Maori stuff

who's in charge?
Tame Iti's firearms case awaits a judge's ruling over the legal status of a marae. I'm surprised, given the long complex evolution of Maori Land Law, that the issue has never been settled previously.

The judge's decision will set a precedent about what behaviour can occur on marae grounds and whether a marae is in fact a public place.

Are marae public places? If not, Tame might go free. If so, the ramifications could get interesting with respect to all types of goings on: smokefree legislation, liquor & gambling laws, sex in public places, food health & safety, etc. I hope they aren't ruled public places for the sake of the locals' autonomy. The last thing we need is more pushy outsiders entangling us in ever more rules, laws & regulations, which (being Maori) we customarily ignore, anyway.

Health scare
Our health system is racist, or so says a study lead by Peter Davis. What an ignorant fool! (for marrying Helen Clark, that is). But even so, he would say that, he's a Labour twit. They find racism, sexism & homophobia lurking under all our beds and inside every cornflakes packet.

According to the gloom-mongers, 4.5% Maori experienced 'discrimination' - a vague, slippery concept to define, at the best of times - compared to 1.5% Pakeha. Which could mean 95.5% of Maori are actually happy or satisfied with the system - which is great news, that's an impressive strike rate! Note the study surveyed 4000 Maori & 6000 Pakeha; a mix that skews the true population proportionality three-fold. It's perhaps no surprise, then, the results show 3x as many unhappy Maori.

While hanky-sodden lefties cry cascades of crocodile tears, Professor Raj Bhopal keeps a level head:

There are alternative interpretations, eg, that Maoris who have poor health are more sensitive to perceived racism; that findings arise from a lack of cross-cultural validity of the questionnaire or other artifacts; & that other risk factors that are associated with racism & socioeconomic deprivation are the causes of these inequalities

Thank you, My Bhopal. Thank goodness there's an adult in the room.

Ake! ake! ake! *
The Dodgylabour Party, oops, I mean the Dodgy Labour (sometimes forget they're 2 separate words) Party very sneakily quietly introduces The Maori Purposes Bill which amends various Maori Acts (Land law, Treaty, Fisheries, Aquaculture) and sets a 2008 deadline for treaty claims. The Nats are going beserk. The Maori Party are yet to weigh in, but you can imagine when they do... they'll be none too happy, that's fer sure!

A way heavy & intense topic! More about The Bill here for those of you who just can't get enough of this stuff.
(thanks DPF)

* Ake ake ake! (Forever & ever & ever!)
Often concludes phrase "ka whawhai tonu matou" (we will fight continually) in reference to land struggles against the Crown. In fact, it orginates far further back than even pre-European tribal wars. In Maori cosmogyny, Earth-mum & Sky-dad's children started scrapping over the land, and every generation since has continued. The battle is endless. People will forever fight over land! Ake ake ake!