Tommy Kapai: Perils of cold mince and cheese pies

Maori Party president Naida Glavish pictured with Prime Minister John Key Photo / File

Not many days go by without someone somewhere either giving me an idea for my next best seller or suggesting what I need to say in my next column.

Just this week I was in the local bakery investing in my limited lifespan by pouring sauce on my mince and cheese pie when I was asked: "Bro write in your column that it takes too long to get served in this award-winning pie place in Bethlehem - look my pie's getting cold!"

The good news was the Bro actually read the newspaper and he now has his wish granted.

However, the reality is developing a relationship with the media, print or television needs to be understood if you have a story and you want it printed.

Many Maori I talk to think the newspaper will send out a reporter to cover their story, spend the day with them, let them read what they have written and then ring them up after it is printed to complain about their nanny's next door neighbour not featuring in the story.

It just doesn't work that way. Newspapers, like all businesses, have a bottom line as well as a deadline to meet and the more you can help the reporter with the story you are hoping to have printed, the more chance it will make the corner dairy or the letterbox the next morning.

Journalists and columnists are similar but enjoy the luxury of having a lot more time to research and then write their story.

I am continually amazed at the amount of copy that the senior sports writer of this paper, Peter White, produces.

Not only is it well written, it is always on the money and that is a testament to the vast networks he has developed here in Tauranga.

For me, networks are the trump card for newsworthy stories.

Too often the press gets a bad rap when they are just working with what they are given and sometimes it isn't a lot.

I mean a passing comment about pies with or without sauce being allowed to go cold in a queue of hoha customers, isn't exactly first cab off the rank for a Monday morning column, is it? Well not until now anyway.

There are those who have been around the block a couple of times who know very well what the front seat of the first cab looks like. Long before it leaves the rank.

These are the ones who play the political game well and now the candidates have been named we will start to hear stories they have been squirreling away ready to tell Tauranga why they should vote for them.

Mind you, some say the silly season of campaign banners and believe it or not bull dust is about as exciting as a warm bottle of beer and a cold pie without sauce.

But until we vote change into our councils nothing changes, and when nothing changes we stagnate as a city and as a community.

Some standing councillors have more political miles on the clock than a Taihape taxi and should call it quits.

Others will promise the world and deliver four-fifths other than saying no at every opportunity.

Saying yes seems to be the new catch cry of future councils and the slick OneBop campaign that I have been following with a lot of interest will certainly send a signal to every electorate about the future face of politics.

So too the new faces of the Maori Party, who delivered a cool korero to the Waiariki electorate at Huria Marae here in Tauranga yesterday.

Many disillusioned Maori voters, who turned their loyalty over to New Zealand First and Mana Party at the last elections, have a party to believe in again, and going by the powerful address given by their new president Naida Glavish, we could well see a united face that has an aura of unity about it to win back the hearts and trust of their people.

Naida's message was simple. "When you are inside Parliament you get to make your protest and concerns heard a lot better than doing the haka outside."

Twelve months is a long time in politics but one thing is for sure, the media that have dined out on the demise of the Maori Party, believing they could never be the kingmaker at the next elections, need to spend more time on marae listening to the korero and less time waiting in line for a cold pie.

broblack@xtra.co.nz