August 18, 2020
New Zealand must do more than celebrate Maori resilience
Martyn 'Bomber' Bradbury: Last week for International Day of Indigenous Peoples, Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon called for New Zealand to amplify Māori resilience.
He asked us to celebrate the leadership and strength shown by Māori and other Indigenous Peoples in the face of the global pandemic.
The sudden lockdown and re-emergence of the Virus in South Auckland is a reminder that until a vaccine is found, we are as vulnerable as everyone else is to this insidious plague.
That realisation must drive us to new ways of being, and the resilience Maori have shown needs to not just be celebrated, it must be resourced, supported and most importantly, emulated by NZ society.
There is an enormous amount Pakeha culture needs to learn from Māori resilience and the funding of that capacity for resilience must be the underlying dabate of this election.
This virus has obliterated the sacred cows of free market economics and it has demanded an active State that has almost forgotten that its first responsibility is the safety and protection of the people.
Empowerment of community to feel the agency of collective solidarity would be the closest to Tino rangatiratanga we've managed since signing the Treaty.
Martyn Bradbury
Editor – TheDailyBlog.nz
Radio Waatea and it's board would like to advise that the opinions posted are those of Martyn 'Bomber Bradbury' and not the views of Radio Waatea, it's Management or it's Board.
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