RANKIN IS CRANKIN

Well well. It seems that outspoken Maori and media slut David Rankin has some supporters on his home turf.

Rankin hit the headlines the other day for doing a slam dunk on an issue that has itched us for a long time - that the King of Tainui had somehow morphed into the Maori King.

So today we see that his own iwi agree that Rankin can be abrasive but that he speaks the truth and is reflective of a larger body of opinion within the tribe. And that from no less than Sonny Tau.

"Let's not pussyfoot around. Ngapuhi has never been part of the Kingitanga. I don't think what he said was wrong. It was the way he said it.

"I sit back and giggle to myself sometimes - he's got balls the size of moa eggs."

For his part, Mr Rankin says he isn't going to change his "shock and awe" method.

"I realise that the media is our new marae. There are 126,000 Ngapuhi. If I was to call a meeting at my marae there'd be 50 people.

"People say Ngapuhi are wild but in reality we want everyone else to put their point of view across. This has started debate.

"Who is critiquing Maori society today? Nobody. You have to have debate otherwise you may as well be Pakehas."

Ngai Tahu have never had much love for Nga Puhi - something to do with them cuddling Te Rauparaha - Ngai Tahu's sworn enemy but today we want to tautoko Sonny. What he has done by publicly supporting Rankin is open up the way for some unedited, reasoned and forthright debate on some important issues facing Maori.

We expect that level of support will see Rankin develop bigger balls. And from a girly point of view he aint bad lookin either.

Let the korero begin.

KING OF WISHFUL THINKING

There are as many people who like David Rankin as dont - He must be a thorn in the side of some Nga Puhi.

Today he has pulled a cracker out of the hat. He is claimed that the monarchial creep which has seen the King of Tainui become widely recognised as the Maori King is a crock of shit and a slur on other tribes.

Well, funny thing is that we wrote about just this issue a few weeks back - In all our time skittering around Southern Marae we were left in no doubt that Ngai Tahu were expected to respect the "Queen" ( the Kings mum)as the leader of Tainui but it was drummed into us that she was not our Queen.

So we reckon that Rankin has a good point. Go him.

OFF WITH HIS PECKERHEAD

We have never supported monarchies. We are hardcore republican.

Either has Ngai Tahu for that matter. They pay deference to the role of the Tainui King as a mark of respect to Tainui but Ngai Tahu have never believed in the sanctity of the Maori monarchy.

Ngai Tahu supported the notion of tribal chiefs and the paternal role they played but at any time they could be replaced if their leadership skills were found wanting. The mere fact that these days - the tribal chief - the Kaiwhakahaere is subject to a vote bears that out.

Tainui's "king" Teheitia seems to be drawing inspiration from that well known bunch of inbreds the Windsors - in a bid to ensure that his primary role is to provide light entertainment to us all. He is fast becoming a mirror image of that other overblown wanker full of his own piss and importance - the King of Tonga - who is the laughing stock of the Pacific.

Now Teheitia was born into Tainui "royal" family but in the real world he was a former truck driver. By all accounts he is a nice enough bloke but he is not up to providing the pomp that one expects from a "king."

And rumour has it he loves travelling more than a muttonbird and adores all the scraping and bowing that goes with his title when he goes overseas. He apparently gets a far better run from foreign dignitaries than he does in NZ.

The latest leaking of some poorly constructed advice about how "commoners" are expected to look and behave in the presence of the "king" shows how silly, and frankly insulting his reign has become to the rest of us who descended from a mix of waka bailers and chiefs.

Funny thing is - in times of old - crap "royals" usually got the arse from the general populous if they started to act like dickheads.

While we don't advocate a beheading, its time that Tainui had a good look at the external damage this anachronistic institution is doing to the tribes mana. So maybe its about time that Tainui looked around their whanui for a better leader and got all modern and scrapped the King thing.

If the tribe really want respect they need to get rid of the silly fatuous monarchy that does little but bleed the coffers of the tribe and that does little but reinforce the commonly held pakeha view that Maori are a bunch of uppity dumb arses who like shiny things.

WHY SUBSIDISE THE UBER WAKA?

Well as taxpayers you subsidise the symphony orchestra and the ballet.

They are both a net burden on the taxpayer. People are saying the last big Maori cultural centre went bust. It did - probably because some skinny arsed pommy sheila wanted to showcase brown people.. And it was all too twee.

The Uber waka is about Maori showcasing what they think is the essence of their culture , both traditional and modern. It is their story.

So to all those who say that NZ should not fund the waka. Well apply the same logic to the Ballet and the Symphony orchestra and chop their funding as well.

Orchestras and ballets are not unique to NZ. Maori are. They are a selling point for the country.

Will the Waka get tourists to come here - of course not. Will it get them to come again and have a longer lingering look. If its done right - yes.

Will it showcase something that is uniquely NZ? yes. Can it be used again? yes.

Each iwi has the chance to promote its region. I think that Ngai Tahu will be all over this opportunity as it gives them a unique spring board to promote their growing network of tourism ventures in the South Island.

Maori have the drive and passion to make this a success.

And can some journalist with a bit of time on their hands please ask Shane Jones to provide evidence of where he has added value to any Maori owned assets. He has always played with other peoples money. And we want to see the evidence where his "skills" have added value.

The kumara vine is awash with concern for the Maori fisheries enterprises.

Go on- have a look - ask some hard questions - there is definitely something fishy going on.

HOW NOW BROWN COW?

We note that Ngai Tahu is wanting a piece of the Milky Way action. Thats great. Diversification is good. And the goal to own and operate a profitable environmentally friendly business is laudable and wise.

However, Ngai Tahu objected strongly to the proposal to build a mega dairy farm in the McKenzie basin. It could be seen that they use the the Resource management act to hobble other entrepreneurs so that they can get a running start on their own businesses.

Only a year ago they werent too fussed about dairying - and were all talk about " cultural values and sacred water"

Ngai Tahu supports water being made available to provide security of supply for landowners but is concerned at the possible conversion to dairying. Almost without exception, the conversion over recent years of dry land farms to dairying has brought with it a host of adverse environmental effects and has resulted in the significant degradation in the quality of our rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands. This has impacted seriously on the cultural health of waterways and has resulted in the further loss of access by tangata whenua to mahinga kai sites and resources. Needless to say, Ngai Tahu is strongly opposed to any repetition of this situation in the upper Waitaki/Te Manahuna/Mackenzie Basin Before Ngai Tahu will be prepared to depart from this position, it will need to be convinced that suitable measures can be implemented at both the on-farm and catchment level that will be capable of avoiding and/or mitigating the site-specific and cumulative adverse effects that will arise as a result of conversion to dairying.

How times have changed.

Ngai Tahu needs to be very careful. Yes it is a significant player in the South Island economy- mainly because of the smart white fellas they employed like Tony Sewell.

We wish them well with the Dairying venture. They have 35,000 ha forestry land that is probably not returning much in the way of value. So dairying is definitely a smart move. But what it is highlighting is that Ngai Tahu is in danger of looking hypocritical, chastising others about their methods then a few months later signalling that they are seriously looking at the same large scale operations.

We are also interested to know why they have not entered dairying with a joint venture partner. Its a complex business and it would seem to make sense to tap into the expertise NZ operators have built up rather than go it alone.

No doubt we will find out the answers to that in due course.

INSULT!

Now we are all for Maori designs being used to promote and indeed capitalise on the Rugby World Cup.

And its good to see some people show some commercial nous and for TPK to open doors and the like - but why should there be any support for a tee-shirt that talks about death?

Now on the face of it , our reaction to the Ka Mate teeshirt seems odd considering our derision for most PC concerns but we are Ngai Tahu and we have a deeply ingrained hatred for the song.

Te Rauparaha raided and killed many Ngai Tahu in an attempt to take over the South Island. What we really want to know is, has any government money been spent on developing these teeshirts?

If so, then its not the wisest investment the government has made in the RWC and to top it off, this weekend witnessed some ugly crowd violence at a rugby league match - so are kids wearing teeshirts talking about dying and killing going to add to a fun, environment at the Rugby World Cup?

Hardly.

We are seriously considering reviving a teeshirt that was made popular by Bluff Fishermen a few years back. It was about the time way back in history when Ngai Tahu got their own back on Te Rauparaha . He had sent some of his kin down south do have a look see and Ngai Tahu welcomed them and then slaughtered and ate some of them abut kept one skinny bugger alive and sent him back to tell the chief to f**k off and never ever consider coming south again.

He didnt .

The even is known colloquially as the "Last Supper at Tuturau" the teeshirts were in the form of a skull and cross bones but the bones were a knife and fork. A bit like the one above..

Might be a job for Mr Vintage..

JASON WRIGHT

Today Southland will be in mourning for a young man who was making his mark on the local aviation scene.

Jason Wright, 29 wanted to be a helicopter pilot pretty much from the day he could talk.

Now small towns can be pretty hard to get out of sometimes, the lifestyle can be quite seductive. Jason was the only son of Liz and John, both born and bred Southlanders of Ngai Tahu descent. They are great parents and did all they could to help Jason realise his dream of being a helicopter pilot and its a huge credit to them that he ended up doing the thing he was born to do - fly.

Our son is a helicopter pilot too, so we know just how expensive it is and how hard a career it is to crack.

He and my son shared botha passion for flying and of the south.

Jason was good looking young man who was unfailingly polite and he was single minded in the pursuit of his dream.

He started flying around the age of 18. He flew both here in New Zealand and in places like Cambodia where he was involved in animal recovery. He could have set up shop anywhere in the world, but he chose to go back to the place of his heart - Bluff. It was home and like most of us who hail from those parts - we have a bond with Stewart Island that can never be broken.

This year he took us to our Muttonbird Island. He looked after his passengers like they were his own whanau - muttonbirders are really one big whanau anyway. Jason understood them and they loved him for it.

In fact, I suspect that for many years the hard money that Liz and John earned from muttonbirding, would have gone to help Jason realise his dream.

He was on our facebook page. We shared stories on there from time to time and the photos he took showed his passion for Stewart Island was probably as strong as his passion for helicopters.

He soon established himself as a trusted and popular pilot and as a young Bluff businessman. Bluffies were so very very proud of him. He was the role model many parents suggested to their kids that they could do well to emulate. He was the epitome of the small town boy doing good.

Today they found his body and that of the chap he was flying with - Allan Munro, another man who was obviously a lover of aviation, in the cold waters of the Bluff Harbour.

It is so hard when good men die young. So hard to fathom the reason for it all.

But we will remember the Jason who sucked the juice out of the fruit of life every damn day. He didn't waste one second of his time. He was still in awe at the beauty of the places he got to visit every day and he understood the people of the south and he loved sharing both with those from other places. His was not just a life well lived -it was a life lived best.

IS NGAI TAHU SEREPISOS NEW BESTEST FRIENDS?

Okay, while there doesn't seem to be too much surprise that Ngai Tahu is eyeing up the good pickins from the carcass of South Canterbury Finance apparently they are also mucking around in the Capital as well.

Sources say that Ngai Tahu picked up some high profile debt of about $10million for what in financial terms looks like a song.

So does this mean us southern white chocolate Ngai Tahu beneficiaries will get free tickets to see the Phoenix???

NGAI TAHU STILL BIDDING FOR A SLICE OF HUBBARDS PIE

Due Dillgence boys - due diligence...

While we were not overly surprised that Ngai Tahu is putting up a serious bid for some of the Hubbard baubles that still had a bit of a shine on them, we are still a bit concerned, as apparently are some of those at the Top Table. According to our sources the deal is still live. There is considerable nervousness about this deal and there was also considerable surprise that the details had been leaked.

Questions are being asked about just where those leaks have come from and this time it does not look like the info, that ended up in the hands of Labour party leader in waiting David Cunliffe, came from the cuzzies.

There remains considerable risk with the Hubbard portfolio, as we understand that there are still many unknowns. So we hope that everyone proceeds with caution.

We dont want to end up owning few choppers and a couple of farms if they are not long term strategic assets with viable long term returns.

However, some of the assets do present some real opportunities, so as we said before, due diligence boys, due diligence.

YESTERDAY'S MAN

That Hone Harawira fella has a way of pissing people off and today he really riled us up with his silly bloody racist comment about miscegenation. He don't want his brown kids to mix it up with white kids.

He thinks its the way that many people think. Well thats just wrong.

Funny our dad never had a problem with us bringing home anyone with a touch of the tar brush but he had a huge issue with us bringing home a Nga Puhi.. Hated them with a vengance. When you see the mindless prejudice displayed by Hone , dads fears had some foundation. Some of them are a bit different and not in a good way.

Funnily enough, my scottish protestant grandfather, whom I shadowed most of my life, refused to talk to me for weeks whenI told him I was going out with a Catholic McDonald.

" No good will come of that," he said. His was a deep seated religous prejudice.

He was wrong . The McDonald was a good un .

Racism and prejudice of the sort displayed by Hone is best left for the history books.

Hone is definitely yesterdays man.

SHIFTING SANDS IN THE SOUTH

We understand that the power base within Te Runanga O Ngai Tahu has shifted. Mark Solomon, in the past, has been able to count on a 50/50 split - nine members on his side - nine against. His casting vote has always given him the power. There are some new faces at the table now and the numbers have shifted. So Solomon doesn't have the numbers any more.

The next few months are going to prove very challenging for the tribe.

TAU STUBS OUT CHANCE OF EARLY DEAL ON FORESHORE AND SEABEDBED

The Kumara vine has been pulsing this  afternoon. Our Maori sources say that a very recent meeting between Iwi and the Prime Minister John Key came perilously close to reaching a conclusion on the Foreshore and Seabed issue.

Apparently it was all good to go until Sonny Tau backed by Mark Solomon presented a set of demands that derailed the deal.  Now, while most Maori see the repeal of the Foreshore and Seabed Act as paving  they way for them to make claims for customary title, there is concern that some tribes ( put Ngai Tahu at the top of the list ) are more interested in using the negotiations to leverage mineral rights.

So the primary issue about Tikanga ( traditional ways)  -  is playing second fiddle to greed.  Principles are the first casualty.

Meanwhile, our Ngai Tahu sources say that Dr Gail Tipa's appointment to Te Runanga O Ngai Tahu board  on behalf of Moeraki means that Solomons support is further eroded. While she does not play personality politics she wont stand for any silliness either. Solomon - is still valiantly trying to hold off the day when his runaka get the chance to vote on his fate.

The rest of the iwi throughout the country  and a fair stack of  Ngai Tahu reckon that the sooner Solomon's reign is brought to an end the better for the tribe and indeed all Maori.

IN DEEP

In about three weeks we are going to be here.

Its Ernest Island which is a  short swim to Stewart Island, one of the southern most and isolated muttonbird  islands and on a good day with the sun shining on the ebb tide and the fish biting, its kinda paradise. When the southerly comes up and your words are thiefed by a gale to disappear forever - its  hells next door neigbour .
And yes, those waters are so clear you hang over the end of the dinghy and watch the blue cod commit suicide on a rusty hook baited up with the arse of a muttonbird.


We have been commissioned to write a story on this years trip , which we will be taking with our 73 year old father, 69 year old mother and 28 year old son.

The story will be in a magazine called New Zealand Today - and the editor is an old work colleague, Allan Dick.
We will be without  a cellphone and there is no internet coverage. We can talk on  a VHF and in the past we have taken down a Satellite Phone, but it costs a bit  - last time it was $600 for 2 weeks.( if anyone wants to sponsor us  - please let us know!)

It will be hard work,  and fun and always brings us closer together as a family. We work and live together in very confined quarters - Our power is a generator, we have a coal range that needs all the love an attention of an expensive mistress to keep us a warm and fed.

We have a long drop  but we have a good shower. Well we did two years ago. The first few days are always spent gerry rigging the things that have broken or deteriorated without constant maintenence. Its one of the joys and challenges of the place. Getting by with what you have got at hand.

We will take our computer  and blog when we can  and then we will put them all up on Roarprawn when we get back about the 14th of May. We will be taking a video as well.

And yep we sell the birds we catch to defray expenses.  It will cost  the four of us over $2500 to get down  by boat and chopper from Bluff  and thats is not taking into account the $1000 dollars for me and the son to fly Air New Zealand. But its worth every godamn hard earned dollar it costs to get there.
The boat we are travelling on is skippered by Jack Topi, he is  the grandson of Peter Topi, my Uncle who along with  a bunch of our cousins was tragically drowned on the Kotuku back in 2006. "Big Teep"  as my Uncle was affectionately known, would be bloody proud of his grandson, in fact his whole family have done him proud. 

We are alos looking for some guest bloggers to keep the Roarprawn feeding the masses while we are out of range.
And if you want to buy some birds then contact us on bustedblonde@gmail.com

OUT OF FAVOUR ??

We remember fondly one of Gerry Brownlee's great lines about National Party operative Bryan Sinclair , whom at the time was supposed to be in charge of every major PR play by the National Party under the leadership of Don Brash.

Gerry, effectively ended all speculation by the media that Sinclair was still a "key man" involved in party strategy when he declared he was " someone who puts out chairs at press conferences"

It was clear by that cutting comment that Sinclair was no longer a party influencer.

We think that we are witnessing the same falling from favour of Ngai Tahu functionary( actually she is General Manager of Strategy and Influence) Sacha McMeeking who was recently appointed by National to the infrastructure Technical Advisory Group by Nick Smith on the 28th of January this year.

Its terms of Reference are:

Infrastructure Technical Advisory Group

The RM Phase II Infrastructure Technical Advisory Group (TAG) is appointed to provide independent advice to the Minister for the Environment on proposals for the reform of the Infrastructure provisions in the RMA and related legislation.

The Scope of the TAG's investigation of infrastructure work will include:

• A review of the role of designations in facilitating infrastructure development and an examination of options for reviewing and streamlining the designation mechanism.
• An investigation of alternatives to designations for planning for and managing the effects of activities on network infrastructure.
• Streamlining and integrating processes including for acquisition and compensation, under the Public Works Act 1981 and other legislation.

Ms McMeekings biography for that job reads:

Sacha McMeeking is of Ngāi Tahu descent and in 2009 was appointed General Manager Strategy and Influence with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.

Sacha McMeeking was a law lecturer at University of Canterbury from 2005 to 2007 and her career to date has included legal academia, social work, kaupapa Māori programme design and strategic and political advice. Sacha McMeeking will bring a strong Māori perspective to the group.

All that is very interesting as apparently Ms McMeeking was the author of the Iwi Forum
" alternative model "for for the Foreshore and Seabed Act. as well.


The government was apparently angered at the leaking of the " Alternative model" which pays lips service to property rights. Interestingly, that last week that led her to being described as a "relatively junior operative" .

However Fran O' Sullivan certainly didn't think Ms McMeeking was a relatively junior operative. She wrote :

"This document, written by Maori strategist and Ngai Tahu staff member Sacha McMeeking, was quickly played down once the Government started asking questions.

But McMeeking is no "relatively junior operative", as the Government has suggested. Her suggestion that the new act should be silent on the issue of ownership and that decision-making and autonomy of iwi and hapu be increased has not been disavowed by the leadership group. Neither has her suggestion that the concept of mana is enduring and inalienable, that coastal iwi/hapu have the right to continue to express that mana and that may encompass development and other rights."

She also suggests iwi/hapu should have veto rights over economic development including coastal occupation and resource extraction - "the Crown will panic at the thought of a nationwide veto but if it was applied to identifiable sites they might cope".

Whoever leaked the document has done all Kiwis a favour by bringing these shadowy dealings into the open."

All this against a backdrop of a Fantastic speech at Waitangi, by John Key where the Property Rights issue was given prominence

"In our homes and communities New Zealanders of all ethnicities live and work side-by-side in pursuit of a shared set of aspirations. No matter our cultural heritage, by and large New Zealanders value hard work and education, we seek better living standards and increased opportunities for our children, and we want this to be an inclusive nation where we respect each other and where each of us has the opportunity to get ahead.

Implicit in that set of values is an acknowledgment of the legal and cultural traditions we have in common. We share a respect for the rule of law, for property rights and for a basic sense of fairness in which Jack is as good as his neighbour.

The descriptor, relatively junior operative, applied to McMeeking , like that applied to the hapless Bryan Sinclair, is an indicator that her star maybe waning.

We watch developments on this front with interest.

RANGI WEEPS

We are speechless.




We really don't know what to say other that this breaks BB's golden rule. Use words bigger than Wheelbarrow more than three times in one sentence and you are in serious danger of sounding very silly.

NGAI TAHU NIGEL NO MATES?

We have been listening to the whispering sands as the tribes and the government gather at Waitangi this weekend. There was a move by the government to consider the notion contained in the fluffy foreshore seabed paper proposal we detailed here. However, we understand that apart from Ngai Tahu, the spurious paper has found little favour among other tribes and there is concern about how the paper came to be leaked. It has lead to a new level of mistrust among many of the parties.

So its probably off the agenda for any meetings between the government and tribal leaders.

We think that there is a fair chance that Ngai Tahu is about to learn that it has fallen out of favour with many powerful tribes. It's to do with a perception that the Southern tribes leaders have become arrogant. And there is growing suspicion that they would rather cut private deals with the Government than look to developing solid, bound- in - law principled solutions that will benefit all Maori.

They have apparently spent close to one million dollars on what the tribal beauracrats call "Strategy and Influence."

Commonly called lobbying.

Money that could have been spent giving our old people a Christmas top up or indeed bolstering the tribal superannuation scheme.

Instead the tribe has spent a million bucks a- hui - ing and a- hongi-ing with politicians and power brokers. Schmoozing. What they have achieved is not clearly obvious to the tribal rank and file. But in Wellington they have succeeded in producing one change. Some tribal leaders and many of the paid lickspittles are now viewed with contempt and suspicion.

While there will be posturing and posing for the cameras at Waitangi, it will be the backrooms where there could be some interesting proposals put forward. Our money is not on Ngai Tahu leading any solution. Sadly - it has become the problem.

LOOKS LIKE A KURI BARKS LIKE A KURI

We were alerted to two documents that have been leaked to the Tangata Whenua.com website that show that the Foreshore and Seabed issue is in trouble.

The first we understand, is an early draft of an "alternative proposal" to the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Its custodians are apparently the Iwi Leaders Forum.

The second is rebuttal, and although the language is a bit intemperate the premise and analysis is sound.

The " Alternative proposal" is a ( kuri ) dog .. for these reasons.

Its shows a scant understanding of property rights or commerce.

And it shows an even scanter understanding of tikanga.

It proffers a solution that is all about status – that will piss Pakeha off – but offer no real legal or commercial benefit for Maori.

The cock up with the Foreshore and Seabed act was that it did not recognise property rights or due process.

As a nation we need not fear ownership of small bits of the Foreshore and Seabed by Maori - indeed we should embrace it. With rights come responsibilities.

Instead this document is a wishy washy salve to political objectives ( note it even refers to " feel good" factors) and not a rights based approach.

What New Zealanders want is something that is fair and legally robust.

While the Iwi Leaders Forum denotes a group with mana and intellect this paper is a simplistic attempt to take more than can be morally justified but less than that which might be legally justified

It trades off the tiny bit of the foreshore Ngati Apa may have been able to get, in exchange for a nebulous bit of feel-good nonsense around the whole South Island coast line .

The fact of the matter is that there is no simplistic feel good national solution to this problem – it has to be based on the law and due process iwi by iwi

The paper was apparently written by controversial Maori strategist and influencer Sacha McMeeking.

If so we wonder how much she was paid for it?

simplistic solution to complex issue

takedown

NGAI TAHU NEWS - GOSS FROM THE TABLE

We have reported on the website Ngai Tahu established by Te Runanga O Ngai Tahu newbie Tahu Potiki.

His website indicates a welcome and new level of hitherto unseen transparency by runanga representatives.

We have also been given a bit of good oil on the latest meeting of the "Table" as the meetings are known as.

Firstly new member Quentin Hix is a well known figure in South Canterbury, a barrister and solicitor. Its great to see someone with a legal background join our tribal leaders but by all accounts , Mr Hix could do with a smidgen more humility.. And he can probably be forgiven for talking lots - he is used to holding the floor in court.

However BustedBlondes first rule for newbies on any organisation - the ratio of listening to talking should be about 95/20.

That being said the general consensus is that Hix is a good appointment and he has the added bonus of looking good too.

There are still a few elections to be held, the most important being Kaikoura, the last bastion of current Ngai Tahu chair Mark Solomon. We note that while all other runanga have at least begun the election process that Kaikoura are still trying to work out what process they will follow.

We have heard that there is a new air of co-operation at The Table and maybe that relates to the tenuous hold some representatives have on their positions.
However, we are mightily pleased with this new cohesion at the Table as it all bodes well for a good year for Ngai Tahu Whanui.

NGAI TAHU NEWS - TAHU POTIKI ON LINE

Tahu Potiki, the new appointed representative for Otakou at Te Runanga O Ngai Tahu, has joined the online community. He has set up a very well designed and easy to navigate website with a blog.

2010, we believe, will be a watershed year for Ngai Tahu. Tahu talks about the collective responsiblity of leadership as well as his thoughts on a range of issues. They bear the hall marks of of a thinker and someone who understands the needs and aspirations of his people.

We believe that Tahu, this time round as a politician sitting at the table rather than as a bureaucrat running the organisation, is where he will find his true calling.
We are delighted that he has done a quick synopsis blog of the latest Te runanga O Ngai Tahu meeting -
It will be welcomed by the many Nga Tahu who are scattered to the four winds.

Tahu is a big man with a big personality and some would content a big ego. Thats not a bad thing as long as one delivers on their self belief.

So we wish Tahu well this year. His mission is an important one and he has our full support.

HOT STUFF

We are still pondering the ETS deal. Never ever before have we seen right wing commentators to a man and woman be so universal in their critical condemnation of a political decision.

And that criticism also extends to the venal play by Ngai Tahu which has seen them " secure" the planting rights to about 30,000ha of unused DOC land in the South Island to plant native forests.. They can claim the carbon credits for what they plant but they have to manage the forests and they have to plant them as well. We reckon analysis further down the track will show its the most crap deal any iwi has ever signed up to.

And a good Maori mate reckons the fellas who are taking the free trip to the Climate Change talks in Copenhagen as part of the Maori Party deal look like - quote, " house niggers"

Tough term but apt.

We wonder if ace guitarist and songster Tim Groser has been practicing Ten Guitars for the trip with the bro's. Or maybe he will get everyone singing " Hot Stuff"
Or maybe Burning down the house.


We think that Nick Smith is actually the fall guy in all this. We reckon there will be a big dip in the polls as the public comes to grips with the ETS and its ramifications.
Smith is Keys sacrificial lamb. He gets the shit job of shoving through all the unpopular legislation like climate change and ACC and then we reckon that Key will cut him lose and demote him as a succour to an angry public. The result - a bounce back in the polls.

Did we say that? Nah must have been a flight of fancy -too much red wine. Key is way too nice to do that to Smith- isn't he?

We not to sure if we want to laugh or cry....