Kiwiblog

Well, this is surprising. The Herald reports:

Mr Harawira said he “hated to say it” but he admired Mr Key for choosing to be the “bigger man”.

“In my view he is to be respected, that in the face of opposition – some of it quite strident – he chooses to come back year after year.”

Key’s response is the right one, in my opinion also. The PM should be at Waitangi on Waitangi Day.

However I have been of the view for some time that we should have a New Zealand Day, as well as a Waitangi Day.

I didn’t realise that the interviews with different politicians as part of the OU Vote Chat 2011 were on You Tube. You can view the channel here.

The most viewed one so far is Part I with Hone Harawira. I’ve listened to many of them. Bryce has a good interviewing style, where he lets the pollies talk, but also comes back to stuff they gloss over.

This transcript is from Marae Investigates after they reveal that 47% of Maori said Shane Jones should replace Phil Goff as Labour Leader, with only 31% disagreeing:

Shane Taurima: Shane Jones, do you like that question?

Shane Jones: I’m reminded of what they used to say about J.T and Winston so every time you talk about leadership ambitions you can rest assured there’s a chain saw behind you cutting you as you speak, so I’ll just Taihoa.

Not exactly the normal “I am loyal to our leader and he is doing a good job” line.

Shane T: OK Tariana Turia, outgoing MP Miti Ririnui said this week that Phil Goff couldn’t relate to Maori and our polls have shown that and Labour needed a new leader.

Tariana: First of all I think they need a remarkable leader that can bind them together in their caucus because that is not happening so they need to consider that.  Whether it should be before the election or preparing for the next election and going for the long Term I think that would be their best bet, 7 weeks out from an election not a good idea to replace the leader, it’s happened in the past with them, they had Palmer, then Moore, then Helen in a short space of time. It’s not a good time for them to be imploding so they do need a remarkable leader (Shane – is that Shane Jones?) I think Shane Jones would make a remarkable leader, he’s intelligent, he’s got all the ability that a Labour caucus would need, he’d do far better if he was in a maori Party (Shane – is that an open invitation … much laughter all round)

Shane J

Thank you Tari but I’m in my waka and it’s called Te Roopu Labour.

High praise for Jones from Tariana.

Shane T: Hone, could you work in a Labour Party led by Shane Jones?

Hone: First of all in respect of Shane, I think he’s the most capable politician there in both Maori and in English, sadly I don’t think that they will want to make him the leader because I know a lot of the gays don’t like him, the women are pissed off with him because of the incident that he got involved with not so long ago and also because I suspect that Labour is still inherently racist and don’t particularly want to have a maori as a leader, however when the day comes, in about 2097, I’d be more than happy to work alongside him. 

And high praise from Hone also.

The Herald reports:

A poll of Maori voters indicates Mana Party leader Hone Harawira (below) could face a challenge in his Te Tai Tokerau electorate seat.

The full results of the nationwide TVNZ Marae Investigates DigiPoll survey of 1000 voters will be released this morning.

In results released to the Weekend Herald of 93 Te Tai Tokerau voters polled, 30 per cent said they would vote for Labour candidate Kelvin Davis, compared with 28.6 per cent for Mr Harawira.

About 22 per cent said they would vote for Maori Party candidate Waihoroi Shortland.

The first thing to note is 93 voters is very small for a poll. I don’t like samples under 300. At 93 the margin of error is 10.4%, so a gap of 1.4% between the candidates is not statistically significant. In fact it is only 57% probable that Davis is ahead.

Also worth noting that a poll before the by-election showed Hone leading by just 1% and in fact he won by around 8% or so. That poll was from a different company, but is another reason to be cautious of reading too much into this poll.

Tracy Watkins at Stuff reports:

There were dramatic scenes in Parliament today as Speaker Lockwood Smith refused to swear in new Mana Party leader Hone Harawira after he would not deliver his affirmation as dictated by law.

The former Maori Party MP was to be sworn in as MP for Te Tai Tokerau.

As Harawira left the debating chamber, supporters sung from the public galleries in defiance of Smith’s ruling for them to cease.

Harawira had earlier sought to speak in Maori after approaching the Speaker to take the oath.

Smith interrupted him and informed him he must leave the Chamber and “return on a sitting day when he is determined to make the affirmation according to the law of this land”.

There were calls of “shame” and “no respect” as Harawira left.

The Speaker informed MPs that he had advised Harawira prior to his affirmation that the law of New Zealand required the affirmation “to be [delivered] in a certain way”.

The Speaker does not have discretion on this issue. The oath is not a requirement of Standing Orders or the Speaker. It is a legislated requirement of the Constitution Act 1986. S11(1) states:

A member of Parliament shall not be permitted to sit or vote in the House of Representatives until that member has taken the Oath of Allegiance in the form prescribed in section 17 of the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957

And S17 says:

One can affirm instead of swear, so cut out the God reference. You can also say it in te reo. But what you can not do is change the wording as it seems Hone tried to do.

Over at Stuff I analyse the results of the Te Tai Tokerau by-election, and conclude how Hone won, or more why Kelvin Davis fell short.

With only three polling booths to report, it is clear Hone has won re-election. His majority is 761 at this stage.

Hone got 48% of the vote, which is close to an absolute majority, not just a plurality. It is down from the 62% at the general election, but still a reasonable result.

Kelvin Davis and Labour will be pretty pleased to have got 41% and reasonably close. But they will be a bit nervous about what attacks from their left they may endure from the Mana Party. They will be hoping Mana targets Maori Party voters rather than left wing voters.

Mana is now a parliamentary party, and will be in Parliament after the next election. They can now campaign for party votes and tell people a vote for them is not a wasted vote.

Mana in Parliament may be an issue for both Labour and National. Labour doesn’t want the competition for the votes, but having Mana there might help a Labour-led Government get formed. If the election is so close that the support of Mana could decide the Government, then I have no doubt Labour will do a deal. My small anarchist tendencies would almost like to see Phil Goff managing a Government of Labour, Greens, Maori Party, Mana Party and NZ First.

So today is Hone’s victory – the gamble paid off. Attention will now go on the wider Mana Party, specifically their party list. Will the No 2 be John Minto or Annette Skyes or Sue Bradford or someone else?

UPDATE: Election Night majority is finalised at 867. 1,916 specials to be commented but will not change result unless Davis picked up 73% of them which will not happen.

Hone Harawira blogs:

I understand that my going to Destiny Church last week has offended some members of MANA, and that my attendance and speech have been seen as an endorsement of Destiny’s stance on homosexuality.

That is not so.

I value the broad support that MANA has attracted from all sectors of our society, and I owe it to everyone to explain things from my own point of view.

You see … like everyone else I have gay people in my whanau, and like everyone else I also have straight people in my whanau, and like everyone else I love them all.

I would sincerely hope that my attendance at the Destiny hui is not seen as an endorsement by either myself or MANA of the views held by Bishop Brian Tamaki and the Destiny Church, in the same way that I hope my attendance at the Mormon Stake Conference on Saturday is not seen as an endorsement of their more unsavoury racial practices of the recent past, or my attendance at an Anglican church service seen as an endorsement of their practice of stealing Maori land over the centuries.

I broadly agree with Hone on this. A politician accepting a speaking engagement is not an endorsement of everything the host stands for – far from it. MPs should and do attend meetings held by groups they disagree with, and this is a good thing.

Do we think John Key endorses all the CTU policies when he addresses their national conference?

Only the most extreme groups should be considered out of bounds for an MP to speak to – basically neo-nazis and others that preach hatred.

Now I am no fan of Destiny. To my mind they come closer to the “should not address under any circumstance” group than many others. They are cult-like.

But they do actually do some good with their social services, and now that they are not also running a parallel political wing, they are not as big a threat as they once were.

NewstalkZB reports:

Hone Harawira plans to appeal a decision that means he’s not eligible for any public funding for broadcasting during the election campaign.

The Electoral Commission released its funding allocations today but because the Mana Party didn’t exist when the deadline passed, it missed out any TV or radio time.

Mr Harawira says he’s disappointed because he got his party registration application in on time, but missed out on the funding allocation through no fault of his own.

“I don’t know that there are appeal options but just because we’re not sure doesn’t mean to say we won’t try. I’ll be advising our Party secretary this afternoon to lodge a formal appeal and to see how we get on. If we’re unsuccessful, we’ll move on,” he says.

The story is wrong and Hone is wrong. You can apply for an allocation, even if you are not registered, so long as you register before mid October.

And Graeme Edgeler wrote on the previous thread:

… however, the Mana Party wasn’t shut out. You don’t have to be registered to apply for an allocation, and I sent Hone a message before the applications closed to try to make sure he knew he could apply to get one.

So Hone was told before the deadline that he could apply. He missed out because he did nothing. And oh yeah there is no appeal.

Kate Chapman at Stuff reports:

Te Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira may have to return to Parliament as an independent if he wins the by-election in his electorate, because his new Mana Party has only just applied to be registered.

He announced his resignation on Wednesday, to be effective from May 20, and is walking a fine line to get his party registered in time to qualify for extra parliamentary funding and to be recognised as a party leader in the House. Registration takes six to eight weeks and Mana lodged its application at 5pm yesterday. The by-election is set for June 25.

The more important date is actually Tues 31 May, when nominations close.

However things could get murky. If the Mana Party is not registered by 31 May, he can not be a candidate for it. But he arguably could still list Mana Party on the ballot paper as an unregisterd party or affiliations, just like a candidate can label themselves “Communist League” even though that is not a registered party.

Now if Harawira is allowed to list Mana Party on the ballot paper as an unregistered affiliation, then I doubt that will qualify as being elected as an MP for that party – even if the Mana Party does get registered between 31 May and 25 June.

Marika Hill at Stuff reports:

Hone Harawira says “redneck” racism is to blame for the last-minute cancellation of a lecture he was to give in Auckland today.

The Mana Party leader was due to speak about the foreshore and seabed at  Auckland University Law School.

“All of the rednecks at the university decided to create such a ruckus that the Law School cancelled it. In 2011 we’re still being pushed around,” Harawira said. …

Asked why this was an example of racism, Harawira said there were only Pakeha involved in the protest planned at Auckland University.

“A lot of people think that racism is dead and buried but clearly it’s not. I’m a Maori MP and I should have the right to talk to Maori law students.” …

Law student Charlotte Summers said the Faculty of Law cancelled the lecture on the basis of “there may be a breach of the peace”.  

She said the Young Nationals organisation  was behind the protest.

“How is it fair that the Young Nats decide to be disruptive, threaten to be disruptive, and then an entire event is cancelled because of their choices and what they threaten to do?”

“There is a time and a place for protest – an academic lecture is not that time nor place.”

However, the Young Nationals denied any involvement in the protest.

President Daniel Fielding said although some Young National members were planning to attend the protest, it was a cross section of students involved.

Oh poor little Hone. Who knew he had such a thin skin. The man who had led dozens of protests, whose family have often assaulted people at protests, can’t handle a few students protesting against him.

And of course it is racism, if one protests against Hone. What else could it be. Couldn’t possible be related to him comparing people to Hitler, and highlighting how Osma’a family saw him as a freedom fighter.

But don’t you love the reaction of the law school, and the quoted law student. They cancelled the lecture because people may have protested.

This is in the same week that the Supreme Court upheld the right of someone to burn the NZ flag on ANZAC Day (a decision which I actually agree with). So it is okay to burn the NZ flag on ANZAC day, but it is wrong and racist to protest against Hone Harawira.

The Facebook page about the protest is here. Having had a brief look I don’t see any suggestion they were going to go into the lecture and shout Hone down. They were going to protest outside, and they specifically said that if any go inside, “we will give Hone a chance to speak, we will listen and we will ask constructive questions while expressing our displeaure in his racial hatred and gutter politics”.

Isn’t there anything more hypocritical that a veteran protester who whines about how awful it is when people protest against him.

The SST reports:

ACT PARTY leader Don Brash’s coup has hit problems with a smear campaign that party insiders blame on supporters of the man he replaced, Rodney Hide.

The campaign has seen widespread rumours of affairs and even a “love child”. Last night Brash dismissed the accusations as appalling, while commentators labelled them a “new low” on the Kiwi political landscape.

I was interviewed for this story. [DPF: have removed the sentence which was here so it doesn't identify anyone]

I’m not sure if the rumours are being pushed by any person or faction maliciously, or whether it is just an old joke that has turned into more wide-spread gossip. Most gossip spreads without malicious intent.

The man named as Brash’s son – who the Star-Times will not name – said the rumours were “fanciful”. He said he was aware of the rumours being spread about him by Hide supporters, and that the “mud-slinging represented a new low in New Zealand politics”.

Hide said he was not aware of any rumours, let alone being behind any smear campaign.

Last night Brash said he was staggered by the rumours, especially given that when he first met the family, the man at the centre of the allegations was already two-and-a-half or three.

“I’m not prepared to discuss this kind of issue, it’s just not appropriate at all. All I can say is categorically, [name withheld] is not my son.”

Heh that sounds so much like a Star Wars quote.

Right-wing commentator David Farrar said the country was headed for a more polarising debate than the bland campaign between Phil Goff and John Key that most commentators were tipping at the start of the year – and it was not just Act supporters shaking things up. Brash’s positioning on government spending and welfare could see some of National’s “soft” vote panic, and switch back to Labour, putting National under pressure.

He said no amount of rumours would shake Brash’s electoral appeal. “He could have half-a-dozen love children and it still wouldn’t change anything.”

Heh I must remember to turn down the hyperbole when being interviewed. The point I was making is that Brash attracts support for his policies on government spending and one law for all, not for being a family values crusader.

Talking of Don, he was on TV this morning with Hone Harawira again – on Marae. It was I think a better debate than the one on Close Up, and I think both of them benefit from going into battle against the other – they are almost in a symbiotic relationship. Don is the anti-Hone and Hone the anti-Don.

Up until at least the election, I’m writing a weekly column for nzherald.co.nz.

They will appear every Friday, and the first one is here, called the Done and Hone show.

In an ealier blog, I highlighted how Hone praised bin Laden, and wondered whether he would also have praised Hitler as a freedom fighter.

Well talking of Hitler, he is seriously insisting that Dn Brash is like Hitler. Not as some throw-away comment – but as a serious proposition. Stuff reports:

MP and Mana Party leader Hone Harawira has accused new ACT leader Don Brash of aiming to destroy Maori in a testy television debate.

Harawira again compared Brash to Hitler, echoing comments he first made six years ago.

“The politics you talk about are very much like Hitler’s, Don. You target Maori very much like Hitler targetted the Jews. You are aiming to destroy us the same way that others haved done.”

Yes advocating that there should be no race based seats is of course the same as marching six millions Jews into concentration camps, where they were systematically killed.

And this ManaParty is the great hope of the hard left.

NZ Herald reports:

Hone Harawira has described Osama bin Laden as “a man who fought for the rights, the land and the freedom of his people”.

In tributes on Maori-language television, the leader of the new Mana Party said the al-Qaeda founder should be “honoured” rather than “damned” in death according to Maori culture.

Mr Harawira twice paid tribute to bin Laden in te reo, saying it was Maori custom to acknowledge the dead. …

Mr Harawira said on Maori Television’s Native Affairs that bin Laden had “pursued independence for his people, his family and his tribe”.

When asked if he was concerned about how such comment could be construed, he said he was Maori and “tributes to the dead are always appropriate” in Maori custom.

Actually most of his familiy had disowned him, but let’s not even debate Hone’s factual errors.

I’m going to risk Godwin’s Law and ask whether Hone would say the same thing about Hitler. I mean it would almost fit – “Hitler pursued independence for his Germanic people, his family, and his Aryan tribe”.

Labour MP Shane Jones said he did not have the same level of affection for bin Laden as Mr Harawira.

He also scotched Mr Harawira’s claim that it was Maori custom to always pay tribute to the dead.

“In the old days, a great enemy – if he wasn’t eaten – his bones were used to make musical instruments. So this romantic notion that in the old time, Maori spent hours of their time saluting the enemy was not the case.

“Enemies were turned to dust and people rejoiced, because of the suffering they had caused.”

I’m with Shane Jones on this.

The Greens should be pleased with the existence of the new Mana Party. They finally have a party that makes then look moderate.

Did you watch them on Close Up?

I thought Don did well. Initially I was hesitant about the wisdom of mixing it up with Hone, but I think Don managed to get a clear message across which will appeal to a fair few people.

Derek Cheng at the NZ Herald reports:

Labour leader Phil Goff also ruled out working with the Mana Party and called the byelection a farce.

“There’s 21 sitting days from the time when a new MP is sworn in for Te Tai Tokerau to when the House is adjourned for the election campaign.

That’s a useful number to remember. So effectively Hone’s by-election will cost $25,000 per sitting day the MP will be there for. Plus on top of that you have Hone’s higher salary and extra parliamentary funding.

A couple of commentators have said that the by-election is justified as Hone needs a new mandate, having left the Maori Party. Now I partly agree with this argument, but they miss a key point. If it was about a new mandate, then Hone could have called a by-election in February when he was pushed out of the Maori Party.

This is not about a mandate. It is about having greater taxpayer funding for the Mana Party.

Mind you part of me wants the Mana Party to do well. getting John Minto into Parliament will help the centre-right no end. And with Sue Bradford and Nandor Tanczos backing the Mana Party, you wonder what will happen with the Green Party vote.

In an act of pure ego, Hone Harawira is forcing taxpayers to pay for a by-election that will probably be held in July – less than three months before the House dissolves for the election.

The NZ Herald reports:

“I want to recall the $36 million being wasted on a bloody yacht race in San Francisco and spend it instead on heating in the poorer suburbs of Christchurch,” Harawira said.

I agree on not funding the America’s Cup bid but sadly the last Labour Government signed a contract forcusing us to do so. However we do have a choice over whether to have an un-necessary by-election, and the $500,000 wasted could also be used heating homes in Christchurch or even in Northland.

Parliament can only resolve not to have a by-election if the resignation occurs within six months of Parliament automatiically dissolving (22 May) or the announced election date (26 May).

If Helen Clark was still in power, I seuspect she’d be tempted to retrospectively amend the Electoral Act so that the six month period is extended to seven months. Then Hone would be out of Parliament and unable to use taxpayer funding to set up his new party.

The $500,000 costs may be on the light side. As this is a Maori seat, they will need many more polling places than in a general seat by-election.

What really peeves me about this also, is that the new Mana Party is obviously totally backed by the UNITE union – the very same union that doesn’t even pay its taxes – in fact has collected PAYE tax off its staff and failed to pay it to the Government as legally obliged. So they are campaigning on how people should pay more tax, and they don’t even pay tax themselves.

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia – currently in Russia for a conference – said she did not know if the party was standing a candidate in the byelection.

But she did much the same as Harawira before the 2005 election: quitting Labour and resigning her Te Tai Hauauru electorate to renew her mandate in a byelection.

Not quite the same at all. Turia resigned in May 2004 – well over a year before the September 2005 election.

The NZ Herald reports:

Independent MP Hone Harawira spent $43,000 on travel in three months – nearly as much as the entire Maori Party’s bill of $44,410.

I guess he’s had lots of huis to attend.

You really have to wonder about the security of Goff’s position. A second of his MPs has contradicted him on his stance with regards to Hone. Radio Waatea reports:

Mr Goff says while he made the decision himself, it was unanimously backed by the Labour caucus.

But Mr Horomia says it’s still a long time before the election.

“You know that’s the line at the moment. What’s interesting is Hone hasn’t got a party so the issue was about working with Hone’s numbers. It’s about the numbers on the day of the election. It’s no point (saying) who is going to be the last cab off the rank and then get to the end of an election and you’re scrambling, but at this stage that’s our line,” Mr Horomia says.

Hone Harawira worked under him for six years in the Labour Department, and he has no problems working with the Tai Tokerau MP.

What is staggering about these comments is they are so easily dismissing what their Leader has said as just a temporary stance.

Adam Gifford of Waatea News reports:

Another of Labour’s Maori MPs has broken ranks with leader Phil Goff over working with former Maori Party MP Hone harawira.

Mr Goff ruled out including the Tai Tokerau MP in his post-election planning because he says he was extreme and unreliable.

But Waikato-Hauraki MP Nanaia Mahuta says Mr Harawira has taken similar positions to Labour on issues such as the 90-day bill, raising the minimum wage, and greater protection for employee rights.

“But the real proof is what happens after election 2011 and I’ve been in politics long enough to know that the wind blows both ways and you can’t rule anyone in and out before that day. That’s the day that matters,” she says.

This is an absolute shot over Goff’s bows. One of his own MPs is saying that you can’t rule anyone out before the election, and makes it quite clear she wants to work with Hone.

When John Key ruled Winston out, his caucus broke into celebration and sacrificed a few goats to various deities, so pleased they were at being spared the horror of trying to govern with Winston.

Goff ruling out Hone has not sone as well. MPs have leaked to the media that Goff made the decision unilaterally, and even broke his own caucus’ policy. And now one of his Maori MPs has openly defied him and said Hone should not be ruled out.

Criticism of Phil Goff for his unilateral decision to rule out dealing with a party led by Hone Harawira continues to mount. Firstly we have this story by Duncan Garner:

Many in Goff’s caucus had told 3 News that Labour’s position was not to rule out anybody. Goff denies that.

“That has never been the position of the caucus,” he said.

This means multiple MPs are talking to 3 News, and revealing Goff went against his own caucus policy. Again remember that Goff six weeks agi did rule Harawira out, he then reversed his stance and refused to rule Harawira out, and then this week did a second flip-flop and ruled him out again.

One senior Labour MP told 3 News today that’s when Labour took a position not to keep all its options open.

On the Harawira decision, that MP told 3 News:

“I was really surprised, I thought caucus had agreed not to rule anyone out. I saw last night Phil changed that. Weird.”

What is weird is that the MP was prepared to allow him or herseld to be quoted criticising Goff. That is a deliberate decision.

Also of note is this blog post at The Standard by “Rob” criticising the decison. Now the post itself is not that significant, as the author is anonymous. It’s easy to be a critic when you’re anonymous. What is more significant is the comment by The Standard founder Lynn Prentice in the thread:

Might be time to vote for the greens. Daft as I find them, I think that they have more respect for the voters than this decision shows.

Lynn is a long-time Labour Party activist. For him to publicly speculate about voting for the Greens must mean he is seriously unhappy with what Goff has done. He hasn’t said he will vote for the Greens, but the tenor of his comment is significant.

The hopes of those calling for a “New Left” party entering Parliament via Hone Harawira took another tumble today, as ccording to Alex Tarrant from interest.co.nz, Phil Goff ruled out working with Hone Harawira.

Of course this position may change. A month ago Goff also ruled out working with Hone Harawira, but backed down a few days later. So this is I think his third position on working with Hone. I asked the rhetorical question in February whether Goff will manage as many positions on Hone (now up to three) as they did on foreshore & seabed (now up to five)

He still won’t rule Winston in or out though. That one should be simpler – you can at least trust Hone. Policy differences can be negotiated in good faith. Trust can not be. Winston lied blatantly to Helen Clark about the Owen Glenn donation, yet Labour are still clinging to Winston in the hope he will hold the balance of power and make Goff Prime Minister.

Martin Kay in the Dom Post reports:

The chances of a broad-based Left-wing party rising from the ashes of Hone Harawira’s meltdown with the Maori Party have been dashed after he made it clear that any group he led would have to be Maori-focused.

Former Greens MP Sue Bradford – who has been closely associated with speculation that a new party was being planned – said the prospect of one being in place for this year’s election were now slim after Mr Harawira indicated he wanted a “more Left-wing Maori Party”.

Ms Bradford has said she would be interested in discussing a more generalist party that campaigned on a broad range of issues, but Mr Harawira’s comments suggested he was not interested.

I never thought Hone would want to lead a non Maori party. Maori nationalism is what he is all about.

There is a way they could try and do it – copy the Alliance structure. Have Hone as Leader of the “Mana” party and Sue as Leader of the “Left” party. The Mana Party could become a constituent part of the Left Party and that would mean if Hone retains his seat, then the Left Party would gain a List MP if they received around 30,000 party votes.

However that would mean that Hone’s party is subservient to the left party, and bound by the rules of the left party with regard to how they determine policies, list ranking, leadership.