Hone Harawira: Labour and National two faces of a coin

* In another of our series of extended coverage of some of the significant speeches of the election campaign, Hone Harawira argues that the position of Maori in New Zealand society is under threat. This is an edited transcript.

In 1972 Nga Tamatoa campaigned for the right for Maori language to be taught in schools at a time when Pakeha society thought Maori was a dead language and when even Maori were embarrassed to push for their own language.

Today as a result of their efforts, Maori language is celebrated in all its glory throughout the nation. Maori is an official language. It is taught in schools, in in tertiary institutions and in homes and offices throughout the nation.

We sing our national anthem in Maori at the start of all our sporting occasions, and we revel in the power and the majesty of the spine-chilling haka when the All Blacks take the field.

In 2000, the Maori Broadcasting Advisory Committee Report said the Maori language is the cornerstone of all that is Maori. Without it we are lessened as individuals and weakened as a nation.

Our vision is for a time when the Maori language can cherished by all New Zealanders; for a time when hearing the Maori language on mainstream radio and seeing it on primetime TV is commonplace."

And Don Brash would put an end to all that if we let him.

The 27th of January 2004 marked a dark, dark day in our nation's history, when the leader of the National Party, Dr Don Brash, unleashed a wave of racism upon our people - a wave which has continued to grow, as Labour threw their own weight behind Brash's attacks.

When Don Brash spoke at this very place and said that National would do their best to eliminate Maori rights, there was a huge swing of Pakeha voters away from Labour, to National.

Labour then had to make a choice - to fight for their principles or to play the same game as National and abandon Maori rights in an effort to win those Pakeha voters back. What Labour did, clearly showed which option they chose.

Yes, the National Party has been provocative and offensive about it's intentions regarding Maori rights. But Labour's response has rocked Maoridom to the core. Labour's betrayal of their covenant with Maori forged in the time of Ratana, and tested over many elections since, has been both malicious and insulting.

Last year, when Don Brash said that National would cut "race-based" funding, he chose a phrase deliberately designed to inflame racial hysteria, portray Maori as a drain on society and blame Maori for government failings.

He also presents "race-based" funding as being an unworthy notion, while suggesting that "needs-based" funding is somehow more socially acceptable.

Instead of contesting that view, Labour's Trevor Mallard said that he would give the public "an assurance that policies and programmes are targeted on the basis of need, not race".

He then took steps to remove ethnicity weighting from school decile funding, a decision which will have massive and adverse effects on children from more than 900 schools.

The threat to abolish race-based funding is dangerous, and centred on ignorance and the blind acceptance of the ability of state agencies to cater for Maori needs.

International experience suggests that indigenous providers deliver a far higher quality of service for indigenous people than mainstream providers - given the same level of resources. Aotearoa should be building on that international experience and local successes.

Last year, Don Brash said that National would scrap all references to the Treaty in legislation. Again, Labour did not challenge National's view. The Treaty is the founding document of our nation. It provides the basis for good relations between all citizens of Aotearoa, it sets out how resources can be managed for the betterment of all and it provides the framework for an ethical and inclusive society.

To deny its rightful place in our society is to deny our past and to limit our future. A nation secure in its place in the world would not shy away from the possibility that the Treaty could be enshrined as our nation's constitution, and that the Treaty might have a real place in guiding our legislative procedures.

Don Brash says that Treaty claims are to be lodged by the end of 2006, and settled by 2010 and that the Waitangi Tribunal and the Office of Treaty Settlements will be wound up. Labour has announced a different time frame but essentially their position is no different. So what's wrong with this?

The first is obvious: one party to the Treaty is determining what the relationship is going to be. This does not make for a harmonious marriage - in fact it is the basis of an abusive relationship.

The second point is that contemporary grievances will be ignored and Maori will no longer have a body that can address wrongs committed against their Treaty rights.

Third, our tupuna never envisaged the Treaty ending on a particular date and we have no right to abandon their dream in such a cavalier fashion.

Certainly in terms of Treaty claims, the process to date has been traumatic for Maori. The process has, in fact, been a denial of Treaty rights, and the settlements too small to adequately address social and economic disparities between Maori and Pakeha [in fact, settlements to date have been less than 3 per cent of the value of the claims].

The process has also been hard to understand and accept for the rest of the nation, but setting deadlines will not bring justice, nor will it bring peace.

The final blow is National's threat to abolish the Maori seats on the assumption that Maori will be best served by those elected to general seats. Don Brash's blind ignorance in this matter is matched only by the coldness with which this suggestion has been received within Maori circles. And again, Trevor Mallard has said that Labour agrees with National's position by stating that "over a period of time the Maori seats will go".

When conservative Maori warn of protests greater than those over the foreshore and seabed, then mainstream New Zealand needs to take heed. These are not the rantings of the violent, the radical or the revolutionary. They are the concerns of the measured and conservative voices within Maoridom - and if they are ignored, it will be so at this nation's peril.

The Maori seats should be protected until such time as Maori freely choose through a referendum to change the status of those seats.

These threats from both National and Labour signal a very dangerous time in our nation's history. We are here at the Orewa Rotary Club where race relations took a turn for the worse. Both National and Labour are signalling that Maori interests are best served by Maori giving up their rights. Clearly, as the foreshore and seabed hikoi showed, Maori will not accept that argument.

Society needs to step back from the brink of civil unrest and consider where things are going.

My message to all citizens of Aotearoa is to cast these fears aside; to ignore the threats to turn back the pages to a darker time.

Instead I urge us all to not be afraid of moving forward together in the search for a better, more tolerant society. Courage is needed in these dark times if we are to banish this spectre of racism. The world looks to us to provide leadership in race relations and we aren't.

But it isn't the world that matters. It's us, and we have an obligation not just to future generations, but to ourselves to sort this out in our time. Aotearoa is founded on a troubled past. Attempts to colonise Maori have failed, and we remain a country divided.

It seems that now, more than ever, Maori need to have faith in themselves and to be confident in their ability to determine their own future; to work alongside their Treaty partners in meeting their obligations; and to work with anyone who can help stem the racist rot.

Aotearoa is a beautiful country, and contrary to popular belief, Maori welcome Pakeha to these shores.

But that relationship is dependent upon respect for the rights of tangata whenua. Maori are here to stay; so are Maori rights.

I love my homeland, and I want my mokopuna to grow up in a country where he can walk down the street as a citizen of Aotearoa, comfortable in his Maori identity, aware of his rights under the Treaty, confident, secure and pro-active in all aspects of his life, and respectful of all others in his society.