"As if by finding people who are worse than ourselves somehow absolves us of our own wrongdoings."

Except, the people who did wrong things are all dead!

"Treaty settlements aren't some gesture aimed at combatting some unspecific feeling of white guilt..."

So the feelings of guilt many white New Zealanders have because they are constantly being reminded that white people did bad things in the 1800's does not exist?

Only twenty years ago, everyone was talking about a Bicultural country and only viewing it through that lens. The Samoans and Tongans, Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysians (the list goes on) were here and no-one even considered them as part of 'the Treaty partnership'. I was saying-"But surely this a multicultural country now?" but the directive from the top was that only two cultures mattered.

Well... actually only one, because the 'shaming of European culture' has ben a sport for Maori and Non-Maori alike reduced to an embarrassing mixture of jandals, pavlova and Phar Lap. As much as Maori cringed at those awful dolls sold in tourist shops, Pakeha cringed at the Barry Crump/number 8 wire myth.

In fact it was suggested by some that NZ Europeans had no culture and because Maori had one, we should adopt it (and then we can stop being made to feel guilty). Because Maori is the only thing allowed to be cool right?

Those other cultural groups just got on with the job of being New Zealanders. While some NZ Europeans were looking at their navels and learning to say 'whanau' instead of 'family' and 'whakapapa' instead of 'geneaology' armed with a little Maori phrasebook, I didn't see the point.

In the same way that all people are different, all cultures are different. Maori culture is for Maori. I personally think it rude for Non-Maori to try and appropriate it. It's also rude for Maori to come into a Non-Maori place and expect me to throw my culture out the window and take a class naming my place of standing, my mountain, my river and accept that as more than half of the New Zealand population, I must stand at the back at powhiri. Oh, and if I have my period, I am extra dangerous because I can damage tapu. This is not enriching. It's propaganda.

Now... we gave women the vote in 1893. Women are allowed an education these days and I don't think that any 'cultural' justification for blatant sexism is acceptable. Yes, I worked in a place where you had to tell your boss if you had your period because it was a 'tapu situation'. I kid you not.

The sooner New Zealand can find its own culture that all ethnicities can feel part of, the better off we will be. The Bicultural/Partnership model has been found wanting, now we are trying the multicultural model- the same model which in Europe has been found to be a failure.

But meanwhile, money is being syphoned upwards- and people of all cultures are being impoverished. But only one ethnic group is viewed as 'being poor'. As usual, our Government will remain out of touch with reality and continue to ignore what is outside of Parliament.

I will quote the lovely lady at WINZ: "I need to ask, do you have any Maori ancestry? Because if you do, we have access to funds that you otherwise would not be entitled to."

I will also quote another lovely Lady at WINZ: "Too bad, you don't qualify. You can starve."

What is your stance on the Constitutional review?