Peter Dey is taking Maori history from a few books written by persons who are just as in the dark as he is about who the first inhabitants of New Zealand were. These books are only the opinions of the writers, based on what they interpret as fact. There has been a great cover up of the truth, for reasons known only to the Govt when proofs of pre-Maori are discovered they are being hidden. There is plenty of evidence if you look a little deeper.
Mr Dey is calling his ancestors liars if he persists with this fantasy that Maori were here first. The Maori handed down their history orally and spoke of landing here in canoes (Wakas) and found there were people here before them. If the Maori found this country in flimsy wakas crossing dangerous oceans not knowing where they were going to end up, what makes him believe that others did not do the same centuries before? Mr. Dey has the audacity to say Europeans stole land from Maori, when Maori stole it from the peoples here before them (it's in their oral history, or is that a fabrication?) Well boo hoo, it's happened to every nation all through history, get over it. Maori are compensated with all the technology, civilisation and benefits provided for them. They now have $37 billion in assets how much more are they going to bleed honest working men and women for?
It's time they got real and understood that they were conquered and at the same time got protection through the Treaty, which they begged for.
Maori did not compensate Moriori for killing and eating their families and stealing land they lived on. Some Moriori survived the Maori holocaust.
Why should even 1% (as Mr Dey claims) be taken off the hard working NZ citizen to give to a greedy sector of NZ and at the same time Key and local councils are borrowing to keep us afloat and plunging us into eternal debt.

A. Taylor, Avenues.