Written By: - Date published: 12:07 pm, May 13th, 2010 - 154 comments
Categories: john key, maori party -
Tags: mars2earth, tuhoe
Marty Mars said the following in comments
This is too far, too much insult it is time for the maori party to leave there is no other option.
What he is referring to is this following Radio NZ article
Prime Minister John Key has joked about Tuhoe being cannibals during a speech to a tourism audience in Auckland.
Mr Key has been at loggerheads with Tuhoe this week since he ruled out the return of the Urewera National Park as part of the iwi’s proposed treaty settlement.
Tuhoe have accused the Prime Minister of betrayal, while the Maori Party has said the Government acted in bad faith.
Mr Key has defended the Government’s decision, saying vesting the national park in the iwi would be a step too far for most New Zealanders.
In a speech on Thursday morning Mr Key joked about the dispute with Tuhoe.
“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.”
He said the Government would work its way through the challenges.
Marty Mars has a short post at his Mars2Earth on it.
I find myself having to agree with him. That ‘joke’ is insulting and quite distasteful. It appears to be part of a recent continuing pattern by this government.
I’d hazard a guess that they’re worried about polling numbers amongst their own voters, and getting some interesting blowback from their members at recent regional conferences.
Update: It appears that John Key has made the international news with his ‘joke’. The Guardian and The Telegraph both have stories and the northern hemisphere is just waking up. Not content as tourism minister with destroying the 21st most valuable brand in the world, he is now screwing up our reputation on indigenous relations as well. He really is clueless.
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Scoopit!
Key on Radio Live now with Jackson and Tamihere.
He’s laughing it off, and then a quick “I apologise”.
He’s now trying to explain the Tuhoe negotiations, and he’s squirming.
Kruger was on the hour before, and was very statesmanlike.
L
…can he be our PM instead?
John Key, interviewed on Radio Live, comes up with one of the great political quotes of our time.
“Yum yum“.
Dumb dumb.
Classic National Ltdâ„¢ – when the going gets tough, get out the wedge. If its not them thieving beneficiaries or them murdering criminals or them slack arse public servants its gotta be them cannibals. And this from King John The Clueless of Charmalot who said he didn’t want separatism in Aotearoa – what a fucking joke.
We can all say some pretty robust things here, some in dark humour, some without meaning offense, sometimes deliberately. And it is just as public as anything said by MPs, PMs etc, and we have the benefit of anonymity.
I hate defending the ex-pauper from Bryndwr, but I cant see how anybody can be pure PC 100% of the time, not even this noxious PM. Get a grip bloggers, harden up. The PC crap with the holy cows attached needs to be gone. VTOs example of a MP MPs language shows us how lingually soft we have all gone.
Its about context, Bored. He’s not down the pub with his mates winding up the opposition pool team with a few craftily worded and jovial put downs. Rather, for our sins, he is the Prime Minister who has just scuppered a treaty settlement with a devious, focus-group-inspired last minute switcheroo on the Tuhoi and then he goes diving into the media making jokes about them being cannibals.
Its completely inappropriate and indicative of very poor judgement.
BlIP, lets face it, Key is a prat, lets just give him some more rope and sit quietly in the safe expectation that he will score more own goals whilst hanging himself.
How safe is that expectation looking so far? The guy’s got a huge lead in the polls, and some policy runs on the board to go with his screwups.
When will the left stop underestimating Key and treat him like the actual threat he is? You’d have thought it would be when he had six months of consistent poll lead before the election — but no.
For all that people around here like to talk about “real” as opposed to “symbolic” or “moral” victories, you sure do seem happy with sitting back and saying “yeah, he’s winning by all objective measures, but everyone knows we really won the battle of ideas”.
Bah.
L
Give up Lew they’re a pack of losers, and just out of university idealogues.
[stop with the personal attacks on individuals who are not involved in this issue. And stop changing your name]
[lprent: Actually he is permanently banned under yet another name and IP. Spamming the comments he managed to get in today as 'areyouretarded', 'Nelson munz', ' cmontyburns', and 'you're nuts'. In this case he has been warned, banned, and made nuisance of himself too many times. Getting rid of him off the nets is starting to look like a public service. ]
Lew,
You got a point, but sooner or later every goon trips over his own fancy footwork. Lets face it, our attacks arent going far, he is immune to our formula. Its all about soundclips, and even his pathetic f****d joke fitted the bill as another line for the masses to absorb as mana from above. Perhaps we now fight him with our own telegenic soundclip artist, but who?
It’s not just about a person — it’s about an understanding of what needs to be done. Little such apparently exists. Having a flash frontperson without support is just a way to kill a potentially stellar political career.
L
Actually, now that I’m home from the pub, I take that back – it was good judgement in that the escapade will appeal to the white trash and boost his ratings. My tory mates think he’s “the man”.
Laugh & the whole world laughs with you. Or you can choose to be a victim.
You’re a victim of my laughter. Ha. Ha.
Hey, coge, you’re a rapist
ha ha just joking! can’t you take a joke!
Or, coge, you can blame the victim for not having a sense of humour.
Great rationalising there.
Oh please it wasn’t racist or offensive. Just a joke. Seems Ngati Porou also saw it that way:
We got the joke, says Ngati Porou
A Ngati Porou kaumatua, or elder, says Mr Key’s comment at the marae was just a joke – and was treated as such.
Apirana Mahuika says the days of barbarism have long since passed and people accept that analogies are used in jokes.
“I don’t know whether everybody laughed, but we all smiled because we understood it was a joke and we knew the background of the joke. It was not in any way disparaging to Tuhoe the way that he told it.”
Mr Mahuika says no one present when the comment was made took offence at the Prime Minister’s remarks.
“Mr Mahuika says no one present when the comment was made took offence at the Prime Minister’s remarks.”
maybe coz no one present was the target of it eh.
The joke wasn’t made at Ngati Porou you idiot.
Look at Tuhoe’s comments.
But aren’t all Maori the same PB?
Key should resign
He’s a clown and the people defending his words here and trying to put the blame on HC are national’s sockpuppets
better be carefull you might get eaten
Many years ago I was working in the Beehive once evening with a friend on a trade contract in the building services area. Exiting the lift on the ninth floor there was the rear view of Helen Clark heading towards her office across the foyer. In a moment of inspiration my mate lets rip with his best Muldoon imitation, “He he he…so that’s the little girlie that got the job!”.
HC froze for a second, spun about and gave as good as she got’ “Bloody uppity tradesmen…I’ll be thanked if you stick to the side entrance!”…with a huge grin on her face.
If for instance the Opposition Leader had tried the same spot of wit as my mate did … in the House of Parliament for instance, in mean-spirited tones… it would have been likely, and rightly, ripped as a demeaning sexist put down. What works in one setting, can fail dismally in another.
More than likely Key’s attempt at self-depreciating humour, while it may have played ok for those present who were able to read the tone and body language, comes across less jovially when written down in censorious print. And leaves of course the door wide open for a whole lot of tribal groupthink, hysteria and positioning for political/negotiating leverage.
If the mood in my workplace is anything to judge, non-Maori NZ is legitimately anxious about a lot of what they are reading and seeing right now. If this is item is overplayed it could very easily backlash against the left.
I noticed that John Boy made that claim on tv3 news…that it was self deprecating humour.
But what’s self-deprecating in making a joke of someone else’s behaviours or traits?
But what’s self-deprecating in making a joke of someone else’s behaviours or traits?
It’s pretty much where most humour has it’s roots. Besides it’s obvious that Key was simply acknowledging that his announcement earlier in the week had been badly received in Tuhoe circles.
The fact of the historic practise of cannabalism in pre-European times is scarcely unfounded or controversial even. Modern Maori do not hide from it, they know it is a grim reality that their ancestors did these things.
Hone Harawira got a lot of flak for his ‘white mofo’ line. At the time I was pointing out that the reaction was petty much over the top:
Well the reality is that from a Maori perspective the way the forests and riverflats were relentlessly burnt and cleared for farms did amount to ‘raping and pillaging’, the failed expectations on the part of the Crown and the way Maori were treated very much as second class citizens… is behaviour that white New Zealanders need to own and understand. A pity many of us didn’t take the jibe with better grace than that shown by Tuhoe in response to Mr Key’s rather mild wee witicism today.
Exactly what I thought Bill. Where does the self deprecating bit come in? Supposedly being eaten by Tuhoe I guess. Well, once upon a time John Boy’s ancestors ate each other too.
I wonder why he didn’t try it out on Obama at that anti-nukes do? That would have made a terrific photo op; the secret service pummelling the shit out of that dumb guy from the Letterman show.
I listened to John on Jackson and Tamahere, it was just a joke his delivery was soooo caaaalm, I wondered why anyone bothered on this issue!
” His voice spoke low and melodious, its very sound an enchantment. Those who listened unwarily to that voice could seldom report the words that they heard; and if they did, they wondered, for little power remained in them. Mostly they remembered only that it was a delight to hear the voice speaking, all that it said seemed wise and reasonable, and desire awoke in them by swift agreement to seem wise themselves. When others spoke they seemed harsh and uncouth by contrast; and if they gainsaid the voice, anger was kindled in the hearts of those under the spell. For some the spell lasted only while the voice spoke to them, and when it spoke to another they smiled, as men do who see through a juggler’s trick while others gape at it. For many the sound of the voice alone was enough to hold them enthralled; but for those whom it conquered the spell endured when they were far away, and ever they heard that soft voice whispering and urging them. But none were unmoved; none rejected its pleas and its commands without an effort of mind and will, so long as its master had control of it”
A Joke?
Those with an modicum of common sense realized that after Key’s little stint with David Letterman our PM was no comedian .well not in the accepted sense. However Key thinks otherwise and seems not to realize the importance of diplomacy, not to mention ‘decent’ taste when commenting in the political arena as our PM.
When it suits Key he is the first to proclaim his working class roots. This of course is a myth that he and the Nats spin on the gullible. Key may have attended a working class school but his repugnant comments in the form of a joke is the type of humour I would expect to hear at a skinhead rally.
That “self-deprecating” line shows that he’s making the classic celebrity mistake of falling for his own press coverage.
FYI John: the PR people make the image for the public to buy, not you.
“Hello, I’m very modest. It says so here. You gotta admire that!”
Wish People would loosen up enjoy this clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgbPwbsE0oM&feature=player_embedded
i get the feeling that’s what Key’s be relying on for a Cultural Advisor
LoL Classic.
Oh yeah, I remember when Rod Derrett was Prime Minister in the 21st century in the middle of Treaty negotiations, rather than some unknown racist hick in the 1960s.
I think John Key’s doing a fantastic job.
He’s Minister of Tourism, and he wants to raise New Zealand’s profile around the world.
And now he’s succeeded …
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23833422-new-zealand-prime-minister-sorry-for-maori-cannibal-joke.do
Yay!
He is playing a blinder in his role as tourism minister
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/13/john-key-apologises-cannibalism-joke
Key’s done this before. Remember his answering a question about Samoan & Fijian Kava by saying, “Well when yer dealing with children ..”
But he doesn’t mean bad by it. He’s just a buffoon. And making jokes at the expense of minorities is probably par for the course for Key.
Of course, if Tuhoe are cannibals, what cliches can we have for Jews?
Yawn again.
Are you sure none of you guys work for faux news?
When will John Key learn, he is NOT funny! Lange and I suppose Muldoon have been our only PM’s who could tell a funny joke, Key just comes across sounding more like Bush. But of course, the Zombie-Nat supporters will laugh along with him…
Meh posted this at Kiwipolitico and rather liked it so posting it here as well.
What John Key said. Poor taste probably. Racist, no. Offensive well you won’t even get Tuhoe going that far. Calculated? Absolutely.
That calculation carries a risk but it also has a benefit. Forget the poor performance National and John Key have had as late. This week and the two decisions John made. First to say no to Tuhoe and secondly the joke, will likely shift the mood that was gathering by some about John Key and National. It stops the talk of National pandering to Maori while the joke allows Pakeha New Zealand to nod their head in how pathetic the media is getting so fussed over the matter.
For the left, no doubt such actions just entrench their view of John Key and National. But the left have shared that view before 2008 and will always have that view. That plays into Key because the more attacks are focused on John Key. The more it plays into National’s hand. Labour and the left just look like bad losers when they attack John Key.
The risk is it strains the relationship further with the Maori Party and Tuhoe, but also that it gets Key again off-side with the media. Now that Key has no to ownership then the crown must negotiate something that will appease Tuhoe. Meaning while symbolically Tuhoe looks like a loser. Its likely they’re going to get a number of goodies their way that will make other settlements difficult. For the Maori Party they’re going to pin more and more hope on a Foreshore and Seabed deal. They’re actually rather close on that matter. It goes way beyond the present Foreshore and Seabed At. Co-management, veto rights, rights to other minerals (i.e. not Gold, Platinum, Oil and something else), right to address via the courts but also likely a body to allow negotiation directly with the crown. Development and usage rights etc etc etc.
The sole matter that is causing contention is title. National want “public domain’ because they believe its politically viable but for Maori and the Maori Party its problematic. Therefore, I think National will be forced to include something else. It can’t be Maori Title since pakeha New Zealand won’t like it. But it has to be something better than “public domain’.
If the Maori Party and National can’t agree on the Foreshore and Seabed relationship then the whole thing is toast. The Maori Party have been quite willing to be kicked around at times and not have Maori seats in Auckland etc. But they’re not viable as a political movement or party without a fundamental deal on the Foreshore and Seabed.
Thus the risk John Key did this week, is further strain that relationship requiring a fundamental deal on the Foreshore and Seabed whilst playing the race card to pakeha New Zealand. But what happens with pakeha New Zealand if National does a F&S deal?
The risk with the media is a real danger. For all the talk from both the left and right about bias, its rather all nonsense. Technically, our newspapers tend to have columnists from the right but most of the people doing the actual news are from the left. The media play soft cock to whoever is in power until the time arrives when its game-on and what you do as a politician is no longer going to be ignored. For John Key and National that time has come.
Therefore, the more Key plays to the PR side of politics the more difficult he’s going to have in delivery of policy and ideas. Increasingly, we’ve seen policy be released that is luke-warm and sometimes rather criticised. The media is critically looking at John Key at the same that Goff is slowly getting more and better media exposure. No longer can Key use a slip-of-the-tongue approach and the media will forget it.
—
Thus we have reward and risk. The reward outweighs the risk. But the risk is going to linger there.