Titewhai Harawira, Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins at a powhiri ahead of Waitangi day.
OPINION: A couple of weeks ago, following an unseemly bout of infantile intolerance over the use of te reo Māori at a Grey Power meeting, I asked in this column if we had become a little too sensitive about the differences between Māori and non-Māori social and cultural norms.
It had been suggested, in a Grey Power newsletter, that Opotiki District councillor Louis Rapihana had insulted those at the meeting who did not understand what he said in a Māori karakia or prayer to open the meeting. The two parties to the dispute eventually agreed to have a polite discussion and settle their differences.