The latest poll from far-right think tank The Taxpayers’ Union claims Act is up to almost 14 per cent after David Seymour’s disgraceful race baiting at Waitangi, and that should surprise no one because all he is doing is whistling the same race-trashing Treaty bigotry that Don Brash whistled in Ōrewa 20 years earlier.
The toxic polarisation of New Zealand politics has manufactured a perfect storm of disinformation, misinformation and radicalisation that has empowered the reactionary segment of New Zealand that sees any gain for Māori as a negative blow against their own self-esteem.
I gave a speech critically analysing Don Brash’s infamous 2004 Ōrewa anti-Māori speech at the same venue in 2017 and said the following:
“Don Brash capitalised on the fear from Pākehā New Zealand at the time that Maori would stop them from using the beaches, and his speech in my view remains the most racist political speech that I have ever heard from any mainstream politician in the last generation.”
What we are seeing now from Seymour is the same caustic ignorance masquerading as a democratic value in his desire to stamp out the Treaty principles in his referendum bill.
Back in 2004, we know from leaked emails that Brash and his office knew their claims of Māori elitism were false, yet they opened the door to the dark anti-Māori psyche of a chunk of the electorate who want conflict with Māori because they are culturally insecure in their own sense of nationhood.
That’s the same disenfranchised electorate that Act is playing to now with this disgraceful pretence of a “debate” about the Treaty principles referendum!
The nonsense that Seymour has put up would undo the past four decades of work between the Crown and Māori. Seymour pretends his bill doesn’t impact the Treaty — a total falsehood because it would immediately discard any obligation of central or local government to work with Māori!
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Act leader David Seymour and NZ First leader Winston Peters.
The Treaty Principles Referendum Bill is a means to kill off the Treaty based on nothing more than ignorant right-wing New Zealanders infuriated that the weather is in Māori now!
We are going to desecrate 40 years of working together because road signs are in te reo?
Tell me our beautiful, clever, emotionally intelligent country isn’t this easily manipulated?
True political courage challenges the bigotry of their supporters, it doesn’t feed it!
Brash whipped up populist racism that made us a worse people. He, like Seymour, enjoyed big success in the polls but was ultimately defeated.
Seymour on the other hand has Christopher Luxon, the weakest National Party Prime Minister I’ve ever seen, and Seymour is far more prepared to bully and trick the PM into progressing his race-baiting agenda.
Labour in power attempted to work with Māoridom because this government is led by a weak leader.
And the extremes of Seymour and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters will exploit Luxon’s weakness and set race relations back 200 years.
We are better than this and surely a better people than this government is being.
