Maori electon year fear

Kua tae anoo taatou ki teenei te tau hoou paakehaa, ngaa mihi ki a koutou, teenaa koutou katoa.

And so the dawn of a new decade begins – legs eleven. In New Zealand we are fortunate that the New Year falls at a time when the sun (generally) is bright, and the waters - be that stream, beach or lakes are enticing.

Be damned with a white Christmas, give me a golden one any day. And it is as I savour the dying embers that are the unhurried thoughts of holiday time, of festivities and family, of beaches and barbecues, that I must turn my thoughts to the challenges ahead in the new year. Of course my thoughts are with my iwi who I am honoured to lead. My mind is directed towards the conclusion of our Treaty claims so our energies and resources can be turned towards the future rather than the past. We want to lift the opportunity for the tens of thousands of Raukawa people. There is much to do - but there is also a need for caution for Raukawa, and for most “Maori” entities and or individuals, this new year. For this year is an election year and, as such, it is a time of potential danger for Maori. New Zealand it seems has an unhealthily limited range of political platforms for those seeking votes to stand on – and alas Maori have become an easy target come election time.

Don Brash launched his rush for the top job in 2004 by criticising Maori and calling for one law for all. Winston Peters has often jostled for the bag-the-Maori badge, when he wasn’t kicking immigrants.

Act has already shown its hand in relishing the misinformation attack on the troubled take two of the foreshore and seabed act. New deputy, the formally invisible John Boscawen, seems to have found his true calling in aggravating the Maori MPs on the select committee panel tasked with hearing submissions on the new marine and coastal legislation.

It is a sad reality that every three years this same sorry situation re-emerges. It is the cruel prison of the minority. Because in some cases, the attacks that will come will be prompted by the flaws of an individual or group that are Maori. Or at least they look Maori - which is enough. And then the example of the few will be cause to attack the whole. The culture of dysfunction which pervades the lives of some within ALL our communities will be conveniently tagged to the Maori culture that I cherish. A culture which applauds whanau, hard work, self-sacrifice, and generosity. A culture which is nurtured by a beautiful rich language, of customs which aid me when I am in grief, and which provides guidance when my male ego seeks to take me to places where I should not go. In an election year there is little room for celebrating such things. This is a time of exposing Maori “privilege”, rattling the cage of the majority with fears of beach stealing and land grabbing. There will be attacks on the powhiri, of expenditure on culture or cultural experts, on the need for Maori seats, and distinct Maori representation. Perhaps the haka will be again in the gun. Meanwhile, most Maori will get on with their lives, work to provide the best for their whanau, go to school, work at the marae or church, play sport, learn, love and generally get along with our non-Maori whanaunga, friends and community members.

And other iwi members will continue to seek compensation for the generations of loss and suffering that our people have endured. We will seek to get some recompense for all that was taken. We will do so while attempting to not offend the wider public. We must do this while managing the legitimate expectations of those who carry the laments of our ancestors – our iwi members. They have empowered us with this crucial task. We will try to seek an outcome that provides enough resources to improve the lot of our people. They are people who, as a result of dislocation from their land and resources, now have massive needs. But we must do so without being seen to want to much and raising the ire of the wider public, and their representatives.

And we will try to do this while avoiding the political attacks that loom because it is an election year.

As always, we will look for champions. Those who have a voice and a platform that can and will provide the response that is required, who will hold those who seek this cheap political route to account. It is, however, likely that we will be disappointed. We may even find ourselves resentful that our champions are too busy fighting among themselves, or are too influenced by the majority, to defend what they know is right.

Yes this is an election year, a time to vote, a time to note, and a time to get on with life and truth and accept the results, when it is all over - Chris McKenzie, Raukawa Settlement Trust.

ENDS

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