Pita Sharples has written an open letter to don brash. Pita is sad and disturbed by the Act racist divisive tactics but the telling off is pretty weak. It does give us a glimpse of pita's thinking and he is still comfortable in key's team. (Bolditalics = my emphasis)
Dear Dr. Brash,
How sad and disturbing to read your negative ACT party advertisement in the NZ Herald's Weekender - July 9, as you once again bring the Maori peoples aspirations into contempt and ridicule. Your views are not only inaccurate and ill-founded, but are totally out of tune with middle New Zealand's ideals and aspirations for our country.
It is clear that since your exit from Parliament, you have learnt zilch about fostering an inclusive culture to take our nation forward. Your entire article while posing as an advertisement for the Act party, is devoted almost entirely towards discrediting the Maori drive for a measure of equity within our distinctive genre de vie. Your own culture of ‘Maori bashing' is totally designed to appeal to that negative minority within our community (‘for party votes') and has absolutely no place in a modern society.
So, it is with some amazement, that I note the very positive measures that have been achieved through responsible negotiations between the National government and the Maori Party, have been listed and labelled by you, as negative. Surely, co-governance of the country's greatest river, Waikato, reflects and respects our history and our aspiration for the river; and equally, the inclusion of a Maori voice in the EPA and the RMA reflects our bi-cultural origins as a base from which to service all our NZ cultures.
In turn, the establishment of the Auckland Maori Statutory Board, recognises our largest city's unique history while promising a united future for the growth and development of the place that is home to the largest grouping of Maori in the world.
Dr. Brash, your divisive style of leadership that is used to discredit one section of our community, has no place in today's politics. As we emerge somewhat slowly from an economic recession, and give our attention to the revitalisation of Christchurch city and its community, and as we work to reduce our overseas debt, it is clearly a time for our nation to be united and working within an air of positivity.
And ironically Dr. Brash, the measures which you have condemned as negative in your party advertisement, are the very issues for which I am approached and congratulated for (on behalf of the Maori party's efforts in Government) by members of the general public EVERY day - sometimes by as many as 10-12 a day.
In closing, I would like to draw your attention to the various social, health, and human rights reports that summarise what many of us already know - that is, that Maori people are still amongst the most impoverished, the most marginalised, and the most socially at-risk communities in New Zealand. I do not see much evidence of Maori privilege in these statistics. Please do feel free to review such reports at your earliest convenience.
Kati mo tenei wa
Heoi ano
Na Hon Dr Pita R Sharples CBE, MA, Dip Tchg, PhD, TH, JP
Well at least he gave it a go, but not much teeth in there. The 12 general public comments a day must be nice.
I say no deal for The Mana Party on the seats with the maori party
No Mana deals with the racists of Act - they are nutters who believe there were people in this country before Māori as well as their usual racist claptrap.
On another note Maps has written an interesting post on the term kupapa and how it is used willy nilly by people. I never use the term and will not.
2 comments:
Dear Pita
Your party is the party that has kept Brash's ACT in power along with one of the nastiest Tory governments we've had in years.
Sorry but "blah blah blah disppointed blah blah blah sad blah blah blah" won't cut it. You are complicite.
@country lane - Act is Nasty, but how much worse would it be if it were just up to National and Act alone - scary!! I think thank god the Maori Party has been in there!
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