No GST on food, no monarchy, tax the rich: Te Pāti Māori’s demands for coalition
A wealth tax, removing GST from food, and exiting the Five Eyes military spy pact with the US, UK, Canada and Australia are among the demands of Te Pāti Māori party president John Tamihere before the party will support a coalition government at the next election.
With Te Pāti Māori reaching 4.5% in some polls, Tamihere said future governments would have to recognise they would be a “permanent party in government”.
The left love Michael Joseph Savage. Every Labour MP who wishes to push their left wing credentials have photos of him hanging in every electorate office and Minister’s room.
Savage is lauded as the creator of the welfare state in the wake of the Great Depression.
He was swamped when he went into public as NZers of the day gushed over how he had saved them all.
The most hilarious truth, provided by insights from John A Lee who served in Savage’s Cabinet however paints a very different picture from the mythology the left have given Savage .
The truth is that Savage was incredibly centrist and not a radical at all. Backed up by the neoliberal Walter Nash and conservative manipulator Peter Fraser, Savage did all he could to stop transformative change, it was actually Savage’s Caucus who forced his hand repeatedly to be transformative.
The exact same dynamics will be at play inside any post Labour led minority Government with a supply and confidence arrangement with the Māori Party.
The dawning reality for most political commentators is that the Māori Party are going to have one of their best political results ever and with a campaign promising the take GST off food and tax the rich in the wake of exploding food prices and the IRD report, they have material well being policies that are as attractive to Pakeha as they are to Māori.
This is going to generate a surge of pakeha voters supporting the Māori Party because they know when John Tamihere says he’s going to take GST off food, they know he will.
By remaining on the cross benches instead of becoming part of the Government, the Māori Party are setting themselves up to be a permanent force inside Parliament.
The ‘Coalition of Chaos’ narrative the right are selling of a Māori Party constantly demanding more for their vote misunderstands the cross benches, because if Māori Party demands are too great on policy, Labour can simply turn to the National Party for votes instead.
We are seeing the impact of youth demographics that benefit Māori at play now which in turn is forcing a maturing of the MMP political system.
Poor white people will have as many reasons to vote Māori Party as poor Māori voters this election as Labour continue to fail to do something meaningful on the cost of living crisis.
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Er, no it won’t.
Shhhh – you’ll crush Martyn’s hopes and dreams.
“Help me Maori Party, you’re our only hope”.
Hello there
General Kenobi
“Māori Party – GST off food, Neutrality + Tax the rich will win Pakeha voters in 2023″…
For ACT.
yes it might peachy
How many of the 96 signatories of the “we want to pay more tax brigade” has taken up the request from IRD to do just that?
I support removing GST from food products and increasing income tax on earnings above the median wage and increasing GST on luxury goods. (Air travel, sea cruises, luxury cars, jewellery, alcohol, ……)
If JT can convince TMP to engage with Act or even National to find common ground I may give my vote the TMP.
Johan Thiart John Tamihere is the politico who casually referred to women as “ front bums.” Women are under siege enough already without endorsing a leadership which denigrates us in this way. Even the Albert Park police apparently claimed that it’s not their job to protect women, and if Tamihere is the best that the Maori Party can come up with, then I’d be sceptical of the whole lot of them.
.
define ‘pakeha’.
define “New Zealander” 😉
Castro: a citizen of and born in New Zealand.
Can I try.
NZer : A permanent resident of NZ who supports the All Blacks and likes making fun of Aussies.
Pakeha – non Moari.
For this purpose, they are defined as people who are less than 100% pure Maori, but are fluent in Te Reo, own a piece of pounamu and believe Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the only true version.
A New Zealander of European descent.
Te Pāti Māori want conscious pākehā support–Debbie says it her self with appeals to “Ngati Tiriti”, those new gen or perceptive older people that understand if the lot of Māori improves, the majority of New Zealanders will benefit too.
And working class people in particular have a lot to gain from their policies that Labour fear to advance.
It will be a real toss up for some of us…Green or TPM.
TPM are more likely to fight harder for their policies than the Greens. And are unlikely to give their questions to National.
If removing NZ from 5 eyes is Tamiheres bottom line then he has ruled himself and Labour out from forming government.
Aside from the stupidity of thinking NZ could defend itself as a neutral country, allowing a sub 5% party to determine the security (let alone the constitution) of the country would never stand.
There is no neutrality, there is the west or there is China and Russia.
How many times has Switzerland, Spain, or Ireland been invaded? A neutral country doesn’t need to defend itself.
Standalonecomplex We’re an island country, of strategic interest to others, and have what they want, land and water.
“…stupidity of thinking NZ could defend itself as a neutral country.” Keepcalmcarryon
Not stupidity.
As others have remarked, if you are a neutral country, no need to defend yourself. More than that, as a neutral country we can’t be dragged into foreign conflicts not of our making or in our national interest.
if an armed conflict did break out between the nuclear militaries of China and the nuclear powered AUKUS pact countries of Australia the US and the UK in this part of the world, and New Zealand’s neutrality was internationally recognised and guaranteed by world bodies like the UN the Chinese could be assured that they wouldn’t be attacked in their rear from New Zealand in any military conflict with Australia. And therefore would have no need to attack us.
In the current situation of rising tension between the AUKUS powers and China, (which is quite likely to end in open conflict). If we are to avoid being drawn into that conflict, then New Zealand must immediately divest itself of all military and spying links with the AUKUS powers and go before the UN General Assembly to request that New Zealand be officially recognised by the UN as a neutral country.
As an officially UN recognised neutral country New Zealand would them be able to act as an honest broker and diplomatic ‘go between’ or even the UN approved abjudicator in any negotiations between the rival nuclear power blocs.
The League of Nations formally recognized Swiss neutrality on February 13, 1920. While the policy was not universally admired, it was respected by other countries. As a tribute, the world organization even chose Geneva as its headquarters. It also exempted Switzerland from military obligations.
Swiss neutrality is one of the main principles of Switzerland’s foreign policy which dictates that Switzerland is not to be involved in armed or political conflicts between other states. This policy is self-imposed and designed to ensure external security and promote peace. Wikipedia
Sounds like a plan.
New Zealand’s biggest export earner is our trade with China.
Real “Stupidity” would be in not being provenly neutral.
At any outbreak of armed conflict between the AUKUS Powers and China if If New Zealand is not neutral, at any outbreak of hostilities, all our trade with China would be instantly cut off. Unless protected by our neutrality our shipping would be blockaded and even possibly attacked. New Zealand’s economy would be wrecked.
Talk about stupidity.
“Poor white people will have as many reasons to vote TPM as poor Maori”… very true.
Except for the fact that the poor pakeha will not have full suffrage, turkeys voting for Christmas to erode their own basic human rights.
Rather large difference
Poor pakeha people have other options as do poor and wealthy Māoris.
What’s ‘ the defention of Rich’s in NZ… Just those top 300, who want to be taxed more I would Suggest.
Because not sure the Maori Mudd le class and Elites want to be taxed anymore.
” This is going to generate a surge of pakeha voters supporting the Māori Party because they know when John Tamihere says he’s going to take GST off food, they know he will. ”
Bomber its great you have this faith in Tamihere but this man was in the ” right ” faction of the NZLP until he lost in 2005.
I never remember him ever pressuring the leadership to adopt the policies he is talking about here and now.
Being to the right in Labour meant he did not align himself or was sympathetic to real left wing issues or the causes mainly neo liberalism. He supported the same status quo we are still fighting 18 years later.
I believe he is an opportunist who has decided to ride the Maori awakening waka to suit his own personal advancement and because it gives him some relevance.
These ” bottom lines ” are a great nice to have but Chipkins and Robertson will not sign up to any of this because their ideology stands in the way. Which is why no matter who controls the treasury benches we cannot tackle and solve the intractable crises in our public services and destitution that so many of our people are trapped in and the wealthy or corporates like the banks never pay their fair share of tax.
Mosa Tamihere and Jackson’s talk-back radio performance querying an adolescent girl about her virginity in the wake of the roastbuster’s scandal, deemed both men unsuitable to hold public office, IMO.
Yeah I remember the front bums comment. My daughter was a teenager at the time.
Their demands for a coalition government aren’t strictly reasonable but you have to admire their chutzpah.
They are racist idiots.
Nothing to admire whatsoever.
I don’t think I’ve cleaned out more dirt from my fingernails as a gardener than what the commenters above are. ‘Defention’ is bloody good. I’ve been thinking about the Maori Party but 50/50 — co-governance– I can’t agree to, let alone the sales of that, and I don’t know them well enough. I really miss The Alliance — the acid dig needed. Something mouldy muddled class about the Greens. Who I’ve voted for mostly the last 20 years and are in my Public Trust Will I think. I remember the scowl on the lady’s face 20 years on.
The ozzies do it already. Just adopt their GST policy for the non-taxed food categories.
Kiwis been outsmarted by bloody ozzies again. Aue!
By which I mean race will ( and the other things I mentioned) prevent poor pakeha voting for them. The cruddy commenters I criticised above confirm it.
John Tamihere is a cowboy — nowt wrong with that, but it has to work out.
If Tamihere is a cowboy, I know where he can borrow a cowboy hat…