Pakeha Party

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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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A Pakeha Party is a win win

Either way you view a Pakeha Party is a win for the Pakeha.

1) If you think it racist, then so must the Maori parties be also, which is what many Pakeha hasve been saying all along. This is the reason it exists, to bring balance using the current system of undesirable racially based political parties.

2) If you think it is not racist and instead fills a need, then you would be right, because it is actually not about Pakeha first, it is about Pakeha as equals. You see, nobody has asked Pakeha how they feel about living in a society where they are not quite equal. So it was left up to Social Media and the Web instead to let the people have their say.

Either way you view this, a Pakeha Party whether real or conceptual brings about conversation on these issues where it wasn’t before.

3) If you foolishly say, that the Pakeha Party is racist and the Maori Party is not, then that just shows your lack of basic logic and shows that you are in fact the racist because this stance is is ironically prejudice. Further, The idea of a Pakeha Party is about fighting for equality for all, not supremacy for some. Whereas the Maori parties are fighting for something greater than equality for themselves. They are fighting for privilege at the expense of all other people groups in New Zealand. They want to be more equal than all others. This is of course an oxymoron because greater equality than everyone else is not equality at all is it? In short such a view is racist.

So please, spare me this lame argument and stick to being logical so we can all have an intelligent discussion instead of discussing silly oxymorons and misguided ideals based on race. Race based is racist.

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Welcome

This website is dedicated to helping New Zealand become a fairer place for all people to live regardless of race.

Why a site called Pakeha Party then?

While we prefer that all are considered equal in New Zealand and hence no need for a ‘Pakeha Party’, it is also true that this ideal is not the reality we have in New Zealand today. We already have at least a couple of parties that are Maori based with other parties focusing heavily on Maori. It seems the best way that other races can be represented fairly in this racial system is to represent ourselves by letting politicians know what Pakeha think, rather than focus on what Maori want. Up until now, there was no forum specifically for Pakeha where they could have their say, only what they are able to vote on. This leaves Maori as the only voice enabling them to get preferential treatment. A Pakeha Party is really about giving everyone else a voice in the political process to even it up for all New Zealanders.

While the word ‘Pakeha’ originally meant European and still does, its use today embraces all who are non-Maori. Pakeha was the term for non-Maori of which an overwhelming majority just happened to be European or Caucasian. Today, non-Maori includes many others who are not European such as a growing Asian population or the Pacific Island population.