Post by Kiwi Frontline on Feb 7, 2017 7:40:47 GMT 12
The Press 7/2/17 (Also in NZ Herald 7/2/17)
COST OF COMPULSORY MAORI
As the call goes out, in some quarters, for the compulsory teaching of Te Reo Maori, it was interesting to read Education Minister Hekia Parata’s selfaggrandising stance on the advances in Maori education during her stewardship and find she seems against the proposition. Rodney Hide had earlier given cogent reasons why it is impractical and untenable. Parata stated that in 2015, $400 million was given by the Government to promote Te Reo. That amounted then to $2800 for each speaker. Imagine that on a national education level.
The only occupations where fluency in Te Reo is essential for employment are in some areas of law, media, education and tourism. These fields require much broader educational qualifications than are offered in Te Reo.
In education Te Reo seems to be a self-promoting requirement. One needs more fluent Te Reo teachers to teach it.
BRYAN JOHNSON
Omokoroa
SETTLEMENT CREATED INJUSTICE
In his article (Feb 6), Richard Tankersley states that Ngai Tahu has successfully grown its financial assets to more than $1 billion to become one of the South Island’s biggest businesses.
Its commercial performance is indeed impressive. However, Tankersley omits to mention that their commercial activities pay no income tax, yet those business activities are unrelated to their charitable purposes.
Businesses that compete with Ngai Tahu are being impacted upon through Ngai Tahu’s financial power, due to their activities being subsidised by the taxpayer, thus allowing them to generate more cash.
It is time that this injustice was righted, by amending our tax policy, thereby levelling the playing field.
Ngai Tahu does pay some income tax as a Maori authority, but the amount is trifling in comparison with the income tax otherwise payable on their other commercial activities.
DR MICHAEL GOUSMETT
Rangiora
HISTORIAN PLAYED TREATY ROLE
Richard Tankersley’s article on Ngai Tahu’s long fight for justice, culminating in its successful 1998 Treaty of Waitangi claim, does not acknowledge the key role played by the late Pakeha historian Harry C Evison.
His research and evidence to the Waitangi Tribunal was crucial to the success of the claim, as was acknowledged by Ngai Tahu leaders at the time.
The fascinating story Evison uncovered, based on carefully documented evidence, illustrates the importance of the role of historians at the fraught intersection of history, law and politics. In the ‘‘post-truth’’ era of alternative facts this is worth remembering and celebrating.
LYALL LUKEY
Kennedys Bush
The New Zealand Herald 7/2/17
TED DAWE’S WAITANGI VIEWS
If this so called award-winning author is serious about forgetting about Anzac Day then perhaps he should reflect on how he got the right to freedom of speech. It certainly wasn’t from Waitangi, it was from the men and women who fought to keep their country free from self-styled dictators in Germany, Japan and Italy.
To compare Anzac Day with Waitangi Day is like comparing a huge cruise liner with a waka.
Both days are for all New Zealanders to celebrate. Hopefully we all do just that.
G. W. VUGLAR,
Panmure
WAITANGI MEDIA BAN
Banning media from reporting events at Waitangi is in my view illogical, insane, and should maybe be considered illegal. There is no other country on earth where the occupying colonial population treat the indigenous peoples so fairly and this should be held up as an example and reported to the world. Only the media can do this and locking them out is counter productive in every way.
The Ngapuhi in the north are the largest iwi but many still seem to have a chip on their shoulders and many still live in poverty and deprivation. Ngai Tahu in the South Island by contrast run a billiondollar business including fisheries in Nelson, whale watching in Kaikoura and jet boating in Queenstown. To be fair to Ngapuhi, Northland is often overlooked as a region by the Government and they badly need something to kick start the economy up there and provide employment for their young men who roam the streets looking for trouble.
In my view a new naval base should be built at Whangarei.This would instantly provide hundreds of jobs and makes good sense in so many ways. Ninety per cent of the Navy’s deployments are north of NZ so once based there they can respond faster in time of need. The old facility at Devonport could also then be decommissioned and the valuable land used for much needed housing in Auckland.
Finally I would say that Ngapuhi must be told in no uncertain terms that unless they can guarantee free access to all media, the 2018 celebrations will be moved away from Waitangi. I feel sure that Ngai Tahu, Ngati Porou, Tainui and many other tribes will happily fill the breach and showcase events to the world.
GLEN STANTON,
Mairangi Bay.
NZ Herald 7/2/17 (Short & Sweet section)
ON WAITANGI DAY
Waitangi Day, a day for Maori poseurs to get their 15 minutes of fame. I am Maori and I do not care about the talisman treaty. Also, if anyone has any documents dating from 1837 to 1840 that show that the British Government had any intention of entering a partnership with Maori, please share them with us. The "partnership" idea is a 1980s legal fiction.
C.C. MCDOWALL,
Rotorua.
Waitangi Day needs an overhaul. Change the name to New Zealand Day. It could consist of a parade past Parliament, street parties and barbecues. Happy New Zealand Day to all. JO LOADER,
Long Bay.
Bay of Plenty Times 7/2/17
SUGGESTED VICTIMISATION
I am sorry that Bryan Johnson’s letter (Letters, February 2) on Maori solutions was abridged as it made a lot of sense and quoted some real facts regarding finance.
Also the presenters on Breakfast on TV One were spouting on about a subject that they know nothing about stating that Maori children used to be strapped for speaking Maori at school.
I attended three different schools for my education with a large proportion of Maori children attending each and that never happened at any of those schools.
We children spoke as much Maori in the playground as we did English. I still use much of the language in my everyday speech. The Maori children were reluctant to attend school and the school inspector was constantly chasing them up.
The Maori people back then were different and I still have many esteemed Maori friends. We schooled together, played together, worked together, danced together and intermarried.
We were equally paid and received the same benefits. Bryan Johnson is right when he suggests that these younger generations are living in an aura of suggested victimisation and colonial oppression and a misguided sense of entitlement. As there are no full-blooded Maori now it is time for us to pull together as New Zealanders before we are over-run by immigrants. (Abridged)
GWYNETH JONES
Greerton
Wanganui Chronicle 7/2/17
MAORI LISTENED TO
A false picture of the past can lead to unnecessary complaint and dispute — thus Potonga Neilson wrote (January 19) that an insistence on the use of English in all schools in the 1920s is "evidence indeed that ethnic cleansing was government policy in those days".
That policy was decided by Maori from discussions among chiefs and community leaders and their MPs. One such MP and government minister was the great Maori champion Sir Apirana Ngata who was acting on that consensus. The policy was the result of a desire to advance in a modern economy.
By the 1930s, the need for an opposite approach — for the protection of Maori culture —was increasingly recognised. The consensus then changed. In 1936, Ngata, who reflected much of Maori opinion, had said that if he were allowed to devise a curriculum for the schools, he would make "English first, second, third, fourth and all the rest of the subjects fifth".
Three years later in 1939 he told a conference of young Maori leaders that he had formerly opposed the teaching of Maori in schools because he had believed there was not sufficient time for pupils to learn both Maori and English. But he had come to believe "nothing was worse than for one to be with Maori features but without his own language". Far from "ethnic cleansing", the government was listening to Maori leaders.
JOHN ROBINSON
Waikanae
Northland Age 7/2/17
NO END
When will this exclusive, racist nonsense cease?
The clearing of the main highway to Kaikoura suspended for some days because of a runanga claim that it might damage a cultural site. A claim subsequently proved false.
A total of 233 pupils, teachers and parents from Raumata being shouted $700,000 by the taxpayer for a holiday around the islands under the guise of 'Exploring their Heritage'.
Tuwharetoa being granted a further $25 million, and an official apology, even though their previous $66 million forestry settlement in 2008 has lost $50 million through injudicious business practices.
Why should we, through our government, apologise for actions that occurred 140 years ago? Ridiculous!
The nonsense will cease when New Zealanders, as a whole, elect a consensual government that operates for all New Zealanders.
BRYAN JOHNSON
Omokoroa
Northern Advocate 7/2/17
MAORI ALSO GUILTY
I read with interest an article in a weekend newspaper by Lizzie Marvelly, "Now Tell Me why We Are Cringing". I cringe as well.
Marvelly is a successful musician, writer, and activist. I am pleased to see that she is doing well. May she continue to do so.
In short, the article was about Maori selling land to the Government in the early days of settlement, and the Government on-selling it at gross profit to farmers and settlers. Well, I guess the Government had to make its money somehow.
Perhaps somebody has for-gotten to tell Marvelly that both the Labour and National governments have been paying out handsomely for "errors of judgment" over the past 30 to 40 years. This money has been invested in businesses and is no doubt returning handsome dividends, much of it tax free as they are registered as charities. This now runs into several billions of dollars, and counting!
I agree that some recompense should be made to Maori, but the taxpayer of New Zealand is not a bottomless pit.
Atrocities were committed by Maori against Maori (estimated at 40,000 killed, one third of them Patupaiarehe and Waitaha people, who have been here since the time of Christ). Patupaiarehe and Waitaha lived in peace for well over a thousand years but that changed with the arrival of Maori and their races were almost wiped out and eaten. That's why I cringe.
Kawena Hori Maaka,
(KEVAN GEORGE MARKS)
Kaipara
Dominion Post 7/2/17
FARCICAL DAY
Do all New Zealanders contribute to Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi via a government subsidy, i.e. through our taxes. If so, why are we being denied the pleasure of watching our national day's events held there through barricades being erected, along with a demand for thousands of dollars from our broadcasters for rights to cover the event.
Our national day has become a farce. Instead of a day celebrating our unity, it has become a day of division - a day to snob or abuse politicians - played in part to an audience. I suspect that most New Zealanders are bored by the antics of a few at Waitangi, and would prefer to celebrate good, positive parts of New Zealand with pride.
As it now appears New Zealanders are not welcome to watch or listen into the Waitangi Day events, then it surely is now time that our Government changed the focus of this day back to New Zealand Day - an occasion where the diversity of the cultures that make up our great country is celebrated with pride.
ALAN HEPPLESTON
Wilton
sites.google.com/site/kiwifrontline/letters-submitted-to-newspapers
COST OF COMPULSORY MAORI
As the call goes out, in some quarters, for the compulsory teaching of Te Reo Maori, it was interesting to read Education Minister Hekia Parata’s selfaggrandising stance on the advances in Maori education during her stewardship and find she seems against the proposition. Rodney Hide had earlier given cogent reasons why it is impractical and untenable. Parata stated that in 2015, $400 million was given by the Government to promote Te Reo. That amounted then to $2800 for each speaker. Imagine that on a national education level.
The only occupations where fluency in Te Reo is essential for employment are in some areas of law, media, education and tourism. These fields require much broader educational qualifications than are offered in Te Reo.
In education Te Reo seems to be a self-promoting requirement. One needs more fluent Te Reo teachers to teach it.
BRYAN JOHNSON
Omokoroa
SETTLEMENT CREATED INJUSTICE
In his article (Feb 6), Richard Tankersley states that Ngai Tahu has successfully grown its financial assets to more than $1 billion to become one of the South Island’s biggest businesses.
Its commercial performance is indeed impressive. However, Tankersley omits to mention that their commercial activities pay no income tax, yet those business activities are unrelated to their charitable purposes.
Businesses that compete with Ngai Tahu are being impacted upon through Ngai Tahu’s financial power, due to their activities being subsidised by the taxpayer, thus allowing them to generate more cash.
It is time that this injustice was righted, by amending our tax policy, thereby levelling the playing field.
Ngai Tahu does pay some income tax as a Maori authority, but the amount is trifling in comparison with the income tax otherwise payable on their other commercial activities.
DR MICHAEL GOUSMETT
Rangiora
HISTORIAN PLAYED TREATY ROLE
Richard Tankersley’s article on Ngai Tahu’s long fight for justice, culminating in its successful 1998 Treaty of Waitangi claim, does not acknowledge the key role played by the late Pakeha historian Harry C Evison.
His research and evidence to the Waitangi Tribunal was crucial to the success of the claim, as was acknowledged by Ngai Tahu leaders at the time.
The fascinating story Evison uncovered, based on carefully documented evidence, illustrates the importance of the role of historians at the fraught intersection of history, law and politics. In the ‘‘post-truth’’ era of alternative facts this is worth remembering and celebrating.
LYALL LUKEY
Kennedys Bush
The New Zealand Herald 7/2/17
TED DAWE’S WAITANGI VIEWS
If this so called award-winning author is serious about forgetting about Anzac Day then perhaps he should reflect on how he got the right to freedom of speech. It certainly wasn’t from Waitangi, it was from the men and women who fought to keep their country free from self-styled dictators in Germany, Japan and Italy.
To compare Anzac Day with Waitangi Day is like comparing a huge cruise liner with a waka.
Both days are for all New Zealanders to celebrate. Hopefully we all do just that.
G. W. VUGLAR,
Panmure
WAITANGI MEDIA BAN
Banning media from reporting events at Waitangi is in my view illogical, insane, and should maybe be considered illegal. There is no other country on earth where the occupying colonial population treat the indigenous peoples so fairly and this should be held up as an example and reported to the world. Only the media can do this and locking them out is counter productive in every way.
The Ngapuhi in the north are the largest iwi but many still seem to have a chip on their shoulders and many still live in poverty and deprivation. Ngai Tahu in the South Island by contrast run a billiondollar business including fisheries in Nelson, whale watching in Kaikoura and jet boating in Queenstown. To be fair to Ngapuhi, Northland is often overlooked as a region by the Government and they badly need something to kick start the economy up there and provide employment for their young men who roam the streets looking for trouble.
In my view a new naval base should be built at Whangarei.This would instantly provide hundreds of jobs and makes good sense in so many ways. Ninety per cent of the Navy’s deployments are north of NZ so once based there they can respond faster in time of need. The old facility at Devonport could also then be decommissioned and the valuable land used for much needed housing in Auckland.
Finally I would say that Ngapuhi must be told in no uncertain terms that unless they can guarantee free access to all media, the 2018 celebrations will be moved away from Waitangi. I feel sure that Ngai Tahu, Ngati Porou, Tainui and many other tribes will happily fill the breach and showcase events to the world.
GLEN STANTON,
Mairangi Bay.
NZ Herald 7/2/17 (Short & Sweet section)
ON WAITANGI DAY
Waitangi Day, a day for Maori poseurs to get their 15 minutes of fame. I am Maori and I do not care about the talisman treaty. Also, if anyone has any documents dating from 1837 to 1840 that show that the British Government had any intention of entering a partnership with Maori, please share them with us. The "partnership" idea is a 1980s legal fiction.
C.C. MCDOWALL,
Rotorua.
Waitangi Day needs an overhaul. Change the name to New Zealand Day. It could consist of a parade past Parliament, street parties and barbecues. Happy New Zealand Day to all. JO LOADER,
Long Bay.
Bay of Plenty Times 7/2/17
SUGGESTED VICTIMISATION
I am sorry that Bryan Johnson’s letter (Letters, February 2) on Maori solutions was abridged as it made a lot of sense and quoted some real facts regarding finance.
Also the presenters on Breakfast on TV One were spouting on about a subject that they know nothing about stating that Maori children used to be strapped for speaking Maori at school.
I attended three different schools for my education with a large proportion of Maori children attending each and that never happened at any of those schools.
We children spoke as much Maori in the playground as we did English. I still use much of the language in my everyday speech. The Maori children were reluctant to attend school and the school inspector was constantly chasing them up.
The Maori people back then were different and I still have many esteemed Maori friends. We schooled together, played together, worked together, danced together and intermarried.
We were equally paid and received the same benefits. Bryan Johnson is right when he suggests that these younger generations are living in an aura of suggested victimisation and colonial oppression and a misguided sense of entitlement. As there are no full-blooded Maori now it is time for us to pull together as New Zealanders before we are over-run by immigrants. (Abridged)
GWYNETH JONES
Greerton
Wanganui Chronicle 7/2/17
MAORI LISTENED TO
A false picture of the past can lead to unnecessary complaint and dispute — thus Potonga Neilson wrote (January 19) that an insistence on the use of English in all schools in the 1920s is "evidence indeed that ethnic cleansing was government policy in those days".
That policy was decided by Maori from discussions among chiefs and community leaders and their MPs. One such MP and government minister was the great Maori champion Sir Apirana Ngata who was acting on that consensus. The policy was the result of a desire to advance in a modern economy.
By the 1930s, the need for an opposite approach — for the protection of Maori culture —was increasingly recognised. The consensus then changed. In 1936, Ngata, who reflected much of Maori opinion, had said that if he were allowed to devise a curriculum for the schools, he would make "English first, second, third, fourth and all the rest of the subjects fifth".
Three years later in 1939 he told a conference of young Maori leaders that he had formerly opposed the teaching of Maori in schools because he had believed there was not sufficient time for pupils to learn both Maori and English. But he had come to believe "nothing was worse than for one to be with Maori features but without his own language". Far from "ethnic cleansing", the government was listening to Maori leaders.
JOHN ROBINSON
Waikanae
Northland Age 7/2/17
NO END
When will this exclusive, racist nonsense cease?
The clearing of the main highway to Kaikoura suspended for some days because of a runanga claim that it might damage a cultural site. A claim subsequently proved false.
A total of 233 pupils, teachers and parents from Raumata being shouted $700,000 by the taxpayer for a holiday around the islands under the guise of 'Exploring their Heritage'.
Tuwharetoa being granted a further $25 million, and an official apology, even though their previous $66 million forestry settlement in 2008 has lost $50 million through injudicious business practices.
Why should we, through our government, apologise for actions that occurred 140 years ago? Ridiculous!
The nonsense will cease when New Zealanders, as a whole, elect a consensual government that operates for all New Zealanders.
BRYAN JOHNSON
Omokoroa
Northern Advocate 7/2/17
MAORI ALSO GUILTY
I read with interest an article in a weekend newspaper by Lizzie Marvelly, "Now Tell Me why We Are Cringing". I cringe as well.
Marvelly is a successful musician, writer, and activist. I am pleased to see that she is doing well. May she continue to do so.
In short, the article was about Maori selling land to the Government in the early days of settlement, and the Government on-selling it at gross profit to farmers and settlers. Well, I guess the Government had to make its money somehow.
Perhaps somebody has for-gotten to tell Marvelly that both the Labour and National governments have been paying out handsomely for "errors of judgment" over the past 30 to 40 years. This money has been invested in businesses and is no doubt returning handsome dividends, much of it tax free as they are registered as charities. This now runs into several billions of dollars, and counting!
I agree that some recompense should be made to Maori, but the taxpayer of New Zealand is not a bottomless pit.
Atrocities were committed by Maori against Maori (estimated at 40,000 killed, one third of them Patupaiarehe and Waitaha people, who have been here since the time of Christ). Patupaiarehe and Waitaha lived in peace for well over a thousand years but that changed with the arrival of Maori and their races were almost wiped out and eaten. That's why I cringe.
Kawena Hori Maaka,
(KEVAN GEORGE MARKS)
Kaipara
Dominion Post 7/2/17
FARCICAL DAY
Do all New Zealanders contribute to Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi via a government subsidy, i.e. through our taxes. If so, why are we being denied the pleasure of watching our national day's events held there through barricades being erected, along with a demand for thousands of dollars from our broadcasters for rights to cover the event.
Our national day has become a farce. Instead of a day celebrating our unity, it has become a day of division - a day to snob or abuse politicians - played in part to an audience. I suspect that most New Zealanders are bored by the antics of a few at Waitangi, and would prefer to celebrate good, positive parts of New Zealand with pride.
As it now appears New Zealanders are not welcome to watch or listen into the Waitangi Day events, then it surely is now time that our Government changed the focus of this day back to New Zealand Day - an occasion where the diversity of the cultures that make up our great country is celebrated with pride.
ALAN HEPPLESTON
Wilton
sites.google.com/site/kiwifrontline/letters-submitted-to-newspapers