Chris Hipkins has recently tried to distance himself from the disgraceful racist comments made by Takuta Ferris, also known as Romaine Ferris. Ferris has become the mouthpiece of Te Pāti Māori, spewing hate while the party scrambles to clean up the mess. They eventually apologised, but Ferris could not help himself. He went online in the middle of the night looking like he was on a meth bender and ranted again, repeating the same divisive, racist nonsense that got him in trouble in the first place.
Ferris is not alone. Earlier this year Mariemeno Kapa-Kingi stood in Parliament and told white MPs they were “lucky to be able to live here at all.” That kind of language is openly racist. That’s not cultural pride. It is pure racial supremacy dressed up as politics.
This week Rawiri Waititi, co-leader of Te Pāti Māori, decided to pull another stunt. Instead of answering questions about Ferris’ hate-filled remarks, he refused to speak English at all during Māori Language Week. He was not celebrating the language. He was hiding behind it. It was childish theatrics from a man who would rather play the victim than be held accountable.
Even Shanan Halbert, a Labour Party MP who actually supports the use of te reo Māori, said what many are thinking. He warned that Te Pāti Māori is “starting to create an exclusive bunch of Māoris” and reminded everyone that unity means speaking to all New Zealanders.
Te Pāti Māori is not about equality. They are not about uplifting Māori alongside everyone else. They are about creating a race-based elite while demonising everyone who is not Māori. They are obsessed with skin colour, ancestry, and bloodlines. They are openly racist, and they do not even try to hide it anymore.
I am no fan of the Labour Party. Everyone knows that. Even Labour doesn’t deserve to be dragged down by this toxic circus. Labour has capable Māori MPs who work for all New Zealanders. Te Pāti Māori works only for themselves. They are career grifters riding the gravy train, shouting about colonisation while cashing taxpayer paychecks and laughing all the way to the bank. They wrap themselves in cultural theatre, tattoo their faces like clowns, and then conveniently forget the Pākehā blood that makes up most of their own ancestry.
The tension between the two parties was already obvious during the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election. It needs to stay that way. If Chris Hipkins does not rule out working with Te Pāti Māori, then he is choosing to stand alongside racism. He would be enabling a group that wants to split this country apart along racial lines.
Te Pāti Māori has made it clear that they are not interested in partnership. They want separatism. They want division. They want power for themselves and no one else. They do not care about Labour, they do not care about the country, and they certainly do not care about unity. They are clinging to Labour because they know without them they will never get near government.
So here is the choice for Chris Hipkins. Either grow a spine and walk away, or keep pretending this racist circus deserves a place at the table.
If you decide to govern with racists, you’re a racist. Simple as that.
