Here’s why Morrie has good cause to want to keep the muzzle on our female MPs

Alf has just caught up with news that Parliament’s relationship with Te Atiawa could be changed.

For the better?

It depends on your world view, probably.

The news is that a bloke called Morrie Love is keen on maintaining the Maori traditional muzzle on women when it comes to speaking rights – even if they happen to be members of Parliament. It’s a position Alf is strongly inclined to support, because women are apt to talk a lot of old flannel.

It’s all related to powhiri at Parliament (typically a tedious procedure which Alf prefers to avoid but very important when it comes to maintaining the status of our indigenous people as – you know – “special”).

No, Hekia, all New Zealanders do not – alas -respect the laws of our lovely land

Is anything like this happening off the East Coast?

Alf’s gotta have a chat with Hekia Parata. She has been expressing some very strange beliefs on Morning Report.

Hekia – fine lady – was being questioned about the role of the police in protecting the Petrobras oil search from the greenies and stroppy Maori.

As Stuff reports, police issued maritime notices yesterday requiring the Greenpeace flotilla to remain at least 200 metres from the two ships.

The protesters face a fine of $10,000 or up to 12 months’ jail for breaching the notice.

The stroppy buggers were abiding by the 200m limit last night but will decide today whether to stick to it.

Wow – Jami-Lee’s Ngati Porou links call for a fresh academic study into the implications for capitalism

If you go back far enough, you can find your passport into the Maori All Blacks.

If you’ve got a drop of Maori blood somewhere in your veins, you can count on someone in the Maori media finding out about it and tracking down its source.

The consequence in the case of Jami-Lee Ross is a Waatea News report that that yes, he has a Maori side.

This is not obvious from his name, it might be observed, but nor is it obvious in the case of blokes with names like Shane Jones.

Unlike Jones, Botany’s new National Party MP says he doesn’t know his Maori side, Waatea News reports.

But it seems he is keen to find out.

It seems Finlayson means 2000 km of seabed and foreshore when he says “not much”

It’s become bloody hard to work out exactly what the bloody Attorney-General knows about the amount of foreshore and seabed destined to end up in Maori customary title, under the Government’s deal with the Maori Prty, its economic potential subject to a Maori veto.

He either has a feeble grasp of what he is doing – in which case The Boss should sack the bugger real fast – or he isn’t being as candid as Alf would like him to be.

If he is playing fast and fancy free with the truth, as Alf strongly suspects, The Boss should sack him for that too.

Alf (and the public) were given the firm impression by the NBR and other media a week ago that …

The Government expects very little of the foreshore and seabed will end up under Maori customary title through the claims process in the legislation that will replace the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Three cheers for the councillor from Howick – he talks sensibly about the folly of flying a Maori flag

Alf was cheered by the news that Manukau City Council has rejected a proposal to fly a Maori flag at its offices on Waitangi Day.

He has made no secret of his opposition to the flying of a flag that symbolises Maori separatism.

The Manukau council’s policy and activities committee – or a majority of it – seems to agree. It met yesterday to discuss the issue for the third time in two years and voted not to fly the flag on civic flagpoles.