A $100 million grant for marae from the Provincial Growth Fund announced by the MP struggling to return to Parliament is a stunning display of race-based pork-barrelling by a party that normally courts the one-law-for-all vote.
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At last, everyone owns the water
At last, a political leader has asserted that everyone in New Zealand owns the water, and that was National Party Leader Judith Collins.
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Ihumatao, the election, and Winston
Ihumatao is perhaps the most visible race-relations shambles that the next government will have to fix. Located near Auckland Airport, Ihumatao is where activists have protested against Fletcher’s plans to build almost 500 homes on land that it bought from a private owner whose family had owned it since it had been confiscated in 1863 as a consequence of tribal rebellions.
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Matariki holiday a giant step too far?
Last Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she had “listened to Kiwis” and will make Matariki a public holiday from 2022 if re-elected. The Kiwis she had listened to were the 30,000 who had signed two petitions calling for Matariki to become a public holiday. Launched by Action Station and New Zealand Republic, these online petitions were handed to Labour MP Paul Eagle on Friday night, July 24. There were also the 630 people polled by the Labour Party’s research firm, UMR, in July, who backed a Matariki holiday.
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Five councils work on Maori wards, voting appointees
Signature collecting is well under way after the New Plymouth District Council on July 21 voted to establish a Maori ward. A similar campaign is under discussion in Tauranga after the city council there on August 25 also voted for such a ward. Three other councils are being pushed to have separate voting or representation for members of their communities who may have Maori ancestry.
