Making the announcement at Rātana, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones said the funding would boost resilience at Wainui Marae near Ōhope. We were told it would create 71 jobs and deliver a full complex including a wharenui, wharekai, wharetāonga, wharepaku, and modern facilities for worship, learning, and events. All very worthy on paper.
Here is the blunt question that never seems to get asked. Why can’t marae fund themselves?
Across New Zealand, sports clubs, churches, community halls, surf lifesaving clubs, and volunteer organisations are constantly rattling the tin. They run raffles, sausage sizzles, quiz nights, apply for modest grants, and lean heavily on volunteers. They do not get handed eight figure cheques from the Crown. They are expected to stand on their own two feet.
Even Jones acknowledged the country is “short of putea”, thanking Finance Minister Nicola Willis for supporting the spend regardless. If money is tight, why is $10 million being prioritised here, instead of hospitals, roads, schools, or cost-of-living relief that benefits everyone?
Jones was quick to insist this was not about buying votes, pointing to previous large scale spending elsewhere. Winston Peters doubled down, framing the funding as a customary gift. He said when governments come to places like Rātana, they leave something behind, calling it “the Māori way” and noting it has happened for decades…
Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.
Here is the blunt question that never seems to get asked. Why can’t marae fund themselves?
Across New Zealand, sports clubs, churches, community halls, surf lifesaving clubs, and volunteer organisations are constantly rattling the tin. They run raffles, sausage sizzles, quiz nights, apply for modest grants, and lean heavily on volunteers. They do not get handed eight figure cheques from the Crown. They are expected to stand on their own two feet.
Even Jones acknowledged the country is “short of putea”, thanking Finance Minister Nicola Willis for supporting the spend regardless. If money is tight, why is $10 million being prioritised here, instead of hospitals, roads, schools, or cost-of-living relief that benefits everyone?
Jones was quick to insist this was not about buying votes, pointing to previous large scale spending elsewhere. Winston Peters doubled down, framing the funding as a customary gift. He said when governments come to places like Rātana, they leave something behind, calling it “the Māori way” and noting it has happened for decades…
Matua Kahurangi is just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes. He blogs on https://matuakahurangi.com/ where this article was sourced.
15 comments:
For any right wing party, tipping money at maori must be quite one of the poorest investments possible. Previous grants to marae have been spent on carvings! Hardly a great boost to productive regional skills. Money will be dissipated primarily among maori and I suspect much of it in feasting and frivolity. I cannot understand the support fro what are effectively Insurgency Support Centres. If it were not for their proclivity to pour money to maori, along now with general public distrust of all maori, even any as apparently principled as Peters, NZF would rocket in the polls.
Go figure, give shane the govt cheque book and the grift starts.
he handed out nearly $120 million to cuzzies, when NZF was in the hot seat with cindy!!! (PGF 'Growth'.......?)
I feel a Tui ad coming on.
$10,000,000 is certainly a very large amount. Do we have any political parties who see the deeds of other New Zealanders? Any political parties on the horizon who care for the long suffering taxpayer? Did any political party push back on this? It is always assumed other New Zealanders are rolling in cash. What if all the hard-working taxpaying New Zealanders decide enough is enough and leave the country?
Starting to lose faith in NZ First when they say one thing and do another
The answer is simple, Maori own New Zealand. They own the government, they own, our democracy, they own the minds and souls of the people, they own our future.
How can a few motley old white men resist this onslaught?
Never mind the $48.7m for kapa haka. It's beyond sickening.
And how do they repay us? Have some the worst instances of child violence and general crime per capita in the world.
Shane is going to be the downfall of NZ First. His actual deeds, as opposed to his clever rhetoric, shows he is Maori first.
He is just a clever version of the Maori party.
Is it too much to expect that any improvements to marae are funded from Treaty settlements? Why do we need to keep giving money to Maori over and above the more than generous settlements??
the supplicant fleas will be feeding on limitless seafood after waitangi, at shanes annual 'bend the knee' photoshoot!!!
Maybe it's "legal" money laundering.
And who will be auditing the accounts, or does such largesse on behalf of the taxpayer also come with 'no strings attached', much less, accountability?
If not, where's the detail Mins. Jones, Peters, & Luxon - or is the taxpayer to be kept in the dark, as usual?
I was a fan of NZF but with the colossal sums slipped to maori much via the guise of Provincial development I am beginning to wonder if I have been taken in by master 5th columnists in both National and NZF. I trust the sums directly attributed Jones are not just to enable him to mix in his marae.
Only a fool would back NZF, more especially its leader. How many times do you need to be duped? His big stand on "there are no principles in the Treaty' - let's see how he gets on making meaningful change to all our legislation while he's handing out our cash to the bros like candy. The usual Winnie, all show and little go.
But more fool you, if you really think you trust him?
I wonder where the treaty settlement billions go.
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.