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Te Pāti Māori refuses to back down after its MP accuses Govt of trying
to 'exterminate Māori'
(HTM) Source
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Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi made the comments in a speech
to the House last Wednesday, during a debate on the Government's
proposed scrapping of a key part of the Oranga Tamariki Act - section
7AA.
"No matter my words today, the Government will not waver in its
mission to exterminate Māori," Kapa-Kingi told the House.
She said the Government wants to remove tamariki Māori from their
whānau and iwi.
"I might be tempted to change tone and say pai ana [no worries], get
rid of Section 7AA, and while you're at it get rid of the entire Act
and the rotten institution that is Oranga Tamariki, which should in
fact be named Matenga Tamariki [the death of children] because it and
its predecessor has only caused strife and ruin," she said.
Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act requires the Crown to consider
the whakapapa and mana of tamariki when deciding where to place them -
also requiring adherence to Treaty of Waitangi principles.
"The theory of the Minister is that Oranga Tamariki's governing
principles should be colour-blind, which is just another word for
white supremacy, because to say we are all one people is really to say
we should all be white people," Kapa-Kingi added.
Now, National and Labour say Kapa-Kingi went too far.
On Tuesday, PM Christopher Luxon told reporters Kapa-Kingi's speech
was "completely out of line" and "unhelpful".
"As I've said a few weeks ago, the rhetoric needs to calm down big
time, across the whole of the political spectrum," he said.
"We genuinely, as a Government, are wanting to advance outcomes for
Māori."
And Labour leader Chris Hipkins agreed, saying Kapa-Kingi's language
"isn't helpful".
"It's certainly not language that I agree with," he told reporters on
Tuesday.
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