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Racism
The Maori Party has no positive vision
for the future, as you can see from this interview:
At 4 minutes and 45 seconds into the first interview, the interviewer
asks:
"OK. And so, if a Maori Parliament -- if
a Member of a Maori Parliament -- is selected, not elected, how are
they going to be held accountable? Are they just going to be held
accountable to their own iwi or hapu?"
And Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi replies:
"Well, that's exactly right, because
that's how it's always been."
The main point here is not so much that his idea is a bad one.
The more important point is what arguments he puts forward to support
this idea. The only argument he produces
is that that was the way Maori politics operated before Europeans arrived!
That is an intensely racist argument, because the Maori Party (as
you can tell from its name) is an intensely racist party. Whatever
Maoris have always done is good, according to him.
In part, the Maori Party is taking this line because it is completely
racist, and in part, it is taking this line because it is something
that many Maori tribes and individuals might possibly be able to agree
on. Obviously, in the Maori Party's ideal world, once they have
sent all Non-Maoris back to where their ancestors came from, the Maoris
will no doubt start discussing, arguing and fighting about the details
-- as they were doing before the Europeans arrived. One undoubtable
benefit of the arrival of European rule has been the establishment of
relative peace between the tribes -- although the supposedly negative
aspects of the European arrival get much more publicity!
It is important to point out the many negative aspects of pre-European
Maori politics and society, such as frequent warfare,
slavery,
cannibalism
and the apparent absence of what we might call "Human Rights."
We should also note that Christianity was also introduced by Europeans.
If the Maori Party's "vision" is limited to returning to the
way Maori politics operated before Europeans arrived, it is advocating
a return to frequent internal warfare, slavery, cannibalism, pre-Christian
religion and the absence of what we might call "Human Rights"
.
My point is not that modern New Zealand is some
sort of utopia -- my point is that political arguments are usually based
on positive philosophical or political principles! But not in the case
of the Maori Party.
See also:
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