I am writing to clarify a point made in my letter to The Weekend Sun December 10 2010.
New Zealand is a nation founded on an agreement between two peoples. That makes it a bi-cultural nation. Of course we are living in a multicultural society – I congratulate those correspondents who noticed this – but the founding document of our nation is the Treaty of Waitangi, which is an agreement between the Crown and the Maori people. All later visitors to our nation enter into that agreement and consent to uphold it.
Mr Kuipers von Lande laments that his disabled son does not receive benefits. It is neither fair nor sound to argue the reason his son lacks access to resources is because Maori are getting that which they are entitled to. Taxpayer money is also spent on roads, schools, hospitals and MP's overseas holidays, amongst many other things, and not only ‘Maori benefits.'
P. Martin claims it is good to see Asians and Indians in New Zealand because they are ‘hardworking' (presumably unlike Maori). This is about as clear an example of racism as one could image. ‘Hardworking' and ‘lazy' are not traits that are exclusive to one or another race. They are applied meaningfully only on a case-by-case or individual basis.
M Ketu, Tauranga.