It has become an uncomfortable fact of life in post modern New Zealand that racial division is on the rise. That our country is divided into clear ethnic and cultural blocs, reinforced by education and class.
Margaret Mutu
In the same week that the Supreme Court scuttled police chances of successful prosecutions against alleged revolutionaries, Maori academic Margaret Mutu sowed the seeds for future racial conflict.
It has become an uncomfortable fact of life in post modern New Zealand that racial division is on the rise. That our country is divided into clear ethnic and cultural blocs, reinforced by education and class.
And nothing that any government has done this past generation has hindered such underscoring. In fact, one might argue that every effort has been a marketing one – made to emphasise that Maori are not simply a separate people but actually enjoy unique rights.
Maori don’t quite see it that way, and no wonder. Such favour is associated with success, and everywhere there exists signs of Maori failure. It remains deeply ironic that the culture that distinguishes New Zealand to the world is in such dreadful trouble.
That no amount of money thrown at treaty settlements, Maori education, Maori radio and television, Maori job training, Maori health has made a significant nor tangible difference. Many of their people are still bottom of the heap for all the good stuff, and top of the heap for all the bad.
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