OPINION
The election has been had. The coalition agreement is in place. For those of us on the right there is much to like; for those on the left it is a different story. Many of their expensive ideological policies have quite rightly gone. These include the racist policies brought in at the behest of the Labour Maori Caucus. Most voters were awake to the games Willie Jackson, Nanaia Mahuta and John Tamihere were playing. The type of policy arrangements they were trying to progress were very much a contributing factor to Labour’s devastating defeat.
While giving the left a begrudging vote of thanks for their assistance in electing a right-wing government, they don’t seem to have taken this fact on board. They, in opposition, will no doubt continually remind us of the reasons not to vote for Labour in coming elections as what they want, the majority of electors certainly don’t. Hipkins doesn’t even seem cognisant of the situation he’s got himself in. It’s doubtful the next leader, whoever that might be, will be any more realistic concerning their predicament. The Maori Party is Labour’s one-way ticket to the opposition benches.
These activists need only to look across the ditch to see there is little chance of their sorts of racist ideas being written into the statute books here. Anthony Albanese is starting to pay a heavy price for his actions and the current poll numbers have the coalition parties with their noses in front. The Yes vote for implementing The Voice started off well in front, but, as people woke up to the consequences of voting so, it ended up, not surprisingly, well behind. A similar result would play out here.
A number of policies to do with Maori have gone or will be amended. Three Waters will be abandoned, the use of the language in relation to government departments will be reduced, referenda will be required for Maori wards on councils, the Maori Health Authority will be gone, and a bill will be introduced regarding updating the Principles of the Treaty. The reality is that none of these issues will detrimentally affect the health and well-being of Maori. All Maori policies introduced under Labour have made not one iota of difference.
The difference has been to the health and well-being of the country as a whole. The racist activists on the left achieved nothing more than division and discontent. This is to a large degree why the polls were showing such a large number of people saying the country was heading in the wrong direction. The majority don’t want a bar of the racist rhetoric of the likes of Willie Jackson and his elite group of fellow travellers, who are only interested in themselves.
The reason that argument holds water is this: I have yet to see Willie and his elites suggest or do anything practical that would help his people, let alone talk about the issues. Instead of concerning himself with the plight so many of his people find themselves in, Willie is more interested in Three Waters and other things the incoming government has dispensed with. This is the problem. Willie and Maori need to start solving their own problems. The answer is not a Maori Health Authority or any other organisation designed to be specifically for Maori.
By Maori for Maori is a good approach but the answer is not tipping millions of taxpayer dollars into separate government-run organisations. The answers to Maori problems should be activated at a community level. While that is happening to a degree, it is obvious more input is needed. By Maori for Maori should be ‘Maori looking after Maori’. Again, this is feet on the ground in communities assisting and giving practical advice where and when it is necessary.
There is a lot Maori could do for themselves without constantly putting the hand out for handouts of the colonial currency. The elite activists of Maoridom seem to dislike the colonists but are only too happy to take their money. Money will not stop crime, low school attendance, family violence and tiny tots being killed. The bulk of the work required to solve problems needs to be done at a local level rather than relying on central government to solve problems. An example is Ngati Whatua Orakei building houses their whanau can purchase.
A year ago Willie Jackson himself said the Maori economy was worth $70 billion and by 2030 it could be worth $100 billion. He also said, “It seems ridiculous that we have a Maori economy worth $70 billion and yet Maori still have far and away the worst statistics in health, education, housing and employment.” He said the iwi who had invested wisely with their settlements (there are only three major ones) must start the trickle down of funds to support members of their tribe who are struggling.
Willie also echoed my thoughts that the best outcomes were when things happened at a community level. It would therefore be in Willie’s best interests, and of his people as a whole, if he put his efforts into such matters rather than trying to take ownership of the water (which is arrant nonsense), wasting money on an equally ridiculous media merger in order to shove more of his native tongue down our throats and his He Puapua document from which he said we had nothing to fear. Why did he hide it then?
Maori are Kiwis like the rest of us. They don’t need special treatment. They do need, among themselves, to sort their problems out. There is no reason they cannot use some of their own funds to achieve the necessary outcomes. Health, education, job availability, welfare and other such issues should see Maori treated in the same way and to the same degree as everyone else. If they need urgent medical attention they should get it immediately without the need for it to be race based.
Land confiscation is the one thing needed to be dealt with and largely has been. The incoming government should put a timeframe on any compensations outstanding and halt the gravy train at the next station. There are about 60 thousand small-to-medium Maori businesses and sole traders across the country. Many will be employing other people and are showing they are quite capable of standing on their own two feet. Some Maori, like other Kiwis, are not so fortunate and should be treated like their fellow citizens.
This incessant attitude of victimhood must stop. It is not helpful – in fact quite the opposite. Young Maori need to be told that opportunities are available to them provided they attend school and get the education they need. A number of tribes and organisations offer educational grants to Maori students. The constant harping on about how downtrodden they are and that it’s all the fault of colonialism is tiresome and becomes less credible with the passage of time.
Maori have a lot to thank the colonials for, and some positivity in this regard from the Maori MPs on the left in Parliament is long overdue. The picture they prefer to paint, to suit their own ends, is not representative of the country as a whole, nor of their entire race. Chris Hipkins says the incoming government’s policies in regard to Maori will divide the country. The poor chap is unaware that’s precisely what he has already done and, as I have mentioned, it largely contributed to his defeat.
Maori would be probably the most-supported indigenous race on planet earth. The attitude of ‘it’s never enough’ has to stop and those who are promoting it need to realise if this country, and EVERYONE in it, is to succeed, they need to put their shoulder to the wheel and make it happen. Only then will the goals of the incoming government be realised and the much needed prosperity be gained. Most Maori, it must be said, are like the rest of us, playing their part.