Ae Marika Column - Hone Harawira

No trashing the Brash

A lot of people are expecting me to bash Don Brash because he has been forced to resign, but in fact I respect his decision to stand down.

The fight for Mâori rights began before Don Brash came along, and will continue long after his resignation.

The Maori Party doesn't stoop to the belittling of people that is so much the norm in politics, and that includes Dr Brash, regardless of what he has said about our people.

My thoughts are with his wife and whänau at this time.

The stadium and the power station

What do the proposed waterfront stadium and Marsden B Coal Power Station have in common? They’re both located on beautiful harbours, they will both be a blight on the landscape, they will both cost a hell of a lot of money, and we don’t need either of them.

Firing up Marsden B will pump more than two million tonnes of carbon dioxide into our already struggling atmosphere, and on top of that, under the Kyoto Protocol, New Zealand will also have to pay $30 per tonne of carbon dioxide released into the air.

Restarting Marsden B will also hasten global warming and break up the polar caps. I mean for heaven’s sakes, last week we had big chunks of Antarctica floating right up onto our doorstep, and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that means something’s wrong. The last time that happened was called an Ice Age.

I’m all for development in Northland, but we shouldn’t go fouling our own nest to get it.

Another silly bill

On a totally different note, NZ First is putting up a bill, called ‘The Treaty of Waitangi (Removal of Conflict of Interest) Amendment Bill’ to stop Maori Land Court judges being on the Waitangi Tribunal.

Now how dumb is that? First we invest millions to ensure land court judges understand how to deal with Maori land issues, then NZ First wants to stop them getting on the tribunal whose primary role is dealing with Maori land issues.

NZ First is playing the race card too by bashing Maori judges like Caren Fox (formerly Wickliffe) for daring to think that justice might be pro-Maori (as if justice is only for Pakeha).

You put this one up alongside their other Bill, the ‘Deletion of the Treaty Principles Bill’ and you get a pretty clear picture of who they’re targeting to get votes.

These bills aren’t about principles or conflict of interest. They’re about bashing Maori and I’m ashamed of Mr Paraone, Mr Mark and Mr Peters for bashing their own people to get the redneck vote.

Hone Harawira
Tai Tokerau MP

ENDS

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