KAPAI: Questions to answer and how much to give?

I enjoy the challenge of marrying up lyrics of songs to situations happening in and around Tauranga and it usually serves me well to help explain the lay of the bay in a land that has plenty.
Last week there have been plenty of questions so the lyrics to Johnny Nash's song ``More questions than answers' works for me. Ironically the album is called I can see clearly now:
There are more questions than answers Pictures in my mind that will not show There are more questions than answers And the more I find out the less I know Yeah, the more I find out the less I know
My questions are: What was the king of Tonga doing on stage at the mayoral forum at Baycourt last Monday night? Or was it the king of Tunnels sans shovel and hardhat, with a healthy thirst for the issues and a tough puku for politics?
Who is wagging the tail when it comes to council decision-making? Is it councillors, staff or affiliated creative thinking artists? There has been more spin than a Shane Warne googley going on in city hall lately and sooner or later there will be a few legs caught before wickets as derrieres are left exposed.
Who were the mysterious money angels? Were they closed Brethren trying to swing local votes, big kids with big bucks playing pass the parcel, or random acts of kindness? What will it take to win the World Cup? For my two bobs' worth it comes down to a line-breaking back. Australia had one last cup and we will need one this time. Best tell E T Henry to phone home and call up Nonu Nonu.
Who was the mysterious Mercedes man who blew out his airbags but refused to blow into one when he was off the wall and gatecrashed his own party last week? Could be CU later CEO when he fronts up to the old bill. But then again money talks and B-S walks.
Should there be a separate Maori seat in local council? Five years ago a couple of local kaumatua showed up at the office of Tourism BOP demanding the chairman make a position available for their son because he carried the mana of tangata whenua. Unlike my chairman they considered appointments were based on skin not skills. If there is to be a Maori seat on council then it should be skill related and not whom you are related to. Nepotism is not confined to Caucasian cherry picking. There is a wealth of gifted local Maori artist, academics and competent business people in Tauranga Moana who are constantly overlooked for plum local Maori appointments.
Who nominates Maori candidates on to the BOP Conservation Board and who advises the minister Chris Carter when it comes to their approval? Who ever it is needs to listen to locals because their latest choice is going to bite them on the backside and Aunty Helen won't be happy.
Who issues the licenses to the booze barons who flog $1 killer drinks to kids? If we are going to jump on the pushers of party pills then let's show some parity when it comes to the carnage alcohol causes, especially to teens who can't handle it. Dressing up a dangerous drug, ie alcohol, to taste and look like a milkshake is criminal.
Latest statistics show the drug killing more Kiwis than any other is nicotine, (80 per cent of all drug-related deaths are caused from cigarettes) then alcohol, then a small fraction are the illegal ones like marijuana and party pills. Until we, as parents, especially Maori parents, show some leadership nothing will change and the carnage will continue. It took me 30 years to realise one was too many and 1000, not enough.
So those are the questions I have been asking this week and the answers are only my opinion. Perhaps the best answer is found at the end of a Johnny Nash song.
I've asked the question time and time again Why is there so little of a moment Oh, what is life, how do we live what should we take and how much should we give
Pai marire