What to make of the Maori Party's stance on Fiji? Initially, it just seemed like one of Tariana Turia's mindless blurts (you know, like the one about teen pregnancy or her scary comments on whanau and abortions). But thanks to mishandling by John Key, it now looks like they're going to go and suck up to Bainimarama's despotism in the name of "indigenous solidarity". The fact that this is not an "indigenous coup", but an Indian one aimed at robbing Fiji's indigenous people of their land seems to escape them.
Colin Espiner thinks the Maori party shouldn't go on the grounds that "like it or not, the Maori Party is now part of the government". Screw that. It's not what their confidence and supply agreement [PDF] says, and if the National wants to constrain the actions of the party in that way, it needs to pay a much higher policy price for doing so. Until they do, then their ordinary MPs are free to go where they please, and say what they want, no matter how bad it looks for National.
But before anyone starts thinking I support the Maori Party's plans to visit Fiji, I don't. The Fijian government has tortured and murdered two people, then released their killers. It's thugs, tumescent with a sense of their own impunity, are now randomly attacking people who fail to show them proper "respect". It has detained and beaten politicians, lawyers, and even random tourists, deported journalists who refuse to be silent, and prevented others from leaving the country. The Maori Party has always been good on torture. It has always been good on human rights. Publicly supporting - and it will be spun as public support - a government which does these things is contrary to those values. Rather than doing that, the Maori Party should add their voices to those of Fijians campaigning for the restoration of democracy and human rights. Otherwise, they will taint themselves indelibly as supporters of torture.
