Budget 2024: Disturbing undertones in Te Pāti Māori’s messaging as it declares ‘political independence’ - Audrey Young
Audrey Young is the New Zealand Herald’s senior political correspondent. She was named Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards in 2023, 2020 and 2018.
OPINION
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Welcome to the Politics Briefing, the week of Nicola Willis’ first Budget and Te Pāti Māori’s announcement it will work towards a Māori parliament in what it calls a declaration of political independence.
Te Pāti Māori organised a large protest across the country on Budget day, although the issues that drew the crowds were clearly not the Budget, because they turned up despite not knowing what was in the Budget.
The rallies around the country were peaceful but there were violent undertones in Te Pāti Māori’s messaging that are highly disturbing. The ads promoting a day of action featured guns against a fiery backdrop. Co-leader Rawiri Waititi now talks openly about revolution inside and outside Parliament, and his wife, Kiri, in a much-publicised TikTok post, talks about overthrowing the Government.
There is no shortage of Māori policies within the coalition against which to foment dissent and convince a new generation that the Government is hell-bent on making Māori second-class citizens in their own country, and on “exterminating” Māori cultural values.
But how this should be responded to politically is difficult.
There is no coherent leadership within the Government on the issue beyond the same sloganeering that TPM resorts to.
This growing movement presents a special challenge to the Labour Party; whether to say and do nothing and allow the Government to handle a problem largely of its own making, or to set out an alternative vision of what New Zealand could look like.
If it endorses TPM’s agenda, it will be unelectable.
What Te Pāti Māori is suggesting appears to go a lot further than a modern recreation of the movement being discussed at the hui taumata today hosted by Ngāti Kahungunu at Omāhu Marae.
It looked for a while that Te Pāti Māori was planning to boycott the Budget altogether.
Its MPs remained absent for the reading of the Budget. But they came back into the House for Waititi to deliver his budget speech, which set out his funding formula for the Māori parliament.
“I am one in a million,” he said.
“I am 20 per cent of this country. I expect nothing less than 20 per cent of the total budget in this country. That’s what I expect in a kāwanatanga space. Not only that, on top of [that], if I make up 50 per cent of the male prison population, then te iwi Māori should receive 50 per cent of that budget.
“If I make up 64 per cent of the female prison population, I deserve that proportion of the budget. If Māori tamariki make up 80 per cent of Oranga Tamariki, I deserve that proportion of the budget. This is what a budget should [look] like for Māori in a kāwanatanga space.
“We are all taxpayers. We’re all ratepayers. Remember that this Government continues to make its funds and its money and its ability to have a budget on stolen Māori land, assets, and resources. This is what your budget should look like.”
Whether Te Pāti Māori can maintain the momentum it began this week is yet to be seen, but it requires some careful thinking in the coalition Government - and thinking that will not simply add to TPM’s arsenal.
Meanwhile, Nicola Willis delivered most of what she promised in her first Budget, with some notable exceptions, including the 13 cancer drugs that were to be funded. What is also clear from the book is that this year’s was the “generous” Budget; things are going to get tighter and cuts will be permanent.
Quote unquote
“While Willis pledged to reduce debt, she is in fact going to have to borrow more. The situation is a bit like someone taking out an overdraft to cover their living costs, because they’ve taken a pay cut, and then stopping their Netflix subscription to pay for a new couch.”
The Herald’s Jenée Tibshraeny on the Budget.
Micro quiz
Who was in the chair at Parliament on Wednesday and stopped Whakatōhea rangatira Te Kauhutu Maxwell from speaking before a waiata to mark the tribe’s settlement with the Crown? (Answer below.)
Brickbat
Oops! It goes to serious former Labour MP Michael Wood, who tweeted about the $68 million specific fiscal risk over the Cook Strait ferries - except the figure 68 was a reference to the page number where more detail could be found.
Bouquet
Goes to funny commentator Ben Thomas who, shortly after the declaration of independence by Te Pāti Māori, tweeted: “Reserving my opinion on the budget until I see what kind of tax cuts the TMP Parliament is offering”.
Latest political news and views
Māori parliament: Te Pāti Māori has issued a declaration of political independence and stated its intention to start a Māori Parliament after widespread protests on Budget day.
Cancer drugs: The funding needed to supply 13 new cancer drugs National promised before the election won’t become available for another year at least.
Police recruitment: The Government is spending more than $220 million to honour its commitment to train 500 new police by the end of next year.
Education funding: The Government has allocated $2.9 billion to the education sector to recruit new teachers, build classrooms and improve cyber security.
Quiz answer: Assistant Speaker Maureen Pugh.
For more political news and views, listen to On the Tiles, the Herald’s politics podcast.