Ian The Curious
9.4K posts

Ian The Curious
@UrbTurn
Explorer on life’s highway, rural, maker, builder, gardener, architect. 🇳🇿





Nah, I t’s a war dance from the Stone Age

Let’s be clear — the haka is not some political prop to be dismissed or targeted for cheap points. For generations, kapa haka has been a powerful expression of whakaaro, identity, and resistance. It speaks to kaupapa that impact Māori — our iwi, hapū and whānau. It existed long before today’s political narratives, and it will exist long after them too. So when ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar takes aim at haka and kaupapa Māori, it doesn’t come across as insight — it comes across as tone-deaf and dismissive of something deeply rooted in this country. At a time when te reo Māori initiatives are being questioned and Māori voices are increasingly challenged, this kind of rhetoric only fuels division. And let’s be honest about that — Māori didn’t create this divide. Māori didn’t open the door to attacking our culture, language, and identity. But we are expected to sit quietly while it happens. Calling out haka as “virtue signalling” completely misses the point. It’s not performance for approval — it’s expression, it’s history, it’s mana. If there’s frustration out there, it’s not coming from nowhere. It’s coming from seeing kaupapa Māori constantly undermined by those in positions of power. That’s not leadership. That’s disconnection. #KaupapaMāori #Haka #TeReoMāori #Aotearoa #NZPolitics #MāoriVoices #ManaMotuhake

FFS

WATCH: Chris Hipkins has announced that Labour will support the India Free Trade Agreement, and that it is unlikely to increase overall immigration from India. The right move for the country overall I think - thank you Mr Hipkins!

Our Free Trade Agreement with India will be signed next week, an agreement that gives NZ exporters access to 1.4 billion customers. It means more jobs on farms and orchards, more money coming into local communities, and more opportunities for Kiwis to get ahead.









