Claire Trevett: The great crusader comes up short

Gareth Morgan at Ratana with Walter Rurawhe. Photo / NZME.

Gareth Morgan looked about as comfortable as the turkey before Christmas as he arrived at Ratana Pa yesterday, the great Pakeha crusader come to condemn his fellow kin.

He began by begging for mercy, saying he was of Welsh heritage, that it was his first time to Ratana and asked them to treat any slip-ups with humour.

The plea was needed. He mangled the vowels in almost every Maori word he tried to pronounce.

He had gone to Ratana as a Pakeha to tell Maori that he wanted to talk to Pakeha about Maori - and specifically the Treaty. He wanted all Maori children to be able to go school and have their names pronounced correctly.

He got in his pitch for his book on the Treaty, Are We There Yet? and then proceeded to set out four challenges for the Government. Alas, he had misplaced the final page of his speech so he stopped after two: educating Pakeha about the Treaty and using it as the basis for a Constitution.

One of the omitted challenges was to commit to this for the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi this year.

Later he said his description of Pakeha as ignorant on the Treaty was "totally accurate".

"Most Pakeha I talk to think that once we've written the last cheque here it's all over. Back to the races."

He openly admitted that until he started looking into it more closely he had been exactly the same. He hadn't gone to Ratana or Waitangi earlier "because I'm like 99 per cent of Pakeha. We just see it as another day off."

He had lived through the protests and land marches of the 1970s. "What worries me now is that because we've nearly finished the settlement process it's going to go back on the shelf and Maori build up another head of steam, and we lurch from crisis to crisis."

Despite Morgan's efforts, afterwards Ratana chairman Waka Palmer admitted his impassioned address had fallen on deaf ears - literally.

He was hard of hearing and Morgan was quiet, even with the microphone.

Palmer added that even if he had heard it, it was Church policy not to respond. "So I've got no comment - one, because I didn't hear him. Two, because I don't know if I was that interested. But he was a Lone Ranger I guess. Our marae is open for anyone to come."

On February 5 Morgan's pilgrimage will take him to Waitangi for the first time. The folk at Waitangi might not be quite so forgiving.

'Shape up' Labour: Ratana leader

Today Andrew Little will be the fourth leader Labour has presented at Ratana in as many years - and Ratana chairman Waka Palmer sent a message in advance that Labour needs to "shape up" after benefiting from a high Maori vote in last year's election.

Politicians travel to Ratana for the first major political event of the year, usually held a day or two before the prophet Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana's birth date, which is reserved for worship.

Mr Palmer said it was Church policy not to respond to the politicians, but observed that a large number of Maori had voted for Labour in last year's election and Mr Little should pay heed. Labour won six of the seven Maori seats in that election, recapturing Te Tai Hauauru and Te Tai Tokerau from the Maori and Mana parties respectively.

Mr Little said he saw the day as a chance to renew and cement Labour's relationship with Ratana, especially after winning all but one of the Maori seats.

"It's particularly significant this year given new MP Adrian Rurawhe is the great grandson of the prophet," he said.