KEY POINTS:
Don't get me wrong: I like the outbreak of reasonableness that saw just about everyone playing down the minor scuffle at Waitangi on Thursday.
Good on John Key for refusing to be put off future visits to Waitangi, even if there was the tiniest whiff of political opportunism in his determination not to do a Helen and skulk off into the shadows after a couple of men tried to bar his entry on to Te Tii Marae.
And good on the reporters covering the event for keeping a sense of proportion, too. "Peaceful and upbeat" was how one headline described Waitangi Day celebrations.
But even if they hadn't been, so what? The idea that a little protest and conflict, however impolite, should force us to ditch Waitangi Day for a less contentious national day, as Peter Dunne and others have suggested, has always seemed to me to miss the point. As if we could deal with our differences by pretending they didn't exist.
Like it or not, Waitangi Day marks the birth of our nation, and what birth isn't painful and messy. The fact that our journey to nationhood has been conflict ridden shouldn't surprise anyone acquainted with this country's history. Instead of whining about a little pushing and shoving, we should thank our lucky stars that the weapons of choice for Maori venting their frustrations have been placards and mud. Even when sorely provoked, as with the foreshore and seabed legislation which deprived Maori of the right to take their claims to court, the overwhelming Maori response has been to put on walking shoes and organise a hikoi to Parliament. What could be more reasonable?
In any case, it's a mistake to see expressions of disagreement as evidence of failed race relations, or to expect complete harmony now that the Maori Party is sleeping with the enemy. This alliance may have the blessing of most of its supporters but it hasn't stopped the likes of Ngapuhi kaumatua Kingi Taurua reminding Tariana and her colleagues of their raison d'etre: to overturn the foreshore and seabed legislation. (Key has promised a "review".)
There's no denying that we are in calmer waters now, and that this owes much to the goodwill between Key and the Maori Party. Key's willingness to bring the party into his tent, when he didn't have to, has opened up new opportunities not just for Maori but for the rest of us.
His calm acceptance of a Maori flag, small beer though it may be, has diffused a needlessly contentious issue. Whatever the political connotations, Key's attitude is a signal to other New Zealanders that they need not feel threatened by a Maori flag flying alongside the New Zealand ensign. It really isn't a big deal. Which makes a nice change from his predecessor.
The irony is that this kind of gesture has always come more easily to National governments. National tries harder with Maori because it has to. When it is inclined to make overtures, it is less likely to face the kind of opposition that a Labour government would encounter. Where Labour might be criticised for being too pro-Maori, National is praised as visionary and inspired. Which is not to excuse Labour's occasional faint-heartedness, of course.
It helps that the Maori Party has been a model of reasonableness and moderation since entering Parliament. Its MPs have stayed true to their kaupapa by refusing to engage in ad hominem attacks and by going out of their way to present an inclusive, non-threatening face to non-Maori.
But if it is to survive its partnership with National, it can't continue to be too agreeable. It can't overplay its hand, as Act has done, but neither can it afford to be silent about the issues that matter to it.
Maori Party MPs will have to do more than agree to disagree; and they'll have to win more than the right to fly the Maori flag on the Auckland Harbour Bridge and at Waitangi next year.
John Key, I think, genuinely wants to make a difference for the most vulnerable among us. But his good intentions aren't enough. As the storm clouds of the global economic crisis get closer, the Maori Party's role becomes more critical.
Despite his roots, Key is a rich man who's out of touch with what it's like to grow up poor in a country more unequal and dysfunctional than when he was a boy.
It's the Maori Party's job to acquaint him with the realities facing its constituents, many of whom will be among those worst hit by the recession.
The economic crisis presents it with its best opportunity to push for policies that would stimulate the economy while helping the neediest New Zealanders - like the payment of a universal child benefit and the extension of the in-work tax credit to include children whose parents aren't in paid work, a number set to increase as unemployment climbs.
"The children of low-income families are in a precarious state, with too many lives at risk as a consequence of severe and significant hardship," says Pita Sharples. "These children must be in our every thought as we venture forward."
There's never been a better time to act.
* Tapu.Misa@gmail.com
