Three Snippets: Race in the Classroom, Race and Refugees, and the Media's Supposed Left-Wing Bias

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A recently released report based on a 2012 survey on discrimination has found Maori and Pasifika  teens to suffer more ethnicity-related discrimination from teachers than peers. Higher rates of
discrimination were also reported by teenagers due to their religion, a disability, a health problem or being transgender. Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft said the results echoed what his office had been hearing for at least the past five years

The "Repetitive Loop" Cause of "Maori Problem"

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Aaron Smale in Newsroom spares no punches as he attacks officialdom's response to Oranga Tamariki's "baby snatching" and general Maori issues.

(Minister) "Tracey Martin and those under her authority are more concerned with preserving their reputation than they are with addressing the problems faced by Māori whānau on the margins. 

"If they were really concerned with those Māori they would actually talk to them. Instead they meet with the friendly face of iwi leaders to give them an air of legitimacy. 

"If she was really concerned, she would have visited the Mongrel Mob in Hastings and asked them for their thoughts. They’re her “customers”. And their thoughts and views on the matter would be a little more on point than iwi leaders and politicians.

"... until Māori under economic pressure are enabled to participate in the wealth this country has to offer, this conversation will be on a constant, repetitive loop with no end in sight. Māori will continue to be perceived as a problem, an inconvenient political nuisance that occasionally makes life uncomfortable for politicians while the rest of the country carries on apathetically."

Maori in World War I: a Fascinating Account by Monty Soutar

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This  extract from Monty Soutar’s new book Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E! Māori in the First World War focuses on the New Zealand that Māori knew when war broke out in 1914. It begins with this edited foreword by the former Governor-General, Sir Jerry Matepaere:

Monty Soutar’s Whitiki! Whiti! Whiti! E! helps to tell the story, and the stories of the men, of the Māori Contingent at Gallipoli and the Māori (Pioneer) Battalion on the Western Front. As the saying goes: “It wasn’t all beer and skittles”, although there was some of that.
In all, 2227 Māori and 458 Pacific Islanders served with the battalion. Of those, 336 men were killed or died overseas, and a further 24 died in New Zealand of injuries sustained during the war. READ ON.
My thanks to E-Tangata.

Many of our Local Geographies are part of the National History We Must Own

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One advantage of old age is a long and generally instructive memory. So long, in my case, that I've almost become a part of history, from the years when Maori were hardly seen and never heard, to today when many Maori and Paheka are speaking out for a truly inclusive New Zealand.

"The Anti-Maori Crowd"

As NZ wrestles with hate speech vs free speech, the anti-Māori crowd have maliciously attempted to force themselves divisively into the debate. Read what Martyn Bradbury has to say in The Daily Blog

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Attacking Golriz Ghahraman

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You'd think people tottering along the line close to libel or slander would have been warned by the recent conviction, and later declared self-bankruptcy, of WhaleOil's Cameron Slater and broadcaster Helen duPessis-Allen's conviction  by the Broadcasting Standards Authority for anti-Pasifika comments. Not to mention official and widespread concerns about the inflammatory  misuses of social media during and after the Christchurch tragedy.

But not SB, Cameron's partner on Whaleoil. She (?) has launched a spiteful and unfair attack on Greens MP Golriz Ghuhraman for her supposed denial of free speech.  Under the heading "Golriz uses her free speech to undermine our democracy"

1. SB writes (my emphasis): 

I do not want to silence her nor do I want to punish her for her divisive opinions. I want to amplify her voice so that people know exactly how divisive and wrong she is.

Moana Jackson in E Tangata on the Connection between White Supremacy and Colonization

The Connection between White  Supremacy and Colonisation COMMENT and ANALYSIS by Moana Jackson

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 in E Tangata| Mar 24, 2019

Many words have already been spoken and written about last week’s massacre of Muslim people in Christchurch. Words that, in their own way, came from the same place of pain — political announcements, opinions in mainstream and social media, and, most movingly, the public outpourings of sympathy and aroha for the relatives of the victims and the Muslim community as a whole. The words have been well-meaning, even if they might have been of only passing solace in a time of seemingly inconsolable sadness.

Cook Islands Name Change? The 15 Islands

The Pacific nation of Cook Islands is considering changing its name to something that reflects its Polynesian culture

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rather than honouring the British explorer James Cook who named them the Hervey Islands in 1773. Strangely, the only island he set foot on was tiny, uninhabited Palmerston atoll. He never saw Rarotonga, the largest island in the group. A German navigator on a Russian ship named it the Cook Islands.  Spanish and Portuguese explorers visited the islands in the 16th century, well before Cook.

Waitangi Day, the Treaty and its Articles

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A Colmer Brunton poll in Feb.2017 found 31% of Kiwis thought Government should not attend the Waitangi celebrations. I wonder it that's changed.

_____________
It made headlines when Jacinda Ardern, among others, did not know the Articles of the Treaty of Waitangi, and the interviewer did not enlighten us. Indeed,  of the dozen or so articles published on Waitangi 2019 so far, not one has dealt with the Articles —or the history of the Treaty. Here's a brief summary:

We Do Not Shed Our Skin: Why All Politics are Identity Politics - Golriz Ghahraman

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First published in The SpinOff* A "must" read for all concerned about human justice and true equality. --ACW.

In this edited version of her speech at the Hamilton Press Club last Friday, Green MP Golriz Ghahraman recounts her journey from a childhood in Iran to becoming the first refugee elected to the NZ parliament, and why identity is at the heart of democracy.


Being a Middle Eastern woman is a strangely over-burdened birthright, especially at this moment in global catastrophes. And especially to me, suddenly a politician.

TE AO MĀORI

28 Nov 2018

Moves underway to set up Māori-owned bank

9:56 pm on 28 November 2018 

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John Boynton, Te Manu Korihi Reporter

john.boynton@radionz.co.nz

Could an iwi bank become the next Kiwibank? The Māori Council thinks so and is taking steps to set up a Māori-owned bank.

New Zealand, the Way the World Could Be

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This is the New Zealand in which I wish to live and die (Ka Ora, Ka Mate); a country where All Black captain Kieran Read leads the haka —and points our country's  way forward— before Saturday's game against Italy.  

It is not the haka lampooned  by Auckland University Engineering students dressed up in grass skirts in 1979 and many others since, or the haka Don Brash links to Maori domestic violence.  

It is the haka performed by a Pakeha who said it was something he'd always wanted to do, a great honour. Something which took hours of practice,  and in which he recognized and understood its cultural significance by acknowledging the iwi, Ngati Toa Rangitira and their tipuna Te Rauparaha,  who created it.  Nga mihi, Kieran.

--ACW

Resolve Maori Pasifika Justice Imbalance or Face Civic Disorder; Women in Law; Our Constitution

NZ's growing inequalities have consequences for individuals, communities and society. As a lead up to  a major postings on inequality over the weekend, it is as well to remember this warning by our Chief Justice. 

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Several months ago the first Chief Justice of our Supreme Court warned of "civic disorder" if New Zealand did not find a way to resolve the imbalance Maori and Pasifika suffer from in our justice system.

"It's not something we can continue to live with," Dame Sian Elias said after being questioned over reports that 50 per cent of Maori and Pasifika had criminal records.

The Death Ship and a Cannon over Parihaka: two Anniversaries

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 Yesterday (Tuesday) was the 100th anniversary of the arrival in Samoa of the NZ ship SS Talune that introduced pneumonic influenza, killing 8,600 people, 25% of the population, in eight weeks. In Fiji and Tonga between 5-10% of the population died.

Don Brash finally made it to Massey

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Don Brash finally made it to speak at Massey. Its Political Society and "free speechers " are happy. 

Did he say anything unexpected? No. Not really. We already know his views on Maori and the Treaty of Waitangi. 

Compulory Te Reo Māori debate fails to address key problems, say critics

Māori language week was celebrated last week and the key issue in the media was a debate on whether Te Reo Māori should be made compulsory in New Zealand schools. 

Mike Mohr of Asia Pacific Journalism* reports.

Te Reo Māori lessons ... lack of teachers and resources
make it hard for a compulsory approach.
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Amid the debate over the issue of compulsory Te Reo Māori lessons in New Zealand schools that intensified last week, many arguments and opinions for and against were voiced.

Many New Zealanders support the idea of te reo being introduced more widely into schools, with overwhelming media coverage in support for compulsory Te Reo be implemented into the New Zealand core school curriculum by 2025.

But the question that has not yet been answered is whether it is possible or realistic, and the views of some who do not agree with the notion of compulsion have not yet been fully voiced.

It is an ongoing debate that has divided many New Zealanders in support of its implementation and those opposed to Te Reo being made compulsory.

e-Tangata Issue 7 October

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E-Tangata is produced by the Mana Trust, an independent charitable organisation focused on strengthening the Māori and Pasifika voice in New Zealand media.

This issue has articles on Minister Kris Faafoi, Maori perspectives on the Justice system. compulsory Te Reo, whether the Maori electorate decided the outcome of the 2017 election, how the Maori Party lost its way  ... and more, much more.   

I found an earlier article on Sir Tipene O'Regan of special interest because I worked with him in the 1960s.  His grandmother's saying raised a smile: "Forgive your enemies, but write down their names." A very wise woman!

Musician Moana Maniapoto asks how far Maori women have come

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Moana Maniapoto (Ngāti Pikiao, Tūhourangi-Ngāti Wahiao, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) reflects on the Black Pearls of Aotearoa, and asks, on the eve of our 125th anniversary of suffrage, how far have we come.

Black Pearl, precious little girl, let me put you up where you belong.

Black Pearl.  The 1969 hit for Sonny Charles and the Checkmates, was the song that kicked me into the musical spotlight in Aotearoa.

Read on

Massey to Invite Famous Rugby Player to Speak on Climate Change

Massey University Science Society is to invite Sony Bill Williams to speak on climate change.

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Why not?  Massey's Politics Society   invited Don Brash to speak when, whatever his topic, he would be sure to mention Hobson's Choice and the need to treat Maori "equally" -- confusing, as he always does, equality with sameness.     And this despite statistics showing many Maori "treated the same" are far from equal.  Think life expectancy, schooling, housing, employment, poverty, crime.

NZ's School System 'Racist' for Failing to Teach Colonial History: Academics

Two academics are claiming a subset of New Zealand teachers are refusing to teach the country's colonial history, reports Stuff. They're calling on the government to audit schools, and to survey schools on what exactly is in the history curriculum. The University of Canterbury academics say to not teach topics like the New Zealand wars is a dereliction of professional standards. -- The Spinoff 

(Click on Stuff above to listen to Minister of Education Chris Hipkins; and then read on.

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