Grossly insulting

I’d dearly like to know who wrote ‘A long wait for manna from heaven in Treaty settlement’ for the (February 14, Northland Age.)

I find it unbelievably despicable and grossly insulting that from all the media palaver about Don Brash speaking at Waitangi, what gets reported is an alt-right public relations spindoctor’s re-jigging of Brash’s speech into a pompous, overtly supercilious, condescending and highly derogatory “message for Ma¯ ori”. A media release.

Many people I know were there, and I’ve watched videos of his speech repeatedly. Brash began with a mihi, and I say good on him for trying, although he mashed his pronunciation, even for a Pa¯ keha¯ . He went on to say Rueben Taipari had invited him to speak about two aspects of economics. Then, bewilderingly, he said, “Before I do that I just want to give you my opinion of the Ma¯ ori language te reo” – pronounced tee ree oh.

Don Brash then proceeded to effectively insult the language and customs of his hosts for nearly half an hour, and quite unnecessarily. He had already stated his kaupapa was actually economics.

Why Brash did this is anyone’s guess. Force of habit maybe? But by the time he strayed back on to his own declared pathway his audience of hosts and visitors alike were utterly incensed, noisy interjections increased, and Brash’s cause, if he could be said to even have one, was lost, wracked upon the mudflat of his own absent diplomacy and wretched oratory.

Both the words quoted and the condescending message imbued in your ‘article’ were virtually inaudible to anyone. They weren’t delivered coherently amid the ruckus Brash himself had caused, if in fact they were delivered at all.

Brash gets all the publicity once again, and for what? Nothing. No advancement in relations. No progress into the future. No “going forward” together as the two founding peoples of one nation, multiculturally.

The real story, which should

have been reported from Waitangi on February 5, was Rueben Taipari and the kauma¯ tua o Te Tii Marae firstly inviting such a diversity of speakers, and lastly inviting Don Brash to speak in the first place, or being prepared to listen to his long-dead husk of a message at all.

That’s a real advancement that definitely puts Ma¯ ori on the moral high ground this time.