TE PUTATARA

 

 

A Newsletter for The Maori Alliance
P.O.Box 408, Wellington

Issue No.1/89 - 22 January 1989

 


 

 

 

"Ki te whai te mana Maori motuhake i runga i te kotahitanga me te tino rangatiratanga i roto i Te Tiriti o Waitangi."

Ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi, tena koe.
Ki te kaupapa o Te Kotahitanga Maori, tena koe.
E nga iwi o te motu, e nga hau e wha,
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

 

 

 

 

 

1988 in Review: The Year of the Report

 

 

 

 

The Launching of a Newsletter

 

Twelve months ago the first issue of the newsletter was published. Some very cheeky editor wrote some very fine words on some scraps of paper and threw them into the information void.

Well, I can tell you now that the very first copy was sent to Koro Wetere's office, and the kumara vine immediately reported that a few days after he received it the Minister showed it to his senior advisor, Dr Tamati Reedy. Whatever was in it seemed to make him hoha; very, very, hoha! His reaction was such that hundreds of people wanted a copy just to see what all the fuss was about. The original fifty copies multiplied overnight, courtesy of the photocopiers of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Maori Public Service.

Kia ora Tamati. E hoa ma, thank you for making sure that we had a successful launch! We couldn't have done it without you. After twelve months Te Putatara is still here. And I confidently predict that in another twelve months Te Putatara will still be around.

 

The Maori Alliance

 

In February Te Hui Whakawa Taumata was held at Wahi Pa. This also raised the ire of Te Department (or at least Te Hekeretari). From this The Maori Alliance was launched, and as far as Te Department is (officially) concerned, it is the most studiously ignored organisation in all Maoridom. Well, Te Government has announced that Te Very Old and Venerable Department of Maori Affair is on it's way out! You can't ignore when you don't exist.

 

The Year of the Report

 

We had the April Report from the Royal Commission on Social Policy, the Muriwhenua Report from the Waitangi Tribunal, the Gibbs Report on Health, the Picot Report on Education, the Hawke Report on Tertiary Education, the Local Government Reform Report, the Resource Management Law Reform Report, the Earp Report on Youth, the Jackson Report on the Maori and the Criminal Justice System, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment's Report on Environmental Management and the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The good old Maori Affair managed to get two reports all for itself; He Tirohanga Rangapu and Te Urupare Rangapu.

The media and the parliament continued to dish out the Bad Mouth Those Maoris Report, but did you notice that this year they gave us a quiet Christmas? Must be saving it all up for Easter eh?

We had the State Sector Act, the Waitangi Tribunal Amendment Act, the Maori Trust Boards Amendment Act, but no Treaty of Waitangi Entrenchment Act.

Then we were consulted as well as insulted. We were consulted on Maori Affair, Youth Policy, Arts and Culture, Social Welfare, Te Kohanga Reo, Te National Museum, the State of the Prisons, and a hundred and one other things. The Pakeha has picked up a new trick and is trying to bore us into submission! Pai kare! I think he might too.

But noone was consulted over the MANA and MACCESS contracts; that was the big insult. E Koro, sometimes I think you'd be better off without a department to "help" you.

 

Nearly a New Year Knighthood

 

Last year Te Putatara wondered whether Alan Gibbs and Brian Picot would get to be called Sir Alan and Sir Brian. After all they both wrote reports for the two taniwha in Cabinet, Lange and Douglas.

Well Mr Picot has got his CMG and can now be called Nearly-Sir Brian. One day soon the Government will slip a big "K" in front of the CMG and turn him into a knight. But Te Prime Minister is probably casting spells to turn Mr Gibbs into a frog. To get his knighthood he will have to wait until Roger Douglas is Prime Minister or until hell freezes over, whichever is sooner. If you're a market zealot of the Libertarian Right Faith say a karakia for Nearly-Sir-Alan-In-Waiting, Mr Gibbs.

 

The Waitangi Tribunal

 

The Tribunal had a very big year with the excellent Muriwhenua Report sparking off a wave of red-necked racism, and setting the scene for the long-running fisheries negotiations by the NZ Maori Council, the Muriwhenua Incorporation, Ngai Tahu Maori Trust Board, and Tainui Maori Trust Board.

An Act in Parliament has increased membership of the Tribunal, and more money has been made available for claims research. The backlog of claims will still keep them busy for at least ten years.

 

New Maori Affairs Policy

 

In April "He Tirohanga Rangapu" was presented to Maoridom with much fanfare, pomp and ceremony. At that stage it contained vague promises but no substance other than the intent to phase out Te Department. Maoridom rightly interpreted it as another Pakeha con job and we all had a great time for a couple of months heaping abuse on the State Services Commission, Treasury, the Government, Cyclone Koro and Tawhiri Tamati. Don Hunn of the State Services Commission was roundly abused, and hopefully learned a valuable lesson about interfering in matters Maori.

Within one week The Maori Alliance published a critical analysis called "The Demolition" and distributed it throughout the motu. In at least two rohe it went out under the front cover of He Tirohanga itself! Some of you iwi are just too cheeky!

We all stoutly defended Te Department out of aroha. Te Department blithely interpreted this as a vote of confidence and promptly returned to it's bad old neo-colonial ways. So much for aroha. We won't make that mistake again will we? Don't bet on it!

Well, such was the uproar that Te Government did a little bit of listening, which is most unusual. In fact the Maori Affairs policy was one of the few that was changed as a result of representations by the people. Most of the other reports and "consultations" for Pakeha people were just exercises in propaganda. This one was designed to be the same but it didn't work eh.

Out came "Te Urupare Rangapu" in November. It was cleverly designed to pretend that no-one had changed their minds, and that the policy in the new booklet was just what had been intended in the first place. On the surface it appears to be quite a reasonable policy, and there lies it's ultimate fate. It is far too reasonable for racist New Zealand to implement in its entirety.

This policy will be allowed to become just empty promises, if we let them do it to us.

 

Ministry of Maori Affair

 

After much speculation schoolmaster John Clarke (Ngati Porou/Ngapuhi) was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the new Ministry, and takes up his appointment in July. We all must wish him well.

I would caution Maoridom not to expect bold new directions as the Ministry's first responsibility is to produce the policy that the politicians want, not what we want. The two are seldom the same. If and when National get in, watch out.

The most interesting thing about the appointment was not that John got the job, but the number of applicants who won't admit that they applied. The grapevine has supplied Te Putatara with the full list and it is very, very interesting. It is said that the list was whittled down to nine who were then interviewed and tested. Four went for final interview.

However it is my view that this job is not the most important. The real make or break job will be the Iwi Transition Agency.

 

Iwi Transition Agency

 

Herein lies the problem. The Agency will be based on the present Departmental staff who, at the senior levels, have already entrenched their neo-colonial attitudes. There are few senior staff of Grade 109 and above who wholeheartedly endorse the iwi initiatives of the last few years and place the welfare of the people before their own.

Iri Tawhiwhirangi, Ned Ihaka and Archie Taiaroa are the only ones who come readily to mind. The late Star Renata was another. Most of the rest seem more interested in maintaining their own careers, status, ego, and power bases. District Managers, who will be responsible for working for the iwi are noticeably recalcitrant, and are masters of ignoring change.

If I were to be appointed General Manager (most unlikely don't you think) I would negotiate my salary down to about $45,000 and limit all salaries to that level. That would sort out who wanted to stay and work for the people wouldn't it! And make more money available for salaries in the iwi.

At the next level there are a few more, with most of the staunch supporters of the iwi initiative in the junior ranks. It says something for the future but not much for the next five years. However there are some good and loyal Assistant Managers out there in the Districts. Tom Gemmell, Naureen Taylor, and Bill Hodges are good examples from Ngati Kahungunu, as is Louise Waaka from Te Arawa.

My advice is to be very careful in your dealings with the Agency and if you are not confident that they will serve you well, ditch them before they do any damage.

 

The Junior Staff

 

A big problem facing us is the number of rangatahi who could well be put out of their jobs in Te Department. It is not their fault that they have been poorly led and poorly trained. In fact it is not entirely Dr Reedy's fault either. The State Services Commission has been a very bad employer in regard to training Maori public servants (of all grades eh).

One of the things not generally acknowledged is that Dr Reedy inherited from Kara Puketapu a ship with a full head of sail but without a keel or any ballast at all. A most unstable vessel. Staff Training was and still is woeful. The backup management and administration systems were just not there to support the much acclaimed Tu Tangata programme.

The junior staff and their PSA representatives should now demand that staff training be given the highest priority so that the rangatahi have the skills to find good jobs in the State Sector, the Private Sector, or in the Iwi Sector. They must become skilled in research, writing, decision-making and management. They must also be computer literate.

All those things their elders and betters aren't!

 

Rangatiratanga

 

One of the big shifts which is happening as a result of the resurgence of the iwi is a return to the true meaning of rangatiratanga. Rangatiratanga can only be bestowed by whanau, hapu, and iwi. For many decades the Pakeha held this right of the iwi to ransom by supplanting the iwi with other organisations by legislation, or by recruiting within their own political structures.

It became possible to be a "rangatira" in the Maori World without serving time in hapu and whanau. A classic example is the way many Maori (male) staff of Te Department have built their "mana" around their jobs.

Hopefully the tyranny of the installed leadership will come to an end in 1989/90, and rangatiratanga will be returned to the iwi.

There are of course those who have legitimate claims to rangatiratanga regardless of the system in operation, but there are also illegitimate pretenders to Maori leadership who need to be subjected to the full scrutiny of their iwi.

Having said all that, I can now guarantee myself some very close and thorough scrutiny by Ngati Kahungunu!

Some things have to be said.

 

Some Recent Publications

 

Internal Affairs have published "Towards Community" which is an excellent summary of all sources of community funding and the criteria for getting it. Get a copy soon from the Government Printer or The Information Officer, Public Affairs Unit, Department of Internal Affairs, P.O.Box 805, Wellington.

"Te Iwi me te Taiao: Te Whakatau Hou a te Kawanatanga" is the latest report on Resource Management Law Reform. Submissions are due by 22 February. Copies available from Govt Printer or Resource Management Law Reform, Ministry for the Environment, P.O.Box 10362, Wellington. The iwi need to contribute to this issue.

"Environmental Management and the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi" is a report to Parliament on the Crown response to the recommendations of the Waitangi Tribunal 1983-1988, written by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. A very good report and an indictment of political and bureaucratic lethargy. Available from Govt Printer or Te Kaitiaki Taiao, P.O.Box 10-241, Wellington.

"Te Whaipanga Hou" Part 2 is Moana Jackson's report on the Maori and the criminal justice system. Whether your interest is limited to justice issues or to matters of general concern this is a valuable reference source and prescription for future action. Highly recommended. Available from Govt Printer or Policy & Research Division, Department of Justice, Private Box 180, Wellington.

 

The Year Ahead

 

1988 was certainly the year of the report. It was interesting to say the least, and on reflection a fairly good year for Maoridom. 1989 should be equally as interesting.

This year we will see the beginnings of the Great 1990 Election Year Buyoff and if the iwi are smart there will be some keep-quiet money available. The smarter the iwi the bigger the putea.

There is a very disturbing piece of news on the kumara vine that Cabinet is planning to clamp the lid down on iwi development in preparation for the election year.

Labour are sailing so close to the wind that all pundits are predicting their downfall in 1990. They will not be able to afford an anti-Maori vote so the story goes, and they have decided that they would rather have happy Pakeha and screaming Maori than the other way round.

All the more reason to play it smart and not give them any excuse to backtrack. Perhaps as part of a deal we can trade off Te Department/Te Agency in return for continued iwi development and a guarantee of no loss of resources? Mr Lange would dearly love to get rid of it. The good staff could be absorbed into Te Iwi Sector.

When it comes down to a choice between the iwi and the Department, or even the New Zealand Maori Council, there is no choice. The iwi is supreme. With all the faults of the iwi we are nothing without it. We may as well decide to be Pakeha, if we decide to go back to any form of government which does not recognise the iwi. It is worth going to war to keep the initiative going#

Kia ora koutou katoa,
Ross Himona

 


 

 

 

"Kapiti Hono, Tatai Hono"

 

 

 

Who are we? We are our whakapapa. From time immemorial, we are tangata whenua. We are our tipuna, and we are our mokopuna. We are Maori; kaumatua, pakeke, rangatahi, tamariki; tane, wahine.

Is that just who we are? Today we have also become tribal Maori and city Maori. We are labeled "activist/radical" or "ordinary" Maori. Who are we? Why should we know who we are?

If we are to join together to fight the common foe, we must first rediscover the ties that bind us. It is very easy to forget that there are many groups of Maori these days, and too often we assume that we are either actively Maori, or we are collaborators. Life has never been like that. There are never simple black and white answers.

It is also too easy to dismiss as unimportant those Maori who choose to completely discard tikanga Maori, and to follow tikanga Pakeha. But it is those very people who could defeat us if they chose to take an active role alongside the Pakeha. The Land Wars were not fought against the Pakeha alone. If Maoridom is to unite, this group must be identified and networked. It is no use haughtily dismissing Winston Peters as a lackey of the Pakeha, for he is not just drawing support from the Pakeha. He also represents the feelings of a significant group of Maori, distasteful though that may seem to many. They are potentially dangerous.

They can only be networked by their whanau. The whanau is the very bastion of Maori society, and those who have lost their mana Maori are those who have lost their whanau. As many as possible must be reclaimed.

Another group are those who live mainly in the towns and cities, who identify as Maori, who generally follow tikanga Maori, and generally follow tikanga Pakeha too; but who do not keep in regular contact with their iwi, hapu, and whanau. This is a very large group. It is they who will decide whether this country becomes more Pakeha or more Maori in the years ahead. They are the middle ground, and they are the hearts and minds for which the major battles will be fought.

Their hearts and minds will not be won by empty rhetoric. Nor will they be won in the High Court, or at the Waitangi Tribunal. They will be won either by Pakeha status and money, or by the networking of their whanau.

We are regularly told by Bob Jones, Sir Robert Muldoon, and a host of other self-appointed experts, that those among us who vocally pursue Maori issues are a radical, greedy, unrepresentative minority. We are regularly assailed by the assertion that there are no full-blood Maori in existence, and therefore no "real" Maori. We are probably most of us part-Pakeha, but they insist that we have to be part-Maori. Bob Jones has even told his "Dominion" readers that our tribes do not exist! There are probably some Maori who agree with him.

But the heartland of Maoridom is as strong as it ever was. There are probably more Maori today who actively retain their links with whanau, hapu, and iwi than there were when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. The marae base is strong. The heartland is strong. It is from this platform that all battles must be fought, and from which the networks must reach out to the other groups, to draw them in, to add even more strength to the base. Just as important, they must reach out to rob the other side of those Maori who might work against us.

There are more than enough loyal Maori carrying the battle to the Pakeha in the media, in the courts, and in the halls of power. [And in newsletters!]. There are sometimes too many. You cant hear yourself think for the noise!

Those of you back home on the marae often feel that all you can do is sit and watch as events are decided in Wellington. Sometimes you feel powerless to do anything. Sometimes you get hoha with your kaumatua and rangatira who are saying and doing things on your behalf. Sometimes you don't know how you can help.

But yours is the most important job of all.

Yours is the task of protecting the base. The task of seeking out lost and wayward members of your whanau and bringing them back to Maoridom. Yours is the task of strengthening the links in your whanau, between your whanau and the next, and between your hapu and the next. The task of building the strength of the iwi. Leaders only lead. The flaxroots are the real strength.

You are the networkers of Maoridom. And it is by your networking that we will win.

I believe that the first priority for resources is not land claims, fishing claims, or employment creation. The first priority is networking; maintaining, enlarging, and strengthening the base. In most iwi there are masses of people who do not know what is going on because no one has told them, or because their leaders think they are too dumb to understand.

People who are not included will eventually find another parade; and the only other parade in Aotearoa belongs to the Pakeha. Iwi Authorities must spend much more time and money helping the whanau and marae do their job, for if they fail, we all fail#

 


 

 

 

 

More on the Iwi Transition Agency

 

 

 

The kumara vine reports that, as usual, the powers that be in Te Capital are keeping all decisions to themselves in trying to decide how to go about setting up this most unusual of government structures.

The Agency just will not work unless the iwi have a big say in it right from the very start. It is being set up to help develop the iwi, and surely only the iwi can decide what they want it to do, how they want it done, and who they want to be in the Agency to help them do it.

Any other approach, such as the backroom secrecy of the last two years, should be roundly condemned by the iwi#

 

Kim Workman (Assistant Secretary & King of the Auckland Region, DMA) revealed at Te Runanganui O Ngati Kahungunu that he was able to be seconded back to Ngati Kahungunu, at a reduced salary, if of course Ngati Kahungunu had a position for him to occupy.

I don't question my whanaunga Kim's motives in standing for the Chair of Te Runanganui O Ngati Kahungunu, but I do begin to wonder whether this might not be an SSC and Maori Affairs plot to install loyal and "politically correct" office holders in some of the more powerful iwi#

 


 

 

 

"Ka Pu te Ruha, Ka Hao te Rangatahi"

 

 

 

At the 1986 Census there were 403,182 persons of Maori descent resident in Aotearoa.

* 155,100 (or 38.47%) under the age of 15.

* 248,553 (or 61.64%) under the age of 25.

* 284,511 (or 70.56%) under the age of 30.

That leaves just a few of us over 30.

* 118,671 (or 29.44%) over 30.

* 69,786 (or 17.32%) over 40.

* 38,556 (or 9.57%) over 50.

Which is the most important group in Maoridom?

In recent months the rangatahi have been organising, and runanga rangatahi have sprung up all over the place. This is the most healthy happening in Maoridom for a good many years. And what is more, there are heaps of young and talented leaders, male and female, already shining through.

Some of them have picked up bad habits from their elders, such as resource-snatching, bad-mouthing the opposition, and power-seeking through control of resources and information. However in the main they seem to be networkers rather than power-grabbers.

They will need to be, for their generation is the middle ground, and if they decide in their thousands to reject tikanga Maori, we will be lost.

In our generations we have tended to be power seekers. We have fought over the scraps, and we have not allowed others to share what little power we have had. We have tried to rob our women of their power. We have not groomed successive leaders. If we are not very careful, and if we do not work for and with this large group of rangatahi, they will organise underneath us and knock us off our perches. And we will thoroughly deserve to be knocked off.

By sheer weight of numbers they will soon be electing the Iwi Authorities! At the next Maori Trust Boards elections there could well be a few changes in store.

If we truly believe in working for our mokopuna and not for ourselves the rangatahi do not pose a threat. In fact they are, by their weight of numbers and by their wealth of talent and ability, a potent weapon for the future. It is our duty to nurture and prepare them for the tasks ahead.

They should therefore be helped to network deep into the iwi, in the cities as well as the tribal areas. Their organisations should be helped to become strong and unified. They should have whanau, hapu, and iwi support. The emphasis must be on "help" and "support". They have more than enough education and knowledge to control their own affairs without our generation attempting to manipulate them to increase our own personal power bases.

To prepare our organisations to survive into the future the rangatahi should be brought into management roles as soon as possible so that by the time they take over they will be well grounded in the way of Maori business and politics. This generation also includes young Maori women leaders who are recognised as leaders by their male contemporaries, and who will not be left out. Iwi Authorities could well come under serious and direct challenge to their male bastions in the not too distant future. To deny these young women access to policy and decision making will be to deny our future.

The rangatahi are not just a means of ensuring our future. They are also a weapon which has the potential to defeat opposition to Maori aspirations, and to install the Treaty of Waitangi in the constitutional framework. We have talked in recent years of the Maori Renaissance, but the most we can honestly claim to have achieved is a Pre-Renaissance awakening. We are not there yet. The rangatahi have all that is necessary to create the Renaissance. They have the numbers, the talent, the education, the vision, and the motivation.

If they apply the same methods as we have, they will never make it.

The laws of Tangaroa do not change. It is eternally true of the kahawai, that no matter what their number, and no matter how swift, or how smart they may be, they are swallowed by the shark.

But the shark falls victim to the net. Ka Whakahao Te Rangatahi#

 


 

 

 

 

Ngati Kahungunu Elections

 

 

 

 

Te Runanganui O Ngati Kahungunu elections on 21 January were a good example of the rangatahi flexing it's muscle. Some talented young men and women have won their way through to office at Taiwhenua and Runanganui level, and with the (temporary) retirement of Peter Sharples, a strong challenge was mounted on the Chairmanship and Deputy Chairmanship. Rangatiratanga held firm, but it was an exciting hui. Charlie Mohi is in the chair, Tom Gemmell his deputy#

 


 

 

 

 

Look in the bed, not under it!

 

 

 

This article is written by a retired NZ Army officer who served Queen and Country diligently and honourably for twenty years at peace and at war; an officer and a gentleman (mostly), a pillar of the establishment (Still, I tell you! Still!).

For all of those twenty years the official "enemies" of the state were the communists, and other less than loyal fellow travelers of the left. We were as a nation urged to beware of the red menace (Reds under the Bed) and the yellow peril. At various times these took the form of Russians, Chinese, and Vietnamese. At home we were warned of the evil Ken Douglas and arch-commo Bill Anderson of the Socialist Unity Party, and of the Communist Party of New Zealand.

The preoccupation with the "enemies of the left" reached its heights in the prosecution/persecution of Dr William Sutch by the government of the day for his alleged collaboration with the Russians. A former senior public servant, Sutch was presumed to have left his proteges buried deep in the public service, and after his public denunciation the Government went to great lengths to root out his influence.

Sir Robert Muldoon made an art form of commie-bashing (along with academic bashing, economist bashing, journalist bashing, union bashing, anti-tour activist bashing, and Maori activist bashing). Unionist turned capitalist Rob Campbell was consigned by public condemnation to surreptitious membership of the Socialist Unity Party for daring to stand up to Muldoon.

Well? After all those years of vigilance did New Zealand survive the holocaust?

After three decades of disastrous economic management, by both National and Labour, the social cohesion of the country is close to destruction.

Ironically the coup de grace was delivered not by our traditional enemies on the extreme left, but by our "friends" in the extreme centre and on the extreme right.

Close to 200,000 will soon be unemployed, the farming sector all but collapsed, the manufacturing sector is reeling, the sharemarket has crashed, untold thousands of small investors have lost their life's savings, some of the largest companies in the country have collapsed or lost millions of other people's money, and there is more to come. [As the final edit is being done Equitycorp crashes]. The nation's capital assets have been stripped. Muldoon's "ordinary blokes" and their families are hurting - deeply.

Maoridom again bears the brunt of it, and the Pakeha politician drags up his trustworthy "race relations" drum to beat. It takes people's minds off the real issues.

Dr Bill Sutch was robbed of his reputation, and eventually his will to live. His followers were hounded from the public service. Even if he was guilty as Muldoon has avowed, history will record that he did little real long term harm to the nation.

Senior public servant Dr Graham Scott and senior quasi public servant Dr Rodney Deane of the libertarian right are still at large, both hugely rewarded for their contributions to the state of the nation today. The grapevine reports that with salary and perquisites they are both close to $250,000 per annum. No wonder they keep their salaries secret!

Sir Robert Muldoon, Roger Douglas, Richard Prebble and Trevor de Cleene have all fallen from grace, but their many supporters on both sides of the House remain in power.

And so to the Treaty of Waitangi.

If the Treaty is ratified and entrenched as constitutional law:

* Will it cause the collapse of the economy?

* Will it cause the collapse of the farming sector?

* Will it cause the collapse of the manufacturing sector?

* Will it cause 200,000 to become unemployed?

* Will it lead to a sharemarket crash?

* Will it cause the country's small investors to lose their life's savings?

* Will it cause another 50,000 to become homeless?

* Will people lose their homes or livelihoods because of it?

No! A thousand times, no!

Let those who would find a new enemy in the guise of Maoridom beware. Beware, for the real enemy is closer to home. Look in the bed as well as under it. That is the lesson of the last thirty years for Pakeha New Zealand#

 


 

 

The Dungeon Bar Dispatches will be back in February. The Editor has been on the wagon for New Year! Did you hear that a New Year's Devolution is a New Year's Resolution you don't intend to keep?

 

Keep up with the news. A Subscription to Te Putatara is $45 for twelve issues. Send to The Editor, Te Putatara, P.O.Box 408, Wellington#


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