Hone Harawira chose a different format for his swearing-in today, as many MPs have done in the past, and was thrown out of the House for his trouble.
This seems draconian and punitive, not to mention unfair and it will be very interesting to see how Speaker Lockwood Smith's actions are viewed. Efforts by Russel Norman and Trevor Mallard to repair the situation were in vain, as were waiata of protest from the public gallery.
There is a great deal for someone like Hone to gain from being victimised, especially where the use of te reo Maori is concerned, as it was here. Adding to the discontent already evident from this event, is the thought that the people of Te Tai Tokerau are being refused their representation in Parliament. This will motivate the young people who haven't to date, voted in a general election and who Hone very much wants to be motivated.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
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16 comments:
It had nothing to do with te reo and everything to do with Hone!
What does he want to be? a politician or an anarchist activist?
Just a stunt to wind up the ignorant, much the same as Don Brash frequently does.
What did he do Shunda?
My second-hand take on it is he tried a different way, as others have been allowed to do before, and was treated summarily.
Bit of a risk counting on a voter block if they generally doesn't vote
If anyone can mobilise them Hone can. Those people weren't voting because they didn't have confidence that they would be represented by someone who would reflect their needs. We'll see if he can spark them into life. I reckon he will.
SPC (from Frogblog) - is he correct?
Posted July 14, 2011 at 5:04 PM
Picking a fight is a sign of those who exist for the polarising debate.
It’s customary for MP’s to make a declarative statement (and more pointed for leaders of new parties in parliament) before going on to adopt the formal outh, his being denied that right was the lowest point of the Speakers time in the chair.
The Speakers politics were made manifest and that is not what should happen.
Here's what Hone said:
" I, Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira, swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, that I will be honest and forthright in my efforts to advance the rights of the people of Tai Tokerau, that I will do my utmost to help all Maori people become full empowered citizens of this land and that I will do whatever I can to reduce inequalities in this country, so that all may one day be proud to call Aotearoa home.
Here's what Lockwood demanded he say:
I, Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.
On National radio just before noon the TV reviewer & Kathryn Ryan were talking about how NZers didn't seem to want to discuss issues such as republicanism because we don't like to bring up issues which might split the country (perhaps because of memories of 81, they said). That's pretty sad really, maybe we should talk about republicanism. I would not want to stand up anywhere and declare faithful and true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her heirs and successors. The last time I came anywhere close to doing anything close to that would be having to stand up when they played God save the Queen at what we used to call the pictures (ok I was about 3 months old then....)
Hone is drawing attention to how incredibly out of date & wrong it is to have an english queen as our head of state. Of course he is also getting himself some publicity, fair enough, Mana hasn't got taxpayer funding for their election campaign. Go Hone!
Hone certainly got himself back on our screens. His supporters will be cheering his audacity.
I just think it is entirely unintelligent.
Like a comedian using the F word for shock value, eventually it all gets very boring.
Don has his racists
Hone has his racists
Go the minor party's.
Hone's 'story' of yesterday featured in today's Southland Times. Not a bad effort, given that profile is everything in the lead-up to an election. Unintelligent?
Why do you say that?
Hone makes the point that Lockwood Smith has allowed other MPs to use alternate forms of address when being sworn-in, but prevented him from doing the same. Do you think that's fair Shunda and if not, why do you think Hone was treated that way?
From Roarprawn
"Anyway we watched Te Karere this morning and Scotty asked Hekia what she thought of Hone's grandstanding.
She put it simply - Marae all over the country have different protocols and its respectful to abide by them. Parliament is a big Marae. There are protocols and Hone should follow them as he would expect people to follow them on his Marae."
And concludes rightly:
"So Hone expects us to be be nice in his house but is content to shit in ours."
That's the issue Robert
Anonymous - how did Hone 'shit in the house'?
He, like others before him, chose to perform his swearing-in differently. His words weren't offensive at all, so far as I can see. If you think they were, please say. Hone dressed well, didn't abuse anyone, seemed polite from what I saw. Smith has given leave for others to do it differently (I'm led to believe), why not Hone? He says he would have sworn Queenly allegiance once he'd finished his preliminaries - why is that offensive?
Btw - are you referring to Hekei Parata?
Pleeeeeese
The Maori woman promotong deep sea drilling for oil in the Raukumara basin, against the wishes of iwi?
She's in no position to talk about shitting in the house!
Should have said Roarprawn concludes:
"So Hone expects us to be be nice in his house but is content to shit in ours."
As usual you miss the point: Hone abused custom and the law
Smith may have allowed other things to be said but not altering the oath as Hone tried to do.
Tell us how you have or would abuse custom at marae visited?
Roarprawn is Ngai Tahu. Hone is not. I suspect a tribal clash. The House is not a marae. Even if it was, challenges happen on marae as a matter of course. Hone showed he is unbowed. I like that.
Smith had briefed Harawira in advance as to the order in which his oath could be taken. Harawira chose not to follow the Speaker's advice. As Smith rightly said: "no MP is above the law".
The 'law', Inv2, allows for variation when saying the oath. Other MPs have re-formed the oath, ensuring that the essential words were included, just as Hone had planned. He was ejected before he'd gotten to that part. But it doesn't matter to me or to Hone's supporters and potential supporters. What they saw was heavy-handed treatment by 'the authority' of their man. They'll be well motivated by that, plus Hone gets another chance to go centre-stage in 2 weeks time. You can't buy advertising like that!
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