Dear Rapiti - I read recently that by 2020, one in four New Zealanders will have a whakapapa ( descended from Maori lineage). Tauranga will have 30,000 registered Maori residents and we will all pronounce Mauao correctly.
By 2050, Maori GDP will be 50% of the total GDP of NZ, Ngai Tahu will be well on their way to owning the South Island and Tainui and Tauranga Moana will be a major player in business here alongside Quayside, Carrus, Comvita and Ports of Tauranga.
Our kids of all ethnicities will stand proudly on stage performing kapa haka together and the harbour will be pollution-free. Illiteracy will be a thing of the past and miracle medicines available across the counter will increase longevity by 20 years.
That's the plus side. On the other side of crystal ball gazing, just to pay homage to the same old same old Ngati Whingers who trundle out their treaty trough korero like a tired old mat in a cleaned, swept whare.
Investors in Blue Chip will be still hurting and poison pens to this paper will still not have mentioned that the Government of the day, aka all of us, bailed out South Canterbury Finance for $1.7 billion. Which was more than all of the treaty settlements.
Kai for thought?

Tommy Kapai, Te Puna.