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.

Happy Waitangi Day!

What are you doing? It's Waitangi Day - don't read this. Relax and enjoy the day.

However, for those of you who can't - maybe the talkback racism and calls for New Zealand day are getting to you - you can distract yourself with Tu Mai Te Toki. TMTT is a new blog from Karla Akuhata. It focuses on Ngati Awa affairs, but the blog speaks to deeper issues about wider iwi politics and the challenges Maori face in a post-settlement world. Issues like iwi investment and communication between the hierarchies and the people. Enjoy.

Reflections on Waitangi Day

I think of Waitangi Day (WD) as a metaphor for the national mood and the health of the bicultural partnership. For an illustration, compare and contrast WD 2009 and 2012.


WD 2009:

Significant for its sense of optimism, WD 2009 came off of the back of National’s election win and their partnership with the Maori Party. The optimism of that win and the symbolism of that bicultural partnership defined WD 2009. For Maori, the day represented a break from the foreshore and seabed era and a realisation of an old Maori ambition – a kaupapa Maori party in but not of the government. For non-Maori New Zealanders, what defined the day was the (vacant) optimism that the Prime Minister’s election win created. Early indications suggested that John Key was not cut from the same cloth as Helen Clark, Jenny Shipley, Jim Bolger or any other Prime Minister since Sir Keith Holyoake. Key represented a break from the radicalism of the fourth and fifth Labour and National governments respectively and a swing against the perceived nanny stateism of the fifth Labour government.

As a result of these factors, nothing much happened and no remembers the day. Well, other than the Popata brothers having a crack at the Prime Minister, but their actions were an outlier. Brent Edwards told RNZ that, compared to the past four years, WD 2009 was “much more peaceful” and “much more of a celebration”.* Pita Sharples encapsulated the mood when he spoke of the “covenant” between Maori and Pakeha and the “hope” he had for the future.**


WD 2012

WD 2012 is best remembered, rightly or wrongly, for the Popata brothers (again) and the late Sir Paul Holmes (and a few thousand off-their-tits Kiwis in London). The day came off of the back of significant tension between the Maori Party, Mana and Labour and antipathy towards the National government, including their support for off-shore oil drilling. Add to that the perception that the Maori Party had betrayed the optimism and faith of 2009, well, the conditions for vicious protest were set. Maori Party MPs were labelled “John Key’s niggers”, speakers were drowned out under protest and marches were held. Sir Paul Holmes captured the non-Maori mood that year: frustration with what was perceived as unjustified protest. After all, the Maori Party were in government. Add to that a stagnant economy, worsening unemployment and a series of disasters in 2011. It’s probably no surprise that the national mood wasn’t, for want of a better word, tolerant.

The irony was that the Maori Party in government is partly what fueled the protests. Maori felt that the party had over compromised in government (thus betraying the optimism and faith of 2009). Include a Maori unemployment rate that was worsening, static Maori education statistics and negligible improvement in Maori crime and, well, protest becomes almost inevitable.

(It’s a sort of interesting to note that, almost prophetically, Holmes' piece set the tone for what was a turbulent political year)

WD 2013

Treaty settlements are continuing apace, the flame war between the Maori and Mana parties is smouldering rather than burning and the constitutional review is beginning. On the other hand, asset sales and wai rights top the agenda. With that in mind, the conditions are present (although absent a catalyst for action on the day). The national mood is, I think, also in flux. The conditions are present, think wai rights and a perceived pro-Maori constitutional review, but a catalyst is absent. Having said that, John Ansell is planning on an appearance. Then again, he is hardly an explosive catalyst in the way that, say, a Supreme Court judgment that awarded significant wai rights to Maori. Anyway, I think these factor do not define WD alone. Hundreds of events are held across the country. Events that, I think, better catch the potential of WD better than much of what happens at Te Tii.

*Radio NZ has a collection of audio from WD 2009. Listening to the pieces gives you a sense that it was, like Brent said, a more peaceful and celebratory day than in previous years.

**That speech was, I think, Pita Sharples at his best - a conciliator and a cross-cultural statesman. It’s a pity that at many times he has failed to live up to that potential.

Holmes: morally repugnant and deeply racist

I don’t read Paul Holmes – the man has no credibility, little sense and somehow, god knows how, his arrogance jumps off the page and strangles anyone in sight. With that in mind, I wasn’t going to give this piece the time of day, but someone needs to call Holmes on his racism.

In the vilest column I’ve ever seen, Holmes comes out swinging against Maori. The column is undeniably racist. At several points Holmes slurs the entire Maori race. For example, Holmes taints Maori as “loony” and “irrational”. The offensive and unfair language he deploys and the overall message of the piece encourages discrimination. Take this, my favourite passage in which Holmes asserts the following:

“No, if Maori want Waitangi Day for themselves, let them have it. Let them go and raid a bit more kai moana than they need for the big, and feed themselves silly, speak of the injustices heaped upon them by the greedy Pakeha and work out new ways of bamboozling the Pakeha to come up with a few more millions”.

Initially, I was furious with this. Well, I was furious with the whole piece actually, but this paragraph really rarked me up for some reason. After stewing on it, I just found it sad. Sad that someone would say something so nasty, hate filled and utterly unfair. This would go unnoticed in private, but this was published in New Zealand’s leading daily – the Herald. It was totally irresponsible for the Herald to publish Holmes’ hate speech. And that’s what it is, hate speech. Holmes, in the most blatant terms I’ve ever seen, disparages and vilifies Maori, thus encouraging prejudice against Maori. That satisfies the definition of hate speech for me.

Sadly, Holmes doesn’t distinguish between individuals and Maori as a race. Although Holmes’ bases his hate on the actions of a few individuals, he taints the entire Maori race. It’s unfair and it’s racist. What also annoys me is that Holmes is furthering highly offensive and unfair stereotypes.

There is no place for racism in the media. Of course, some people are going to rush to Holmes defence. This is the saddest part. No doubt some people will prasie Holmes for ‘telling it like it is’, but he isn’t telling like it is. Holmes is basing his claims on spurious grounds. He isn’t taking into account the deeper meaning of Waitangi day, he isn’t taking into account the socio-political context and, quite simply, he is misinterpreting the actions of Maori at Waitangi. Waitangi protest needs to be interpreted taking into account the history of the day, the history of Crown-Maori relations and the contemporary political situation. You can’t boil it down to lunacy or irrationality. I guess it goes to show that Holmes mind operates on a very, very shallow level.

Others will defend Holmes right to free speech. A right he undeniably has. However, free speech does not extend to hate speech. The line is drawn when ones speech incites prejudice or disparages another. There is international consensus that hate speech is irrelevant to free speech. Importantly, hate speech is also illegal under both domestic and international law.

Unsurprisingly, Holmes also makes a number of factual errors. For example, he speaks of the “never defined principles of the Treaty”. This is a ridiculous claim. The principles of the Treaty are well defined and are, to quote a legal expert, not vague and unknowable. After over two decades of judicial refinement, the principles are unambiguous.

Holmes then takes aim at breast feeding advocates. This part of the column was just as nauseating as the beginning. No mean feat may I add. Holmes then tops it off with a crude and simplistic reading on the situation in Syria.

He must be in a bad place, old Paul Holmes. I tend to think his column was an attempt to comfort and confirm his own self righteousness. Pretty sad really. If the Herald had any sense (or dignity), they’d sack Holmes. The rubbish he produces is unbecoming of our major daily. You can make comparisons with Michael Laws, but Laws knows where to draw the line – and at least he’s literate. I suspect Holmes is not. He must go.

Over the next few days I’ll be laying a complaint with the Editor of the Herald, Tim Murphy, I’ll also be laying a complaint with the Race Relations Commissioner. Lastly, I’ll be boycotting the Herald as long as Holmes remains. I encourage you to do the same. Send the message that there’s no place for Holmes and his hate in our public discourse.

As an aside, it's interesting to compare the contrast between Holmes piece and this from John Roughan. Where Holmes is offensive, ill considered and rude, Roughan is sober, analytical and fair (even though I don't really agree with what he says, but that's for a post on Monday).

(You can, I think, complain to Tim Murphy at tim.murphy@nzherald.co.nz)

(You can also lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission here)

(For another perspective see this at Reading the Maps, this from TW.com and Danyl writes here)

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.

Pita Sharples vs. Shane Jones

Interesting results from Horizon: 

A new poll reveals Maori Party co-leader leader Pita Sharples huge majority in the Tamaki Makaurau electorate is being seriously eroded.

Horizon Research says his majority of 7,540 appears to have slipped to about 1,140.

I do have concerns in terms of the methodology Horizon uses, having said that I think their results are an accurate indication, albeit a slightly inflated indication, of Maori feeling in Tamaki Makaurau.

The Maori Party will be very worried. There was always going to be a reflex backlash as a result of the Hone Harawira expulsion and the passage of the MCA act. What is perhaps unexpected though is the extent of the backlash.

Pita appears to have destroyed his personal brand. The Maori candidate vote is a personality vote first and foremost. Party association is, in most cases, a secondary concern. Pita has always maintained a strong personal following, his connection to the Maori Party was of little consequence. However, it appears the situation has changed and Pita is now the focus of blame for the perceived mistakes the Maori Party has made. As a co-leader, this is to be expected.

In my opinion, the decisive moment came at Waitangi. Waitangi weekend was, for want of a better term, the ‘peak’ in the Hone Harawira saga. The Maori Party were copping criticism from the left, right and Maori. Pita personally attacked Hone and the defining moment came when Pita actively sought a replacement for Hone while he was still a member of the parliamentary team and the Maori Party itself. This exposed Pita as a double dealer and, this may be a strong description, a backstabber.     

This was an almost fatal blow. Pita was once regarded as a statesman, a skilled negotiator and a good natured go between for Maori and Pakeha. Yet at Waitangi he cultivated an image of a ruthless politician, a man poisoned by government.

The process re the MCA act reinforced the image of Pita the politician, not Pita the rangatira. Thousands of Maori submissions were ignored at the select committee stage, a hikoi to Parliament was casually disregarded and there was no acknowledgement that the MCA act is contrary to Maori aspirations. If the Horizon poll is indeed accurate, then Pita - perhaps unjustifiably - appears to have fielded a significant amount of the blame.

So who wins out of this? The answer’s easy… Shane Jones. According to the poll Pita enjoys 47.8% support while Shane follows at 42.1% support. This puts Shane within striking distance. Shane needs to convert roughly 1200 voters. This is easier said than done, but probable nonetheless.

I cannot honestly say I know which way it will swing. Shane and Pita, in terms of character, are fairly oppositional. Shane is confrontational and verbose while Pita is calm and is not prone to rhetorical tangents. Shane is not scandal free and neither is Pita. Both were held in high-esteem and have suffered a fall. But perhaps the defining factor will be Pita’s connections across the electorate. He is, and will remain, a respected kaumatua – in spite of his political failures. He has been involved with urban Maori for decades, with the local tangata whenua for decades, as well as every other Maori organisation in Auckland that you can think of. Shane does not enjoy such extensive contacts. He enjoys Nga Puhi whakapapa, but will that be enough to pull him through? Probably not. If forced to pick a winner, I say Pita. I will qualify that though and say that it could really go either way. Nothing is certain and anything can happen between now and the election.

Shane needs to ensure his campaign infrastructure is in place. He needs to be able to pick and date and run hard from then. The narrative also needs to be formed now and consistently hammered. If Shane can cultivate the perception that Pita is compromised, then the election is his to win. If he fails to devastate Pita’s brand, he has no show.

I am torn a little here. I do not want to see the Maori Party prop up a second term National government. But I do not want to see them destroyed. I think the party deserves a chance to reform. Ultimately though, I think preventing a second term National government is more important than any feeling towards the Maori Party. Movements can be rebuilt, but it is much harder to rebuild lives.   

John Minto at Waitangi

John Minto over at scoop.co.nz provides some useful insight in his latest column;

Harawira gave his speech to an open public forum on the Te Tii marae grounds where everyone and anyone were welcome. The audience of approx 200 was mainly Maori from around the country (although predominantly from the North) alongside a smattering of Pakeha. It was unrehearsed and delivered without notes in the best political tradition of Waitangi Day and was then subject to question and debate from the audience.

This is how politics should operate. Political discourse should always be this accessible and engaging. Currently, politics is reserved for the economic and academic elite and amateur enthusiasts.   

Pita Sharples however delivered his speech to a closed, invitation-only dinner organized by Prime Minister John Key at a flash venue with the main iwi leaders and others of the political and economic elite in attendance. Sharples did the same thing the following day when he delivered a speech to the Prime Ministers Waitangi Day breakfast. Again it was an invitation-only event where he was shielded from any possibility protest. He predictably defended the Maori Party leadership view that the relationship with National was delivering results. He avoided admitting that for most Maori the changes under National have been disastrous.

In essence this is how politics operates for members of the executive. High ranking members of government rarely have the time to mix with ordinary people – they have to govern the country - so inevitably politicians become inward and disconnected from the reality on the ground.  When the opportunity to mix with ordinary people does arise access is only ever granted to the elite. 

Throughout the weekend Pita Sharples declined to attend any public political debate or discussion. Like National and Labour leaders Sharples fronted up for the formal welcome at Te Tii marae but quickly retired to the company of the political and Iwi elite with whom he has become associated.

The leadership need to man up and outline exactly what they are doing and why. Maori have a lot of legitimate questions that deserve to be answered. For example why is the party supporting asset sales? Why is Pita Sharples so enamoured with private prisons? Will The Maori Party go into coalition with Labour? The list goes on and on.  

The conclusion is unmistakable. Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia have cast their lot with National and the Iwi leaders groups. It’s the Maori equivalent of Pakeha politicians taking their lead from the Business Roundtable’s Roger Kerr. 

That’s exactly right.  

There was a time when Pita Sharples would have been happy to engage in public debate at Waitangi and would have looked sceptically and critically at corporate Maoridom. Not so now. Along with Tariana Turia he has been seduced by the soft seats in a Tory Prime Minister’s office and the baubles of political power. It’s a path well trodden before by politicians of all races and stripes over the years but disappointing it has been so quick and so complete as in the case of Sharples.

Minto’s conclusion is robust. The Maori Party, and the personalities involved for that matter, have transformed into something utterly foreign. It is unfortunate that power tends to change people. Direction is so often lost and values more or less warped. As Hone has repeatedly said; The Maori Party need to return to their roots.     

Quick reponse to the Hone Harawira suspension and the idiocy of Pita Sharples

(This post was prepared very quickly – apologies in advance).

Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples have just issued a joint statement suspending Hone Harawira from the party caucus indefinitely. This is not entirely unexpected in view of Hone’s ill-considered behaviour over Waitangi weekend.

I do feel Hone made a deliberate effort to mildly embarrass the leadership, especially Pita, with his own state of the Maori nation speech. Although Hone was justified in delivering such a speech in doing so he should have taken into account the overall context in which his actions were taking place. I think it comes down to, in part, retaliation. Hone was neither aware nor invited to Pita’s speech which clearly signals a degree of animosity between the two.

Suspension is always the first step towards expulsion. It is curious that the leadership still appear fixed on expulsion despite the strong show of support for Hone over the weekend. The people of Te Tai Tokerau made it painfully clear that they support Hone first and foremost, any allegiance to the Maori Party is secondary.

But then again the pressure to expel Hone is coming on all fronts. The leadership need him gone, he is an impediment to their agenda, National want him gone because he is an impediment to future coalition arrangements with the Maori Party and lastly iwi leaders want him gone because he threatens their access and influence over government. In the coming days I expect to see iwi leaders swing behind the Maori Party leadership. Iwi leaders need the Maori Party to survive this controversy if they wish to preserve their access to the current government.

John Key has also reiterated his support for the leadership and Pita has responded in kind by praising the relationship between the two parties. I have said this before but I think it needs to be restated. Pita Sharples and John Key share a close working and personal relationship, Tariana Turia hates, and I use hate in its strongest sense, the Labour Party. For Pita and Tariana National is the only option. It is all about personal feeling for them.  

The result of the coming disciplinary committee hui must now be a foregone conclusion. Pita has sent a strong signal, Hone should “cut himself loose”, this is a direct threat and the most public hint yet that the party hierarchy want him gone. I can only speculate as to the consequences of expelling Hone. I do expect a public display of anger from Te Tai Tokerau, I expect some key figures within the party such as Moana Jackson and Annette Sykes, as well as many flaxroot supporters, to leave. I think Te Ururoa and Rahui Katene will also struggle to retain their seats in light of the current controversy. The Maori Party are cultivating a significant amount of distrust among their supporters and it could be near fatal. Certainly this whole affair is turning off many non-aligned but sympathetic supporters.  

What interests me at the moment is Hone’s next move should he be expelled. Bunji at The Standard has pointed out Hone is getting very cosy with the Greens. This means nothing. Hone has always held a certain amount of affection for the Greens, especially his former activist mate Sue Bradford, but it really amounts to nothing more than admiration of their values. Realistically, the Greens will never take him (unless they want to drop below the 5% threshold) and Hone would rather fly the tino rangatiratanga flag solo. As I said in a previous post I think the most pragmatic thing for Hone to do is run as an independent.   

In this post I also want to address comments made by Pita Sharples. Firstly, this one;

"It's a very difficult thing to get across to many of our people who see an intimate relationship with the Government as a selling-out of their people, when in actual fact, in the field of Parliament and government, it is the only relationship which can yield power and opportunity for Maori by Maori,"

This is woefully inaccurate - Pita has completely misread Maori feeling. If we cast our minds back to the end of 2008, in the wake of the election, there was significant support among Maori for a Maori Party/National Party governing arrangement. An intimate relationship with government was not viewed as “selling out” rather it was viewed as the best way to advance Maori interests and aspirations. What Maori view as selling out is saying one thing while voting for another (Tax changes), dumping huge costs on already struggling Maori families (ETS and ACC changes), weakening work rights (90 right to sack) and supporting the pathetic MCA bill. If Pita can’t understand this his party is doomed.

Pita also insinuates that this is the last chance for a kaupapa Maori party to succeed. Again, Pita seems to be on another planet. The Maori Party is not the beginning and end of Maori political empowerment. Merely the first step towards tangible political gain for Maori. The Maori political movement, if you can call it that, is far bigger than Pita and his National Party mates. If the Maori Party were to implode it is not inconceivable that circumstances in the future would not give rise to another kaupapa Maori party. Pita’s suggestion shows utter disregard for my generation and politically active Maori everywhere.

Pita has also said he is confident the party will retain Te Tai Tokerau without Hone. Uhhhm what? Pita must be mentally unstable if he thinks The Maori Party can run someone against Hone and win. Te Tai Tokerau is Hone’s fortress, an absolutely unassailable fortress. Pita was always prone to saying silly things but lately he seems to be doing so with increasing frequency.

Having said all of this I do agree with one thing Pita said with regard to the 200 or so protestors calling for a Maori revolution. Pita said for many Maori protest is a way of the past. I agree. Progress does not lie in a “revolution” or large scale protest. Progress will involve engaging and manipulating government on their terms and consequently rebalancing the system. Rebalancing the system so we no longer need specialist organisations to advance our aspirations. Rebalancing the system so political institutions and structures work in our favour. Rebalancing the system so Maori and Pakeha meet on equal footing. This is the promise of the Treaty. Pity no government has seen fit to deliver that promise. Government will ultimately deliver the promise of the treaty, therefore Maori need to be in government.

Where's that courage, John?

John Key following the script

Traditionally, hard questions are always directed at politicians attending the Waitangi day celebrations at Te Tii Marae. John Key knows this and fled before the first question was fired his way. In doing so the Prime Minister showed an enormous amount of disrespect for his hosts and indeed tikanga Maori.

However, this is not unexpected. Waitangi day is a triumphant marketing day for the current government. The government relies on a peaceful and uneventful Waitangi Day to cement the idea that Maori and the government share a mutual relationship of respect and compromise, epitomised by the Maori/National Party coalition. A peaceful and uneventful day is also crucial in terms of perpetuating the Prime Ministers image as an everyman loved by all (even Maori radicals). If The Prime Minister had the courage to stay he would have been held to account. Accountability is a fundamental democratic concept, obviously, while image management is fundamental to the game of politics, John Key seems to value the latter. John Key needs to realise democracy is bigger than politics, an informed populace is better than one that operates according to perceptions. But i guess above all John Key values image. Receiving a verbal bashing from people who were so infatuated with you one year ago is not in the interest of a positive image. It is not in the interest of any Prime Minister to stick around while your every failure is highlighted in front of virtually every media outlet in the country.

I guess this is another instance in which John Key is exposed as all spin and no substance. He turned up to Waitangi, literally smiled and waved, talked to a few children, brown people and lots of other non-National supporters. He gave a cute speech then fucked off before anyone had the chance to ask him anything remotely serious. Can’t say I, or anyone else, expected anything less.  

It’s a shame Waitangi Day is now an elaborate PR exercise. A day where the government makes New Zealanders feel good about themselves and their country. This not a bad thing but it is a shame that we need a PR team to orchestrate a day where we can feel proud to be New Zealanders.

UPDATE: I enjoy how Key labels anyone protesting against the government as rent-a-crowd. I think that label is beginning to lose its venom. Repetition tends to have that effect though.

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.