Exotics give autumnal glory
How stunning the Garden City looks wearing her autumn cloak. But wait, Evan Smith of Avon/Otakaro Network disagrees (May 8). He dislikes the leaves from ‘‘the deciduous exotics that dominate the riversides and clog up the waterways’’. It is called nature in all its glory, Mr Smith, and is something Canterbury and Otago are renowned for – ask any photographer.
It is time to halt this cultural correctness. Cabbage trees, flax and tussock do not cut the mustard. I was disgusted at the bullying Jackie Cowey and her husband experienced when they e-biked up Rapaki Track (May 8).
What next? Will people on steel-framed mountain bikes start sneering at those on superlight carbon ones? Walkers with sticks rubbishing those without? Usually the transport cultural clash is between car drivers and cyclists on roads but please let’s not allow this bullying, selfish and territorial attitude to spill over into our recreational space, too.
E-bikes open up a world of utility transport and recreational options previously unobtainable for a wide range of people in our community including those with respiratory or muscular disorders, arthritis or other debilitating diseases.
The way we considerately use our shared space is more important here than the mode of propulsion we choose. Give e-bike users a break! Jackie , don’t give up on Rapaki Track. It is the safest route up to Summit Rd for cyclists wanting to dodge car traffic and wide enough to be a shared track. There are many other tracks suitable for foot traffic only. They do require more effort than a stroll up the gentle grades of Rapaki but I suggest that the ones who complained start trying them out. Perhaps Nga¯ i Tahu could get together a working party of unemployed youths to harvest the willows in Porritt Park and give them to the weavers at the marae to turn into baskets, perhaps with a Maori motif worked into them. Then plant the cleared area with native plants with a walkway through the area. This could lead to employment and combine Ma¯ ori and Pa¯ keha¯ basketry and weaving into a small business for the marae. Don Brash (May 9) is mixing up his terms. Racism is prejudice plus power.
It is not racist for Ma¯ ori to seek wards in which their voice can be heard and their priorities heeded. This is affirmative action which has been used to lift the voice and power of women, LGBT and other sections of society that have been relatively powerless.
Brash’s quote of Governor Hobson at Waitangi in 1840 has also been taken out of context. If Hobson’s claim that ‘‘we are all one’’ was intended to convey that Ma¯ ori and European were now equal, what a sick joke as the British subsequently rammed home their military superiority and rendered many Ma¯ ori landless and powerless, a situation which through affirmative action we are trying to correct today. For Don Brash and his ilk, there is an important flaw in their Hobson’s Pledge, one people mantra. New Zealand was settled by Pa¯ keha¯ on the basis of a treaty partnership between two peoples, Ma¯ ori and the Crown, representing Pa¯ keha¯ . Ma¯ ori were promised sovereignty over their lands, culture and taonga, something that we largely neglected after signing and tried to steal in many cases.
An analogy would be if your great-grandparents signed a 50:50 business deal with another family who said, some generations later, well, I’ve got a bigger family than you so I’d like more of the partnership proceeds. It’s a partnership, not a democracy, and thus governance should include Ma¯ ori representation to honour the original partnership.