Unintended Consequences
Unintended Consequences
Is David Seymour's act of division bringing unity?
Take the bait
You pay the price
It's much too late
For good advice
You know and I know that our good things' through
Because there's consequences for what we do
Consequences for me and you
Writers: Kevin Robert Hayes, David Nagier, Bonnie Adele Hayes.
Fallout from the first reading
One News began last night by saying that tens of millions of people worldwide have watched the clip of the haka being performed by Hana-Rawhiti Maipa-Clarke and other Te Pāti Māori MPs in parliament. It went viral, big time.
The message was clear - the world is watching Mr Luxon, and where are you? At APEC. An occasion you deemed of secondary importance to negotiations with Messrs Seymour and Peters after the election.
To be fair, I understand why Luxon wanted to be in Lima; I wouldn’t send Todd McClay to the shops unaccompanied for a bottle of milk.
But there was no need for this bill to have been brought forward to take place while he was away. For example, the government could’ve continued towards getting Big Tech to reimburse our local media people for using their content to make billions.
But they seem to have gone cold on that idea following lobbying from the likes of the NZ Initiative and the TaxPayers’ Union. Despite people’s perceptions of them, this government always seem to put the interests of large multinational corporations ahead of local businesses.
The news segment showed a single ex-National MP, Chris Finlayson, the former Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, who was willing to stand up and say that David Seymour is making the world wonder what on earth is going on with our race relations.
However, in typical Seymour fashion, the ACT man sneered that maybe Finlayson felt bad he hadn’t done better on the issue himself.
This was just pathetic behaviour from Seymour: “I know you are. I said you are, but what am I?” I’m clearly not a National voter, but I have a good degree of respect for Finlayson’s work. He is well-regarded across the board for his approach to Treaty matters. Quite a contrast with Seymour.
The Hīkoi marches on
Yesterday, the Hīkoi marched down Fenton Street in Rotorua. Reading the reports in the media and receiving messages from friends on the ground, I posted - “Feel pretty emotional reading this; it’s just wonderful.”
"Ten thousand people stopped traffic in central Rotorua today as part of a hīkoi against the Treaty Principles Bill."
I know what a march of ten thousand looks like in Tamaki Makaurau. It’s big, it is a large, hard-to-control force, and you feel damn powerful as part of it. But I’d never imagined in my lifetime I’d see so many marching in Rotorua - that is an incredible turnout.
The following video of the protest is from Instagram here and was created by ShotbyBrad. It’s really good you should watch it.
Today, the hīkoi moves from Heretaunga (Hastings) in the Hawkes Bay to Papaio ea (Palmerston North). I’m sure there will be a great turnout in the Manawatu, and the excitement builds ahead of what will be a momentous day for Aotearoa next Tuesday.
How are people feeling about this?
Yesterday afternoon I posted this to Facebook and X, and there has been a very strong reaction:
I’ll begin with some of the comments from others, which I have anonymised.
Leah: “Hell, yes! I was in support before Seymour, but now I actively seek to make change happen. He's radicalising the very ethnicity which he thinks is his support base.”
Jackie: “Absolutely 100% agree. We would not be here without the treaty and we have absolutely nothing to fear from the treaty.”
Liz: “Yep. Our work Kapa haka (of which my partner and I are members) had a kaupapa this morning. We discussed yesterday's haka and arranged to meet on Sunday to join the hīkoi in Otaki after we did our mahi. It's a mixed group, and I felt so lucky that our Māori colleagues are so generous in sharing the kaupapa with us.”
Peter: “I agree. He has backed himself into a corner, and Luxon needs to step up and pull the plug now. Made many of us more staunch about protecting the Treaty.”
This one from a Māori lady had me sucking in my cheeks, “At some point in your long and respected life, you became one of us. ❤️ I have been meeting lots of awesome Kiwis on here lately.”
Mary: “This old pākehā pensioner agrees 100%, and I love seeing that there are so many more of us than I thought. I feel so much more positive with your posts, G News, BHN, Mountain Tui, and many more like-minded people who are better at expressing things than me, so thank you all.”
Rachel: “Same! Just embraced so many of the speeches, especially Chloe’s. They were so impassioned, and that haka flowed from that girl’s frustration.”
Anne: “Definitely, Tangata Tiriti here, & the only time I was prouder of Aotearoa was in the 1981 Springbok protests.”
Sally: “73-year-old woman of English/Scottish descent, so grateful to have been gifted this home as Tangata Tiriti. My 77-year-old sister called this morning to rant about Seymour Luxon et al. We are driven more and more to the left. Go, Chloe! Go, Hana! Go, Willie! These old white women stand with you! Toitu te Tiriti!”
I thought about what this Hīkoi means to me as a pakeha.
Of the atmosphere in the crowd when I joined the protest in Tamaki Makaurau and saw so many people gathered together peacefully to defend their country from attack.
Of the elation at seeing the numbers yesterday in my hometown of Rotorua, more meaningful than the result of any sports game, this is bigger than anything like that.
That so many people are showing their support and that the things this government is doing, the attacks on Te Reo, Te Tiriti, and ultimately on the partnership we have that defines us as a people, are not done in our name. We completely reject this bill and the vision that people like David Seymour have for our beautiful Aotearoa.
The excitement building ahead of the arrival at Parliament. I can only imagine what the atmosphere will be like there. The tension and emotion in the air will no doubt be targeted at the architect of this attack on us. Still, I’m sure the feeling will overwhelmingly be that same grim determination I saw days ago on the North Shore of Auckland.
We’ve all encountered Seymour’s argument before. Have you ever talked to a 15-year-old boy? The bravado and certainty - we don’t need to worry about Māori or Te Reo, or our own local culture or anything like that, leave it to the public, to the market, and everything works out fine.
Over time, though, we grow beyond that mentality. We see the reality of the world, its unfairness, and the value of respect and partnership. We leave behind the immature outlook of adolescents, or Newstalk ZB listeners, who deride the value of Māori culture beyond a haka on a sporting field.
Those who moan about attempts to encourage Te Reo or are fixated on reparations for past wrongs fail to understand that the sums involved are tiny, both in terms of the compensation level and other things we spend money on.
We learn that coming together is better than playing one group against another. As pakeha, we discover that we have much to learn from Māori. I recently thought this while watching a video of the tangihanga in Ōhinemutu for Sir Robert ‘Bom’ Gillies.
Perhaps for some of us, it comes more naturally. We fear what we don’t know. I feel fortunate that I’ve lived in areas with a range of different races and wealth levels. I think that is healthy; we fear what we are ignorant of.
Certainly, as someone with socialist and green values, I understand the Māori emphasis on people and the planet over wealth and individualism.
We only get a short while on this planet, in this existence. Once we’ve been here a while and are closer to the end than the beginning, most of us understand that people are the most important thing there is. He Tangata.
Regardless of our political views or how much wealth we have, keeping this place safe and healthy for the next generation is what matters.
I want my tamariki and mokopuna to live in a country with those ideals: a country that prioritises the people and the planet over extracting wealth, where we understand the past and have confidence in a future where we value the partnership between our people.
Some may not understand that, but for many Kiwis, the partnership established by Te Tiriti is a positive thing, not something to be feared. Seymour's attacks are uniting many in opposition to his attack on us.
There are consequences to what you’re doing, David. You no doubt want a divisive debate over the next six months - and you will get that, I’m sure. What you might not have counted on, the unintended consequences of your actions, is the number of us who feel more determined than ever that you will not win.
Have a lovely day, all you wonderful people. To those taking part in the hīkoi today, go well; many of us are there with you - more determinedly each day.
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Some smooth sounds to finish from Robert Cray, who always reminds me of our own Darren Watson. Consequences - you can’t ignore them, David.
As a white European married with Māori whanau I have so much Aroha in my heart and soul. Democracy allows our views to be heard and honoured. I feel so much pride in the peaceful hikoi moving toward parliament. Let the world see that we are more than the racist haters who want to keep the foot on the throat of Māori and their democratic rights. There is strength in our numbers but our work is not done. The next six months will see Seymour and his crew spread falsehoods and hate to radically divide NZ. Kia kaha!
Just beauty Nick. It's hard to describe the feelings eh? To see our coming together as a nation on the Hikoi and in Parliament from Labour/Greens/TPM. To have the pic of our youngest MP Hana-Rawhiti Mapi-Clarke zooming around the world gives me so much pride. And now silly David Seymour is reduced to calling the Haka "thuggery" and that silly old ACT farmer whathisname saying Parliament were acting like "Barnyard Animals." Meanwhile, in America, well sigh. Let's not talk about Trump today. I feel the revolutionary blood in me rising again!