I fully endorse Kevan Marks and Mitch Morgan's letters (Jan 19), regarding the embargo and Government secrecy regarding pre-Maori settlement of NZ. Worldwide, archaeologists go to extreme efforts to trace early history. But not in NZ.
What is it that must be kept hidden away, and forbidden to speak about. And why? It is no secret that there were pre-Maori settlements here, so why not explore and enhance our history?
Radical Maori advocates keep trying to reinvent history, and would have us all believe that they were not isolated tribes, who lived in fear of attack and slavery from each other, before the treaty brought peace through law and order, plus all the advantages of modern life.
Why then does everything Maori have to be preserved, like native trees? If DoC are cutting down historic oak trees because they are not native, are they also going to remove all fruit trees, flowering shrubs, roses and vegetables? Come on folks, let's all get real and live in the real world.
Don Nightingale
Glenbervie
