As hurtful as Kelvin Davis' attack on Act MP Karen Chhour was to her, it was a gift to her party. It busted open the national groupthink on race politics.
In Parliament last Thursday, Davis accused Chhour of looking at the world through "a vanilla lens". When told ithad upset her, he doubled down, saying she "whakapapas to Māori, but she was raised in a Pākehā world".
The condemnation was swift and unexpected. Media mostly prefer to stay away from race issues these days. But they gave this attention and it blew up. Davis was forced to apologise.
For some voters, it was the first time they realised Act had Māori MPs in its caucus. If they kept reading, it was also the first time they realised Act's leader David Seymour whakapapas to Ngā Puhi.
That will have implications down the track for Labour's Māori caucus. Because it gives Act greater permission to criticise the policies pushed by that caucus.
Act has been the strongest critic thus far. It has hammered hard against co-governance. It has criticised prioritising Māori for the covid vaccine instead of equal access for all. It has pledged to remove the new Māori Health Authority and criticised iwi-run checkpoints during the pandemic's early days.
In response, Act has been labelled racist. Willie Jackson has accused David Seymour of dog whistling to racists. Davis - even after his apology - continued to suggest racism.
The effect of attacks like Jackson's and Davis' are chilling. No one wants to be called a racist. And so, many critics have self-censored to avoid that label. There clearly is a fair amount of discomfort about some of the Māori caucus' planned reforms. The high mayoral opposition to Three Waters and signs along plenty of rural roads backing them up tell you as much. But, the criticism has still been relatively muted.
That's led to a degree of national groupthink on race politics. There's been pressure to accept the policies without the kind of scrutiny any government policy normally deserves. The rules of this game dictate that it's fair to criticise Fair Pay Agreements, unemployment insurance and the Bike Bridge to Birkenhead as much you like, but anything race-related is off limits.
Act MP Karen Chhour. Photo / Mark Mitchell
But now, there may be more latitude to disagree given that clearly even some Māori disagree. Karen Chhour disagrees.
Act didn't waste the attention Davis gave them. Chhour immediately released an opinion piece for the Herald on her plan to remove Treaty principles from the Oranga Tamariki legislation.
She told the story of young Mary, removed from her whānau, moved around family eight times before finally settling with Pākehā foster parents. They gave Mary the stability she needed. Then, OT tried to remove Mary and give her back to family members known to abuse her because of the ethnicity of her foster parents. The treaty principles in section 7AA of OT's law demanded that.
Chhour has a member's bill to repeal section 7AA and prevent Mary's case repeating.
The perverse outcome of risking a child's safety in pursuit of Treaty principles struck a chord with voters. The opinion piece was shared widely once it was published.
Act can thank Davis for the attention his attack gave them. They can also thank him for giving them much greater leeway to keep criticising the policies he and his Māori caucus are pushing.
It'll be a lot harder now for Davis and Jackson to attack Act as racists. Not only is it hard to label a party as racists when the public are now more aware there are Māori MPs in that party. But also, it would be repeating the behaviour Davis has just been forced to apologise for.
