From the NewsDesk

Maori Party and Tiro Rangatiratanga Leaders in Talks

Hone Harawira said publicly yesterday that he was disappointed at the lukewarm response of the Minister of Finance to his calls for more strident action against the evils of tobacco.  He was nonplussed that his call to lynch tobacco company executives was regarded by parliamentary colleagues as too much of a stretch.  He was, however, determined to keep playing his part in a Maori Party campaign against the evils of tobacco.

The Health Department yesterday released figures showing that 49.3 percent of Maori women smoked, and 41.5 of Maori men smoked also.  "That's too high."  Mr Harawira believed that implicit racism lay behind these statistics.  "Tobacco was introduced by Pakeha bastards," he said "and its damaging Maori people."  If the Maori Party could not get sufficient support from "pakeha" parties, it would seek out different political allies.

When asked which parties, he revealed that he has been having "meaningful and positive" discussions with the leaders of Tiro Rangatiratanga, the Maori sovereignty movement.

  Tiro Rangatiratanga, he explained, means that Maori take control over all thing Maori--and both groups agreed on the need for Maori to stand up and control their own destinies.  "This is an area where a separate Maori judicial system will do an awful lot of good," said Mr Harawira.  "We are going to pass a Tiro Rangatiratanga law that will have application only to Maori.  Pakeha won't be able to share in this.  This is about Maori doing something positive for Maori." 


Maori sovereignty representatives are thinking of joining  with the Maori Party in a special Maori Parliament to be called Aotearoahui.  We will pass a "tangata whenua law" making tobacco a Class A drug for  Maori only.  "We don't care about Pakeha.  If they want to kill themselves off with smoking, that's their problem.  If anyone is seen smoking, the Maori police will be directed to establish first if they are Maori--and if they are, they will be arrested for possession and use of a Class A drug.  We will throw them into a Maori prison where they will be forced to withdraw. We will stamp out tobacco use amongst our people in ten years," Harawira said.  


However Maori Party leader, Tariana Turia was more cautious.  "Well you know that Hone is passionate and rather hot headed at times."  She explained that Maori had learned a long time ago that there was far more mileage to be gained if they were successful in making it clear that Maori problems were really caused by colonialism and the Pakeha and society generally.  That way the whole country felt obligated to support and resource Maori properly. When asked specifically what she thought of the Tiro Rangatiratanga approach she said, "We just don't think there's much money in going down that path."  

Prime Minister, John Key currently in New York shaking President Obama's hand,  was asked what he thought of this controversy which had emerged while he was out of the country.  "Frankly, I have a good relationship with Tariana.  It is, well, frank.  We can talk through most things and reach a good compromise.  She calls me all the time and tells me what she wants"  He said that he did not want to say anything further until he had a chance to get back to New Zealand and sit down with the Maori Party.  "But nothing is off the table," he said.  "Most things could be resolved with good will and spending.  But if not, we could always look again at the idea of lynching."  As long as good New Zealand business executives were not being criminalised before they were lynched there might be an acceptable compromise in there somewhere.