In general, we Kiwis don't like to rock the boat. We are pretty well-mannered and don't charge into confrontations at the drop of a hat. We're good-natured and laid back and tend to employ a "she'll be right" attitude.

Our good nature is being taken advantage of.

Throughout all of this radical change in our country, a particular weapon has been wielded against those of us who have raised objections. It is a weapon that strikes the heart of our desire to get on with our neighbours and be a harmonious people - the accusation of racism. 

Racism is something we all rightly abhor so to be called a racist is disarming and upsetting. It makes us stop and not want to speak up for rights and beliefs that we are entitled to. It creates a chilling effect that shuts down dissent relating to Government policies like co-governance.

Racism accusations are foundational to how this Government justifies treating New Zealanders differently depending on race. But the genius of this tactic is that they get to decide what racism is and we are not allowed to question this. When there is no set definition and the accuser can't be made to justify themselves, it is impossible to defend ourselves against the smear.

Seeing how often the Government is using this racially antagonistic tactic, we decided to ask ministers what definition of 'racism' they were using in the context of their ministries. We also asked them if it is possible for white people to be victims of racism and if there are degrees of racism depending on the race or ethnicity of the person being accused and their 'victim'. We also asked the Human Rights Commission.

The responses we received to our Official Information Act requests were disappointing, to say the least.

From the Human Rights Commission we received:

"The Commission does not hold a single agreed definition of the term "racism".

They refused to answer the other two questions. At least they replied though! The Race Relations Commissioner responded to our OIA acknowledging receiving it on 11 April 2023 but despite an "I’ll get back to you soon," we have heard nothing.

From ministers we received the following:

"Aotearoa New Zealand has no agreed definition of racism" - Marama Davidson

"The OIA cannot be used to force Ministers or agencies to engage in debate or to create justifications or explanations in relation to something a person might be interested in. There is no obligation to create new information to answer an OIA request.
Your request is therefore refused under section 18( e) of the OIA, as the information requested does not exist. " - Ginny Andersen

"Your questions appear designed to engage in a debate about the Government's policies to address racism...I am therefore refusing your request under section 18(g) of the Act." - Barbara Edmonds

"The questions you raise do not appear to be seeking any official information likely to be held by this Office." - Kieran McAnulty 

"This information is not held by the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, nor my Office." - Priyanca Radhakrishnan

"Your questions appear designed to engage in a debate about the Government's policies to address racism...I am therefore refusing your request under section 18(g) of the Act." - Ayesha Verrall

"Your correspondence does not meet the threshold for being a request under the OIA as in order to respond to your query would require an agency to form an opinion or provide an explanation and so create new information to answer." Nanaia Mahuta

"The questions you raise do not appear to be seeking any official information likely to be held by this Office." - Peeni Henare

"The information you have requested is not ‘official information’ and not something which would
be held in my capacity as a Minister." - Andrew Little

"An agency (or Minister) is not required to form an opinion or create information to answer an official information request." - Willie Jackson

"The questions you raise do not appear to be seeking any official information likely to be held by this Office." - Chris Hipkins

"Questions that require the creation of new information, such as forming an opinion or providing an explanation, are not requests for official information." - Jan Tinetti

"The questions you raise do not appear to be seeking any official information but rather appear designed to engage in a debate about racism." - Kelvin Davis

"Your questions appear designed to engage in a debate about the Government’s policies to address racism." - Kiri Allan

Additionally, Willow-Jean Prime, Carmel Sepuloni, and Michael Wood transferred the OIA to their ministries.

In fact the only minister who responded in a slightly fuller manner was Deborah Russell. She began by saying "Stats NZ does not have a standard definition of racism" but then made an attempt to discuss the Human Rights Commission's definition, how Stats NZ deals with discrimination, and explains that Stats NZ collects information on people's experiences of discrimination through the New Zealand General Social Survey.

In short, our Government and its ministers are either unwilling or unable to tell us what 'racism' is and whom it can affect. This is significant for many reasons but I'd like to raise two major ones here.

1. Our Government spends a lot of time and money on anti-racism programmes. If they don't know what racism actually is, what are they spending our taxes on? A few examples of this are the $2 million spent by New Zealand Police on research into 'where bias and racism exist within policing practices', an undisclosed amount spent by the Ministry of Justice on 'a national action plan against racism,' and $42 million spent by the Ministry of Education on 'an antiracism initiative for schools and communities aiming to help Māori students'.

2. Principles of Natural Justice are undermined when a Government is able to make sweeping accusations that can't be proven or defended. As New Zealanders, we have the right to be heard and to be protected by fair process.

The New Zealand Bill of Rights says:

27(1) Every person has the right to the observance of the principles of natural justice by any tribunal or other public authority which has the power to make a determination in respect of that person’s rights, obligations, or interests protected or recognised by law.

It seems that despite not knowing exactly what racism is, our Government is willing to use it to stifle debate and distract from key issues. 

This dirty and unethical strategy will continue until it simply doesn't work anymore and how long that takes is entirely up to New Zealanders like you and me.

We must refuse to allow our good-naturedness as Kiwis to be used against us. We must collectively refuse to be manipulated by race-baiting politicians and bureaucrats. It is entirely up to us.

We are bloody sick of the cries of racism and fabricating of victimhood in order to justify terrible, divisive, and damaging legislation and policy that distracts everyone from a Government that has failed by virtually every measure. By turning us against each other, they avoid the scrutiny.

And, to make sure their justification for racism continues, there is the propensity to cry victim no matter how successful and affluent the individuals concerned might be. As we saw this week when Arena Williams shamelessly used her father by claiming he was choosing health over heating.

So what can we do? Here are three suggestions we can all commit to in our everyday lives. Let me know how you go!

1. Refuse to be divided. Push back on rhetoric that divides us into white and brown by reminding people that we are a multi-cultural country made up of people from all sorts of backgrounds. It is not racist to demand that ALL New Zealanders are treated equally before the law

2. Start saying "that tactic does not work on me" when unfounded accusations of racism are levelled at you for speaking up about policy and law. Assert that you know you are not a racist and do not let underhanded and unfair accusations prevent you from speaking up. 

3. If you haven't already, please sign our open letter to Minister of Justice Kiri Allan. Click here to sign.

I think I have gone on enough for today! I just wanted to reach out because with all that is happening to us, we cannot allow our voices to be silenced.

Thank you for all of your ongoing support for our work. Without supporters like you we wouldn't be able to keep challenging the Government and its proxies. 

As the Government Budget is picked through by the media there is one thing that always seems to be forgotten: outcomes.

Politicians can chuck money left, right, and centre but throwing money at something doesn't guarantee it will perform better or help more people. Announcing funding says absolutely nothing about the quality of the spend and what the outcomes will be.

This was evident when Labour's Maori caucus took to the stage to boast about what they are proud to have delivered for Maori in this Budget. Watch Labour's Maori Caucus discuss the Budget here.

As a side note, if you are not fluent in te reo Maori there will be considerable sections of the media presentation we linked above that you will not be able to understand. It is a shame most New Zealanders won't be able to analyse what the politicians are saying. On that subject, did you know English is not actually an official language of New Zealand? It makes this kind of use of Maori without translation difficult to challenge. While you're here, why not sign our petition demanding that English is made an official language?

There is one section of Labour's Maori Caucus speech that I want to highlight because it is quite an extraordinary admission. I took a few minutes to replay the statement to make sure I was hearing it right! The statement came from Minister of Maori Development Willie Jackson:

“Maori are sort of running two strategies here, we’ve got the by-Maori-for-Maori one but let's not forget that most Maori are not attached to a lot of our Maori organisations there’s going to be huge benefits right across the spectrum. So we’re talking just under $900 million in terms of targeted funding but in terms of Maori receiving benefits they are going to be huge right across the spectrum, we’re proud to deliver this targeted budget in these hard times.”

Look, correct me if I'm wrong, but to me, that sounds a lot like the Minister for Maori Development acknowledging that all of his targeted funds and programmes don't actually reach MOST Maori!

“Most Maori are not attached to a lot of our Maori organisations.”

Again, the Minister is recognising that this special targeted funding is not needed as MOST Maori are not attached to the organisations that are receiving race-based funding. He is explicitly agreeing with some of the points we have been making for a long time - that race-based initiatives aren't effective and that they basically allow one race the opportunity to double-dip into the system. 

He is confirming that in a system that allocates support to those who are in need and vulnerable, there is absolutely no need to differentiate funding on the basis of race.

Minister Nanaia Mahuta re-enforced Jackson's comments when she said:

“The response isn’t binary, it's not either targeted funding for Maori or universal, it's both.”

She clarified how she viewed New Zealanders as two groups, Maori, "Pakeha" and everyone else, rather than a hugely diverse population who call New Zealand home. Mahuta stated:

“We are mindful of cost of living pressures affect every whanau across the country no matter whether they're Maori, Pakeha or otherwise.”

Charming. Did you tick "otherwise" as your ethnicity on the recent Census?

The language that was used to describe Maori as "our whanau" or "our people" is interesting as it gives the impression that Labour's Maori Caucus are ONLY working for Maori. They sit in New Zealand's Parliament and while they may feel an affinity with those who share their race and may even represent a Maori electorate, they are there to serve all New Zealanders - "Maori, Pakeha, or otherwise" as Nanaia Mahuta would say!

At a time when so many families are struggling to put food on the table, petrol in the car, and heat their homes, the Labour Maori Caucus thumbs its nose at their hardship by advocating and celebrating a Government-sanctioned form of preferential race-based treatment.

Despite boasting, the Maori ministers were also apologetic about the meagre $825million they secured for Maori in the Budget when last year they got $1billion.

The $825million was largely 'top-up' funding for the usual big ticket items:

• $200million in additional funding to build and repair more homes through the Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga. WKWO was previously allocated a four year budget of $730million to “speed up the delivery of Maori-led housing”.
• $34million over two years for the Te Matatini kapa haka festival. This has been claimed as a victory by the Maori Party and noted as meeting the targeted equivalency with the NZ Symphony Orchestra.
• $18million over four years for Labour’s new public holiday Matariki. This appears to be for promoting and educating about the holiday.
• $168.1million additional funding over four years for Whānau Ora. Under the Ministry of Maori Development, Whānau Ora uses a kaupapa Māori approach to improve the wellbeing of whānau as a group, addressing individual needs within the context of whānau or families and their culture. Although claiming to offer services to all people there is no evidence that this occurs. There is also no evidence of measurable and transparent accountability.
• $132million increased funding for Hauora providers. It is worth noting that it was only July 2022, less than a year ago, that a separate Maori Health Authority was established with great fanfare. Before this system has even had time to establish itself we have somehow recognised that an additional $132million is needed for Maori philosophy health carers. This must be seen as a slap in the face to those waiting months to access a medical specialist. Remembering again that “MOST Maori” are not attached to these organisations.  
• $225million for Māori education. As is often the case, statistics demonstrating lagging Maori outcomes are combined with Pasifika students, however the solution presented - in this case this fund - does nothing for Pasifika students who are struggling.
• $51million over two years for Māori media is another big ticket item that must see the Maori Party president, John Tamihere, rubbing his hands together in glee. Effectively this will be a taxpayer-funded campaign for Tamihere. Not to mention Minister Jackson's own connections to Radio Waatea. 

But inevitably, even this nearly billion dollar lolly scramble is not sufficient for some. The Maori Party labelled the Budget as 'for the rich' and complained that the Maori Budget only represented 0.47% of the total Budget (by their own calculations). It makes me wonder what would be enough for the Maori Party. 

Let's be honest though, the Maori Party are prone to pluck numbers out of the sky and call them facts. We shouldn't be afraid to call them what they are - radicals. Most Maori don't vote for them. They are a fringe party and often spout extremist ideology. Reassuringly, they have announced they could not support any Government budget “until such time as a Tiriti-centric Aotearoa is in full operation”. With any luck that'll keep them on the opposition benches indefinitely.

The Maori Party's scathing contempt for the performance of the Labour Party demonstrates, yet again, that shared Maori ancestry does not guarantee a meeting of the minds or a consensus of opinion. Democratic accountability is the only mechanism where all Maori and all New Zealanders can be respected and assured that our voices are heard. 

If Prime Minster Hipkins was not feeling sufficiently admonished by the Maori Party for recently expressing caution about small parties and their bottom lines, then these latest statements must surely be seen as a reason for Labour to create some distance.

The National Party has ruled out working with the Maori Party, imagine if Labour did too! We could then be assured that extremist, separatist radicals won't get anywhere near the Government benches. We might have to mention it to the Prime Minister.

The childish, petty, hysterics we've all had the misfortune of witnessing in the last week in New Zealand politics highlights the importance of a democracy that provides Kiwis with the ability to vote politicians out come election day. 

It is fundamental that those with the power to make important decisions on our behalf are aware that they are just one election away from being cast out by the people. 

The Green Party are in quite a pickle with the petulant dramas and name calling centring around Elizabeth Kerekere. She has finally decided to pack up her toys and quit the Green Party, calling them racist on her way out. Ironic, given one of the accusations levelled at her was that she calls everyone racist when she doesn't get her own way.

A rumour was circulating that Kerekere might pop up for the Māori Party, but she told the media that she bumped into John Tamihere, and he didn't offer her anything 😬

Then she ruled out going to the Māori Party...before telling other media that "The Māori Party has told her the door is open". Who knows. 

Of course, while this was all going on, Labour’s Meka Whaitiri provided a further distraction from the issues important to New Zealanders (you know, things like putting food on the table, accessing health care, and surviving economic despair) and announced her defection to the Māori Party.

She shot a 'racism' accusation across the bow, saying that the Māori Party provides a voice for Māori women without being censored. Pretty awkward for Labour, seeing as they only recently announced that their Cabinet had the highest number of Māori on record.

In summary, Meka Whaitiri accused Labour of silencing Māori women, Elizabeth Kerekere called the Greens racist, Marama Davidson called the entire political system racist, and we still can't get anyone to tell us what 'racism' is!

The Labour/Green/TPM circus of silliness afforded Christopher Luxon a perfect opportunity to announce that the National Party will not work with the Māori Party. It was a statement that was a long time coming, with Hobson’s Pledge first calling on the National Party to rule out working with them in March last year. Better late than never!

If there was any doubt that the Māori Party was only interested in sensationalising and shocking, listening to their party president John Tamihere doing the media rounds would erase it. No solutions. No aspiration to improve outcomes. No intention to deliver anything.

Using taxpayer-funded media platforms, Tamihere has been promoting only radical ideas about water ownership, control, and separatism. Classic example of someone elevating his position by standing on the backs of vulnerable and in need.

Last month, in his interview with Tuku Morgan on Waatea News, he made it clear what is on the Māori Party's extreme agenda:

“Here’s my view, to what extent do you have a conversation with the power generators on the Waikato to say, hey times up, there’s got to be a levy here. That’s got to be coming surely?” 

You can listen to the interview here. You have to hear it to believe it.

Today, in The Press, Tamihere explicitly lays out the demands the Māori Party will take to coalition talks:

1. Quit 'Five Eyes'
2. Introduce a Capital Gains Tax
3. Penalise landowners for not occupying houses
4. Remove GST from food

But, funnily enough, he excluded any mention of water ownership and charging levies. Do we believe the Tamihere who speaks to Māori media or the one who speaks to mainstream media? 🤷

Just to hammer home the contempt for democracy, in the same Waatea News interview mentioned above, Tuku Morgan stated: 

“Once again, people will continue to hide behind this tyranny of the majority, this Pakeha democracy nonsense, and minimise the significance of the treaty. The Treaty promised us partnership and that is exactly what we are getting.”

Pakeha. Democracy. Nonsense. How do I get a seat on Elon Musk's first rocket to Mars? 

Interesting how Mr Morgan was quite fond of democratic process when Tainui attempted to remove him as iwi chair ten years ago. Despite an outpouring of anger over his performance, he secured a narrow victory when it went to a vote. At that time, he was quick to confirm his right to the position because there had been a vote and seemed happy with how democracy worked in his favour. Watch him discuss the matter here.

It is time people like Morgan and Tamihere realised that being Māori doesn't give them the right to speak for all Māori. The Māori Party is not representative of all Māori. Just look how low it polls!

Many Māori, including yours truly, are tired of the nation being distracted by these self-serving individuals who have demonstrated a total lack of interest in the important issues.

Internal disagreement between iwi, hapu, and whanau has always existed. The suggestion that co-governance assures us of peaceful agreement and smooth “waters” is a total joke. Tuku Morgan and Nanaia Mahuta - both important figures from Waikato-Tainui - agree on many radical ideas of co-governance, but are far from in agreement on other matters.

There is no single Māori opinion. We are individuals, and most of us don't vote for the Māori Party.

As part if our campaign to defend democracy we have put together some videos discussing the issue - you can view the first one here.

It is only through the protection of our democracy that we can be assured that our rights as individuals will be respected, regardless of our ancestry, and that our elected Government is held accountable.  

On May 4^th we announced our defence of democracy and this will be the cornerstone of our work leading up to the election. Whether they call it co-governance, partnership boards, or “mahi tahi” make no mistake it is all founded on removing democratic rights and equality of citizenship.

It is racist and patronising to promote the idea that Māori are so helpless that we need to be treated with special rights in order to get ahead. It is simply not true. 

It is also racist and undemocratic to suggest that if you are not Māori, proportional representation is a negotiable commodity. Not a right. A nice to have.

You can help us push back against racism by signing our open letter to Minister Kiri Allan.

New Zealanders deserve much more than being spectators to the petty and childish antics of our current Government.

 

Over the past week, we have launched our "What is racism" campaign, where we have demanded our Government answers the question: what exactly is racism?

It was only last year the Police launched an investigation into bias and racism within policing practices at a time when the escalation of violent crime was causing many New Zealanders to live in fear.

With this in mind, on 12 April 2023, I wrote to the Minister of Police and asked:

"What is the definition of racism? Please answer this as it pertains to the Ministry of Police and your role as minister. When your ministry deals with racism or discusses it, what definition do they use?”

This question shouldn't be hard to define, especially if they have been investigating the issue over the past year.

Yesterday I received their response:

"The OIA allows people to request official information held by Ministers and specified government agencies (agencies). The OIA cannot be used to force Ministers or agencies to engage in debate or to create justifications or explanations in relation to something a person might be interested in. There is no obligation to create new information to answer an OIA request."

So this police research, which has cost taxpayers two million dollars, was spent to investigate something that that has no definition within the Police.

When New Zealanders challenge being divided by race and being treated differently before the law, the accusation of racism is easily thrown around to stifle important conversations.

Yet when we ask to know what racism means, they claim that they have no obligation to create new information.

Do we not have a right to know what we are funding? Not to mention what we are being accused of!

New Zealanders need to know that all of us will be afforded equal protection, and we need your help to make sure of this.

Please sign our open letter to the Minister of Justice

The definition of racism must not be allowed to be manipulated to suit a political narrative.

Send a clear message to this Government that, no matter who the target is, racism will not be tolerated.