Landslide
Luxon takes flight, and Rātana carries on.
Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Songwriter: Stephanie Nicks
Until the end of January, you can get 20% off a subscription with my “Nick’s Ditch the Pricks in 26” special, bringing the price to $64 for a year, or $6.40 per month, rather than the usual $80 or $8. Come on in. It’s going to be a big year.
For the last few days, a dark cloud has hung over Aotearoa, and I’m sure we’ve all felt it and thought of those who have lost loved ones in the landslide. Imagining it was us, yet having no real idea of the anguish of those families.
Our country is small, with few degrees of separation, so when something like this happens, it touches many communities and schools, shocked that someone who was just there is now gone.
For us, it was Sharon Maccanico, only 15 years old, as was her fellow Pakuranga College student, Max Furse-Kee. Sharon was part of the local dance community and had taken part in competitions with my kids over the years; their newsfeeds are, of course, full of tributes. But what can you say to someone who has lost a child?
The Prime Minister flies in.
Christopher Luxon explained that he didn’t go to the Mount on Thursday, the day of the slip, to avoid being a “burden or distraction”, so he sent Mark Mitchell instead.
Then, as it became clear that it wasn’t a good look for him not to put in an appearance, he decided to spend Friday visiting the East Cape, which has suffered greatly, presumably no longer concerned as to whether he was a burden or a distraction.
Although perhaps with that in mind, his first stop was Thames, which hadn’t actually been impacted, but meant he got to be seen running from a just landed helicopter, from inaction man to delayed-action man, just like that.
Schooner said, “There would have been an audible sigh of relief from Luxon when he realised he now had the perfect excuse to avoid the wrath of Maori at Rātana by dashing to Mt Maunganui.” Which puts a different perspective on things, in that he’s not so much running for the briefing room in Thames as he is fleeing Rātana.
Penny referred to it as “Te Puke Vice”, whereas El Mo thought he could hear the “Mission Impossible” theme.
Jenny said, “WTAF? He's as ineffectual as an action figure doll”, and Simon found a suitable model:
Steve said, “Who needs a Climate Emergency Response Fund when you've got a delayed-action-man PM in his delayed-action-man jacket with the collar up in emergency mode and sunglasses hot on the ground monitoring the situation?”
Not the time.
Unfortunately for Mr Luxon, not everyone was pleased to see him, and the good folks from Coromandel Watchdog of Hauraki were waiting to talk to him about how his government has reversed most of the climate measures and environmental protections we had in place. Needless to say, he wasn’t keen to stop for a chat, as you can see here:
On the news, the PM indicated that he didn’t think this was the right time for such a protest, which I understand to a degree, but it is also the same argument pushed by the gun lobby in America every time they have a mass shooting. “Now is not the time”, they intone, but in my view, if not now, then when? What they really mean is they don’t ever want to discuss it.
Perhaps this is why Luxon had been reluctant to go in the first place? It’s not much of an offering to turn up and say we have no intention of taking climate change seriously, of doing anything to prevent similar events, or paying for the recovery. Or maybe he just doesn’t like talking to regular New Zealanders.
My nearly-neighbour Penny said, “How rude to not even acknowledge the protesters!! Politics 101... take time to listen and respect other views, as long as they are not simply violent or threatening! He is tone-deaf and actually scared of real people, I suspect. He needs to remember he is the PM of all of Aotearoa... not just the National Party!!”
Party loyalist Ryan Bridges, a man who I can’t imagine having ever protested anything, gave his views:
Bridge finishes by saying, “You've also got to wonder who's benefiting from all this. Are the protesters going to be flooded with supporters after an outburst like that, while the families are still waiting to hear news of their loved ones stuck under a landslide?”
No one is “benefiting”, Ryan, but people have seen the reversals of our modest climate measures, and they can see the storm conditions that devastate communities annually. Add to that this awful event that has cost lives, and people demand change to limit or manage the damage, and maybe, just maybe, prevent other families from going through similar losses.
To the Ryan Bridges, the Mike Hoskings, the David Seymours, and the Christopher Luxons of this world, there will never be a time or a place to talk about this.
Speaking of things the PM avoids, obviously, Rātana went ahead without him. I find that really sad, in my opinion, Luxon would only benefit from reaching out a hand to Māori, soothing words, an apology for last year and commitment to do better, but it seems he is more focused on not losing the anti-Māori vote to ACT.
As always, Winston sniffed an opportunity to reach out a hand, or better yet, a large cheque.
Rātana proceeds.
Annette Sykes wrote of the PM’s decision to skip Rātana in order to make a belated visit to storm-affected areas:
Let me be absolutely clear: this was not an act of aroha. This was political cowardice dressed up as crisis management.
Luxon’s decision to pull out of Rātana came mere hours before he was due to face Māori leaders who had explicitly stated they were ready to challenge him on his government’s systematic assault on Māori rights and te Tiriti o Waitangi. Just days earlier, Waikato-Tainui leader Tuku Morgan publicly warned that the relationship between Māori and this government is “pretty fractured,” with Māori feeling “pushed into a corner” and “marginalised and minimised.”
Tainui chair, Tuku Morgan did indeed deliver a fiery speech, but the country's leader wasn’t there to hear it. In his place, he had sent Nicola Willis and Tama Potaka.
I don’t often have anything positive to say about Nicola, but to her credit, I can’t recall her joining in the coalition’s Māori bashing, and I suspect somewhere deep inside, she is probably horrified by the stance her government has taken. So well done, Nicola, on not being an out-and-out racist like so many of your cabinet colleagues.
Morgan described the relationship between Māori and the Government as “pretty fractured”, and said there was an increasing “sense of urgency” to address it.
“People are much wiser about political strategy. We are all skilled at seeing what rhetoric is and what is real [from the Government]. All we want is a fair shake; we want the ability to do what we think is appropriate for our people.”
Or, in other words, we can tell what is just pandering to David Seymour and what is genuine, shared racism in the coalition.
On a more positive note, the Māori Queen, Te Arikinui Ngā wai hono i te po, was there to launch the “Kotahitanga Fund”, which will support Māori entrepreneurs and regional development.
As I mentioned earlier, Winston knows how to sniff an opportunity, and perhaps he can feel it in his old bones that the anti-Māori rhetoric of ACT, echoed by National, has gone too far for many Kiwis.
Especially at a time of tragedy like this. To most Kiwis, we’re all the same, Māori and Pākeha, we love our families, we care for those in our community, so why are we spending so much time focused on something so negative and regressive as riling up racism? Just so the party of the one percenters can increase their voting base?
Jones and Peters came with a $10 million “koha” from the Government, although I’m not sure which particular budget item covers the NZ First re-election slush fund.
Peters said, “You should understand that when we come here, we’ve always left a gift. It’s the Māori way.”
From Newsroom: “Jones announced a $10 million investment in a new Ringatū Marae complex in Bay of Plenty – representatives from Ringatū were at Rātana and welcomed the politicians onto the marae on Friday.”
Jones claimed it was not an attempt to gain votes, although Tuku Morgan had previously warned in his speech:
“Ko te mahi a te Karauna, he ruirui i ngā rare, te whakapatipati i a tātou, kia ngākaunui tātou,” which translates to, “The work of the Crown is to sprinkle the lollies around, flatter us, in order to woo us.”
I imagine there will be a lot more lolly scrambles before election day, still, at least one coalition party turned up.
Of course, the Labour Party were there.
As were the Greens, and co-leader Marama Davidson had the following to say:
Take care, all of you lovely people, and my deepest sympathy for those mourning the loss of loved ones. I especially think of those two teenagers, just starting out on life with all the promise in the world. I cannot comprehend what their families are going through.
Ngā mihi,
Nick.
To end, here are the Dixie Chicks with Landslide:
It is sad to see any sudden loss of life and it is right to send aroha their whanau. But tomorrow is the third anniversary of the Auckland Floods, where four people lost their lives. We can forget so quickly. It is hard out here where I live to do so, where empty sections where people once lived are now vacant, because we can't build again on flood prone land. Remember the slips at Muriwai? Or people wading up to their necks in water to escape? Richard Hills Ak Councillor has done a really good article on the SST about his memories from the chaos inflicted on the North Shore and Waurau Valley. (Unfortunately, paywalled). Cyclone Gabrielle followed soon after. The inquisitions will happen. Some have already begun on FB blaming the Iwi owners of Mauao for cutting down too many pine trees. While we must be respectful, we must also call out the climate emergency we have in NZ. Meanwhile, on another topic, our Foreign Minister or PM hasn't said boo about Trump's comments about allies in Afghanistan. Even Keir Starmer managed to. Willie Apiata VC anyone?
So very sad…and I hope when this government announce a paltry sum to help with recovery, that everyone remembers Grant Robertson and the Labour Party were trying to prepare for these emergencies. It won’t bring back any loved ones, but it might have helped prevent death and certainly help with the clean up. When will ordinary people see this lot are only helping the top 2%?