Kelvin Davis dodged a bullet in The BFD series on Labour Fails – A Surfeit of Ministerial Misadventure due to lack of space, but this time he gets a post all to himself, and he has earned it.
This week the British High Commissioner, Laura Clarke, delivered an apology on behalf of the British government to Gisborne iwi. She said that “nine” Maori deaths at the hands of Captain James Cook’s Endeavour crew was “regrettable”.
A newspaper reported Don Brash saying Clarke should stand down for her “factually incorrect meddling.”
“Brash accuses Clarke of getting involved in New Zealand race relations and meddling in the “politicised” 250-year anniversary commemorations of Cook’s arrival, calling for her to be withdrawn from her post.
“[CLARke] acknowledged Cook’s regret over the deaths but inflated the death toll to nine without acknowledging that he recorded in his diary four or five deaths at Gisborne,” he said.
“Unwittingly, the British High Commissioner sided with activists and helped them score a major propaganda point.”
Leading historian and Professor of Maori Studies, Anne Salmond, was quick to side with Clarke and criticize Brash, saying Maori records of the event differs. She is correct, it is possible that Maori wounded in the skirmish died after the Endeavour departed and Cook had written up his diary. Also, Maori history at the time was recalled orally (Maori did not have a written language until around 1815) and so it was quite common for two observers of the same event to recall things differently.
Nevertheless, the number of Maori who died is not actually the point.
The point being made here is that Brash implies that the naive British High Commissioner sided with Maori separatists. Knowingly or unknowingly, Laura Clarke looks like a fool for bypassing the Maori grievance process and not insisting that the Minister of Maori Affairs, Kelvin Davis, be involved. One can only imagine Clarke’s distaste for being dropped into this developing scandal by a minister of the crown.
Clarke’s death toll is based on Maori recollection of the event, rather than Cook’s diary. Now, you could argue that she was simply peace-making with aggrieved iwi, or you could say that she was completely out of line – which is what Brash does, and I have to agree with him because neither Davis or Clarke followed grievance process.
“NgAti Oneone spokesperson, Nick Tupara, said the High Commissioner bravely took the role to acknowledge Cook’s actions and was hopeful for the future.”
The Guardian
Background information on the recent British drive to “right wrongs” from their colonial past is that in 2013, it expressed regret and announced compensation payments for those tortured in prison during Kenya’s Mau Mau insurgency. Now we have British High Commissioner Clarke’s desire to appease Maori.
“Clarke was appointed to Wellington in January 2018 and has since spoken admiringly of the push towards “righting past wrongs” in the treatment of Maori by New Zealand governments and the UK.
She is learning te reo Maori (the Maori language) and last year the high commission recruited its first adviser on Maori affairs.”
The Guardian
We’d probably be a lot happier in the knowledge that the British High Commissioner was working on a post-Brexit trade deal for us, rather than opening up this can of worms suggesting that Maori separatists are seeking a trade relationship with the British government independent of our own government’s efforts.
” […] a statement of regret suggests there is an opening for some dialogue going forward. It suggests a possibility of a relationship working together and growing together helping each other out. I am very optimistic that this statement of regret is a far more poignant opportunity for Ngati Oneone and for the rest of our community to find pathways as a collective.”
The British High Commission made the decision to give the statement of regret in response to Taranganui-a-Kiwa iwi wanting their history to be heard and acknowledged.
Mr Tupara says that call wasn’t made specifically to the British government but he says the High Commissioner took up the responsibility to engage in dialogue, which he is heartened by.”
Radio NZ
Radio NZ reports that “British High Commissioner Laura Clarke has been working closely with leaders of Gisborne iwi Rongowhakaata, Ngai Tamanuhiri, Te Aitanga a-Mahaki, Ngati Oneone for many months to prepare for this meeting” after they came to see her in December last year.
In the RNZ interview Clarke says iwi approached her in December last year seeking reconciliation. Clarke says she hopes “we can build a better future and a better partnership for the future.” Clarke buys into the “Treaty is a partnership” nonsense, completely ignoring the established treaty process.
Audrey Young, writing for a newspaper, is convinced that Clarke’s involvement with iwi is part of the treaty process. “The New Zealand Government’s position is that not only was there no New Zealand Government at the time but that expressions of regret and apologies are made to iwi as part of the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process.”
Davis might argue he gets off the hook for not being involved because there was “no New Zealand government at the time”. Not so fast. Now that we have a clearly defined path of the Treaty precisely to deal with historic Maori grievances, the government should uphold it and Maori should use it.
The real problem, thanks to Kelvin Davis, is that the NZ government bypassed the treaty process.
“We’ve said this is nothing to do with us. This is entirely an issue between the [British] High Commission and the Turanga iwi. And what the High Commission has to say to Turanga iwi is entirely up to them.”
Kelvin Davis in Stuff
Kelvin Davis reneged on his duties as a minister of the Crown by showing support for the Maori separatist movement. Of course, this is exactly what the Maori movement wants – separate government, separate representation and separate everything else.
Indigenous rights advocate Tina Ngata speaks for separatists.
“It’s up to iwi and hapu to discuss what those reconciliation pathways should look like. This has had an enduring impact upon all of Maoridom, so the most important thing is it’s defined by the people, not defined by the government and that it’s accompanied with clear action.”
Stuff
Ngata bypasses the Crown too, ignoring the Treaty and the Waitangi Tribunal. Maori separatists expect to have their cake and eat it too, that is, the benefits of the Treaty when it suits them, and the right to ignore it when there are better advantages elsewhere.
Behind the story of the British apology to Gisborne iwi lies the subterfuge this government is guilty of: they promote the Treaty of Waitangi but endorse Maori separatism.