Waitangi: time for John Key to call it a day
"Waitangi Day has been turned into a day where Maori try to shame European New Zealanders. It is devisive and should be replaced with New Zealand Day to bring the country together."
Featured commentThe question has been asked 1000 times before.
Why would anyone in their right mind want to front up to the annual Waitangi Day circus and expose themself to physical and verbal abuse?
Yet every year our leaders and their entourages make the pilgrimage to Waitangi marae knowing full well they are going to be pilloried by radicals and loonies.
You might think Prime Minister John Key would have learnt his lesson by now.
Last year he was shouted down and had to cut his speech short while in 2009 he was assaulted by Hone Harawira’s nephews, the Popata brothers.
This year he was caught up in a fracas between Titewhai Harawira and the trustees of the marae who did not want her to be his escort, preferring Ani Taurua instead.
As Mrs Harawira, ever the old warhorse, and others argued at the gate to the marae, Mr Key was this morning kept waiting for about half an hour.
The dispute was finally settled when Mrs Harawira agreed to escort him along with Ms Taurua, but even then both women jostled for prime position as they led him on to the marae.
At least Labour prime minister Helen Clark, to her credit, bucked the trend and avoided returning for some time after some unpleasantness reduced her to tears.
Perhaps the prime minister should have listened to former governor general Dame Cath Tizard, who was spat at twice at Waitangi in 1995.
The first blob came from Tame Iti and landed at her feet. The second from Hinewhare Harawira caught her full in the face.
“Who the hell wants to go through with that every year,” she later said. “Why put yourself in a position where you know you’re going to be done over?”
It’s a question that seems to be lost on Mr Key, who is obviously a glutton for punishment.
Clearly, he has not heeded the advice of the late broadcaster Sir Paul Holmes – whose funeral is in Auckland this Friday – who advised him not to go there again.
“It’s a bullsh*t day, Waitangi. It’s a day of lies. It is loony Maori fringe self-denial day.
“John Key should not go there again. It’s over. Forget it.”
Back to home
Back to top
Print
Latest
NBR SERVICES
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Sign up for NBR subscriber content or email alerts
Comments and questions66
Give the man credit. He has guts, and that's why we vote for him.
No. You don't have brains, that's why you vote for him. Mr Key may have brains but he sure has a thick skull.
So who did you vote for then?
Can I give the standard John Key response" "I can't recall". Oh yeah, that's right, I do remember because I have a functioning memory capacity. But I'm not going to tell you because it wasn't National. I can hear the "tutts" and the "typical" scoffing already. My opinion on John Key, who votes for him or the state of the nation doesn't rely on giving his supporter's ammunition.
Baxter, time to come out and reveal yourself. You are Hone Harawira masquerading as Baxter.
Is it Hone or Te Kooti under the bed?
The only reason Waitangi Day is divisive is because the settler government broke the Waitangi contract. Make your dishonesty good. You did the crime and caused untold misery to generations of Maori. Now pay your restitution! And pay it in full! Not some miserly pitance of the full cost of your treachery. Once you have done that and comply with the Treaty, the cause for division will be gone.
Waitangi Day has yet again proved to be a day of shame for New Zealand. Time to forget any acknowledgement of the day for the future. Let us combine Anzac Day as New Zealand Day.
Can the business in New Zealand continue as normal or can the days be swapped - e.g., work on Waitangi Day and take a Monday off?
Kindly reply, asap
I'm heading over to our Aussie office tomorrow as the day is totally meaningless. At least this way I get a day off on a day off when it suits me.
John Key is a smart man. He knows if he doesn't attend Labour will and then claim some sort of victory. Mind you, where else in the world would anyone tolerate this sort of behaviour from the lunatic fringe?
I went to Waitangi this morning - the first and last time I will invest time in this event.
What we all view on TV is not the reality of what is actually happening there. There are only about 150 people outside the marae - and 50 of them are white foreign tourists. There a couple of nutters with Maori /independence flags shouting out nonsense and about 150 police - 100 in uniform and 50 in civvies and suits.
How this is celebrated as the Maori treaty anniversary is questionable. Even local Maori in the Paihia Countdown were saying at the checkout that they wouldn't waste their time on Waitangi.
After the main event and after the PM left for the Copthorne Waitangi I walked across the bridge to the treaty grounds - on the way there was a group walking across. It was the Labour caucus with Robertson and Shearer at the front and the gaggle of gays behind . They looked like the mafia on the way to a killing. Not one Maori or tourist paid any attention to them or even realised who they were. Shearer looked like he was bogging himself on the way to another public speaking / formal engagement.
In summary, Waitangi Day at Waitangi bares no resemblance to a Maori celebration - let alone a national one.
It's just an annual collection point for the loony Maori fringe and all the loony politicians - many of whom were there.
Thanks for the eyewitness report. I'd rather trust your commentary of what you saw than any of the reports on TV .
...Titewhai collects her annual 15 minutes of totally undeserved fame, JK gets to look brave and willing to front up (surely no-one really believes he is genuinely at risk from one overly aggressive granny) and the media have something viable to peddle on a public holiday.
The only ones losing are those who take this charade seriously and get wound up about it.
Which Waitangi Day were you at? Certainly not today's one. Or is it a problem of permanent blinkers?
I agree with Sir Paul. It's time the whole treaty was dumped. We are supposed to be one people.
That's right. Ian Wishart's latest book The Great Divide pretty much sets it out in b&w - one people under one Crown.
Yeah, I agree, too. Contracts are a waste of time. I'm gonna chuck my one with the bank out and just keep the house.
The fact is John Boy will do anything for prime time TV exposure, even to the point of being treated the normal /accepted Waitangi mongrel mob way. Big deal!
Australia has Australia Day and the whole country celebrates if you have ever been there to witness it - it's very cool.
Waitangi Day has been turned into a day where Maori try to shame European New Zealanders. It is devisive and should be replaced with New Zealand Day to bring the country together. Maori have the Waitangi Tribunal and that's where their gripes should be raised.
The Waitangi Tribunal is a fraud.
The settlers are frauds
After more than 20 years overseas I can't tell you how disappointed I am to come home and see that our Waitangi Day celebrations haven't changed a bit.
Here we are, well into the 21st century, and they're still dominated by the same tired old thuggery and bad manners being passed off by the same tired old players as poitical activism. A national day of unity - not likey!
Can't we grow up and move on, please. Education has always worked better than violence and insult - that, at least, is something that hasn't changed.
John Key is an appeaser and his continual embrace of the white man's burden is nothing more than pandering. I wait to see the proud and steadily richer Australian resident Maori who are making something of their lives what they might think of the dross left behind when and if they return in decades to come. I consider John Key stupid is as stupid does.
It is time all politicians gave up going to the marae at Waitangi. Mr Paul of the Maori Council said today Mr Key and his government are brutal treaty partners, and he was going to bring him to heel today. If all the politicians stopped going, all the relevance these fringe Maori get out of the day would be gone. Don’t go for a few years and boom, we have a national holiday we can all enjoy without the loonies.
And, Mr Paul, may I suggest your words are not those of a nice treaty partner, rather a colonial master, which you seem relish.
Mr Paul and his co-conspirators are not Treaty partners. Who in their right minds would want partners like them? They contribute nothing but insults and expect to be given everything.
As for the Harawiras - time the Navy frigate anchored off Russell in our bay here started using them for target practise.
Careful Alan... talk like that might make our most recent VC winner angry...
We used to have Dominion Day on September 26 to celebrate the day in 1907 when NZ become a dominion rather than a British colony. Scrap Waitangi Day and reintroduce Dominion Day!
My thoughts precisely. Let's celebrate New Zealand undivided at the beginning of spring every year and let's get some celebration back into a national holiday.
Let's all be sycophantic forelock tuggers.
Same every year. It is now simply a day off work.
I don't even look at the TV news as it will be the same every year.
Five years and National does nothing ... nine years before Labour did nothing.
Same, same, shame, shame!
Time to call it New Zealand Day.
Don't let the people in Waitangi spoil the day for everyone else. Everywhere else in NZ people celebrate our national day. A day where we acknowledge our history, diversity and embrace all cultures. Only in Waitangi do the locals believe they can hold the country to ransom with their annual antics. It's embarrassing. Good on PM Clark when she boycotted Waitangi. I hope PM Key and other persons of significance will draw the line one day and do the same. I'm sure the rest of the country would enjoy the opportunity to celebrate the day with our leaders.
How about renaming it China Day?
Time to stop giving any of it media coverage.
I am ashamed of our "National Day". As a New Zealander I feel our day has (for too long) been hijacked by the lazy minority who have nothing better to do than practice their destructive anti-establishmentarianism. The very people whose ancestors were kept alive and protected by the British colonials from the savage and bloodthirsty French (at the time). I doubt the French would appease Maori like the British do today. Actually, the French wouldn't need to these days because Maori would have been eradicated long ago, allowing the country to move forward and maybe CELEBRATE a national day. Talk about bite the hand that kept you alive...
Time to take the country back from the greedy and the loonies. If you haven't signed the online declaration of equality at http://www.nzcpr.com/ConstitutionalReview.htm then that is a good place to start. Here's what it says:
"There shall be one law for all:
We reject references to the Treaty of Waitangi or its principles in any constitutional document.
We ask that such references be removed from all existing legislation.
We ask that race-based Parliamentary seats be abolished.
We ask that race-based representation on local bodies be abolished.
We ask that the Waitangi Tribunal, which has outlived any usefulness it may have had, be abolished.
And we pledge ourselves to oppose and resist all those of whatever rank or degree who, whether by force or the devious processes of the law, attempt to impose the fetters of racial inequality on the free citizens of New Zealand."
It doesn't ask for the stolen land to be all returned.
No, he doesn't have guts, as "Robbie" suggested.
He is merely going with the flow so as to gain yet another photo op and so as not to lose a few Maori votes.
"Guts" would be telling them to go away and sort their own politics out before inviting him back again.
Can anyone see him doing that?
liberte
PS: A comment from our prime minister as to the Maoris' disgraceful behaviour would be appropriate......waiting, waiting............
It's time to stop giving the lunatic Maori fringe the attention they crave.
Needs to start at the top and John Key needs to boycott this stupid fiasco and rename the day New Zealand Day.
Have a listen to Maori Television for an hour or two and you'll hear the phrase Treaty of Waitangi or Treaty mentioned over and over and over again. Get over yourselves you Maori and realise that Europeans and other races brought some wonderful things to the table, too. Would you really all like to give your cars back and start wearing grass skirts again?
Unbelievably dumb.
It's quite clear that Waitangi Day has had it's day, if indeed it ever had it.
Two requests please:
1 Do not convert it into New Zealand Day. That would be laughable; more appropriately it could be called "Maori Complaints Day". But better to abolish it altogether as Maori have plenty of other avenues for pursuing their grievances.
2 Have the media totally ignore it. The Maori radicals thrive on the publicity and the large volume of media attention every year plays right into their hands.
WG
We did change Waitangi Day to New Zealand Day once. Norman Kirk's government did it. A bit hazy on the details but I think only lasted a year or so. Try doing it again I reckon, and make it a real celebration of nationhood.
What other country in the world celebrates becoming a colony (which is what happened on 6 February). Better to celebrate Dominion Day on September 26 - which at least denotes a partial return to sovereignty. Better still would be to identify the date when New Zealand acheived full soveignty and independence - I am just not sure when that was?
To say February 6 celebrates becoming a colony puts a very narrow slant on the day. Remember Maori chose Britain, against 4 other countries competing to have New Zealand as theirs. Remember it is the only example of colonisation by invitation versus conquest. Many things happened later, but it would be wrong to not acknowledge the day the docment that founded our nation was first signed.
Odd that you'd visit somewhere as negative, abusive and loony as Waitangi on Waitangi Day. And good on the media for giving these muppets their 15 minutes of fame. Not. They are nothing but media whores who live in the distant past and feel aggrieved over something that had nothing to do with them. Losers, really, but that makes successive governments even more so, given they pander to them.
The whinging part of Maoridom are a minority in this country. Other New Zealanders, the ones without imaginary chips on their shoulders, would vote for the party that puts an end to this nonsense, for the rest of their lives, out of gratitude alone. Go ahead National, do it and Labour will never return to power again.
Waitangi Day is a day to celebrate. What other country can claim to have it's very own Cringe Festival?
It doesn't help that the media are looking for an angle. Drama sells.
The country has had enough of the politicians grovelling on Waitangi Day, and the ratbags who've hijacked it.
Time to stop giving politicans our vote. What do they do to earn it? They certainly don't represent anything like the majority.
For a PM not to go to Waitangi is an admission of defeat to a monority of annual protestors. No PM should give in to a small minority of protestors, terrorists, or any other type of bully. Besides, Waitangi Te Tii marae is but a small part of the whole affair/celebration at Waitangi, and also the wider new zealand community.
Waitangi Day is the remembrance of the founding of New Zealand as a nation state, and hence it is entirely appropriate for the PM to attend annually.
The onus should be put on Nga Puhi and broader Maoridom to remove the farce that currently surrounds this event, to make it what it could be. A celebration of the partnership, which has created ( in my opinion) the best country in the world.
It's a thug's parade which ever way you look at it. Political thugs who control, mug and take from the populus grovelling to honour, and, if we are honest, another bunch of thugs who grumble even more, groan about the size of their own take from the same populus. Kinda symbolic, indeed.
It must be a worry for the politicians who having ridden their egos up to that armpit of a place and event with the usual clamouring media to then hear the population spitting contempt in equal measure to the usual annual farce.
Oh those poor, poor, poor dear politicians....emissions tax scam anyone?
Come on folks lighten up, this is fantastic entertainment, even beats Benny Hinn praying over cheque book stubs.
So speaketh the rednecks
What's alll this talk about a "partnership"? Kill it now.
Which battalion of predominantly Maori soldiers shall we send?
For goodness sake - why get so upset about a very small minority of publicity seekers? he comments above make it sound as if there were protestors everywhere causing trouble.
Whether you like it or not, and whatever you feel about its role today, the fact is the Treaty of Waitangi IS our founding document. There is a lot about it that we should be very proud of and it is totally appropriate to recognise the anniversary of its signing as our national day.
What is not appropriate is to focus solely on a very small group who if they were Pakeha would get no attention whatsoever. The nature of the Treaty will always mean there will be people who will disagree on both sides.
But none of this should change a deserving pride in how significant the Treaty was for its time, for international influences in this part of the world, for the recognition of religious freedom in a then still divided religious world, etc.
We should reclaim our national day
We should have a national Mori Ori remembrance day, celebrating that proud people's extinction at the hands of a Maori pot. They were the first people here and we all need to remember what happened when they were colonised.
It would be fascinating if some New Zealander's proved their ancestory to the Mori Ori and claimed land rights against the Maori. What a legal conundrum.
If anyone out there has a hair of Mori Ori, then get in touch with 7 Sharp and bring your story to light.
Modern DNA tests show that there was never any separate race called Moriori. What school journals taught us in the 1940s to 70s has been proven wrong. The only differences emerged when a group of Maori settled in the Chathams, well after Maori arrived here.
Sir Paul said it all: " Waitangi : the most repugnant day" . We should never ever forget it.
Well writen Rod, and most reader comments also hit the nail on the head. A day for the racist loney fringe to beat their chests and promote their racist bigitory.
Scrap it, by its very nature it's racist. Like our cousins across the ditch it should be replaced with New Zealand Day, a day to indeed celebrate our wonderful multi-cultural country.
In reply to Dungy, you are correct. Contracts written by those who have since died, in favour of those that have also died are just a waste of time and need to be buried in the past as nothing more than history.
aren't the "British Crown" and the "Maori" people, as parties to the "contract", still in existence...