Issue 66 - editorial

The people have spoken

Tena ano tatou

Well the people have spoken - so to speak - and whatever else they said, they've delivered us four members of the Maori Party who will take their place in the new Parliament. For the first time Maori have been voted in in their own right and in our own party.

While there were Mana Motuhake Party members elected to the House in 1999, they went in as members of the Alliance. So these are exciting times, but what might it all mean?

The fledgling Maori Party will have to negotiate very testing waters over the next few weeks and in fact the next three years. It would pay to err on the side of caution at this stage. There will be many pressures to go this way or that, and there will be temptations, some which appear to favour our people. Going back to the electorates to seek guidance is a good thought, but in the end wise decisions by those at the centre have to be taken.

The wisest choice might be to stay outside of government, sit on the cross benches, negotiate with like-minded people and vote issue by issue. That way the party will develop its own identity in the polictical spectrum and not be subsumed by other parties.

The four Maori Pary MPs come from quite different backgrounds. Two (Te Ururoa Flavell and Pita Sharples) are educationists; one (Hone Harawira) a former protest leader who's long since moved into doing great things for his iwi; and one (Tariana Turia) is an existing and moderately experienced MP. They are from Te Arawa, Kahungunu, Taitokerau and Whanganui respectively.

While each will be grateful to be in Parliament, they could easily have been joined by more. Once again on election day, vast numbers of our people chose to stay home. This only serves to strengthen the hand of the people who campaign against Maori. There was a record number of Moari on the Maori roll - over 200,000. But in each electorate at least 40 percent didn't bother to vote. It's hard to fathom why you would go to the trouble of enrolling and then just stay home on the day.

Prior to the election, Maori Party President Whatarangi Winiata calculated that if every Maori and their non-Maori spouse voted for the one party - he actually said the Maori Party, but I'm de-politicising his statement - Maori could have up to 26 seats in the House. It's an admirable goal. But not likely to be reached any day soon while we continue to as we did on September 17th.

In this issue we review what happened in the election and speculate on what might happen in the future.

Just as enduring as politics is the fashion industry. Our cover story takes a look at, and talks to, some of our people in this multi-million-dollar industry. We also look at developments in Maori tourism and there is much more to read as well. We're pretty certain you'll find something to your taste.

Editor