Not everyone in the coalition Government is thrilled about its race relations policies.
New National Party minister Tama Potaka appears uncomfortable.
He was asked six times this week whether he backed the policies or had raised concerns, and every time dodged the question. He let it be known that there are “robust debates”.
If he’s uncomfortable now, he might be in for quite a ride.
This is only week two of the Government and already they’ve faced nationwide protests and a proclamation from King Tuheitia calling a national hui to discuss how to oppose them.
And this is before the new Government has actually done anything much on race relations.
NZ Herald
They shouldn’t worry; it’s about the only thing the Maori elite are good at: organising protests. Actually doing something is quite another matter.
The real unknown is how much bottle National has for this level of resistance. This is largely not their fight. It is their coalition partners ACT and NZ First who asked for most of the race relations changes.
National clearly wanted to avoid protests like this week’s. That’s why they gave a hard no to ACT’s Treaty principles referendum.
They don’t really have the option of now pulling the pin on the policies they promised in the coalition agreements. But they can put things on the go-slow so they never happen.
Either way, this Government will need to take control of the narrative rather than leaving it to Labour and Te Pati Maori. There is a platform to mount a good argument if they can be bothered.
NZ Herald
National are rarely up for a fight. Sure they talk a big game, but to actually get their knuckles bruised is quite another thing. To answer HDPA, National doesn’t have bottle, more like they have sippy keep cups.
NZ First and ACT are a different story. They welcome a dust up on this topic, because they know what National’s quivering Pavlov’s dogs don’t: that the general public really wants this debate and they are sick to death of woke wombles force feeding us Maori wonderfulness like the proverbial geese getting their livers fattened for foie gras.
The more Te Pati Maori and Labour pursue their race baiting, the higher ACT and NZ First will go in the polls. A vacillating National will suffer accordingly.
We deserve a debate. Labour and their lap dogs never even asked us what we wanted: they just force-fed us their woke agenda.
Newsflash: an election was held recently and the woke agenda was soundly beaten.
The Government needs to spit in the face of protests.
Cam Slater is a New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in Dirty Politics and publishing the Whale Oil Beef Hooked blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. Cam blogs regularly on the BFD - where this article was sourced.
8 comments:
Completely agree. Like any society NZ has always had a degree of racial tension, but it was manageable with good will, until the idiotic woke began their patronising, demeaning campaign, which has all people of sensitivity - of all races - cringing with embarrassment. I sympathise with the thinking Maori who have to bear this ignominy. Hold on folks - I think it will get better.
They had their chance Cam, but instead just showed us that the 'globalists' are still in charge. The 'Uniparty' marches onwards to the tune of the 'pied piper'.
The fact that at least 50% of NZer's were sick of the last 6 years modus operandi seems to have escaped the protesters/whingers.
National were foolish and naive encouraging potentially 5th columnist trace maori candidates.
If a means could be found to limit the number of mad rightist exhibitionists (or posted violent Lefties pretending to be) and with straight presentation of the facts, plus modest organisation I am sure vast turnouts of ordinary civilised (including immigrant) citizens could be assembled to dwarf rampaging mobs of demented hakaing maori.
the sloth at again. as usual his opinion means nothing. He sits in his room, stained t-shirt from all the dripped food spills
feeling powerful behind a screen lol
All luxon has to say is " Look this is 2023 not 1843. Everyone born in nz is to be treated equally. If people don't like democracy or equality then there is nothing to stop them from leaving." There are plenty of marxist dicatorships out there where people may feel more comfortable.
@ Anonymous
If only, if only.
The chief ignoramus of the last six years and her minion successor have encouraged ignorance.
Their followers are too ignorant to know what racism, democracy, equality, excellence and achievement really are.
The ignorant have no original thoughts but follow and promote dogma blindly.
It's like watching the pedestrians in Wellington who keep waiting for the green light to cross the road whilst other people have noticed the stopped traffic, anticipated the green and crossed 5 seconds ahead.
Everyone has the right to their opinion but not to enforce their convictions onto others.
I don't want to see this become a battle of the woke vs unwoke, old and conservative vs the young and indoctrinated, indigenous vs settler (how bloody ridiculous).
It's Marxist dogma that needs to be defused with a new common vision for New Zealanders. United we stand.
I'm hoping that Christopher Luxon can pull a rabbit out of the hat. It may take a while and in the meantime there needs to be very low tolerance for mischief like what happened at Te Papa today.
MC
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