Waatea News Column: Waitangi 2024 is an inflection point in our political history
The phenomenal counter response by Māori this Waitangi Day towards this Government’s anti-Māori agenda is an inflection point in our political history.
70% of Māori are under the age of 40, this generation have been gifted the permission to define themselves authentically as Māori alongside a Pākehā population who see the Treaty as our unique strength, not as a weakness.
The goodwill generated by attempting to accuatlise the promise of the Treaty by the last Labour Government will not be burnt by the petty bigotry of this new Government.
Let’s be very clear here, by allowing the Treaty Principles Referendum debate to start without any real desire to implement it is an exercise in naked race baiting by bad faith actors whose aim is not discussion but rewarding their voters anger and ignorance!
The Prime Minister’s speech at Waitangi held lofty ideas but the reality of his Government’s hard right agenda is an immediate attack on workers rights, renters rights, taking $555million from the poorest families amongst us and damaging environmental goals.
At the same time this Government have managed to engage us in a new American Conflict in the Red Sea while trading away our Independent Foreign Policy to the Military Industrial Complex in Australia!
The line up of Mining Interests who want to start mining our resources is being aided by new legislation to ram through deals and allow more Trans National Corporate exploitation.
Our Prime Minister may have a great vision for New Zealand this Waitangi Day, but the means by which he is attempting to create that vision are divisive, counter productive and venally self interested for lobbyists.
This hard right Government was sent a clear ‘No’ to attempts to unpick the legal rights Māori have fought for.
Māori and their Pākehā comrades collectively have told the angry reactionary rump of New Zealand that they will not allow our country to go backwards.
There is no room for 19th Century White Settler Privilege in 2024.
First published on Waatea News.
Tangata Tiriti as Sir Edward Durie put it in 1989, and Ngati Tiriti as TPM’s Debbie Packer put it–she now more uses ‘Tangata Tiriti’ also–are a force of non Māori showing definite signs of practical unity with Māori aspirations and fightback against this filthy Govt.
Unity between Māori and Pākehā working class people (and other tau iwi now) has long been an unspoken fear of the NZ ruling class. But it is surely about to happen if the Natzos go along with Act and the various other white supremacists lurking about.
I talked to Waitangi Hikoi leader Rueben Taipari today in Kaitaia and he was very pleased with the response they got en-route, even when going through some East Coast bal’head communities he reckoned there was 99% support and is hopeful this Govt. will ultimately be called to account and Te Tiriti strengthened.