OPINION
The only difference between the identity politics of the far-left and the identity politics of the far-right is the identity. While the revelation that the University of Auckland has a specific room restricted to those of Maori or Pasifika ethnicity may appear to be a new example of neo-Marxist wokeism, it isn’t particularly new or unique. The segregated rooms are a feature of several New Zealand universities and racial segregation has been on New Zealand law books since the country was founded.
I’m not suggesting for a second that New Zealand needs tougher enforcement of its existing compelled association (anti-discrimination) laws. Freedom of association is an inseparable aspect of individual liberty regardless of the reason an individual may choose to associate or avoid association with another individual or organisation. However, the ability of individuals to discriminate must not be extended to the state or organisations funded by the state. Taxpayers that oppose discrimination shouldn’t be forced to fund organisations that engage in discrimination nor should they be forced to pay for the state to discriminate or oppress themselves.
There is a very clear line that determines the morality of discrimination being legal or illegal. Are taxpayers required to fund this discrimination? Is this discrimination instigated by the government? If the answer to either of those propositions is ‘yes’ then the discrimination should not be permitted. If the answer is ‘no,’ then it should be legal, but I still argue that this particularly insipid form of collectivism should be opposed through private social sanction. The argument for freedom of association is little different to the argument for free speech; I don’t have to approve of the manner in which you exercise that freedom, I can exercise my freedom to criticise how you exercise your freedom but you’re still free.
Few New Zealanders would dispute that genuine wrongs were committed against Maori in the first decades following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. It is absolutely just that violations of the Treaty be compensated by the government, but a wide range of additional measures taken to legally privilege Maori are not justified by the Treaty claims process. I hardly need to go into the long list of legal racial privileges that now exist, but one of the oldest and most archaic is the separate Maori seats that were legislated prior to the 1867 election. Originally intended to be a form of enfranchising Maori at a time when property ownership was a prerequisite for voting, the seats have remained in place for 157 years and, since 1967, Maori exclusively can choose to vote in a Maori electorate or general electorate. This arrangement puts New Zealand into a small group of non-illustrious nations with ethnically reserved seats and a history of racial tensions, including Armenia, Croatia, Cyprus, Kosovo and Slovenia.
The University of Auckland’s segregated Maori and Pasifika space is just one small feature of an entire societal system that actively promotes special treatment on the basis of race as long as that race is Maori or Pasifika. As long as that university continues to accept taxpayer subsidies, it should be prohibited from continuing to engage in such discrimination. However, despite their high education and academic status, it is difficult for those attending and teaching at the university and those outside of it to agree on what racial discrimination actually is. UoA law student Shakeel Shamaail defends these spaces because they are “vital for wellbeing” and act to “counter the discrimination” Maori and Pasifika “face daily”. Apparently the “university scene” would be “imbalanced” without them. I’m unaware of any universities that have signs on doors stating that Maori and Pasifika are not permitted in the designated area. Shamaail says segregated spaces are a place that can be turangawaewae (“a place to stand” and the name of a marae in Ngaruawahia) and which Maori consider to be wahi tapu (a sacred place in the traditional, spiritual, religious, ritual or mythological sense). If the presence of non-Maori violates wahi tapu perhaps it is a concept that doesn’t deserve respect.
This inability to determine what discrimination actually is on a university campus isn’t just a consequence of the taxpayer-subsidised salaries of racist ivory tower academics. Handouts from the taxpayer-funded Marsden Fund also entrench nonsensical stubbornness that asserts that equal treatment is discrimination against me and discrimination against you fights discrimination. A grant of $861,000 was made to five members of the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education and Social Work to create a virtual reality experience in order for 150 non-Maori teachers to embody the discrimination Maori face daily in life and education. It is yet another duplicitous tool that will poison the education system force-funded by taxpayers who now have to reverse such damage after their children get home from school. How do we fix a problem that people cannot define or agree exists? Privatise education, and the market will determine the truth.
Racial collectivism, even if it is privately funded and therefore should be legal, is still a bad idea. Building events and organisations around skin colour compromises both quantity and quality through arbitrarily locking out individuals who otherwise would have been able to make a contribution. While researching this topic I came across the story of Southland High School student Alesana Lafoga who played in the Maori and Pasifika Water Polo tournament in February this year. Maori and Pasifika Water Polo is sufficiently niche to still be using a hotmail email address and was funded by Tauranga Water Polo. TWP appears to receive its funding from private charitable trusts though Baywave Aquatic Centre, the venue used for the event, is owned by Tauranga Council. The goal of M&PWP is “to get Maori – and Pasifika kids too, of course (don’t want to appear racist) – into swimming.” They also want to get the kids playing water polo and be taught by a Maori swimming instructor. The event beforehand was being talked up as being like “rugby in the water” because 10% of the country’s 2500 registered players were expected to attend. In the end, Alesana Lafoga had to play in two teams as several schools couldn’t muster enough players to field a team. Both teams Lafoga played for reached the final.
Surprisingly, I’m still insufficiently cynical to be baffled by the continuous cries of discrimination by those who discriminate against those who couldn’t be clearer in their condemnation of discrimination. I cannot see a solution as long as the government funds educators and an education system that misdefines racism to serve its own purposes. The education system and the discrimination system should be privatised so people can decide for themselves and pay for themselves; free people and free markets will determine who is correct.