Harawira on Labour
August 31st, 2008 at 9:10 am by David FarrarMy position on the Maori Party is that long-term they are more natural coalition partners for Labour. This is despite certain Labour bloggers having attacked them as being nasty right wingers because they don’t agree with them on every issue.
However I have generally felt that there is a reasonable chance they might go with National in 2008. For several reasons:
- If they have just won six or seven of the Maori seats off Labour, why would they make Parekura Horomia Minister of Maori Affairs again?
- By going with National at least once, it means Labour in the future won’t take them for granted and treat them like doormats, as they do with the Greens.
- By going with National, they can claim to have “saved” the Maori seats as a deal would inevitably see that issue negotiated away.
- It helps them position themselves as 100% pro-Maori and not right or left – willing to work with either party.
- Putting an unpopular third term Government back into office for a fourth term is electorally risky for a minor party in the centre.
Now again, don’t get me wrong. In the long term I think they will end up supporting Labour far more often than National. Yes there are areas of policy similiarity with National, but there are greater ones with Labour. But tactically there are some advantages to going with National in 2008.
Now the main thorn in the side of this theory has been Hone Harawira. the Maori Party is not tightly whipped, and he has been passionately anti-National in the past. But the SST today reveals him saying:
Maori Party MP Hone Harawira told the Star-Times that the Labour-led government was “stale” and arrogant and it was time for a change of government.
“They’re suffering from the arrogance of being in power too long. At the moment they’re a coalition corpse. They’re gone, and anybody who is associated too closely with them is likely to be gone as well.”
That’s a pretty bold statement. Now it is not a final position. The Maori Party will undertake some flaxroots consultation to make a decision after the election. But it does suggest that Harawira will be arguing against going with Labour again, not for Labour.
Related posts:
- Goff flip-flops on Harawira
- Harawira on Agenda
- Goff rules out Harawira led left party
- Harawira gets the nod
August 31st, 2008 at 9:25 am
DPF, By Jove I think you have hit the nail right on the head!
Excellent appraisal.
Interestingly, all Maori that I know have pretty much the same view.
After large payouts from the State under Agreements their priorities have changed as well.
Iwi are well advised now, and JK certainly broke the ice at the WD jamboree.
Whereas Helen Clark simply sulked in the background, just like she did with OG at the Grand Opening.
She can’t take the pressure, and I truly believe that she dislikes Maori of any constituency.
Nothing to do with Ethnicity, only to do with her Superiority Complex.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 9:43 am
And, for the nation, who wouldn’t rather see Pita in Cabinet than Winston?
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 9:48 am
Good DPF. Something I have been saying for at least a year now. Glad recent events have encouraged others to share my view. National will be in Government if they get either 50% of the vote or the Maori Party onside. National will not get rid of the Maori seats while they are in Govt with a strong Maori Party. That would be political suicide. ( We must not get rid of them anyway – but that’s another argument) . Hariwira hates Labour. And I have always said that whoever gets a Maori seat will be in Government, given that we have had mainly minority Governments since 1996. This current Government holds more Maori seats than the main Opposition party, whereas National has never been in Government since 1996 without the backing of Maori seats. Then they were held by coalition partner NZ First. That’s why the relationship between National and the Maori party has always been vital. If the Maori Party win all the Maori seats they will be in Government unless National gets a majority or close to it. But as kingmaker, why will the Maori party choose Labour?
Therefore National will be in power. With the Maori Party in some shape or form. Its concievable that Pita Sharples could be the Minister of Maori Affairs.For the first time since 1996, the Maori Party is the sole party in Parliament (with more than one seat) where all seats held are electoral seats. Based on current polling, that wont change.
Maori prefer Labours policies -but its fair to say this has been trumped by a preference for Nationals politics.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 9:49 am
Political divisions based on race are the worst fate that could ever befall any country. The gathering of racists called the Maori party is yet another nail in the coffin of New Zealands racial harmony. Used as a plank to power by the cynical Helen Klark, who agreed to dole out millions in taxpayer funds to tribal groups prior to her election in 1999, Maori citizens of NZ are now being used again by an even worse gathering of power obsessed cynics who like Klark only seek to use race as a means to political success.
Key has bit the bullet on Winston, and gained kudos for that. Its time for him to take a similar stand against this group of country splitting radicals and racists, and declare he is committed to racial harmony and will not entertain the idea of a coalition with any party who selects its members based on race. He should also commit to abolishing the Maori seats.
Many people have left NZ in recent times. The general consensus is that they have left because of the Klark government. I assert many of them have left because of the threat to NZ’s future racial harmony posed by the Maori Party. One only has to look around the world at country’s governed by racists to see the fate in store for NZ if the Maori Party ever gains any real influence over government decision making. The Nats will win by asserting they will not coalesce with any race based group. They will lose by agreeing to compromise on the important principle that government should be colour blind.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 9:50 am
Has it come to this, pinning our hopes on the MP ?
Vote:Was not this the same Hone Harawira. who said this
It does look increasingly like we will need to rely on the undemocratic Maori electorate seats to get elected. This together with having to adopt more then a few of the socialists policies makes me despair.
Who to vote for now? Hyde is a joke. I am seriously thinking of not bothering at all
August 31st, 2008 at 10:04 am
1)..of course any post-election agreement labour make with the maori party would include ministerial recognition..
2)..i think every political party is way past any regarding of the maori party as ‘doormats’..
3)..a ‘strawman’ argument..dpf..
..no political party of any stripe will be able to do away with the maori seats..
..without the agreement of maori..
..the backlash from any forced abolishing of those seats wouldn’t be pretty to see..
4)..(heh..!)..i don’t think anyone who has a pulse/heartbeat could think that the maori party are anything but ’100% for maori’..eh..?
5)..you are thinking f.p.p..
..the composition of any 4th term gummint would decide that..
..a lab/grn/mp/prog coalition..
..with strong grn/mp components..and ministerial recognition/powers..
..would be a very different beast to what has come before..
so really..d.p.f…your ‘reasons’..
..don’t really amount to that much..eh..?
and reasons why the maori party wouldn’t choose national..?
you could start with the natty promises to benificiary-bash..
eh..?
..and move on from there..
Vote:.
.phil(whoar.co.nz)
August 31st, 2008 at 10:12 am
The Harawira comments are indeed notable, and suggest that the Maori Party is strategically positioning itself to create the most leverage possible by being compatible with both Labour and National.
Earlier in the year, I also wrote a blog post entitled: Why the Maori and National parties fit together. You can read this at:
http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2008/02/why-the-maori-a.html
In this I argue that although most people think of the Maori Party as being leftwing and Labour-oriented, there’s a lot of reasons for why there’s actually a ideological fit between the Maori Party and National. An appropriate quote I use is one from Tariana Turia where she justifies a possible coalition with National with the statement that, ‘if you look at the history of the National Party, because of their free-market, private-enterprise philosophy, they have actually allowed Maori people to participate and take back some control…. Kohanga reo, kura kaupapa, wananga, Maori health providers and Maori social service providers were Maori initiatives, but all came out under National governments.’
Bryce
Vote:http://www.liberation.org.nz
August 31st, 2008 at 10:19 am
Well Philu, looking very likely to me, and the Maori that I know have also had a gutsful of Labour, and their perceived continued support
for Lazy Islanders.
With regard for relations with the Labour Elite, Maori are also uncomfortable with that disparaging, and condescending level of arrogance.
Not long now!
Eh.
Happy Times
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 11:00 am
I think most people forget the outstanding speech Hone Harawira gave during the third reading of the Electoral Finance Bill on 18 December, when he started by saying : ” Yes money talks Madam speaker, but nothng talks quite like the truth, and the truth of this bill is………”. He went on to give a damming condemnation of it.
His speech stood in stark contrast to Metira Turei’s and Greens position to ignore the Human Rights Commision’s recommendations in so many ways ( including but not limited to : their recommendation that the bill be withdrawn and parliament start again, that if it was not withdrawn there be a second round of public consultaion, that if it was passed the regulatory period be no more than 3 months, and that 3rd parties should be allowed to spend up to $300,000….. etc etc…).
Hone Harawira has been proven correct. The EFA has been seen to be nothng about transparancy, but all about stopping people and groups from speaking out.
Bryce Edwards makes the point that the Maori Party are ideologically closer to National than Labour. In reality they are ideologically closer to Act that anyone.
Act is the party of choice.
Act education policies would allow parents the choice to send their chidren to Kohanga Reo. The founder of Kohanga, the outstanding Iritana Tawhirangi, now no.9 on the Maori Party list, was once Act’s spokesperson on education.
When the National party first introduced TIE ( Targeted individual entitlement ) allowing private schools to take and subsidise talented, but poorer children ( and more likely Maori) Donna Awatere Huata had to fight the education bureacracy to release details of just how successful the scheme had been. And of course Labour abolished TIE, as soon as it gained office in November 1999.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 11:03 am
Phil Ure – weren’t you arguing yesterday that National had no post-election suitors. Sheesh, the Maori Party wants to be there, there’s Act, and I’ve just watching Peter “Possumhead” Dunne waxing lyrically about John Key on Agenda, so he knows what way the tide is turning. National seems spoiled for choice, and could potentially work with enough parties to give them 70 to 80 seats.
eh..?
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 11:06 am
C’mon John, “Act education policies would allow parents the choice to send their chidren to Kohanga Reo” means the MP are closer to ACT than National then Labour? Is there say, a second point of similarity between ACT and the MP, or is that it?
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 11:27 am
There is no way that the Maori Party, United Future and now the Greens will prop up Labour if Winston Peters is part of the deal and National gained more votes than Labour.
A Labour /Green/MP coalition is currently polling consistently 8-10% behind National/ACT. And that is with the big “IF” MP would go with Labour.
Given Clark’s current problems, the economy and the majority desire for change, I cant see were that left block is going to get those 10% votes.
This is for Key to lose. Clark can’t win it
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 11:33 am
Also Maori party Tax policy isn’t too far from ACT’s. Maori Party policy on the EFA and also both voted against the foreshore act.
There is also a growing enlightened group among Maori that realise that Labour have screwed them for decades and have facillitated the entrenchment of intergenerational welfare amongst their people.
Many in maori look at the Clinton like welfare reforms (you know kinda were ACT come from) and see promise.
It is typical left wing smug arrogance that believes only they can save and help the poor natives. ACT give people more credit
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Since 1935 the Maori seats have been critical to about 20% of our elections and that’s miles out of line with actual Maori numbers, so those seats matter because they push social policy left when we should be holding the line for our long term economic health.
For all that I appreciate the Lange/Douglas Govt of 1984-90 it ended up selling assets to pay for social policies that appealed to the Maori electorates, and the same thing happened 1993-99 and under Labour this time. The crazy thing about the Maori Party under Turia is that it’s indicating that at the top at least, it hasn’t appreciated the patronage of the past. However, it’s trapped by it’s supporters every bit as much as has been the country with handouts versus independence.
As the star of Winston descends, we are about to replace it with glowing tributes to pricks like the Harawiras, the straight out racism of Turia and the duplicious Sharples. That might work for this coming election but leaves in place the sort of soft corruption and hypocrisy thats dogged this country for several generations.
It’s taken us 20 years to stand up to the despicable Peters and force him into the Labour camp where he belongs; but real bravery would be to lance the boil of the Maori electoral seats and force Maori to choose the Maori Party or a general seat.
JC
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Are we playing “what have the Romans ever done for us?” now are we Stephen….?
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 12:23 pm
John Boscawen is correct that there is some common ideological ground between Act and the Maori Party (and Maori radicalism/nationalism in general). There is a growing Maori middle class that is politically-involved and is in no way aligned to the left. Such people are entrepreneurs, professionals, managers, and are therefore naturally drawn to ideologies involving a smaller state, less taxation, deregulation of state provision of education, health, welfare, etc. Many of these policy themes are ones that many Maori “radicals” and neoliberal radicals are increasingly in agreement. As Maori nationalism continues to develop it will do so in a way that is very much aligned to and free market capitalism, rather than in any way a challenge to it. Rather than being any aberration, having people like Donna Awatere-Huata involved in Act was merely the logical conclusion of this development.
In regard to John B summarising my argument as being: ‘that the Maori Party are ideologically closer to National than Labour’ – this isn’t an unfair reading of my argument, but to elaborate, I’m not saying that the Maori Party *are* necessarily closer to National, but I’m disputing the widely held assumption that the Maori Party is intrinsically closer to Labour and that they are natural coalition partners. The larger point perhaps is that the Maori Party is not an ideologically-cohesive and stable organisation. It is still in flux. It has many different factions and ideological tendencies. So it’s ideological future is not certain, but its trajectory is definitely towards being an opportunistic party of the centre with a number of different contradictory policies that might make it at times look leftwing, other times rightwing, or socially liberal, or socially conservative.
Hone Harawira currently represents the more radical and leftwing leadership tendency in the Maori Party. This is why his attacks on the Labour Party today are significant.
In terms of electoral outcomes, I wouldn’t put any money on the Maori Party choosing National over Labour, but I would just point out that the idea of the Maori Party coming to some sort of arrangement (formal coalition, cross-bench support, issue-by-issue support, etc) is a strong possibility.
Bryce
Vote:http://www.liberation.org.nz
August 31st, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Maori Party MPs are all too well aware of the damage intergenerational dependancy has done to Maori. I think Tariana Turia would make an excellant Minister of Social Welfare, as would Iritana in education.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I can’t believe how many sensible people are buying into the racism that underpins the existence of the Maori Party. I guess its an example of Eric Fromm’s old truism- The more people suffer from madness, the less detectable it is.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 12:39 pm
The end does not justify the means. Parties based on race must go.
Secondly, the kind of National government that requires the maori party to give them a majority would be a worse situation than taking on Winston Peters. The flip flopping the moari party would do on issues would reduce National’s legislative powers to a circus. National wouldn’t even go one term.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 12:41 pm
James, er, nope. Good stuff from Bryce.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 12:51 pm
i repeat that nationals promises to ‘deal to benificiaries’..will hurt many maori..
nationals’ promises to weaken the resource management act..’to help developers’..also flys in the face of the guardianship role undertaken/believed in by the maori party..
..and are but two of a raft of ideological/policy reasons it would be a huge surprise should the maori party go with national..
..the historical centre-left voting patterns of maori also can’t be discounted..
..and also..it’s too soon after brash..
..brash may have gone..
..but the same nattys who exulted in the gains from brashs’ maori-bashing..
..are all still there..
..and that was all only about three years ago..
..and i can’t see flax-root maori wanting a bar of them..
..something else to be considered..
..and what also cannot be underwestimated..
..is the closenessof the relationship between the maori party and the greens..
..there are differences..but on many issues they are in lock-step..
(..personal relationships are also very good..
..and in no small part..this is the heritage of nandor..)
..and my hopes are for a strong green/maori party bloc..
..being able to drive labour to move on those issues..
..so..these..and more..are why i think a chance of a national/maori party grouping..this time out..are very slim..
..and none..
..phil(whoar.co.nz)
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Philu – don’t forget that Labour and National have already “dealt to” beneficiaries. And don’t forget that the Maori Party also believes in “dealing to beneficiaries” via their Work-for-the-Dole policy. What’s more, surveys of Maori often show that many Maori voters believe in “dealing to beneficiaries”!
And although there might be some “historical centre-left voting patterns of Maori”, politics is now very fluid and both NZ First and now the Maori Party have shown how easy it’s been to totally smash Labour’s so-called historic ties to Maori voters.
And although you say that the Greens and the Maori Party are close, you should realise that 1) attempts to form a bloc have always failed, 2) there are actually strong tensions between the Greens and Maori parties, and 3) the Greens are also moving towards the centre of the political spectrum and are increasingly talking about governing options that include National.
Bryce
Vote:http://www.liberation.org.nz
August 31st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
People saying the Maori party will have a problem with National’s welfare policy need to listen to what Turia has been saying the last few years. The only problem they might have is it not being tough enough.
But the Maori seats have to go, or at least change the system to eliminate the overhang. It’s a basic principle of democracy that everyone’s votes should carry the same weight. I really hope National doesn’t renege on this.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 7:13 pm
” I really hope National doesn’t renege on this.”
We have yet to hear National say they will disband the EFB.
The Hamiton East MP said National would basically tinker with it.
that’s not heartening.
But at he end of the day, there will be no public protests if National get in.
Labours another story.
Vote:August 31st, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Not sure I agree. Parties can and should from on the basis of popular support. If that is race, hair colour or favorite jelly bean flavour then so be it. Where I have a big sticking point is where a country provides legislated advantage, and by inference preference, based on race. We have this now and the hand-wringing PC brigade and Treaty industry want this racism to stay.
Vote: