Eight former Māori MPs from season two of Matangireia. (Image: Aotearoa Media Collective/RNZ)
Eight former Māori MPs from season two of Matangireia. (Image: Aotearoa Media Collective/RNZ)

ĀteaJune 23, 2021

Eight incredible moments from the new series of Matangireia

Eight former Māori MPs from season two of Matangireia. (Image: Aotearoa Media Collective/RNZ)
Eight former Māori MPs from season two of Matangireia. (Image: Aotearoa Media Collective/RNZ)

Heartbreak, scandal and intrigue are never far away in the new conversations with former Māori MPs. Leonie Hayden points to the highlights. 

Maybe it’s only ever possible to see the true humanity of politicians once they’ve left politics. Take away the campaigning, the party lines, the spin and the relentlessness of the job, and you’re left with relatively normal but still complex human beings that think and feel much like you and me.

In the second series of Matangireia, named for the carved Māori Affairs Committee room at Parliament House, eight former Māori politicians talk about their time in parliament and their respective legacies in depth. Produced by Aotearoa Media Collective for RNZ, three hosts share interviewing duties – Mihingarangi Forbes, Scott Campbell and Maiki Sherman – and although each is (or was, in Campbell’s case) a formidable journalist in their own right, they’re not there so much to challenge, but to prompt and let their subjects tell their stories.

As in season one, they discuss their childhoods, their triumphs and their darkest days, and reveal hitherto unknown parts about life in our nation’s seat of power. It makes for fascinating and sometime heartbreaking watching. Here are some of the most interesting revelations.

Hone Harawira couldn’t get on the dole after he left the Māori Party

Harawira was a founding member of the Māori Party, which formed in 2004 in the days following the 50,000-strong protest march against Helen Clarke’s Foreshore and Seabed Act. In 2011, he left the Māori Party after a disciplinary hearing proposed he be kicked out, and formed the Mana Movement. Harawira says he has no regrets about joining or leaving the Māori Party ,or starting his Mana Movement, but revealed that after his MP salary was stopped, he was unable to go on a benefit. He says the entire time he was campaigning for Mana, for which he won the Te Tai Tokerau seat in 2011, he had no income of any kind.

Paula Bennett told a roomful of iwi leaders how many children from each iwi were in state care, and then said it was their doing

In one of the most ballsy moves on record, Bennett reveals to interviewer Maiki Sherman that as a way of addressing the number of tamariki Māori in state care in her role as minister for child, youth and family, she went to a hui at Tūrangawaewae in Waikato, and told the room, iwi by iwi, how many children had been taken from their families by the state. Like a wolf demanding that lambs explain why they continue to be eaten by wolves, she then asked why they had let that happen. After a period of shocked silence, Bennett was, unsurprisingly, asked to leave. Even more shockingly, in her recollection of the incident, Bennett doesn’t seem at all aware of the offensiveness of the action (and even recalls an ashen-faced, trembling aide telling her it was going to go very badly), and says she believes it contributed “in a small way” to positive changes for child welfare in this country. Credit (or an Oscar) goes to Sherman, whose horrified reaction registers for only a millisecond before regaining her professional, serious interviewer face.

Te Ururoa Flavell became depressed after the Māori Party was voted out

In one of the saddest moments of the series, a clearly still traumatised Flavell describes how much he struggled during his three terms in parliament, admitting that he “wanted to go home after a year”. If he struggled in parliament, it seems it was nothing compared to the distress and depression that followed when the Māori Party were voted out in 2017. He says the night of the election “destroyed him”.

“I felt our people had let us down, after all the work that we’d done.” The most heartbreaking part comes when he’s asked what he hopes his mokopuna will see when they look back on his legacy. Breaking down into tears, he replies: “That their pāpā did the best by his people.”

Denise Roche really hates John Key

When John Key accused Labour of backing “rapists” detained by Australia on Christmas Island, Roche and a group of women MPs, all survivors of sexual abuse, staged a walkout in protest. They demanded an apology but it never came. Roche’s one word to describe the former prime minister? “Prick.”

Ron Mark was employed in the private army of the Sultan of Oman

As one-time minister for defence, Ron Mark’s armed forces background is known to many, as is his reputation as a loyal, stand up guy. Mark revealed that a turning point in his army career had come after he had nearly been dishonourably discharged for hospitalising someone in a pub fight. Rising quickly through the ranks after that, some years later, he was blocked from entering SAS training so decided to take a job in the Sultan of Oman’s armed forces. A year on, he entered the special forces where he worked on the Yemen border for four years. Another fascinating revelation: his full name is Rongowhitiao Maaka.

Former NZ First MP Ron Mark in the Sultan of Oman’s armed forces (Image: Aotearoa Media Collective/RNZ)

Dover Samuels regrets not giving Richard Prebble an ‘uppercut’ 

Only a year after taking up the Māori Affairs portfolio, Dover Samuels was stood down from his post after historic sexual abuse allegations were made by the mother of an alleged victim. He was cleared of the allegations after a criminal investigation but was dismissed by prime minister Helen Clarke anyway, after other charges on his police record came to light. Today Samuels says that then-Act leader Richard Prebble was the “architect” of the campaign to get rid of him, and he wishes he’d socked him between the eyes.

https://youtu.be/Zt8wCgPP5tI

Harete Hipango was assaulted by police while working as a lawyer in Whanganui

As a young criminal defence lawyer, Hipango found herself standing alongside whānau at the occupation of Moutoa Gardens Pakaitore in Whanganui, while also working in the courts, where she defended family members after arrests during the protest. She says as a result she was treated appallingly by judges, police and other court staff. Hipango tells the story of entering the courts with a Pākehā colleague, and a police officer giving the command for her to be stopped and searched. She says two officers restrained her while another patted her down, and then she was slammed into a wall, before being “frog marched” and forcibly thrown out of the courts, her place of employment.

At the time of filming, Hipango had lost her seat in Whanganui, but this week she reentered parliament following the abrupt departure of Nick Smith.

Georgina Beyer never made it into Helen Clark’s orbit

For someone whose past is more colourful than all other parliamentarians put together, Georgina Beyer, the world’s first transgender MP, has the least to reveal. Her days as a sex worker and the abuse she suffered is well documented, as are her former lives as a drag queen, an actress and a mayor. She says of her time in parliament as a Labour MP, the foreshore and seabed act was the beginning of the end – describing it as a “nightmare” and a “disaster”. Beyer explained that she had never been close to prime minister Helen Clark (“I was not within her inner, outer, or extra-outer circle, really. I was just a cannon fodder backbench MP”) but after Beyer asked to abstain from the vote on the foreshore and seabad legislation, her request was rejected and Clark’s demeanour towards her became even more frosty. “I vowed and declared from that time on that I would never be torn between who and what I am as far as my heritage is concerned, and political expediency.”

Watch series one and two of Matangireia, made by Aotearoa Media Collective for RNZ.

Keep going!
Protesters at the site of the planned marina. (Photo: Protect Pūtiki.)
Protesters at the site of the planned marina. (Photo: Protect Pūtiki.)

ĀteaJune 23, 2021

The occupation at Pūtiki Bay, Waiheke – explained

Protesters at the site of the planned marina. (Photo: Protect Pūtiki.)
Protesters at the site of the planned marina. (Photo: Protect Pūtiki.)

A planned marina at Kennedy Point on Waiheke Island has led to an occupation by a group against the development for over 100 days. Last week, tensions were stirred as police arrested three protesters. Charlotte Muru-Lanning on what’s behind the dispute.

What is going on?

The picturesque Pūtiki Bay on the south side of Waiheke has provided the backdrop to occupation, protest and police action as local residents and iwi members continue to fight plans for a new marina.

And what are the plans for Pūtiki Bay?

The project for Kennedy Point Marina is led by Tony Mair, who has previously developed 17 marinas locally and overseas. The Waiheke project includes around 180 berths, a floating carpark, onshore facilities like sewage containment and a cafe. Developers say at least 150 berths have sold so far, and most planned construction has been contracted for. The cheapest berth sells for $180,000.

When did this all start?

Auckland Council granted resource consent for the Kennedy Point marina in 2017. The residents’ group, Save Kennedy Point (SKP), has been fighting the proposal since then through the Environment Court, the High Court, then the Court of Appeal. In a last ditch legal effort, the group appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the High Court ruling so they could return to the Environment Court to challenge the consent. In April 2021, the Supreme Court dismissed SKP’s application for appeal. There is no further right of appeal in relation to the Supreme Court’s decision. SKP has since disbanded, but members still support the current occupation.

Who are Protect Pūtiki?

Protect Pūtiki are the group who have been occupying the planned marina space. The group is spearheaded by Ngāti Paoa Trust Board, supported by iwi members and locals.

Why are Protect Pūtiki occupying the bay?

The group are concerned about the impact of the project on the kororā or little blue penguin who inhabit the rock breakwater wall and the natural environment. In addition, there are frustrations about the privatisation of a public area and a lack of consultation with local iwi.

Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick says “the protection of penguins is a very important issue, but on top of this it’s very important we recognise this as a Treaty of Waitangi issue”.

What went wrong with consultation with local iwi, Ngāti Paoa?

There are two different iwi representative groups. Ngāti Paoa Trust Board and Ngāti Paoa Iwi Trust.

Developers say that when they were undertaking public consultation in 2018, Ngāti Paoa Iwi Trust were the only recognised iwi trust Auckland Council required engagement with, so they relied on that information. The other representative group, Ngāti Paoa Trust Board say they should have been consulted, and that the blame lies with Auckland Council.

A recent Māori Appellate Court judgment found Auckland Council failed to recognise Ngāti Paoa Trust Board as a mandated representative under the Resource Management Act.

Kennedy Point Marina company spokesperson Kitt Littlejohn says they feel they’re “caught between a rock and hard place”. He says they’re in a difficult position as they followed the Resource Management Act Process (RMA), were granted consent by the council and have now spent five years planning and have already invested in the development.

The developers went through the RMA process, what’s the problem?

While the developers have been through the mandated and correct RMA process, the way the RMA has been applied by councils in terms of Māori engagement has long been criticised. As well, it’s argued that the consultation process doesn’t actually meet the promise of ‘partnership’ guaranteed by the Treaty. Swarbrick says, “the RMA doesn’t place enough emphasis on relationships with mana whenua”.

None of this is helped by the fact that in this case, a significant number of Ngāti Paoa have been displaced from Waiheke post-colonisation.

An artist’s impression of the planned Kennedy Point Marina. (Image: Kennedy Point Marina)

Why is Pūtiki Bay important to Ngāti Paoa?

Protect Pūtiki organiser, Emily Māia Weiss (Ngāti Paoa) explains that Pūtiki Bay “is space we whakapapa to”. She says it’s the ancestral place of Te Arawa and Waikato-Tainui. For the organisers, their resistance is a protection of their ancestral moana, matauranga and whakapapa connections which they believe is threatened by the planned marina.

The whole bay is the kainga of kororā, which they feel a responsibility to protect.

Will the (very cute) kororā be ok?

It’s hard to say. The developers say no harm will come to the kororā. From their perspective, they’ve been through a long RMA process with the input of penguin experts along the way. As part of their consent, they have a detailed penguin plan to manage the effect of the development on the kororā and breakwall, put together by Dr Leigh Bull, a seabird ecologist contracted to undertake an independent review by the company.

Those against the marina argue that disturbances to the rock wall which the kororā inhabit along with pre-construction, construction and post-construction activities will negatively impact the penguins. A recent report from John Cockrem was critical of the current penguin plan and argued works on the marina needed to stop till a larger study can be completed. Karen Saunders from Waiheke Native Bird Rescue and Forest and Bird have consistently voiced concern for the safety of the penguins.

Weiss says she’s frustrated that the scientific reports have “no inclusion of matauranga Māori, even though it’s a taonga species”.

Protesters say this is an unfair privatisation of public space, are you allowed to build a marina on public land?

Yes (though there is a process to get consent). Littlejohn says, “every part of our coastal marine environment is public space, but the RMA allows parties to seek rights to use for things”, like seawalls, marine farms, ports and in this case, marinas. The developers argue that the area of water wasn’t unencumbered before this development and that the development will include public amenities. According to them, the bay was previously a mooring area with around 37 boats parked in the water.

Protesters occupy the rock wall at Pūtiki Bay. (Image: Protect Pūtiki)

Why are protesters concerned about the environmental impact?

Weiss of Protect Pūtiki says the marina will be “another unnecessary scar on the moana”. To them, the protest is about setting a precedent on the climate emergency.

According to the 2020 State of Our Gulf report on the Hauraki Gulf, marinas in the gulf have risen from 13 in 2000, to 18 in 2020. The same report outlined the degradation of the gulf, along with the detrimental effect that marinas had on the marine environment. Findings from the last report “suggest the current weighting is tipped too far toward development and utilisation”.

What result do Protect Pūtiki want?

Ngāti Pāoa members occupying the site have vowed to stay put until the resource consent for the development of the marina is revoked.

Unlike land based occupations like Ihumātao, occupying bodies of water comes with a set of specific practical difficulties and risks. This has been confounded by cold winter weather and the “extreme police presence” protesters were met with last week where three were arrested and there were reports of police violence toward protesters. Police maintain that their “officers acted with the utmost professionalism in what was a very challenging and at times hostile environment for our staff.”

A petition by Protect Pūtiki that already has more than 15,000 signatures is calling for a stop works by Auckland council and a review of the resource consent given by Auckland council under section 128 of the RMA, on the basis that it was granted with an inaccuracy, in that it excluded a legal entity of Ngāti Paoa – Ngāti Paoa Trust Board. They are also calling for the Minister for Conservation/ Acting Minister of Conservation to amend the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act 2000 to prohibit any future marinas on Waiheke Island and for those ministers to mandate a process that will enable all affected parties to come to an outcome everyone can live with.

Ātea