Jesse Butler
In 2003, a court decision upheld the right of eight Maori tribes of the Marlborough Sands to pursue their claim that certain areas of the foreshore and seabed in the Sounds were customary Maori land.
In response, the NZ government announced that it would override the decision and vest full ownership title of the foreshore and seabed to the Crown. This was to avoid the imagined prevention of public access to the beach and the privatisation of the area, which the government claimed would happen under Maori ownership.
A media frenzy followed that whipped up fear and outrage against the Maori people. The seven Labour MPs who represented the seven Maori seats refused to follow the directions of their constituencies to vote against this perceived confiscation, creating a deep sense of betrayal and anger. Opposition National Party leader Donald Brash fuelled the tension when he made a speech attacking Maori and the Treaty of Waitangi (which guaranteed Maori use of their traditional lands and resources).
Following the release of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004, the hikoi in May captured the attention of the country and the world in direct protest against the legislation and the betrayal of the Maori MPs. Starting from the top of the North Island, it snowballed all the way to Wellington, resulting in the biggest protest ever on parliament grounds.
The hikoi had achieved what everyone had thought impossible — it had united a fragmented Maoridom into one entity and moved one of the seven Maori MPs, Tariana Turia, to resign from the Labour Party. The country was stunned at the massive turnout and the prime minister refused to come out and face the people. In front of this mass gathering, Tariana Turia became the leader of the new Maori Party.
The task of organising a national Maori party was a daunting and enormous challenge. However, despite the differences and divisions within Maoridom, the process of getting everyone together was made easier by the months and months of daily anti-Maori sentiment and comments. This created a common threat that everyone could unite against, which encouraged rather than discouraged our merger as a political party.
The second leader of the Maori Party is an urban Maori leader from Auckland, Pita Sharples, who battled for decades to successfully increase the services for, and status of, Maori in NZ society.
The Maori Party's constitution reaffirms and regenerates the main principles of Maoridom. The first principle is Manaakitanga, which respects the integrity and dignity of others and ourselves. The second is Rangatiratanga, our ancestral right to determine our own lives and futures. Kotahitanga is the principle of unity, both internally and externally. Whanaungatanga is the cultivation of community and togetherness. Mana Whenua is the statement that Maori have ancestral authority to Aotearoa as indigenous people.
Kaitiakitanga means that Maori are the rightful guardians of this country. Wairuatanga is the spiritual aspect of the party, which connects the physical world with the spirit world. Whakapapa is our genealogical connection to the land and our ancestors, and Te Reo is the cornerstone that combines everything into our language.
Membership is open to anyone above the age of 13 — the legal age of political membership in NZ — who pays the $2 membership fee and is willing to abide by the party rules and processes. Many of the Maori tribes had made it clear that they would not support any Maori party that was exclusive or separatist. In spite of all the racism and discrimination, the Maori Party was clear in opening its membership to people of all races, sexuality and creeds. This created an avalanche of interest and signatures.
At present there are seven Maori electorates (called rohe within the Maori Party). The Maori seats are geographically the largest in the country — the Te Tai Tonga seat, for example, covers the entire South Island and a portion of Wellington. Because there are a large number of Maori tribes living within each seat, there will be more than one set of opinions and interests. To accommodate this, the Maori Party has reverted to the traditional system of Maoridom which allowed the tribes to develop their own processes and selections, free from a central executive body.
Basic rules require each rohe to have an equal amount of delegates, who represent their respective rohe at an annual national conference. The task of delegates is to conduct all Maori Party business and interests within their rohe according to their agreed processes. This gives all the Maori tribes in all the seats the space and ability to determine their own frameworks according to their own local and tribal variations and customs.
Before colonisation, Maori society was governed and organised in such a manner, where every tribe had the autonomy to express a variation of the common Maori culture and manage their own affairs within their own territory. The Maori Party's constitution and rohe system are a modern political expression of an ancient traditional system.
The resignation of Tariana Turia from the Labour Party required that there be a by-election of the seat that she represented, Te Tai Hauauru. To ensure that Turia would stand in the by-election on July 10 as the first candidate for the Maori Party, there had to be a fast-tracking of the requirements of the NZ Electoral Commission.
As a consequence, all positions and rules adopted by the new party were deemed interim until after the by-election, when the Maori Party scheduled its first general meeting. Despite this, the media continued to portray the Maori Party as disorganised and lacking in policies and substance. As the date for the by-election drew closer, the racial attacks on Maori began with earnest.
At the same time, the Maori Party leaders had gained support from Pacific Island communities and many traditionally entrenched Maori Labour supporters. The prime minister came under scrutiny for her refusal to front Maori and her remaining MPs were under tremendous pressure within their constituencies. Maori were leaving Labour in droves.
Turia asked NZ Alliance leader and seasoned union leader Matt McCarten to manage the by-election campaign. The refusal of the main political parties to stand candidates in the by-election because they did not consider it important fuelled efforts to get as many Maori voting as possible.
The electoral commission reduced the number of polling booths from over 400 to just over 100, which made this difficult. The Te Tai Hauauru is a huge electorate covering an enormous area. Many towns didn't even have a polling booth, which meant that unless the Maori family had a car, they couldn't vote. This situation was taken to the Waitangi Tribunal who were stunned at the figures presented to them. As a consequence, car rides to the nearest booth were organised for people if they wanted to vote.
Turia received 97% of the vote — an unprecedented success in a by-election. More than 9000 Maori voted, a 60% turnout (high participation compared to other NZ by-elections.) The media quickly attempted to cover up this victory by stating that it was still a small percentage of the 26,000 Maori living in the electorate. What they didn't say was that a large number of that 26,000 were not even eligible to vote!
That night the Maori Party was officially launched and the party had its first MP in parliament. At the first national general meeting the following day, all the interim positions of the party were voted on and passed. The constitution was accepted, pending a review in six months. All the rohe were given until January 1 to finalise their positions and policies. Labour may call a snap election in the new year when it becomes clear that the Maori Party is likely to win the Maori seats.
The Maori Party's electoral results will obviously depend on its campaign strategy, policies and candidates, which at this stage are in a process of development. But one thing is certain — the level of support for and interest in the Maori Party is enormous. Once the general public realises that the Maori Party also offers an opposite pole to neoliberalism, this support will increase.
It is clear from the media that the neoliberal establishment is shaking in its boots. The speed of creation, the wide popularity and the collective spirit of the Maori Party has taken them by surprise. They did not expect that it would be Maori who would offer the anti-neoliberal organisations in Aotearoa an anchor to unite around. Ironically, the only thing that will stop such a unification and collective front against neoliberalism is anti-Maori attitude in this country.
But what is more important — stopping Maori from becoming independent in their own homeland or joining them to defeat neoliberalism?
[Jesse Butler is a Maori journalist and member of the Maori Party.]
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, July 28, 2004.
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