Student riot - get a cause

A couple of things have caught my eye.

The riots in Dunedin. Bad news, it has always happened and maybe always will. I went to a few parties at the uni area and they often went a bit funny - especially after the second wind on the alcohol. I was interested to see the haka being performed. Amazing how the haka has infiltrated our society. A comment was made about the different exposure that would have occured if the riot was in south auckland and the faces were brown. I am sure you agree that there would be a much bigger splash across the front pages and the maori bashers would come out. What the riots say to me are that the issues facing our young people are not racially based. Perhaps it's time to consider different models on how to work with these young people.

The second area that has disturbed me is the maori party agreement with national on the emissions trading scheme. Even as a green i can just accept that there are bigger issues being considered. Everything in politics is a trade off - that is the game. I just hope the maori party realise that national are just as venal as labour and when they need to, they will turn on the maori party and just recind everything they have agreed to. They cannot be trusted, any more than any of them, apart from the greens and perhaps act (believe it or not). The maori party must keep their eye on the line, brush through the tackles and take the hits. Stay focused and get the try. But will the try be enough? Time will tell on that one but I have to trust the leadership of the maori party... what else have we got.

Good discussion here at Kiwipolitico