Digital licences eroding moko-wearers' spirits

By Jason Collie

Some Auckland Maori are refusing to get their new photo driver licences, claiming that storing their moko tattoos on computer is culturally insensitive.

The group believes the spiritual entity of the facial tattoo is broken down when it is saved in computer code. It wants the licensing scheme stopped.

The leader of the group of 40 who are refusing to be photographed, Ni Hake, fears the pictures could be downloaded from the Land Transport Safety Authority's system and sold to souvenir manufacturers.

Because each moko tells the story of its wearer, Mr Hake and fellow campaigner Rangi McLean, manager of the Manukau People's Centre, say selling images of the tattoo will breach intellectual property rights guaranteed under the Treaty of Waitangi.

They say there was a lack of consultation before the licences were introduced and they will launch a legal challenge if the authority and Government will not meet them.

New Transport Minister Mark Gosche said yesterday that he was not aware of the group's worries, but would like to hear from them.

Mr Hake, a computer technician who still uses his expired paper licence, said: "When you get a photo of a facial moko going into the computer it gets translated into binary code and the whole essence of the moko gets disturbed.

"It's not just a Maori issue. The moko belongs to New Zealand and there are a lot of potential wearers out there."

Mr Hake does not have a moko but hopes to earn the right to wear one.

Mr McLean got his licence before he realised the ramifications. He wants drivers to be able to provide their own photos, as they do for passports.

"Then you could put a copyright on the photo," he said.

"I have seen instances where photos of my ancestors who wore moko were embroidered on to tablecloths.

"A classic example of how secure Government agencies are is what happened with the IRD staff selling information that was supposedly private."

An authority spokesman, Craig Dowling, said the storage system for the images was completely secure and Te Puni Kokiri (the Ministry of Maori Development) and Maori focus groups had been consulted before the licence was adopted.

"My understanding is that the issue of moko was never raised," he said.

"We will follow closely their concerns and it would be interesting to see where things go in that regard."

Aroha Mead, the manager of cultural heritage at Te Puni Kokiri, said the treaty did give some protection to Maori cultural heritage and that Mr Hake's claims were "certainly an interesting interpretation."