Gareth Morgan targets 'Brash-think' in Orewa speech

Gareth Morgan, left, and Don Brash. Photo / NZME.

Author’s speech at Orewa a response to ex-National leader’s 2004 address on Treaty.

Gareth Morgan is heading to Orewa to confront what he calls the "ignorance of Brash-think".

The venue and name are a nod to former National Party leader Don Brash, whose 2004 speech in the town led to a heated period of debate about the Treaty of Waitangi.

Dr Morgan is stepping into those uncertain waters tomorrow when he speaks to the Orewa Rotary Club.

He said he had deliberately chosen to speak at Orewa because it was where Dr Brash gave "one of the most damaging speeches ever made in terms of Treaty relations".

"It's exactly the cohort I've been talking about as having a high level of ignorance on Treaty matters."

He says there was a hotbed of ignorance which needed to be confronted because of the need for an ongoing relationship with Maori after all Treaty of Waitangi settlements are finished.

"There are still large tracts of people who indulge in Brash-think on this topic. I want to expose that."

Dr Brash, meanwhile, stands by the speech, which targeted what he called the Treaty "grievance industry" and rejected Dr Morgan's interpretation.

He said the Treaty was a "crucially important document" at the time it was signed but it contained no suggestion of an ongoing partnership.

The final settlements needed to be finished and the original agreements rebalanced to meet current levels, Dr Brash said, but then "that should be the end of the matter".

"There is no suggestion in the document as an ordinary person reads it that this is an ongoing 'partnership'. To me, that is an absolute nonsense. To imagine Queen Victoria or her representatives saw themselves forming a partnership with people they would have seen at the time as a Stone Age people is an absolute nonsense.

"It's totally without justification and it's not envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi and, frankly, it isn't a good basis for an ongoing democratic society. To give a permanent legal preference to a people, one of whose ancestors may have been Maori, seems to me to be a disaster for our ongoing racial harmony.

"I don't think we should help Maori more because they happen to be Maori. That to me is a nonsense. Some Maori are as affluent as I am. Some could be more affluent than I am. Help them because they need help."

Dr Morgan has taken on the Treaty of Waitangi as a cause after researching and publishing a book on the issue.

The last month has seen him speaking and joining the throngs of people who gathered for the annual Ratana Church celebrations.

After Orewa, he will head to the annual Treaty commemorations at Waitangi, where he is funding a concert along with a mentoring workshop.

Gareth Morgan
Age: 61
Born: Putaruru
High points: Put $50m into charity, made a fortune in business, motorcycled world.
Odd notes: Wants cats exterminated.

Don Brash
Age: 74
Born: Wanganui
High points: Reserve Bank Governor, leader, National Party, then Act.
Odd notes: Washes socks in hotels to save on laundry expenses.