Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was asked about Te Pāti Māori comments calling the Govt white supremacists, and what he hopes to achieve at Rātana Pā on Wednesday.
Video / Mark Mitchell
OPINION
The question has to be asked, why is this Government attempting to rewrite history? It appears the Crown (essentially Pākeha) does not like Māori exerting their right to be Maori. That’s just sad. Why?
There can really only be one reason: History as the dominant political majority wishes it to be, as opposed to history as it factually was. That’s an uncomfortable inconvenient truth that festers like a pus-filled boil just below the skin. It doesn’t sit well or suit the narrative of the privileged,who now own the vast majority of land in Aotearoa.
All the old bigots will soon be dead
Wealth and success have always been synonymous with land ownership. Maori once owned 100 per cent of the land. They now own less than 6 per cent. I could quote all the legislation that was enacted to do it, only what’s the point? The emotionally-charged, old privileged majority don’t want to be confused by facts, because they’ve already made up their minds. Fortunately for the more tolerant and informed younger generations, all the old bigots will soon be dead.
That’s why I’m hopeful for the future of our great nation. Time is actually on the side of Māori.
Act leader David Seymour wants a Treaty Principles Bill to be considered. Photo / Dean Purcell
If you have an open mind, Google land confiscation, or some of the much-lauded deeds by Edward and William Gibbon Wakefield through the New Zealand Company and the New Zealand Settlements Act, or the Public Works Act and ask yourself how you would feel if land confiscation happened to your family?
By international standards, Māori have shown considerable restraint and more patience than Job. When those 43-46 Rangatira Māori signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi on February 6, 1840, they did so in good faith. Their fair and reasonable expectation was that the Crown, through its representative Captain William Hobson and the several English residents who witnessed the signing, would honour the Treaty’s intentions. It all seemed legit then, why isn’t it now?
Sadly, successive generations of Māori have since found the road to hell is paved with good intentions. In truth, the Treaty has always been worse than a bad case of haemorrhoids for the Crown.
That’s why David Seymour and his mates want it gone. They can’t legally get around it because the Crown wrote and signed it. Anyone with just a cursory understanding of contract law knows, understands, and accepts; to do that would be a serious breach of contract.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon knows it as well. That’s why prudence would suggest undoing te Tiriti is a 100 per cent serious financial, social and economic “no go zone”. Only a fool would go there.
Then again, we should never underestimate the foolishness of politicians or propensity for stupidity when people get together in large groups. People in large groups are too often incapable of critical, independent thinking. Regrettably, they also tend to vote for populist politicians.
The Treaty of Waitangi is problematic for Seymour because he can’t get around it. So his plan is to get rid of it. Sounds simple – until you realise the Crown wrote it, signed it, and uses it to enforce its legitimacy.
I met Seymour once. He seemed like a nice guy who means well. Regrettably, he’s just more than a tad misguided and prone to populism.
Here’s the truth – like it or not. Māori have been reprehensibly treated in perpetuity by the Crown. None have been consistently more patient than Ngāpuhi who were first to sign the Māori version of te Tiriti.
Sadly the frailness of human memory in conjunction with historical inaccuracies suit the emotionally self-serving political aspirations of politicians like Seymour and Shane Jones. The Seymours and Joneses of this world crave the intoxicating aphrodisiac that is political power. They will go to any length to create division to achieve and hold power.
Boris Sokratov.
I encourage everyone capable of independent critical thought to celebrate Waitangi at Waitangi. Experience it for yourself. Don’t just watch the sound bite-driven narrative from a distance. Ask questions of people who ordinarily you wouldn’t talk too. That’s how the process of understanding begins. For me, that’s what te Tiriti has always been about kotahitanga. Genuine kotahitanga and whanaungatanga are based on similarities that bring us all closer together not differences that keep us apart.
My vision for New Zealand is based on we, not I or me. That’s why I’m going to take a white flag and join Tame Iti at Waitangi on Tuesday, February 6. You should too.
Boris Sokratov is a Bulgarian-Māori and has whakapapa to Te Rarawa, Ngati Haua. He was the producer of the Nutters Club Radio Show. He helped establish the Key to Life Charitable Trust that supports mental health advocate Mike King.
