Breaking the Consensus: The Politicisation of Maori Affairs

Abstract

This article takes issue with the claim made by Tremewan (2005a)

Maori and Criminal Offending: A Critical Appraisal

“…These assertions were rapidly construed as normative distinctions. And, with this development corresponding with the ascendency of postmodern thinking in the humanities (e.g., Maharey & Cheyne, 1990), critical social policy in New Zealand was to embrace the culturalist turn with relative ease (Barber, 2006). Importantly, while the non-Maori New Zealand constituency were being mobilised into displaying atonement for the actions of their ancestors, these developments were not to be viewed as a move toward separatism, but rather, and perhaps patronisingly, as a state-controlled form of Maori self-determination.…”

“…These transitions have been greatly assisted through the advent of the so-called Maori renaissance and the nation's adoption of the sociopolitical ideology of biculturalism. However, the transition from race to ethnicity or the shift from class politics to the 'culturalist paradigm' in social policy (Barber, 2006) has not relieved the issue of Maori being overrepresented in the criminal justice sector of a fundamental problem, which remains today. Specifically, it is still assumed that individuals who identify with the ethnic group Maori have some inherent property that predisposes group members to being more likely to offend.…”