maori

Getting the Maori Economy Moving
Maori is demonstrating every day that the tribal model is a failure when it comes to putting food on the table....
24 March 2004 - Gareth Morgan

Where Maori Meets the Market Economy - No Man's Land
The "modern" Treaty does mean Maori will assume their customary rights are paramount - those of others to play second fiddle...
12 February 2004 - Gareth Morgan

Samoa - lessons from another frustrated tribal model
In past columns I have queried the compatibility of the Maori tribal model with reducing the gap in economic well-being between its participants and other New Zealanders. The government's 'closing the gaps' strategy floundered on the reality that the quest for economic betterment will soak up infinite handouts if tribal...
5 December 2001 - Gareth Morgan

Latest Offer: $20 to move from the Maori to the General Roll
As a means of encouraging Maori to register on the electoral roll the Electoral Office will pay selected "persuaders" between $5 and $10.50 per voter they capture. Various Maori groups are being selected to be the persuaders. While the bounty hunters contracted are instructed to be apolitical the nature of the groups selected for the job -...
5 April 2001 - Gareth Morgan

More evidence the Maori model is bunk
Last week I posited that the closed Maori societal tribal model with its lack of private property rights and bloodline-driven hierachies is an anachronism that needs substantial overhaul if its members are to enjoy economic and social outcomes comparable with mainstream society. Worse, I suggested government policy is increasingly seeking to use the...
27 September 2000 - Gareth Morgan

'Closing Gaps' is a misnomer
Dr Gareth Morgan, Chief Executive, Infometrics Ltd Steve Maharey's response in yesterday's Dominion to Simon Chapple's research on Maori socio-economic disparity, highlighted for me the struggle the government is having being credible with its "Closing the Gaps" strategy. Nobody is denying that there are unacceptable health,...
20 September 2000 - Gareth Morgan

Maori Society Dysfunctional?
Minister of Treaty Negotiations Margaret Wilson sees herself as furthering the interests of all New Zealanders in enshrining her interpretation of Article 3 in as much legislation as she can while she's in office. Health and education law appear to be first in line. Her conviction is deep seated and the evidence of her urgency is all too apparent but...
20 September 2000 - Gareth Morgan

Once were Fijians
What do you call a Fijian with a gun? - Prime Minister. Ha, ha but consider the prospects for a hostage-style overthrow of the government in New Zealand. Maori sovereignists were quick to fly to Nandi and grab the photo opportunity of being beamed back into New Zealand living rooms from George Speight's hold-up. One poser even bemoaned to the camera that Maori didn't...
7 June 2000 - Gareth Morgan

New Zealand's Unemployment Problem is a Maori Unemployment Problem
The new government is very concerned about the gaps between rich and poor, cities and provinces, and Maori and non-Maori. If one looks at the regional distribution of unemployment as one indicator of disparities then the two poles suggest much about the drivers of the differences. As the graph indicates, the back-blocks of the North and South Islands...
16 February 2000 - Gareth Morgan

Separatists grasping at straws
The proposal by Minister of Maori Affairs, Tau Henare, that education failure rates of Maori children will be improved by a separate education system, has little basis. But then, as he says and statistics confirm, what mainstreaming is achieving is clearly minimal. Tau and his commissioners are suggesting it's better to try anything than the present...
30 June 1999 - Gareth Morgan

Omens from the outback
The weekend's success of Pauline Hanson's One Nation party in the Queensland elections is a serious warning not just to Australian federal politicians but also to New Zealanders. It is but a matter of time before some Hanson lookalike runs similar political platforms in this, formalising and accentuating racial division as is happening in Australia....
16 June 1998 - Gareth Morgan

The Lost Tribe
This ends a trilogy of columns on the Waitangi process. So far I've considered how it has evolved into one where Maori can feel quite comfortable claiming entitlements beyond the scope of the original Treaty, why non-Maori should regard themselves increasingly as guests in Maori's country, and where ultimately the bounds of the experiment have yet to be...
28 April 1998 - Gareth Morgan

Why we should all fear the Waitangi process
There is strong reason for all New Zealanders to be fearful of the Waitangi process as it has evolved over the last decade. Its most probable result is that it will entrap rising numbers of Maori in the economic poorhouse demanding endless quantities of taxpayer-funded relief for them just to reach the poverty line - a modern tragedy is in the making....
21 April 1998 - Gareth Morgan