1. I have kids at primary school and while I am fine with their being in the kapa haka group (of which 3 of my daughters are / we are Pakeha) and learning Te Reo their now being told to avoid the use of English words entirely (at all times) if they know the Maori equivalent is bullshit.
   I completely understand Maori being proud of their culture but not all Pakeha want to pretend they too are Maori.

   • Racism is so alive and well Phil and you are a living example of it. So apparently okay for them to have to learn English but aaah the superior pakeha why would he want to learn Maori. It is a rich language and culture and I wish that I knew it all and that it was taught when I was at school. I think if not the primary kids of today then definitely the next generation from them will be able to speak te reo and that can only be good for both pakeha and Maori,. To suggest that if you learn the language means you are pretending to be Maori is complete nonsense.

     I hope you children are not infected by your racist attitude.

     • My name isn’t Phil for a start . .

       • Oh sorry I got your name wrong – so what is the problem you have.

     • Learning English allows them to function in the whole World as English is the second language of
       most countries. Learning Maori helps those that do to understand the culture better . It is good that those that want to can but it should not be forced on anyone

       • Trevor all kids should be learning Maori and some aspects of their culture, that is real respect.

       • Lol, English was forced on pretty much every non-European society. From Australia to India to America to NZ …… the list goes on.

   • Stop spinning Mr Brown we had English and everything English shoved down our throat. Now we have farmers farming on our land crying like babies cause they are being held to account. Unfortunately the South Island is full of racist red necks and it appears the farmers are a big part of this.

     • Send your own kids (if you have any) to a kura kaupapa then.

     • I think the issue here is not so much that they are racist rednecks but that they have not been sufficiently exposed to what the real NZ now is. As a consequence they simply don’t understand how the world has changed and is changing – hanging on to the past will only be short term. Does that make them rednecks – maybe but I prefer to just call it ignorance and lack of opportunity
       I live in the South, was born in the south, but have lived in the north and in Australia – there are many who are not racist rednecks. I enjoy the south but there are too many self satisfied people who are going to be left behind in their now redundant view of the world.

   • Right, and like you’ve never called a non Nazi a Nazi.

2. Minto, you do realise that one person’s racist is another person’s racist, aka you could easily (and many other protestors) be investigated as an anti-semite under the new hate speech laws. Look at Corbyn, the constant cry of racism is just another technique of neoliberalism, which you are supporting.

   Actions speak louder than words and when freedom of speech turns into real threats then it’s a crime.

   We live in a world where people have different beliefs and criminalising those beliefs can quickly turn into totalitarianism.

   I don’t believe in Groundswell speak, but also don’t believe in religion where non-believers are ‘bad’ or the ever popular trickle-down economics, or Santa, the tooth fairy.

   Ok these people don’t believe in Te Reo, but ask what is more important to that Maori family, that their language is represented in government departments or that the government departments actually work and get them a house, decent job, health care, food, social interaction, education and decent quality of life… which is more important?

   Maybe the woke police need to be more in touch with the reality of life in NZ for those at the bottom of the heap. I’d say Te Reo is not as high up as safety, meth, housing, food, health care etc for most people polled in NZ, but clearly by the millions spent re-branding no 1 priority for politicians.

   • It’s easy to calculate what is easier and cheaper to supply.
     D J S

3. Look theres a couple racists over there said the elite as their policies are destroying Maori and Pacifica lives with biased monetary policy. Orr and Jacinda love us being focussed on a few evil turds while the real damage to society is being ignored. Wake up people. Focus on the people who pretend they care whilst doing ireparable damage to the poorest in society.

4. John, sadly what you identify is not new. The overt use of the cover provided by ‘legitimate’ protestors by fringe groups was something that I first became aware of during the anti Vietnam War, and anti apartheid marches and later in a union strike. I became so alarmed by how much power the ‘fringe’ gains from this that I will not take part in any protest march as often the original intent is quickly hijacked for nefarious views.

   • You would say that, you’re Jewish.

     • Kim, not sure if you are replying to my post because you are 100% wrong and I fail to see the relevance of your claim.

   • True, Peter, and then there are the paid agitators, those whose job it is to disrupt and to sabotage.

     • Oh come on that is so old school and ridiculous in Aotearoa at least. We heard about the roubles Russia was providing us with back in 1981, dam still haven’t got my fair share.

       • $108,416 – paid by National Party
         $ 82,247 – paid by Greens
         $ 71,769 – paid by ACT
         $ 41,396 – paid by Labour
         $ 41,396 – paid by NZ First
         Those are the costings from one lot of “Social Media Outreach”.
         Overseas political, corporate or other interests not included.
         Who is spending on Social Media NZ

5. ‘Jacinda-Stalin’
   If that were true her critics would now be housed in work camps,planting pine forests on overused farmland, cleaned up polluted waterways have completely rebuilt Christchurch, completed Auckland’s light rail system, completed railways linking all New Zealand cities also building the new city of ‘Jacindapolis’ somewhere near Lake Tekapo.
   Our housing problems would be solved by converting the mansions of the wealthy into apartment blocks for low income earners. Their vast estates turned into massive public gardens
   Members of the Labour Party would have special shops, hotels and restaurants for their use alone. Likewise housing allocations.

   For Christ’s sake get some perspective. Try reading a few books.

   • Excellent Stevie, our PM is so far from Stalin as most of us realise she is a neolib like the rest of them.

   • Under Stalin the pine forests were planted for a different reason.

6. Owning land and doing what one wants creates an alliance across cultures … and now they have a common enemy, anyone on the left.

7. Lord Jonathan Sacks: ‘Anti-Zionism is the new anti-Semitism’ – BBC Newsnight
   Don’t believe a single word of Minto bullshit!

   • Zionism is a political ideology, criticising political ideas is not hateful. Not really interested in what a British Lord has to say on the subject, to be honest.

     • I recall Jeremy Corbyn echoing the same sentiments prior to his head being handed to him on a plate.

   • George it is important that we don’t live our world using the BBC as our guide.
     It is a UK propaganda outlet. The BBC announced the demolition of the WTC 7 some time before it took place. Consider the implications of that and the rubbish the BBC promoted about Saddam having weapons of mass destruction in spite of the UN inspectors stating there were none.

   • What? So, do you have to be of a Zionist political persuasion to be a Jew? Or, is it that you can’t be Jewish if you want to live anywhere but Israel? So what do you call a Jew who isn’t resident in, or subservient to the political foundations underpinning the state of Israel? Anti-semite?

     It seems the logic is all fucked up when self-serving definitions are devised by a very biased committee in London without any public endorsement, then blindly supported by someone on the basis of a opinion expressed on a BBC programme over six years ago by a now deceased Rabbi. To use such flawed logic to pass your judgement on a person who has never been proved to be anti-semite makes you look like someone who lacks mental acuity.

     • on a BBC programme

       BBC do have remarkable insight/ foresight/ pre-cog at times, however. I and others were frozen in front of the tv 20 years ago (exactly, in a bit over two weeks time), trying to make sense of what was going on, when the female bbc presenter announced the fall of the the third tower. It was still standing.

       20 minutes or so later, it fell.

8. Great stuff John, Agricultural Action Group are nothing but wild conspiracy theorists trying to use farmers’ frustrations to gain traction.

   I chatted to a progressive farmer earlier this year who said that many farmers were conflicted on Groundswell’s goals or did not support them at all, so the farmers who *are* getting involved are the most regressive elements of the community – hence the disgusting signs and racism on display.

   This doesn’t bode well for their own cause. They’ll either have to organise more effectively to sweep the hateful elements under the rug, or embrace them and be viewed by the public as a hateful group.

   Will be interesting to see what happens in their next action.

9. Minto, please don’t run for CCC again, you come across full bile and hatred.

10. And I pay for this service

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