Nanaia Mahuta and Three Waters
When speaking to Waatea News this week about Three Waters, Nanaia Mahuta said, "some of the opposition seemed to be driven not about economics or effectiveness but racist tropes about co-governance."
The Minister may be right, but in a wrong way. Right that Three Waters is being driven by racist tropes, but wrong about who the racists really are. Perhaps the racists are a small trope of privileged people at the top echelons of Māori society who are using racial privilege to gain control of immense resources for their own benefit.
She went on to say, “People who are often commenting on co-governance really don’t want Maori sitting around the table but this is the new reality of improved decision-making” and “Maori will bring a much-needed emphasis on long-term sustainability to water management".
Let’s unpick her comments.
Where is the evidence that co-governance improves decision-making?
Has that statement of fact ever been fact-checked by the media - by Stuff perhaps who has just published a “fact-checking” article about claims Groundswell had made about the proposed carbon tax? No, not a peep out of Stuff on that one or it seems anyone who signed up for a handout from the Public Interest Journalism Fund which includes in its eligibility criteria a “Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to Māori as a Te Tiriti partner”.
What can we learn from existing co-governance arrangements? Has decision-making improved? Improved for whom? For Maori only or everyone?
She says, “Some of the opposition seemed to be driven not about economics or effectiveness”.
Minister Mahuta is muddling the fact that co-governance does have implications for the economics and effectiveness of the water entities model. The feasibility model made it very clear that the ambitious efficiency gains are conditional on a private-sector management model being adopted. But the Three Water entities will have anything but a private sector management model. The private sector is not burdened with the layers of co-governance that will obviously affect decision-making.
And what does the Minister actually mean when she says, “Maori will bring a much-needed emphasis on long-term sustainability to water management.”
When she says “long-term sustainability”, is she saying we will not have water in the future without Māori occupying half of the governance seats around the decision-making table?
Presumably, water will still fall from the sky, be gathered in catchments, stored in reservoirs and reticulated to users; which is what local authorities in New Zealand have done since the 1860s without the spiritual guidance of Māori. Perhaps Ms Mahuta can tell us how that will change under a co-governance arrangement. Will the role of Māori be to bless the mythology taniwha “that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers”?
And what spiritual interest do Maori have in wastewater? According to Water NZ, “In Māori culture, human waste is tapu (unsafe/dirty/bad) and this needs to be converted to noa (safe/clean/good) prior to water contact.”
Don’t all people consider raw sewerage to be repugnant, “tapu”? I was under the impression converting unsafe water into clean water was the very reason why councils treat wastewater. What’s unique about the perspective Maori have, that is not already voiced around the decision-making table?
There may well be unique perspectives that Maori can contribute but let’s hear them, rather than assume they exist.
https://waateanews.com/2022/10/21/co-governance-new-reality-says-mahuta/
https://waateanews.com/2022/10/21/three-waters-opposition-masked-racism/
The PM backs down from a joint press conference with Mayor Brown
The Prime Minister is never one to shy away from a press opportunity unless it happens to be with Auckland’s new mayor.
The Herald reported that the request for a joint stand-up with the media following their meeting this week was rejected by the PM. Why?
Well, that became obvious when the PM decided to hold a press conference after the meeting without Wayne Brown. The PM made a point of saying without Three Waters Aucklanders would, she says, face a rates hike of between 7% and 14%. Had Mayor Brown been present when the PM made her comment he may well have reminded her that Watercare already achieves economies of scale and will become less efficient if it is burdened with having to manage the water services of Northland’s councils, including the Far North which Wayne Brown knows better than anyone, having been the mayor there too. He may also have pointed out to the Prime Minister that the assumed gains are as imaginary as the slime-coughing water pipes shown in their $3.5 million advertising campaign.
Had Wayne Bown been present when she made her comments to the press, it is highly likely he would have torn her to shreds with facts and figures and logic – none of which are strong points for the Prime Minister.
It is therefore hardly surprising the Prime Minister did not want a joint media conference, and instead wanted to take potshots from the safety of her own press conference.
Hamilton West by-election
The Prime Minister was quick to minimise the damage from the unwanted Hamilton West by-election. Newshub reports, Jacinda Ardern saying, Labour is the "underdog" in the Hamilton West electorate in "recent times".
In recent times Labour has actually done well in the electorate. In 2020 Sharma gained 51.9% of the candidate votes (and 52.3% of the party vote), some 6267 ahead of National’s candidate.
If the Tauranga by-election is an indication of the likely result, then we can expect a return to the 2017 and 2014 voting patterns. That would see a reversal of the 2020 result and have the National candidate at around 53% and Labour's candidate at 35%.
Hamilton West is a bellwether seat. The April 2021 electorate Profile states, “On a number of measures Census 2018 shows that the Hamilton West electorate could be described as the average or typical New Zealand electorate: 41.4% of families were a couple with children (compared with 42.4% nationally); 36.1% were affiliated with the Christian faith (compared with 36.5% nationally); 15.0% had a Bachelor’s degree as their highest qualification (compared to 14.6% nationally); and 14.8% had family income between $50,000 and $70,000 (compared to 14.2% nationally).”
The only unknown here is Dr Sharma and what effect he will have on the vote.
Will he attract votes from National or Labour? Will National voters stay loyal to their tribe or back Sharma for having the backbone to stand up to Ardern? Will disgruntled Labour Party voters see Sharma as a more palatable protest vote than National?
My guess is National voters will stay true to their tribe to send a message to Ardern, while unhappy Labour voters will either not vote or vote for Sharma because he is a nice sort of a bloke. What can be said with certainty is Dr Sharma will not have a nice word to say about the Labour Party and he will be saying it when all the media are watching.
Mark the 10th of December in your calendar. It’s likely to be a day to celebrate another step towards the decline of Jacinda Ardern and her toxic brand of modern-day socialism.
13 comments:
All valid comments... she is looking more and more like a victim of believing her own spin
Nanaia Mahuta - specialist subject "Cultural claims of superior Maori "knowledge" which have no basis in fact or historical record" and "Using unsubstantiated accusations of racism every time she's unable to answer a question".
Both these specialties feature large in any interview she does, much to the admiration of our pointless MSM.
Jacinda Ardern - specialist subject "Talking loads of bollocks about any subject whatsoever while effortlessly ignoring facts and saying disinformation a lot" and "Failing miserably to improve all the things she promised to improve with her warped socialist agenda but refusing to change tack"
The country's two leading politicians. And we wonder why NZ is in such a bad way!
It seems to be part of the kiwi culture to stick your head in the sand over matters such as co-governance. People either pretend it isn't happening or hope that more wayne brown's will come along to sort it all out. This sort of passive passionless thinking also happened during covid. Friends I know thought they were being good citizens while watching their businesses collapse. One friend even lost her health due to stress, but stll did not want to criticise the government. It's happening right now with ram raiding and the collapse of our health system. Everyday people just make excuses for it. This is where a government like the one we have now can take full advantage. The problem is that that it is not a foregone conclusion that labour will lose the next election. Like the song by pink floyd says; it's not enough just to stand and stare, or you'll find that you're joining in the turning away.
'Maori will bring a much-needed emphasis on long-term sustainability to water management' - unlike the short term results metted out to creatures like the moa and vast sections of forest.
Mahuta is correct when she presumes the main worry about 3 Waters is the co governance aspect. 50/50 co governance is effectively maori control because the maori act as a bloc and, for a variety of self interest reasons, including avoidance of cancellation, at least one other invariably sides with.
The Tupuna Maunga Authoritty is an example of co operation. It must cost far more then the previous Council management and has only displeased the majority users. Possibly among maori closely associated, some mana is perceived, but in the eyes of most any mana has been reduced to contempt.
Let’s start calling a spade a spade. Make no bones about it, NZ is now an apartheid State. Certain jobs are reserved for one race group only. Race-based legislation entrenches the superiority of one race group over all others. Co-governance is nothing but apartheid.
It doesn’t take genius to figure how this is going to play out. Like apartheid Afrikaners of the past century, NZers will be the pariah of the world, and face ostracization, hatred and sanctions. The world will not tolerate race-based legislation to entrench the racial superiority of one race group over others.
I find criticizing this racist Marxist government a doodle. If one is unable to see the outright corrupt ideology that is blatantly there for all to see, your either asleep, dead, stupid or all three. By the way the Floyd song, one of my favorites. Hope to hear it at my funeral. Although it could be considered a cannon of imperialism like so many other British artistic geniuses that have given so much to the civilized world.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Three Waters is just another of the Marxist policies that are leading our country into apartheid. More and more of our government departments are being renamed to Māori words that have no relationship with the original name of the department. Teachers are being brainwashed into thinking it’s great to have schools indoctrinated into using te reo at every turn. Our children are already struggling to read English well. The 80% of us that have British heritage are being forced into irrelevance in our country of birth - we are as indigenous as Maori. Why are we being treated as invaders? Most of the good things about our wonderful country have been set in place by those of us who emigrated here since Captain Cook. Order and laws that are based on our Christendom heritage. Our parliament and its laws for instance. All of these are part of our great heritage as New Zealanders.
Every day I hope things will improve or change in good old NZ or should I call it Aotearoa. I'm really afraid we have been sleep walking for so long and have all been led like a bunch of lemmings over the cliff there is now no return. We are a divided racist , bankrupt country with corruption, a failed health system, health, infrastructure, education, poverty, you name it we have failed. Two terms of a Marxist government who followed on from a inept key government and now a National opposition to scared to voice any real alternatives and a dumbed down public who still poll Adern as the best leader? Really I'm feeling more and more depressed about our future as a nation, watch out Venezuela and Zimbabwe you have a rival.
Can someone tell me why the water I catch in my rain tanks, from my roof, treated through my water filters, through my taps and into my vessel, by my off grid methods, all paid for by me through my money earned by me, is not my water, but Maori and made good or bad by a possible Maori taniwha? What of my beliefs, that the 3 Waters is spin via poor reporting and bad stats? Am I racist for thinking so? Or critical? Objective? New Zealand? Am I even allowed to voice such murmurings of dissent? Am I far left? Far right? Transphobic?
In short, what has become of New Zealand??? Its crazy making that in a few short years the country I was born in, lived in and thought I would buy in has become so alien.
I have 4 grandchildren. 2 of them have 1/64 Maaori heritage. Their blood percentage is 1.56%. They have 63 known ancestors who have no Maaori blood. Both have fair hair and blue eyes.
Yet according to our law they are Maaori. Our census based statistics system fails to recognise them as anything else.
Surely this definition is insane.
I will refuse to live in a country where 2 cousins may have to ask there "Maaori" cousins if if they may have a shower, how much and for how long?
Murray
Maori call themselves indigenous. They are not. They are immigrants like everyone else. We are all immigrants. None of us originated in this country therefore we are all immigrants.
Maori is not my culture nor that of my family. Please refund to us all our taxes paid to support Maori culture. It is obvious that Maori activists, labour & green party politicians and TVNZ and the Herald are pulling this country down. the idiots that support these people are the problem.
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