Ae Marika - Hone Harawira MP - Te Tai Tokerau

27 July 2011

Remember that song by John Hore, “I’ve been everywhere man”?

Well this last week has been a bit like that. I’ve been to Ponsonby, Newmarket, Rangitukia, Ruatorea, Gisborne, Auckland, Napier, Hastings, Mangaroa, Kaikohe, Whangarei, Palmerston North, Tokoroa, Hamilton, Silverdale, Rotorua, Auckland, Whangarei, Kaitaia, Kaikohe, Wellington … and I’ve had a blast!!

One of the stops was a tangi for Katerina Mataira, down at Ohinewaiapu on the Coast, but it was a gloriously beautiful day, a wonderful service, and we were entertained during the mihimihi by Kingi Taurua, who talked about playing rugby up in Ohaeawai with Junior, the abuse he always used to get from Koro Dewes, how he mixed up his envelopes at a previous tangi and ended up putting down the bill to fix his toilets … he even squeezed in a mention for Katerina as well.

All the other stops were MANA hui, well attended and with heaps of good energy.

And as to the big question about whether MANA is standing in the Maori seats? Well, there’s a saying that goes “fool me once, shame on you – fool me twice, shame on me.” Me and the Maori Party signed a deal not to stand against one another in 2011. They broke that deal by standing against me in the by-election. I got Willy Jackson to offer another olive branch after I won, and they told him to bugger off as well. So I’m not going back again. I’m focusing on the big game now – sharin’ the MANA and winning in November.

And on a completely different note, sometimes the best way to get angry without upsetting everyone, is by telling a joke. Now I really didn’t like what Don Brash had to say in his ad last week, so here’s a little story which probably says it all for every Maori (and probably quite a few Pakeha) in Aotearoa.

Don Brash, the new leader of the ACT party, was visiting a little Kura Kaupapa in Awanui, where the kids were in the middle of discussion about English words and their meanings.

The teacher asked Mr Brash if he would like to lead the discussion on the word 'tragedy', so Don asked the class for an example of a tragedy.

One little boy stood up and said "If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a tractor runs him over and kills him, that would be a tragedy."

"No" said Don, "that would be an accident."

After a little while, a small girl raised her hand and said "If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy."

"I'm afraid not" explained Don "That's what we would call a great loss."

The room went silent. No other children volunteered. Don searched the room. "Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?"

Finally, at the back of the room, a little Maori boy with a tino rangatiratanga t-shirt on, raised his hand. In a quiet voice he said "If a RNZAF plane, carrying you Mr Brash, was struck by a friendly fire missile and blown to smithereens, that would be a tragedy."

"Fantastic!" said Don. "That's dead right. Can you tell me why that would be a tragedy?"

"Well" said the little Maori boy … "because it certainly wouldn't be 'a great loss', and it probably wouldn't be 'an accident' either."

ENDS

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