The Political Debate: Or Vote For Me Because..........

The Debate:

I missed half of the great debate last night between Cunnliffe and Keys but what I heard was not well controlled by Hoskings. I confess at the outset that I do have a biass towards Cunnliffe and Labour, and I did think that his telling remark to finish off the debate was that National is the past and Labour is the future. After 6 years of borrowing Keys promises a small surplus and repayment of debt. Labour had 9 years of surpluses. They repayed debt only to see National's borrowing for a "rockstar economy." Their rowing advert shows the rowers with their backs to the future and their faces to the past. But that's just my opinion.

Maori Debate:

I liked the Taihauaru debate of the candidates and yes, McKenzie fared better in that one for the Maori Party. However I suspect that Tariana Turia's legacy still reverberates. McKenzie will reap the benefit of that. It's similar to that of Rino Tirikatene the sitting MP  for Te Tai Tonga who is part of the Tirikatene legacy going back to Sir Eruera Tirikatene and his daughter Whetu. Rino will win again. I felt aroha for Georgina Beyer who I thought was a good Labour MP but she stood out in the debate compared to the rest. She had to explain why she was forced by party discipline to vote for the FS&SB Bill. Had all the Maori MPs representing Maori seats voted against that legislation the outcome would have been different.

The Polls:

I have given up on these  and the only one that will count will be election day. I can't assess their accuracy. Surely pollsters samples are based on access to subjects (why am I not rung up by them and not by somebody who wants to sell me something?) which cohort of the population, where they live, etc etc.  The biggest factor in the election is the turnout on the day. A 90% plus turn out will see a Labour led government. We used to have those in the past. A low turn out will see the forces of the right supported by Cameron Slater the winners. However, e hoa ma, HAERE KI TE POOTI.

Oops:

Judith Collins is gone by lunch time! My lunch time that is. I had that at 1.30pm. I don't know what the reason was but looks like it was one email too many. She didn't help matters with her arrogant smarts and simply bad, bad, attitude. To make matters worse she and some followers were planning to replace Key with her. For goodness sake, even National doesn't deserve that. Anyway good riddance and so far it's the best policy National has announce in this election campaign so far.

Can We Talk Policy, Please?

The last two weeks reminds me of the time when I was a new activist in the Labour Party. I went to my first Annual Conference and although I was a branch secretary of a general electorate, I became a member of the Maori Policy Committee of the party. I assumed that the whole purpose of the committee was like the name said; POLICY. Instead the meetings for three nights resulted in a wrangle over who should be the new Chair person because the current one was in South Africa on behalf of the NZ Rugby Union! Those of us who were new to "politics" were stunned. However, on the last night at midnight we finally got to write policy for the Conference that morning. It took us one hour.

Now forget the hornets nest disturbed by Hager and Slater and korero policy, all be it briefly;

Tax: No civilised society can survive without a fair tax system. Increase income taxes for those who can afford more and decrease taxes for those well under the average income. Stop tax avoidance and close those loop holes. There should be no income tax for those under $20k especially if the GST is to be retained at 15%. There has to be a capital gains tax. Also profits made in NZ should have an extra tax before they are remitted off shore. Don't let profits from overseas investment leave without a substantial royalty for NZ.

Education: NZ has had for most of the last century, a well funded, and egalitarian education system. My experience as a teacher is that smaller classes results in better education outcomes at all levels. The learning and teaching process enables more participation of learners and those with learning difficulties are best taught in smaller classes.  It pays at teen age levels to go from fundamental and generic knowledge and skills to vocational and tertiary skills and experience.  However, a learners future is not only to get a job. History, (including the Treaty of Waitangi and Land Wars of the 19th Cebtury), politics, civics, culture, languages and media are also part of an adult future.

Health: NZ has a well developed health system of private and public provision; We should continue with what we have done well and focus more on the health of babies, children and youth as well as the old. Certain diseases should be targeted especially as they effect those in poverty, and as obesity proliferates, measures to combat it should be a higb priority. 

Employment: It's not enough to blame off shore market forces for pricing us out of jobs. It shouldn't stop us from achieving full employment again; We must add value to raw materials like logs,  dairy products and any other of our agricultural and forestry products. Also it's a no brainer if we build our own railway rolling stock instead of buying cheap Chinese ones that break down. Adding value increases the number of jobs. Innovations in technology, science and transport should also create more jobs.  The retention of state assets also are more likely to generate employment than privatizing them.

The Economy: Free trade is all very well if it applies to all our trading partners; The market is largely a failure and has resulted in a huge awning gap between rich and poor. There's no question about that. However to redress the balance requires an economic rather than only a fiscal redistribution of wealth. We must diversify our economy and open overseas markets especially those that have barriers to our products. Also its no use gambling on striking oil, gas or some other get rich quick product from the ground or sea bed. It's better to diversify what we grow on the land. 

These are just some thoughts about policy from the top of my head as the election approaches. Don't forget. Look at the policies leaders and parties are presenting. Vote for the policies you agree with as well as the parties and leaders. But VOTE anyway.

Dirty Politics; Is There Any Other Kind?

As my mate on facebook (Gavin) says; "Dirty Politics is old crap." After watching the PM squirm nightly on TV about whether he actually got the letter from the SIS Director about Goff's communication with the SIS which was passed on to the Big Boy Slater or whether his office wallars got it, is almost as good as Coronation St. if you are not a fanatical Nat. The substance is long forgotten but I still remember the Ena Sharples of politics; Rob Muldoon. Gav; the difference is the internet politics of today. The two Big Boys (Slater and Kim) can apparently either hack other people's emails or develop some nasties based on them and actually get some other people to give them money for it. 

Nicky Hager has done in this book what he did in "The Hollow Men;" tell us how modern communications in secret, political spins and strategies especially of the right from the US has impacted on the political scene. Frankly, it's very cynical stuff and the values base derived from the gutter. This is not a left wing conspiracy as the PM mantras. It's simply investigative journalism in a democracy. I have yet to get a copy of the book but if "The Hollow Men" is anything to go by........That book's references were also full of emails.

If you are a politician then power is all important. You get that by persuading as many as possible to vote for you and your particular ideology and interests you have in common with others in an organised party. Or maybe you simply have a lust for power or a genuine urge to serve your fellow citizens. If you want political office bad enough then you need advisors and strategists. When they play dirty they are doing it for you and the cause. How much of it sticks to you is your problem, Mr. Keys.

By the way, there's an election soon. My young brother used to say to me; "I don't care who you vote for as long as it's Labour." I did too for many years and was for a while an active member. That changed under "Rogernomics" and his Act Party mates. I have never missed an election since I was old enough to vote. It's more important that we vote rather than which party we vote for. It's not easy to scrutinize all policy offers or know about costs etc. I suggest that you at least look at education, health, and employment policies. And spare a thought for young and old. While global economic developments have a huge impact on NZ's economy, parties must not use that as an excuse. Rogernomics opened us up to every hiccup from London, the EU and Wall St. We are NOT a rock star economy. We were once in the top 5 and NO; we are not growing faster than any OECD nation because we have a lot of catching up to do. We are in serious debt. Na reira kaua e wareware. Haere ki te pooti.

Kia Ora: Nihao

In spite of the road closure at Brinderwyn on SH1 Northland I managed to get home to Haititaimarangai Marae on Friday 25th July for a Kaumatua Lunch organised by Keri-Ngawai and a wananga on the following Saturday:

First the Lunch-Hakari: I thought I was late for the hakari but Timoti Hetaraka the Minita, kai korero and MC was just winding up as I walked into the whare at the end of the whakangahau. It was great to see Dr Bruce Gregory our former MP for Tai Tokerau. The last time I saw him in our whare was the week after he was elected and Sir Graham Latimer got his knighthood. They both attended that meeting and I can't remember what it was for. Dr. Gregory was the MP who promoted the bill which saw Te Reo Maori becoming an official language of NZ. Great also to see Myra Berghan and so many others. The whare was full and so was the wharekai later. Nga mihi ki nga ringa wera me nga kai mahi ki roto i te kauta.

The Wananga: This was in the form of four workshops discussing the pluses and minuses of the developments proposed at Carrington Farms Ltd by the new owners with regards to the impacts in terms of: Economic, Cultural, Social, and Environmental. Each of the four groups circulated until all topics were discussed and the leaders recorded the feed back and presented it at the end. This is a good wananga or hui format mainly because everyone has a say or an input. It's not the usual hui format where a few speakers can dominate and the flow of ideas are therefore restricted. Briefly some questions and comments arose:

Economic Impacts: Will employment opportunities increase? Obviously yes and the new owners have already put full and part time workers on contracts which didn't happen before. The Chinese owners can do what the previous owners couldn't which is to increase the numbers of its golfing tourists from China. This will provide employment as the numbers of acomodation units increases. However, are these jobs sustainable? Also will workers be replaced by Chinese workers? What will be the impact on the local and national economy?

Cultural Impacts: Will the Carrington Resort and property be covered with Chinese signs? My group thought that any signs should be in Te Reo, English and Chinese. To what extent will the immediate community be affected by the presence of  new people in terms of tikanga? Will they bring in Maori artifacts made in China? Will there be opportunities for the tangata whenua arts and crafts to be made, displayed and sold by the resort?

Social Impacts: Will there be opportunities for social interaction with these tourists and in what form? 

Environmental Impacts: Will the new developments intrude on the local landscape and affect the ecology, such as waterways, the water quality, native or indigenous plants and animals, etc? What will the impact of many more tourists have on Karikari, Tokerau, Merita and other beaches? What about our local fishery? Will golfing tourists have time for fishing? Will they raid our kai moana?

There are many more thoughts, concerns and questions expressed at the wananga. Most of us were expressing ideals rather than realities which is fine. There's time for us to work out the realities. For example how good were we at looking after our environment before one Chinaman or woman set foot on the old Parakerake Block that our tupuna sold in 1868? I urge our steering committee of Simon, Trevor, Hori, and Karena to establish a list of provisos which the new owners would need to meet before Haititaimarangai Marae people will support any change in resource consents already granted. We also reserve the right to invite any other Ngati Kahu Marae to lend their support if we need it. However we deal with Carrington Farms under our own mana whenua which is Te Whanau Moana and more specifically Te Rorohuri or the descendants of Te Pari who traditionally had the mana of that whenua.

Naku na Atihana. 

So This Is Matariki

Click on Picture to Enlarge:

According to Ranginui this is Matariki or the group of stars that appear to start the Maori New Year. I must confess. As a Maori, Matariki the stars and the Maori Tau Hou have only recently seeped into my consciousness in the last say 10 of my 77 years on Papatuanuku. And yet for as long as I can remember the name Patia O Matariki has been part of my placename vocabulary. Again, only recently I discovered what the name meant in the course of my research for the book "Nga Tapuwae O Hinetewai."

Click Onto The Picture to Enlarge:

Patia O Matariki or Patia for short is the place/bay/beach behind our marae Haititaimarangai. The high hill behind it is the pa/headland (below). The marae is visible in the left corner. The little hump jutting out into the sea is Te Tuuta which was well known to the French De Surville Expedition who drew a sketch of it. The other end of the beach/bay is another headland and ridge called Matariki. The Parakerake Block subdivision stops along this ridge at Matariki Place that joins the Whatuwhiwhi road down to the marae. As you drive down from Matariki Place you will see "Pari Raharuhi's House" (still standing) and Takapu Urupa. About level with Pari's house there used to be a path off on the right which led us  to a grass clearing and a small peach orchard about halfway down from Matariki Place and up from Patia Beach. That was Matariki Pa. 

(Below: This pa is between the caravan and the houses above.)

Click on to enlarge:

Now the full meaning of Patia O Matariki is The Pa Where Matariki Shows (tia). I don't know how often a wananga was held to observe the tia of Matariki but I do know that the last one was held in 1924 at Matariki Pa. The Tohunga who took that wananga was Honetana Papahia. I don't know who attended nor what the kaupapa or matauranga of the wananga was. Honetana was also an Anglican Minister and a descendant of Wharewhare.

I Have Been Thinking.......

You may have been wondering about all this korero in politics such as left, centre and right. Back in the day left meant various ideologies from Communism (extreme left) to Socialism (left) and Social Democracy (centre left). Labour straddled the centre left. The extreme right meant Fascism, right meant capitalism and centre right meant capitalism plus social conservatism. National straddled the centre right. 

That was then. Since the introduction of "more market", the selling off of state assets, and something called neo-liberalism , but was introduced by Labour and continued enthusiastically by National, the economic and political concepts of left and right have become blurred. Under a first past the post system of elections this ideology which purports to come from Milton Friedman of the USA (extreme market) was cemented into the economic and political korero of our time. However the impact of this ideology has resulted in the rich getting richer, the poor numbers increasing dramatically and the cost of housing increasing. 

The introduction of MMP and the growth of minor parties has highlighted the excesses of capitalism. Minor parties have introduced into politics those issues like the environment, tangata whenua interests, New Zealand as distinct from global issues, that would otherwise have been ignored ahead of major party concerns that cover the broad spectrum of centre-left and centre-right. 

An Economic Activity: 

Our tupuna harvesting kumara in a largely subsistence

economy of those times.

These trends of course are determined by major economic and social change since the hey day of Labour and National governments from 1935. The "working class" are no longer only the skilled and unskilled. Technical knowhow and the explosion of skills has multiplied a hundred fold. The middle class are now richer. As we all know the days of full employment and cheap housing are long gone. We do have an "under class" who are the poor as defined by level of income and the unemployed. 

I am not trying to tell you who to vote for but as you know we now have choices. Most important on election day however is: VOTE. KAUA E WAREWARE. KAUA E MANGERE. If you don't vote then don't moan. 

Catching Up; After Google Glitches

I have finally got my blog back in order to post more korero. What a performance! The trouble is I was asked by the system to change my email from msn to outlook. Don't ask me why. It's one of the mysteries I am too hoha to work out. However and I don't know why I got my blog back after many frustrating weeks. This is no excuse for not blogging. It's the truth. Am I too old for all this mod technology?

What's Been Happening?

Well a lot actually. The Runanga in it's cause celebre against Carrington Farms Ltd; did get it's day in the Supreme Court over the Ana O Taitehe affair to do with a resource consent matter. Then the new owners from China arrived and things changed. Given that the Chinese such as Mr. Guang Liu have been in the political spot light lately with all that dosh, it's hard to access the impact the arrival of the new owners of Carrington Farms will have. No doubt within the Karikari-Whatuwhiwhi Peninsular it could be major, but as long as pragmatic heads rule the day on our side (Haititaimarangai Marae and Te Whanau Moana-Te Rorohuri) then the relationship and outcomes should be positive.  On the other hand if the Runanga A Iwi O Ngati Kahu goes on another cause celebre like the last one then there could be some fun. The Runanga has not yet withdrawn its case, but no doubt it will once it has what it's leaders want.(Yen?)

Labour is down in the dumps but fighting back. It's amazing how much money has become involved in our politics. The Big Kim Dot.com has paid $3m into the newly formed Internet.Mana Party. For a small party that's a lot of dosh, not to mention Mr. Liu's yen. However some $100k to Labour seems to be in doubt and part of Mr. Liu's excessive accounting. No wonder the major parties especially of the right are worried. National however is so far ahead of Labour (50% -23%) I doubt if all the money in the world is going to change the fact that they should. The only interest will be the cuppa tea arrangements if they happen again. Good on Labour for not making cups of tea for any other party.