Ngātiwai iwi urges Māori pride after Winston Peters' moko comments
Northland iwi Ngātiwai is encouraging te iwi Māori to take pride in their identity and wear their moko proudly, following Winston Peters' comments calling Rawiri Waititi's mataora 'scribbles'.
Peters, who is of Ngātiwai descent, made the remark during a Parliamentary debate
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NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
Greg Dixon's Another Kind of Politics: Labour Party declared 'legally dead' by coroner
Missing in action? Labour leader Chris Hipkins. Photo / Getty Images Greg Dixon is an award-winning news reporter, TV reviewer, feature writer and former magazine editor who has written for the NZ Listener since 2017. Online only Greg Dixon's Another Kind of Politics is a weekly satirical column on politics that appears on A memorial is to be held on the West Coast to mark the passing of New Zealand Labour after the 109-year-old party went missing without a trace some 20 months ago. Although no body has been located, the Wellington coroner this week declared the missing party deceased. 'Despite alleged encounters with members of the parliamentary media, the Labour Party has not been provably sighted by any member of the voting public since late 2023,' the coroner said in a statement. 'Extensive hunts by army search teams, police sniffer dogs and global spy satellites have failed to find signs of life, such as effective opposition to the government's increasingly anti-worker, anti-environment and anti-Māori policies. As such, I have no option but to declare the New Zealand Labour Party legally dead.' In further comments, the coroner said that it was her belief that following the loss of Labour matriarch Dame Jacinda Ardern at the beginning of 2023, the party went into a steep political decline. It was last seen looking dazed and confused in late 2023 under its stop-gap leader, the sausage roll aficionado Chris Hipkins. Labour had had no further contact with the voting public from around that time and had not issued a single new policy about anything since, the coroner said. It is believed the party had likely gone into a 'deep mental funk' after its catastrophic showing at the 2023 election. 'A coroner has the power to declare a person dead in cases where there has been a major disaster and a body can't be found,' the coroner said. 'Obviously, Labour's near-record 2023 election defeat by National was just such a disaster and no one has been able to find the body of the Labour Party since. I believe that after more than 20 months without a public sighting, it is safe to conclude the party has died somewhere in the political wilderness.' Former members and supporters of the party will mark the passing at a gathering on Monday afternoon at New Zealand Labour's birthplace at Blackball on the West Coast. In a tribute to the late party, a ceremonial vote will be held to decide whether a capital gains tax policy could have saved Labour from oblivion. 'It is a sad day for New Zealand,' one former party member said. 'A mighty tōtara has fallen. And it did it without making a sound.' Chris Bishop calls new Lorde album 'a load of crap' Another Kind of Politics' Music Reviewer of the Year Chris Bishop says he is 'not very bloody impressed' by the latest release from best-selling Kiwi pop singer Lorde. In his first major music review since the Aotearoa Music Awards in late May, Bishop has labelled Lorde's new album Virgin 'a load of crap', and says he wouldn't recommend it to anyone who liked 'good' music like Cold Chisel and Men at Work. 'Call me a dickhead, but I don't believe for a moment Lorde has got her V-plates intact, so it's false advertising for a start,' Bishop told Another Kind of Politics by phone. 'The first single What Was That was rubbish and made me think 'what the bloody hell was that?', which was kind of ironic, ha, ha, ha. As for the new single Hammer, I'd rather listen to Chisel. The rest of the album reminded me of being stuck in a disco while some woman moans on to me about her life.' Virgin, released last Friday, has received almost universal praise internationally, with Rolling Stone calling it 'nearly 40 minutes of undeniable pop bangers', while The Guardian called it 'powerful, moving, personal but universal – and packed with bangers'. Bishop said he had found 'no bangers' on the album only 'a bunch of fizzers', and would not be listening to Virgin again. 'But I'm really hanging out for 10CC's gig in Wellington next week. That'll be rockin'. Do you want a review of that?' The prestigious Golden Nitpicker Award for music review of the year was awarded to Bishop after his thoughtful critiques at the AMA ceremony where he labelled Stan Walker's performance 'a load of crap', and claimed the singer had received 'performative acclaim'. Renowned Kiwi musician and former Mutton Bird Don McGlashan confronted Bishop at the time, telling him to 'shut up, you dickhead'. Poll to ask what Judith Collins should lose next on her watch? Minister For Losing Our Stuff Judith Collins is seeking public input on which vital, multimillion dollar, taxpayer-funded equipment should be lost next from her portfolios. This week it was revealed that under Collins' tenure as the country's first Minister for Space, the MethaneSAT satellite, which the government put $29 million towards, was lost in space after going off course. This followed the sinking of the $103 million HMNZS Manawanui after it hit a reef in Samoa last October under her watch as Minister of Defence. Collins' office said the minister would now poll New Zealanders on what expensive piece of equipment should vanish or be misplaced next under her ministerships. A spokesperson said the minister was 'ultra-keen to complete a 'lost property hat trick' by the next election'. Political quiz of the week Photo / Facebook What is Deputy Prime Minister and birthday boy David Seymour about to wish for when he blows out his candles? A/ For equality, freedom and the tyranny of the minority. B/ That he can stir up enough fear and loathing to win Act two more seats in 2026. C/ For a time machine to go back to 1840 to rewrite the treaty with his 'principles'. D/ That the Prime Minister goes overseas again and never comes back.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
David Seymour criticises Rawiri Waititi for 'insane views' about African leader
Rawiri Waititi has praised an African leader who has become popular as a symbol of resistance to the West. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has labelled Te Pāti Māori a threat to democracy after its co-leader Rawiri Waititi declared a West African military ruler to be his "modern day hero". Burkina Faso's leader Ibrahim Traoré has grown in popularity across Africa and beyond, since seizing power in a 2022 coup, with many praising him as a symbol of resistance to the West. Earlier this year, Waititi shared a video of Traoré on Instagram, along with a comment labelling the president his "modern day hero!". "Tino Rangatira is not only a domestic commitment, it is an international determination. Our fight for political, economic, social and cultural independence and liberation is not a dream, it's a decision!" Waititi wrote. The post provoked the ire of the ACT Party's leader, who cited it as evidence of Te Pāti Māori's "insane views". "Rawiri Waititi once said he's not a fan of democracy. We need to take him seriously," a spokesperson for Seymour said in a statement. "His hero is a Marxist dictator who has delayed elections and banned homosexuality... [Te Pāti Māori is] not in Parliament to uphold democracy, but wreck it." Te Pāti Māori declined RNZ's request for a response: "We will not be commenting on this". ACT leader and Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has labelled Rawiri Waititi a threat to democracy. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Ahead of the 2023 election, Waititi told Newshub he was "not a fan of democracy", describing it as "a tyranny of the majority". Traoré took power in Burkina Faso in September 2022, ousting a fellow military officer amid growing frustration at ongoing jihadist violence. Since then, he has styled himself as a pan-African revolutionary and pledged to restore security and national sovereignty. A BBC profile in May said Traoré had built the "persona of a pan-Africanist leader determined to free his nation from what he regards as the clutches of Western imperialism and neo-colonialism". While Traoré commands strong support among some youth and rural communities, rights groups have raised alarm over increasing authoritarianism, human rights violations and media suppression. Under his leadership, the country has shifted away from former colonial power France and drawn closer to Russia. A researcher at South Africa's Institute for Security Studies, Enoch Randy Aikins, told the BBC that Traoré's radical reforms had buoyed his popularity. "He is now arguably Africa's most popular, if not favourite, president," Aikins said. Traoré initially promised to hold elections in 2024 but subsequently delayed them until at least 2029. In July 2024, the military junta announced a ban on homosexual acts, but it does not yet appear to have been enacted into law. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
12 hours ago
- Scoop
Regulatory Standards Bill Could Be Barrier For Māori Housing
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has warned that the Regulatory Standards Bill could stymie progress in enabling papakāinga, or Māori housing, documents show. A ministry official also flagged concerns the legislation could make it harder for ministers to do their jobs, and warned the reach of the proposed law - and the minister-appointed board - seemed "disproportionate to the authority of Parliament". Regulations Minister David Seymour rejected the criticism, saying the ministry should be "leading the charge to cut through this bureaucracy so more homes can be built". The Regulatory Standards Bill is non-binding on Parliament but proposes a set of principles MPs and officials would have to consider when designing regulation. It also would set up a board, appointed by the minister, to examine current and future laws' consistency with those principles, as well as requiring regular reviews of all regulations. In its feedback, the housing ministry raised concern about the potential for individual property rights to be elevated over and above collective rights. "...the lack of provision for collective rights/rangatiratanga and the indicated shift towards Individual rights, in a way that is not currently in New Zealand's constitution, could impact the way we can develop policy and legislation with significant negative impacts on Māori housing outcomes," it said. The ministry said one of the proposed principles - dealing with taxes, fees, and levies - could hinder progress on Māori-led housing projects. "If this principle is imposed over regulation, we are concerned it could be misaligned with the current approaches to whenua Māori, lead to greater fragmentation of land/whenua Maōri, be a barrier to pooling resources for collective good and further entrench the negative housing outcomes that currently exist." The government in May announced plans to make it easier to consent papakāinga. However, funding for the Whai Kāinga, Whai Oranga housing fund has also been cut. In a statement to RNZ, a spokesperson for Seymour said if the Regulation Standards Bill had been in place years ago, it could have prevented "much of the pointless red tape" that slows down building and consenting. "New Zealand faces a serious housing crisis. Anyone who has tried to build a home knows the delays and costs caused by red tape," the spokesperson said. "I'd have thought the Ministry for Housing would be leading the charge to cut through this bureaucracy so more homes can be built." An FAQ document prepared by Seymour's office also rejected the idea that the bill would favour individual rights over collective ones, saying it preserved the status quo "that collective Parliamentary law can trump all individual rights to personal autonomy and possessions". The document did not specify, however, how individual property rights would be considered compared to collective property rights by officials operating under the new regime. The housing ministry also warned that requiring reviews of all secondary legislation in reviews - without exemption - would add to the government's workload. To that, Seymour was unapologetic: "We're aware the public service doesn't like this law. Yes, it makes more work for them, justifying laws that interfere in people's lives. Here's the thing: If the public service think being required to justify their laws is a faff, imagine what it's like for the public they have to serve who are obliged to follow them." The ministry also made the case that the Treaty of Waitangi "should be featured as a relevant consideration" among the principles. But the FAQ, from Seymour's office, said the Treaty was excluded because the bill was focused on the quality of regulations, not Treaty obligations. "As with compliance with international obligations, legal obligations under Treaty settlements are a given. A central part of the RSB is to protect existing legal rights from unprincipled appropriation," it said. The ministry also said the ability for the proposed Regulatory Standards Board - appointed by the Regulations Minister, currently Seymour - to carry out reviews of regulations ahead of agencies' own regular reviews of legislation "would not be the most effective use of the board's time". Seymour has previously defended the extra cost and workload, saying the cost was about 2 percent of the policy work currently done across the government. "If it costs $20 million just to check the regulations, imagine the cost to all the poor buggers out there who have to comply with all this crap," he said. Concerns raised by official over 'disproportionate' powers In preparation for providing feedback on the Cabinet paper in October, an MHUD official warned that giving the Regulation Minister power to set the terms of regulatory reviews could interfere with the work of other ministers. "The power of the Minister of Regulation to initiate regulatory review and set terms of reference gives considerable power and will affect the ability of a portfolio minister to advance their work," the official said. "There should be elements of mutual agreement, or consultation required, or some detail about the threshold for the Minister to initiate a review (eg requiring an Order in Council)." The official also questioned whether a board chosen by the minister should have so much influence, saying it seemed "disproportionate compared to the authority of Parliament". They pointed out there was already a process - through the Regulatory Review Committee and the Legislation Act - that allowed MPs to examine regulations if concerns were raised. In response, Seymour's spokesperson said the bureaucrats "may want to familiarise themselves" with a set of rules, known as Legislative Guidelines, which departments are already required to follow, including the principles of property rights, individual liberty, and the rule of law. "The only difference is that under the Regulatory Standards Bill, these principles would become Parliamentary law, not just Cabinet guidance that some departments clearly ignore."
