it. Pakeha might not, but that’s no excuse to deny Maori their agency on Waitangi Day. Myths have many authors, but reality can expose them. That’s what Waitangi Day is about most of all.

The latest from The Daily Blog

Here's a link to my latest post at The Daily Blog. The post tackles Simon Bridges' decision to criminalise offshore protest and discusses how that decision is a triumph of neoliberlism.

"We’re sailing in dangerous territory when the government is prepared to extend the criminal law to protect economic rights, and the economic rights of foreign companies at that, and supress social and political rights. It’s dangerously authoritarian because the criminal law is at the heart of the state’s coercive power. Usually, criminalising dissent signals a drowning order."

In praise of Hone Harawira

In a democratic society, the right to protest is a fundamental freedom. When we restrict or demonise civil resistance, we’re doing our democracy a disservice. 

Photo courtesy of Lisa Gibson

News broke last night that Glen Innes Police moved to arrest Hone Harawira, MP and leader of the Mana Party. A number of other protestors were arrested as well. According to John Minto, the Mana Party spokesperson, Hone parked his car behind a removal truck and refused to move. The Police wanted to tow the car, but they had to remove Hone first. The Police smashed “at least one window” and arrested Hone for “failure to remove a vehicle”. 

Judging from the reaction from some on the right, you’d have thought Hone rammed a cop. Well, he didn’t. He was exercising his right to protest. A right that we as a society should not demonise or take for granted. The Bill of Rights Act 1990 provides the “freedom of peaceful assembly” and a “freedom of expression”. The right to protests is, in my opinion, a manifestation of the right to peaceful assembly and the right to freedom of expression.

Having said that, there is no right to break the law and break the law is what Hone did, apparently. Well, that’s not for you, I or the Police to decide. In any event, Hone clearly lacked criminal intent. And isn't minor and technical law breaking an accepted aspect of civil resistance? From the civil rights movement in the US to Bastion Point in NZ.

Hone is known for pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable in a democratic society. After all, he comes from a proud activist tradition. I think there is something noble and uniquely New Zealand in an elected MP opting to risk arrest for the rights of the powerless. In his own words, Hone says:

I didn't go there to get arrested. I went there to show solidarity and support… I went with my wife. To show her the commitment of the families of GI.

These are families who have been there since just after the Second World War, and they are being pushed out of their house.

Good on ya, Hone.

Images from the Aotearoa is not for sale protest

One of my favs

The head of the march

True to form, the unions are a big part of the protest

One of the protest leaders, Joe Carolan, speaks to Russell Norman

Labour, along with David Shearer, were a big part of the protest

The protest wasn't just about asset sales, with support for tino rangatiratanga coming from an unconventional group

There appear to be more than 3000 people here. The organisers estimated 22,000, the Herald on Sunday estimated 3000, but initial media estimates put the number at 10,000. I tend to agree with the latter estimate.  

Again, Labour is a big part

On the farcical scenes at Waitangi and the possibility of NZ Day (updated)

News is breaking of some despicable appalling behaviour at Te Tii Marae this morning. From the Herald:

Protesters ignored pleas to show respect at Te Tii Marae this morning, where Prime Minister John Key and fellow politicians were verbally abused during ugly scenes at Waitangi this morning.

Protester Wi Popata heckled prominent Maori MPs regardless of party affiliation, calling Dr Pita Sharples, Te Ururoa Flavell and Hekia Parata "niggers." 

Around six to 10 protesters rushed onto the marae when Mr Key first arrived at 10am, knocking aside members of the media as they moved. Two photographers, including one from the Herald, were seen bleeding after the rush.

This isn’t on. What do these protestors, and I use the term protestors in its loosest sense, expect to achieve? Actions like the above serve only to reinforce negative opinions and galvanise the public against your cause. Of course, these village idiots wouldn’t know the first thing about making gains for Maori. They know how to make a lot of mindless noise, but they don’t know what progress looks like, let alone how to achieve it.

The temperature at Waitangi was always going to be high. Coming on the back of cuts at TPK and the possibility of dropping s9 from new SOE legislation. I don’t think anyone was expecting thug-like protest though. What makes the protestors' actions even worse is that they're playing right into Key's hands. The average Kiwi will sympathise and side with Key in the face of, what appears at the moment, to be thuggish protest. Public opinion was always on the PM's side and that support will solidify in the face of rancorous "Maori's".

There are suggestions that Key wanted this sort of thing to happen. After more than a week of negative headlines Key was, apparently, searching for an event to regain public sympathies. What better time to do this than Waitangi. In the run up to the weekend Key baited Maori - or at least that's how I see it. For example, he promised to talk about hot bottom issues like welfare reform at Te Tii. This intensified feeling following the TPK cuts and s9 controversy.

Anyway, I’ve said time and again, the protest generation is over. Maori have a foothold, the path goes from there. We don’t need to keep alive the fight for things we already have. Maori must work for gains from within. Within Parliament, government, the National Party and the Labour Party. Jodi Ihaka made a salient point this morning when she noted that most of the protestors of the past were sitting at the Copthorne Hotel with the PM – think the Maori Party leadership and the Iwi Chairs Forum. This is where progress will be made, not on protesting one day a year on Te Tii Marae.

These protestors risk reducing Waitangi Day to a farce. It’s all well and good to hold protests. Maori, after all, remain at the bottom on the heap and festering wounds from historical injustice remain. This is to say nothing of contemporary injustices. But you need to have a strategy – a realistic one and one suitable for 2012 conditions. New Zealanders will gladly ditch Waitangi Day for, say, New Zealand day if mindless, violent and intimidating protest continues to occur. Should a New Zealand day come about, Maori will be deprived a legitimate platform to bring attention to Maori concerns and discuss ways forward.

This brings me to another point. I don’t think we need a New Zealand day. Our nation was founded on the signing of the Treaty, therefore, there is a day no more appropriate for celebrating NZ than Waitangi Day. The calls for New Zealand day come from, more often than not, Pakeha who would rather ignore historical and contemporary injustice. People who would rather ignore the fact that the NZ government, and many an average NZ citizen, treated and in some cases continue to treat Maori like crap.

NZ day would be a backward step that would create more racial division rather than less. The significance of the Treaty would be diminished and, as a result, the place of Maori in NZ.

I’m not trying to portray Waitangi Day as a day for Maori to have a piss and a moan. Waitangai Day should be a day for reflection, discussion and, most importantly, celebration. For the past three years, probably not this year, I think we got the balance right. It’s a shame this isolated gang of fools are taking us back a decade or two.

Kohanga Hikoi

On my way to Law School yesterday I bumped into the Kohanga Reo hikoi moving from the Cenotaph, just outside of the grounds of Parliament, towards the Waitangi Tribunal Office on the Terrace. From 3 News:

An urgent claim to the Waitangi Tribunal today is alleging discrimination against Te Kohanga Reo.

Protesters say Te Kohanga Reo needs to be left in the hands of Maori, after years of bumping heads with the Ministry of Education.

They say Kohanga should no longer come under the control of the ministry and be given statutory recognition as an independent and stand-alone initiative.

Kohanga Reo are defined as early childhood centres (ECC), although they were never intended to operate as such and, for all intents and purposes, do not operate as such. The crux of the issue is that Kohanga are unable to operate according to tikanga while defined as ECC. It appears that regulations governing the operation of ECC’s prevent Kohanga from operating as intended. For example, kaumatua who are not registered and qualified teachers do not receive pay from the Ministry of Education and Kohanga must be fenced off from the Marae.

The claim is calling for an independent body to govern and administer the Kohanga Reo initiative. I’m not sure whether this is entirely necessary, but the logic behind it is clear. In my opinion, rather than create a new body Kohanga should be treated as separate entities with appropriate regulations governing their operation.

I’ll close this post with a few observations from the hikoi:

·         Police presence was low in comparison with the MCA act hikoi. Most of the cops were Maori and Maori Wardens were used as well. 

·         3 News estimated the hikoi to be 1200 strong. At the Cenotaph I estimated only about 300 – I’m not sure where the other 900 came from. 

·         I only spotted Hone Harawira and Parekura Horomia at the Cenotaph. Maybe I missed the Greens and Maori Party, but it is recess week so I wouldn’t be surprised if the Greens and Maori Party could not send MP’s. 

·         The hikoi was loud but composed and the waiata were beautiful.   

·         The claimants have engaged Mai Chen, New Zealand’s top public lawyer.

Kawerau Intermediate protest arrives

Around 250 students and supporters from Kawerau Intermediate arrived at Parliament today to protest against the planned closure of the Intermediate. Anne Tolley, the Minister of Education, has signalled she intends to close the Intermediate as well as Kawerau North School and Kawerau Central School. Kawerau will continue to be serviced by Kawerau South School (which will become a full primary school when the other three schools close) and Putauaki Full Primary School (my old school).

Now, Kawerau schools need to be reorganised. Structural change is needed sooner rather than later. There are not enough kids in the town to sustain four separate primary schools and two separate intermediate schools. Something has to give and the people of Kawerau accept that. However, what the protestors, and by extension the people of Kawerau, do not accept is the autocratic manner in which the Minister has made her decision. Anne Tolley made a number of assurances that any decision will be made in light of the feedback received from the community. This was an outright lie. Over 70% of the adult population in Kawerau signed a petition to retain the Intermediate, the local Council submitted in favour of retaining the Intermediate and most importantly the kids themselves have made it painfully clear that they want an intermediate school. However, the Minister appears not to appreciate any of this and has signalled she intends to close the Intermediate.

The protest itself was incredibly impressive. The children were disciplined but vocal, the speeches were articulate and reasoned and the entire group was well organised. I have to acknowledge the brilliant speech made by the Intermediate Principal, Daryl Aim, his delivery was so, so powerful and the message was perfect. I particularly enjoyed an observation he made during the protest. He commented that he saw two New Zealands today. One New Zealand was epitomised by his kids (the Intermediate kids) while the other was epitomised by a group of private school girls passing through in their “beautiful blazers”. One New Zealand has it all, including the sympathy and the ear of the current government, the other New Zealand has nothing. No prizes for guessing which is which. I thought his point illustrated a larger theme – the Nat’s are governing for their own. They don’t give a shit about poor communities and Maori communities. Some of the parents and kaumatua also delivered excellent speeches. Everyone was incredibly articulate. Not bad for a bunch wage workers from the provinces I thought.

The kids had their lines and chants prepared as well and they didn’t miss a cue. They knew what to say and when to say it and, to my surprise, they were actually listening and understood what the politicians were talking about. They knew when to cheer when a one of the politicians spoke in support and when to groan when one spoke against.

Quite a few MP’s came out to meet the hikoi. Kelvin Davis, Parekura Horomia, Shane Jones and Steve Chadwick from Labour, Catherine Delahunty from the Greens, local MP Te Ururoa Flavell and Tariana Turia from the Maori Party, Hone Harawira and local MP Todd McClay, Tau Henare and Paul Quinn from National. Davis and Chadwick delivered well received speeches. In my opinion Chadwick just cemented the Kawerau vote. Te Ururoa Flavell also spoke, but in Maori, and the reception was mixed (sorry, my te reo is negligible so I can’t tell you what he said). Todd McClay also spoke and the reception was cold. A few people heckled, but Todd handled himself well I thought. To be fair, Todd always listens to the community, the problem is his influence is limited and he is in no position to defy Anne Tolley. Catherine Delahunty was given a warm reception and delivered a speech in support of the Intermediate. By that time most of the MP’s had left bar Chadwick, Davis, Hone and Delahunty. A number of people in the roopu then started to call on Hone to speak and when he came forward there was a roar. There is no doubt that he was the man everyone wanted to hear from. Te Ururoa should be nervous. It goes to show that Waiariki is now behind Hone and Te Mana.

The protest then concluded and a small party went to meet the Minister. I hope it went well. The only MP’s to hang around were Kelvin Davis, who to his credit went through and acknowledged every single protestor with a kia ora and a hongi, Steve Chadwick also remained and moved through the group talking with the kids and parents, Hone stayed as well and spoke with some of the protestors.

The Intermediate sent a strong message today. They want to retain their school. Unfortunately, the chances of swaying the Minister are slim at best (she refused to meet the hikoi when it arrived at the steps of Parliament). But then again I don’t know. The pressure is on though. The protest is currently the lead story on nzherald.co.nz (Derek Cheng was reporting from the protest), Radio New Zealand was also present and so to was John Campbell from TV3 and two reporters from Maori TV. Anne Tolley will release her final decision on June 1. I hope she makes the right one.       

RWC Protest: A few thoughts

From today’s Sunday Star Times;

DISGRUNTLED Maori have warned that Rugby World Cup celebrations could be disrupted if their grievances – including those over the foreshore and seabed – aren't addressed.

I believe this is a tangible threat. Maori are beginning to grow impatient, certainly the younger generations are frustrated with the pace of change. The older generations are willing to accept, and are indeed accustomed to, sluggish progress, whereas young Maori are accustomed to a world that moves fast, a world where change is rapid.

The government would be wise to treat this threat as genuine. It would be incredibly reckless to disregard this as mumbo jumbo coming from the mouths of a few disaffected brown people. The possibility of mass protest is very real. The protest organisers will, I imagine, have little trouble mobilising thousands of protestors given the high unemployment environment, likely welfare changes and passage of the MCA bill. As Maori households continue to struggle political awareness will increase. The challenge is to channel that awareness into mass political action which admittedly is easier said than done. It is worth keeping in mind though that for Maori households, and of course many non-Maori households, it is painful knowing that you struggle but not as a consequence of your own actions. It is painful knowing you struggle due to incompetent economic management and a failure, on the government’s part, to neutralise the worst effects of their economic policy, for example the rise in GST. In my opinion poverty and deprivation, i.e. the current economic conditions, should be enough to amplify political awareness and facilitate political change.

Maori have identified an opportunity to push the government hard and they have a powerful weapon – leverage. Protest action, or the threat of, will deter more than a few overseas spectators. The government literally cannot afford to let this happen. The government looks to the RWC in the hope that it will stimulate the economy and help kick start growth. A significant decrease in spectator numbers will have a profound negative effect on the economy, after all the tournament is already forecast to make a loss. Therefore, it would be reckless for the government to disregard the threat of protest action.

The government also cannot afford to contain any protest. Given the authoritarian nature of the current government I can imagine the creation of “free speech zones”. Free speech zones are an undemocratic American creation used to contain protests. They are used to keep protestors out of the public eye, make them invisible. Of course such undemocratic behaviour would never be acceptable in New Zealand, or at least I hope it would never be acceptable, therefore the government would need to search for different means. How about kettling? This would be the worst response. There is no better way to turn a peaceful protest in to a riot. Maori respond in kind to physical confrontation. Without doubt things will turn very, very ugly. This would have the flow on effect of mobilising many more Maori. Violent clashes during such an international showpiece will do nothing for New Zealand’s reputation as a safe and stable tourist destination nor will it do anything for New Zealand’s standing in the international community.

Ultimately, for the sake of the economy and our international standing, the government cannot allow any protest during the RWC. Therefore, the protestors will have a significant amount of leverage.

However, the protestors should consider this. The international media are not going to pay any attention to an insignificant minority making some noise during an insignificant sporting tournament. The likes of the colonial Stephen Jones are not going to cover any story that is not related directly to what is happening on the rugby field. The international media present will be, by and large, sports journalist from Europe and covering political demonstrations in New Zealand will not be part of their brief or expertise.

There is also the threat of clashes between Maori and die hard rugby fans. Do Maori really want a repeat of the Springbok Tour? Is it really fair to divide the nation during what is meant to be a triumphant moment in New Zealand history? Is it not better to hold ones protest at the ballot box? Vote this scum government out?

Protest during the RWC will create anti-Maori feeling that will last a decade or more. Having said that equality and justice is more important than what others think of you. Sadly, New Zealanders fail to realise their own privilege, even if they did I am unsure they would have the courtesy to extend that privilege to the underprivileged. New Zealand is not an egalitarian country. We are a country divided, divided along class lines, divided according to ethnicity and divided along ideological lines. We are not equal, we are unequal. We are a country where the privileged are determined to preserve what they have over the rest of the country. Whether that be weakening work rights or failing to acknowledge the interests of the indigenous people. The privileged operate under the assumption that their rights are paramount and exclusive. Perhaps it will take mass political action during the RWC to effect change for the underprivileged, perhaps it will take mass political action during the RWC to win the rights that the privileged enjoy.

The government should not ignore the warnings. Maori will wreck the government’s precious tournament. All Maori ask for is equality.