Another day, another sell-out

Written By: - Date published: 3:40 pm, October 20th, 2009 - 19 comments
Categories: ACC, maori party - Tags:

The Maori Party has decided it will support National’s changes to ACC despite Tariana Turia just two days ago saying she was “very concerned” about those changes.

Here’s their explanation for their latest flip-flop:

“We know that Maori have consistently had less access to ACC entitlements than other groups, under existing legislation. While this Bill would further restrict entitlements, we are particularly interested in hearing how the scheme may be altered to address the underlying bias to Maori,”

Well, if you can make sense of that, you’re smarter than me. They are worried about Maori not getting what they need, so they’re going to support everyone getting less? And they hope that why Maori are not getting what they need will be discussed, which is not something the Bill addresses?

If I was to assume the best, I would say the Maori Party has decided to back National’s current changes rather than have National turn to ACT, resulting in privatisation. But I suspect they’ve just buckled again, desperate to show the coalition is working and not see National embarrassed.

19 comments on “Another day, another sell-out ”

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  1. gitmo 1
    20 October 2009 at 3:49 pm

    Look it’s all clearly explained right here

    • BLiP 1.1
      20 October 2009 at 3:53 pm

      Hehehe – you’re certainly a Git but at least you’re a Git with a sense of humour.

      • Ianmac 1.1.1
        20 October 2009 at 5:26 pm

        Yes Gitmo. Almost the sort of Brownlie response. Puts me in mind of todays question of members about 3:30. Chauvelle (sp?) asking for the info re who gave the command to only hear 37 oral submissions to the Finance Select committee. Round and round ducking and weaving.

  2. Peter Martin 2
    20 October 2009 at 3:57 pm

    This is just manna for Labour.

  3. The Voice of Reason 3
    20 October 2009 at 4:16 pm

    “The most important thing is the Maori Party is sitting at the same table as whoever is in government.”

    Tariana Turia, 17 Oct, 2009.

    Kinda sums it up, eh? Not helping Maori, just helping themselves. Power before principle and whuck the whanau. I’d call it a betrayal, except I’ve never considered them any thing other than a right wing party anyway.

    They reckon they are on track to get 18 seats a couple of elections from now. I reckon they’re on track for oblivion. Has anybody else noticed that anything political Matt McCarten helps to set up turns to custard within two terms? New Labour? Pffft. The Alliance? Pffft. The Brown Tories?

  4. torydog 4
    20 October 2009 at 4:33 pm

    what a disgrace…….30 pieces of silver to the maori party!!

  5. Tigger 5
    20 October 2009 at 4:39 pm

    How have Maori had less access to ACC? I’d be interested in reading the evidence on that and, if there’s a problem and it has soluations, looking at what can actually be done to improve the situation.

    Because if there is less access and it can be improved, why doesn’t Turia just say ‘yes, we’re going into talks but these are our bottom lines’? Nice, clean, open, honest. At least that way the MP look like they’re doing their job. But doing it this way, they just look like sell outs. And not very bright ones.

    • weizguy 5.1
      20 October 2009 at 7:22 pm

      Maori, Asians, and Pacific people are less likely to claim.

      It’s partially a cultural thing, and could also be influenced by socio-economic factors.

      Part of the solution was to try to get people to understand that they were covered 24 hours a day. The last opposition put paid to that.

  6. ghostwhowalksnz 6
    20 October 2009 at 5:08 pm

    The term from the deep south is ‘house darky’

  7. Tiger Mountain 7
    20 October 2009 at 5:34 pm

    The MP is a parliamentary pest for sure. The history of what tory governments do in office and evidence so far, suggests the statistics regarding the position of most Maori will be looking rather sick come 2011. As will the stats for pakeha working class people. It is not about what the MP could be or should be, it is about what it is. The intention of Prof Winiata and Mrs Turia to hang on in there are not indicative of a party keen to change its rightward trajectory.

  8. Rex Widerstrom 8
    20 October 2009 at 6:07 pm

    Zetetic:

    Given that quote and your comment in another post about having read the Whanau Ora documentation (which I admit I have not) and finding it says nothing, rather than attributing a decisive right-leaning stance to Turia, is it perhaps more a case that she doesn’t have the intellectual heft for the job? And thus is indecisive and easily fooled?

  9. Zaphod Beeblebrox 9
    20 October 2009 at 7:24 pm

    I’d love to know what Hone Harawira thinks of all this sucking up to National and ACT.

    • gobsmacked 9.1
      20 October 2009 at 7:56 pm

      Hone’s constrained by the ‘deal’, but his Mum isn’t. If you ever hear her (and her callers) on Radio Waatea, it’s pretty clear there’s a lot of unhappy Maori Party voters out there. And significantly, they tend to be the activist base.

  10. millsy 10
    20 October 2009 at 10:08 pm

    Matua Tom…….

  11. RedLogix 11
    20 October 2009 at 10:54 pm

    Here is how it is going to play out.

    The Seabed and Foreshore review will be strung out for as long as possible and National will appear to bungle and mishandle the issue to the point where it is hopelessly bogged down. At a time that suits them best, Key will renege totally on the S&F, announce both the elimination of the separate Maori seats and National’s preferred electoral referendum option of SM to be decided on a single vote at the election.

    In the 2011 election Key romps in with a 65% margin, needing neither ACT nor the MP to govern.

  12. ak 12
    20 October 2009 at 11:03 pm

    Ae, either all of the above or, just thinking aloud here, people aint so dumb after all; and Labour is slowly but surely being outflanked on the left (again) just below the radar and out of sight of the mob….

    Anyone seen the price tag on Whanau Ora? Or noticed any cuts in Maori health or education?

    Just maybe, a wee jew-boy of a state-house solo mum (whose first act, remember, on assuming tory leadership was to repudiate Orewa One) feels afresh that affinity for the alienated that dare not be uttered in the Right company that he now sits astride, and acts accordingly: surreptitiously, steadily, untouchable in his mighty poll fortress, buying aroha – with the added bonus of simultaneously stymieing the poll-poison of ACT.

    Either way, Labour needs to re-consult the junior progressive woodchuck manual and applaud, abet, and push harder leftward. Closing the gaps is seminal Left (as are dole expansion and youth employment initiatives). Enough already with the angst and wanking over tory pratfalls – reclaim those fine, shining, simple Labour principles of yore and work only for their implementation, whomever the instrument du jour.

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