Justified outrage

Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, November 15th, 2024 - 8 comments
Categories: Christopher Luxon, david seymour, Maori Issues, maori party, political parties, Politics, Shane Jones, treaty settlements - Tags:

There were some dramatic scenes in Parliament yesterday during the introduction of Act’s dog whistle Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. A better name would be the Dog Whistle Act Party Damaging of Race Relations for Political Advantage Bill but I suspect this would not be agreed to. Although it would be good to see opposition parties try and rename the bill.

Parliament yesterday was fascinating.

Willie Jackson was thrown out for calling David Seymour a liar and refusing to back down.

Most of Aotearoa sided with Willie.

Because Seymour has been so passive aggressive about it. Imagining wanting to have a debate but wanting to exclude the best legal brains from the debate because they essentially said that your ideas were silly?

A proper debate needs to include everyone. Including those who know what they are talking about.

Willie’s treatment was blown away by the performance of Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke who led an outstanding haka in Parliament and was subsequently named for her efforts.

Here is the video.

This forced the speaker to suspend Parliament.

I am sure there will be a privileges committee inquiry following a complaint by David Seymour and the Act Party.

They will no doubt claim victimhood about this. Althought I am sure they are privately pleased at the response their bill has invoked.

Shane Jones was on the radio this morning criticising TPM’s performance because if there is to be a future for the treaty there should be mutual respect.

He should say this to David Seymour. Act’s campaign shows absolutely no sign of mutual respect.

And former National Cabinet Minister Chris Finlayson has a strong warning for his party. From Anneke Smith at Radio New Zealand:

Finlayson said it was inevitable the legislation would cause “great damage” to National’s relationship with Māori, saying many MPs clearly did not know the party’s history.

“There’s a school of thought that says a lot of people in the National Party today aren’t perhaps aware of the liberal conservative traditions of the party and the work that was done over many generations by people like Ralph Hanan, Duncan MacIntyre, Jim Bolger, Doug Graham, me.

“Maybe they need to go back and look at their history and look at the commitment that the National Party has made … not expecting any votes out of it but because it was the right thing to do.

“A lot of, maybe, people in the National Party today are more concerned about their careers than about the history and traditions of the National Party.”

They can’t say they were not warned. And it is clear that Christopher Luxon did not understand that David Seymour would not only damage race relations but also the Government itself in the pursuit of dog whistled racist support when he negotiated their coalition agreement.

8 comments on “Justified outrage ”

  1. Tiger Mountain 1
    15 November 2024 at 9:22 am

    Willie earned his pay yesterday!

    Hana did well and is already a leader, not a future leader. The mantle has clearly been passed to younger Māori like Hikoi organiser Eru Kapa–Kingi. Articulate, the Kōhanga Reo generation.

    David Seymour will need to change tack before he gets “filled in” at some stage, such is the feeling about the division he is winding up. Despite the obvious statistical symptoms of post colonial fallout in Aotearoa NZ we have so far mercifully escaped the violence of other indigenous struggles–well, apart from state violence perhaps in terms of imprisonment and institutional racism.

    Progress was being made which Act seem determined to undo.

    Reply
  2. Dennis Frank 2
    15 November 2024 at 9:24 am

    Lux was operating from a position of weakness. Given how lame Labour had been in its second term, it was obvious the country needed a positive alternative. It's just as obvious that Lux is in no position to provide that, so a continual poll slide is likely.

    I agree with you that Finlayson's stance is most significant. Good on him for articulating it, and the onus is on young Nats in parliament to give him follow-through.

    Reply
  3. thinker 3
    15 November 2024 at 9:31 am

    I'm not getting more conservative in my dotage, but I respect what Finlayson said here.

    I was brought up in a conservative household and possibly might be conservative myself if I saw a right wing that put people at the forefront of it's policies and actions – the utopian liberal right wing that Finlayson remembers, but I, with respect to his memory, do not.

    However, I think Finlayson is alluding to the fact that, within each wing of government, there are leaders who will be remembered as 'good', some less so.

    I wonder if history will remember Luxon as a carpetbagger who cobbled together a government of poorly aligned ideologies and sold out the country's path to true partnership for a few years' of the baubles of prime ministership.

    I tried to say it before and someone razzed my attempt, but I think Luxon genuinely can't see that even supporting this bill through it's first reading while confirming he will not allow it to go further is still going to be taken by Maori as a betrayal of friendship.

    In 2026, Luxon expects to go to Maori, asking them to pledge their support and trying to persuade Maori of National's concern for friendship and partnership. How he will do this will be interesting to watch, methinks.

    Reply
  4. Obtrectator 4
    15 November 2024 at 10:13 am

    As someone once remarked about BoJo (paraphrasing): he was happy as a wannabee Prime Minister and pleased to be an ex-Prime Minister – it was the bit in between that gave him grief.

    Reply
  5. Ad 5
    15 November 2024 at 10:13 am

    Opposition doing its job. Great to see.

    Reply
  6. Macro 6
    15 November 2024 at 10:56 am

    Shane Jones going on about respecting Parliament!!! He who used his parliamentary credit card to watch porn!

    Then calling Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke a "songbird". Disgusting man.

    Reply

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