by Amokura Panoho - Hauraki Candidate - Mauri Pacific

I read with interest your article in Scoop and have the following comments to make.

Firstly, though I agree with the substance of your critique about National's attempt to play with Employment I think that your bias towards Labour policy has overshadowed your analysis.

It is easy to of course to come up with an analysis in hindsight and as you point out Labour is attempting to woo Maori and Pacific Island voters with a substantive self-help approach to employment.

However, its important for you to understand that the general sentiment that exists amongst Maori voters is that unions and Labour consecutively and collectively have abused the loyalty of Maori voters and workers.

They abandoned us in 1986 without a care as a result of State Sector Restructuring that saw the demolition of whole Maori communities that worked under Forestry, Railways, Works and Development, Electricity, Meatworks. The direct product bringing about intergenerational unemployment. Unions response was to abandon us in favour of having the capacity to retain their bargaining rights within the 1987 Labour Relations Act.

Labour can well say that the architects of those dramatic changes have since moved on and Labour has purged itself of that history and is wanting to get back to its true political ideaology. However, we still remember that Helen was the Minister of Health that sacked Area Health Boards to introduce what has now become the RHA's. That Micheal was the Minister of Social Welfare that reduced the progresses of devolution introduced by Ann Hercus, removed Matua Whangai, and why COGs had to leave and find a new departmental home with Department of Internal Affairs.

All in all, Maori will always continue to be canon fodder for Labour's paternalistic missionary liberalism - because at the end of the day they believe in interdependence not independence.

Its been a bit like an abusive relationship - we've given you the bash but hey we've reformed ourselves and we want another chance.

I say get your civilised ideology out of our faces and stop pretending to think you know what's best for us.

Kia ora

Amokura Panoho

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