If you ever needed evidence that this country has gone to the dogs, it is the news that this Government is now funding research into the existence of taniwha. It’s not a small sum either, it’s $360,000:

A study celebrating Maori experiences and perspectives using the narratives of the taniwha has been given a financial boost in the latest Marsden funding round.

Dr Kirsty Dunn (Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa, Ngapuhi) of the University of Canterbury has been given $360,000 for her research project Taniwha: A Cultural History, which uses the taniwha to explain complexities and challenges both in Aotearoa and around the world, and find out who they are, rather than what they are.

Though taniwha are usually depicted in the supernatural sense, Dunn says, “When we look at various purakau, these are often our relations that challenge us, help us and guide us at times. So we really want to elevate those kinds of ways of thinking about taniwha.”

Te Ao Maori News

We are spending $360,000 to find out “who” taniwha are?

Knock me down with a feather…that shouldn’t cost anything at all; they are imaginary, made up, a figment of people’s imagination.

Worse, this research is going to see if they can find taniwha around the world!

That sounds suspiciously like they are getting the taxpayers to cough up so they can get their jollies on a wide-ranging overseas jaunt.

Instead of being incredulous, the journalist is waxing lyrical about this; proof positive that the PIJF is nothing but a fund to skew the news in favour of Maori ‘wonderfulness’.

Instead of calling out this funding as a ludicrous waste of money, they are lauding it as something wonderful.

No wonder no one trusts the media in New Zealand.

Help Fund Our NewsDesk

We are building a NewsDesk, hiring journalists and taking the fight to the mainstream media. Will you help fund our NewsDesk?

Your Donation
Donation Period *
Details
Payment
Like What You’ve Read?
Become a Member and Directly Support this Author

Please share this article so others can discover The BFD.

As much at home writing editorials as being the subject of them, Cam has won awards, including the Canon Media Award for his work on the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang story. When he’s not creating the news,...