the terror of shearer

I have refrained from giving david shearer the leader of the Labour Party a hard time on this blog mainly because I figured labour would sort out the issues relating to him and his leadership of that political party. But his latest utterances leave me no choice. There is a by-election in the Māori electorate of Ikaroa-Rawhiti after well respected, Labour stalwart, Parekura Horomia died recently. The political parties contesting that seat are Labour, The Maori Party, The Green Party and The Mana Party. David shearer, on behalf of Labour, said on the opening of the campaign that they will make

Scoop

a promise that the party will use the next four weeks to honour the legacy of Parekura Horomia, and retain the seat he held for 14 years.

That is a good thing to say - to honour the legacy, but unfortunately shearer has not done that because within the same press release he also said

We will organise, mobilise and terrorise our political opponents.

Yep The Greens and Mana are political opponents that will be terrorised - forget that the main enemy is john key's national party, oh no for shearer The Greens and Mana are the enemies.

This word terrorise was deliberate and designed to send a message and that message was not lost on the Mana candidate for the seat, Te Hamua Nikora

Scoop

Te Hamua Nikora is stunned by Labour’s plan to win the electorate.

And why was this such a shocker by shearer

Nikora said that to hear that message from Labour on a day like today when Tuhoe are settling with the Crown is in extremely poor taste. “Tuhoe haven’t forgotten that it was a Labour Government that raided their homes in Taneatua and Ruatoki in 2007. Tuhoe know that the call to raid their homes by our police came from Labour. It’s another sad legacy on the part of the Labour Party when it comes to Maori rights”.

Yep Tuhoe settled officially with the Crown yesterday, the same day shearer made his statement. Tuhoe receive putea of 170M and most importantly an apology for the following

TVNZ

Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said the "past breaches against Tuhoe are some of the worst in the story of our nation".

"Land was confiscated; villages and crops burned; families killed and men executed," said Finlayson.

"The relationship with their homeland whittled away despite promises. These sorry events have left a stain on the history of Te Urewera region, and on the history of the Crown in New Zealand.

"Today we address squarely that history, which has remained ever present in Te Urewera to this day."

The Crown admitted that over a hundred year period it:

- Confiscated the best land
- Carried out "unjust" land sales
- Undertook a brutal military campaign that has been described in a contemporary account as "extermination"

 Tuhoe also have negotiated some awesome concessions

TVNZ

The settlement will see iwi co-manage Te Urewera National Park with the Government, and in five years it will negotiate to have Mana Motuhake, or self-rule, which means more control over education, health and housing services in the area.

A great day for Tuhoe and it is such a pity that people like shearer have zero idea of the significance of what has occurred for that Iwi and what this settlement means to them. That is why this call to terrorise opponents is so distasteful and so wrong - it is a slap in the face to all Māori and a disgraceful way to honour the memory of Parekura Horomia. The use of the word terrorise is another example of why david shearer is not fit to be in parliament let alone lead a political party - he is the weakest link in our struggle to remove the government of john key and all of their destructive practices.

positive movement

Can a bad/useless/corrupt/putwhatyoulikehere government do good things? Can a bad person do good things? 

Obviously this has been a point of discussion around other areas and putting value judgements of what ‘bad’ is aside I want to thank finlayson (I don’t think he’s ‘bad’), personally and as a representative of the government, for saying these things

Stuff

“Ngai Tuhoe’s history shows clearly why it is so important to settle genuine historic Treaty grievances,” Finalyson said.

“The conditions in Te Urewera, which contains some of our most deprived and isolated communities, show the very real and continued effects of the Crown’s Treaty breaches on the daily lives of Ngai Tuhoe people in the present.”

Huge areas of Tuhoe land were wrongly confiscated and more purchased unjustly, Finlayson said.

“Military campaigns against Tuhoe prisoners and civilians were described even at the time as extermination and the Crown employed a scorched earth policy in Tuhoe settlements.”

This settlement is a strong step towards mana motuhake for Ngāi Tuhoe and I congratulate them.

It is not perfect but it is a step in the right direction and as Tuhoe negotiator Tamati Kruger has said, “he believed the tribe had ultimately won what it was seeking, which was control over the park.” 

I wonder about the figure of 170M – is that figure used for relativity or do they calculate it some other way?

Tuhoe states all will be welcome

Confirmation of what we already knew - Tuhoe have stated their views around Te Urewera and the rest of the country and their view is of sharing and not keeping people out. As the headline states this iwi won't practice apartheid (the Afrikaans word meaning ‘separation’).

From Stuff

"Mr Kruger said Prof Anaya, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights and indigenous peoples, was keen to talk about the breakdown of treaty negotiations brought about by Prime Minister John Key's sudden decision in May that the Government could not live with a settlement handing ownership of the 212,000-hectare park back to Tuhoe.

Mr Kruger said Prof Anaya "delved into" the issue of mana motuhake - the concept of separate Maori identity and autonomy sought by Tuhoe.

"I took from his questions that he wanted to satisfy himself that this was not apartheid dressed up.

"He asked whether we were going to kick out all the non-Tuhoe people. He wanted to know whether this was evolving democratically, or whether it was racially motivated.

"We assured him it was not exclusive."

Prof Anaya asked about the "logic and workability" of Tuhoe achieving self-government within the remnants of its homeland.

On the park itself, Prof Anaya wanted to know whether Tuhoe would share it with other New Zealanders.

Mr Kruger said the delegation, which also comprised Tame Iti, Huka Williams, Patrick McGarvey and Kirsti Luke, assured him other New Zealanders would be welcomed.

Well it doesn't get clearer than that - of course some may think that Tuhoe are just saying whatever they want to and they will reverse their statements if when Te Urewera was is returned to them - but those people know nothing of mana.

righting wrong won't wreck the country

These crown negotiators, like doug graham - what actually is their claim to fame?

That they were good negotiators? That they screwed maori for the best deal for the crown? They weren't working for maori they were working against maori - i don't see why they should be considered worth listening to, unless people want to learn how to 'negotiate' with maori even more.

So when doug graham says, on NZH,

"You can't wreck the country [financially] because one group has said this is their bottom line."

about the Tuhoe negotiations and their wish to have Te Urewera returned - what does he mean? Giving a park back to Tuhoe will financially ruin the country?

"Sir Douglas was at the helm of negotiations in the 1990s when first Tainui and then Ngai Tahu signed deeds of settlement.

He said Tuhoe were now "victims" of those settlements because his Government had said national parks were out of bounds during negotiations. That set the precedent, and if broken could see the possibility of deeds being relitigated."

Ahhh now we see the real cause for concern - the paltry deals done with Ngai Tahu and Tainui would be under pressure if other iwi got better deals. The 'final' settlements would not be final. If that is the case then the question is actually, "Why are they not final?" If the settlement is so good why wouldn't iwi go thanks so much and walk away - and the answer is that the settlements are a small percentage of what has been lost, a very small percentage. Yes perhaps iwi should be happy with their tiny payout or maybe they should continue to aim for justice and equality - that's what I hope they focus on - justice and equality.

I don't think that doug graham is a bad bloke but his view is just his view and don't we have enough of his type of view already.

Dame Judith gives key a history lesson

Good to see Dame Judith Binney coming out with a historical perspective on the Tuhoe negotiations. It is a pity that john key is so underdone in his knowledge.

From Stuff

"Historian Dame Judith Binney has slated John Key's refusal to return ownership of Te Urewera National Park to Tuhoe, saying his claim that it created a precedent was "quite wrong".

Tuhoe's situation was unique, and Key "could have responded to it if he'd understood the history clearly". The Crown had not acted honourably in its dealings with Tuhoe and it was time it did, Binney said.

The Crown's confiscation of large amounts of Tuhoe land during the wars in 1866 and 1867 "was not justified and neither has it been compensated for".

Moreover, in 1896 the Liberal government of Richard Seddon had passed a law giving the tribe a large degree of self-government or tribal authority over its area – a measure that was "absolutely unique", Binney said.

After Seddon's death in 1906, the government moved further away from the concept of Tuhoe tribal authority, and by "awful pressure and brutality" had acquired about 330,000 acres of Tuhoe land by 1921.

The government passed an act in 1916 "to retrospectively legalise all the purchases up till that point". In 1958 the Urewera National Park was formed out of land that Tuhoe had owned in 1896.

The government should now "give back the land or a form of authority over the land", Binney said.

Well there it is all laid out in black and white. The land was stolen and confiscated illegally in a unfair, exploitive way. It is time to sort this out and it is time for the government to stop trying to wriggle out of it's obligations to right wrongs.
 
I am very pleased that Dame Judith is healing well from her accident.

Aoraki is Ngāi Tahu, Ngāi Tahu is Aoraki

It has been interesting watching the slippery lies and dis/mis-information from john key around Tuhoe and their settlement negotiations.

The line now is that if Te Urewera was given back to Tuhoe to manage then this would create some precedent that other iwi would take up. What a load of bull. Is that what has happened with treaty settlements so far - no. It is just more made up misinformation from the representative of the people of this country - shit no wonder he won the Dim Bulb award.

From NZH

"Prime Minister John Key says giving the Te Urewera National Park to Tuhoe could have opened the way for other iwi to put strong cases for ownership of national parks, including Whanganui, Egmont, Ngauruhoe and possibly Aoraki/Mt Cook."

"The Ngai Tahu settlement includes provision for Aoraki/Mt Cook to be gifted to the iwi and then re-gifted to the nation. However, that clause has not yet been acted upon and it is up to Ngai Tahu to decide when to trigger it."

So Aoraki has not yet been gifted back - well I say let us never do that. Let us keep Aoraki away from the clutches of those who would treat him with disrespect and exploit him. We must NEVER give our sacred mountain away - it is not ours to give, it is our mokopuna's and their's.

"Mr Key's justification for the decision was rejected by Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia.

"None of those cases is similar to Tuhoe so you can't compare those iwi to Tuhoe. This is an opportunity for the Crown to make good and doing what is right, not looking over the shoulder at other iwi and trying to make Tuhoe think that because of those other iwi they're not going to get their settlement."

Key is a major embarassment - I'm calling him Dim. B. Key after the new award he got.

key calls tuhoe cannibals

Key calls Tuhoe cannibals.

From Radio NZ

"The good news is that I was having dinner with Ngati Porou as opposed to their neighbouring iwi, which is Tuhoe, in which case I would have been dinner," he said, "which wouldn't have been quite so attractive."

Maori party it is time to go! This cannot be acceptable in any way. Mana dictates a strong response.

The Standard have a good post on this

As does Lew at Kiwipolitico

collectivist wealth creation for maori

Sometimes we cannot see the woods for the trees. We are caught up in our world and it seems like our world is the only world - but it isn't. The capatilist mode of creating wealth seems like the only way to go - but is it? Are their alternatives and how could they relate to righting the injustices facing Tuhoe and maori in general.

Maps has written on this subject in this post entitled The 'First White Marxists' reach Tuhoe Country and, as usual his analysis is thought-provoking, very high quality and actually makes sense. Reading the Maps is my favorite blog. The comments are also outstanding.

Teaser from the conclusion

"There is no reason why Tuhoe could not retain returned land and resources in collective ownership and develop their land and resources for the benefit of the whole iwi. There are already examples of iwi who are opting for the collectivist 'Polynesian mode of production' model of development over the 'corporate' model."

I really recommend a visit to Reading the Maps.

cowardly gnats

Cowards - that is the truth, National are cowards - all of those politicians are weakness personified. Te Urewera taken off the table in the negotiations with Tuhoe. It is their home and they still live there and it was stolen from them - pretty simple really - if you have a backbone that is.

From Stuff

"The government has made it clear to negotiators embroiled in discussions over Urewera National Park that its vesting in local iwi is ''unacceptable''.

Prime Minister John Key today broke with convention by announcing the government's position part way through negotiations, apparently to head-off the idea gaining traction at a hui this weekend bringing together Tuhoe.

Mr Key insisted yesterday the reason for ruling Urewera out of negotiations was because it fell outside the broad principles in operation for other treaty negotiations.

Tuhoe had proposed vesting the park in the iwi in return for universal access and universal rights.

UNIVERSAL ACCESS AND RIGHTS - not too scary key I would have thought. This is not the end of this story - in fact i believe this, if actually followed through, will be a major major point of contention that will cause untold division and conflict.

Update 1
Radio NZ

"Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says she's extremely disappointed the Government has ruled out vesting ownership of the Urewera National Park in the people of Tuhoe.

Prime Minister John Key says to do so would not fit within the generally accepted principles of other settlements.

Mrs Turia says the decision is devastating and the Crown is creating a fresh grievance.

Tuhoe says the Government has succumbed to fears about a public backlash.

Unfortunately because the gnats are really thick, especially pinocchiokey - they do not realise what they have started rolling with this - Tariana knows.

Update 2
From Stuff

"The Maori Party is furious with the Government for ruling out handing over Urewera National Park to Tuhoe and has accused it of acting dishonourably."

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia said last night the announcement was an outrage and issued a strongly worded statement saying that the Government should reconsider its position and Tuhoe had behaved with honour throughout the negotiating process only to face an 11th hour rejection of their key claim.

Speaking on Radio New Zealand this morning she went further.

"To have the rug pulled and take them back to square one I don't think is very honourable actions, it doesn't meet the fairness, equity and justice issues - it's appalling and I am extremely disappointed... I just don't really know the Crown which has committed these injustices in the past can actually create another one."

This may drop this government.

the past, the present, the future

Part of the negotiation of the Tuhoe settlement is the position that if the crown apologises then the iwi that worked with the crown should also apologise. As you can imagine - this is problematic.

From NZH

"Tuhoe leaders say a Crown apology for 19th century injustices would be meaningless unless tribes, namely Ngati Porou, Ngati Kahungunu and Te Arawa, who fought with colonial forces also say sorry."

"Te Arawa representative Toby Curtis would say only that the iwi-to-iwi matter was extremely sensitive."First and foremost this matter would have to be discussed by Te Arawa."

"AUT University pro vice-chancellor Maori Pare Keiha has Rongowhakaata tribal links to Te Kooti and had ancestors who were killed by the religious and guerrilla leader.

But he was wary of the concept of an apology.

"I have no doubt whatsoever that our own people were not all kind and caring - but that's also the history of humankind.

"I'm always very cautious to revise history because whether you call it civil wars or internecine fighting, none of us were there."

This question of apologies from iwi who worked with government forces to oust other iwi from their homelands is a complicated and senstive issue. I think that all iwi have come to the realisation that during those times the nature of the forces against maori meant that the divide approach worked and that the coloniser forces used maori for their own ends - to get the land.

All maori ultimately were victims - the ones that thought they could stall the taking of their lands by working against their traditional enemies were victims because as soon as they were not needed - their land was taken too and any mana that they thought they had aquired by hanging around pakeha was shown to be an illusion.

And other maori, like many Tuhoe, protected Te Kooti and paid for it very severely. These people resisted colonisation, they resisted the stealing of the land and they paid the price by having the land confiscated and stolen anyway. 

We cannot know the pressures on a people being swamped and losing everything - what would we do? What are we doing now?

Any sorting out of this issue should be done in the traditional way on the marae - not via law.

Tuhoe leading the way for other iwi

I agree with this call - let Tuhoe govern themselves. Dame Judith Binney's new book offers insights into our country, into our past and future and into us. Encircled Lands: Te Urewera, 1820-1921

From a Weekend Herald Article

"Once, not such a long time ago, in colonial New Zealand, Tuhoe were permitted to rule themselves within the boundaries of what was left of their land.

It was the late 1800s and they were the only tribe to gain legal autonomy from the Pakeha Government. For a short while. Then it was taken away.

The desire for autonomy never dulled though, nor was ceded by the Urewera mountain people; and today it is on the table again with John Key's Government, as part of a singular constitutional claim.

In a powerful new book on Tuhoe, eminent New Zealand historian Dame Judith Binney argues for that autonomy to be restored.

The time has long come, Binney told the Weekend Herald. She believes there is nothing to be feared from a separate Tuhoe nation operating within New Zealand and that the tribe has a strong case.

Such precedents exist around the world, she says, from Scotland and Ireland to Catalonia, which has been restored as an autonomous area within Spain, and the large Inuit state of Nunavut in Canada.

Her book makes plain that Tuhoe never wavered in their efforts to retain self-governance, from the moment colonists first began taking their land.

The book exposes in meticulous detail, gleaned from historical records and oral histories, the scale of the hurt inflicted by a colonial state hungry for farm land, and driven by the mistaken belief there was gold in the Ureweras.

Within the book's 600-odd pages Binney describes how every method possible - confiscation, war, poverty, sickness, starvation, fraud and ever-inventive legal mechanisms - was relentlessly exploited to take more land.

Just one of the many so-called legal methods used was to insist on surveying land, against Tuhoe wishes, only to charge huge sums for the survey then take the debt back in acres and acres of the best land.

It could be done and the benefits could be many.

This historian has written beautifully about Tuhoe - read this article from Catherine Masters to get a sense of her connection.

As Judith Binney says here,

"I think [in the 19th century] Tuhoe worked very hard to make self-government work but they were prevented from fully realising it," said Binney. "What I'm excited about is how it might look now.

"This is what Tuhoe want and there's no reason why it shouldn't happen.

"It would be very easy for an area to be recognised and to come to some flexible arrangement around how the rest of us interact with Tuhoe."

Can't wait to read this book - in fact i'm starting it this weekend.

"Binney has been researching and telling Tuhoe's stories for decades.

Her contribution was recognised by the tribe when it gave her a new name, Tomairangi o Te Aroha, which means the heavenly dews of love.

What an honour for a wonderful historian telling our stories - thank you.