At our Kerikeri meeting some interesting things happened.

First, before the meeting even started, the Church where the meeting was to happen was flooded with phone calls from activists threatening to smash up the church and the staff.

Second, at the meeting, and as an intro to it, the Minister of the Church spoke to the crowd. He said his church was the house of God, and that as such, he wanted people to respect this, and honour this. By this he meant no shouting and bad language, no interjecting when someone was speaking. He gently asked for respectful behaviour.

What happened was exactly the opposite. Maori activists completely ignored the minister. Soon after the meeting started, a few moved to the front and began interjecting and heckling.

They demonstrated no respect for me as the speaker, or the Minister of the Church. They had no respect for the crowd of people who came to listen.

It’s clear, isn’t it? Activists have no respect for anyone. They live in their own world of ego and selfishness.

Europeans don’t go to Maraes and trash the Maori meetings but activists have no problem with coming to our meetings and trashing them.

At the end of the meeting, I wanted to honour Maori who HAD been respectful and decent. The ones who had listened patiently. The ones who had respected the people who had come to listen. The ones who had respected the Minister of the church.  One such person was in the front row. I did not know his name. He turned out to be environmentalist Reuben Taipari.

Apparently, he is a leading Maori in the North.

I allowed him to speak as a reward for his good behaviour. Normally, I would not do this, as the Q and A time is strictly for Q and A not speeches from the crowd.

Among other things, he said the following.

“Because we don’t want to be incarcerated. We don’t want to be at the highest statistic for mortality. We don’t want to be uneducated. We want to be a part of this community, of this country. We want to be a very strong positive part of this country. So there’s no need to fear us.”

(the Herald piece, where I quote these words, is HERE)

I thought “Hang on a minute. You want to part of this community and a very strong positive part of this country, yet you as a leader can’t control your people? Your people threatened and abused the staff of this church before the meeting started. Then when the meeting started your people trashed me and the people who came to listen. You ignored what the minister had to say at the start. Your people trashed him. The Church was the house of God, but even this did not stop your people. Your people showed no respect for me, the minister, or the people who came to listen.  You were sitting right next to the Maori who were playing up, yet you did nothing!

If you are a leader, and you and your people are united, why didn’t you bring your people into line? Why were you not the first to jump up and lead them into civility and decency? Why were you not exhorting them to be respectful? Instead you were silent. This tells me you were approving. You were complicit. What other conclusion is there?

And yet you say “We want to be a very strong positive part of this country” and “So there’s no need to fear us.” and “We don’t want to be uneducated.”

I have this to say to Maori activists – Europeans will not respect you and your people until you demonstrate sincerity. Until you practise what you preach. If you want to be “a strong positive part of this country”,  then lead by example.

Otherwise we will brand you as hypocrites and delusional to the core.

Show us how great Maori are by your actions, not your words.

Your actions demonstrate the sincerity of your words.

If you actions don’t match your words, then only one conclusion can be reached .

And what is that conclusion?

You are hypocrites, and thus uneducated, and thus not a positive part of this country.

The same would apply to Europeans, or anyone in any culture, whose flowery words don’t match their actions.”

By the way, in Dargaville, protesters were ripping up our books, getting their kids to rip up books, harassing supporters, and being obnoxious, disruptive, and disrespectful all evening. 

And at the same time they are calling for everyone to respect them and honour them. 

No thanks, not while you are so blatantly hypocritical and such poor examples of decent behaviour.