John Robertson: The New Zealand Army Has Been Hijacked...

.....quietly, structurally, and without democratic consent. What should be a disciplined, secular fighting force has drifted into something else entirely: an institution requiring its personnel to participate in a belief framework they may not share. This isn’t about language or symbolism; it’s about compelled conduct.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Did someone try to stop the Māori Party from hijacking Parliament?

It's happened again, unfortunately - the Māori Party has hijacked Parliament once again with a haka.

It played out like this:

Oriini Kaipara, who's their new MP replacing the late Takutai Tarsh Kemp, delivered her maiden speech because today’s her first day in Parliament. Afterwards, there was a song and the public gallery was involved. She stepped out of her seat into the aisle, onto the floor to receive the song.

Matua Kahurangi: Sick of the haka, over the welcome to country?

The other night, I was sitting down watching some Australian live TV through Kodi when I was hit with one of those painfully predictable rituals - a "Welcome to Country." Just when I thought the haka had reached peak cringe in New Zealand, Australia said, "Hold my XXXX Gold."

Peter Dunne: Parliamentary practice at stake

A tense and intriguing political chess game is being played out in Parliament's Privileges Committee at present. It is a game none of those involved can afford to lose, yet inevitably someone will.

On the face of it, the issue at hand is whether the spontaneous haka performed by three Te Pati Māori MPs during the vote on the First Reading of the Treaty Principles Bill last year was a breach of what is quaintly referred to as Parliamentary Privilege.

Bob Edlin: Parliament conduct rules explained

No, we don’t need a tikanga expert to put context around a haka that disrupted proceedings in Parliament

The Māori Party – bleating about three of its MPs being denied the right to have someone explain tikanga to Parliament’s Privileges Committee – is engaged in provocative grandstanding.

The committee, chaired by Judith Collins, considers and reports on issues relating to parliamentary privilege and can find MPs in contempt of the House.

Bob Edlin: The Maori Party was only warming up with a haka in the House.......

The Maori Party was only warming up with a haka in the House – mooning and flashing must surely follow its cultural entitlements

Forget about arguing the toss about the propriety of performing a haka in Parliament to disrupt the counting of party votes. Let’s champion the whakapohane.

DTNZ: Fiery reaction as All Blacks make divisive ‘political’ statement

In an unusual and divisive departure from tradition All Blacks halfback TJ Perenara made a political statement during the haka in what was his final test match, sparking debate over the mixing of sports and politics.

Perenara’s controversial gesture was added to post-match with several teammates posing with a Tino Rangatiratanga flag.

The actions may lead to a potential alienation of fans who view the All Blacks as a unifying force, not a political platform.

Damien Grant: A haka makes for great theatre. It isn’t an argument

The Haka is a powerful challenge and views differ if its use in parliament by Te Pati Māori to oppose the Treaty Principle Bill was appropriate but, it was consistent with their tikanga.

The issue is bringing all the kids to the yard and Dame Jenny Shipley, in a courageous move to remind the nation that she hasn’t retired and is still available for directorships, warned us that “…the minute you put the Treaty into a political framework in its totality, you are inviting civil war.”

Sir Bob Jones: On being a New Zealander

Having spent about half of my last 60 years in other countries, I’ve lost any sense of nationalism. That’s because one soon realises that in essence, everyone is basically the same.

So when I hear people say they’re proud to be a New Zealander, I flinch. First because of their language misuse, pride after all relating to accomplishment and simply being born is hardly an achievement.

Simon O'Connor: Hypocrisy continues blindly

Reactions to a haka and an academic's crude outburst show that many in New Zealand still have a long way to go when it comes to understanding consistency and free speech.

When it comes to free speech in New Zealand, the hypocrisy (or at best, inconsistency) of many commentators is well on display during the last few days. Two very recent examples illustrate this. The first is the supportive reaction to the Hurricane’s women’s rugby team doing a haka that called the government ‘redneck’. The second is the reaction to Professor Joanne Kidman’s tweets where, again focusing on government, she decried it as a death cult.

Mike Hosking: We get upset way too much now

One of the unfortunate side stories of the FIFA Women's World Cup is it doesn’t look to be the bonanza they hoped it might be.

Ticket sales have been an issue and the hoteliers claim to be bitterly disappointed.

It might well be that football as a sport is big globally, but not here. And even if it is big, at the women's level it's not a massive spectator event.

Bob Jones: The Budget

Back now in New Zealand and reading the despair-making budget details, I was staggered to see the government has allocated $34million of our taxes, to promoting bloody hakas. This was described as an “investment”.

The report quoted a Carl Ross, appointed as the CEO of the outfit being established to administer this exercise, asserting this taxpayer theft would “unite communities”, this nonsensical claim apparently being the “return” on our $34million “investment”.

NZCPR Weekly: The Fatal Flaw

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

In this week’s NZCPR newsletter we discuss the failure of ‘co-governance’ and describe how Wai 262 – another key He Puapua objective – is being included in legislation, research, and trade deals to create new profiteering opportunities for the tribal elite; our NZCPR Guest Commentator Paul Verdon outlines his concerns about the inclusion of a haka written by a mass murderer in a trade deal with the UK, and our poll asks whether you agree that Maori should be given special rights and privileges as the “guardians” of New Zealand’s flora and fauna.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

Mike Butler: Tikanga weaponised

“Tikanga”, which is generally defined as “Maori custom”, is being introduced in New Zealand, setting behaviour rules for everyone not just of part-Maoris, and there is no clear outline of what it entails, according to retired scientist John Robinson.

Dividing a Nation – the return to tikanga, chronicles tikanga back to the beginning of Polynesian migration to New Zealand and shows that modern tikanga is being used as a political weapon that creates racial discord.

As a scientist, Robinson was alarmed at absurd demands of the Royal Society of New Zealand for “matauranga Maori”, or “the Maori way of thinking” to be used as the basis for scientific work in New Zealand.

Paul Verdon: Could there be a less befitting symbol of nationalism and pride of performance?

It’s likely that, in future years, the great majority of New Zealanders will look back on the Ka Mate haka with a good deal of embarrassment at the naivety and sheer historical ignorance displayed by government, officials and the participants.

The All Blacks, as they have done for many years, have performed this haka before several of their tests this year.