So this hikoi to Parliament has set off from the Far North… remind me again, what for?
What's the issue? Have Māori had something freshly stripped from them?
Nope, that was the reason for the 2004 hikoi when the then Labour Government cut across the absolute right of an iwi to test ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the court.
But Labour blocked them, thinking if they didn't, the public might be barred from the coastline and beaches by Māori, should they get a clear ruling.
Labour didn't mess around and they went about denying Māori their day in court - the biggest miscarriage of justice was playing out.
Māori said it was racist law and it was hard to argue otherwise.
The scaremongering was underway with claims Māori, if they had won, would close the beaches.
Labour's Tariana Turia walked out of the Labour Party in disgust and, cheered on by the hikoi, set up the Maori Party.
Turia walked out on a cause and 25,000 people turned up in the hikoi to support her.
It was clear, I was there.
So what about David Seymour's plans? They aren't worth the 900 kilometre walk because his idea is already terminal, as in dying.
It is going nowhere and there is no treaty review.
Chris Luxon is on your side, but had to agree to the early bit because his negotiation skills putting together his first MMP Government weren't as good as he had let on.
He walked into this trap and now we have the makings of an unnecessary and unwanted race war if we aren't careful.
In short, this fails the litmus test - it's not actually going to happen. No Treaty principles are being traded, none are being updated. It is the status quo that we start with and end with.
The litmus test I have always used in Parliament for judging a story is this: is it actually going to happen? Answer: No.
As soon as you say that, all the heat comes out of the issue and the hikoi falls flat.
I have read various articles on this debate and it's irresponsible reporting to suggest the Treaty might be changed.
It's simply not true, but it hasn't stopped our two big publishers.
Meanwhile, Māori leaders have said this Government's moves against Māori are dangerous and chilling and the relationship is now deeply fractured and fraught.
So let's look at what’s changed.. the Māori Health Authority was merged into Health NZ, some Governments Departments had their English put before the Māori name and Seymour has been allowed his desperate little dance over the meaning of the treaty principles.
So the hikoi appears fired up overt what? The above?
Luxon, in his moment of ignorant madness, allowed Seymour his seven and half minutes in the sun, which is what he gets.
But is the hikoi really marching over something that won't happen?
Sure, some Māori programmes had their funding cut, but who didn't in an across-Govt cost-cutting drive. 7,500 people lost their jobs.
Māori were not targeted - all New Zealanders were.
I say the foreshore and seabed was way worse. On that, Margaret Mutu - for the record - said it was tantamount to a declaration of war.
Language which incites is also not helpful. Especially if it isn’t true.
Why even bother giving Seymour what he wants? He wants a hikoi - make him irrelevant. Don't march, ignore him.
Just forget him… I don't want a race war.
Luxon should never have entertained it, but it is what it is.
But the last big hikoi in 2004 had real meaning .. and that's why 25,000 showed.
But why this hikoi? I'm struggling to find anything of equal importance.
The organisers say it's a peaceful march to demonstrate support for Te Tiriti o Waitangi and why Te Tiriti is for everybody.
It is to acknowledge that this is a space to challenge the harms of colonisation and work towards a Te Tiriti-based future where Māori sovereignty and rights are upheld.
So what is it you want? What does success look like? I have yet to hear it articulated well.
You haven't lost anything substantial under this Government.
Māori still have their own tv channel and Māori news times two. There have been cut backs - but trust me, it's nothing to do with what race you are.
Schools and universities still fund Māori into education, and promote the language.
There are still Māori words all through the hospital I was in all weekend .
They put a couple of English names before Māori names for various agencies, but that surely hasn't caused a march, has it?
Treaty settlements are ongoing and have been for 50 years.
Some of the anti-Māori rhetoric is strong, but it's hot air and in Shane Jones' case, it's tough love.... in reality not much has moved.
So the hikoi wants to acknowledge the harms of colonisation. Haven't we done that for decades?
Keep up - we've been doing that since 1975.
And for 50 years, the Waitangi Tribunal has been at it and it is still going, though it's becoming more isolated from middle NZ by the day.
There were historical wrongs and we all agree, we are sorry and fixing them.
State wards also receive an apology today and money is coming. We can't be any more sorry and we can't keep relitigating old wounds.. when it's full and final, we need to do each other and our kids a favour and forge ahead, not backwards.
Revisiting the past forever takes us nowhere into the future.
The Police and Government are coming down hard on gangs and so they should. No explanation needed.
Te Matatini is still funded. More state houses have been built in the last seven years than at any time in the last 30 years.
I accept Northland's Nga Puhi are still aggrieved but they are yet to settle. They need to get around the table - they are being left behind across all the crucial social and economic settings.
Meanwhile, iwi like Ngai Tahu sit at the top table, worth more than a billion dollars with their interests across housing, fisheries, education, infrastructure, commercial buildings - it's impressive, and so is Tainui under Tuku Morgan.
These guys are key players, and I agree Luxon and co have disrespected them with their language and tone.
It's unnecessary and pointless, but it's toothless and naive at the same time.
But iwi should scoff at it and understand it's temporary dog whistling and get on and make more money, which they are. In fact, iwi that have settled across the board are now major players in the economy and their entities pay no tax.
I bet the protestors don't bring this up.
And the big iwi who settled first have gone back numerous times for massive top ups to their treaty settlement based on fairness.
I also agree Northland is last to feel the Government money, but again it's not race-based.
To Northland Māori, settle your claim, and get busy making money and creating opportunities for your people.
Grievance has to take a back seat someday doesn't it?
I am yet to hear anyone articulate what sovereignty truly looks like. If it's two systems I am out. It's called apartheid and we should avoid it at all cost.
I think we are stronger together in one system, but knowing our differences and celebrating them.
I predict the hikoi won't be anything like 2004…. Because it's founded on scaremongering rather than anything substantial.
Let's turn our collective cheeks one day soon and be positive about what we do have and celebrate it, rather than pull each other apart.
So much can be gained when we work together. Fighting helps our real enemy which is poverty, violence and a lack of opportunity.
Let's bury those things together. We won't know ourselves after that.
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