National Party pair take fresh treaty swipe

National's leadership has launched an Orewa-type attack against references to the Treaty of Waitangi, this time in state sector jobs, and says it would remove them from employment contracts.

Advertisements for the Deputy Controller and Auditor-General and for Trevor Mallard's electorate secretary were among examples of taxpayer-funded jobs that had Treaty of Waitangi requirements.

The Deputy Auditor-General was required to have "the ability to work effectively within the spirit of the Treaty of Waitangi".

The job profile for Mr Mallard's electorate secretary was that the appointee "demonstrate an awareness of the implications of the Treaty of Waitangi in the workplace; value te reo skills in others; develop an understanding of Maori tikanga and protocols and recognise and acknowledge the contribution of Maori staff".

Mr Mallard was appointed Minister for Race Relations last year after the impact of the Orewa speech by National leader Don Brash.

That speech centred on the effects of references to the treaty in legislation and race-based funding and was the catalyst for a surge in National's poll ratings. Yesterday both Dr Brash and deputy leader Gerry Brownlee attacked references to the treaty in job ads.

Almost every job ad for a Government department still included words noting a commitment to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi without any reference to what that meant, Dr Brash said in a speech to an Independent newspaper lunch.

Public servants who needed to have an understanding of the treaty were those who were working on treaty settlements, he said.

"There is surely no need whatsoever for other public servants, or for school teachers, or for nurses or for Auditors-General to subscribe to a particular view of what the treaty implies.

Dr Brash said National would adopt a "less exotic" approach to the recruitment of public servants - "one where we will seek auditors who can actually audit, managers who can actually manage and accountants who can count".

Mr Brownlee said that after a year in the job, Mr Mallard had changed nothing.

Dr Brash was criticised by the Nurses Organisation, which said that without a sound, educated and moral understanding of the treaty, nurses were likely to practise in a "culturally unsafe way".

Recent advertisements

* Ministry of Social Development: The Ministry recognises its responsibilities to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

* Deputy Controller and Auditor-General: The ability to work effectively within the spirit of the Treaty of Waitangi.

* Ministry of Transport: Committed to creating a positive linguistic environment where te reo Maori is valued and encouraged.

* Ministry of Justice: The Ministry has a commitment to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

* Ministry of Defence: The Ministry has a commitment to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

* Work and Income: We actively uphold the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

The 'Orewa conspiracy'

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters yesterday railed against what he called the "Orewa conspiracy". the news media's treatment of National leader Don Brash's state-of-the-nation speech at Orewa last year and this.

Speaking to the Commonwealth Press Union in Sydney, Mr Peters also called on journalists to disclose their political leanings and urged media owners not to "scrimp" on how much they paid their journalists.

Mr Peters argued that National's steep rise in the polls after last year's Orewa speech - leapfrogging Labour - was the obvious result of the saturation coverage given to it.

He said the media tried to "breathe life into this political corpse" for several months after the speech, but Dr Brash could not sustain false media expectations and by the end of the year was a subject of ridicule.

The media tried again to breathe life into the corpse for the second speech. Mr Peters said that between December 1 and January 25 this year, the day of the speech, 96 newspaper articles about the speech were published. With radio and television added, the total was closer to 200.

He had three main criticisms.

* The media had become far too complacent in accepting the spin politicians applied to information.

* The media showed a lack of independent thought or insightful reflection.

* Some media displayed unacknowledged partisan bias and a pious attitude when their political standing was questioned.

A democracy like New Zealand desperately needed an unbiased media, he said.

"If we cannot achieve this minimum expectation, then at least we deserve to know the political bias of those writing. Politicians openly wear their colours, so if journalists can't be balanced, they should at least be honest."