Geoff Parker: Anti-Māori Talk, Pro-Māori Funding

Author’s note: This article is offered in the spirit of strengthening political credibility through honest engagement with the record, rather than as an argument against any party or leader.

Winston Peters and Shane Jones have built a political brand on railing against what they call “race-based policy”, “co-governance excesses”, and the supposed capture of the state by Māori interests. Their language is sharp, performative, and deliberately confrontational. It resonates with voters who feel alienated by identity politics and who believe governments should treat all citizens equally.

But there is a problem. A very large one.

Matua Kahurangi: David Seymour just told the truth

ACT leader David Seymour has once again found himself in the firing line, this time for saying something many New Zealanders quietly agree with.

In a post-Budget interview this week, Seymour was asked by Whakaata Māori’s Māni Dunlop for his response to Labour’s claim that $1 billion in “Māori funding” had been cut. His reply was unapologetic.

“There’s no such thing as Māori funding. There’s funding for New Zealanders,” he said. “I’m getting really tired of people trying to racially profile us, put us in categories based on our ancestry or whakapapa, and then try and tag the budget funding for that. It’s just got to stop.”

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 20/6/24

Shane Jones and Tama Potaka invite Maori troughers to slurp into a $20m swill and Jones tells us his focus is on … guess what?

Three of the latest posts on the government’s official website result from the Prime Minister’s trip to Japan, aided and abetted by Air New Zealand stepping in to provide transport for him and his entourage after their Defence Force aircraft got them no further than Papua New Guinea.

NZCPR Newsletter: Budget Review

The Budget is done and dusted and on the face of it, National successfully delivered on its election promise to provide tax relief to New Zealanders by lowering tax thresholds.

Point of Order: Govt chips in for boarding schools and a seaweed venture

And there’s some left over for hydrogen research

Promoting the wellbeing of Māori is the common factor in three of the latest four Beehive announcements.

The government is providing

Point of Order: The PM goes batting for democracy while her Maori ministers announce more Budget boosts

Oh, look. More goodies from the government.

Today we learn of a $10 million boost for landowners, a $27.6 million investment over the next four years in research and innovation and a $30 million investment for primary and community health care providers. Budget 2022 is the budget that just keeps on giving.

But those announcements are competing for media attention with news that an independent assessment of stewardship land on the West Coast is delivering recommendations for revised land classifications.