A high-profile Maori, Dame Naida Glavish, does not want Maori MPs to “squabble in parliament.” She wants them to “have a hui on the marae”.
Lindsay Mitchell – blogger – writes,
The tribe is a communistic unit. The tribe takes precedence. It owns you. Its culture is all-encompassing. It provides strength in numbers, security and identity. But it is also stultifying and limiting depending on which lens it is viewed through. Ultimately, inevitably, whether at the micro or macro level, the question must be answered. Is your allegiance to the tribe or is it to yourself and your chosen group of family and friends?…
What played out in parliament this week, and is still reverberating with non-politicians now entering the fray, is the age-old stoush between collectivism and individualism. It’s New Zealand’s cold war
bassettbrashandhide.com
I agree with most of the full article, here. However, I disagree with Mitchell’s interpretation: It’s New Zealand’s cold war. It’s more than that.
This incident has further exposed a dangerous separatist tribal authority. The NZ Herald reports that Dame Naida Glavish did not approve the premise of MP Karen Chhour’s question to MP Kelvin Davis concerning the Oranga Tamariki Act, but rather approved Davis demanding the need for Chhour to cross the bridge into te ao Maori. This vocal Dame had already made up her mind about whom she supports. Glavish wanted them to sort out the issue with a hui on the marae and not in Parliament. Therein lies a clash of cultures with a leader pontificating from her bias.
In this strong response, Glavish tells them off and demands Davis and Chhour meet with the Ngapuhi tribe’s leaders.
This kind of apartheid is having an effect in other areas. Kiwis are hearing more about the implications of race-based decision-making. Whistleblowers are speaking up about the frustration and division it produces.
A 91.75% majority vote to change Playcentre Aotearoa’s constitution has been overruled by some of the organisation’s roopu (governance bodies), playcentre insiders have revealed. Parents and employees at 366 of 400 playcentres voted ‘yes’ in favour of change, but two roopu voted against the changes, blocking the wishes of the majority. The right of veto instead of democracy.
Nanaia Mahutu, a Maori MP, wants the tribes to have control of New Zealand’s water assets in the proposed but reviled Three Waters takeover.
The Labour Party Maori MPs protected each other in the parliamentary chambers the other day while watching Davis, a senior politician, demean Chhour, a ‘lesser’ new Maori politician.
It was far more than a personal outburst in the heat of the debating chamber. It was arrogance, exerting power over another Maori, and hideous hierarchical racism within the same race. He apologised later by phone.
But Dame Naida will not let it go. How close are the Maori elite to withdrawing from the Pakeha parliament, and demanding a taxpayer-funded separatist Maori parliament or hui? It may be closer in their minds than Hiwis who like the fairness of a democratic system think.
