D Dawson

I feel as if my culture has been systematically eroded by the previous Labour coalition government.

My grandparents came to New Zealand more than 100 years ago to start a new life farming.

They worked hard draining the swamp and removing the stumps. The early English settlers developed this country into productive farmland.

Many employed Māori who needed work to get money to live, and some were very grateful who worked for my father and grandfather.

We all worked together, played together, partied together and lived as one people – New Zealanders – and evolved into a mixed culture until Jacinda Ardern came along and changed the meaning of the Treaty of Waitangi, demonised Captain Cook by removing all his statues, sold off or destroyed most of our war memorial halls, knocked down Christian crosses around the country and rewrote our history books concerning Moriori.

This was all replaced with special treatment for Māori using borrowed Covid money to bribe councils to adopt Three Waters to be controlled by Māori, being $350,000 for each council plus a further $300,000 given to all the marae around the country for paint and renovation jobs, and then, undemocratically telling councils to adopt Māori wards.

And then giving an extra $1 for Māori school children’s lunches – and making teaching Māori culture compulsory as part of the public school curriculum.

I believe it is about you and us with Te Pati Māori, who are a race-based party with no non-Māori members in parliament and want a separate parliament for Māori.

Just imagine the outcry if National had no Māori members.

I believe Te Pati Māori MPs show little respect for non-Māori democracy.

Most Māori I know are a very kind, generous and respectful.

Māori are not poor anymore, considering the two wealthiest corporates in New Zealand last year were the Ngāi Tahu and Tainui iwi.

Māori own 135 tourist companies in New Zealand.

I believe people are leaving New Zealand because of all the special treatment that’s been given to Māori and Pasifika.

Nothing should be race based; we are one people and there is only one law in New Zealand.