piwakawaka footwork

Crisis talks - well the repeal of the foreshore and seabed act and it's replacement is a crisis, so fair enough. The maori party are in a bind and they way they have to move is going to be unpleasant, at least at first. The game with the gnats was always to work with them to deliver real benefits to maori, but at some point the cost outweighs the benefits. If the gnats are not going to move on this issue then it is game over IMO.

One thing i cannot understand about this whole deal is - why the urgency? Why the rush? If there was less haste we would make more progress.

From NZH

"Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell said yesterday he wasn't going to detail where National's proposal fell short, other than to say it involved the public domain and "other issues".

"We are close, but we are not close enough to satisfy all of the parties," he said.

The proposal was "not all bad ... but there are certainly some concerns that have been raised by both the iwi leadership group and ourselves".

I hope the meeting makes progress but it seems we are at an impasse. This comment, however, was disturbing

"Getting agreement between iwi leaders was always difficult, regardless of the issue, and Mr Flavell suggested that while it was important any decisions made by the party was with the backing of iwi, the party also needed to be able to use its discretion.

"It would be disastrous if we weren't aligned with the Iwi Leadership Group, however, we are a political movement and we have to make decisions in light of the information we have in front of us."

Ummm - who do you think elects you? Don't make the mistake of forgetting the real purpose of your role in parliment. REPRESENT the people. The fallout around the ministerial credit cards should show you the folly of getting too big for your boots. Don't let it happen.