Maori Party wants evidence destroyed

The separatist organ that is the Maori Party seems to be suggesting that the outwardly pretty damning evidence published this morning in the Dominion Post about the alleged terrorists is to hot too handle and that any evidence should have been ditched when bail was granted without TSA charges.

The lawyer for Tama Iti, usually stridently vocal, in any media that cares to listen, in such matters, says

My comments will be left to the courts to determine. I've already made some representations to the courts

Her apparent calm in these matters is noted, maybe she is losing her edge and is chasing the legal aid dollar these days.

Not so quiet is her legal cohort over at the VUSA the other day. He definitely is pushing the separatist, we have been wronged barrow as always. Talks of 'the long struggle ahead', 'colonisation', 'recent acts are racist acts', 'no faith in the Law Commission review', 'sovereignity' and other topics such as a 'new constitution'. All here. The hell bent mission for separatism these two have long taken upon themselves remains based on a suspect interpretation of the Treaty. Their actions should be reviewed by a Law Commission.

MP Shane Jones is not so forgiving, calling Tama the self appointed 'King of Tuhoe' and suggesting

I think there's something more disturbing that I am hoping the media will turn its attention to. I rather suspect that a lot of the characters mixed up in this rubbish up in Tuhoe and various other parts are using the cloak of Maoriness to disguise and obscure criminality and soon as the cops round the buggers up and treat them as criminals the better.

Now if there are people on P, doing drugs, screaming around with guns breaking the law in terms of arms control then they should face the full force of it cause there is a lot of kaumata Tuhoe want to get on with life, solve the historical grievances, and they are being eclipsed by the self-appointed king of Tuhoe Tame Iti and a number of people who appear to me to be criminals as opposed to genuine dissenters.

That lot above, from Shane, is the first bit of sense I have seen on this whole matter and it came from a Labour MP.

He also had a little dig at the locals (was the sub-editor also on electric puha with the spell checker?)

I guess as the chair of our Maori Caucus the thing that we always struggled with, mate, was we just couldn't get our heads around that there was a conspiracy well-oiled, well-calculated to mame and murder and overcome the nation state from Tanneata. My experience of the place was people wouldn't have got up early enough to pull off such a stunt.