August 01, 2014
Race Card Time
Willie Jackson
OPINION: You know there is an election on when politicians start playing the race card. And that’s what’s been happening over the last few weeks.
First Conservative Leader Colin Craig started it when he said the Maori seats were an example of segregation and all we needed was “one law for all”.
Then Act Leader Jamie Whyte joined in when he came out with the nonsensical statement saying that “Maori were legally privileged just as the aristocracy were legally privileged in pre-revolutionary France”.
NZ First Leader Winston Peters then decided he wanted to be part of the party. When he surprisingly announced that he would not be part of any government that included the Maori or Mana Party as he would not be associated with any party that was race based.
All these statements are designed to increase the different party’s votes. History has shown us that bashing Maori and in Winston’s case Asians too, can make a big difference in terms of your party’s popularity.
Unfortunately Winston was the master at playing the race card, in fact he became the most popular politician in the 1980’s by constantly criticising Maori initiatives saying that some of our programmes were examples of apartheid and Maori activists were separatists who were dividing this country.
Pakeha media touted him as the chosen one, the great brown hope. The man who was going to lead Maori to the promise land and on the way perhaps become Prime Minister. But as we all know that didn’t go quite to plan. Winston fell out with his beloved National Party, set up NZ First then unbelievably got thousands of Maori to vote for him and won all the Maori seats in 1996.
During that time Winnie was a little quiet about Maori and apartheid! However there is no doubt that he set the template up that Colin Craig and Jamie Whyte are now following. That template is based around the view that Maori are a privileged race and far too many Kiwis believe that.
Never was this more evident than in 2004 when Don Brash took over National and nearly became Prime Minister, his one law for all message resonated with far too many Kiwis. It was a dishonest and racist message that thankfully his successor John Key abandoned, Craig and Whyte though are in parties that are struggling.
In fact I think it’s all over for Colin Craig after he failed to achieve a deal with the Nats. Act however look certainties after Key agreed to a deal in Epsom although they will still need to poll between 1.3 and 1.5 percent for Jamie Whyte to go to parliament it’s a shame they have had to resort to playing the race card to ensure that happens.
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd