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.”
“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.”
The Centrist is a new online news platform that strives to provide a balance to the public debate - where this article was sourced.
9 comments:
"The issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution."
Hang on a moment - haven't we got a Government that promised to stop all this ? It was clearly an election policy of National, and Luxon has a mandate.
Maybe he is waiting to the last moment before the election to take action and get lots of votes ?
Sorry, must stop being so cynical .....................
Michael - keep hammering away at it!
Words that come mind - " Blackmail "- Stand Over Tactics"-
maori Mafia-" Grifters".
Suggest you ask Ngai Tahu's CEO on - a guaranteed won't accept - to explain what " concepts " of tapu, taonga and tikanga are. For me they are mumbo jumbo - as they are for plus 90% of a multi-cultural New Zealand. Luxon is lost on this issue and it will be to the Nation's peril.
Steve Ellis
NZ will be the Haiti of the Pacific.......
Of course Michael, this is exactly what has been going on for many years, just not so blatantly obvious. Most people unaware money has been paid to Māori to move eels, for instance, so a roading project could proceed. But you’re right Government(s) should not have allowed this to happen. Is Luxon even aware it goes on? Oh to get a straight answer from him on many of these issues before the next election.
Anon 6:02
Even if Luxon was aware that the taxpayers of NZ were being stood over, paying to have eels moved, I have no expectations that he would stop it.
Ardern would have endorsed it, Luxon proves himself to be so weak by allowing that and similar to establish precedents.
These Maori leaders who are prepared to sell their mana etc are worse than a prostitute. At least a prostitute offers her services because of a desperate need for survival. Maori elite are prepared to sell their soul purely for greed
‘shake down’, ‘stand over’ - the tactics are well known. Regrettably both private and public sectors have given in to it, and continue to do so. The moment something that is claimed as ‘sacred’ has money handed over it has been bought. There never was anything sacred or special about it, other than a way to bluster and threaten for more OPM (Other People’s Money).
Isn’t ‘avarice’ one of the 7 Deadly Sins?
Aahhh the sweet smell of money...
We all recall the Turtle Incident of 2021 surely? The following was reported at the time.
A critically endangered leatherback turtle, or honu, washed up dead in Banks Peninsula in March 2019. Two years later it was given a fully catered powhiri, helicopter ride and funeral. Along with a quotient of official mourners.
It was initially transported to Te Papa in Wellington for research, but after it was discovered there was a communication issue between Koukourārata rūnanga and the Conservation Department it was returned to hapū.
The Taxpayers' Union says documents show more than $10,000 was spent by DOC and Te Papa on transportation and a burial ceremony.
Te Rūnanga o Koukourārata chair Dr Matiu Payne said the honu is a taniwha, a guiding deity for his people, and is part of the legends passed down, although this traditional knowledge was purposely not widely shared.
it was transported back to Banks Peninsula where a ceremony was held before it was shelli-coptered to Horomaka Island and laid in a cave dug by hapū.
Dr Payne praised DOC and Te Papa for the way they acted through the repatriation process, and said the relationship between them all has only strengthened. (cha-ching)
"Through the process of repatriating honu we've created protocols and very strong relationships that we treasure.
"It is definitely a positive that's come out of this situation from something that started in a very grieving way - the healing that occurred through the repatriation - but also the ongoing relationships."
“It isn’t excessive at all, we were dealing with a turtle that weighed more than 350kgs, there are health and safety considerations associated with that as well,” DOC’s Nicola Toki says.
DOC says it's just one of many taxpayer funded initiatives with animals - part of its core business and responsibility under the Treaty of Waitangi.
Te Papa and the Department of Conservation (DOC) say returning the body of a 350 kilogram turtle to Canterbury hapū was the right thing to do. But not all agreed.
“It certainly brings to mind the question as to why eight Te Papa staff had to fly down to Christchurch, drive out to Banks Peninsula for a highly catered funeral for a dead turtle,” Louis Houlbrooke of the Taxpayers Union says. (Was she shell-shocked or what?)
Post a Comment
Thank you for joining the discussion. Breaking Views welcomes respectful contributions that enrich the debate. Please ensure your comments are not defamatory, derogatory or disruptive. We appreciate your cooperation.