Summarised by Centrist
Writing in the NZ Herald, Heather du Plessis-Allan argues Te Pāti Māori has ruled itself out of government after MP Tākuta Ferris’ social media rant about Labour supporters’ ethnicity.
She calls it “migrant-directed racism” and says Labour has finally accepted it cannot govern alongside a party this
Te Pāti Māori issued a rare apology. Du Plessis-Allan says:
“Te Pāti Māori had only ever said sorry for comments once, for a Rawiri Waititi tweet celebrating the extinction of caucasians…Not sorry for joking about poisoning David Seymour. Not sorry for labelling Tauranga a white supremacist ‘hotspot’. Not sorry for claiming superior Māori genetics. Not sorry for accusing the Government of deliberate systemic genocide. Not sorry for posting sinister pictures of guns online.”
She writes that Ferris himself was caught out, “which is why he doubled down and then tripled down and still refuses to remove the eight-minute midnight rant.”
Labour’s Willie Jackson labelled Ferris’ remarks racist, Shanan Halbert warned against creating an “exclusive bunch of Māoris,” and Chris Hipkins rejected calls by actress Keisha Castle-Hughes for automatic citizenship based on whakapapa.
Du Plessis-Allan’s conclusion is blunt: “Te Pāti Māori co-leaders can apologise all they like but if they can’t discipline their MPs and bring them to heel, ongoing outrage is a guarantee. Which means Te Pāti Māori will not be in government.”
Read more over at The NZ Herald (premium)
