Government Fanning The Flames Of Racism

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should have noticed that racism in New Zealand isn't just a lingering shadow of colonialism, it’s a structural pillar of our current government, with their latest policies pouring even more fuel on the fire. New Zealand likes to pat itself on the back as a progressive paradise, but scratch bellow the surface, and the ugly truth of entrenched racism is as clear as day. From systemic inequities to tone-deaf legislation, the powers-that-be are doubling down on policies that widen the gap for Māori and Pasifika communities, all while cloaking it in dishonest “fairness” rhetoric that nobody in their right mind should believe.

Let’s start with the cold, hard reality. Māori make up 17% of the population but over 50% of the prison population. Pasifika are over-represented in poverty stats, with one in five kids in low-income households. Health outcomes? Māori life expectancy lags behind Pākehā by nearly a decade. These aren’t accidents; they’re the scars of a system built on colonial theft that has been sustained by political apathy. The Waitangi Tribunal’s been highlighting breaches of Te Tiriti for decades, yet successive governments have kicked the can down the road.

Enter the current coalition of chaos government, which seems hell-bent on making things even worse. Take the recent push to dismantle Māori-specific policies under the guise of “equality before the law”. Scrapping the Māori Health Authority? A gut-punch to people already battling systemic healthcare disparities. The rhetoric around “one law for all” sounds noble until you realise it erases targeted support for those who’ve been screwed over for generations. Then there’s the Fast-track Approvals Bill, which sidelines Māori consultation on resource projects. When iwi voices are silenced, it’s not just a policy tweak, it’s a middle finger to Te Tiriti and the principle of partnership.


Last week, 1 News reported:

Luxon: No compromise on Te Pāti Māori decision, rejects ‘racism’ claims

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the National Party will not make any concessions on the Privileges Committee's recommendation to suspend three Te Pāti Māori MPs from Parliament.

Last week, the Privileges Committee recommended the suspensions of co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and MP Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke in the wake of a haka that was performed during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill last year.

A 21-day suspension was recommended for Waititi and Ngarewa-Packer, while a seven-day suspension was recommended for Maipi-Clarke.

The fact that Judith Collins lied about Te Pāti Māori halting the vote and handing down the longest suspensions in New Zealand's political history certainly points to one conclusion.

However, this type of racism isn’t new. The government’s playbook, dressed up as pragmatism, leans heavily on dog-whistle politics that scapegoat Māori for daring to demand a fairer New Zealand. Remember the foreshore and seabed debacle? We’re seeing its ghost again, with Treaty settlements under threat and public discourse increasingly hostile. Social media’s a cesspool of anti-Māori sentiment, emboldened by politicians who’d rather stoke division than address root causes. Numerous posts by right-wing operatives blame Māori for “special treatment,” conveniently ignoring the centuries of land grabs, cultural erasure, and economic exclusion that has inhibited New Zealand from reaching its full potential.


Yesterday, E-Tangata reported:

Is our government racist?

…

It was about power and control, and how this is related to the kind of unacknowledged and denied racism (masquerading under a number of other guises) that plagues parliament and, indeed, our society as a whole.

Simply put, being Maōri and doing Māori things is okay as long as people in power control what is involved, and when and how it appears. It is a cultural contortion which creates an impression of inclusion while upholding unacknowledged racism.

For parliament to control how Māori appear in parliament is little better than excluding Māori altogether. I would argue it’s worse because such controlled inclusion has the effect of diffusing challenge and creating the appearance of “good race relations”, a myth mainstream New Zealand has been careful to cultivate over the years.

 

So, what’s the fix? First, stop pretending racism’s a few bad apples, it’s the whole damn orchard. The government needs to honour Te Tiriti, not as a box-ticking exercise but as a living commitment. That means reinvesting in Māori-led solutions, from healthcare to education, and amplifying iwi voices in resource decisions. It means calling out the coded language of “equality” for what it is: a Trojan horse for maintaining Pākehā privilege. And it means Pakeha need to own their role in dismantling the system, not just shrugging and saying, “It’s complicated.”

The clock’s ticking. If this government keeps torching Māori rights, the social fabric of Aotearoa will fray even further. We’re better than this, or at least, we should be. Let’s demand policies that heal the social divide, not harm it, and create a future where “equality” isn’t just a dirty word the ACT Party roles out every time someone dares to question the government's racist policies.