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• Published date: 07 January 2021
• Date: 07 January 2021
• Publication title: Northland Age, The

The host justified his attitude by noting that Māori is an official language of New Zealand. Actually English is not official, but is understood by 98.4 per cent of the population. Māori is only spoken by 3.7 per cent of those who identify as Māori. Most increases of those learning the language are non-Māori trendy media personalities and politicians. Its promotion costs the taxpayer more than $600 million a year.

Te reo is being introduced into the language with increasing frequency, and in some cases is not just taking precedence over English but precluding its use completely.

Aotearoa is similarly prioritised in national news reports, even though it was never used by Māori as the name of the country.

I would suggest that referring to callers as “racist plonkers” comes closer to hate speech than does complaining of te reo’s incursion into the media. That is called opinion, and defames no one. If the Magic Talk presenter does not recognise confrontational discourse he should not be behind the microphone. To refuse to accept similar callers’ opinions is a complete negation of free speech.

Brian JohnsonOmokoroaOr online?Much outrage has been expressed about Sir Joseph Banks’ obtaining a Māori head as a souvenir of his historic visit to New Zealand on HMS Endeavour. This, however, begs the question of the nature of the transaction by which he did so. Was it a bespoke order to his personal specifications, or did he order it from the suppliers’ catalogue?

Bruce MoonNelsonPoisoning for profitHow are we to truly move ahead as a nation, as a people, if a small group continually promote racial agendas in and through all facets of life in New Zealand, especially in the education system?

Wainuiomata High School has a Māori activism class taught by so-called teacher Nicole Hawkins. Do all high schools/universities teach Māori activism?

It’s 2020, not the 1800s. All Māori have mixed blood running through their veins, and part of their culture is to respect all ancestors and relatives.

Our education system is slipping back each year. The stats support this; students leaving school barely able to read, write or perform basic maths, but all we hear is the need for Māori history, te reo, and now Māori activism.

At Auckland University we have Margaret Mutu, an openly racist activist, promoting hate against anyone or anything white. What exactly is she teaching? What exactly are these Māori activism classes teaching our children?

We have a grievance industry, not to be mistaken for a grievance process of righting...