the past is teaching us

I've wanted this for so long and now it is here - what a fantastic series this will be judging from the first episode - Kairākau.

Māori TV

The director of an explosive new series on Māori Television says language and culture were the most important pillars in creating the series. Rangi Rangitukunoa directed Kairākau which depicts stories of Māori warriors from the past.It's been a labour of love for Rangi Rangitukunoa for the last nine months. Now that work has come to fruition.“The difference between this show and others is that it is entirely about the Māori world, the language, Tūmatauenga and acting. More importantly though, these are true stories, we didn't just make them up,” says director Rangitukunoa...“As Māori, we should stand proud in telling our stories. Some people might think this programme is just about fighting, but actually it's also about our ancestors and bringing their stories back to life,” says Rangitukunoa.

Yes and these histories will now get a wider audience and that is the way it should be - this is our history, this is our heritage, these are our warriors and heroes. Check out the facebook page too.

So I recommend you watch and we can all learn together, and as we learn, we will grow closer, we will grow tighter and this is the way of the future - by understanding our past we will move to the future - there is no other way to do it.

156 years ago the shot was fired

A day to remember - our history is us and until we acknowledge our history we will not move on. Change the flag??? - change the attitudes, the attitudes to remembering out history.

156 years ago today, the first shot in the Taranaki land wars was fired. The conflict resulted in Taranaki iwi suffering massive loss of life and land. This flashpoint was also the precursor to the NZ Land Wars where millions of acres were confiscated from tribes throughout the North Island. Today, the event was commemorated in Waitara, the site where fighting first broke out.

The beautiful thing is if we do remember we can  bind us all together tighter as a country, as a people.

anything is not better than nothing

Differing viewpoints are valuable. Hone Harawira has a view on the flag debate

“The NZ flag is the one flown by every government since the 1860s that has ever stolen our land, laughed at our Treaty rights, destroyed our spirituality, stomped on our culture, imprisoned our people, and tried to kill off our language.” 

“It’s the flag of colonialism, given to us and every other colony by the Poms back in the 1800s. 80% have since dumped it; only the colonial urchins like Aussie, the Cooks, Tuvalu and us still fly that ugly little Union Jack that represents the country that called us to war when they needed help and dumped us when they wanted to join the European Union.

That is all very true and this is the truth of the situation. The Union Jack represents so much suffering for Māori, so much lost and destroyed. It is the best representation of that imo because it directly relates to those times and connects us visually and internationally as a colonised country. The Union Jack must go - of that there is no doubt.

The question then is what will replace it - and the poor attempt and rigged selections are not the answer to that. The cost, the vanity project of the PM, the lack of consultation and real discussion, the celebrities, the endorsements, the play on emotions, the contrived nature of the whole process including the final design say that NO this is not the correct or even near desired alternative. It simply is not good enough for anything.

As I said on another post

I'm pleased that I have voted for our current flag against the other one put up by key and his supporters. For me the tino rangatiratanga flag is my flag. The union jack has so many connotations relating to the colonisation of this country and I cannot get enthusiastic about it at all - I don't like it. But until we as a country are ready to embrace our past and move forward in partnership, as promised by The Treaty, then I will vote for the flag that actually represents us the way we are - warts and all. And there are lots of warts indeed. There is much work to be done to pave the way to allow a true flag for this country to come forth - I'll be working towards that.

and it is worth noting that Hone are in 100% agreement on a few things

“I’ve already chosen the flag that fits best with my heart, my soul, my life – the Maori flag. It’s the one that we designed, it carries the colours of my world, and it speaks of our history, our place in the cosmos, and the possibilities that lie ahead of us all.” 

“And it was the flag that Maori people overwhelmingly chose when we ran our own flag referendum (government spent $28.57 on the whole shebang).

and sometimes not 100%

“And don’t buy the drivel about us losing the Treaty if we change the flag. We lose the Treaty the day we lose the balls to stand up and fight for our rights, not because somebody wants to change the NZ flag.” 

“Changing the flag is a conscious decision to say goodbye to our colonial past and say hello to a brighter future. Maori people have already done it. Might be time for the rest of New Zealand to follow suit”

Changing the flag imo will make it harder to implement The Treaty. It will be another blocker that those who don't want true partnership will use to delay and disrupt that implementation. Sure they will do that anyway but why give them another tool to use.

Difference of opinion is valuable - it helps to see and hear other views. It is healthy and necessary. I feel good within myself about my decision - I want to change the flag so, so much but until we have a proper flag that truly represents us I will stay with the one we have.

inequality - oppose and change it

It is International Women' Day today. The inequality that women face, pretty well everywhere, is unacceptable to me, as a man, All men must bear responsibility for this inequality and all men must work with women to oppose and change the inequity. I wish all of the women of the world a better today and an even better tomorrow. Today I am going to contemplate the powerful and important women of my life. My mother, my wife, my sister, my nieces, my grandmothers, my tūpuna, Papatūānuku , Hineahuone and Hine-nui-te-pō.

Facts about the day - where it came from and why it is still needed from The Independant.

Socialists first put forward the idea of advancing women's suffrage through a day to mark women's enormous contribution to humankind.
An annual "international women's day" was first organised by the German socialist and theorist Clara Zetkin along with 100 delegates from 17 countries in March 1911...
Today, when only a fifth of parliamentary seats are held by women and only 19 heads of state out of a possible 196 are women - only seven more women than 20 years ago - there is much progress still to be made.
The number of female cabinet ministers has at least tripled between 1994 and 2014 - but remains low compared to men, at only 17 per cent...
The United Nations first began celebrating the day on 8 March in 1975, and each year has given focus to women's status around the globe.
The current goals fit in with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The new agenda, which is meant to build on the unfulfilled Milennium Development Goals, has a stand-alone goal just for the empowerment of women and girls as a core means of tackling economic underperformance, global overpopulation and poverty worldwide.
It also celebrates the achievements of women throughout history...
Aside from the older motivations surrounding political office and the pay gap, there is also increasing awareness of the disproportionate amount of abuse women suffer at the hands of others.
An estimated 120 million girls and women under the age of 20 have been subjected to forced sexual intercourse or other forced sexual acts - around 10 per cent...
More than a third of women worldwide have also experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives, with this being most common between a woman's teenage years and menopause.
Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of a billion more women are in the global workforce today than a decade ago, but they are only earning what men did in 2006, according to the World Economic Forum.
And one in 10 married women are not consulted by their husbands on how their own cash earnings will be spent.

The inequality women face is almost absurd if it wasn't so devastating - come on humanity GROW UP

good decision by Landcorp

This is good news that Landcorp are backing away from giving forest to dairy. The benefits of forest hardly need saying but we will be, and are, thankful for all of the remaining forests. We must stop the chopping wherever it occurs.

From RNZ

State-owned farming company Landcorp has confirmed it is backing away from a massive planned dairy conversion in the central North Island... 

RNZ News earlier reported that Landcorp had come to the realisation that the environmental impacts of its conversions in the Waikato were simply too great. 

Mr Carden said 14500ha of former forestry land earmarked for dairy farming at the estate would now have alternative uses.

We must plant more forests. Planned and unplanned forests. We must dig up the berms, the verges and plant communal fruit and nut trees, as well as assorted gardens. We must enforce that 20% of all land is converted to forest - and not pine trees. We must focus also on reclaiming wetlands - those essential places where land becomes sea. A transition zone. Our future depends upon this.

a terrible story, retold

The voice of reason is still struggling, so to help out

imo saying one set of atrocities against an indigenous population is better or worse than another set of atrocities against another indigenous population is not the way indigenous communities think about or remember or frame these things. This is a construct designed by colonisers and their descendants to miminise and justify their actions or maybe just to mitigate guilt. Totally understandable and almost subtle because as people do, they can use this to go to a better/worse dichotomy and this leads to the "what are you moaning about" lines. There are many other reasons too, such as the intensely personal side of the lived knowledge of the past.

To then say stuff like, 'tell that to the victims of genocide' shows an extreme defensive mode where attack is the only alternative. The point I make in the first paragraph is pretty basic but only if you listen.

And please don't think for a second that I am unaware of 'intent', 'the end of empire', 'genocide' and 'atrocities'. I am, and each of them was a blot on us all. The suffering that has occurred is immeasurable , almost unknowable, and it is known.  Indigenous communities around the world, even today, face each and every one of the destructive forces aligned against them. That s why indigenous communities should stick together and work together and build new /old ways of thinking for this troubled world.

The measurement of atrocities is more than numbers although the numbers do tell a terrible story, just not the full story. The comparison of what has happened to indigenous communities through colonisation, compares suffering to suffering, not numbers to numbers imo.

Rest in peace Berta Cáceres (Lenca)

It is such a terrible crime that Indigenous Honduran leader Berta Cáceres (Lenca) was murdered recently. My heartfelt condolences to everyone feeling the loss especially her family.

From Indian Country Today

"Cáceres was internationally known for winning the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize for her advocacy on behalf of the Lenca people, who have been battling against the construction of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam on the Gualcarque River, as well as her frequent opposition to the U.S.-sanctioned coup government and subsequent administrations of Honduras."

... "Cáceres was the Director of the National Council of Indigenous and Popular Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), which has been in the forefront of protests against the dam being constructed by the DESA Company of Honduras. Cáceres and other activists assert that the Agua Zarca project would cause great harm to the Lenca community known as Rio Blanco through displacement of the people and environmental damage to an area considered sacred by the Lenca."

Going up against the corporate interests is very dangerous and she knew that, having had many threats made against her. Still she fought the fight for her people.. We have all lost a powerful and effective advocate and passionate warrior for indigenous rights and environmental rights. Rest In Peace.

And we must fight on in our ways to continue the work - that is what we must do.

change your name or lift your game buddy - updated

Sadly, rude and offensive behavior continues from the inappropriately named te reo putake - of course the macron is not used - why should it be - after all this name is just a type of brownwash - where stuff gets 'used' to further an agenda which is not aligned with tangata whenua. So voice of reason can change his name to te reo pukake to piss off the right wingers. Now why would they be pissed off? because someone with a Māori sounding name is getting into them? Yeah I suppose that would wind you up. But has there been any consideration for Māori in any of that - no there hasn't. Why not? Same reason the macron isn't used - it is not the point and that is why it is brownwash. This is part of the reason why my voice is not heard on The Standard anymore.

The Standard is a good essential, left wing mostly, blog and I do recommend visiting it, as I do.

Just to confirm I have agreed a few times with voice of reason's comments over the years and I am quite happy with robust debate, even abuse and swearwords where appropriate. But if you are going to appropriate a Māori sounding name then that bestows obligations to Māori whether you like it or not - live up to that and everyone will be better off.

Footnote. Poor voice still doesn't understand the issues as he explains here - this is typical from him and I notice he's having a go at another moderator too. Just to help him I'll repost the last-ish comment i made to him that he deleted and see if he can understand that.

"You, voice have belittled me with your “real genocide” line and that I, by trying to explain things to you, have diminished those who have suffered “real genocide”. DO YOU GET THAT? Now you can say I shouldn’t feel belittled but I have given you concrete example of why I do feel that. DO YOU GET THAT? Now you say you haven’t even been able to make sense of the discussion – ” Seriously, this discussion has made little sense from the get go”. That shows me you have been arguing in BAD faith for NO good reason. That shows me you are a self righteous prick of the first order."

Nelson Happyzine talks - will be great!

Come along Nelsonians - this will be awesome.

Footnote - A great event - so proud of my love Charlotte and well done Nelson. Next ones this year Dunedin and Auckland.

the moment has passed

I feel good. I'm pleased that I have voted for our current flag against the other one put up by key and his supporters. For me the tino rangatiratanga flag is my flag. The union jack has so many connotations relating to the colonisation of this country and I cannot get enthusiastic about it at all - I don't like it. But until we as a country are ready to embrace our past and move forward in partnership, as promised by The Treaty, then I will vote for the flag that actually represents us the way we are - warts and all. And there are lots of warts indeed. There is much work to be done to pave the way to allow a true flag for this country to come forth - I'll be working towards that.

Politically John Key will suffer from the loss of his pet project - as much as he has tried to distance himself now, he is linked hook, line and sinker to this and he won't get off. Of course Key is the master at sliding away, so any negative effects will be quickly forgotten by the anonymous middle - that fertile ground for centre right and left parties.

I've been biking to work and that has really helped me. I feel that I am contributing, in a small way, to the betterment of the world. I am doing it not just talking about it. These small steps are important - they give a sense of hope, they lock us into the 'now' whilst reinforcing the past and the future. Every small step, where we make a decision and then do it, is significant and necessary - without the small step there is no big step.

I work with mindfulness and what a gift that is. Being in the moment and practicing that daily. Once again it opens up the past and the future - which can be surprising when mindfulness is about the moment, about allowing, about non-judging, about accepting. This accepting is also reinforced by being aware of the dialetic (a method of examining and discussing opposing ideas in order to find the truth) and this can be done internally. I accept the way things are AND I want to improve them. It is amazing the power of accepting AND wanting to improve. Within the two ideas I find infinity. And believe it or not that is once again a place where the past and future can be found.

The past and future are linked to this moment. The past and future are linked to us.

letter from Hone

Monday 20 April 2015

“The last time I was in Canberra was for SORRY DAY 2008, when I listened to Kevin Rudd apologise to generations of Aboriginal people for the theft of their lands, the destruction of their culture, and the dehumanising of their people” said Hone Harawira, leader of the MANA Movement of Aotearoa (NZ).

“Today I am back in Canberra during ANZAC WEEK 2015, and I am reminded that television channels, radio stations and print media on both sides of the Tasman are full of the remarkable stories of courage and heroism exhibited by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp during World War One, right across the Western Front of the European campaign, and the beaches, hills and trenches of Gallipoli” said Harawira, “And as it happens, to cement that union of battle, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is today unveiling a memorial to Australian soldiers who died in WW1, at Pukeatua Memorial Park in Wellington, New Zealand” said Harawira.

“But today, as he unveils a memorial to the mindless destruction of a century ago, Tony Abbott is quietly drawing a veil across the genocide being committed by his own government in Western Australia through the enforced closure of remote Aboriginal communities.

Genocide is defined under the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide as (e) forcibly transferring children of one group to another, and (c) deliberately inflicting on one group, conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part through measures such as:

• removing children from their families,
• cutting off basic medical needs,
• ignoring needs for basic infrastructure such as public transport,
• labelling remote communities as breeding grounds for paedophilia,
• taking away community work programs,
• neglecting aboriginal housing programs, and
• withholding and freezing bank accounts.

The forced closure of Aboriginal communities is genocide – plain and simple – something that colonialistshave been trying to do ever since their arrival, originally through the gunbarrels of white settlers and now through the legislation of overwhelmingly white governments.

Although the United Nations recognises the overwhelming authority of the Indigenous people to the land of Australia, it seems that Australian governments simply refuse to accept the reality of their continued racism.

When John Howard introduced the hated Northern Territory Intervention Plan back in 2007, he earned the universal animosity of Indigenous people the world over as “a racist bastard imposing racist policies on a people who are not in a position to fight back”

Tony Abbott’s backing of Western Australia’s Closure of Remote Communities in 2015 is exactly the same, and deserves exactly the same response – “Tony Abbott is a racist bastard imposing racist policies on a people who are not in a position to fight back”

White Australian governments happily dumped Aboriginals into the outback, out of sight and out of mind – until they realised that they had inadvertently given them rights to millions of acres of land beneath which sat vast deposits of billion dollar minerals and oils.

The Intervention Plan, and now the Closure of Remote Communities, is genocide with a blunt instrument – put an end to Aboriginal title by forcing them from their land, let the big mining companies bully their way in, and force the Indigenous people to take their case to court where they stand no chance of ever winning.

As the leader of the MANA Movement in Aotearoa (NZ), I join with indigenous leaders across Australia and the Pacific in condemning the Closure of remote Communities, and I call on all those who support justice to join in the Day of Action to Stop the Forced Closure of Aboriginal Communities on May 1, both here in Australia and back in New Zealand.

If the ANZAC spirit truly lives 100 years after the defence of the British Empire, let it be in the defence of our own indigenous communities in 2015.

Hone Harawira

MANA Leader

Canberra

your display is offensive

These incidents upset me - so much has been taken from indigenous people all around this world, yet it is not enough, they still want more, they want everything.

Nearly 1000 people have signed a petition to have a Native American doll removed from an Auckland mini golf course display.

The doll, that has been labelled a "grotesque caricature", is part of the Lilliputt Around the World Minigolf course at Sylvia Park shopping centre and depicts a Native American man sitting in a tepee...

Rachel Hopkins, a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma said she could not see a way to make the display culturally appropriate. 

"The point here is that the community decides how they are represented, and takes the lead in creating that, not the other way around," she said.

"And it's not about seeking permission after the fact." 

And that is the point, well made by Rachel. NO ONE gets to decide how indigenous people represent themselves, except members of the group themselves. This is a basic tenet that cannot be broken unless the group decides it can be. It cannot be seeking permission after the fact - don't bother - just take it down and start again. And starting means talking with the group you wish to represent. Otherwise it is just a continuation of the denigration and othering of indigenous people that happens everywhere.

more going racist for ratings

Photoshopped images of "this year's Te Matatini winners, Te Whanau a Apanui from Opotiki" linked to by More FM will not be shown on this blog. Needless to say I agree with this

Willie Te Aho of Aotearoa Kapa Haka Limited described More FM as, “a bunch of thieving, silly and stupid people who need to get their heads inspected, perhaps even drug tested”... and "I'm disgusted with how More FM denigrated kapa haka and the mana of performers from Te Whanau a Apanui."

Yes it is racist, yes it is disrespectful, yes it is offensive and disgusting - although these photo manipulator know not what they do, that is just not good enough.

The images of Tiare Tawera and Rawiri Waititi were manipulated which saw their faces being moved to their stomachs and other faces being superimposed on their bodies as well as a number of other parody images of the individuals.

Terrible and a direct insult to Māori and these fine men.

While More FM has apologised and removed the post which was originally sourced from meme website Redit based in America, the images are still circulating on hundreds of websites and social media platforms online. 

Yep they will be there forever now - what a disgrace More FM - hang your bloody heads in shame - you have embarrassed yourselves and shown yourselves as simple lowlifes.

Go home - it is a safe place - make it so

We need to rethink a few things. Climate change is reality and so is peak oil and the effects of both along with the degradation and pollution we have wrought on Papatūānuku. There is a time of change upon us - we created it and we will have to live with and through it. We will have to give up some things but we will also gain a lot and the things we give up are not valuable whereas what we will gain is invaluable. To paraphrase JMG - collapse now and avoid the rush - or maybe collapse now while you can. Collapse? WTF! Yep and what it means is moving to a simpler lifestyle a more direct lifestyle from what we do to what we get. A reduction of all of the intermediary steps/jobs/people between what we do and what we get. Eating food grown locally for instance, rather than exotic stuff flown in from godknowswhere so that we, in our extravagant western lifestyles, can eat it. We are all going to have to make changes and Māori as indigenous people of this land can lead and show others how to do it.

Many Māori are on the way and programs like Manawa Hou are also invaluable - they show how we used to live and that knowledge of the past is essential to build our futures. It would take some wrangling but this idea from Rankin would be a good start

An economic historian is calling for the benefit system to become more flexible to allow people to function within traditional subsistence economies.Keith Rankin from Unitec was responding to a challenge from Mana leader Hone Harawira that the Abbott Government’s removal of support from remote Australian Aboriginal communities was similar to Work and Income’s policy of not paying benefits to Maori who return to their home rural villages.
He told Radio Waatea’s Dale Husband that being able to turn to a subsistence lifestyle during downturns in the economic cycle was a normal part of capitalism.

Instead of calling people to the cities, help them move out to the rural areas and pay the to do it. This would rejuvenate those areas, release pressure from the cities infrastructure, help reinforce connections and communities, teach the basics like how to grow food, how to live in a community, how to live simpler lifestyles and so on and so on. Many Māori are connecting back to their ancestral marae. This connecting can be encouraged and facilitated by Government for all of the reasons above. To further encourage the move I'd pay superannuation earlier to Māori going home so that they could learn and teach and build the mana of their marae and themselves.

The destruction of our currently structured society is likely to be slow, with falls, then plateaus, with false hope, then dashed dreams - we will live it and we will need to adjust to it, physically and mentally. Go home - it is a safe place - make it so.

Stop the forced closure of Aboriginal Communities in Australia.

Stop the forced closure of Aboriginal Communities in Australia.

This battle to protect and stand with our indigenous brothers and sisters began with this

It has been six months since the federal government signed over funding responsibility for providing municipal and essential services to Western Australia’s 274 remote Indigenous communities to the state government and four since the WA premier, Colin Barnett, said between 100 and 150 of those communities faced “closure” because they were “not viable”.

On Tuesday, Tony Abbott further inflamed the situation by saying his government could not be expected to “endlessly subsidise lifestyle choices if those lifestyle choices are not conducive to the kind of full participation in Australian society that everyone should have”.

Tony Abbott is so bad he makes John Key look okay. Lifestyle choices??? The response has been sharp

The Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson has blasted Tony Abbott’s comments that living in a remote community is a lifestyle choice, saying it is a “deranged debate” conducted in a “substandard manner”... He described the comments as “shameless” and a “disgraceful turn of events”.

and

The chairwoman of the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia, Michelle Nelson-Cox, said Abbott’s comments were “hugely disappointing”.

“The prime minister’s comments about Aboriginal communities place no value on the connection to country and culture that these communities provide, nor the important role they play in the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people,” she said.

“Aboriginal people are obligated to maintain a connection to country to sustain spiritual beliefs, customary activities and traditional lore. In addition to providing a home to many Aboriginal people, these communities provide a continuing sense of identity through this ongoing connection to country.”

This article dispels the myth of closing these communities because of sexual abuse.

And Gerry Brownlee

 denied co-leader of the Māori Party, Marama Fox leave from the House of Representatives to vote on a motion to condemn the Australian Government’s impending closure of remote indigenous communities in Western Australia.

What can we do from here to support our brothers and sisters over there?

Facebook site here  And here is a great profile of Sam Cook who is one of the leaders of the social media campaign.

March on 1 May to show support - will update soon.

UPDATE: Current A-Z listings of upcoming actions ‪#‎SOSBLAKAUSTRALIA‬

whose left?

The dust is settling. Mana took a body blow by losing Hone from Parliament but the Mana Movement is still intact, and still fighting against inequality and imo will rise again, better, stronger and more politically astute. The kaupapa has not changed, the will to make change has not wilted nor will it because Mana activists live the reality of inequality every day along with the people.

Mana contested Northland and Rueben Taipari Porter didn't get many votes as expected but by fielding a candidate Mana showed they are still alive and kicking - and still have a great sense of humour - go here to read Rueben's thoughts.

With my stunning result of 55 votes, beaten even by the LegalizeCannab1s party, you would think that I would crawl under a rock andhide…But after studying the result figures I didn’t do too bad. FocusNorthland and the other candidates chose to vote strategically whileNational and Labour candidates got thrashed! Actually as the firstMana candidate to ever stand in any Northland General Election, Inever lost any majority so actually I came in 2nd to HonourableWinston Peters (haha that’s hilarious, but reality is what you make ofit ps phone calls are still coming in so who knows what goodies I canget for us aye?) and my trophy wall is filling up… butcongratulations to Winston, he ran an amazing campaign, it was aprivilege to participate in that historical election and watch himwork. I was watching very closely…

The win by Winston affects Mana but really only indirectly. The Mana Movement and NZF are after different voters and that is very good. The win by Winston does affect Labour and the Greens in the way I described in the last two posts and that affects the left including the Mana Movement. It is going to be interesting watching the developments. Winston has already said 

Winston Peters says he would support mining in Northland if the region benefited from at least 25% of the royalties.

sadly he is old school, focused on money and economics - I tend to agree with Haami on this one too

"He’s been a constant critic of Maori issues and of Maori communities and Maori organisations for decades now, so I wouldn't put him in the Maori MP category, he may have Maori ancestry. And also his party is the party that tried to introduce legislation to remove all references to the Treaty of Waitangi from New Zealand legislation so I don't think it's true to say he represents in any shape or form a Maori perspective," he says.

 Yep the Mana Movement and NZF are polls apart in so many ways.

the stone in Winston

The Greens made a good choice in not standing a candidate in the Northland by-election but the win from Winston and NZF is not good news for them.

I like the Green Party and I'd be happy if they were dominant in Parliament but they aren't and they have some major issues to sort out notwithstanding Winston's win. They have to elect a new co-leader and that is a big one. Russel Norman is a very effective co leader - I have had issues with some of what he has said in the past but he does have gravitas and he speaks with authority. He can and does take the fight directly to National and he can look them in the eye with disdain whilst asking the hard questions. He will be very hard to replace and his replacement will have a very big job on their hands.

The Greens have a dilemma in that they have an eternal internal battle about what their kaupapa is. Yes the environment but social policy and economic policy are currently welded in there to. Some want them to concentrate on the environment and be available to work with both Labour and National - this would make them palatable to the 'middle' and dispel the meme that they are kooky, and others want a broad left approach to the issues of social and economic policy so that they remain true to their traditional constituency. The last election result where they at best held their ground provides reinforcement for both ideals and I don't know the answers or what they should do to be honest. I'm not sure what will move the balance and create momentum for a bigger presence in Parliament. You'd think that public self interest with the looming global issue of the effects of climate change and peak oil would guarantee votes for them but with the clamor of voices saying it's 'business as usual' shows that the basic drive for self preservation isn't being felt. Will it take a calamity, a disaster to move people? Probably, but by then it will be too late.

If NZF and Winston goes head to head with labour and National for the middle movable votes and achieves success then the Greens have a big problem electorally. NZF will cut the Greens out. If they become dominant they will cut them out directly, if, after the war of attrition, Labour retains it's position as the big 'left' party they will need the Greens but on their terms not the Greens terms and history has shown that Labour and the Greens aren't the buddy/buddy team that they could be. For the Greens to have influence they must get the votes and a 4 way competition for the 'middle' isn't going to give them those votes. The 'middle ' is not the solution, the 'middle' is the problem.

So big issues for the Greens that I hope they can resolve and become the force they need to be - the election of Winston Peters in Northland is not good for the Greens, not even slightly.

the win in winston

Unintended consequences has been a concept on my mind recently - some thoughts on the recent by-election in Northland.

The election of Winston Peters in Northland will have unintended negative consequences for the left I think. The left as a whole and the individual parts of the left and I'll start with Labour.

As I've mentioned before I think the way Labour went about the Northland by-election was a mistake. The number of times I heard Labour people say - we can't win, we won't win, this un winnable - was depressing. Whether it was true or not is beyond the point - don't forget the big man key said Winston could and would never win - yet he did.

Okay let's assume that Labour could and never would win - what to do? Yes one option is to help Winston win with the view that giving National a 'bloody nose' is valuable because it will erode the win-meme attached to Key and Joyce and lead the way to a victory for Labour next election - that is certainly the line being used and now that Winston has won it will be interesting to see this meme develop. At this stage Key and Joyce are just pretending that they never lost and that it doesn't matter. Key is spinning it, "well I got it wrong and didn't expect Labour to capitulate and send their people to Winston" and Joyce is going, "yep you win some and lose some, that's politics..." I think their spin will work - it certainly has worked up to now with the almost continuous lying from Key and the almost continuous support he still receives. Time will tell on this one but it by no means certain that the winkeymeme is over or even really dented.

Labour missed a big opportunity to go hard, push Little out there and their candidate, push their policies, push their alternative Government meme - but they decided not to. Sure Prime will get a nice list placing and in 2.5 years is much more likely to get into Parliament. But Little and Labour have snapped a couple of arrows in their quiver - the moral high-ground over deals in Epsom around ACT and the Dunne electorate too. Everytime they go down that 'moral' road, Northland will be chucked in their face - even if it wasn't a deal and not really comparable to what National does - I just don't think the movable voter will care about those details. So Labour are going to have to do more of this 'strategic' dealing and i just can't see it going well for them - mainly because I do think they have more morals than National and as we've seen with Northland - it is difficult to front up and say it like it is especially when innuendo and nudge nudge are easier to do.

Andrew Little will need to be careful with Winston - their can be only one leader of the opposition and although Labour have the numbers, Winston has the ego, experience and wind in his sails after this win. He will get offended very quickly and dish out some smartarse remarks likely to get up Little's nose. The 2 of them are not going to get on I think - sure they'll pretend for a while but before too long the truth will out and that truth is that they are political rivals in a very direct way. Winston's age may be bought in but I would be careful about that because everyone's getting older. I'm calling that Winston will end up disliking Little as much as he does Key and that will be significant if the negotiations need to happen in 2.5 years.

Labour have let a wolf into the henhouse - National have received their bloody nose but they will heal. Labour may not heal from the win of Winston.

choices made

I feel a zeal to begin blogging again but we'll see how we go lol.

Firstly congratulations to Winston Peters and NZF for the Northland win over the forces of the National Party. This really gives fantastic momentum to NZF and bodes well for them for future parliaments. I didn't like the labour campaign from day one - the slight of hand and whispering didn't really do it for me - but it did do it for labour supporters who moved their vote to Winston instead of the Labour candidate. Is this strategic voting? I'd say yes but for NZF not Labour and not the left. I remain unconvinced that Winston Peters and NZF will advance the left, especially the far left where I sit, and if any further convincing of that is needed the rumour mills are touting Shane Jones as a possible successor to Winston. Oh deary me - that would be diabolical if that happened although the 'middle' would probably love it - I'd rather have Ron Mark but time will tell.

The reason I think Labour will come to regret the decisions they made around this by-election are because as NZF ascends, I think Labour will descend. NZF are not going to get Green Party votes. They may get National Party votes but those votes are 'centre' votes - they wobble, they move. NZF are going to muscle into the 'middle' and they will take votes from both Labour and National but more from Labour I think, notwithstanding the relatively good start by Andrew Little - Labour's leader. The problem for him is that perception is reality. No more moral high ground over deals - even though this wasn't a deal, National have successfully spun it as one, the media have agreed. Another reason that Labour will descend is that it still is hanging on to so much deadwood that unless those people leave the Party is tainted - not just by Rogernomics but also the Clark years - those 9 years seem a long time ago now.

Anyway that is what I think about all that.

I've also taken a 2 week break from The Standard as a silent protest against Stephanie's ban on Murray. I like Murray and I like Stephanie's posts and I just feel that the ban was unnecessary. I do not feel it was a gender issue - it was just a bad call - although I can understand why Stephanie thinks it was. I respect The Standard authors and I didn't want to protest to them - that is inappropriate - but I did want to make a point and I did want to choose. In the past I have defended Stephanie because I have felt that she has received gender bias comments. I just don't think this was the situation in this case although I have to say some subsequent comments there have been offensive to me and sexist. So kia kaha Stephanie and see you in 2 weeks The Standard.

the last guide

the last guide

We climbed through clouds

the first day up to the pass

my body sang laments to

each stoney step and at the top

we went to sleep to a dire

ukulele strummed hard by

a german youth reliving a past

The wild kiwi slid through

the bush and we watched

and at Heaphy a Rangitāne

and I hongi, later a descendant

of Te Rauparaha and I kōrero

about the voices we hear here

where here enemies are friends

as I cradle my baby, home,

softly rocking and reaching for

another son to touch his head

and still his sighs, his mother,

my love, leans across my lap

and I realise the cadence of my

breath is still a walk, my pack

sits serenely on my shoulders