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Tuesday, 06 May 2008 07:22 |
Kevin Hodder
 "We see no difference between the aspirations of Maori people and the desire of workers in their struggles. We seek the support of workers and organisations, as the only visible bodies which have sympathy and understanding of the Maori people and their desires. The people who are oppressing the workers are the same as those who are exploiting the Maori today" Te Roopu o te Matakite, 1975
The concept of Maori oppression is nothing new in the minds of most New Zealanders. For over 100 hundred years they have suffered from poorer access to health care and education, been discriminated against in jobs and suffered continual political assaults from government after government.
The late 60s saw the rise of political protest movements in New Zealand, as around the world, against the oppression of not just Maori but women, homosexuality and immigrants as well as anti-racist and environmental movements.
Early Maori rights groups, such as Nga Tamatoa, were split around the issue of how change could be brought about. The dominant factions were convinced that capitalism could be “cleansed” of racism in such a way that Maori could achieve equality without challenging the system. Peaceful demonstrations, the “Land Marches” organized by Te Ropu o te Matakite and government petitions had wide support among Maori and Pakeha but were of no threat to the capitalist system and so were largely ignored by government.
However, in the words of Te Ahu, “there was no room to mistake the object of protest and the enemy of Maori as anything other than a state which was seen as both racist and capitalist”. After many years of illegal and unjustified land seizures by the New Zealand government, most notably at Bastion point and in Raglan, and as it became increasingly clear that the struggle |
