Life has changed in New Zealand with the born-again Maori and the multiple treaty claims and the apparent greed that comes with it. I am Ngati Pakeha and from my perhaps cynical viewpoint, all I can see is less mana and more money in being Maori. My stunningly beautiful mother-in-law was the daughter of a full-blooded Ngati Kahu woman and an Englishman.

She was a hard worker who raised turkeys, built fences, cooked wonderful meals, dressed beautifully, kept a fantastic garden, and her ancestry was never something she talked about, she was simply a New Zealander. Dr. Brian McDonnell, of Irish, Maori (Tuhoe) and French descent, writes that the two groups who met at Waitangi in 1840 are two completely different peoples now with the intermarriage of Maori with European, Asian, Pacific Islanders etc. in the last 170 years. He wrote 'The Waitangi Express” should apply the brakes to slow its headlong rush into a divisive future.”

I was stunned recently when I saw a sound-bite of Titewhai Harawira saying 'we will have the airwaves as well!” – that is pure greed! Another example is the odd way an irksome taniwha can disappear whenever gold crosses palms. I did not realise that a taniwha had a bank account and an IRD number. Less money and more mana would make me respect those who make an income through the treaty Waitang Express!

Robin Bishop, Pyes Pa.