Ancestry: Indigenous Pride
This is a poem written in the build up to Waitangi Day 2016, as well as the signing of the Trans-Pacific-Partnership in Auckland (New Zealand).
Read more "Ancestry: Indigenous Pride"This is a poem written in the build up to Waitangi Day 2016, as well as the signing of the Trans-Pacific-Partnership in Auckland (New Zealand).
Read more "Ancestry: Indigenous Pride"A Fairfax journalist has, in a single article, overtly demonized our hardworking kiwi teachers as well as further stigmatising kiwis with mental health concerns. The piece (‘Nearly 100 mentally-ill teachers investigated by the Education Council in the past six years’) published on Stuff yesterday late afternoon, used information gained through the OIA to weave […]
Read more "Demonizing Teachers & Mental Health over a 0.099% statistic"Christmas 2014 marks the bicentennial of the first Christian service in NZ. However in light of its pivotal role in the colonisation of indigenous Aotearoa, as well as its overbearing silence towards present day socio-ecological inequity, why should we be celebrating something that isn’t really good news?
Read more "Gospel bicentennial: Has it been good news for Māori?"Contrary to what some may believe, Māori aren’t privileged citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand. Dr (yes this guy is learned) Jamie Whyte and Winston Peters would obviously beg to differ, as their recent remarks clearly propagate a narrative that belongs in the 19th century. Analysing the situation, it’s evident that two major discourses influenced the […]
Read more "Māori Privilege: Ramblings of a privileged Māori"“The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.” – Frederick Buechner 1/4 New Zealand children live in poverty. Evidently the Neoliberal economics of the 1980′s, which are still at large today, […]
Read more "We can #EndNeoliberalism in New Zealand – Ramblings of a #Maori Socialist"National will win the 2014 elections, but it won’t be due to any politicking by the Right. Since David Cunliffe became the leader of the NZ Labour Party, the political Centre-Left has gravitated more towards creating factions and discord than a sense of political direction and unity against the capitalist National government. Labour needs to […]
Read more "New Zealand politics: Labour needs to remember who they’re fighting – ramblings of a #Māori socialist"Usually the end of the year is a season of festivity not right wing political reforms upholding systemic racism. The Australian attorney general, George Brandis, has appointed Tim Wilson as the country’s ‘Freedom’ Human Rights Commissioner. As one of many recent politicking schemes, the other being funding cuts to legal aid services, the Abbott government […]
Read more "Tim Wilson, George Brandis and Section 18c – systemic racism in Australia stoops to a new low"Mass indigenous imprisonment seems to be a trend for colonial governments – Australia though, appears to pride itself on a whole new different meaning of systemic racism. Yesterday PM Tony Abbott announced funding cuts to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, in a bid to save the Government $9-13m over a period […]
Read more "Tony Abbott would see the indigenous incarceration rate rise just to save $9m"Given the current political climate surrounding New Zealand’s growing chumminess with multinational corporations (as well as the country’s colonial history) one could unquestionably agree that Aotearoa is the right place for the filming of the Avatar sequels – for all the wrong reasons obviously. The first Avatar instalment was heavily drenched in themes of capitalism, […]
Read more "The irony of New Zealand and the Avatar Sequels: ramblings of a Maori socialist"As the government targets to resolve all historical Treaty claims by 2014[1] (more likely 2016), the subsequent aftermath will be intriguing to observe, as the historic transition is bound to be marked by conflict. The only way New Zealand society can meaningfully move forward is together, some believe that comes in the form of […]
Read more "Manaakitanga, indigeneity and nationhood: ramblings of a Maori socialist"