I seem to have spent some time recently writing about National’s problems. The reason is they are numerous and also I feel a deep sense of deja vu especially by their use of the racist dog whistle.
They tried the same tricks in 2005 and this really feels like a repeat.
Earlier this year they ruled out going into coalition with Te Pāti Māori and claimed they believed in “one person, one vote”.
As I said previously the dog whistle behind the “one person, one vote” message is that somehow Maori have preferential treatment because of the Maori electorate seats. This is factually nonsense, in an MMP system the only vote that really matters is the party vote and Maori and Pakeha have the exact number of votes which is one. Also in the MMP system it is actually “one person, two votes”. Surely Luxon knows this.
But clearly this was not a one off event.
The latest episode of dog whistling occurred at a meeting at Birkenhead where Christopher Luxon was quizzed about all the “Maori nonsense” by a bunch of elderly North Shore residents.
From Te Ao Maori News:
National leader Christopher Luxon has revealed views on several Māori-related matters during question time at a public meeting on Auckland’s North Shore on Wednesday, a NZ Herald report says.
Luxon was speaking at the first in a nationwide series called “Get NZ Back on Track” at Birkenhead Bowling Club where about 250 people gathered to hear him deliver a half-hour speech on his three priorities – “fix the economy”, “restore law and order”, and “improve health and education outcomes”.
But most of the questions he received afterwards were expressed as complaints about other issues, especially race relations and the role of Māori in society, the NZ Herald says.
“Where do you stand on the fact that the Māori language is given priority?” asked a woman called Rita, who said she had emigrated from Britain 20 years ago. The audience applauded.
Luxon made it clear his party stood for “one person, one vote”. It would “scrap the Māori Health Authority” and say “no to co-governance and separate systems”.
“That is not to say you can’t have innovation within the system,” he added. He gave the example of charter schools, some of which had a clear Māori focus.
But on the language, the NZ Herald says, he told the largely elderly and overwhelmingly Pākehā audience: “I want to remind you that the average age in this country is 38. That means most of us came through school with some degree of familiarity with the use of te reo.”
However, with some Government agencies using Māori names, he said it could be “really difficult and really unfair when people don’t know who to contact”.
Then Simeon Brown leapt into the fray and displayed his inability to process up to four words at one time by complaining that Te Reo names on road signs would be too confusing.
Introducing te reo Māori to road signs will make them “more confusing” and they “should all be English”, says National’s transport spokesman.
Simeon Brown told a Bay of Plenty meeting about transport infrastructure that “we all speak English, they should all be English” when asked was asked his opinion on Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s proposal to introduce bilingual signs.
“My view is it will make signs more confusing,” he said, telling the transport agency to just “do your job”.
Last week the transport agency announced its He Tohu Huarahi Māori Bilingual Traffic Signs programme was going out for public consultation. If successful, it would result in destination signs, public and active transport signs, walking and cycling signs, general advisory and warning signs, plus motorway and expressway signs being replaced with bilingual versions.
“They should be spending their money filling potholes. Not coming up with new signage. How about not spending money on nice-to-haves, just do your job,” Brown said.
This caused some consternation in National’s ranks with Dr Shane Reti, Harete Hipango and Tama Potaka expressing varied levels of dismay.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi had the best response:
They assume the rest of New Zealand is as dumb as they are.”
So what was this all about? Was National actually concerned about the implications for the pothole repair budget even though bi lingual signs would only be installed as part of the normal replacement process and the cost, essentially of a changed design, would be very small?
Nope this was National again dog whistling to its racist base. It will take any chance to signpost its concern about woke nonsense such as preserving and enhancing Te Reo Māori.
Jo Moir has this very appropriate summary of the issue:
National is completely right to be holding the Government to account over its spending and its priorities.
The public rely on the Opposition and the media to do that.
But National’s falling into a habit of using race relations to make its point, often at public meetings where it’s easier to keep the audience on side than have a difficult exchange.
In an election year, choosing to take the easy path only further fractures society.
For the most part, New Zealanders have moved on from that kind of politics – even Luxon’s deputy Nicola Willis says she’s excited her children have ready access to te reo through what they see around them, saying most New Zealanders agree that’s a good thing.
With just over four months until the election, now would be a good time for some politicians to wake up to the real challenges facing New Zealanders – taking issue with our indigenous culture and language ain’t it.
This is lazy cynical politics. And it is so negative and feeds into anger and resentment and fear. I hope that National is punished for this at this year’s election.
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