Te Pāti Māori cares more about Palestinians than Kiwi kids
You’ve probably heard me voice this frustration before, but it still doesn’t make sense. Why is Debbie Ngawera-Packer so focused on the plight of children in Gaza while remaining silent on the suffering of children here in New Zealand? Especially tamariki Māori whom she claims to represent.
On the bright side, it’s encouraging that in the past week I haven’t seen reports in mainstream media of child
ren being beaten to death by their parents or guardians. That is a win for te ao Māori, because honestly, writing about children being slaughtered in New Zealand homes is heartbreaking.
However, I remain puzzled by Te Pāti Māori’s apparent obsession with Gaza. When was the last time they spoke about Kiwi children being neglected, abused, or trapped in cycles of poverty? I suspect the reason is simple - talking about Gaza is safe. It allows for commentary without action, whereas addressing the crisis facing Māori children at home would require real work, something uncomfortable and inconvenient for a bunch of grifters.
It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you stand on - children dying in Gaza and Israel is tragic and unnecessary. I too wish it could be stopped. However, I am a realist, what I can influence most directly is what happens in New Zealand homes. Harsh as it may sound, that is my truth.
Children here grow up in households where parents view them as sources of cash for drugs and alcohol. This is not an exaggeration. Methamphetamine, for example, is cheaper than ever, selling for as little as $250 a gram in some areas, compared to $1,000 a gram 10–15 years ago. The problem is widespread, and the consequences are devastating.
Debbie Ngawera-Packer continues to use her social media to highlight the crisis in Palestine, but she refuses to speak about Māori children being neglected, abused, or killed in their own homes.
It’s time for leaders and activists to recognise that while global tragedies deserve attention, we cannot ignore the children suffering on our own doorsteps. Protecting Kiwi kids is urgent, immediate, and non-negotiable.
What about perpetrating a genocide, does that help you recognise one when you see it? When the government paid out a settlement to Moriori and apologised for allowing Ngāti Tama and Ngāti Mutunga (of which Labour MP Willie Jackson is a descendant) to occupy, enslave and kill them, while neither tribe even offered an apology, he said: "I've always said... I couldn't be held responsible for the acts of some of our tupuna, some of our ancestors." Either everyone gets to put the past behind them, or we all have to pay for what our ancestors did in perpetuity, in which case I guess I'm fine with Debbie Ngarewa-Packer complaining about her reopened wounds, but if remorse for the acts of ancestors is to be on the basis of race, then she can just shut up.
Yep - another issue for TPM to complain about but not actually do anything constructive. Great for gathering “likes” from other activists around the world on social media. Shallow think.