Tommy Wilson: Gareth Morgan on the right track

So what motivates Dr Gareth Morgan? Could it be that he truly does have a cultural conscience?

As kids heading out to Papamoa Beach on a hot summer's day, collecting pipis was a picnic and a kai-gathering occasion all wrapped up in the same kaupapa, and we loved it like the first lick of an ice cream (if we were lucky) on the way back home to Omanu.

The anticipation would grow as we got closer to the "secret spot" that only we and 200 other members of the whanau knew about - oh yeah, and their neighbours and the fathers of 200 other families that dad used to drink with at the local RSA and Cossie Club.

Sometimes the waiting would get too hard to handle and the common catch cry would echo from the back of the lime green Mark I Zephyr we affectionately called putter bomb bomb. "Are we there yet!?"

I thought about the Mark 1, the Papamoa pipis and the feeding of our whanau when I started studying up on the author of the hot as a hangi stone book "Are we there yet? - the future of the Treaty of Waitangi".

Dr Gareth Morgan, the author, is ironically - in a Waitangi kind of way - a local Mountie. In fact, his whare is a mere frisbee throw from Mount Drury where we will gather early on Waitangi Day to look learn and listen and remember, what our ancestors fought for, with karakia, korero, waiata and a few wise words from clergy, council, and potential politicians.

Maybe Gareth will walk across the road and talk his walk? I for one would gladly sit and listen as he makes a lot more sense than some give him credit for, many of whom label the man as a headline-grabbing rich Pakeha.

As a snap shot on Gareth and his son Sam - they made quite a few quid selling Trade Me and in some ways swapping muskets and blankets for prime real estate is only a double century away from what many of us do on Trade Me today.

The difference being the deals traded today have a big clause in them called fair trading and right of refusal, something that I believe both Gareth and I would agree was not on the table back in the day.

You may have seen Gareth bare chested swinging a yellow T-shirt around inside the "cake tin" stadium down in Wellington when the Phoenix (which he part or mostly owns) scored a winning goal.

There would be those that say the "cat killer" (because he wanted all feral cats given the chop) should keep his dribble to the soccer field and others who say he is banging the drum to beef up sales of his book. As an author with half a million words in print you don't make money out of writing books and besides he already has more money than all the authors in Aotearoa put together.

So what motivates Dr Morgan? Could it be that he truly does have a cultural conscience? Are Pakeha ignorant or is that a title we as Maori can also own up to?

The sticking point for Maori over Gareth's korero is the abolishment of Maori seats but this can be quickly put to bed as sensationalising by my media mates, as a little bit of research tells me the roe in the kina of this conversation had been conveniently left out.

In fact, what Dr Morgan has stated all along is the seats could be abolished but, "Only once the treaty has been honoured" and, in my opinion, that fattens the kina of his korero considerably.

I also find it rich - not the kina, but the korero - that the Mana movement has ignorantly accused him of speaking on behalf of Maori when they had a paepae (speaker's bench) full of Pakeha including a German, Kim Dotcom, telling Maori what they were doing wrong.

Perhaps the proof is in the korero of what Dr Morgan is saying to tell us all if we are there yet when he says:

"Pakeha generally ... think the Treaty begins and ends with breaches, claims and settlements. The Treaty is not just about that. It's about Maori culture, language and investment having just as much right in New Zealand as our conventional ones ... we're miles from that."

"Tautoko that, bro."

If I could I would broaden the generalisation of just non-Maori to many or most New Zealanders who share this narrow view, and thankfully because of the awareness raised by informed voices who have the courage and conviction to air their opinions openly and honestly, is widening by the day.

Are we there yet? No.

But just like the pipis in Papamoa, the truths about treaty settlements are there if you are prepared to dig around for them, and are waiting to be collected for all of Aotearoa - not just a whanau who know where they are.

broblack@xtra.co.nz

-Tommy Wilson is a best-selling author and a local writer.