Rugby World Cup: A circus or what?

Like most post WW Two boys I was rugby mad but living in a rural back water by the sea we did have heaps of other activities to interest us, winter and summer. We followed North Auckland and the NZ Maoris avidily. At Te Aute College it was one of three compulsory subjects; that, English and Maori at least to Form Four. Fron 155 boys between 1952-56 we managed to field eight teams regularly every Saturday on the train to Hastings. The First 15 had a number of rugby tours around the country. In my day we played in the curtainraiser for the Springbok-NZ Universities game at Athletic Park in 1956. Not a protester in sight. After a stint in Senior B rugby in Auckland and country rugby I more or less gave it up at the age of 24 except for stints of coaching school boy teams, selecting and finally coaching under 21 teams at Waikato University I gave it up and became a TV spectator. All this involvement was voluntary and for interest and enjoyment.

The big change came with pro-rugby and competitions like Super 14 and World Cups. The game it seems has become a corporate one where regional loyalties are lost in favour of Super Team franchises. Team names are now brand names like Hurricanes, Blues, Crusaders, Chiefs and Highlanders. It is globalized, glamorized, and celebrity-fied; vehicles for advertising and selling merchandise.Before long the Super 14 franchises will be sold. Rugby in fact has been homogenized much like a McDonalds menu. Frankly, this to me a country boy who was privileged to see Colin Meads getting ordered off on his home ground, is too much. The hype surrounding the World Cup therefore makes me sick of it already and I wish it would hurry up so we can focus on far more important things like who is going to govern us after it. It seems to me to be all part of the malaise NZ is in. In medieval Europe the rulers whenever the peasants were starving and beginning to revolt, used to invite a circus into town to entertain them and make them forget that they had no bread. In political and economic terms isn't that what NZ has become?

Ngati Kahu Claim Through At Last?

I want to think that it is, after the meeting with The Minister of Treaty Settlements last Saturday at Toatoa. I did try to get to an iwi meeting at Taipa the previous Saturday but I had car trouble in Auckland. I didn't know about the Toatoa hui. It seems that it is a partial settlement proposal only involving the AIP between Ngati Kahu and the Crown at Kareponia following the five iwi forum set up at Waimanoni. My opinion is that if it is that based on that AIP, then I am in favour of it; ie

> Rangiputa Block

> Kohumaru Forest and Land Corp land

> Co- Management of DOC land and more of this back in "fee simple."

> Cultural redress of at least $15m

> Cash to buy back schools police stations and other assets and lease them back.

My stipulation would be that as the claim is made in the name of Ngati Kahu then all Ngati Kahu benefits including those like Ngati Tara Parapara and Te Paatu Kauhanga who have put in other claims. Those should be separate from the AIP claim. It is not their fault nor the Runanga's that these claims have been made since. They should be allowed to pursue them with our blessing. The fact that Parapara protested at the AIP hui should not mean that they are NOT included. For the sake of unity and whanaungatanga we should forgive and forget.

Which brings me back to the five iwi Forum and the cross claims. Kauhanga and Te Paatu should be allowed to continue with the other iwi to pursue common claims to do with Maunga Taniwha. If we are not prepared to share Rangiputa and Kohumaru with the other whanaunga then we are not entitled to Te Aupouri Forest and Te Oneroa A Tohe or a share in any other assets not in our rohe. Our interests in Te Oneroa for example can be handled by Ngati Moroki of Ahipara and our marae of Korou Kore. The hassles that prompted the walkout by Ngati Kahu has destabilized the Forum and were of Ngati Kahu's inability to think kotahitanga and whanaungatanga. We also walked out of Muriwhenua back in the day but the irony is that our Ngati Kahu claim is based on the same Wai 45 but this time signed by someone who wasn't a part of it at the time. Ah well....that's hitori.

Governance: A Ngati Kahu Settlement Trust; This should be set in place by an Act of Parliament. It's purpose is to hold all assets and cash until a Governance and Commercial Structure is establish by the iwi according to rules and regulations established by the said Act.

This protects not only the iwi interests as beneficiaries but also establishes transparent accountable and commercial and professional management of the assets and cash. It also establishes dispute resolution processes for the beneficiaries.

A Cause Celebre; Finding Tapu Places On Pakeha Land

Doubleclick to enlarge map.

Where I come from there's a block of land called Parakerake which was sold by two tupuna vendors in 1868 but the title didn't change hands until 1872 because it was subject to the "Fraud Preventions Act." Only two of the 10 tupuna on the Crown grant "got the money" according to the son of one of them. Anyway once a Mr. Corchrane the purchaser got the title (the Crown's Treaty right of prevention was waived at the time) he sold it. This whenua changed hands many times until "Carrington Farms Ltd" an American company bought it and developed a farm, tourist hotel, golf course, vinyard complete with a winery and continued with the subdivisions begun by the previous owners. What was once a gum field dug over by Maori and Dalmation whanau including mine. It was also unfenced winter grazing for stock.

However, when the owners began to subdivide a portion for 12 house sites overlooking Karikari Beach and the Puheke wetland, the Runanga of Ngati Kahu objected on the grounds that there was a wahi tapu called Te Ana O Taite which they claimed was a cavern under the said subdivision and they produced a map which showed it allegedly at least half a kilometre long. Firstly, the tangata whenua do not have a tupuna by that name. The correct name is Taitehe. Secondly the said ana was a crevice in the bank below the subdivision. This whole and utter nonsence became a cause celebre for the Runanga and its leader. Objections were made before the Far North District Council. The non-notifiable consent was upheld. Then it went to the Environment Court and again was upheld. An attempt to apply for a High Court injunction against the subdivision was again dismissed. The aggrieved appelants are now seeking a High Court hearing on the matter having wasted the iwi's resources, money and time on an ego trip. The korero now prevalent is that the Runanga is trying to get back Parakerake Block under its Treaty claims.

The fact is that there are many former burial grounds on the Karikari Peninsular mainly in the many sand dunes on land that is under Maori, Crown and general title. As Christianity encroached on our burial customs tohunga and clergy lifted the tapu on these places and we developed church style cementaries. Many of these sand burial places are mentioned in Native Land Court records. Also the use of iron digging tools allowed us to dig through the clay pan.

The "Ana O Taitehe" controversy is nothing but hypocracy and misuse of tikanga by people who are not tangata whenua. There was a good case for objecting to the said subdivision based on the environmental impacts of development which are already visible. The main culprit has been Crown agencies like Lands and Survey, and DOC. Had they pursued these issues they may have had more support especially from the Conservation Movement. However once they got the "Taite Buzz" they were away. Currently the Runanga according to their minutes is attempting to collect money from their constituent marae and from the money and assets they hold on behalf of Ngati Kahu. I doubt if this move is constitutional. Finally in any objections to development there's no need to tell blatant lies. Common sense, a knowledge of environmental impacts, tangata whenua appreciation of ones ukaipo, and a history of a particular place would have served the Runanga better.

The Political Spring

What a month this has been politically! The Hone Harawira split with the Maori Party had been boiling for sometime. Now it's official. There's also a new party (Mana) led by Hone, some Maori intellectuals, socialists and unionists, and some of the same disaffected that began the Maori Party. Not to be outdone, the Brash Don rears his ugly ideology again kicks Hyde's butt right out of the Act Party and is voted in as the new UPOKO without a seat in Parliament! Phew! So that's what the far right means by "democracy". At least Hone has forced a by-election to give Tai Tokerau a democratic choice.

Already Act's gone up in the polls and Mana is at least registering below the margin of error. What happens if Act gets 5-6 seats and Mana 3-4? It's going to be a very interesting result. Hone thinks that Labour will in spite of what they say now, be ringing him to be part of a coalition. I doubt it. They will be seated on the cross benches. Act will be different. National will let them into government but put them on a short leash. What about the Maori Party? What's left of them will go with the government which ever one. And don't forget New Zealand First and the Greens.

The next parliament will be a very different if unruly beast. And who knows, we might get a better government out of it. There is also an unknown party of ethnic minorities who may be able to break party restrictions and vote in their own minority interests. If Brash starts picking on Maori those in National, Labour and other parties may join forces.

Kia Ora Mai Ano

My apologies first of all for disappearing from view. I found it hard to continue this and for some reason I couldnt post anything. However now that I can and I don't know why I will try and catch up not only with current stuff but project into the future.

Another Police Raid?

This time it might happen in Te Whanau A Apanui. Why? Because they are adamantly apposed to drilling for oil off East Cape by a Brazilian Company. On what grounds would this raid be justified? Haua hoki. They've tried the Terrorism buzz in Tuhoe. That is now reduced to mere arms charges. And that was nearly four years ago now. Apparently it takes that long to gather evidence. There must have been heaps of ak47s, bazookas, etc hidden in the Urewera Forest. How does a blogger "Maui" know? He alleges that Maori police from Te Whanau A Apanui have been approached. They have refused. He also alleges that ALL phones in the region are tapped. Gioven today's spy technology that is possible but hard to prove. Anyway I say bring it on. Thanks to what happened in Tuhoe that iwi will be prepared and theNinjas in their black suits will be laughed out of the coast by every kid there who watched the local movie "Boy". So get the video cameras out and be ready.

Maori Review

Maori Review

Politics In NZ; The Winter of Our Discontent

It seems that the Labour Govt. can do no right and the National Opposition can do no wrong at least since they rid themselves of the Brash Don. The new leader John Keys the golden boy from posh Parnell has cleansed the party of all hints of racism for which Brash tried to conjure up in the form of inuendoes (Maoris get special treatment etc and other crap not backed up by facts) and seems to have cleaned that slate white. Brash went "by lunch time" and left to the political language of NZ such gems as that and "doing an Orewa" or making racist speeches.

Anyway since John took over the Nats have raced ahead and put a safe 20% plus distance between them and Labour. In my view they are unlikely to tbe headed before November 2008 and it looks like curtains for Labour. The biggest irony is that National has refused to commit to a policy and their ballooning support is in spite of it. Why should they state policies while they are way ahead? They are so popular they don't need any. All John Keys has to do is wash his face and comb his hair first thing in the morning. By the same token we've seen every morning face Helen Clark has managed for the last nine years.

So much for the big boys and girls in parliament. The little fullas like NZ First, Maori Party, Greens, United and Progressives are in for a struggle. NZ First I think has wrung about as much as it can from the Anti-Asian immigration red neckery. It's plainly racist and fascist. Mr. Brown of that party is trying to say that all he wants is for everyone in NZ to be 'equal.' So why pick on Asians? This has been a recurring theme since the 'yellow peril' of the nineteenth century in this country. Nothing was ever said about the 'white peril' which engulfed this country in both centuries. So much for 'equality.' Brown, you're pathetic. The Maori Party would have won all 7 Maori seats last year. I get the impression that that may not be so now as Labour seems to have clawed back their support. This party is also bereft of policy but unlike National it needs some and badly if it is to survive beyond the next election. Labour does have policy especially on social and economic issues which Maori are responding to especially since the budget. We (Maori) can't eat the fore shore and sea bed while food and petrol prices sky rocket. Maori old age pensioners need at least 70 percent of the average incomes in order to live. It's these issues that will determine whether the Maori Party wins more than the four seats it currently holds. The same issues will hit the Greens. Whether they are organic or not, we will only eat those greens we can afford. As for Act, well........ Ditto for United. And I'd vote for Jim Anderton if I were in his electorate. He's the last true Kiwi Social Democrat left.