Summarised by Centrist
Broadcaster Michael Laws says he is “sick of Māori issues” but can’t ignore them because they reveal a “fundamental clash of values” holding the country back.
On The Platform, Laws said a leaked 84-page Ngāi Tahu cultural impact report on Oceana Gold’s McCrae mine near Dunedin shows how iwi are using cultural objections as a cash grab dressed up as spirituality.
Laws said the report, prepared by Ngāi Tahu’s commercial arm Aukaha, blocked the mine’s planned expansion for offending four Māori spiritual concepts. The report spells out the deal: “The expectation is that Oceana Gold will compensate Kāi Tahu where these impacts on cultural values cannot be avoided, remedied or mitigated.”
“There it is in black and white,” Laws said. “You will pay us money because you have offended whakapapa, tapu, and mana.” He called it a “shakedown,” saying iwi have been given “a perverse financial incentive” to oppose development in order to demand money or land.
Laws said he no longer blames iwi for the behaviour, arguing the problem lies with politicians who created the system. “It’s not their fault,” he said. “We gave them the power to corporatise, monetise and weaponise their culture for profit.”
He described the result as a “spiritual veto on progress” that blocks jobs, frustrates investment, and weakens democracy. “Unless some government has the guts to stop it,” Laws said, “this will keep holding the country back.”
