ANTI-MĀORI SENTIMENTS FROM RODNEY HIDE AND THE NZ HERALD

I think Rodney Hide and the NZ Herald should be honest and just come out and say they are anti-Māori. Stop mucking around and just make it clear. This is clearly the intent here without saying it directly. Rodney Hide is critical of a 'refloated Paganism'. He is also critical of Government agencies which seem to have been duped by Māori into spending tax payers/public money - as if Māori aren't tax payers or members of the public - on such spurious Māori schemes as erecting carved pou on two bridges, one in Waikato and the other in Hauraki.
It is disingenuous of the NZ Herald to say that 'pou are to be admired' and then let Rodney Hide spend the entire article complaining about the lack of information available about the pou on these bridges. Instead of explaining why the pou ought to be admired (what 'strikes' him about the pou, as he says), he informs us of his frustrated search for information and tells us about 'secret histories', suggesting that some kind of conspiracy is afoot lead by Māori and supported by confused Government officials. He finishes the piece by ludicrously suggesting that the Government is supporting a 'refloated Paganism.' Its all rather pathetic.
I happen to agree with his view that if public monies are utilised then there should be quality explanations readily available for the public to read. However, any positive point Hide may make is spoiled by the overall negative view he (and the NZ Herald for that matter) holds of Māori people and culture. This negative view is evidenced by the assertion that Māori are promoting paganism and, contrary to the assumption concerning the separation of church and state, the Government is spending tax payer's money supporting this Māori paganism.
I reject the notion that the pou represent a 'refloated paganism' because if that were true, all carved marae in the country (and those in public institutions such as museums as well as other locations using carvings) also represent paganism, which is plainly untrue. Hide even has to use the old chestnut of the 'separation of church and state' as an argument against the erection of the pou. He grabs at anything he can to protest initiatives of this kind. He makes out that his complaint concerns the lack of available information explaining these publicly funded pou. But what he is really saying is that the pou shouldn't have been publicly supported in the first place. It doesn't matter if he gets his explanation or not. His intent is to criticise, protest and halt Māori development, particularly where public funds are involved.
I can not speak for these particular pou. What I can say, however, is that initiatives of this kind are designed to uplift the visibility of Māori - local iwi particularly - in a particular district. It is about honouring these people and recognising the sometimes considerable difficulties and injustices that iwi have endured through the creation of roads, bridges and the like. Recognising the enormous amount of land alienated from Māori through such things as the Public Works Act and the Native/Māori Land Courts, it is a small gesture indeed to have pou erected in recognition of these histories. It is not about promoting paganism. It is small minded and offensive to have public figures such as Rodney Hide, supported by the NZ Herald, quibble about such gestures designed to foster goodwill.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11373908

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