Te Pāti Māori and the Green Party have hit back against the government after Māngere Electorate - New Zealand National Party Facebook page left a comment on Te Ao Māori News’ Facebook live as it showed events at the Koroneihana yesterday.
The comments said: “It’s always Māori putting down Māori the most. Māori can never be a united people! The comments show it all!”
Te Pāti Māori MP, Tākuta Ferris, told Te Ao Māori News the comments weren’t a surprise to him.
“This should come as no surprise considering the government and the National leader are continuing to enable anti-Māori rhetoric through their policy agenda and bills like the Treaty Principles Bill.
“We are witnessing the uprising of right-winged extremists, who are following in their leaders’ footsteps,” he wrote in a statement.
Green Party Māori development spokesperson Hūhana Lyndon said she expected more from the government.
“These are the kind of comments we can expect more of as the government looks to open up a debate on our nation’s founding agreement and the rights Māori were promised as part of it.”
Labour declined to comment, saying it was “a matter for the National Party”.
Some people who responded to the initial comment on the Facebook page were upset, with the account clapping back a few minutes later.
“The Truth hurts huh? If you can’t handle it, then don’t put your own down. Actions speak louder than your empty put-downs!”
The comments and replies were deleted, possibly by the author or by Facebook itself.
When Te Ao Māori News confronted the National Party with screenshots, it confirmed it was one of its pages, and said it was due to a member of the National Party Māngere electorate not swapping to their personal Facebook account before adding a comment..
“They do not reflect the National Party’s views. The member has apologised profusely and the Māngere electorate has removed their access to the Facebook page,” a National Party spokesperson said.
This is a sentiment shared by Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka.
“That’s not the party’s position. We’re very enthusiastic about engaging with and delivering on the needs of Māori - that’s why we are making the moves we are making around the institutional arrangements,” Potaka told media on Tuesday.