Why I like the Maori Party

Aside from Pita Sharples being one of the more sensible and considered voices in Parliament - and the fact that, as a party, they openly recognise the existance and danger of a welfare and greivance mentalilty amongst their own people, the other reason I like the Maori Party is headlines like this:

Peaceful start to Waitangi Day

WAITANGI - There was no room for sideshows, a congregation waiting in the dark outside the sacred whare runanga (meeting house) on the Treaty House grounds in Waitangi was told today.

Ngapuhi runanga chairman, Sonny Tau told those waiting for the first formal event of the 166th commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, if speakers deviated from the service they would be told to sit down.

"Line up for the circus up the road," they were told.

And later in the same article

Act leader Rodney Hide also led a prayer which he said was on a sacred day in a special place to honour the treaty.

"It was very warm and it made you proud to be a New Zealander.

"It is what unites New Zealand . . . the fact that we are all one that we are all equal before the law."

He also said the Maori Party had given protesters a voice in Parliament and because of that the need for protest at Waitangi had lessened.

He said it was a reminder of what united and not divided the country.

Nice! Nothing pissed me off more than a few 'radicals' hi-jacking our national day. I often compared Waitangi Day to taking a sickie - you get the day off, but you were'nt supposed to enjoy yourself too much...

I think the Maori Party is a good thing, and has it's place as long as enough people want it to. If they increase the presence of Maori within the system and mute some of the Tame Iti types - brilliant.

In terms of the Maori Seats - I think they should go, but not until the Maori Party have secured more than the 5% thereshold in at least one general election. Once they have established themselves as a Party and political movement - then like the Greens, Act,or anyone else - it is up to them to survive.

But I do think they are owed the chance to establish themselves as a credible and well resourced organisation before the removal of the existing race based seats.