Clark's Karetu visit confrontation-free (+photos,video)

Prime Minister Helen Clark makes her way onto the Karetu Marae yesterday. Photo / Greg Bowker

It is easy for John Key to say Helen Clark needs to get over her aversion to Tii Marae and the dawn service at Waitangi and start turning up again.

He has not had to put up with the abuse that she has over the years. Clark is perfectly justified in designing her own programme up here to avoid the insults and confrontation that have soured the day for her in the past.

Her visit yesterday to Karetu Marae between Waitangi and Kawakawa was an absolute treat and stark contrast to the indignity she has experienced at Waitangi. It was a formal ceremony to bestow the mantle of Labour candidate on one Kelvin Davis to take on the Maori Party in the North.

But it wasn't just a photo op for Clark or at least if it started as one, it grew into something a lot more special.

It was a tiny community proud to its core that one of its most successful sons was doing something new to make them even prouder.

The Ngati Manu meeting house was simple, all dark tongue and groove wood with none of the kowhaiwhai work you see in other wharenui. The walls were decked with pictures of loved ones gone and Davis was supported in speech and song and jokes by loved ones present.

Davis was once principal of the little school that sits on the hill just 500m up the road and went on to become principal of Kaitaia Intermediate.

There were a lot of Pakeha there or perhaps a lot of blue-eyed Maori kids. One of the mothers told me later that they love going to the marae and they are welcome to go there whenever they want.

She also said that the school, now 55 pupils and three classrooms, has been on Trevor Mallard's hit list for closure when he had been minister but they fought and won.

Davis will take on the fight of Dover Samuels, whom he noted, had a rather large hat to fill. Samuels lost the seat in 2005 to Hone Harawira and no one seriously expects that Davis will win it back. But he gave a good speech in accepting the nomination which is worth running in full here....

Kelvin Davis' Labour confirmation speech

"Party members and Friends.

Today, I stand here and think of the words of our great Ngati Hine and Ngapuhi rangatira Sir James Henare:

"It is preposterous that any Maori should aspire to become a poor Pakeha, when their true destiny, prescribed by the Creator, is to become a great Maori."

I'm asked all the time why, it is, I want to enter parliament?...When I strip away all the pomp and rhetoric it simply comes down to the fact that I want to help all Maori fulfill their true destiny as prescribed by the Creator, I want them to become great Maori.

It is no different to the mission I felt I was on as a teacher and Principal to nurture and encourage Maori children in my care to achieve beyond their potential...to reach for the stars.

It is my belief that greatness begins within the individual, and great individuals born into a family create great whanau, and that collectively great whanau create great hapu, and great hapu create great iwi, and great iwi contribute leadership to the greatness of the country as a whole.

And, I believe that this Labour Government has in its time created conditions that enable individuals to become great, to succeed in their hopes and dreams and aspirations.

This Government has extended opportunities for all of us to aspire to individual and collective greatness leaving little excuse for us not to achieve our true destiny and with it become great Maori instead of being limited by our weaknesses and fears.

As a people, we have to grasp the complexity of governing a country and accept that populist issues and populist views will come and go and challenge our perspective.

But we also have to accept that what prevents us from sliding into chaos is the foundation of good government...which builds steady incremental gains and progresses us towards a national greatness.

And, we have to realise that individual and collective Maori greatness will not come from the immediate resolution of populist issues.

Some of us tend to demand things without really thinking them through carefully, or by absorbing a holistic view. Let me dwell on what has been a very popular war cry for us as Maori ...Tino Rangatiratanga. The trouble is, that many years ago Tino Rangatiratanga was great - if you were a rangatira, but it wasn't so great if you were a pononga or tutuua...you had little or no say.

The point I make here, is that we should not fear to challenge ourselves as Maori or, be afraid to seek opinions that contradict our steadfast viewpoints whether we like those views or not.

We need to be careful not to suffer tunnel vision where our viewpoints and beliefs actually become barriers to achieving the greatness we are capable of.

Instead of undermining Maori progress, I believe rigorous debate and open minds may just strengthen understanding of our culture, values and aspirations and create the conditions where they may, in some form become enshrined in the lives of all people of Aotearoa/ New Zealand.

"Ko te kai a te rangatira, he korero" - we have tended to move away from reasoned, informed,

dignified and logical debate to verbal abuse and dummy spitting when we don't get our way. Many who hide behind the rhetoric of Maori values don't necessarily live Maori values. It interests me that not more is made of the fact that Maori values and the social democratic values of the Labour party are very complementary.

Regardless, as Maori, if our issues do not support us to become great Maori, we need to have the courage to put them aside and focus on those issues that will support us to become great.

Which is why Labour's achievements over the last nine years are so important. With Maori now better educated, healthier, getting paid more, living longer, are in meaningful employment, are living in affordable housing, are getting university qualifications - the whole country prospers. These are the tangible benefits and policies of this Labour Government that are helping Maori meet our potential and putting us on the road to becoming great Maori.

They are not the sexy, blood-boiling issues that will inspire iwi to march to parliament, but for the majority of Maori they are the bread and butter issues that make up our daily fare.

Therefore I am unapologetic in supporting any kaupapa that is based upon Maori and social

democratic values that will help Maori along the road to greatness.

I am sure Sir James would be the first to admit that he made mistakes throughout his life but we all know that none of those mistakes prevented a young boy from Motatau becoming one of New Zealand's truly great Maori.

My commitment to you all, my friends, my family, my whanaunga from Ngati Manu, Te Kapotai, Ngati Hine, Ngapuhi whanui, Te Hiku o Te Ika, Ngati Wai and Ngati Whatua is this, as a politician I will work as a member of the Labour Government to ensure that all of us have the best opportunity possible to aspire to become, as is our true destiny, great Maori.

This is my kaupapa, and this is why I stand here before you today to say I am ready to take the first step in the journey towards fulfilling our hopes and dreams so that we may all become great Maori.

Na reira, huri noa i nga kokonga o tenei wharetupuna me to tatou nei marae, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa."