Jim Eagles: Take your own advice, John - and move on

The first time I heard John Tamihere speak was some 10 years ago at a conference of newspaper editors. That's a fairly hard-bitten audience at the best of times, but the bright young chief executive of the Waipareira Trust definitely made an impact.

In part, no doubt, it was because his message - it's time for Maori to move from grievances of the past to building a positive future - was what a bunch of middle-class, middle-aged white folks wanted to hear.

But it was also because he exuded a seductive combination of honesty and openness, intelligence and energy, enthusiasm and charm, which made a pleasant contrast to the usual speakers on such occasions.

Of that mix it was his air of frankness, his apparent willingness to say exactly what he thought on any subject, his disregard for what would now be thought of as political correctness, and his use of straightforward language instead of cloaking controversial ideas in a fog of weasel words, which was the most appealing.

Since then Tamihere has continued to perform in exactly the same way. His disregard of the prevailing currents of tribalism, feminism and homophilia, and his ability to signal to urban Maori, ordinary blokes and rednecks that their views are still understood in high places, was what made him so valuable to Labour.

Similarly, the consistency of his call for Maori to look forward is what allowed him to be such an effective salesman for the seabed and foreshore legislation.

It is, therefore, ironic that the same message expressed in the same blokey language has led to his downfall.

Tamihere's discussion with Investigate editor Ian Wishart seems to have centred, yet again, on the need for Maori to move on.

As an example, he quoted the plight of Ngati Whatua in 1952 after the Government evicted iwi members from Okahu Bay and fire destroyed much of the marae and adjoining settlement. But, he said, the tribe put that behind it, looked ahead, and was prospering as a result.

Maori generally would be much better off if they adopted the same positive, forward-looking approach rather than focussing on the grievances of the past.

Searching for other examples of where people might be better off if they looked to the future instead of bemoaning the past, Tamihere hit upon Jews and feminists.

If you set aside the intemperate language in which his views were expressed - admittedly not easy - he was making a reasonable point.

There is a tendency for individuals, groups and whole nations to spend so much time focusing on the past that they undermine their future.

It is not belittling the genuine historical grievances of Maori for Tamihere to suggest it might be better if more energy was put into creating a better future. As it happens, there are increasing signs that is occurring and not just with Ngati Whatua.

It does not lessen the horrors of the Holocaust to argue that Israeli determination to ensure it never happens again has evolved from a magnificent source of inspiration into a severe obstacle to reaching a just settlement with the Palestinians. Just this week Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has shown that he is still trapped behind that obstacle.

It does not alter the fact that for much of history women have been second-class citizens to say that the feminist battles are largely won. Indeed, in some areas the balance has almost tilted the other way, as witness the fact that there are now screening programmes for breast and cervical cancer but not for prostate cancer.

There are plenty of other examples which spring to mind. Will the British ever forget the role of Germany in two world wars? Will the Irish one day cease harping on about Oliver Cromwell? Will Scots forget about the clearances? Will the Chinese and Koreans ever accept that Japan has apologised often enough? Will Africa stop blaming everything on colonisation?

To say that such groups sometimes need to learn to move on is not to advocate abandoning their principles. It's a question of recognising when the time for a particular struggle has passed, when the price of continuing the fight is too high or when the world has changed in ways which make it irrelevant.

Most of us have at some time faced a choice between continuing to obsess over some issue, to battle on in a lost cause, or to let it go and get on with life.

As one small example, I was once defamed by a seriously rich man and, filled with righteous indignation, went to see a leading defamation lawyer. "Yes," she said, "he almost certainly has defamed you. Yes, we probably could win a case. But, before we start, you need to ask yourself if you really want to make this the focal point of your life for the next few years."

I thought about that for 10 seconds, abandoned all thought of a court action and got on with life, and I have always been hugely grateful for the wise counsel which allowed that to happen.

I hope someone right now is giving the same counsel to John Tamihere.

The Tamihere who entertained editors with his rough-hewn bluntness was a feisty newcomer. But the Tamihere who has offended so many with his comments is a senior politician. If you want to be a kaumatua you have to move on from behaving like a young warrior.

That failure means his dream of one day becoming prime minister is now at an end. You can't behave as he did and have any prospect of political advancement. He needs to recognise that and look to the future.

As Tamihere has told so many others, there's no point remaining mired in the past. It's foolish to waste energy and talent struggling in a cause whose time has gone. We all need to know when to move on.

* Jim Eagles, a former editor of the Bay of Plenty Times, Hawkes Bay Today, National Business Review and the Business Herald, is the Herald's travel editor. John Roughan has taken up a Qantas fellowship to Wolfson College, Cambridge. His column will return in August.