RESPECT IS A TWO WAY STREET

We have had a rethink on Hones affirmation speech to parliament - note to self - dont blog til have all the facts.

We only saw a snippet of the telecast of Hone's swearing in and thought that it was because he was speaking Te Reo that got Lockwood all grumpy. But it wasn't he was trying to swear allegiance to the Treaty and the dispossessed.

Anyway we watched Te Karere this morning and Scotty asked Hekia what she thought of Hone's grandstanding.

She put it simply - Marae all over the country have different protocols and its respectful to abide by them. Parliament is a big Marae. There are protocols and Hone should follow them as he would expect people to follow them on his Marae.

and Tariana said the same

However, she did not condone Mr Harawira's actions. She said she would be deeply offended if someone visited her marae and sought to impose their own tikanga [customs.]

"It was a deliberate act. I think it's called stunt politics - you do it because you know you're going to get attention from it."

So Hone expects us to be be nice in his house but is content to shit in ours.

HAERE RA HONE

Good on the Maori Party - they have given Hone an clear and unequivocal "Haere Ra" - the Maori "bums rush". The big - "piss off" , the "DCM", The "eeew you smell. " - and why ? Because he speaks with a forked tongue - he is a loser - on so many fronts Hone is just Hehe

There is one striking difference between the Maori Party and the Mana Party - Integrity.

Its going to be an interesting election.

EXCUSES OR SOLUTIONS - ASK THE DEAD BABIES

So a piece of research commissioned by a child advocacy group is supposed to show that Maori did not mistreat their children until they were taught the dark domestic arts by pakeha.

The research and its findings are already being criticised and rightly so.

Firstly it is a shameful waste of money that would be better spent on ways to reduce the shocking Maori child abuse statistics.

This group and the woefully lily livered Childrens Commission are falling short in their duty to protect children. What they have done is create a report that provides yet another excuse - it does not provide any solutions.

Contrast this to a young woman Cherie who lived next door to Serenity Scott Dennington who death is being treated as suspicious. She organised a hui to look at ways to prevent more abuse. She called on the people of her community to act collectively to put an end to the violence. So what happened? Cherie has been vilified by her own community for talking openly about the need to find a solution and for people to stand up to those who beat their children. Labelled a nark. Cherie is a beacon of hope in a dark community - not dark because its predominately Maori but dark in deeds.

Hone Kaa should not look to our imperfect past for the answers - instead it is the here and now where his group should be focussing their attention.

The silence of a community is a cowardly sign of acceptance of child abuse. If it creates no shame then it is normalised. It needs brave people like Cherie to lead communities out of that dark place so the children can be restored to their natural place as a treasure. A value not just held exclusively by Maori of old but by every population on earth.

NGAI TAHU ABOUT TO REAP RETURNS OF TRIBES INVESTMENTS?

It looks like it. We are delighted to read about our tribes future from the NZ Herald.
We are delighted that Mark Solomon keeps presenting all the good financial ideas the tribe has as his own, when in fact the real financial grunt comes from Wally Stone et al new appointments to the Table.

We are delighted that Mark still manages to sound like a complete arrogant prick.

All that aside Maori do have the collective financial grunt to be a force to be reckoned with in the years ahead we have said that for a bloody long time.

Fran has written an illuminating piece on the tribe , and we are not sure if its deliberate or not but you get the impression that Solomon was waving his big swinging todger around while he was being interviewed.

We are also delighted to hear that iwi will be able to invest in the commercial assets of the tribe. However we would have thought that it is more important to tell the people what the tribe is up to before telling the rest of New Zealand and a quick scan of the cuzzies indicates that this is the first they have heard of it. Mind you a few of us were on the muttonbird islands ( and many still are ) doing what Ngai Tahu/Waitaha/ KatiMamoe Maori traditionally do.

But then that says it all really. They are getting on with making their own way in the world while Solomon gets to play around with other peoples money and then forgets to ensure that they at least know what the grand plan is and there is a deep suspicion among many down south that Mark is quick to let people think that he is the brains behind the tribe.

Better communications boys with the people you serve .. please otherwise you just come across as paternalistic twats.

And less of the puff pieces and more accolades for the real financial thinkers behind the strategic direction the tribe is heading.

BLACKFELLAS BETTER AT INSULTS THAN MAORI

holy crap. The Hone Harawira chronicles are NZ famous for their vitriol and racist darts flying from all points on the political spectrum but if you really want to see political dog fighting at its worst you need to look across the Tasman. Strangely it appears its two aboriginals who differ on how Aboriginals should get their shit together who really scrape the invective barrel.

Its a very ugly yarn.

UBER FACTS - FOR THE UBER WAKA

The UBER WAKA FACTS

• The Waka is actually a funkily designed pavilion that will seat 200 people and has room for a 1000.
• It is made from the same materials as the Cloud Pavilion. A PVC Covered Frame – to ensure that it is portable.
• Creative NZ funds both the Ballet and the Symphony orchestra to the tune of $4m a year.
• The Waka is being built for less than $1 million
• $1.1 million is for events and cultural performances and entertainment. Its funded from the Cultural Diplomacy fund. That Fund is normally used to “take” Nz Arts to the world – like subsidising the NZSO tour of China. All iwi will be invited to submit proposals.
• As its the RWC 2011 year the funding is being spent in New Zealand because of the Foreigners who will come here.
• The $1.1million for events at the Uber Waka pavillion will have to be applied for in the normal way for each performance.
• But its been set aside for performances in and around the Waka.
• And most of the Cultural Diplomacy fund is being used to fund other RWC projects around the country not on the Waka entertainment.
• So we think that for a tourist they have some choices – food, fashion and industry in the Cloud and Maori Culture in the Uber Waka on the Auckland waterfront. We reckon there will be queues at the Waka and the Cloud. Similar structures are used around the world for Expo type events.

So what its not:

-A plastic canoe

-Something for only one iwi.

-Expensive

-Silly

HONE - TIME TO GO BRO

So Hone shed some tears today. It was a pretty indulgent interview.

Were they tears of a humble man? We dont think so - more likely to be due to the fact that he thought he was bigger than the party and he has just realised he has squandered his chance to really help make a difference to the lives of some Maori. Hone did hold much promise - his tireless efforts to reduce smoking rates indicated early on that when he campaigned on an issue he campaigned hard.

We have written lots about him over the last 2 and a half years - some of it complementary but sadly its now clear he is yesterdays man.

He has been badly advised - probably by his hate breathing dragon of a mother Titawhai

We hope that the Maori Party ditches him this week and they get on with making the gains for Maori wherever they can. Being in government means they can do that. In opposition they are reduced to pointless finger pointing and name calling - the war cry of the powerless.

Matt McCarten tries to paint the picture that it is all about personalities - it is not. Harawira's politics is about an interpretation of the past that centres on blame. It is politics that is mired in an imperfect history. It does not seek to build relationships that lead to better lives for everyone - no- his is the politics of hatred and envy.

On the other hand Turia and Sharples know that the answers for their people have to be based on the politics of aspiration - that a better future lies in in forming alliances that will give those who are now choked in the dust on the side of lifes road - a hand up and map to get where they want to go.

All Hone does is kick up the dust, blinding his people to the reality of responsibility and blaming those who are running down the road to a better future.