NZ documentary exposes litany of state injustices against the Tūhoe, but also offers hope

Pacific Media Watch contributing editor Alistar Kata's report on an incisive new documentary.

INVESTIGATIVE journalist Kim Webby’s incisive and compassionate new documentary, The Price of Peace, about Tūhoe campaigner and kaumatua Tame Iti and the so-called “Urewera Four” won a standing ovation at its premiere during the NZ International Film Festival this week.

It deserved this - and more. Webby has crafted arguably the most brilliant film portrayal of race and cultural relations in New Zealand in contemporary times. She has examined a criminal case of national interest to explore biculturalism and justice in general, and specifically the litany of injustices imposed on the Ngāi Tūhoe people for generations.

And Webby has exposed the hypocrisy and myth making over both the Tūhoe case of justice and the disturbing facets of the current political orthodoxy around state surveillance.

The 87-minute film – made over a period of seven years - is essentially about the trial of the Urewera Four and its aftermath following the notorious “terror” raids in Te Urewera in 2007.

It portrays a striking and polarised duality about how mainstream New Zealand viewed the arrests and the people who were brutalised by this masked “swat” team-style attack on a peaceful and laid-back community.

‘Free-riding defence’ Kiwis slammed by rightist Danish MP over cultural heritage

A graphic from the Danish tabloid BT featuring Marie Krarup. The headline reads:
"'Doubts cast on Māori-Marie's penis story", referring to the MP's
comments about carvings in a visit to the Navy's marae. Source: PMW

THE RIGHTWING Danish MP who stirred an upheaval Down Under with her attack on taha Māori – traditional rituals and protocols that are basic to everyday life in Aotearoa/New Zealand – barely seems to have any understanding of the country she visited last month.

But underneath all the defensive bleatings from the PC brigade this week in response to Marie Krarup’s misguided criticisms of a “grotesque” powhiri with “half-naked” men poking out their tongues published in the tabloid BT, her arguably more damaging condemnation of New Zealand’s "humanitarian" military seems to have largely gone unnoticed by mainstream media.

Only Pacific Media Watch’s Daniel Drageset, a Norwegian radio journalist who is a postgraduate student at AUT University and who has a fluent command of Danish, seems to have got the point. He took the trouble to translate Krarup’s original commentary on her blog and his story Danish MP apologises after calling Maori powhiri ‘grotesque’, mocking ‘free-ride’ defence was run in full on Pacific Media Centre Online and Pacific Scoop.

Clearly Krarup had no idea that she was being given a great honour with a cultural welcome that has a history going back centuries. And several "embarrassed" Danes have written to PMC and Pacific Scoop criticising Krarup over her views.

Although Krarup might seem a minor political player, being the defence spokesperson for the third-ranked party Danish People’s Party ( a mere 12.3 percent of the votes in the 2011 election), which has extremist views against migrants (especially Muslim), she was in fact a member of the six-strong Danish Committee on Defence visiting parliamentary group.

Carol Archie poses challenges over cross-cultural reporting

Broadcaster and journalist Carol Archie posed some major challenges for the mainstream media about reporting Māori and current affairs at the launch of her new book, Pou Kōrero, at AUT University's marae today. She reckons Māori affairs reporters are being "dumped on" by their news organisations - expected to know everything and do everything Māori. She says it's time to break away from "specialist Māori reporting" - Māori affairs reporting should be carried out by all reporters, not just those who are Māori or specialise in Māori issues. Carol says all journalists have a responsibility to foster "a media of inclusiveness" to help New Zealanders develop their sense of identity. Launching the book, AUT Chancellor Sir Paul Reeves said terms such as "biculturalism" and "multiculturalism" promised much but fell short on delivery. But he added Pou Kōrero was an important contribution to cultural understanding and reporting. Carol describes the book as a "broader" version of Kawe Kōrero, originally written by Michael King and first published more than 20 years ago. Pou Kōrero is published by the NZ Journalists Training Organisation and the launching was hosted by AUT's Pacific Media Centre. While AUT has a proud record on diversity and cultural issues (it's the university whose student body most nearly matches the nation's ethnic mix), it wasn't a good look for the School of Communication Studies j-programme - the launch was only attended by two out of the eight journalism teaching staff! Diversity should start at home.
Photo by Del Abcede

• Book launching images
• David Robie on the launch at AsiaMedia
  
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