devoy - early bad-taste April Fools joke

So, Dame Susan Devoy has been appointed as this countries Race Relations Commissioner - my view is that this is a shocker but she takes up the role on 1 April so it could be an early April Fools joke - if so, ha bloody ha. 

Devoy is on record as saying that Waitangi Day should be ditched as our national day and that we should have a national day that we "shouldn't be ashamed of" - she has absolutely zero idea of the rights of tangata whenua and she is dangerous because she believes that her new role is, "to make it right for every New Zealander" and it isn't difficult because the issues are just like, "disability, gender or employment issues" and that the Human Rights commissioner looks after all that stuff. She has said it is not a very complicated job and that tells us more about her than anything - she does not get it and really why would she - a squash player who supported veitch the scum who kicks and breaks a woman's back, a person who thinks Waitangi Day is an excuse to sit in the sun and have a barbie. I hope Idiot/Savant is correct and that this appointment is unlawful and those responsible are held to account.

This is the way tangata whenua are treated in this country by the likes of devoy and her ilk - how long before the shit is shaken off and tangata whenua decide to take back their rights. Can't come soon enough for me.

Hattips - Kiwipolitico, Frog Blog, The Daily Blog, No Right Turn

we know why

Further evidence of the long game of prime minister john key which I have been discussing over the last 3 posts. Deliberate ignorance, court case on water, PR push by oil and gas exploiters and now this - "The Crown Minerals (Permitting and Crown Land) Bill which will ensure that all land classified as a National park, Nature Reserve etc in future is automatically included in Schedule 4." That appears to be good but as I/S says it weakens the protection on that land so they can mine it. The proof is right there in front of us, as I/S states

No Right Turn

At present, decisions on whether to permit mining on Schedule 4 land are made by the Minister of Conservation, and strictly on conservation grounds. The bill would change that, inserting the Minister of Energy as a joint decision-maker, and adding an economic benefits test. So, the question of whether to dig up a National Park will be a question of "balancing" conserving the area with the projected economic benefits of destroying it.

This is not happening by chance - it is planned and not even hidden. Part of the strategy is to overwhelm, create a tsunami of information, events, and issues that people care about. They hope it all just becomes too much for people but as usual they are overconfident of their own opinions and judgements of human nature - they think everyone is like them - greedy and self obsessed. But people aren't like that all. They are wrong and that is how we stop their nefarious plans.

Hattip - No Right Turn

shutter shudder

Some powerful comments in the blogosphere about the governments plans to rush through retropective legislation to allow secret filming on private property. It is a scandal and against the principles of law, but these legal commentators can say it much better than me...

Morgan at Maui Street

If the Police were aware in the Urewera investigation, which occurred years ago, that they were employing illegal investigatory methods, yet continued to do so in the years following the completion of the Urewera investigation, then the Police must be held to account. The law should not be bent to accommodate law breakers (i.e. the Police), the law should be used against those who break it intentionally.

Andrew Geddis from Pundit

So what the Government really seems to want to do here is short-circuit the courts' role in deciding if the Police's unauthorised (and, according to the Supreme Court, unlawful) use of video and photo surveillance should be allowed to stand as evidence. Instead, it will require such evidence to be let in - irrespective of whether or not it was obtained unlawfully in breach of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (which it wasn't ... because Parliament will deem that it wasn't).

Dean Knight from Victoria Law School

Let’s recap now. As a consequence of the Supreme Court ruling, the police do not have any legal power to engage in covert video surveillance – but they knew that anyway. For investigations already undertaken, whether or not unlawfully obtained video evidence can be admitted in court depends on the context. For serious charges, it will probably still be admissible. For less serious charges, it will not be admissible. It might also turn on how significant or insignificant the degree of intrusion was and rogueness of police actions or attitudes.

Idiot/Savant from No Right Turn

In such circumstances, ramming through a bill under all-stages urgency to retrospectively validate deliberately unlawful behaviour by the Police is a gross assault on the rule of law. The police violated the law, and they should pay the price. If they didn't want to pay that price, then maybe they shouldn't have deliberately conducted unlawful surveillance in the first place. 

So there is an uproar - and the Green Party, Mana Party and The Māori Party have all said they will not support it, ACT are wavering - Labour will support it with conditions like a select committee hearing apparently but the gnats are under pressure. They have 6 sitting days of parliment before the election so it must be passed under urgency. It is obvious that we cannot trust this government - they cannot even follow the recognised process of the law that they are supposed to govern under and the evidence by the respected legal minds that blogged above is testamony to that. This issue is not going to go away and reveals a terrible truth about the gnats - they will just do what they want. The Mana Party is the best vehicle IMO to effect change and put a stick in their heinous agenda.

Hat tip Maui St

always something there to remind me

Dramatic day in the House? yeah - nah. I agree that Hone should be able to pledge allegiance to Te Tiriti o Waitangi rather than the queen, as No Right Turn posts. That he couldn't, when other have adjusted the pledge without comment in the past, shows the inequity of our system. Mana are going to highlight those inequities whenever they can and yesterday was theatre to bring attention to that inequity. The Speaker and National have their own agenda and the wording of Hone's pledge was able to be used by them to stymie attention from Labour's CGT and tax announcment. They appear to be very frightened by the CGT and i like that and support the idea of a CGT.

Did everyone achieve their goals?

Hone was able to get the headlines and give his speech outside - some supporters have been turned off by the stunt politics - I know it doesn't really do much for me personally - and other supporters are "yeah right on-ing" - but no doubt the goal was achieved of highlighting the issue as evidenced by the call now from Turia for the wording of the pledge to be incorporated in the constitutional review - and how that must hurt a bit. National and smith the speaker, got to show their authority and power so their supporters are satisfied. Labour announcment still got cut-through and the pledge incident didn't deflect from their positioning, plus it offers reinforcement of goffs message that Hone isn't reliable. So, overall everyone is happy!

What about Hone's speech?

It was much more effective giving that speech on the steps of parliment rather than in the chamber - to have supporters there in front of you adds so much for all parties. The speech is here and i just want to highlight a couple of wee points that i like

Because I think that for the first time in a long, long time, ordinary people are sensing that they may finally have a voice in Parliament that represents a growing sector of New Zealand society - those who are poor, those who are marginalised, and those who have to struggle every week just to scrape together enough money to feed the family and pay the bills.

And right now in this country there are a growing number of people living in poverty. It’s not that they want to be there – it’s just that there isn’t the political will to stand against the tide of international takeovers and ruthless free-market economics that are crushing our people.

And that’s what MANA’s here for …

Tomorrow we turn ourselves to the challenges that lie ahead of MANA - of building branches dedicated to the needs of the members rather than the demands of party politics, with electorates actively demonstrating their capabilities so that MANA MPs can see where the real power lies, building a national movement based on honesty and integrity, and selecting MPs chosen for their demonstrated commitment to kaupapa and their willingness to put the needs of their people before the expectations of parliamentary procedure.

From kaumatua and kuia in Kaitaia, to millworkers in Kawerau, the homeless in Auckland, students in Palmerston North, public servants in Wellington, farmers in Canterbury and oyster-shuckers down the Bluff - everybody will know what we stand for.

There’s not a lot of time from now to the election, so we aim to keep our messages simple, we want our messengers to be people you know and trust, we plan to use every form of media we can, but most importantly, we want to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Maori and non-Maori in this country, and we want you to add a spice of MANA to the korero you have with your whanau, your friends and your neighbours, as you debate the upcoming elections and the fastest growing political movement in the country – your movement – MANA.

Our past is us, as is our future. It is time to put our backs into the mahi and build our movement.


Hone asks us all to

• Let us commit ourselves to policies that bring a sea change to the way in which we do politics in this country
• Let us commit ourselves to a programme of hard work and honest endeavour so that our people believe what it is we say.
• Let us commit ourselves to a future where the treaty lives, where rangatiratanga sits comfortably alongside kawanatanga, where Maori are lifted to a place of genuine equality in all spheres of life, and where every other citizen can thrive in this most blessed of countries
• Let us commit ourselves to developing a set of principles that will guide us in all we do, not as a political party but as a movement of the people
• Let us commit ourselves to changing our own lives so that we become the leaders that our people want to follow, and
• Let us commit ourselves to one another, to our families, to our children, and to those generations yet unborn

I am committed to this kaupapa, to these ideals and this vision. I want this country to be better for all our sakes - we have so much to offer the world - Mana is the waka for me.

deaker darkness

Murray Deaker is a racist plain and simple. On his Sky TV show he described someone as "working like a nigger" - yep that is what he said. The excuses from Sky TV are offensive - apparently "that's a phrase that's widely used" they say, and you know what? It may be a term widely used in some circles - the fearful, hateful circles of racists but it is not right - it is very wrong and must be dealt to every time it happens. In the last few weeks i have been told of at least 5 anti-Māori texts, jokes and emails doing the rounds.  Sure it would be easy to put the racists on some antarctic island but that will not fix it really. It is ingrained because of the crooked foundation that this country is built upon. Lies and illusion, fear and privilege. The only real solution is to fix the foundations and actualise tino rangatiratanga. Believe it or not, it will make things better not worse. The racists will still be racists although some may change, but the difference will be that they will not be expousing their bile from a state of ascendency.


Another aspect of the report is the story told by Willie Lose

About six years ago Lose was playing golf with Deaker, alongside boxer David Tua and former rugby and league star Inga Tuigamala, when the broadcaster made several inflammatory comments regarding people with darkened skin. Shortly after the game, Deaker sought help for a mental illness. "He was in la-la land," Lose said.

There is a whole horrible industry dedicated to blaming everything on mental illness, from rape, murder, violence - whatever doesn't really matter - the blame has been sorted. Racism is being added to that list but Deaker made his statement simply because he is a racist. No one in our society is unaware of the offense of the word and the connotations. Deaker should go, he needs help.


Hat tip No Right Turn

the worse he calls it the better it is

It is generally acknowledged now that the labour leader phil goff has poor political radar or nous or as Idiot/Savant puts it, "Phil Goff has no virtù." I am sure goff disagrees but it is pretty obvious after the continued and consistent mistakes he has made, anyway we should consider carefully what Phil says because the opposite is likely to be true. Phil is saying this

NZH

He doubted Mr Harawira's party would have as much of an impact as Mr Harawira believed. "Will [Maori voters] go for an extreme option - Hone Harawira and the people he's got around him? "It's not my impression Maori will go for an extreme option."

Extreme - that is the joke of it all - policies that pander to a mythical middle, based on the latest polling, that play lip service to the disadvantaged are extreme not the Mana Party's kaupapa. That is a wonderful endorsement from goff really - the worse he calls it, the better it is.

Meanwhile Brash has taken offence at being called racist by Hone

"I find that grossly offensive. I think being called racist is almost the worst kind of insult," Dr Brash said. "To me a racist is someone who wants to discriminate against particular people. Well, my concern is that the Maori Party actually wants to create a privileged group of New Zealanders.

The Mana Party Don, not the maori party

I want all New Zealanders to have exactly the same rights under the law. He [Hone] wants to give a preference to Maori."

We are going to hear that one quite a bit. It dismisses the indigenous rights of maori, it ignores the Treaty of Waitangi, it disappears the statistics around maori which shows the truth not the 'privilege' and it is based on self interest, cowardness and racism. There are no 'same rights' Don - didn't you check out the latest replacement to the foreshore and seabed act? No equality there - the rights of maori are lessor than private owners. But this battle is not over facts but rather over ideologies and the cycloptic brash knows it all already.

trust me I promise

Ngai Tahu have come out in support of the CERA bill which give wide ranging powers to gerry brownlee to sort out christchurch. Our kaiwhakahaere has said that the "detail of the legislation backs up Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee’s commitment to engage with Ngai Tahu along with local government; business groups and the wider community." I'd be interested to see where that is - might have to read the legislation because I am not convinced the brownlee even understands what consultation is - he deliberately didn't consult with tangata whenua over granting the exploitation licences to Petrobras. He has been under increasing scrutiny in his role and has been found wanting. I wouldn't trust him or his words to consult and discuss - he means "let's work as a team and do it my way."

The Greens, Chris Carter and Hone have opposed the Bill. The Greens have come out with some excellent arguments

“The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery bill effectively gives unbridled power to the Beehive for five years and sidelines councils and local communities. The international evidence shows that community-led recovery efforts work best and we will be seeking amendments to achieve this,” said Dr Kennedy Graham, Green Party Earthquake Recovery spokesperson. “Under this bill the Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee will be able to exercise emergency powers and change any law in the country for the next five years. This is more than is needed for the rebuild and is not consistent with a democratic locally-led recovery effort."

Too much power indeed, as Idiot/Savant notes

 Which means that the big decisions around the future of Christchurch will be decided not by its people, but by Gerry Brownlee. Who while he is a Christchurch MP, isn't exactly in the same position of democratic accountability as the elected representatives of the Christchurch City Council.

Eddie at The Standard is scathing

The power given to Brownlee here is unprecendented and uncontrolled. He will be appointing the CEO or CERA who will report to him. On Marae Investigates last Sunday, a disaster expert, Dr Regan Potangaroa, who has worked around the world said he had never seen such powers put into the hands of a minister, or anyone. He said they are powers that officials have in dictatorships.

Can we trust him to not abuse his powers - the evidence says no, we can't. I have no doubt that brownlee is well below par on any standard. That's right - I don't like his philosophy, what he stands for, says or does. We will see if he consults and works with tangata whenua, we will see if he consults and works with communities.

turn on the light

News that the Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court Ruling that the Urewera 18 are to be tried in front of a judge and not a jury, concerns me. The light of day needs to shine on the events of the terror raids, we do not need shadows.

NZH

Despite objections by the defence for the 18 accused, the Court of Appeal yesterday announced it would uphold the High Court ruling. Suppression orders prevent the publication of the reasons behind both courts' decisions. The 18 accused, including Tuhoe activist Tame Iti, face various charges under the Arms Act as a result of the 2007 raids.

I agree with John Minto's view

Political activist John Minto said the decision was dangerous. "I think it's really disappointing. It would be better for it to be left up to citizens to decide," he said. "A group of citizens independent of the state should make the call on these charges. I think it is [dangerous] in terms of public confidence. "There are big question marks over this case." Mr Minto said it was "widely regarded" that police overreacted in the raids and charges. "The police have put their credibility on the line in this case. It will be much better dealt with by ordinary citizens who will look at the evidence and make a reasoned judgment. There is a tendency for different parts of the state to protect others."

Idiot/Savant has blogged about it here, here and here.

I have not seen the ruling yet, but the same criticisms I made of the original decision apply: a jury is the primary signifier of a fair trial in this country. Without one, we can have no confidence in the verdict. And that ought to be deeply concerning, no matter whether you think the accused are innocent or guilty.

And Rob at the Standard has a good post up on the decision here

Given the controversy surrounding the original raids, the legal system should be bending over backwards to conduct a process that is above reproach. Instead, they are doing the exact opposite.

The case is surrounded by suppression orders so not much can be said about it but the truth about these terror raids needs to see the light of day. This trial is one way for the truth to come out but unfortunately...

the stirrings counter

The hikoi to oppose the racist replacement legislation to the hated Foreshore and Seabed Act has begun. Great footage and links from Ana here and here and here. It is likely that the hikoi will get to Wellington after the new Act has been passed - that will be an opportunity to show them what Māori think of it. We oppose it, vigorously. Kim has a great post on the hikoi and the reasons behind it - awesome links and analysis.

The hikoi comes at a time when the haters are getting bolder. Who would believe that we can live in a country where at a political party conference an interjector can advocate bringing in shooting the natives and that the response from the delegates is laughter. Not one politician had denounced this heinous statement and response - not one! Bloggers are leading the way -

Lew from Kiwipolitico

... the delegates in attendance at the ACT party laughed. At the suggestion that New Zealand implement a system of genocide against its indigenous people which, even back in 1840, was a source of shame for Australia, those in attendance at the annual conference of a New Zealand government party whose ranks include two ministers of the crown laughed.

Idiot/Savant from No Right Turn

... This little blurt is very revealing about where ACT is now: deeply racist, willing to voice the previously unthinkable: that people should be murdered based on the colour of their skin to prevent them from irritating rich white people with their demands for justice.

 Eddie from The Standard

3-time election loser Don Brash spoke at the ACT conference on the weekend. It was an attempt to revive the Owera days with an anti-Maori speech. When he made a ‘they don’t know how lucky they are’ reference to how Australians used to “shoot the natives”, a ACT member yelled “bring that back” and the audience laughed.

and Morgan at Maui Street

... I wonder how well Brash’s Maori bashing will go down this time. A considerable amount of New Zealanders hate Maori culture (rather than Maori people), however in light of the Chch earthquake and the disaster unfolding in Japan issues such as karakia before public functions appear terribly insignificant.

This is the tamest line in an awesomely accurate description of brash from Morgan.

We are lucky to have such strong voices out there. Thank you all.

can't run from the truth

Idiot/Savant from No Right Turn is an amazing blogger who does the hard yards better than anyone by seeking information from ministers based on the OIA (Official Information Act). Some may wonder why i am so hard on gerry brownlee - I/S has uncovered one of the reasons - he makes it up as he goes along.

No Right Turn

Last year, when the government was making a lot of noise about its goal of "closing the gap" with Australia, we were confronted with the odd sight of Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee claiming in the House to have targets and milestones for this goal, but refusing to say what they were.

Since then I've been engaged in a prolonged OIA battle with the Minister to force him to produce the advice on which these "milestones" were based.

The answer?

Despite being given numerous interesting but irrelevant documents, its been clear from the beginning that there was no such advice - that Brownlee made up his "milestones", and in the process lied to Parliament. And today, I received confirmation of this, in the form of the Ombudsman's preliminary views on a complaint I lodged about Brownlee's answers. The Ombudsman has formed the view that Brownlee should have refused my request, on the grounds of section 18(g) of the Act - basically, that it does not exist. Why? Because the Minister had admitted it

My investigator met with the relevant officials from the Ministers office. She was advised that the answer given in the House was not based on specific advice received by Mr Brownlee either from the Ministry of Economic Development, or from the advisors in his office... It has become apparent during my investigation that there are no source documents for the answers given in the House on 27 July and 5 August 2010.

It doesn't get plainer than that and what a disgrace this minister is. He makes it up as he goes along and he cannot be trusted.
 
Thank you I/S for all your hard work in uncovering these incompetents.
 
Hat tip - The Standard

who is stopping you

Idiot/Savant at No Right Turn sums up this article in the nzherald very well. The article is about who actually is restricting access to beaches. It is not maori stopping people going to the beaches - it is private owners just as we have been saying. The spin by those opposed to maori getting back the foreshore and seabed has been spearheaded by the campaign based upon the fear of the majority of this country not being allowed to go to the beach. Will those same fear-mongers now turn their attention onto this group of real culprits - somehow I don't think so.

From NZ Herald

So it's from a small industrial building in Penrose that the New Zealand Herald launches a "Please let me swim at your beach" road trip. The plan is simple: to ask landowners if they mind letting us stroll through to their piece of paradise to dip our toes.

From No Right Turn in response to the article

...The problem isn't Maori, but millionaires. The people putting up gates and shutting the public out are farmers and the residents of exclusive gated communities, both of whom effectively privatise public space by restricting access.

If we think this is a problem - and I agree, it is - then the answer is not to restrict justice to Maori, but instead to legislate for free access regardless of who owns the adjacent land. But a solution where Pakeha are allowed to privatise public space while Maori are denied justice and have lesser property rights is not acceptable, and can only be regarded as racist.

The conclusion of racism is correct IMO. Lessor rights for maori is as obvious as it gets - this is not subtle or hidden - it is there baldly - lessor rights for maori. That is just not acceptable.

I don't fully agree with the other conclusion that the remedy is to legislate for free access, although I do think it is a good interim solution - the long term answer, in my view, is that the foreshore and seabed be vested with maori. Access is available for everyone and no more private ownership of the foreshore and seabed.

whanau ora - some pitfalls

What are some of the pitfalls of whanau ora?

Idiot/Savant at No Right Turn covers some of them very well

"On the negative side, there are real privacy and human rights concerns here. One of the reasons for the silo mentality among delivery agencies is because (to pick a random example) how well a family's kids are doing at school is none of Housing New Zealand's damn business. Ditto your sexual history and the police. Whanau Ora would either share this information, or concentrate it in the hands of the single contact point. There are also concerns about the privacy and rights of individuals against members of their own families (the report recognises this in cases of pregnancy). This could easily turn into an Orwellian nightmare, in which every family has its own paternalistic dictator, acting with state power to make decisions based on their own moral views rather than the wishes and needs of the family.

Secondly, the scheme's "Whanau goals" are very prescriptive, to the point of social engineering. For example, it seeks to promote not just self-management, health, and participation in society, but also participation in te ao Maori and "Whanau cohesion". To point out the obvious, whether I speak to my mother is no business at all of the government. Neither is what culture you participate in. These things are great for people who want them, but they should not be dictated by the state.

The biggest problem, however, is governance. Using an independent trust will mean that policy advice and the management of the programme is deliberately and consciously divorced from public service norms of professionalism, transparency and accountability. It means the staff overseeing the scheme will not be bound by public service neutrality, that contracts will not be subject to the usual public service rules (freeing up space for "relational contracting", by which they mean favouring certain regular providers rather than having a level playing field), and their decisions, contracts and advice will not be subject to the Official Information Act (note that by contracting out actual delivery, service provision is already insulated from the jurisdiction of the Ombudsmen. WINZ has to be fair and reasonable; contracted services don't). And that is simply unacceptable.

I hadn't noticed the point within the second point - "...it seeks to promote not just self-management, health, and participation in society, but also participation in te ao Maori and "Whanau cohesion"."

I like that - seeks to promote participation in te ao maori and whanau cohesion - isn't that what we need to do?

Hone is correct about canterbury asset grab

Hone is right. The Environment Canterbury Bill and the sacking of the Environment Canterbury regional council and appointment of commissioners is an attempt to steal water and then minerals (read mining). It is a farce and a direct attack upon our people and environment.

From Waatea News

"Maori Party MP Hone Harawira says principles introduced in a bill for managing Canterbury rivers will effectively replace the Resource Management Act, to the huge detriment of Maori and the nation as a whole.

The Environment Canterbury Bill was introduced yesterday, a day after the Government sacked Environment Canterbury regional council and replaced it with commissioners.

Mr Harawira says the bill was sneaked into parliament during the foreshore and seabed debate as a local measure, but in fact it gives unelected commissioners total administrative power, cutting out the Minister for the Environment and the Environment Court.

“You are taking out of the hands of government agency an asset that has critical value to the whole nation and putting it in the hands of officials who are appointed by a Government hell bent on commercialising assets,” he says.

Mr Harawira says the asset grab won't stop at water but will include other minerals and natural resources.

No Right Turn has some good information on this here and here and here and here and here

Great link - No Right Turn: Disaster tourism

I think idiot/savant has hit the nail on the head here - can you think of any good reason for key to go to samoa other than pr?

No Right Turn: Disaster tourism