Wow. The 8th of September programme on Maori disadvantage really got some of you going!
Hello, it’s All things Political with John Porter on Bay FM.
On that 8th of September programme I highlighted some data on Maori disadvantage that I found on the E-Tangata website.
Maori make up 51% of the prison population, but just 17% of the general population.
One of my listeners fired back with his take on Maori disadvantage.
The listener said –
Otago University undertook some research on this subject a couple of years ago. They decided that the discrepancy must lie in (predictably) “institutional racism”. If they had given that conclusion any semblance of adult thought, they would have realised that they were declaring all sentencing judges to be racist! In my experience, the difference is explained by the fact that Maori keep re-offending while non-Maori generally don’t.
By going back to Court time and time-again, the Judge runs through the table of correctional options and is left with little or no alternative but jail.
In addition, it is highly unlikely that Otago University would have access to the full criminal history of the subjects that they studied. It is private information and would have required each individual studied to provide his/her authority for the release of that information.
I said: 46% of Maori apprehended are prosecuted, compared to 9% of Pakeha.
The listener said –
I have absolutely no idea where they found those statistics. Police are the only authority who might be able to comment on them but I have never heard of Police undertaking such a thing.
I said: The Maori unemployment rate is 9%, while it is 4.5% for Pakeha.
The listener said –
Why is it that Maori blame others for this statistic? Could the reason for Maori unemployment be linked to truancy and literacy?
I said: White advantage is maintained in many ways: through intergenerational wealth, discretionary decision-making, and everyday racism.
The listener said –
How is it that only Maori seem to suffer from racism? Perhaps they should take a leaf out of the book of our more recent Indian “colonisers”. They too were colonised by the British but for a far longer period than Maori. Most Indians know the value of a decent education, a strong work ethic and perhaps some good “discretionary decision-making”.
I said: Racism has helped to sustain colonisation over time and it is still present.
The listener said:
Does the author not understand the word “sustain”?
The listener further wrote:
I see our insistence on the definition of being Maori as being the root of our developing problem.
In 1985, the Labour Government, through Deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, introduced the Treaty of Waitangi Commission Amendment Bill into Parliament.
It allowed Maori to make claims against “the Crown”, i.e. taxpayer, for claims dating back to 1840. Prior to the Bill there were about 200 claims. In the year following the passing of the Bill that number grew to over 2,000.
Interestingly, the national census taken in 1986 showed a 40% jump in the Maori population where the usual annual growth was between 7% and 10%.
I am fairly confident that they did not engage in a “bonkathon” in those intervening years. I strongly suspect that people who had a smidgeon of Maori heritage anticipated an opportunity for privilege and unearned wealth so quickly identified themselves as “Maori”.
This self-identification as being Maori comes from Helen Clark’s statement that if someone identifies with the Maori culture he/she can become Maori (!)
It may be coincidence but in 1986, a year following Palmer’s Bill, Steven O’Regan became Tipene O’Regan and also became chair of the Ngai Tahu Board.
Steve is apparently only 1/16th Maori but has taken great advantage of his newly found heritage.
The reality is that Maori are the most privileged race in this country but are over represented in most of the ‘wrong’ statistics. I also suspect that they are also the greatest drain (by race) on the public purse.
Maori will continue to work away at improving their status and “mana” in the belief that no politician will display sufficient integrity and gumption to stop it.
That attitude has more recently been echoed by a comment made in December 2021 by a female Maori academic/activist who said “For 180 years Pakeha have been the ruling class. Now it’s our turn”.
Now my view on this is:
This “now its our turn” mantra will manifest itself as outrageous demands such as an autonomous police force and justice system.
On policing, that same academic/activist, when questioned answered, “It’s whether you try to fix the institution of the police, or whether you try and take some of their responsibilities off them. Perhaps even handing over some responsibilities to self-determining hapu and iwi policing authorities? Perhaps we could have our own self-determining police?”
Regarding a separate justice system, when told the “one law for all” lobby is pretty strong. Will we alienate mainstream if we advance this indigenous perspective to policing?
They replied, “I don’t know that mainstream opposition is inevitable. I back ourselves in being able to have open and robust conversations in educating mainstream New Zealand.”
Given this Labour Government, I bet she does!
She went on, “The reality is New Zealand society is changing. Our demographers tell us that the country is going to be pretty brown in another 20 years. So we’re talking about us soon having to convince a smaller and smaller minority. So I don’t know if mainstream opposition will continue to be unavoidable.”
All I can say is, God save New Zealand because there is no sign of anyone else with that inclination.