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| Reaction to his Orewa speech Click to read. Pn36 |
The BSA dismissed the charge on the grounds that the "right to freedom of expression allowed individuals to express their opinion, even if it is unpopular or incorrect (sic!)". With which Don Brash would have approved.
Retiring Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias, on the other hand, is one of many who has warned of "civil disorder if New Zealand does not find a way of resolving the imbalance Maori and Pasifika suffer from in our justice system." She is concerned with causes and consequences, not intent.
Don Brash and Hobson's Pledge have ignored these lessons from history which they say are no longer relevant and the consequences we see today that they say are none of their concern. One person has argued that Hobson's Pledge could be the support group "(threatened) the white, middle-class Kiwi man needs." Hum!
But few things are black or white (no pun intended). Half truths often have some basis in fact, and a lot of appeal. Hobson's Pledge say they have thousands of members and 91% of New Zealanders want one law for all. I'd certainly challenge the latter claim.
Hobson's Choice claims there were no Treaty principles, nothing implying partnership or biculturalism, and the chiefs knew they were ceding sovereignty.1 This cannot be proved or disproved but most informed people think they are wrong.
Denying partnership and bicultualism, they want all references to the Treaty removed from law and Maori boards, tribunals and the electoral seats abolished. They deny Maori have any claim to coastal and fresh waters. They say compensation should only be paid on confiscated land; schools should not be bicultural, and any special assistance should be given on the basis of need not ethnicity.
Such aims appear plausible only if you are un- or mis-informed, have a one-eyed view on the Treaty, deny the events that followed, and the present relations between Maori and Pakeha.
They ignore the fact that the so-called Maori 'separatism' is taking nothing away from Pakeha. It is simply a method of delivery that gives Maori greater control over their own affairs.
In considering the likely validity of argument we should ask who are these people who run Hobson's Pledge? What in their background and experience that says we should heed their argument? Who are they?
The Hobson's Pledge Trust
Almost all have backgrounds in business ownership or management, one is an American who has been in NZ for ten years, one was a Rotorua Lakes councillor who opposed Te Arawa representation on the council, two are writers who have written on Treaty issues for several years on such themes as "The Pakeha's treaty claims for equality", one is a university professor who claims present leniency (sic!) on Maori convicted for crime will lead to more crime. Two were National Party politicians and one an unsuccessful candidate. It's most likely all vote National or Act.
Ten are men, four are women and one, Casey Costello, is the only Maori. Of NgaPuhi, Irish/English descent she was a police officer in South Auckland and is now a business owner.
- She thinks Maori should, and can, follow her example. Her hard work led to her success ("I can achieve anything if I am prepared to work").
- No external intervention (Government restorative justice measures.-Ed.) can create equality of outcome. Again, hard work is the only way.
- Only Maori leaders benefit from the special legislation, gaining massive wealth and influence while accountable to no one, while Iwi wealth is withheld from the needy.
- The poor Maori statistics show that 150 years of separatism have failed.
- Everything wrong is blamed on a distortion of history, useful in justifying the grievance industry.
- Maori should stop complaining. Their ancestry is being used as an excuse for failure rather than as a motivation to succeed.
It's not hard to see where she's coming from, and her explanations and remedies will resonate with those of like mind, but they are too simple to explain complex causes or effects.
Good luck, Casey, and congratulations on your success, but many Maori would disagree, and not all can or would follow your road to success. This is what another Maori, Mihingarangi Forbes, had to say about Hobson's Pledge.
It is as well to remember that a relatively small number of Maori create the poor crime statistics. The overwhelming majority are not drug, alcohol, child or wife abusers. Many are successful in the arts, writing, entertainment, sports and in many areas of employment, making positive contributions to our society, and many of these people -- if the 200,000 enrolment to vote on Maori roll is any indication -- would not like to see the special provisions in the law removed. They represent about 70% of Maori eligible to vote, and they wish for a New Zealand and a Maori identity.
There goes for Hobson's PIedge claim that 91% support for their notion of equality. This is clearly not so among Maori.
Don Brash is a racist but ...
To conclude,I think Don Brash is a racist but of a special NZ kind that requires a new terminology. After all, he's well intended and well disposed towards Maori as individuals.
It's when Maori are considered as a group with a special place in NZ that he becomes obsessive and racist. His fixation with 'group Maori' owes something to his failure to put laws and events into the context of their time, totally ignoring past and present wrongs. He is concerned with intent, not with consequences.
We may call him an unintended, non-consequential racist, or RUN for short.
I'm sure he would say he is not a racist and one level -- despite his advocacy of what some would call his anti-Maori policies -- he is not, hence my not calling him an outright racist. But in popularising and spreading his truly divisive message he is creating a breeding ground for anti-Maori racism that is truly divisive and could become dangerous.
I close and rest my case with the song Losing, written by Mike Donehey and others. You can listen to it here
or keep on reading.
See also notes and references after the song. The State Services Commission booklets are an excellent introduction to the Treaty.
Lord Forgive them. They know not what they do.
I can't believe what she said
I can't believe what he did
Oh, don't they know it's wrong
Don't they know it's wrong
Well maybe there's something I missed
But how could they treat me like this
It's wearing out my heart
The way they disregard
This is love or this is hate
We all have a choice to make
Oh, Father wont You forgive them
They don't know what they've been doin' (oh no)
Oh Father, give me grace to forgive them
'Cause I feel like the one losin'
Well it's only the dead that can live
But still I wrestle with this
To lose the pain that's mine
Seventy times seven times
'Cause Lord it doesn't feel right
For me to turn a blind eye
Though I guess it's not that much
When I think of what You've done
This is love or this is hate
We gotta a choice to make
Oh Father won't You forgive them
They don't know what they've been doin' (oh no)
Oh Father, give me grace to forgive them
'Cause I feel like the one losin'
Why do we think that our hate's gonna break a hard heart
We're rippin' arms over wars that don't need to be fought
'Cause pride wont let us lay our weapons on the ground
We build our bridges up but it's just to burn them down
We think our pain is own apologies and get them to stop
Well truth be told it doesn't matter if their sorry or not
'Cause freedom comes when we surrender to the sound
Of Your mercy and Your grace, Father, send Your angels down
Oh Father wont you forgive them
They don't know what they've been doin'
Oh Father, give me grace to forgive them
'Cause I feel like the one losin'
I feel like I've been losing
Oh Father wont you forgive them
They don't know what they've been doin'
Oh Father, give me grace to forgive them
'Cause I feel like the one losin'
I feel like I've been losing
Oh Father, give me grace to forgive them
'Cause I feel like the one losin'
-- ACW
NOTES
1. Hobson's Pledge also has its interpretation of the meaning the three Treaty articles. Ignoring later and more informed scholarship, especially that by Dame Claudia Orange The Treaty of Waitangi (1987), they refer only to the late Sir Hugh Kawharu's work, based on his Oxford doctoral thesis which was not informed by later discussions on the meaning of kawanatanga and rangatiratanga.
It should also, perhaps, be mentioned that Ngati Whatua Sir Hugh opposed the occupation of Bastion Point and approved the forcible removal of protesters. His university office was close to mine and we argued the point on several occasions which others may have found strange. A Maori opposing Maori and a Pakeha opposing him.
REFERENCES
James Ritchie Becoming Bicultural, 1992
Paul Spoonley, Racism and Ethnicity in New Zealand Society. 1988
State Services Commission, The Treaty of Waitangi series www.treatyofwaitangi.govt.nz, Books 1-3. 2004
A.C.Walsh, More and More Maoris.1971
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