In his article in the Sunday Herald article 'Rodney Hide: Reverse racism fails to raise ire' Rodney's concerned at the attitude displayed by Sir Wira Gardiner in his support of Shane Jones of the opposite political persuasion, not because he was the ‘best man for the job' but because he was Maori.

This obvious racism is not surprising. Sir Wira, has displayed, since being the founding director of the Waitangi Tribunal and the founding chief executive of Te Puna Kokiri, an attitude that the 14 per cent of the population who designate themselves as Maori are entitled to special and privileged treatment.

The decisions of the Waitangi Tribunal and their virtual ‘rubber stamping' of most Maori claims are examples of this.
A person of his qualifications and experience should certainly try to be more circumspect in his attitude and present a more inclusive persona.

He should accept he, like Shane Jones, is more non-Maori than Maori in ethnicity.

This begs the question as to why those who are of less than half or no Maori blood should elect to ignore their other ethnicities and claim to be tangata whenua if were not for financial and social advantages granted exclusively to Maori.

The undemocratic, preferential treatment and special status granted to Maori by many academic, legal and governmental authorities has been exacerbated by the decisions of a partisan Minister of Treaty Settlements, Christopher Finlayson and given further endorsement by the erroneous and mischievous metaphor used by Lord Cook of Thornton in describing the Treaty as 'akin to a partnership”.

The Treaty certainly does not promise this. This attitude persists today to the advantage of some Maori and the detriment of all other New Zealanders.

No political party has subsequently endeavoured to challenge this assertion and this has resulted in treaty revisionists claiming Maori co-governance of New Zealand.

The average citizen would be appalled if made aware of the undisclosed collusion between the Government and Maori.

Bryan Johnson, Omokoroa.