Te Pāti Māori MP Takuta Ferris’ sectarianism gives Political Right culture war ammunition they need
Oh dear…
Te Pāti Māori MP Takuta Ferris is under fire for a social media post taking issue with the ethnicity of Labour supporters campaigning ahead of the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection.
In text posted over an image of Labour MPs and volunteers campaigning for Peeni Henare in the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate seat, Ferris said: “This blows my mind!!”
“Indians, Asians, Black and Pākehā campaigning to take a Māori seat from Māori,” Ferris said, adding multiple “exploding head” emojis and pictures of himself looking confused and shaking his head.
…oh God no!
I was just writing yesterday that…
To date this by-election has been incredibly honourable and a showcase of the way Māori Politics is better than the viciousness of the General Elections, it has been a success to Māoridom and it has denied the political right being able to point to sectarian infighting to prove the Māori Party are too focused on drama than working in Government.
To date that has been the case, but as we get to the last few remaining days, the nerves are fraying and tensions are coming to the surface.
…Takuta Ferris’ bewildering sectarianism is deeply damaging in that it gives the political Right the culture war ammunition they need to win the 2026 election.
ACT, NZF, National, Taxpayers’ Union, Federated Farmers, NZ Initiative, The Atlas Network, Sean Plunkett, ZB, Hosking, Free Speech Union, Groundswell, Hobson’s Pledge, Reality Check Radio and redneck fat bloke down pub can all now point to what Ferris has said and insinuate that the Māori Party are so sectarian they could never work with Labour and would destabilise any possible future Labour led Government.
It’s like Takuta is a secret agent for the ACT Party.
Firstly, it’s a by-election, Parties always bring in volunteers from outside the electorate for by-elections!
Secondly to make it racial is so detrimental to the wider issues at stake here.
This comes after Willie Jackson unleashed on this mindset from Māori Party activists this week…
…add to this terrible blunder from Takuta, Oriini’s need to get her phone out in the Q+A interview with Jack Tame and there are now looming questions that will be asked once the result is in.
It could well be that the voters of TM are so angry with the Government that they welcome this sectarianism and Oriini wins, which in of itself will make enormous waves.
For an election this crucial on how it sets up the 2026 election, a mere 3681 have voted so far.
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Takuta Ferris’ comment was ill-judged, but his real mistake was to misconstrue the problem presented by the image that the Labour Party was using in its electioneering.
The choice of a representative should be entirely and exclusively a matter for the community that he or she is to represent. Others should butt out. That means all outsiders, party organizations, media pundits; everyone.
The people of Tamaki makaurau should not be subject to “foreign interference” in an election, whether that comes from the Labour Party, Te Pati Maori, or any other party or organization or individual.
Under rangatiratanga outsiders will be able to observe and report, but not to interfere. The way that genuine rangatiratanga works, actually makes outside interference impossible.
Therefore if Ferris is sincere, and I do not doubt that he is, he should be working towards ditching the Westminster system and restoring rangatiratanga.
We are a small country of just over 5 million we cannot have an elected member that does not speak for all of us. The separate Maori Seats are no longer needed as there are plenty of Maori in general seats now .
Trevor, no elected member can speak for all of us. We all have separate interests as individuals and as communities. Any member who thinks otherwise is either naively deluded or is promoting his own autocratic ambitions under the false claim that he can speak for all. Even if every member of the House was ethnically Maori, there would still be a place for the Maori seats because there would still be those Maori communities, like Tamaki makaurau, to be represented alongside other communities such as Epsom or Mt Albert.
However the Maori seats are far from being an ideal solution. They do not correspond to the authentic Maori communities which are hapu based. And the general seats do not represent any kind of community. They are merely geographical figments. Pakeha also deserve better than that and they will get better than that under rangatiratanga.
Trevor if it’s good for the ACT party, then why isn’t it good for TPM?
ACT most certainly don’t speak for all of us, you would have to be delusional to think that.
If rangatiratanga is the ultimate goal (seperation by Maori from the multi cultural other New Zealander’s) be honest and outline the desire in policies includign separate taxation, chieftain law making, law enforcement, land access, education, health, etc.,etc.
The Labour poster is what New Zealander’s are; multicultural. TPM don’t do multiculturalism.
It is the probable reason TPM will not be in a Labour led government. .
Labour has to represents all the cultures, TPM does not. Hence TPM can never make any accommodation for other cultures.
Maybe we need a picture painted on how rangatiratanga as perceived as separatism will interact with multicultural New Zealand? Are we about to become Balkanised?
Of course I cannot speak for Te Pati Maori. However I can say that rangatiratanga is the epitome of multiculturalism in so far as every hapu has its own tikanga and mana motuhake. It is also the highest expression of kotahitanga, because all hapu come together in a higher common tikanga and the common institution of te Whakaminenga.
The Labour Party and all the other parties ascribe to the Westminster system which is by definition colonialist. Primarily it represents British culture, as Michael Savage so eloquently insisted. It exploits other cultures and ethnic groups only so as to serve the purposes of colonialism.
Rangatiratanga is not separation. It is the integration of all tangata motu into a system of government which is truly democratic and representative of the nation.
Fantastic. My extended family is now a Hapu. Will Maori recognise this new Hapu?
For all new Hapu dilute the existing Maori Hapu power.
So how do we become a Hapu? Register as a Hapu at a board somewhere? Can many Hapu’s gather and become a tribe?
I think your notion is great but highly problematic to TPM for their exclusiveness to rangatiratanga will be weakened.
I’m actually for your action plans and usurping the Westminster system, however will Maori abide by many, many, many, new Hapu and tribes being created?
Your vision only works if we can form new Hapu and tribes. Hapu and tribes without boundaries, open membership and no past tribal affiliations. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, not sure how you would even start.
I would say that the New Zealand Westminster government has morphed into a fully multicultural (from its British beginning) entity and it is way past the time this “colonial” mentality is even relevant anymore.
Colonialism is a buzz word to contain outdated thinking. In fact we have multi cultural representation in the peoples Westminster parliament. British has gone. It is just a poor excuse to stay in the 1930’s when Micheal Joseph Savage was floating around with a cloth cap on.. We have changed to multiculturalism in the last 100 years.
Gerrit, under rangatiratanga you can form any kind of social organisation/constituency you choose. Those constituencies (call them hapu if you like) can amalgamate into larger groupings (call them iwi if you like) as they choose.
Having more hapu does not weaken the existing hapu. It provides them with allies and thereby makes them stronger.
I think you get the picture. It just seems so radical to you that you do not think it possible even though logic tells you that it is eminently possible.
Yes- imagine how unstable NZ would become.
Yip him and a few MPs in TPM that I don’t agree with even though I voted for them have me cringing when they open their mouths like Debbie she the gift that keeps on giving
To defeat this government we need, tatou tatou, not raruraru
Trevor we never created the Maori seats Pakeha did to stop us from having a majority at the time and now you want to get rid of them. Well pull your head in man we will get rid of them when we want to. Also, if you know the history of our country and colonisation how it works with assimilation and discrimination, now this is racist.
Just another dreary racist.
A racist Maori – who knew that was even a thing?
In past times before the Titiriti was signed and even after, it was considered mana enhancing for iwi to have Pakeha living and working in their rohe under Maori Tikanga.
Why would it be any different today?
https://www.google.com/search?q=it+was+considered+mana+enhancing+for+an+iwi+to+have+Pakeha+working+within+their+Rohe+under+Maori+Tikanga.&oq=it+was+considered+mana+enhancing+for+an+iwi+to+have+Pakeha+working+within+their+Rohe+under+Maori+Tikanga.+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRiPAjIHCAIQIRiPAtIBCTM1MjJqMGoxNagCDLACAfEFxFbIblYKDoY&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8