National Maori Authority calls for National to sack senior members after endorsement of colonisation

National Maori Authority calls for National to sack senior representatives after endorsement of colonisation

The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has called for the resignations of the National Party’s Paul Goldsmith after he said on NewsHub that while colonisation may have been "traumatic" for Māori, overall it has had a positive effect. Tukaki has gone further and called for the resignation of the Party’s senior Maori Advisor, Tu Williams for not doing enough to stop this type of rhetoric.

“The last few weeks we have seen racists and white supremacists feeling emboldened by various National Party people only for them to walk away from their statements and suggesting they somehow have nothing to do with it – you cannot walk away from creating the environment through which you have just created” Tukaki said

“The vast majority of people, of Maori, are sick and tired of being the target and fodder for their boots. Now we have Goldsmith coming out and suggesting that colonisation was goof for Maori. That is an absolute disgrace. Colonisation of this country destroyed Maori communities. Our people were murdered, men, women and children. Our women were raped. We were demhumanised and lied to. Treated with disdain and as second class citizens and this joke of a man says it was good for us.” Tukaki said

“I hate to state the obvious but this man should not been in the Parliament and to be honest the media need to stop giving people like this a voice or a platform. And for the record – these comments are not free speech. These comments create the operating environment through which people pour forward hate.” Tukaki said

“And as for Tu Williams, the so called head of Maori in the National Party – exactly what has he done that has kept our people safe in the Party? This is a Party that has done incredible things for Maori and to be blunt about their own elders would be rolling in their graves with this generation of absolute tone deaf individuals.” Tukaki said