There was something almost smug in the Prime Minister’s voice when she was asked if the government would intervene at Ihumatao. Oh no, she said – that’s an iwi dispute – nothing to do with the government – whew!
She was backed up by a phalanx of Maori Labour MPs – spineless to a person – who said it wasn’t the government’s role to get involved in internal iwi politics.
Never mind that the government set up special housing areas and approved the land for housing. Never mind that the government’s state forces – the police – are being used to drive people off the land on behalf of a private company. Never mind that the whole of New Zealand history has been built on the same scenario we see at Ihumatao.
And never mind that the colonial wars of the past have been based on the same crown logic the Prime Minister is using today.
It was the “purchase” of a block of land at Waitara which spurred on the land wars in the Taranaki for example. The Crown negotiated with an iwi leader who had no right to sell the block and then when other iwi members intervened the state forces were deployed to defend the sale and the second wave of the Land Wars began.
Divide and Rule has always been the weapon of choice by European colonists to separate Maori from their land – not just in past history but in the present reality.
When I look at Ihumatao I’m reminded of Bastion Point.
The Muldoon government wanted Bastion Point for luxury housing but Ngati Whatua wanted it returned to them. Muldoon then did a sneaky deal at a secret meeting with one Ngati Whatua leader, Hugh Kawharu, to build houses on the land against the wishes of the people. (Kawharu was later knighted by the government)
The divide and rule strategy used by the government at Bastion Point is now being used by Fletcher Housing at Ihumatao where the company has set out to split the people.
However just as Muldoon was defeated at Bastion Point so the government and Fletcher Housing will be defeated at Ihumatao.
Kia Kaha, Kia Toa, Kia Manawanui to all the people resisting at Ihumatao.
True John. The pattern is always the same when Māori land is the prize. Efforts are made to try and buy off one of more key people, the problem is Developers often choose the wrong “horse”! And in the era of social media news gets around.
Great to see new generations of activists at Ihuāmatao not accepting old power structures and hierarchies, let alone the decision of the Auckland Supercity Council to green light Fletchers in terms of an SHA.
This week was the 38th Anniversary of the Hamilton Springbok match being cancelled on 25 July 1981. We need similar movements to overturn the legacy of “Roger’n’Ruth”–Neo Liberalism–which has severely held this country back.
This is where free market ideology breaks down when you’ve got a private company (Fletchers) involving the police to garentee the market. Private companies shouldn’t have any rights the people don’t gift them. So we have public servants, the police sticking up for private enterprize and hundreds of protesters who the government has no use for, accept for maybe some votes.
I thought Ardern’s comments last night were appalling, patronising clap trap: please can I ask that you respect the land……………. WHAT WHAT WHAT WHO hasn’t been respecting the land, not the protesters that is for sure.
Never the less a deal must be strick that creates an oasis of Māori culture in a sea of urbanization and compete against 50,000 migrants moving to Auckland every year. The protestors will not win by confronting the crown head on. I am with the protestors but they must focus on making there meagre land holdings productive and competitive again. Once the land is productive housing, education and health can be provided. Work has to be guaranteed because it is to much ask for 75% of the land as well as sacrificing your language and culture so you can speak English in a McJob up the road.
Exactly Michal – pure bloody cheek, that area has been systematically destroyed by successive government and council schemes. SOUL Protectors are taking up the challenge where the elders have knuckled under.
This place is sacred to all New Zealanders.
She will not be PM for much longer, rest assured. She has now stepped into a trap that Helen Clark would never have stepped into.
Trouble is, John, we have now had the Waitangi Tribunal for years, and many ‘settlements’ for land taken off Maori over time, and so forth.
While you may get excited about some bit of ‘revolution’ here in the South of Auckland, it may be another expression of the one percent wave, that vanished as quickly as it came.
When you want to renegotiate deals done, and settlements made, by Iwi, then you are asking for the opening of Pandora’s Box. That of course is what good old revolutionaries like John love to do, as it will enable them to feed on an endless trail of fights and disputes, that will never end, and that will tie this country down into the Never Never, creating massive uncertainty.
Perhaps it is time for such a ‘revolution’, but I doubt it will find wide spread support.
Is this the last gathering of ‘revolutionaries’ of old, exciting a few young ones, who love the feeling of being noted, and excitement of a bit of a stir, or is this something bigger to note?
The critical point is do we accept confiscation as Ok and immutable.
It can and needs to be undone with all due apologies and a token of compensation being that land being given back.
Confiscation was never right no matter what corrupt laws were passed.
Treaty settlements as a method of cementing confiscation was never right and iwi tangi for their land.
You maybe interested to know that a local activist is currently developing plans to form a genuine, grass roots, anti-globalisation establishment peoples party in New Zealand.
The main objective of this party, which will be called ‘Our Party’, will be to challenge the tired old parties who’ve been running the show in NZ for big business & foreign interests for far to long. This party will be primarily be for ‘us’, the long suffering people of NZ who want to see, the overthrow of the established ruling elite & meaningful, wide ranging change in NZ.
Our Party will be for ‘us’ the people, our environment, our country. Our Party will be organised & run by the youth of NZ & support & be guided by alternative ideas, dreams & action. It’s time for our own cultural, socio-economic & political revolution.
Divide and rule? Throughout AO/NZ history there has always been a willing maori seller, selling the land and selling his tribe up the river. A tribe is not a democracy.
In the Wairarapa laws were put into place preventing Maori from leasing or renting out land to settlers.
But they could sell land to settlers who were able to lease out or collect rent off the land.
The Govt was racist and set up for the wealthy settlers or off shore investors who bought land.
Maori were prevented from exploiting there land other than selling it, which is just what the crown was aiming for.
Some whanau have trust and only their immediate whanau member/s who are part of the trusts can buy their land it protects it many cant afford to buy the land anyway as its worth too much now
If the land is under restraints of common land under Maori title then it can be retained and occupied by whanau.
If it is under free hold title then it may be sold and the owner can mortgage it and loose it under mortgagee sale.
A lot of Maori land has been lost by being placed on separate title. If rates are not met the council can fore close and sell the land.
Land is safer under Maori title unless you have iwi leaders who do deals with developers
eg Shelly Bay Wellington and the Kaumatua crook who worked the swindle without iwi consent.
Libertad Chile style:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT8b0Fbgah4
Do not divide and rule:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3qwjARG5V8
This pattern of land grabbing by mori is disturbing. This land is privately owned.
I am very pleased we dont have to put up with this nonsense in Australia. Nor would we.
clean your own backyard up mate before you come here with your Aussie bullshert your country has major race relation issues we have one of yours here the mosque attacker in chch he is one very sick racist Australian
Stan you may apply Ozzie thinking and values as much as you like but exposing blatant racism may not be your intention.
The history of colonisation is Oz is shocking. Mass extermination and genocide wrapped up in land grabs and mineral rights. Native Australians were shot for sport and police were not interested.
Go ask some of the Native activists. Don’t be scared.
Why aren’t those protesters at work? Oh, that’s right….to beneficiaries that us about as close to work as it gets.
Let us rip up the OTS’s “Little Red” handbook of rules for a start and compensate iwi properly which would/should alleviate poverty, homelessness and early death of the maori population.
Yes it is not too late to view society as being more inclusive and less racist.
dont forget Censorship
Go you John Minto. You’re dead correct in your appraisal of the cluster fuck that’s building at Ihumatao. I know this because I’ve crossed referenced what you say with a close friend who knows about such things who is at this very moment a scant few meters away from me making pumpkin soup.
The divide and conquer thing’s ancient. So are the skunks who stand to make profits from such things ( No disrespect to actual skunks. ) The divide and conquer tactic plagues this blog site in my view. The reason I write that is because of the attacks on those few people, those farmers who live in isolation in the cultural waste lands that is our countryside who earn our foreign exchange.
Pakeha and Maori are now equally manipulated, subverted and exploited by those most weird and perverse few who hold the adoration of money and the stiffy-giving potency of power it gives them close to their black hearts. We should all be down at Ihumatao to defend human beings from being trampled over by Big Business the all-bought-and-paid-for-politicians Big Business have in its pocketses.
I know, some people might think I’m off-topic at best here but the two elements at play I mention above are certainly heads of the same Hydra. There’re never bitter struggles over things that have no value. That’s why decriminalising all drugs works so well, for example, and we should remember, nothing freaks out crooks more than being denied conflict.
Why do you pakeha always say that (why aren’t they at work) you seem hell bent on discrediting our people the biggest beneficiares in our country and the biggests burden on our health system is our ageing Pakeha whanau not Maori.
Let’s not forget the ageing Pakeha whanau stumped up the taxes which paid for…. the nation building and everything. (before Roger sold it all in a firesale)
lets not forget Maori stumped up the land oh no they didn’t it was confiscated under many legal acts cause the colonials had run out of money and the soldier they had at the time were too dumb us natives outsmarted them with trench warfare
They are Maori, not Mori and the land was stolen off them in the first place.
Please don’t make your uneducated comments unless you know what you are talking about.
Maori are tax payers i am a tax payer my father was a tax payer and his father was a tax payer now have we received our fair share of the NZ pie nah! we haven’t
lets not forget Maori stumped up the land oh no they didn’t it was confiscated under many legal acts cause the colonials had run out of money and the soldier they had at the time were too dumb us natives outsmarted them with trench warfare
lets not forget Maori stumped up the land oh no they didn’t it was confiscated under many legal acts cause the colonials had run out of money and the soldier they had at the time were too dumb us natives outsmarted them with trench warfare
lets not forget Maori stumped up the land oh no they didn’t it was confiscated under many legal acts cause the colonials had run out of money and the soldier they had at the time were too dumb us natives outsmarted them with trench warfare learn our history another pakeha making shit up
lets not forget Maori stumped up the land oh no they didn’t it was confiscated under many legal acts cause the colonials had run out of money and the soldier they had at the time were too dumb us natives outsmarted them with trench warfare learn our history another pakeha making shit up
lets not forget Maori stumped up the land oh no they didn’t it was confiscated under many legal acts cause the colonials had run out of money and the soldier they had at the time were too dumb us natives outsmarted them with trench warfare learn our history another pakeha making shit up
learn our history another pakeha making shit up
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