5th October 2018

A recent study conducted by Action Station and the University of Otago titled “They're Our Whanau” revealed an overwhelming majority of Māori only respondents believed structural racism and colonisation is to blame for disproportionate Māori prison representation, rather than individual blame.

Amy Telfer Chiles from the Sensible Sentencing Group Trust asked, “where is the accountability in constantly placing the blame elsewhere?”

The report said, 'the forceful taking of Māori land resulted in Māori having less resources and wealth than Pākehā, and this unfair economic reality pushes more Māori toward acts of survival, that get punished by the justice system.' There is a great deal of blaming towards Pākehā and the actions of some of their ancestors. Actions that occurred over a century ago.

Amy commented “I find it offensive to think that the Māori man who brutally murdered my sister did it as an act of survival, which had apparently resulted from the injustices his ancestors suffered.” All men regardless of their race, creed or colour, need to look after their children and their partners and that in turn will make families safer.

How do the children and the partners feel when they are beaten and/or sexually assaulted by an offender who claims it is not their fault but the fault of colonisation? Blaming their criminal behaviour on ‘survival instinct’. There are no excuses.

At the Criminal Justice Summit held in Wellington recently, Māori spoke of their journeys, the crimes they had committed and subsequent imprisonment. Sadly, most were not willing to take ownership of their crime - there was always an excuse for the criminal behaviour. There was something or someone else to blame. Not one word was spoken about personal accountability and responsibility for their offending. If individuals continually look elsewhere for blame instead of accepting ownership of their actions, how will they ever grow to be better people? How will the cycles of abuse ever end? What lessons will our children learn?

This is a systemic issue, one that is ingrained generation after generation. The cycle needs to be broken and this will never happen through constantly blaming others. Personal accountability and ownership must begin now if change for the better is ever going to happen.

ENDS

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