Over the six years I’ve been writing this Blog, I’ve never reported a more unbelievably ludicrous story than that I’m about to recount.
Doubtless, it will be greeted with scepticism, fully understandable, but before you put pen to paper, Google all I’ve written and see for yourself.
It concerns a chap called Dr Ruakere Hond. Readers will assume he’s a maori with that monicker. He’s not. His dad was a Pom migrant and his mother part maori. Thus no surprise that photo shows a plainly European bloke.
Now pour yourself a drink then read on.
In recent weeks, Hond has been harassing the New Plymouth mayor Neil Holden. Neil must have been bloody evil in a previous life to cop this crap.
Specifically, Hond is demanding the mayor jointly issue on behalf of something called Parihaka Pa and the Council, a call for an immediate cease fire in Gaza.
Disgracefully the mayor is refusing to do this, thus the daily slaughter of Gaza innocents, substantially mothers and children, continues. Presumably in Hond’s eyes Neil has blood on his hands for his failure to act.
Hond seemingly believes that if the Council was only to do as he wishes, the Israelis would immediately cease the daily slaughter.
He justifies this faith by asserting that “New Plymouth trades on its international reputation for peace and given this, is obliged to act”.
There are 8 billion people in the world. I would readily give generous odds to Hond that less than 0.001% of them have even heard of New Plymouth, let alone be aware of the city’s alleged international reputation for peace.
Indeed I’d go further and suggest that of our circa five million population, no other New Zealander is aware of this claimed New Plymouth international reputation for peace. Anyway, Hond has beavered away and put together a petition demanding the Council order an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the Israeli remaining hostages in Gaza.
Doubtless readers are aware that currently the mass murdering ratbag Netanyahu is preoccupied with a long overdue trial in Israel on corruption charges. That said, the judges have allowed him two days, a week time off to deal with his Prime Ministerial tasks. Ultimately he’s destined for a life prison sentence but that’s another story.
Of course, if the New Plymouth mayor would only co-operate and issue a cease-fire demand, then such time-off could be scrubbed as presumably, at least in Hond’s view, all hostilities would immediately cease.
Readers will doubtless assume Hond is a nutter.
In fairness, Google him and you will find he comes across as not a bad bloke, albeit unhealthy obsessed with maori issues and an astonishing naive view of the world.
His degree is in Maori Studies and his doctorate is in public health. He cites his mentor as the justifiably highly regarded Sir Mason Durie whose tolerance is obviously massive.
All of that said, Hond is wasting his time with this activism when his obvious career lies as an entertainer.
12 Comments
From https://www.teonekakara.co.nz/ruakere . He’s on all the usual committees and commissions.
Ruakere Hond is a proponent of localised Māori language revitalisation and Māori community development, and is a member of the Waitangi Tribunal and on the board of Te Mātāwai (a statutory Māori language leadership body). He lives at Parihaka and was very involved in the Parihaka Reconciliation process, including as a member of Te Kawe Tutaki, the Parihaka Redress Steering Group.
Ruakere is a former Māori Language Commissioner, Academic Director of Te Ataarangi and Acting CEO of Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi (Māori tertiary education institution). He is currently a Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) Hōhua Tutengaehe Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Te Pou Tiringa.
best advice !
Don’t use AirNZ and you won’t fund them a leaving gift.
Flicks through diary…”Nope- definitely not April 1st”…
A very familiar name to anyone who lives in Taranaki. There’s a rat’s nest of them living out at Parihaka, some call themselves Climate Justice Taranaki and that’s led by a Swiss import trading off not only Parihaka’s historically revered name but also off his partner’s almost as famous Maori family name – which incidentally never came from Parihaka. Hond’s harmless enough though, just a dreamer.
To be fair, New Plymouth has never invaded other countries or even other cities so its international reputation for peace is secure for now.
I’m waiting excitedly for your thoughts on the abusive lady who claimed that IRD dismissed her unfairly for minor faux pas such as chronic lateness, threatening other staff and falling asleep at her desk and during meetings like some latter day character from “Gliding On”.
I especially enjoyed the quote: “On August 13 the employee’s mum called her boss to say she was sick. When She returned to work on August 19 she said she’d been in the police cells after being arrested.”
Such a credit to the NZ Public Service and the PSA.
When I worked in the Public Service in Sydney we had a well-upholstered subcontinental bloke who regularly fell asleep at his desk and as this was a time when smart phones were becoming available, I used to take photos of him sleeping and send them to our manager with captions such as “oh, sooo sleepy” and “having a quiet snooze at my desk” until he was finally disciplined and sacked. Happy days.
Sir Bob. I would like a bit of the action on your generous odds that less than 0.001 percent of the world’s population have ever heard of New Plymouth. That is less than 80,000 people. The latest census estimates that the population of New Plymouth is 87,000.
In 1973 the Napier City Council declared Napier to be a Nuclear Free Zone complete with a small sign near the port warning any visiting vessels.
It worked. We haven’t been nuked. Yet.
I think that it’s a national disgrace that the New Plymouth mayor is too busy arranging repairs to the local potholes to engage in his international duty to halt the wars around the globe . Ukrainians and Palestinis equally must be devastated by the lack of support from Mayor Holden . Shame , New Plymouth , shame !
Yeap. she’s very peaceful here in new Plymouth, no ones bugging us. quiet as. Just like every where else in the country.
Politics aside. My Wahine has many fond memories of growing up at Parihaka in the 1950’s.
Her bad memories relate to a time in 1960 when as a 6 year old she witnessed the very grand historic meeting house on the marae burn to the ground taking the life of her maternal grandfather George Te Kahui Pokai Aitua who was trapped inside the inferno.
Vivid memories flood back which my lady shares with me when we visit Parihaka so she can pay respects to her much loved family elder whose memory is held in very high regard.
.
I wonder what has happened to the $13million that the Parihaka Crew got gifted as a peace deal, recently??? Curious that so much money from the tax payer seems to have just disappeared!!
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