Dunedin Mum


New Zealand schools will be introducing “Aotearoa New Zealand Histories” in 2022 to all schools and kura across the country. 

Be sure to get the name right. It’s Aotearoa New Zealand Histories, not New Zealand history. The “Aotearoa” part is important, as is “histories”, not “history”. 

As far as I know, there is no such place as “Aotearoa”. Our passports and everything else official name this country “New Zealand”. We don’t compete at the Olympics as “Aotearoa”, nor are we “Aotearoan”. It’s rubbish. But as this is clearly an issue, we can prepare for a name change for our country in the near future, probably “under urgency”. You can be certain you won’t get a say in the matter. 

The curriculum of the subject is outlined below, and you can read the full information page here.

Aotearoa New Zealand Histories is focused on Three Big Ideas.

  1. Maori history is the foundational and continuous history of Aotearoa New Zealand.
  2. Colonisation and its consequences have been central to our history for the past 200 years and continue to influence all aspects of New Zealand society.
  3. The course of Aotearoa New Zealand’s history has been shaped by the exercise and effects of power.

It becomes quite clear after reading it that the curriculum to a large degree consists of the basic message that brown people are good and white people are bad. The sort of stuff you’d likely find at a typical BLM convention. It’s intentional race-baiting. 

What can we expect?

  • Will our children be taught to be “less white”? Absolutely. 
  • Will they be indoctrinated in the belief that colonisation was bad? Oh yes! 
  • Will that term beloved of the left – “systemic racism” – be used ad nauseam to convince our kids they’re terrible people if they’re not Maori? Of course. 

Be under no illusions: Aotearoa New Zealand Histories will be full blown identity politics propaganda. This is divide-and-conquer stuff. Turn New Zealanders against each other, white against brown, creating dissent and division. Our history will be judged not on what actually happened, but the skin colour of the person involved. 

Indoctrination Has Already Begun

The Ministry of Education is already forcing all of its staff to undergo “diversity training” – at huge taxpayer expense. Yes, you’re footing the very large bill for this, flying Ministry staff all around the country to learn more about “diversity” while they guzzle down taxpayer-provided food and drink and stay at taxpayer-funded hotels. If you thought they were woke enough already, forget that. They hadn’t been “diversity trained” yet! 

Your skin colour determines your value, according to the Ministry of Education. They’re rabid fans of every kind of diversity, except diversity of thought. Not woke? Not allowed! 

Next will be the rollout of diversity training for all teachers. There is no escape from this stuff. Yes, this will happen unless we stop it and yes, it will damage our country, our culture and the future of our children. No country can succeed when a majority of its citizens are taught that they’re evil because of their skin colour (or alternately, virtuous because of it).

Aotearoa New Zealand Histories is also based on “Three National Contexts”:

  1. Whakapapa me te whanaungatanga
  2. Turangawaewae me te kaitiakitanga
  3. Tino rangatiratanga me te kawanatanga

Don’t know what these mean because you don’t speak Maori? That’s precisely the point. You – as parents and concerned citizens – are not meant to know what your children are being taught. The less you know, the better – according to the Ministry of Education. 

So, instead of being a separate language with its own history, Maori is being weaponised by the extreme left, as a tool to separate parents from what their children are learning in school. After all, how can you criticise their education if you don’t understand the language?

More conveniently, when a population is taught that racism is the root of all their problems, they’re far less likely to see politicians as the problem – and good policy as the solution. Instead of blaming the politicians for failed policies that have worsened poverty, crime and illiteracy, we will blame each other. And ourselves. 

See how that works?

Why Is This All Being Introduced? 

Don’t fall for the “it’s New Zealand history. It’s good to learn our history” line of thinking. Aotearoa New Zealand Histories is not history. It’s indoctrination. 

The Musket wars Photo: Treatygate.

Uncomfortable facts (such as the Musket Wars and Maori cannibalism and the slavery of whites) will not be taught, as they may “offend” some people. Nor will the massive gifts that the settlement of New Zealand gave to Maoris be discussed (literacy, the smelting of metal, potatoes, and an end to slavery and cannibalism). Off-limit topics will include anything positive that settlement has done for Maoris (modern medicine and sanitation spring to mind), and anything negative the Maoris did (genocides and the extinction of hundreds of native species is one example.)

Instead, Aotearoa New Zealand Histories will pick out the “convenient facts” to teach our next generation, leaving out everything else. 

Leaving out the truth. 

What Can We Do about This?

For too long conservatives and libertarians have sat by and done nothing while the Left has been rampaging through our culture and traditions. We need to fight back. 

Start by having your say during the consultation period that lasts until May. Offer up comments, suggestions and criticism. Familiarise yourself with the proposed content. Write to political parties, church groups and especially the Ministry of Education and complain. I’ve provided some handy links below. Don’t put it off. We need to do this now, before this nonsense is further entrenched. 

Truth is, all New Zealanders, apart from a tiny number of extremists, want our kids to learn about history. It’s how we understand the past, find our place in it, and develop nuance and understanding of different viewpoints. 

However, at this point the extremists are firmly in charge, and they have no intention of teaching our children anything resembling the whole truth of our history. 

They must be stopped. We need to stop them. Now. 

Some handy emails You may wish to write to more than one party, regardless of who you support):

You may also wish to cc the principal of your local school – a full list of email addresses for schools is located at https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/find-school

The draft curriculum – and a link for feedback – is located here.

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