The most concerning part of the mainstream media’s sudden realisation that Maori are treated harshly by the police, judicial and corrections system is that they are only now realising it!
It’s similar to their collective surprise at the true level of poverty in NZ with families sleeping in cars and that the so called social welfare departments are actually part of the problem. Most Journalists have zero interaction with the vast majority who are in poverty so Real Housewives of Auckland becomes the gold standard of copy.
As Kiwis scramble with the fact their system is racist, a news story that sees a Maori threatened with arrest for speaking Maori…
Kaumatua speaks Māori, threatened with arrest
Parliament’s Senior Māori Advisor is angry he was threatened with arrest when pulled over by Wellington police because he chose to respond to the officer’s questions in te reo Māori. Kura Moeahu says he did nothing wrong and was only exercising his legal right to speak his national language.
This elder says he was treated unfairly by police for speaking Māori and he wants an apology.
“[The officer said] ‘Don’t talk like that, I won’t have that talk to me’, so I continue to respond in Māori and then he said, ‘you do that again I’m going to arrest you’.”
Moeahu was pulled over on his way home last night near the Waterloo Takeaway shop.
“The policeman asked why I failed to stop when I saw his lights flash. I responded by saying that I did not want to stop along the yellow lines and it was not a safe place to stop. I was angry because I had done nothing wrong.”
Moeahu is a Kaiwhakarite at Parliament. His role does not have an English title. The police officer asked where Moeahau got his jacket having recognised the logo which is affiliated with the police. He said he should ask his boss at the station.
“I have a position on the Police Māori Advisory board in town. That’s a bit funny.”
…if that’s the way the Police treat a Maori on the Police Advisory board, how do you think they treat Maori on the street when no one is looking?
We have a Police force that is a law unto themselves, look at the facts. 135 cops found guilty of misconduct in the last 6 months and NOT ONE OF THEM sacked. Remember, those 135 found guilty are from a total of 1700 complaints, so less than 10% of the total amount of complaints, and not one sacking.
That it’s taken almost 2 centuries for us to discuss how racist the system of NZ really is should be the shocking part of this issue.
Structural racism can only exist when the majority wilfully denies that it exists.
#BrownLivesMatter
Not really surprised, Cops, Maori, relationship? Systemic? Institutionalisation, Profiling? Revenue gathering? I have my license & point straight to my reg & wof straight way as the cop leans into the window & they usually back off. Some get in a thanks before they walk away! Haha! But getting pulled 2 to 3 times in a day is too much.
Us older folks 72yrs old are ashamed how the Māori are treated today, as when I was a kid growing up Maori were all around me at school as another kid and I had many Maori mates.
Now there’s a climate of culture being promoted like in the US where the Brown race is picked on first just because the MSM incites some hate of them. They are good people not bad, as some politicians are.
Yes and when it comes to the treaty it’s abused time and time again.
Just look at the Kermadec debarkle the Government meet Maori many times but still got it wrong and blazed ahead with a press release saying they were setting aside a massive trench of oceanic reserve without finalising the deal with them.
Now on the Nation this AM the dopey Russell Norman walked right into it again siding with the government as he did pulling up our railway’s for cycle ways,!!!!$%^&*()*()_@#$%^&*()_-=_
THANK GOODNESSS HE IS GONE NOW .
He was a turncoat, and not friendly to Maori or paheha.
By the way before Norman stood down from Co-leader of Green Party he was proud to have his picture alongside Key riding a bike along part of the Northland railway that was pulled up for another cycleway!!!!
Russell Norman is so quiet now not ever critical now of this criminal Government as they continue to cut rail & attempt to also close the whole regional rail system down it seems, he is not truly a Greenie he was just jumping from one opportunity to another for his interest.
Three legal and recognized languages of NZ are Maori, English and Sign. They are acknowledged as the three main accepted verbal forms of communication in this country.
So anyone should not feel intimidated for using any of these three NZ languages he/she feels most comfortable with to communicate.
In this case, the police officer concerned showed disrespect towards the Maori man. The officer’s threatening actions would have been just as disrespectful if the man was deaf and preferred to communicate in Sign.
Police minister Collins seems to be particularly supportive of police activities regardless how distasteful they are! I’d say this represents government as a whole.
It should be mandatory for Police and other government departments to learn Maori and Sign as working forms verbal language, allowing for respectful communication with all NZers.
It does not say whether the officer that spoke to the man could understand Maori or not, but it sounds like he may not have, which is likely. But police officers are not that friendly anyway, if they suspect a person of having committed an infringement or even a crime.
What does this tell us?
Maybe it should tell us that all police officers should be taught at least a basic level of Maori, as it is one of our official languages. Maybe all public servants and public office holders, at least those who have regular contact to the public, must learn at least a basic level of Te Reo.
We may also ask, should it in future be a requirement for new immigrants, to at least complete a basic Te Reo Maori course, before granted residency?
That is what Kura Moehu appears to have tried to create a debate about, by standing firm and simply only talking in his language to the police officer.
It is stuff to think about and to discuss, as Te Reo Maori may become another extinct language unless we take more firmer action to promote and maintain this language.
If one has a right to legal advice, if you cannot afford one….blah blah blah then how about a translator. p.s. Mr plod threatened to arrest Kura if he continued to speak Maori, that’s extortion.
How can that be “extortion”?
It may have been unreasonable and disrespectful what the officer did, but I think you get some legal terms mixed up here.
The officer in this case is a dick. Threatening arrest for what.
Generally the public do not expect all officers to converse in Maori. English and sign language so if there is a problem with that then we need to look at how to address it.
Multi lingual skills are not that common in NZ and even if taught the skills have to be maintained. Maori raised in NZ usually have a good command of English and some can converse or pick up meaning from Maori. But we have many languages in NZ with immigration also having an impact on communication in English for purposes of on the beat policing.
But the officer is a dick. Threatening arrest in the circumstances is an abuse of position.
There are two people in this interaction, one behaving like a dick and the other speaking a language the officer could not understand.
The officer could manufacture a reason to feel obstructed and the driver was not communicating with the officer and I believe he could have easily.
If the officer was pulling the driver over for a legitimate and sensible reason then there were probably several ways a driver could escalate a confrontation.
A bit of common sense on both sides may not be as righteous but escalation will not solve anything.
I have no doubt that there is racism in the police force and many places elsewhere that can be seen everyday.
I am a little bemused that this is held up as an example as there are two parts to it. An mono lingual officer behaving like a dick and a multilingual and perhaps righteous driver choosing which language he uses. Did the latter wish to communicate or make an issue over being pulled up.
What was he pulled up for as that information is missing but may help clarify what was actually happening.
So again, what has your argument delivered to defend your comment it is “extortion”? Nothing of that sort.
“Maybe it should tell us that all police officers should be taught at least a basic level of Maori, ”
Maybe Police Officers should be taught a basic level of courtesy and communication, regardless of what language is spoken. A response more like ” I’m sorry sir, I don’t understand Te Reo. Would you be so kind as to speak in English if you are able”….or similar, would be a good start.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/84346494/new-zealands-racist-justice-system–our-law-is-not-colourblind
“New Zealand has the “most sophisticated forms of racism on the globe”, former Associate Minister of Maori Affairs John Tamihere told an audience in Masterton last week – as he predicted the failure of the planned Ministry for Vulnerable Children that will launch next year.”
http://times-age.co.nz/sophisticated-racism-call/
This country is going backwards at record speed.
NZ has been bringing in cops from the UK for some time now, and unfortunately they seem to be inherently racist
And generally the English are brought up to defer to “class” ” their “betters”.
Yeah all that racism:
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/exclusive-police-told-not-to-ticket-unlicenced-maori-drivers-in-south-auckland-6339517
“Exclusive: Police told not to ticket unlicenced Maori drivers in South Auckland”
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