Ok.
So, let’s just be honest with the situation, it’s not a good look that Nanaia’s relatives were consultants in projects that she oversees.
The perception of cronyism or nepotism is almost as bad as actual cronyism and nepotism, but as a Nanaia fanboy, allow me to offer a defence not only of 3 Waters but her role as Foreign Minister when China is being so aggressive in the South Pacific.
Firstly, it’s important to note that Nanaia has done everything by the book, the Cabinet Manual is very clear when there are conflicts of interest and those have all been managed, so let’s not forget that. You might not like the outcome, but the due process for managing conflicts of interest have been followed.
Secondly, it’s almost impossible to do anything in the Māori world without a conflict of interest, they are all everyones cousin or Aunty or Uncle etc etc, that is the basic cultural norm, everyone is connected, so let’s acknowledge that and understand that before we start criticising.
Thirdly, where I am critical of Nanaia is in her pussyfooting around with the 3 water assets. Rather than tell them at the start that they could opt out, she should have simply seized all the water assets using the Public Works Act!
Here’s what she needs to do with 3 Waters.
- Nationalise the bloody water to ensure water infrastructure and clean water.
- Make sure it can’t be privatised by ACT and National.
- Make sure no corporate Iwi are making profits from these changes.
- Stop Chinese companies bottling our water and taking it.
As for criticism of her leadership in the Pacific while China is pushing into our sphere, I think her Royal ties with the other Pacific Royal Families will provide a unique entry point China can’t access.
It is true that we need new strategies and tactics in the Pacific.
Auckland is the largest Pacific Island City and we do little to celebrate or leverage off that. We need to look at offering fundamental migration opportunities for Tuvalu, Tokelau and Kiribati who face the worst impacts of climate change but we also need to think outside the square in terms of not only countering Chinese influence but beating it.
I think two ways NZ could uniquely promote its interests into the Pacific against China could be via Rugby Diplomacy and Journalism.
The All Blacks doing a tour of the South Pacific would actually be of huge cultural and sporting importance and something the Government should sponsor with taxpayer dollars to help subsidise the costs to the All Blacks as a sign of respect to the sporting and cultural contribution Pacific Island nations have provided NZ.
Why shouldn’t we use Rugby as a diplomatic tool to build standing throughout the Pacific? It’s something China couldn’t match and something NZ could excel at.
Likewise Journalism. AUT run the excellent Pacific Media Centre to promote quality Journalism throughout the Pacific. What if NZ saw the promotion of quality Journalism as a craft throughout the Pacific as a strong way to counter corruption and Chinese influence? Scholarships, Pacific News Media websites, support of local ethical journalism these could be the pillars of promoting corruption free politics and holding those Governments to account.
Rugby diplomacy and promotion of Journalistic standards throughout the Pacific could counter China and promote NZs strategic interests.
We can’t outspend China, but we can play a far smarter game and I believe Nanaia is part of that smarter game.
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“ Secondly, it’s almost impossible to do anything in the Māori world without a conflict of interest, they are all everyones cousin or Aunty or Uncle etc etc, that is the basic cultural norm, everyone is connected”
Anyone seeing why co governance is a terrible idea yet?
Instant conflicts of interest from an unelected tribal elite.
We will be the most corrupt nation in the Pacific.
This instant nepotism makes us more, not less prone to Chinese influence.
The cabinet manual also treats perceived conflicts of interest just as seriously as actual, clearly the perception is still there.
Keepcalmcarryon. Well Mahuta could avoid perceived conflicts of interest by consulting equally with water experts from within the Pakeha world. There are one or two good ones. One was so good that John Key trashed him to the BBC saying that water scientists were like lawyers, and you can always find one with an opposite opinion. Time perhaps to bring in another blonde Canadian, pay them a small fortune, shove them onto commissions of enquiry etc. Swedes seem to be good on water, but I’m not sure if we have a Swedish tradition. The Chinese like our water as much as our milk. There’s a broad canvas out there.
Discussion on the obvious conflicts of interest issue inherent in the co governance proposals is being avoided – we need to talk about this.
Ngai Tahu, for example, have massive commercial interests in farming, forestry, fisheries, tourism and commercial and residential property. How can the Iwi appointed regulators possibly not have a conflict when resource applications involving their competitors or themselves are to be decided. The opaque tribal, familial, communal and racial connections and commitments make conflict avoidance impossible. Crony capitalism with a tribal twist?
Maori people are not opposed to Maori people starting businesses and working hard and so on for profit. It’s when Maori do it of the back of Iwi assets / resources ect for personal gain gets everyones back up, sue, court or just give em a hiding.
Surprise, surprise the Tainui Princess and her family are making some coin out of 3 Waters. Can’t say I’m shocked outside of someone in the feckless daring to publish this.
Mahuta is turning out to be a disaster as foreign minister. All this Chinese activity is happening on her watch. The belief that she can rescue the situation is naive beyond belief.
Oh right Tom C. China wouldn’t normally be so bold with a Pacific powerhouse like New Zealand, but they have spotted an opening. Jesus wept
If all Māori are related one way or another (really?that could be said about Pakeha) I think you will find numerous examples of how ‘they’ can’t agree on anything.
That said is this in line with manual or not? If not it has to be dealt with now. You can’t have this sort of set up and expect faith in elected officials.It’s like when Bill English was claiming an allowance for accommodation in Wellington because he did not own a dwelling…..oh but the family trust did. Give me a break!
People said the same thing about nepotism when Te Ururoa Flavell was the Minister with his own tribe Te Arawa getting a lot of funding for Maori broadcasting. And if we look deep enough we will see this type of issue is also prevalent with Pakeha Ministers for example Bill English awarded funding just before an election to an organisation his wife Mary was involved with.
Hey Bobby what about that Bill English eh, nasty piece of work eh.
Created the housing crisis.
Broke his promise on narrowing the wage gap between Aussie and NZ and can’t remember the 450 texts he sent to Todd Barclay at 2am in the morning.
Hollow promises indeed as well as lies.
Wait until the famous ‘Te Reo’ courses are being delivered by non Maori who speak it better and have become the ‘authority’ teaching it, speaking it ‘better’ and making a living off it, to everyone else.
So much money to be made from woke decision making, that doesn’t seem to look too far.
Personally don’t care about $100k but do care about millions being spent of consultants in the DHB’s and gang members and all the other neolbierals and white collar crims, making a killing advising the woke.
Everyone may be everyone’s cousin but surely not everyone is everyone’s husband. Not sure where the line should be drawn but I’m confident there is a line. Somewhere.
That conflict of interest is just terrible.
Almost as bad as the statement from the ministers office trying to sweep it under the carpet.
Expect Labour to get beaten up over this one.
Interesting perspective Bomber but I tend to disagree wholeheartedly
“I think her Royal ties with the other Pacific Royal Families will provide a unique entry point China can’t access.”
“We can’t outspend China, but we can play a far smarter game and I believe Nanaia is part of that smarter game.”
Well, so far you don’t seem to have played a smarter game than China. This move from the PRC has pretty well blind-sided all the institutions and personnel of the colonial regime, and Nanaia Mahuta is no exception.
Over the past century of New Zealand colonial and neo-colonial rule, Samoa has been very badly treated by the regime in Wellington. People from Samoa and other Pacific states also remember the dawn raids, and know that New Zealand’s colonial capitalism has really only been interested in exploiting their labour and resources.
China comes without a record of racism and exploitation in the Pacific, and much to offer in the way of material development assistance. To the people of the Pacific that counts for more than a few royal titles. The game is now China’s to lose.
While the colonialists remain convinced of the utility of royal patronage, the system is losing its gloss both here, among Pakeha as well as Maori, and in the Pacific. Tuheitia himself is respected for what he can deliver. His whakapapa and his position do not suffice. It is the same for Nanaia Mahuta. If she goes north with nothing to offer she will be welcomed and then sent on her way while China does the business.
One path we will not choose is that of surrender. We will not look away from our past in shame, we will learn the next generation of our miss dead’s in all history lessons taught in all schools so that when we say to them to he kind and courteous to our Pacific cousins that will know what we mean.
For every small step that we kiwis take towards a unified South Pacific, China and even Australia will have to spend at least ten times more on aid or what ever than we will spend on history lessons and education.
The South Pacific is Aotearoa New Zealands oldest Allie. We all have to work and share this place and look after it together and if either or who ever has any concerns about foreign or domestic influences that threaten the peace and stability of the region then Wellington as the wealthiest nation of the group must bare that burden willingly.
From what I hear Minister Mahuta is turning down interviews left and right.
Yes she’s far too busy avoiding the Pacific political switch occurring on her watch.
She can’t be this incompetent.
Intentional?
It would be wrong to blame Mahuta for this major geopolitical failure. The whole Labour government and all previous governments over the past three decades must share the responsibility, and it goes wider than that; the regime’s Five Eyes allies have also been caught on the wrong foot.
The fundamental policy error here is the belief that no matter how badly it behaves Anglo-American imperialism is invulnerable to challenge. The Realm of New Zealand will go down in flames on account of this single fatal miscalculation.
Very few of this governments ministers are happy to face the media so she is just joining the others. It is not surprising when you look at the disaster that this country is heading .Inflation ,crime, health ,foreign policy ,prisons , transport, housing , benefits, all disaster areas with little to offer in the way of a fix. Employment is the only good news but even there they have stumbled on allowing immegrants in that can help get industry thriving again.
You bring up good points around her royal links and I’ve long agreed with you that we should use our rugby links to foster stronger relationships , give them a couple teams in super rugby or whatever it’s called now, the nrl and have the all blacks and local teams play in the different nations regularly.
However. If her ties to other pacific royalty matter, they havent amounted to much and she should be using them. Now.
The fact she’s only sent one letter to the Solomon’s since April is a disgrace. The fact she hasn’t had contact with the Russian or Ukrainian ambassador is shocking. The fact that she’s got no plans to visit the Pacific, again is shocking.
She should have piggybacked off of the new Australian labor foreign ministers trip around the new pacific. The fact that Samoa and others are blindsiding us with this is not good enough.
She’s had three trips.
In the upcoming cabinet reshuffle she’ll lose one or both of her positions.
Doesn’t matter why the look of nepotism is bad and she’s been an awful communicator at her water reforms and she’s been a pretty crap foreign affairs minister.
I imagine police, justice, foreign affairs portfolios will be changing hands when the pm returns for her govt reset. Rumours are running rampant inside labour about who is in and who is out (dear God please don’t let the Debra Russell being in cabinet rumour be true…. She’s labours Maureen Pugh)
The water reforms are massive, so massive and time consuming and it’s clearly what Mahuta is more interested in, the water reforms are so time consuming she can’t possibly be expected to also be foreign affairs minister, it’s not a benign political environment anymore that portfolio is possibly the most important position in cabinet atm and needs to be full time.
I’d personally take foreign affairs of her. Give it to the pm herself (look at her on the international stage no pm of NZ has ever had this influence) as Helen Clark once held it, give Duncan Webb Justice let Fafoi keep broadcasting, let mahuta keep three waters give Nash police and Keri Allen regional development as she is a regional mp and give Poto civil defense (she’s an mp from east chch, if anyone knows about earthquakes it’s her)
Great T.V. One interview tonight, so I guess you heard wrong.
Renders Keepcalmandcarryon’s post irrelevant.
He can’t be that incompetent.
Intentional?
How much do you pay the nzrfu to go play up there , as the reason they don’t tour the islands is there is no money to be made , and I doubt many would like the Nz Government paying them to do so
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