A CAUTIONARY TALE

In the aftermath of the Crown’s recent Te Hiku settlement, the following adaptation of a cautionary tale, first told to the Waitangi Tribunal in September 2012, illustrates why it’s settled nothing.

Mr Trusting has a car. His wife has an interest in it.  He leases the car to Mr Crown for a certain price and on certain conditions. 

After a while Mr Crown decides not to return the car.  Instead he sells the wheels to Mr Crown Jr and gives the door panels to Ms Crown.

He then sells the engine to Ms Opportunist subject to return in case the police say it must be returned.  But he holds on to the internal workings, fittings, windows and chassis.

Mr Trusting complains to the police who say, “You have an obligation to fix this issue, Mr Crown.”

Mr Crown says to Mr Trusting, “I know I've done you wrong, but I need to provide parts of your car to other people I've also stolen from, so I’ll give you some money instead.  And because I don’t have much, if you still want parts of your car back, then I’ll have to deduct their value from the money I give you.”

Mr Trusting is the kind of guy who is happy to accept anything that comes his way, so he says, “OK, I’ll have the two front seats and perhaps the rear view mirror so that I can see what I used to have.”

Mr Crown provides the rear view mirror, front seats and windows, but nothing to wind the windows down with because it’s restricted by legislation.  So Mr Trusting can’t control the windows.

Mr Trusting’s wife says, “Not good enough,” and complains to the police.  In the meantime Mr Crown has also given the chassis and the petrol tank of the car to someone else.

The police say, “Mr Crown, you must return the engine, chassis and petrol tank, because the Trustings need them to drive the car.”

Ms Trusting also wants compensation for the rest of the car but Mr Crown replies, “I've offered you the front seats, rear view mirror and windows, and I think that’s fair. Mr Trusting is willing to accept them, and so is everyone else I’ve stolen from.  You should as well.”

That is the end of the analogy.  To keep the benefits from his theft of their car, Mr Crown elevated Mr Trusting and undermined Ms Trusting in the settlement negotiations.  When Ms Trusting insisted on getting the car and compensation, Mr Crown walked away and blamed her for the breakdown of negotiations.

In the last years of her life, my mother was supported by Ms Trustings.  Few Mr Trustings and no Mr Crowns visited her.  On the eve of Te Rarawa’s settlement, one man made a rare visit to ask her to attend.  Graciously, she did. 

But for anyone to infer that meant she supported Mr Crown and opposed Ms Trusting?  That would be just another cautionary tale.

A WORLD OF CONFUSION

Whāia te mātauranga hei oranga mō koutou; seek after wisdom for the sake of your wellbeing. This whakatauki (saying) teaches that in a world full of noise and confusion, wisdom and wellbeing will come when we ask questions with a genuine desire to understand the answers. 

However, another whakatauki says, hanga te oko tahanga te haruru nui; the empty vessel makes the most noise.  This teaches that if we don’t really want to understand or even hear the answers, our questions will only add to the sense of noisy confusion and contention already in the world. 

All cultures and religions advance wisdom and understanding as virtues, while confusion and contention are universally seen as vices. 

For example, the Bible teaches, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”  And in the Koran we read, “God grants Wisdom to whom He pleases … But none remember except men of understanding.” 

On the other hand the great Chinese philosophers taught, “Settle a small conflict quickly, and you will keep a hundred others at bay,” while the Bible teaches, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.”

Whenever our status quo is disturbed, our natural impulse is to ask questions about it.  Whether those questions contribute to wisdom and wellbeing in ourselves and our world, or generate more confusion and contention, depends a lot on our inner state of being and on our motives for asking the questions in the first place.

To illustrate on the large scale; faced with the refugee crisis in Europe, some have asked, “Whose fault is this?” or, “What about our own homeless people?” with the intent of justifying why they choose not to help. 

On the other hand others have asked, “What caused this?” with the intent of working out how they can best help both here at home and in the world at large. 

On a smaller scale, faced with the direct action of Ngāi Tohianga and Patu Kōraha hapū at Kaitaia airport, a few have asked, “Why can’t those blankety-blanks just be New Zealanders?” with the intent of dismissing them and their cause out of hand. 

But many others have asked “What is behind this action?” without fear that the answer may discomfort them.

While we all have the potential to be vessels of confusion or seekers of wisdom from time to time, it is always better to be wise than confused.

So instead of imagining what might go wrong in the future while ignoring past wrongs, the wise acknowledge past wrongs while working to build a better future.  

And rather than attacking the personalities and downplaying the principles involved, they address both with respect. 

But most importantly, the wise mahia nga mahi ki runga i te tika, pono me te aroha, (they work in the spirit of truth, faith and love) to live in and at the same time transcend a world of confusion.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

What is the most important and best thing a man can do for his children?  

Last week our beautiful mother, Gloria Herbert, died after many years of ill health.  This week I pay tribute to her and to our father, Jim Herbert, for his contributions to her extraordinary life and to the lives of their uri (descendants).    

Apparently when she married him, our mum could neither boil water nor milk a cow. But under the tutelage of our dad and his kuia and kaumātua, and motivated by her own drive for excellence, she became a confident farming partner, astute businesswoman, and skilled homemaker. 

Our mother was, by nature, an intellectual destined for public life.  Initially her sphere was our dad and us.  But at her funeral, Pa Henare Tate very appropriately based his kauhau (sermon) on the parable of the talents, because throughout her life she not only used and honed the God-given talents she was born with, she obtained many others besides. 

As she grew, her talents overflowed to bless her hapū and iwi until, eventually, she became nationally and internationally active.

There were challenges and tragedies along the way for our mum, the hardest being having to deal with the backbiting and gossip that all public figures in New Zealand endure at times.  However, endure it she did, with dad’s support.

At the end of mortality, mum’s resume is broad and deep.  To reflect that, we chose Proverbs 31:10 – 31 as the reading for her funeral because it describes her to a T.  He wahine purotu, he wahine humarie, he wahine matauranga, he wahine toa (a pleasant, gentle, skilled and strong woman).

Those who came to the tangihanga bore witness to what our mother had done, endured and achieved.  But our father’s presence beside her bore witness to how she had done it. 

Shortly after her own father’s death in 1986, mum wrote in her diary, “Jim is the anchor who both grounds me and allows me to fly high and far.” 

If there is one incident that epitomises that, it was at a hui in the 1960s when, in the middle of her korero, a man told mum, “E noho! Turituri!” (Sit down! Shut up!)  And then pointed at our dad and said, “Kei kōnā to mangai!”  (There’s your mouth!)  At which our dad stood and said with uncompromising steel in his voice, “My wife has her own voice.”

Kahore tō mātou pāpā e kī mai ki a tātou, me pēhea te tū o tō mātou wairua. He wairua kē tōna, ōku noa i titiro ki ōna pūāwaitanga.  Our father never told us how our spirit should stand. He had a spirit of his own, and we simply watched its actions blossom.

The best thing our father ever did for us, his daughters and his sons, was to steadfastly and faithfully love our mother.  

We will continue to love and honour him as he loved and honoured her.  That is the most important thing.