Prime Minister, I must take strong issue with
Government’s well publicised agenda and action to make the teaching and
learning of Maori language mandatory in our schools and the learning/speaking
of Maori a precondition to working for the Government Service (arguably to
facilitate “stacking” the Public Service with activists keen to reinforce and
support Government’s Maorification agendas).
Latin has recently been deleted from school syllabuses because it no longer has utility as a language and would therefore be wasting some 15/20percent of time available to students for educational options much more relevant, useful and beneficial to their future lives.
Surely this too is true of Maori, a language spoken/used
by very few, including relatively few to very few Maori. “Maori” is without
significant utility in New Zealand and is TOTALLY WITHOUT UTILITY internationally. If individuals choose to
learn Maori outside of the formal education system, fine, over to them, but to
make Maori mandatory is, as with Latin, a total waste of the all too limited
time available for our children‘s education, which would, as already noted, be
much better spent on subject options much more relevant, useful and valuable to
our children’s futures.
English is our language of communication in New Zealand and
is in effect our only spoken and written language. In addition, English is THE
major international language of communication for tourism, commerce, and law.
Even in China it is mandatory to learn both English and Mandarin, but not
Cantonese, a language widely spoken in Southern China.
Language is about facilitating communication and in this
essential respect English is far and away the World’s most internationally used
language for communication. Seeking to make the teaching and learning of Maori
mandatory is, it seems, a deliberate ploy for political purposes, pandering to
Maori activists in caucus but, in turn, reflecting a seriously distorted
perspective and ideological bias in Government’s governance stance. IT IS NOT
ON!
Closely linked to this is the question of we New
Zealanders getting bombarded on Television every night now by presenters, no
doubt ultimately operating under Government instructions, spouting Maori phrases
which none of us understand or are interested in. We’re sick of such a blatant
and childish attempt to force “Maori” upon us. There is a Maori TV channel
specifically set up for those who have a need for or desire to listen to Maori
spoken. It should be left at that rather than using the Maori language to
reinforce a politically driven and grossly out-of-perspective ideological
obsession.
The extension of this politically driven philosophy is
further reflected in Government’s action in renaming and seeking to primarily
identify and refer to Government Departments etc by Maori names.
New Zealanders DO NOT want this.
Not only are these names meaningless and totally confusing
to practically ALL (near 100 percent) New Zealanders (let alone international
visitors and tourists) — THEY ARE NOT WANTED.
These actions smack of Government arrogantly rubbing its
authority in New Zealanders’ faces simply to make that point and to demonstrate
its power, while knowing full well that New Zealanders almost unanimously don’t
want these things.
The words “an unwanted and unwarranted abuse of power” would
seem to sum it up.
Further, the Government’s expressed intention to replace
existing non-Maori street and place names by renaming them with Maori names, in
line with their (Government’s) Maorification agendas is NOT WANTED and NOT
JUSTIFIED.
Even further, even more contentious and totally unacceptably
politically manipulative, is the planned misinterpretation of, reinvention of
and rewriting of the Treaty of Waitangi for purely political purposes. In
particular to manipulate and seek to establish relationships which were never
in, implicit in, or ever intended under the Treaty.
There is no “partnership” created, intended, or implied
between the parties under the Treaty. Quite simply, the “Crown”, as the Titular
Authority, DOES NOT EVER enter into, or seek to create, partnership arrangements.
Again, this grossly dishonest intended manipulation is
clearly all part of, and driven by, the Government’s Maorification agenda.
In the same way and for the same purposes, is
Government’s intention to rewrite our
(New Zealand’s) early history in order to “whitewash” early Maori
(actual) history by writing-out/
excluding the inter-tribal warfare, murder, rape, cannibalism, and slavery, quite common among Maori tribes prior to the arrival of European migrants/settlers;
and, as well, to minimise the very extensive, hugely positive cultural, societal, and other very major contributions/advances
resulting from the arrival of the colonists — including the majorly important
introduction of farmed animals (for their planned farming) for food and milk
supply, and for their wool and hides etc.
As with religion, the clear political purpose is to
“brainwash” our children from the earliest possible age and shape their
thinking, to believe for life, ONLY WHAT
YOU WANT THEM TO KNOW AND BELIEVE —
a collection of deliberately structured
lies — shaping their thinking for ever, to suit your own political purposes.
This smacks of the extensive study of, training in, and
consequent knowledge and deep understanding of communication strategies and the
power of “managed” communication (and it’s use) in manipulating thinking. Not
dissimilar to the highly manipulative and effective communication strategies
used by - and practised by - Germany before and during WW2. All this deliberate, gross
distortion, is to support and supposedly give greater credibility to
Government’s Maorification strategy and agendas.
At best it is totally dishonest manipulation. This must not
be allowed to happen.
Let’s put all this in context:
1) New Zealanders DO NOT want Maorification.
2) New Zealanders DO NOT want separatism and division.
3) New Zealanders DO NOT want apartheid.
4) New Zealanders DO NOT want imposed Maori control and rule
or shared power.
5) New Zealanders DO NOT want our history tampered with or
re-written.
6) New Zealanders do not want the Treaty of Waitangi
re-interpreted, misinterpreted or manipulated in any way to “fit” the Government's
political purposes.
New Zealanders DO WANT an open, honest democratic system and
democracy with fair, open and HONEST Government/governance for all New
Zealanders.
Prime Minister, I would remind you, on behalf of all New
Zealanders, that you and your Government DO NOT “OWN” New Zealand.
New Zealand IS NOT your “toy” to do with as you wish.
New Zealand belongs
to ALL OF US.
Your Government was elected to govern for all of us (evenly and fairly), NOT to “RULE” us and NOT to just (fraudulently) pursue your own ideologically held beliefs — which were TOTALLY UNDISCLOSED during the election process .
You are observably governing (TOTALLY UNMANDATED) for the benefit
of (at most) ONLY 15 percent of the population (Maori) — more accurately in the
self-interest of only the activists in your caucus and their external “activist-associates” — and, as well, in the interests of your own “observably obsessive” self-held ideology.
Even the interests of around 70 percent (more than two-thirds)
of the LABOUR VOTERS who helped put your Government into power are being
TOTALLY ignored, if not abused.
New Zealanders are totally opposed to the gross ideological
bias with which your Government is governing (“RULING”) us. It is TOTALLY
REJECTED AND IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.
You are not entitled to use (and abuse) your position as a
vehicle to, almost solely, just pursue your own ideological convictions.
Hugh Perrett, a member of the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame, is the former managing director of Foodstuffs and founder of the Pak n' Save discount grocery chain.
33 comments:
Strong words Hugh, but not a word that is not clearly true.
Maori are a part of the fabric that is New Zealand. However they do not make the entire cloth and this sadly is what this government and the activists are trying to unravel.
We need more of these types of letters in the open for debate but sadly they have also made the media complicit in this push to apartheid.
Totally agree Hugh. This would be the most arrogant, totalitarian, failed government we have ever had, I’m sure. It is now a waste of time even watching Question Time on TV as the questions and answers are becoming increasingly in Maori. That indicates to me that there is complete contempt for most voters who do not speak Maori. That includes the majority of part Maori voters.
I find the whole attitude of this government repugnant. They have a record of failure on election promises and under cover of Covid distraction are intent on stripping this country of democracy by passing legislation for which they have no mandate. They need to be gone.
Latin a waste of time? You are ignorant so no point in reading the rest of your "letter".
Once again, we all agree - on this website at any rate. But try using your influence to get your letter(s) published in our mainstream newspapers. This would reach a much bigger audience.
No wait...don't bother, because none of them will touch them with a barge pole.
You see the problem Hugh? The media are complicit - either through belief or bribery, most likely both - in the government's agenda.
I suspect that the PM has never read any of your letters. She is insulated in her woke bubble, surrounded by her PR machine and her small cabal of sycophants who constantly filter out "misinformation" and tell her what a wonderful job she is doing to transform Aotearoa into the perfect UN model of a brave new socialist world.
Great article, Hugh. You speak for many thousands of us.
Labour is blind, deaf and indifferent to our concerns. It's all Maori Maori Maori and the leftist agenda.
ACT has some policies which address our concerns.
National, the so called main Opposition Party, is strangely silent.
We need to hear some Plain English policies from them on the issues you have raised and which concern us. Or are they also blind and deaf - or frightened of being called racists by people who have no hesitation promoting race based and racial preference polities?
The brutal reality is that we dissatisfied citizens must be the authors of our own salvation.
Whilst I agree with most of your views Hugh I wonder why people keep comparing Maori to Latin. I have always found the study of Latin to be very useful with regards to the English language, the comprehension and meaning of words.
Law and Medicine and even horticulture benefit from a knowledge of Latin dont'they? Maori language is only useful in certain chosen fields. Definitely of no use overseas where, as you say, most people are trying to attain a grasp of the English language. Both these languages should be optional. Nothing should be compulsory.
I am in favour of special character schools also. Even a " Green school" is acceptable if it teaches useful subjects than can be applied in a practical sense.
Let's have diversity. This is not Arderns country to ruin.
Bravo, thank God someone with a high public profile such as Hugh has the guts to say what most hard working Kiwis think and discuss amongst themselves. In China, where I taught for many years, English is mandatory from kindergarten onwards and if university graduates do not pass the university English exams they cannot receive their degree because English is the international language of business and science plus the main means of communication. Why teach a stone age language with no written history to our children? Our mathematics and reading skills are already dumbed down by the socialist, woke, hand wringing morons, running the education system. They are creating generations of apologist, guilt ridden kids with no pride in their own heritage. My wife and I no longer watch mainstream NZ news because we are sick of being bombarded with Te Reo. If we wish to hear Maori there are 2 TV channels and also programmes on mainstream channels we can watch if we choose to. It is time for us who are not Aotearoians to unite and organise a stand against Adern and her Maori caucus. They have a mandate that none of us voted for as it was all kept hidden in the dark, I hope the people who voted for this bunch of inept, incompetent liars wake up in time to see their Country being destroyed. Kiwialan.
Your article sums up exactly what this government is doing.
It is well past the time when the opposition parties should make it absolutely clear that when, or if, they regain the parliamentary benches, that they will repeal all these race based laws which the current government, without any mandate whatsoever, are introducing.
I know of a number of very frustrated people who would be delighted to chip in a few bucks to fund the submission of this article to the four major newspapers as a full page advertisement. Whatever happened, it might just flush a few things out and a refusal to publish may provide wider publicity and awareness of what is really going on. Even if we had to pay the same inflated rate that the government is currently paying for full page advertising, it would be worth it.
I would be happy to contribute 1K in order for mainstream readers to have a glimpse of reality:but not one of them would be willing to get their snouts out of the treaty trough. Kiwialan.
Very well articulated Hugh.
You have summed it up accurately.
your observations on the racist divide being pushed helter-skelter by this socialist government are dead right.
Like many ordinary Kiwis, I see the separatist movement as being totally destructive to our country and our egalitarian society.
The fact is that we are all Kiwis. This ongoing emphasis on Maori division, living in the past, clinging onto a primitive culture cannot EVER bring Maori/part Maori people into a better situation.
Read Alan Duff's book from 1993 "Maori - the Crisis and the Challenge"
Currently reading Alan Duff's excellent book "A Conversation with my Country". A paragraph sums up the current government as having no work experience. Or if so, it is in parliament working in an administration role. They are clearly out of their depth in so many ways. And, I for one, cannot wait till the next election. If they push through 3Waters, against Councils No vote, I believe they'll have a riot on their hands. The continual separatism is grating. We are all one people - New Zealanders. I do agree we need to embrace the Maori culture; I loved learning about it at Primary School. But to try to rewrite the history books? That is deceitful.
The amount of money this Govt is dishing out willy nilly to Maori under the guise of covid is nothing short of wreckless. There is no accountability, and who knows where it is ending up. Until Maori leaders show some true leadership and start taking responsibility for their own people, instead of blaming everyone else, Maori will continue to struggle.
Widespread protest action is the only way attention can be drawn to the divisive and discriminatory actions of this totally incompetent Govt. To this end, we can all support Groundswell, from Southland, who are organising the mother of all protests as soon as covid restrictions allow.
Great summary of the current situation. Every day, hidden behind the COVID hysteria, things are happening, decisions being made and money being spent, and 90% of it is directed toward Maori or some organisation with a Maori name and the purpose of which is vague at best. I too am sick of Maori being spoken by television presenters, the TVOne morning program is condescending and at times cringeworthy. And a case in point, Te Karere came on the tv recently, complete content in Maori. Turn to the Maori channel and they were showing a Hollywood movie?? Go figure. The present path being taken by this government will surely result in trouble when the 90% of New Zealanders wake up to what is going on.
Thank you Hugh, another great article. I know ‘we’ all agree... on this forum. The sad fact is that no politician has the balls to say it. Even sadder, I actually understand why they can’t. They’d be castrated before the end of the first sentence and branded a racist.
Who’s moving back to Australia with me?
I have been thinking over the past weeks that the level 3 and 2 has curtailed Groundswells november activity, which has been very convient, and now the traffic light system may assist Ardern and Robertson even further .
Thank goodness someone is speaking up for those of us who identify with our European ancestry. No objections to anyone who wants to learn The Reo, but I have no interest in Polynesian culture. I cringe at the haka, obese men exposing their buttocks, waving a spear and poking out their tongues is in complete contrast to my ancestry. I got into a semi verbal stouch with the Office for the Seniors regarding their newsletter. The newsletter has Maori in very large letters in bold and English in much smaller letters and not in bold underneath, indicating that Maori is the dominant language. I suggested that in the interests of equality, that the titles should be the same size. Plus, on behalf of myself and many others, we prefer to be greeted in English and or at the very least both. In return I received a vociferous response in the form of a lecture about Maori being the official language of New Zealand. I think she was overlooking the fact that until the 1980's English was the official language and still is the most commonly used language. I was further instructed to speak to friends that had similar views that deleting the emailed newsletters because of Maori content was unacceptable. I began to think about the Stazi in communist East Germany, where people were expected to dob in anyone who didn't conform. One friend cancelled subscription to the NZ Herald due to the focus on alleged barriers, racism and colonisation. That's not news, it's diatribe.
Thank you Hugh. We’re we able to have one, or more, of the mainstream Parties to embrace your observations as Policy, it might ensure that the PM actually noted them. It saddens me that opposition parties seem to avoid confronting these issues for fear of alienating part Maori voters. It is past time they took the plunge. I think they would be surprised at how few of our part Maori are in favour of a return to Tribalism.
Absolutely true. Another point about the treaty - the maori version was a treaty with HAPU not IWI. The settlement gravy train does not even follow the treaty.
Jacinda, read this letter and cringe. Do you realise what you have already done to this Country. Either get out or get the Jackboots out!!!
Great summation Hugh.
Jacinda talks of a team of 5 million; she hands out goodies to a pathetic 16%. People too lazy to take responsibility for themselves. In doing this she is turning the disgust of 84% of the people. The minute we condemn or disagree we are called racist! If the Maoris disagree they are not condemned as racist.
If the West Coast of the South Island received $25 million to eliminate COVID they would have close to 100% vaccination. Instead they have to sacrifice and travel long distances. No buses no taxis. Distances far greater than anywhere in Northland.
If using Maori in broadcasting was to help us learn the language, why are Maori names not translated into English.
We need opposition that is united in overcoming this horrible onslaught.
TOTALY AGREE ,This MARXIST Prime Minister and her band of Socialist muppets are hell bent on DIVIDING THIS COUNTRY and useing Covid distraction to achieve their adjectives, as we have no opposition with the the back bone to stand up and object scared of being called RACISTS The team of 5 Million will be Ruled by a minority.
Like Ian P, I would be very willing to contribute to funding advertising in the National newspapers, maybe someone who reads this knows the process for buying advertising space preferably at a reasonable rate. I would regard this as an investment in the my future and that of my children, a few hundred dollars now will be nothing compared to the future cost of He Puapua and all of the other handouts/asset transfers which are in the pipeline. With national advertising there is also a chance of attracting the attention of the international media. If the NZ press will not accept the advert I wonder what advertising space costs in the SMH or U.K. press. Perhaps someone will have pity on us and run it for free.
I also wonder if the Commonwealth Office in London or USA are aware that Jacinda is giving away The Queen's sovereignty.
After learning Latin my introduction into the medical field was so much easier, also the meanings and spellings of words so in my opinion Latin is far more useful than Maori, otherwise I totally agree with his sentiments
Thank you Hugh! We need more people like yourself to spell it out and wake up more New Zealanders to the pending threat to NZ, with democracy being eroded as the Government puts into action He Puapua by stealth!
If the mainstream media won't publish these very important comments then possibly a pamphlet could be published for distribution to mail boxes and achieve a much wider circulation. Jim
The comment and observation in Hugh's open letter to the Prime Minister are totally on point. We are craftily being manipulated by a political party which, in turn, is being manipulated by a minority hell bent on taking New Zealand on a path which can only be described as toward Socialist Apartheid. We must, at the next election , rid ourselves of this odious woman and her sycophantic followers
I applaude you Sir!
Please let your words of wisdom and candid clarity inspire the ground swell of discontent in this nation to rise up and be counted unashamedly...tis time!
We , the ones following the rules are being held hostage by the Maori..Maybe we need to give them oysters and Kina along with mussels to get them Vaxed...i didnt even get a lollipop....It cannot continue. Love the forum.
I think Hugh has gone rather over the top with his exaggerated language. He could have made his points in a more measured way. Many of us have heard similar diatribes before from activists who disagree with the views Hugh expresses. They and he don't achieve anything much either way except further cultural division.
My concern about the government's "positive discrimination" policy is that it is more political than anything else. Through this they are now making every post a winning post by securing an election winning share of the Maori / Pasifika vote which, considering National's ongoing disorientation, might mean Labour could be sitting on the treasury benches until 2030 or beyond.
Te reo is not new to any of us because we use it regularly in christian and surnames, ship, place and street names. I learned my first basic te reo in Primer 1 in 1943. We sang, played games and heard Maori legends. Since then, I have not learned a great deal more but studied Maori history (various interpretations) and protocols which were helpful in my profession. However, I have no desire to start learning te reo now. It's not an easy language to learn even if you are initially enthusiastic. A question arising is how many of our approx 50,000 fluent te reo speakers would be prepared to go into the classroom and teach the masses some of whom would undoubtedly be reluctant students. The education authorities might language kits as has been done before but didn't last despite the quality of the materials.Te reo would be better offered as an option.
It will be interesting to see the approach taken in compulsory NZ History. The pre European era relies on traditional memorised and spoken history and legends. In the early European era there was a lack of consensus about many aspects as recorded by historians at the time. The widespread internal migration of Maori from 1830 accelerating to the present day has produced an amalgam of their individual iwi histories parts of which are not agreed upon by Maori scholars. From P1 to my retirement, there have been a number of different syllabi in NZ history in schools and universities which have changed depending on research angles in my 8+ decades.
In the final analysis the government should find out what the whole population will really tolerate and tailor their policies to suit all and not force them on us without consultation.
Hugh, you are right on every point except Latin, the study of which vastly improves standards of literacy. One more point; there are only just over 20,000 truly Maori words. The rest are transliterations or completely made up. If the current plans to bastardise school curriculum go ahead, our children will be doubly wasting their time and could just as well be learning Elvish.
Robin
I agree mainly with the sentiments expressed, although not regarding Latin. Having studied Latin for 5 years at High School I found it very useful when I moved on to study law. I find it particularly galling when reading/ listening to the news that in some cases when Māori place names are used I don’t even know what town they are talking about. The media has a lot to answer for as they seem to be swept along in this wave of racist nonsense. It also seems increasingly prevalent that items, whether written or spoken, refer to our country as Aotearoa only. I think our early settlers who had the courage to travel to the unknown would roll in their collective graves. I am tired of the facile argument that Māori we’re here first. So what.
Spoken in tangata Maori, Recorded in English!
It’s sad that a once beautiful language is being destroyed by people making up and twisting words to bring it into the modern world. It is an ancient language, and these people must honour their tangata Maori ancestors who spoke it in ancient times.
The Hon Pita Sharples once asked, “When we arrive in the presence of God, what if he asks us: What became of that noble language that I gave you”? Their response will have to be, “Our part-Maori scholars distorted it to such an extent for greed, it could no longer be translated”.
Unfortunately, the tangata Maori language did not progress with other languages and has been left behind in the modern world. Today it is being bastardised by people trying to bring it up to date by inventing words that were not even known about or thought of 182 years ago.
A shining example is the Christchurch Polytechnic trying to write textbooks in te reo Maori for motor mechanics. In 1840, there was not one word that referred to the modern motor car, not even the wheel, but 182 years later some part-Maori want to teach motor mechanics in te reo Maori. They overlook the fact, there are no words in tangata Maori for the hundreds of thousands of motor parts, surprise, surprise! So, the only way is to use English names for the parts and te reo Maori to join these words together. Why would you want to do this when it will only be used by a handful of people before it is scrapped and another waste of taxpayers’ money. Maori was a beautiful ancient language, let’s keep it that way.
Another sad part of the tangata Maori language is “Wh” being pronounced now as “F”. It is obvious, tangata Maori did not have an “F” sound in their language. If they had, all the words with “Wh” would have had “F” or “Ph” as in English. It’s a fact, the tangata Maori language was spoken by the tangata Maori, but was recorded in English, therefore the “Wh” would have the same pronunciation as “Where”, “Whether” or “What”, not “F”!
If we look at the tangata Maori alphabet, it does not have 26 letters as the English alphabet, one being “F” as it is obvious, the tangata Maori could not or did not use the letter “F’ in the pronunciations of their language.
The tangata Maori language has words only starting with, E, H, I, K, N, O, P, R, T, U and W. The letters: b, f, j, q, s, v, x, y and z are not in the tangata Maori alphabet, making it very hard to be used today to write a modern language, especially a course in motor mechanics or for that matter, any modern language.
Te Reo Maori is just a language made up by people trying to preserve an ancient language, but instead, they are destroying a once beautiful language by making up words that were never spoken by their tangata Maori ancestors in 1840.
We then have words like taonga and Aotearoa. Taonga was originally translated as, “Taken by the spear”, then became “property” in 1840 and now has been translated as “treasures” by part-Maori since the Treaty of Waitangi Act in 1975. This was done solely for greed and once again, destroyed a once beautiful language. Aotearoa was never use by the tangata Maori as the name for New Zealand. The 500 plus chiefs who signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 accepted and agreed to New Zealand being called Nu Tirani. In fact, the translation of the Treaty of Waitangi today is an insult to those who signed it in 1840
This is possibly the only sensible thing Hon Pita Sharples ever said in his political career, “When we arrive in the presence of God, what if he asks us: What became of that noble language that I gave you”? Their response will have to be, “Our part-Maori scholars distorted it to such an extent for greed, it could no longer be translated”.
By Ross Baker,
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