Debate

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No special privilege for Europeans anywhere

Maori expect special privilege because they were the first inhabitants of New Zealand. Is this racist? You bet it is.

Imagine if Europeans had legislated privilege because they were the first to inhabit Europe. Imagine the uproar. Imagine the accusations of racism. It would be likened to Adolf Hitler’s vision for Europe.

So why is it okay for Maori to have legislated privilege in New Zealand then.

Europeans have inhabited their continent longer than Maori have inhabited New Zealand. Yet they have no special indigenous rights or status. And as far as I know, Asians do not have legislated special privilege in Asia either. It appears to only exist in New Zealand and Africa where native populations have legislated special privilege.

Maori expect that Pakeha accept that they have indigenous rights while they would be the first to label the same thing for Whites in Europe as racist. It is up to Pakeha to point out this double standard and fight for equal rights under the law for all New Zealanders.

And in case people play the Pakeha are too dominant card, and so need to be handicapped in order to allow others to catch up to them, it should be noted that Europeans are actually a minority in the world and have a lower birth rate than other races. They are fast becoming a minority even in their native lands, and yet they still do not expect special rights.

Clearly the right thing to do is to recognise cultures as unique, but that all people are equal under the same law. Is New Zealand able to move toward this ideal. Of course it can. As long as enough people believe in equal rights and stand up for it and cast their vote in favour of it, then it can happen.

How about it New Zealand. A county where everyone is equal under the law. Is that too hard to achieve. Is it too much to ask for.

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Will Treaty settlements ever end?

I think one of the most frustrating things we see today in New Zealand, is the never-ending process of Treaty settlements. Deep down many can’t see an end to it and it bothers them.

Even though a date is supposedly set, would it be set in concrete? Absolutely not. Look at the foreshore and seabed controversy. Rather, it is obvious that Maori parties will push to change any end date and could achieve it in times when their party votes become crucial to a main political party’s ability to win an election.

So given the inevitability of Maori asking for more and more resulting in Pakeha paying more and more to support them, the only real thing that can be done about this is for Pakeha to have a political party too to provide a counter-balance. Of course I can hear the complaints as I type. “But Pakeha outnumber Maori so how is this balance”? It is balance because a Pakeha Party or a Pakeha political movement is not after privilege for Pakeha, instead it is about eqaility for all, so if Maori get extra priviledge in part because they have parties representing them, then under that structure, it would be the only way to balance the situation. A Pakeha Party could easily negate this one-sided racial view of settlements and laws by helping governments to focus on all New Zealanders by using their greater presence and voting prowess.

While Maori as far as we know were the first people to arrive in New Zealand, Pakeha have the advantage of being more numerous. And given that New Zealand is suppose to be a democracy, having greater numbers empowers Pakeha. Hence, Pakeha could easily balance things out if they cared enough to.

If a Pakeha Party of some kind forms, it could stipulate an absolutely irreversible date to end all settlements, and then have successive governments stick to that date or suffer loss of support from that Pakeha Party.

In conclusion, if you are sick of ongoing Treaty Settlements and if you feel like a second class citizen or visitor in your own country, then get behind a Pakeha Party and use your vote to make New Zealand a country where all are treated as first class citizens.

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Apartheid rises in New Zealand

Apartheid in South Africa was the state of being apart. It was racial segregation enforced through legislation. While this type of segregation is not what we see in New Zealand, make no bones about it, the country has been heading in this direction for some time. The reason why it is not obvious to most is because most think of Apartheid as legislated White privilege where Whites walk on one side of the street and Blacks on the other. Where this nice public facility is for Whites only and this run down one for Blacks.

While no one believes that New Zealand would ever get to that state,  a softer version of Apartheid does exists in New Zealand. The reason people cannot see it is because Apartheid is almost always viewed as as a system that favours Whites, and when Pakeha in New Zealand become less privileged, people do not generally see that as racist for some reason.

In New Zealand’s past and even today, Maori have been the victims of racism. But so are Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Pakeha. And is it ever right to persecute one group, then when that becomes unacceptable to society, to then target another. Is it right to replace racism toward Maori with racism toward Pakeha. I would argue that racism is never right. We should never legislate based on race and we should never think it is okay to be racist toward any race. Racism always leads to discontentment which if left unchecked long enough, could lead to unrest.

Today, New Zealand seems to accept the idea that there are Maori Parties that look after Maori interests and are comfortable with this. Yet. as soon as Pakeha decide to do the same thing. in order to gain fair representation, suddenly that becomes racist. There are many Maori and even Pakeha incensed at the idea that Pakeha represent their interests at all. Negative responses to the Pakeha Party is highlighting that racism is alive and well in New Zealand. While there are many Pakeha for the idea of a Pakeha Party, there are also many against.

The reactions from opponents of a Pakeha political movement range from ridicule to outright offense. But who needs to be reminded that racists show their hatred in a number of ways including ridicule and offense. What we are witnessing here is another facet of racism a sort of reverse racism if you like, but still racism. It seems that people in New Zealand are allowed to celebrate being Maori and Pakeha are not. Pakeha are made to feel shame for standing up for Pakeha rights or celebrating the fact that they are Pakeha.

The worst part of what I have witnessed is that fact that the Pakeha Party doesn’t have a mandate to fight for Pakeha privilege, it only seeks equality. Further, it only exists because there are other race-based parties, so it is simply a case of adapt to the system or be left out. And yet, people really believe this is about Pakeha racism. I have even heard people say that it is another face of the National Front. What a joke. All these people need to do is listen to what those in the Pakeha Party movement are saying, instead of imagining all kinds of  false conspiracies and believing false rumours.

Can New Zealand go past the dark ages of racism and suspicion, and succeed at creating a society where all are equal. If other countries can do it why can’t we. And while I acknowledge that racism will always exist, I am talking mainly about legislated racism because that is something we can change.

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“If the Maori get it, we want it too!

“If the Maori get it, we want it too! No matter WHAT it is!”

The argument made against this slogan on the Pakeha Party page goes something like this:

Its supporters ask for all that Maori get, for Pakeha. Rightly, the question is asked whether these same people would like the higher crime rates, lower education completion rates, lower life expectancy, higher suicide rates, high rates of illness, and the variety of other negative social statistics that, sadly, are what so many Maori born in New Zealand have to contend with.
http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/news/those-liking-pakeha-party-beware-what-you-wish-for/1944826/

However valid this point might seem at first glance, it is not a valid one at all. Let me explain. Pakeha are not at fault for poorer health and life expectancy for Maori. Pakeha are not at fault for higher crime rates, lower education completion, and other negative statistics. It has nothing to do with Pakeha oppression or historical injustices at all. It has everything to do with Maori themselves.

Can anyone prove that Maori had a higher life expectancy before Pakeha arrived in Aotearoa. Can anyone prove that Maori were healthier before Pakeha came to New Zealand. Did Maori have higher education levels before Pakeha arrived in New Zealand. In fact I would expect that most would think that Maori health, life expectancy, and education have increased since Pakeha came to these shores. But let’s imagine for a moment that Maori were healthier, lived longer, and had better education levels before the arrival of others to these shores.

Then how exactly do Pakeha oppress Maori today. Is it not their own choice as to what they eat, what kind of life they lead, and how much they value education. Of course it is their choice. New Zealand doesn’t deprive anyone of good food, regular exercise, and a decent education system. Such things are equally available to all. Sure you could say that healthy food might not be available to all because it is often priced higher, but that is true for all races, not just Maori. The false argument that Pakeha are somehow responsible for the state of Maori health is not a logical argument. Kiwis pay taxes to address such things and compared to other countries, we pay quite a bit more tax than many other countries including our neigbours across the Tasman.

So, this slogan cannot be attacked with this particular argument because it is really an issue of poverty, poor lifestyle, poor choices, and to some extent DNA. A Pakeha Party would not be against helping all who suffer from poor health or poverty. It would rightly support assistance for such issues. But the same help should be based on merit, not race. In other words, help people because they need it, not because they are Maori. Pacific Islanders for example have the same issues as Maori. They should receive equal treatment as citizens of New Zealand too.

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‘Pakeha’ is a Maori word

I have seen this same message in many tweets and Facebook posts. They say something to the tune of, “How ironic that the ‘Pakeha’ Party is named from a Maori word”.

I don’t understand the reasoning here. The Pakeha Party is about equality for all New Zealanders, and is not about excluding Maori or Maori culture. The point in this tweet would be a valid one, if The Pakeha Party was racist or a White Supremacist movement which of course it is not. The fact that the movement uses a Maori word at all shows that it embraces Maori as it does with all races.

What these kinds of tweets prove is there are the many misconceptions about the Pakeha Party. Surely if a person bothered to educate themselves as to what the movement was about, then they wouldn’t make comments like that. This sort of ignorance is probably no different to those Pakeha in our history who were against equality for Maori. Perhaps if they lived back then they would be equally against equality for Maori as they are for Pakeha now.

Think about it. If you had to make a choice as to which point was racist out of:

1) Parties that are race-based with a pro-race agenda; or
2) Parties that promoted equal rights for all races;

I would certainly choose point 1 as being the racist of the two.

And so it is that The Pakeha Party movement stands with point 2. Not for Pakeha privilege or a Pakeha only agenda, but that all have equal privilege regardless of race.