The behind the scenes power plays by Māori Party activists during the Hikoi risks squandering the Hikoi momentum.
The Hikoi hit 84 000…
…this matters because it shows the protest against this terrible legislation is vast and broad based.
It is not a Māori Party protest, it is a New Zealand civil society protest.
Of course the Hikoi was Māori led and should always be Māori led, but the games played behind the scenes by Māori Party activists risks eroding the power of this movement.
Just like the stunts pulled by the first Hikoi this year, Māori Party activists refused speaking roles for those not pure enough.
They demanded in the first Hikoi that if the Greens and Labour wished to speak they would have to agree to a Māori Parliament. Of course the Greens and Labour couldn’t agree to that so they weren’t given permission to speak.
This time around Chippy should have been asked to speak and Hone Harawira was so pissed off with the games played, he didn’t speak.
When a legend like Hone Harawira doesn’t speak, there are issues.
Annette Sykes was there, she should have spoken.
In the end a C list of speakers made for a very anti-climatic event.
The current Māori Party activist leadership have allowed the size of the Hikoi to go to their heads without realising what that cross section joining them represents.
There must be a change in the Māori Party activist leadership team or this important moment will be squandered as it implodes thanks to egos.
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Racism and perceived superiority cuts both ways . Luxon was right to say this was a TPM driven group to empower them in their call for a separate parliament in which they would be king ,
what a load of crap is that the best you colonists can come up with .Actually it might be a good plan then in ten years see which lot have made the most progress .
This is the time when Maori have been more united than ever in the past .Dont let your own agenda ruin the foward momentum that is happening .Those few activists need to get on the train and move on from the past .Now may be the last chance for Maori to save NZ so dont waste that chance .I have been impressed by the unity shown this year and how that is growing and the number of non Maori joining the movement is staggering and is a movement that should not be wasted by the few activists .You need all of us including us 6% maori do not go down the road of eliteisim thats the pakeha way .
Exactly and good points all round.
Nah, I’d rather have an actual left wing party in New Zealand and the Greens and Labour aren’t interested.
I agree that these Tiriti actions need to be open and inclusive, because the whole nation of Aotearoa is wanting to rally around them. However there will be opportunistic politicians who hang back until it is clear that the movement has mass support, and then want to be given a prominent place on the paepae. Should they be indulged? I don’t know. What I do know is that the hikoi was not about the politicians, it was and is a movement of the people. Now there must be free and open discussions and more developed organisational links at the grass roots level if the movement is to reach its potential to effect a revolution against colonialism in Aotearoa. If Chris Hipkins and the others want to be part of that they should be made welcome.
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