Hone Harawira and Paula ‘Benefit’ were at it again this week. One upsetting the beneficiaries as usual, and the other upsetting just about everybody. Hone Harawira continues to rage with thunder and strike with lightening into heartland New Zealand over race related matters. His message might have been valid but the way in which he expresses himself not only grates, but causes huge damage in race relations.
As you are all aware he used the term ‘house nigger’. He used this to describe the Prime Minister’s instruction that no National Party Maori MP was to attend a National Hui called on Water by one of the most paramount leaders known in Maori terms, Kingi Tuheitia, Leader of the Tainui Confederation. Harawira said that Key was acting like a white plantation master in his treatment of the Maori MPs. He went on further to link Maori Party Leaders, Sharples and Turia, as being under his rule for not immediately stating they would attend the hui.
Harawira would not have received the level of publicity had he expressed himself as a so called ‘normal’ MP. This man will never have the decorum or statesmanship that many want their MPs to have. He is an activist and protestor first, not a Member of Parliament first. He will use street language and it must be said this language is used commonly in a number of communities up and down the country. When I voted for the Foreshore and Seabed Legislation as a Member of the Labour Party I was called a house nigger by supporters of the Maori Party.
If Harawira had called the Maori Party Leaders and the National Party Maori MPs Uncle Tom he would have got away with it, but then we would not be talking about it. How smart is Harawira and how stupid are we. The regretful thing about Hone is that all Maori have to suffer the consequences of the Pakeha fallout against his ranting and raving. So whilst the people of the North will again see him as their champion, many other Maori will walk into their lunchrooms and their Pakeha mates will stop talking, because before they entered they were hammering all Maori, because of one Maori.
This week again saw the Minister of Social Development, Paula Bennett, also MP for Waitakere, bring out another Policy to hunt down 8,200 beneficiaries who have an arrest warrant outstanding. Hundreds of these arrest warrants are for frivolous and silly transport related matters, such as non payment of fines.
These people will be denied their benefits, children will be taken into the care of the State and a small number of beneficiaries will be locked up at great cost. So once again, we dehumanise beneficiaries. We must ensure they do not breed, hence the policy on contraception. We must ensure that they are drug tested. And now we must ensure that we continue to hunt down the remnants lock them up and their children. This Minister and this Member are not going down well in West Auckland.