Tommy Wilson: Christmas a time to take stock

Blooming pohutukawa usher in Chrtistmas and a time for reflection. Photo/file

As we turn into the 2017 home straight toward Christmas, and Papatuanuku with his sister Mother Nature lay down their crimson korowai (cloak) feathered from the pohutukawa tree, it is a good time to take stock of where we are at locally and internationally, and what it is we want most for our Christmas stocking.

Not only will the Maori Christmas tree be in full bloom these next few weeks, so too will the bouquets of community kindness awarded to those who dare to make a difference.

As always, there will be the usual brickbats awarded to the grinches who want to take whatever they can get for nothing and give bugger all back in return.

Buskers are worthy of bouquets, as are those families who struggle to put kai on the table each night, and I will always give to those who are having a go at making life a better place for them and their families.

Not so those beggars and street hustlers who are feeding their habits and not the mouths of their families or loved ones.

International studies I have read show 80 per cent of beggars and street hustlers have issues of addiction and mental health, and giving them money to feed these habits makes all of our endeavours on the frontline of homelessness even more challenging.

Business owners who work hard to keep their own families fed should not have to pick up the invoice of intergenerational poverty.

If we stop giving the money to street hustlers and give it to organisations such as the Tauranga Moana Nightshelter, Kai Aroha and those qualified to intervene, then and only then will this problem go away.

A big bouquet goes out to our civic leaders who are engaging with tangata whenua and recognising the responsibility of creating partnerships between Maori and councils, elected to make our communities stronger for the future of us all.

Creating a seat at the table of decision making as the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Rotorua Lakes Council have done is admirable and now Western Bay District Council has picked up the wero (challenge).

The brickbat goes to the Don and his dinosaurs who dredge up the same old same old fear factor of reverse racism.

While most of us have moved forward they, just like the other Don in the United States of pretty much nothing now, show their true colours when they stand on a soapbox of elite separatism.

Trying to promote a tired potae of propaganda by having us all living in a homogenous cultural bubble with no regard for what our founding fathers signed to keep Maori at the table of decision making - and not underneath it - is old and tired looking, like last year's Christmas tree.

The final floral tribute goes to those who have held out their hand for help and genuinely needed it, and a pretty putiputi (flower) to those who have given to those who deserve it.

It is not so easy to ask for help, especially when you still carry a sense of pride as most of our struggling mothers we look after do.

All they have ever wanted is a place for them and their kids to call home. They carry a huge burden of whakama (shame) and, when we as a society help them carry that burden, the benefits to our community are almost immeasurable.

The secret is recognising who are the genuine ones who want help so they may help themselves transition into a place where real change can happen.

Here is where you can play Santa for a good cause.

When you have your big night out on the boss and remember the year that was, spare a thought and a round of drinks for those who will not have much to celebrate when the big fulla fills up the back seat of the sleigh and passes them by.

You will remember that round long after the hangover has passed.

For us in the social sector, we get to share our big day at the annual Santa Carrus Christmas party for the homeless.

This will be our fourth year and our focus will be on our forty families who now have somewhere to call home receiving the gift of music in the form of a guitar for each family with lessons and a ukulele for the kids.

If you have a calling to bring joy to those who don't see a lot of it, a good quality ukulele costs about $50 (holly@ttw.co.nz). Join our forty families and dance to their ten guitars.

The final floral lei goes to our Tongan whanau who filled our screens and hearts with whero flags and showed us how to celebrate sport.

To the referee who missed the most crucial try-scoring moment of the world cup semifinal: bro, you should have gone to Specsavers.

broblack@xtra.co.nz