We are seeing huge changes to our government and its services under false claims about what the Treaty of Waitangi said, even assuming it's at all sensible to engage in the mental gymnastics required to apply any such treaty to circumstances far removed from the era for which it was designed. Let’s look at some of what's happening to our administration under our noses.
According to its new logo, our government now calls itself 'Te Kawanatanga O Aotearoa' with 'New Zealand Government' as a deliberately lesser postscript underneath. There appears to have been no warning about this, no opportunity for the public to consider it. It wasn't mentioned at all in Labour's election campaign. "Big deal, it's just a Maori name for government" some might say, but it's a lot more than that. It's not just adding a Maori name, it's prioritizimg that name and essentially renaming our government.
As has been the case for state services during the Ardern regime, the government’s own Maori name soon will be treated as its only name and mainstream media will fall in line because they were financially bribed to sign allegiance to Ardern's fake interpretations of the Treaty. All this Maori language foisted on a largely non-Maori population is patronizing. "You naughty children don't speak the correct language and it's time you did so take this." NZ Land Transport Agency is now exclusively referred to as 'Waka Kotahi' even though kayaks and canoes don't have number plates and the agency doesn't govern water transport at all. Our Ministry for Children is now referred to only as 'Oranga Tamariki'. Our Public Service Commission is now called 'Te Kawa Mataaho' and if you go to its web site you will see its list of government departments. In every case a new Maori name is given primacy by being written before the English name. As is the case for many of these names, no meaning of the words 'Te Kawa Mataaho' would give any clue as to that organization's role or function, making it even harder for all us naughty children to learn and remember.
Some of the new Maori names include words that derive from mispronunciation of English words. For example, the Crown Law Office is now called 'Te Tari Ture o te Karauna'. 'Karauna' will have been an easier way for Maori speakers to say 'Crown' given that Maori words do not end in a consonant, the consonant blend ‘cr’ doesn’t exist and the ‘r’ is pronounced as a rolling sound. In most cases a government 'Ministry of ...' is translated as 'Manatu...'. For non-Maori, they might now lose their job for pronouncing Maori words in English ways, but use and formalizing of Maori mispronunciations of English words is considered entirely acceptable. Similarly it seems, it's ok for Maori to refer disparagingly to 'whiteys', 'pakeha', 'evil colonists', 'vanilla lenses' and so forth but for non-Maori mentioning even many basic facts about Maori either pre-European or current is now treated as 'hate speech'. Clearly, only Maori deserve respect and sensitivity.
More importantly, our government's new self-awarded name 'Te Kawanatanga O Aotearoa' renames the country by stealth. The Ardern government may as well just start using some new flag it prefers without announcement and next week they might as well change our constitutional head of state to the Maori Kingitanga royal family without bothering to mention this to us until it’s all done.
With one or two claimed but unlikely exceptions, 'Aotearoa' was not used as a name for New Zealand until late 19th century. Prior to European mapping there was no name combining all the islands of New Zealand which did not exist as a single entity. Te Tiriti did not use ‘Aotearoa’. If adherence to Te Tiriti is considered so important then surely the Maori name it used for New Zealand should be the official term? Regardless, if we are to be given any prioritized formal name other than 'New Zealand', the people should make that decision through a vote, at the very least in a general election in which parties have made their intentions clear.
A.E. Thompson is a working, tax-paying New Zealander who speaks up about threats to our hard-fought rights, liberties, egalitarian values, rational thinking and fair treatment by the state.
12 comments:
Well, you and i know it and patrons of the many,many blogs like this one know it. We have only to get this idiot government out in spite of the chicken-brained hand-wringers - or pearl-clutchers Plunket calls them - and the lumpenproletariat. If we can bear to wait that long.
And motivate the National Party to make swift changes.
I am pleased and grateful that we have people like A E Thompson and Muriel Newman to write sensible stuff that we are all thinking about. If they were not putting it out there in the daylight I think many people would feel a bit gaslighted by the govt. and MSM like I used to feel. So thanks heaps.
MC
The fact the “mainstream” media seems unable to present and debate the issues as raised confirms that they have completely sold their integrity. Unfortunately it seems a generation or two of badly educated citizens don’t seem aware of the issues. Thanks to those who continue to provide intelligent reasoned debate on the issues facing our beautiful corner of the world.
Hi AE
Your first sentence covers the root of present problems. It is incredible that colonists are held to a reinterpretation of the exact newly contrived-on-the spot words of one version of the original Treaty, yet such clear established, recognised statements as "full and final settlement" in other Agreements, the wording and all nuances understood by all siganataries, are entirely flexible and meaningless.
In a weather report on TV1 some weeks back in which there was a mix of Te Reo and English, the presenter affectionately referred to Gisborne as "Gizzy". I don't think I need to explain the irony.
Note also that the English words family and children are gone. The Name of the country is going rapidly as are the names of our major cities. All done by stealth.
What do you expect when facially-disfigured, cowboy-hatted, frilly cape wearing "Members of Parliament" freely present themselves in the debating chamber of the House and even coerce the Speaker into wearing frills as well. One wonders whom they represent and why time should be wasted trying to understand the contrived jargon they express.
In our area even the rubbish bins are labelled in large white letters symbolic of how we are seeing our wonderful English corrupted : RAPIHI!
If only it was just the language debate we had to worry about. That is just one small part of the takeover by stealth.
I'm so over it, even if a weak National party is elected, nothing much will change. I suggested at an ACT party meeting that ACT, NZ first and the Top party's who all share similar views on the co governance nonsense the biggest issue affecting us all, should look at forming a grand coalition. All together a Combined right leaning coalition could amass over 20% of votes enough to firmly direct National to some policy sense. The reaction went downlike a cold cup of the proverbial. But come on guys this is the biggest constitutional crisis ever to face this country if we don't change direction decisively it will be too late.
Worth a thought?
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Please can we have this Article on the front page of our newspapers and the lead news on TV! In my industry I see these radical name changes being implemented and New Zealanders are asleep! Danger! Wake up!
Extremely well said. Roll on the election and let’s get this labour govt out and hopefully get back to some sort of normality.
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