Clouds Over Matariki.

Are we about to go backwards?

All of my life it’s felt as though New Zealand has slowly been waking up to our history. To better acknowledge the injustices of the past and the inequities of the present. Gradual progress, but moving forward. For the first time in my life I’m concerned that we’re about to stop moving forwards and start going backwards.

Here we are in 2023. We have strong Māori representation in parliament. Most of us manage to learn the little bits of Te Reo that become commonly used without having a tantrum. Even the introduction of our first Māori public holiday, recognising Matariki, was a small symbolic step forwards, and it’s been enthusiastically received by the vast majority of us.

Image: https://womanmagazine.co.nz/manawatia-a-matariki/

So why am I worried? You know why, it’s probably the same reason that you might be. There are halls in this country being filled with angry pakeha who do not like the progress. They like the way it’s been, it’s worked well for them, and they’d prefer it if things stayed that way.

You know the meetings, you’ve probably seen them on the news. A white audience, no one under the age of about sixty, ready to get worked up by the tub thumper on stage who is very happy to say things they want to hear.

In case there is any uncertainty who I’m talking about, it’s not the stop co-governance rallies run by Julian Batchelor. The ones where they won’t let Māori in the door even if they’ve gone online and registered for the event. The ones that claim to be protesting Apartheid in New Zealand.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s good that these folks finally decided to oppose Apartheid, a new experience for them no doubt, but they are over 40 years late! The story of their lives I imagine.

‘Stop Co-Governance’ rally. Photo: NZ Herald.

No, the rallies I’m talking about are Christopher Luxon’s endless get-to-know-me events. Drawing what looks awfully like the same crowd as Mr Batchelor, who are looking for, and finding the same messages.

There was a video posted yesterday of an event in Nelson, a Luxon one not a Batchelor one. A man in the audience takes the microphone and complains that “we all understand school, but I’ve seen signs changed to kura, and we just don’t understand this”. There is applause. Another man yells out angrily “we want some action!”

Does this create a dilemma for the would be Prime Minister? Does he stop to say “this is all about crazy, it’s just learning a word in one of our official languages - if we can’t start learning with school then that’s a bit messed up, right?”

No, he doesn’t say that. He cravenly responds to the demand that he take action against the use of Te Reo - “well the first thing you’ve got to do buddy is you’ve got to vote October the 14th to get me in there to government”. Much applause follows.

So that is the message, and boy it ain’t subtle - if you want to stop Māori taking over then vote for me.

Christophe Luxon speaking about Te Reo in Nelson yesterday. Image: Twitter.

I thought watching it - how revolting. What ghastly small minded racists that can't handle use of the word kura for school? Worse still is the one in front looking for votes by pandering to it. What a horrible little coward.

Later yesterday afternoon a poll came out indicating that National and ACT are realistically the favourites to win the election. I can’t help thinking what it will mean if this man becomes the leader of our country - it is not a good thought. A “leader” who when confronted with small minded racism responds “vote for me”.

We had a narrow miss with Don Brash and his hateful views against Māori, but it is looking at least 50% likely that at the end of this year our beautiful Aotearoa will be lead by Luxon and Seymour.

It just seems so wrong, a bad dream that can’t be real. Too many have fought too hard for too long, decades, generations, for the progress that has been made. It seems repugnant that this hollow little man, who just wants to say he was the Prime Minister, could undo some of that work. Actually, it seems bloody unacceptable.

Recently I saw an advertisement for a National rally near where I live, with Luxon appearing. I thought about going and figured if I did I’d probably only get one question. What came to mind was “when you lay awake in your bed at night do you ever think to yourself, ‘we’ve gone too far with the anti-Māori stuff, it might be good for winning the election but it’s not good for the country’.”

If I’d thought he would actually answer I would’ve gone.

There will be fabulous celebrations throughout New Zealand this Matariki. I think it’s a wonderful thing to have introduced, and about bloody time after more than 180 years. Last year I wrote about our first Matariki, which is free if you’d like to read it:

Of course neither National nor ACT supported the bill putting it into legislation. National being opposed to the addition of a public holiday, whereas ACT are not keen on public holidays full stop and have pledged to scrap Matariki.

Associate Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage, Kiri Allan - who championed the bill, described it thus “Matariki is a beautiful time, it is a time to reflect every year. My whānau and I we go to my mountain - Ruapehu, Tongariro - we go there to reflect on what has happened in the year past, we go there to remember those that have passed, and we also go there with an intentional purpose to think about that year ahead.”

I see that Auckland Airport are going to make their announcements in Te Reo for the day. Will this trigger a whole lot of people to miss their flights as they petulantly sit with there hands over the ears yelling “I can’t hear you” as the announcement comes over the tannoy? No, because that would inconvenience them. So they’ll swallow their complaints and get on their flight, although they will probably pretend they can’t understand what’s being said when the cabin attendant says “Kia Ora”.

Image: NZ Herald.

It’s good enough for Auckland Airport, but not for the man who was CEO of Air NZ, not for the man who wants to lead Aotearoa. Obviously not the folk in those meetings.

But most of us know we’re better together. We know there’s no such thing as Māori privilege in Aotearoa. No one’s trying to take more, to have more - other than those who already have it due to their privileged positions, and they want to keep it.

I don’t know what we do about all these angry frightened people. I don’t know what is scaring them so much, but they should stop listening to it and grow up. Life is too short to be doing with this nonsense. The thing is, even though they don’t want to admit it, this is part of them too. This culture, this language, this land.

One day they’ll be in a rest home, maybe not taking so much in any more. A Māori song will play perhaps on the radio and it will take them back to sitting cross legged on the concrete at primary school, all together, learning it. Those sort of memories, those experiences, are part of them and they are part of all of us that are of these lands or who choose to live here.

Most of us, tangata whenua and pakeha, we’re moving forward together respectfully and there isn’t a damn thing those angry people in the halls, or the men that lead them - Julian Batchelor or Christopher Luxon, can do about it.

What do you think? Are you with with me?