Rugby: The great haka debate: could it be sold, and should it be?

An irony of the debate this week over the supposed attempt by Maori rugby administrators to get $1.5m for the use of the haka was that the man who sparked the controversy actually opposes the claim.

As the story goes, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union's Maori advisory board wants the money from the union and its multi-million dollar backers, adidas, to fund grassroots rugby.

But Ron Peters, an Auckland-based member of the NZRFU's Whakapumautanga (Maori advisory board), was furious with a newspaper story that linked him with the haka claim.

While Peters, a northern region representative and brother of politician Winston, said there were problems with the funding of Maori rugby, there was no way that the Whakapumautanga could claim payment for the use of the haka or Maori images.

Peters said there were some issues to deal with over the funding of the three Maori zones, who get $12,000 a year from the NZRFU, but that did not involve a haka sale.

"The board doesn't own the haka so we couldn't sell it even if we wanted to," said Peters, who would not offer an opinion on whether the haka should be sold if the board did own it.

"And if the [Wellington] tribe to whom the haka belongs put a price on it, New Zealand rugby could simply use another haka.

"It is a matter far wider than the Maori advisory board and it's ridiculous to suggest that we could sell the haka."

Ironically, Peters' fellow northern region representative, Trevor Albert, from Rotorua, showed greater favour for the sell-the-haka idea.

He, too, said there was a problem with the funding of grassroots Maori rugby, and even believes there should be some compensation for players who attend tournaments around the country.

Albert did not openly call for a price to be put on the haka, but said it could be an avenue worth exploring if Maori rugby continued to be dissatisfied.

"I suppose adidas are making millions and they have used Maori images. The haka has already been sold around the world with the concert parties so why shouldn't we be able to do it," said Albert.

The strongest words, however, came from Alliance and Mana Motuhake sports spokesman Willie Jackson, an activist on Maori issues.

Jackson believes the NZRFU still owes the Maori people an apology for its years of racist policies when it backed South Africa's apartheid system by sending white-only teams to the Republic.

Jackson says that not only were Maori players denied their rights by non-selection in the teams to South Africa, but many were overlooked in the intervening years because the NZRFU knew they could not play when the All Blacks travelled to take on their great rugby foe.

Jackson also says the NZRFU has shown great disrespect for the Maori side of the game over the years, including turning the top Maori side into a plaything for the All Blacks selectors rather than giving it the mana it deserves.

Jackson welcomed talk of charging for the haka, and believed the price should be at least $10m. He did not believe other sports were in the same boat, because they did not use Maori images so commercially.

"I think they should go for something like 10 per cent of the adidas deal," said Jackson, who added that adidas and the union blatantly used Maori images to help to sell their products.

"If all they are going for is $1.5m, they are selling themselves short. I'm not sure about the ownership issue but I would hate to think that Maori rugby would miss out on what it deserves over that sort of technicality."

Whakapumautanga chairman Tom Mulligan disagreed, saying: "You can't put a price on the haka."

And NZRFU chief executive David Rutherford was adamant that if the union was forced to pay, it would probably stop using the haka.

"We wouldn't stop for commercial reasons.

"But if it came to a point where there was a price on the haka then it would lose its mana," said Rutherford, who conceded there were some issues on Maori rugby to be sorted out.

"We have fought hard to convince some other nations that the All Blacks should continue to perform the haka. The haka is a treasure. But if we had to pay it would lose its significance."

Rutherford said the NZRFU had directed plenty of energy into Maori rugby, and 30 per cent of the country's professional players were Maori.

Maori coach Matt Te Pou said this week that he was delighted with the progress of his side and the status it had developed in the NZRFU scheme of things, although he still wanted some guarantees that the side would face top international opposition.

And should the haka controversy ever lead to the All Blacks abandoning it - and, despite the strong feelings of people like Willie Jackson, it would seem extraordinary if that eventuated - then it would be left to the Maori side to keep it on the major sporting stage.