Challenging the norm

It’s been an interesting past couple of weeks — from seeing more local councils willing to establish a Ma¯ori ward, to having an organisation from outside of this region, with no connection to Taranaki, pay for an advertisement to try and dictate an alternative outcome from a decision this council [New Plymouth District] has made.

I’ve seen a growing number of organisations show their support for the establishment of a Ma¯ori ward – including the Salvation Army, church groups and business professionals – and the movement continues to grow, which only adds to the narrative of change we see sweeping across Aotearoa.

More recently, Stuff’s revelation admitting to the public their longstanding racial prejudice towards Ma¯ori may come as a surprise to sectors of our community. It’s a confronting read of how Ma¯ori were consistently negatively portrayed in media over a prolonged period of time. I only have to look at historic news articles from our local paper and responses from my father’s letters to the editor in the 80s to capture the essence of these negative perceptions.

Shining the light on 160 years of historical facts depicting negative intergenerational stigmatisation of Ma¯ori came as no surprise to me. What did come as a surprise is how Stuff took full responsibility of their contribution after an internal investigation highlighting their biased views, which in essence helped drive a deeper wedge of divide within our community.

What I’ve witnessed through Stuff’s admission to the public was a maturing of attitudes and a willingness to create positive change. It’s only fair this news will be met with scepticism. However, I choose to see the positives. Why? Because I see empathy in forgiveness, beauty in compassion, nobility in integrity and virtue in grace. Forgiveness isn’t about approving what has happened, it’s choosing to rise above it. As Martin Luther King Jnr once said: ‘‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.’’

NPDC councillor Dinnie Moeahu