Māori in position much different to other groups
D Stewart writes (ODT, 8.2.24) of their annoyance at "the Māorification of our language and the preference given to Māori in everything from healthcare to housing and education".
The mind boggles.
Māori were educated under the Natives Schools Act for over a century, their language was almost lost, but also damaging was the policy of teaching young Māori how to become good laborers.
Their education was not of the mind, but of how best to use their hands, given the widely held view of the place Māori were to occupy within the New Zealand society for the rest of their days. At that time, Māori were widely regarded as "a dying race", and so their days were believed to be numbered.
This education system has residual consequences for many Māori to this day. Speaking of which, the progressive disadvantage of colonialism experienced by Māori, place Māori in a position much different to other ethnic groups for obvious reasons.
Māori experience with the mainstream healthcare system has been largely hostile. Māori are less likely to receive pain relief medicine because they are thought to be more stoic than Pakeha, consultations are shorter for Māori, by an average of 15 minutes, than those experienced by Pakeha.
And as we know, Māori die earlier in this country than Pakeha.
Māori are less likely to own their own home than Pakeha; 58% of Pakeha own their own home as opposed to 26% of Māori.
We can speak about familial wealth but that’s another chapter.
Flood mitigation
I arrived in Dunedin in 1980.
My first job was at Invermay Research Centre as a science technician.
My first task at Invermay was to assist with the removal of hay bales from flooded areas on the Taieri.
A friend of mine, John Frew, was the civil engineer who designed the flood control gates on the Taieri flood mitigation scheme.
John watched as the gates he designed collapsed as the power of the flood took over.
He told me the gates were doing their job but as they had not had time to settle in before the flood the whole construction failed.
I now hear that the flood banks in this same area are overdue for an upgrade.
Why is the maintenance overdue and where is the funding coming from?
Need for tolerance
In my opinion, John Le Brun’s letter (ODT, 9.2.24) is a must read for everyone.
It carries objectivity, the need for tolerance and a spirit of humility and understanding, not only by government ministers and leaders (both Māori and pakeha) but from us all.
The principles of our founding document Te Tiriti O Waitangi — The Treaty Of Waitangi, namely partnership, participation and protection is for all peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand.
My desire or hope is we all go forward with a true spirit of the above with a deep sense of justice on all matters.
None of us can change the past, but we can contribute in positive ways to live in greater harmony and goodwill.
In the words of Dame Whina Cooper— "It’s people, it’s people, it’s people".
That means you and me of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Landlord tax to restore mortgagee interest deductibility
I was appalled that Social Development Minister Louise Upston, describing herself as "compassionate", expects more beneficiaries to face sanctions under the current government’s plans (ODT, 12.2.24).
Meanwhile, the current Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, being the owner of seven properties (ODT, 11.6.23), may well be eligible for a share of the $3 billion tax relief for landlords under proposals to restore mortgagee interest deductibility (ODT, 29.11.23).
If so, would Luxon’s windfall be regarded as a pecuniary conflict of interest derived from some decision or action of the government he leads?
See Cabinet Manual #2.65.
First people
There are political organisations and pundits on the far right, like the One New Zealand Foundation, who continue to promote the myth that the Moriori were the indigenous people of New Zealand and who were displaced by settlers from Eastern Polynesia around 1300 AD.
There is no archeological or anthropological evidence whatsoever to support that theory. A group of Eastern Polynesians settled the Chatham Islands circa 1400 AD and over centuries of isolation developed a unique culture, known as Moriori.
The Eastern Polynesian settlers, who developed a distinct language and culture known as Māori, were the first to arrive in New Zealand circa 1300 AD and are indisputably the indigenous people of Aotearoa-New Zealand.
This is a fact enshrined in the Treaty of Waitangi: the foundation stone of our journey towards a unique nationhood.
Gaza now resembles death camp
Your syndicated columnist Gwynne Dyer is delusional if he sincerely believes Israel "is not committing a genocide in the commonly understood meaning of the word" (ODT, 1.2.24).
A few pages further in the same edition of the ODT was a photo of yet another mass grave for the victims of Israeli airstrikes. Al-Jazeera reported the same day on the discovery of a crude mass grave near an elementary school which contained the bodies of 30 Palestinians who were handcuffed and gagged.
The whole population of Gaza is now in danger of starvation because the allegedly moral Israeli regime is throttling the supply of food, water, electricity and medical necessities while bombing them relentlessly.
Gaza has been a concentration camp for decades; now it resembles a death camp.
Statistically illiterate US president Eisenhower was dismayed and disappointed to discover that 50% of Americans had a below than median IQ, a statistic that has enabled Trump. Perhaps it is this demographic that have been enfranchised to elect our present coalition government and enable a host of egregious policy decisions.
We now have an ideologically and politically illiterate government who shamefully are now withdrawing UN HDR desperately needed aid to stricken Palestinians, and taking sides against their Houthi allies. Quelle horreur!
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