Post by Kiwi Frontline on May 5, 2016 9:29:35 GMT 12
The New Zealand Herald 5/5/16 (Also in the Northland Age 5/5/16)
COLONISATION BLAMED
Moko Rangitoheriri died in Taupo Hospital in August last year and two people have pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Tribal elite blame all the negative statistics held on Maori on the “colonial oppressors”, but millions of Europeans and other cultures suffered enormous hardship and brutality in the 18th century and did not have a welfare system to cosset them.
Anne Tolley quotes the majority of children known to CYFs are Maori and says the Government has to partner with iwi, Whanau Ora, procurement agents, purchasing agents, with Maori academics, and with Maori whanau.
The taxpayer spends billions of dollars annually on a multiplicity of Maori initiatives, but nothing changes. Where does the responsibility lie?
M J A
Pyes Pa.
Wanganui Chronicle 5/5/16
TE PUTAKE HOORAY.
The so-called Whanganui Region Maori News, Te Putake, is back after an absence of several months. My question is ... why? This insert in the Chronicle is totally unnecessary as it contains nothing that could not, nor should not, be included in the daily newspaper and is often duplicated from the mainstream publication. Is it a way to thicken the usually slim Wednesday paper once a month or is there an ulterior motive?
The only acceptable justification for this publication is if it was written in te reo and targeted at a minuscule element of the local population who may use te reo as their daily language and read written commentary in the same language. Obviously this is not the case, so the only reason for having a few pages designated as "Maori news" is to appease a small section of the community and meet the self-imposed PC — desires of the Chronicle hier-archy or their NZME masters.
I am sorry, but this seems like a blatant act of preferential treatment or racism, neither of which has any place in New Zealand society today. A response may be appreciated by a vast majority of the city's population.
D. P
Eastown
Editor's response: No duplication; no devious thickening; no self-imposed PC-ism; no racism. The Chronicle has numerous pages devoted to specific interests from sport to motoring to the arts — they are aimed at those with that particular interest, though we hope everyone will find something of value there. There was a feeling that the Chronicle was not connecting with a number of Maori and Te Putake is a way of addressing that. Mr Partner can skip that part of the paper, but hopefully he won't ... he, too, may well find something of value there.
Taranaki Daily News 5/5/16
IN PERSPECTIVE
I would like to thank Bruce Moon (TDN, letters, May 4) for putting in perspective the extreme violence in NZ prior to the Treaty of Waitangi. The death toll in the 40 years from 1800 makes the next 40 (roughly to Parihaka) look like a drop in a bucket.
Close to home, we in Taranaki have only to recall the appalling massacre, torture and cannibal feasting on locals by the invading Waikato at the fall of Pukerangiora Pa. As someone opposed to all forms of violence to all living creatures - be it world war or violence in the home or cruelty to animals - believe we should be very careful not to disguise the violence of all the New Zealand wars from future generations by way of sanitised education and sincerely trust that this is not happening.
To that end perhaps the emphasis of celebrating Waitangi day could be turned to feature the start of peace in New Zealand.
E S
Inglewood.
Northland Age 5/5/16
MODERN FICTION
Herbert-Graves is at it again (May 3) with her bogus claim that the Treaty of Waitangi gave Maoris an "equal constitutional relationship with the Crown".
Nothing could be farther from the truth. If she and others actually read the treaty, they will find that by it the chiefs ceded sovereignty completely and forever to the Queen. Note: it was ceded, not "taken," as Herbert-Graves claims. The consequence is that all Maoris became subjects of the Queen— British subjects— for which read New Zealand citizens today. By article third they received the great gift of equality with other subjects, equal under the Crown.
Her "equal constitutional relationship," sometimes called "partnership," is a modern fiction conjured out of thin air by racist political activists, and calling it a "promise" is a blatant falsehood. She should get over her delusion to the contrary.
The consequence is that, in spite of her outrage, the Crown, or de facto the government of New Zealand, does exercise unilateral power, and in doing so does not, repeat not, breach the treaty. The treaty was indeed breached by various tribes when they rebelled in the early colonial period, but they were treated with remarkable leniency subsequently, albeit there was some confiscation of land of which they had received due prior warning and ignored. Were it not for the activities of the corrupt Waitangi Tribunal today all this would belong in the past and forgotten, but alas, this is not so.
If Herbert-Graves reads a bit more of the treaty, she will find that tino rangatiratringa, or possession of ordinary property was assured to "tangata katoa o Nu Tirani", that is "aIl the people of New Zealand," and all means all. It also illustrates the fiction that our country is "Aotearoa". Nu Tirani is a straight transliteration of New Zealand and no Maori is on record as objecting to this when the treaty was signed.
As for her "fluid and dynamic constitutionalism that provided a natural rhythm and order to Maori society", it is actually hard to square this with the brutal tribal warfare with cannibalism on a colossal scale, slavery and female infanticide, which was the practice of pre-colonial Maoris. In a mere 30 years about one-third of the entire population died in consequence, and, as Paul Moon has noted, the psychological scars may remain to this day. This was what Maoris did to Maoris, and cession to the Queen saved them from more of it.
In short, Herbert-Graves and her cronies have created a fantasy world of their own. Her Iwi Chair's Forum and Matike Mai Aotearoa are nothing but pressure groups. No part-Maori today has any more constitutional rights than any other New Zealander. This is called democracy. Woe betide us if we allow it to be undermined by the efforts of the racists amongst us.
BRUCE MOON
Nelson
YOU'RE WELCOME
I have come across a rather unusual concept called 'decolonisation,' — a programme for Maori to rid themselves of "multiple layers of colonial oppression and imposition of Pakeha world-views". To fully immerse themselves in this concept, perhaps the devotees of de-colonisation would wish to experience the life of their early ancestors.
My old books tell of rampant inter-tribal warfare— a tale of rampaging cannibal tribes slaughtering their way around the country. Life was short, harsh and brutal. Maui Pomare studied Western medicine when he realised that many aspects of Maori culture conflicted with health and hygiene, and actively sought to banish the influence of the tohunga.
He believed assimilation into Pakeha society presented the best hope for Maori people. I wonder if it is even appreciated how much these people owe their comfortable lifestyle today to their unthanked colonial ancestors who have taken them from Stone-age to Space-age in a very short time. Surely more a cause for gratitude, acknowledgment and celebration!
R B
Tauranga
COLONISATION BLAMED
Moko Rangitoheriri died in Taupo Hospital in August last year and two people have pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Tribal elite blame all the negative statistics held on Maori on the “colonial oppressors”, but millions of Europeans and other cultures suffered enormous hardship and brutality in the 18th century and did not have a welfare system to cosset them.
Anne Tolley quotes the majority of children known to CYFs are Maori and says the Government has to partner with iwi, Whanau Ora, procurement agents, purchasing agents, with Maori academics, and with Maori whanau.
The taxpayer spends billions of dollars annually on a multiplicity of Maori initiatives, but nothing changes. Where does the responsibility lie?
M J A
Pyes Pa.
Wanganui Chronicle 5/5/16
TE PUTAKE HOORAY.
The so-called Whanganui Region Maori News, Te Putake, is back after an absence of several months. My question is ... why? This insert in the Chronicle is totally unnecessary as it contains nothing that could not, nor should not, be included in the daily newspaper and is often duplicated from the mainstream publication. Is it a way to thicken the usually slim Wednesday paper once a month or is there an ulterior motive?
The only acceptable justification for this publication is if it was written in te reo and targeted at a minuscule element of the local population who may use te reo as their daily language and read written commentary in the same language. Obviously this is not the case, so the only reason for having a few pages designated as "Maori news" is to appease a small section of the community and meet the self-imposed PC — desires of the Chronicle hier-archy or their NZME masters.
I am sorry, but this seems like a blatant act of preferential treatment or racism, neither of which has any place in New Zealand society today. A response may be appreciated by a vast majority of the city's population.
D. P
Eastown
Editor's response: No duplication; no devious thickening; no self-imposed PC-ism; no racism. The Chronicle has numerous pages devoted to specific interests from sport to motoring to the arts — they are aimed at those with that particular interest, though we hope everyone will find something of value there. There was a feeling that the Chronicle was not connecting with a number of Maori and Te Putake is a way of addressing that. Mr Partner can skip that part of the paper, but hopefully he won't ... he, too, may well find something of value there.
Taranaki Daily News 5/5/16
IN PERSPECTIVE
I would like to thank Bruce Moon (TDN, letters, May 4) for putting in perspective the extreme violence in NZ prior to the Treaty of Waitangi. The death toll in the 40 years from 1800 makes the next 40 (roughly to Parihaka) look like a drop in a bucket.
Close to home, we in Taranaki have only to recall the appalling massacre, torture and cannibal feasting on locals by the invading Waikato at the fall of Pukerangiora Pa. As someone opposed to all forms of violence to all living creatures - be it world war or violence in the home or cruelty to animals - believe we should be very careful not to disguise the violence of all the New Zealand wars from future generations by way of sanitised education and sincerely trust that this is not happening.
To that end perhaps the emphasis of celebrating Waitangi day could be turned to feature the start of peace in New Zealand.
E S
Inglewood.
Northland Age 5/5/16
MODERN FICTION
Herbert-Graves is at it again (May 3) with her bogus claim that the Treaty of Waitangi gave Maoris an "equal constitutional relationship with the Crown".
Nothing could be farther from the truth. If she and others actually read the treaty, they will find that by it the chiefs ceded sovereignty completely and forever to the Queen. Note: it was ceded, not "taken," as Herbert-Graves claims. The consequence is that all Maoris became subjects of the Queen— British subjects— for which read New Zealand citizens today. By article third they received the great gift of equality with other subjects, equal under the Crown.
Her "equal constitutional relationship," sometimes called "partnership," is a modern fiction conjured out of thin air by racist political activists, and calling it a "promise" is a blatant falsehood. She should get over her delusion to the contrary.
The consequence is that, in spite of her outrage, the Crown, or de facto the government of New Zealand, does exercise unilateral power, and in doing so does not, repeat not, breach the treaty. The treaty was indeed breached by various tribes when they rebelled in the early colonial period, but they were treated with remarkable leniency subsequently, albeit there was some confiscation of land of which they had received due prior warning and ignored. Were it not for the activities of the corrupt Waitangi Tribunal today all this would belong in the past and forgotten, but alas, this is not so.
If Herbert-Graves reads a bit more of the treaty, she will find that tino rangatiratringa, or possession of ordinary property was assured to "tangata katoa o Nu Tirani", that is "aIl the people of New Zealand," and all means all. It also illustrates the fiction that our country is "Aotearoa". Nu Tirani is a straight transliteration of New Zealand and no Maori is on record as objecting to this when the treaty was signed.
As for her "fluid and dynamic constitutionalism that provided a natural rhythm and order to Maori society", it is actually hard to square this with the brutal tribal warfare with cannibalism on a colossal scale, slavery and female infanticide, which was the practice of pre-colonial Maoris. In a mere 30 years about one-third of the entire population died in consequence, and, as Paul Moon has noted, the psychological scars may remain to this day. This was what Maoris did to Maoris, and cession to the Queen saved them from more of it.
In short, Herbert-Graves and her cronies have created a fantasy world of their own. Her Iwi Chair's Forum and Matike Mai Aotearoa are nothing but pressure groups. No part-Maori today has any more constitutional rights than any other New Zealander. This is called democracy. Woe betide us if we allow it to be undermined by the efforts of the racists amongst us.
BRUCE MOON
Nelson
YOU'RE WELCOME
I have come across a rather unusual concept called 'decolonisation,' — a programme for Maori to rid themselves of "multiple layers of colonial oppression and imposition of Pakeha world-views". To fully immerse themselves in this concept, perhaps the devotees of de-colonisation would wish to experience the life of their early ancestors.
My old books tell of rampant inter-tribal warfare— a tale of rampaging cannibal tribes slaughtering their way around the country. Life was short, harsh and brutal. Maui Pomare studied Western medicine when he realised that many aspects of Maori culture conflicted with health and hygiene, and actively sought to banish the influence of the tohunga.
He believed assimilation into Pakeha society presented the best hope for Maori people. I wonder if it is even appreciated how much these people owe their comfortable lifestyle today to their unthanked colonial ancestors who have taken them from Stone-age to Space-age in a very short time. Surely more a cause for gratitude, acknowledgment and celebration!
R B
Tauranga