Te Pati Maori go personal

Newshub reports:

Applause and cheers erupted in the House on Wednesday afternoon as Children’s Minister Karen Chhour condemned Te Pāti Māori’s insults about her upbringing. 

Chhour, who grew up in state care, is repealing section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act – sparking uproar from political opposition. 

However, criticism of the repeal has moved to personal verbal attacks on the ACT Party MP. 

A comment on social media from Te Pāti Māori said Chhour, a wahine Māori, had a “disconnection and disdain for her… people”. 

“If Section 7AA were around in Karen Chhour’s time, she would have been raised Māori, she would have been raised being connected to her whakapapa and having a knowingness of her Māoritanga. Instead, she was raised Pākehā with a disconnection and disdain for her… people.  

“Karen and her experience is exactly why we need Section 7AA.” 

Labour MP Willow-Jean Prime also verbally attacked Chhour, calling her a “sell-out” during the First reading of the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill on Tuesday. 

In the House on Wednesday, Chhour addressed Te Pāti Māori’s comments. 

“I am not going to stand here and justify how I was raised but I am also not going to let anyone else, especially Te Pāti Māori, think that they can tell my story for me. Especially when they have no idea what they’re talking about,” she said. In response, the House erupted in applause and cheers. 

That is disgusting – to hold the Minister’s childhood up as an example of why the Act shouldn’t be changed. Good to see Newshub cover this.