Maori Party = Marxism

The Maori Party, despite the cuddly warm and even sensible comments by Dr. Pita Sharples (and frankly, we could do worse than have him replace any Labour MP, though John Tamihere adds colour that I would miss), is a party of Marxists.

It talks like a party of the centre left, but its philosophy is very clear - besides the fact that the obvious URL for the maori party aint bad, it is the policies and philosophy on its real website that are of concern.

Besides the usual leftie promises of free health care and education for all, there are some interesting little twists. The following are quotes from the website:

The Māori Party will speak with a strong, independent and united voice on all aspects of the social cultural, economic and political life of Aotearoa to move our Nation forward. So I guess government is all encompassing then, not much room for life outside politics.

Attaching tangata whenua and others to their ūkaipō, tūrangawaewae, takiwā and rohe; and expressing the authority that whānau, hapū and iwi have over their ancestral land, resources and wellbeing. Hmmm so where are private property rights or have they been abolished?

Defining Māori and others through links to their ancestors and heritage. So we are defined not by what we do, or our accomplishments, but the accomplishments (and presumingly) the crimes of our ancestors. So I am guilty for what my ancestors did and proud of it. In fact I am neither - I am not responsible for the actions of others, especially the dead!

Rising educational and health levels and diminishing poverty will be achieved because, regardless of the ability to pay there will be

• opportunities for everyone to be successful to the highest levels of their potential; and

• timely access to high quality and appropriate health care. Brave indeed, so from each according to his ability to each according to his needs. How will everyone have these opportunities?

Growing and sustainable prosperity, measured by a genuine progress index, will be maximized and shared through employment, entrepreneurship, support for voluntary activity and social services. All whānau will have the opportunity to participate fully in society and in decisions that directly affect them. Whanau run society? So I run a business but the families "directly affected" can participate fully in my decision to expand, change what I sell, close, hire or fire people?

To resource whānau to develop strategies that promote wellbeing of whānau members as a reflection of good education and health health Resource whanau? So families get funded to do what?? with whose money?

To encourage early childhood and compulsory education on the economic, social, cultural and environmental history and evolution of Aotearoa as a nation guess what view that will be!

To audit all agencies who provide services against kaupapa Māori So next time you get your water supply connected, ensure they respect kaupapa Maori or else!

To recognise the official status of te reo Māori by making it compulsory for public sector agencies’ staff to learn te reo Māori to a defined standard of proficiency and resourcing the programme accordingly. Nothing like a bit of ethno nationalism to give your friends some highly paid consultancy jobs

To ensure that all peoples enjoy a fundamental right to clean air, land, water and food Really? Air is nice, water and food aren't free, but land? How is my right to land to be fundamental? I just sold my house, can I come back because I have a fundamental right to land??

To empower Māori to make decisions on the application of genetic engineering, modification and emerging technologies Nobody else, just Maori - anything else would be racist eh? Emerging technologies, sooo those 4th generation mobile phones, solid state ipods, fuel cell powered cars - can't let us choose them can we? The dictatorship of the Maori must make decisions.

To establish trade relationships with other first nation peoples What is stopping you?

To provide support for community activities, so that gambling machines can be removed or reduced more money taken from the unwilling.

To respond to the global call to action against poverty, with particular focus on eradication of child poverty So we extend the welfare state to other countries then? Or advocated unfettered free trade? or is it more marxist nonsense?

To promote land diversification based on kaupapa Māori principles where land is both a commercial and a spiritual and cultural asset wtf? So it's not my land anymore. Diversification of what? oh i get it, this is when your mates get to assert their fundamental right to land. great!

To promote the collection of statistics that allow for the identification of Māori ethnicity in economic activity Why not blondes? I bet they are under represented in high income brackets.

We will see

• the presence of the Māori Party in Parliament enhance decision making for the Nation;

• kawanatanga finding ways to fulfil the guarantees of rangatiratanga through participation in the annual budget process and the unbundling of departmental budgets;

• the equality of rights and privileges for everyone in this Nation. Ok so they want special treatment and equal privileges - though a privilege could be the use of my land, or my money, or my body.
  

Enough of all that. The Maori party seems to have two overwhelming goals -

1. growth of government to fix everything, fund everything and give "whanau" the power to veto anything in their communities - a sort of Maoist party cell model, where you can't do a damned thing unless your community says so. They see it as harking back to a golden age of Maori participatory government - if it ever existed.

2. Maori deciding all sorts of things for us. Basically an advocate for some theoretically "Maori world view" which supposedly is genuine. Remember how the Marxists believe in the "general will", in other words what the working classes would have wanted, had you asked them and they really known what waas best for them - of course asking them was too hard, so you set up a party to communicate the "general will"- anyone against it was against the will of the workers, and that had to be bad, they were the enemy. Anyone working against Maori values, is anti-Maori and racist - easy isn't it? Even if the person is Maori.

In short, collectivism through and through. Subscribe to the pre-modern values of "Maori" (or rather those who purport to be the custodians of this philosophy) and it is ok. Reject them and you are racist, not genuinely Maori, and get compared to Hitler.

Nice really.... but you wont hear anything or anyone debating that seriously on Maori TV or radio will you now?