Maori Party

John Banks was interviewed on Q+A about charter schools. It seems they are on track:

Act Party leader John Banks says there won’t be any changes to legislation around the controversial partnership schools despite opposition parties continuing their objections to elements of the bill such as allowing unqualified teachers.

The Education Amendment Bill, which would establish charter schools, known as partnership schools, was expected to pass in Parliament with the support of National, Act and the Maori Party.

Mr Banks told TVNZ’s Q+A programme today it was not insignificant the Maori Party would want to support the bill.

“Because every second young Maori leaves school after 12 years of schooling without NCEA level 2, no numeracy or literacy.”

He said the Maori Party had not asked for any changes to the bill in exchange for their support of it.  Read more »

Asssociate Professor of being a Drama Queen at huge taxpayer expense at Auckland University – Peter O’Connor – clearly feels he is running short of attention so it now putting out his own press releases on Voxy.

At least in this one he acknowledges that Maori (at 23% behind non-Maori) have been long-term screwed over by the NZEI/PPTA system.

It must be the day for it. Government appointments to new roles start today so why not some announcements.

Keeping Stock published Martyn Bradbury‘s press release announcing that Kiwiblog, Whaleoil, Keeping Stock and Home Paddock will now be syndicating our feeds to The Daily Blog in order to provide some balance.

Scott Yorke also announces some big news.

People who read my posts will know I have not been an uncritical supporter of the Labour Party. The party has struggled from one blunder to the next, and this tendency towards self-injury has driven much of the ongoing speculation about David Shearer’s leadership. Many of us have looked on in dismay as Labour tears itself apart, and more than a few of us have found ourselves questioning our choice of party.   Read more »

I have written at Truth’s website details about support of the Maori party for charter schools at the Education Select Committee this morning.

At the education select committee mid morning today, a Dr Toby Curtis, who is chairman of the Iwi Education Authority will be presenting to the Science and Education select committee.

Accompanying him is none other than Pem Bird, the Maori Party President and Ngai Tahu elder, who will be arguing in favour of partnership schools. Bird, according to his biography on the Maori Party website is an educationalist, awarded a QSM for services to Maori Education in 2008, by the then Labour government.

In 2004 the political dynamic changed with Don Brash’s Orewa speech. Don said what a good cross section of New Zealand were thinking, New Zealand should be a place where there is one standard of citizenship, and Maoris should stop bludging.

Don’s speech reached out to middle New Zealand who couldn’t understand why Maori were getting so much tax payer largess, and why taxpayers should be funding them. His speech touched a raw nerve that the liberal elite didn’t know existed, and got a huge number of voters to consider voting National. Don stood up to PC bullshit, and for the first time National had Helen Clark under pressure as Prime Minister.

Grant, being a confirmed member of the liberal elite, and having lived most his adult life in the rarified airs of the beltway has apparently not taken on board this lesson. Waitakere Man (and Woman) don’t like seeing their kids miss out so Maoris can get ahead in the queue, yet Grant seems spectacularly unaware of this.  Read more »

The Maori party and Mana party have been very vociferous in calling for bans for all tobacco in the general population. Hone Harawira and Tariana Turia in particular are on public record as harsh opponents of smoking. Turia demanded some sort of health portfolio when negotiating with National for the coalition arrangements precisely to push through anti-smoking measures.

Turia just 8 months ago was calling for the shaming of people who smoke in cars:

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia has suggested drivers should show their disapproval of others smoking in cars carrying children by tooting at them and wagging their finger like Supernanny scolding a child.

Hone Harawira has said in the past, when he was part of the Maori party:

MP Hone Harawira, who is drafting the private member’s bill, said it was “not about trying to penalise the poor addicts who are smoking cigarettes”.

“But the tobacco companies can go to hell. We will no longer sacrifice our generations so you can make profits.”

“I can’t believe how we could have allowed this to carry on. This actually kills people and yet it’s legal.”  Read more »

Tariana Turia has not taken much time at all to sledge out David Shearer for attempting to cuddle up to the Exclusive Bro-thren aka Ratana.

Labour leader David Shearer has said he will gun for the Maori Party electorate seats next year, exploiting the uncertainty in the party – but co-leader Tariana Turia has retaliated, saying Mr Shearer was a poser and Maori people would see right through him.

…  Read more »

David Shearer has professed a willingness to sell membership and policy in order to get Ratana on board. He has basically dropped his trousers in an attempt to attract Maori support and at the same time attacked the Maori party.

If Shearer wants to win back all the Maori seats, he’s gonna be offering some serious pork, over and above all the recent progress on Treaty claims.

I wonder how Waitakere Man would feel about that.

David Shearer is vowing to “go for broke” to win back all Maori seats from Maori Party, even if it means the demise of the party.

— Katie Bradford-Crozi (@katieabradford) January 24, 2013

Read more »

The Maori party is putting on a song and dance…it’s all about the money I’m afraid:

As the Maori Party battles for survival, its political opponents are already fighting to pick up the lost votes.

But politicians were given a stern warning during festivities at Ratana Pa, near Whanganui, yesterday: “Never take for granted the Maori electorate vote ever again”.

“We may be small, we may be neglected, we may be in poverty but we have survived, we are alive and it ain’t finished yet,” Ratana speaker Ruia Aperehama said.

He predicted that Labour and the Greens would govern in 2014.  Read more »

I am on Firstline tomorrow at 0715 for a general discussion about politics.

Topics are likely to be Maori party leadership, Cunliffe’s non-challenge and the February leadership vote and John Key’s re-shuffle.

Tune in to TV3 to watch.

No idea who I am on with, but Rachel Smalley is away and Emma Jolliff is the presenter.