Ao Toa

by Cathie Dunsford

  But what most blew us away was the sense of being in a true subtropical paradise with the planting of palms which take the place of our mamaku and ponga. Both of us were surprised at the lack of typical Aotearoan bush – which we have adapted successfully to use as a shelter for our organic gardens at Te Kotuku – but maybe this is because Jo is Austrian and works from a very global perspective when planting, not keeping to natives alone or falling into any of the usual stereotypes. Trish and Jo have together created an utterly unique atmosphere at Rainbow Valley Farm and we’d love to bring Te Kotuku workers over to see it sometime. They want to visit Te Kotuku also.

  After a day-long seminar, we walked down to one of the most beautiful and quiet vineyards we have ever seen to sample some of the local organic produce. Heron’s Flight have won several awards for their wine and recently have moved to Sangiovese – an Italian variety which they have found does very well in the heat here. We tasted their wines, and their barrique-oaked chardonnay is hard to beat, accompanied by salmon and roasted pepper bruschetta with Mary’s red pepper jelly – to die for! It was such a treat after all the walking and we had the best rest so far. It is hard to leave this place. The vineyard stretches out below us and they grow their own herbs and really make use of the very best local organic produce from the area. Some of the poets and writers in the group did a reading based on a celebration of nature, and several local GE-free experts spoke to us. We wish you could have been here – but we took notes for you, Iri and Koa! More on our return.

  Today, we are setting out for Mohala Gardens at a local Takatu beach to see how some women have been converting a native bush and clay section to organic Permaculture garden, to show how it can be done on a sustainable level with a small section of land – using local seaweeds for mulch and also for sushi and for edible treats. We’re looking forward to this. We’ll camp out at the beach overnight – doubt there will be any email there – sounds quite isolated – then head off for Tamaki Makaurau. Talk to you again soon. We are thinking of you daily and also celebrating the abundance of this land of Aotearoa we are so lucky to live in.

  Enough! It sounds as if we are on the road again. Hope we can get a swim at this beach – and maybe catch some fresh kai moana before heading off to Auckland. Love to all at Te Kotuku.

  Any news on the chopper front? Kuini says we should be careful in giving away too many details over the net – so it’s Flies or Choppers from now on!

  Give Mere a hug and tell her not to have another Rongoa hui until we return – we do not want to miss out!

  Kia kaha – Arohanui –

  Cowrie and Kuini.

  “Well, how did the meeting go?” Raymond clicks open a beer and offers it to Tony. Tony refuses, preferring a cold one from his fridge. He brings over a sixpack and plants it down in front of Raymond as they sit around his kitchen table.

  “Bloody fantastic. Cheers mate!” They click cans. Tony guzzles down half a can in one go, spluttering the last mouthful out onto his dirty singlet. Raymond, who is very particular about cleanliness, winces. “They thought the farm was perfect – very isolated and only a dirt track off a long and difficult clay road. They reckoned the barns need a bit of work so they gave me cash in hand to get them up to scratch. Not bad, eh?”

  “Reckon that paid for the sixpack, eh, Tony?”

  Tony grins. “Yep. Got it in one! And plenty more where that came from too.”

  “So, what’d they think about using the caves?”

  “Some of them worried a bit about their Maori significance. Said they would be protected under the Treaty of Waitangi. But I said that nobody knows about them except a few old tohunga who’ve probably carked it by now. None of the local brown fellas have been up here poking about, so it’s likely it’s been forgotten. Anyway, they are not on any of the Department of Survey maps, ’cos we checked when Moana mentioned they should be marked. Said there was some tapu or other on ’em, but I don’t believe in all that spiritual nonsense.”

  “Me neither. Goes against a good Christian upbringing. Holds their whole race back, I reckon.” Tony burps.

  “D’ya reckon Moana will remember? Couldn’t she kick up a fuss?”

  “Only if she knows about the deal. We have to keep it quiet.”

  “Right on. But didn’t she want the caves marked on the map for future generations?”

  “Yep. Told her I’d do it. Took a day off, went to town, downed a few brownies with the local boys, took a bet on Cheater at the TAB, ate three pies, two bags of chips and two fried hoki, then returned home. She was real pleased I’d gone to Lands and Survey and rewarded me with a huge roast dinner.” Tony laughs. “I had a hell of a time eating it and my dogs had a good meal. Managed to spoon it out into their bowls on the pretence of clearing the decks for dessert, and they wolfed it down before anyone got the wiser.”

  “Close call, Tony. Hope we don’t have too many of those.” Raymond wipes his brow.

  “No worries, mate. Took your advice the other day and have been enjoying being a bachelor again.”

  Raymond looks around at the clutter of dishes in the sink and on the counter and old clothes piled up on every available chair, underwear and singlets flowing out of a large basket in the corner of the room, and nods. “I can see that. But Bella tells me you two are having a nice time also.”

  “Yep. She’s a good girl, Ray. Very nice.” Tony grins lewdly.

  “Well, you make sure you look after her Ray. She’s a bit young for you.”

  “I’ll look after her like a father. We’re just good friends.” Tony suddenly recognises the protective look in Ray’s eyes. “Not that I could ever replace you, mate. But you know I’ll take good care of her.”

  “You’ve been a good father to those kids and a fine husband to Moana, so I trust you, Tony. Get her to do a bit of tidying up around here, eh? You wanna keep the place clean if it is to be used by the scientists. They like everything to be clean.”

  “No worries, mate. I never show them in here. Just the front room which is as clean as when Moana left. I can hire some local chick to do the shitwork now that I have some bikky.” Tony pulls a wad of cash from his back pocket, his eyes gleaming. “Thanks, mate. Hope you get your cut.”

  “Have it already, thanks. And there’s more to come.”

  “Great. Anyway, back to the caves. They said if I could ensure that there would be no hassles from the local tangata whenua, then it would be perfect for their top-secret operations. Nobody could ever find out about experiments underground, and they will fit out the caves with lights, cameras and all they need to monitor their work. Some of these guys will be living in the old shearers’ sheds near the caves, so that’s perfect.”

  Ray bites into one of Barbara’s muffins he’s brought along. “But how can you guarantee that, Tony?”

  “Showed them pictures of me, the missus and the kids. Told them I was close with the local Maoris and married to one of them. That seemed to satisfy them. I even managed to convince them that Moana was daughter of one of the chief fellas who was guardian of the caves and that as guardian, she could say how they could be used. Said there’d been a vote on this ages ago and everyone agreed to leave it in her hands to protect them. Besides, we ain’t gonna do no harm to ’em. Just use the space. Nobody will know about it. As I say, most of the local sooties have forgotten about them.”

  “Sure thing, Tony. You’re a bit of a beaut. Wish I’d known you in the ForestsFirst days. We could have done with a few more like you down the Coast then.” Ray grins.

  Tony is very pleased with himself. Things are really looking up. He’s managed to get some income, a future for the farm, a bit on the side, and the respect of Ray who runs the local business association. Choice. Moana will be begging to come back to him soon. But he’ll let her stew. At least he has Bella to screw in the meantime. Not a bad bit of flesh, and sweet to boot. No ties, no hassles. Just what he likes. In fact, he might get used to this new life. He grabs another tinnie and hands a cold
one to Raymond, clinking tin upon tin. “Here’s to a rosy future, mate. Genetic engineering and all.”

  “Cheers, Tony. I’ll second that.” Raymond downs his beer. As he does so, he notices that a pair of Tony’s undies, which is hanging over the edge of the chair and touching the table, is sunny side up, showing he’s had a bit of a diarrhoea problem. Raymond nearly gags on his beer and turns his chair to face the other direction, noting he must make sure that Tony gets in a cleaner and does not rely on Bella to do his dirty work for him. Maybe Maata would appreciate the extra work and cash? She’d keep quiet about anything she saw because she needs the cash so much. She said that in the interview. And then he could keep an eye on Tony as well, just to be sure everything runs to plan. Not a bad idea. He’d get Bella to do it but he does not want Bella implicated if anything goes wrong. In fact, he’d prefer Tony to get another girlfriend outside his family and he’ll work on this too. All in good time.

  Raymond muses as Tony slurps on his beer, ranting on about how good life has become since Raymond offered him a hand and that’s what mates are for. Raymond lets him burble on. He’s a simple fella, this Tony, and that’s good for business, he muses; the less he thinks, the better it is for us all. That’s the way good corporates work. It’s important to rely on the workers remaining ignorant of your real goals and focused on always trying to please you. He learned that with ForestsFirst and is happy to apply it now. Poor bugger. He looks at Tony. He’s so insecure, he’d shit his pants to please you. He grins.

  “Hey, Koa. Check this out.” Iri reads from the screen of her laptop. “There’s a message from the co-leader of the Green Party, Jeanette Fitzsimons, to all greenies and supporters over their stance on the GM Commission – what they can and cannot do.”

  “Read it out while I finish planting these seedlings.” Koa dips her finger into the row of loo-roll containers filled with soil and sand, and drops a seed carefully into each one while Irihapeti reads:

  Dear Green Party member

  This message explains the Greens’ options in relation to the ongoing discussions with the Government over GE so there is better understanding of what is going on. If you know members who are not on email please share this letter with them.

  The Green position is that we do not accept GE outside the laboratory. That will remain our position and that is what we would ensure happened if we were the Government. However, there is a widespread perception that if we just hold fast to this position and threaten to withdraw support (“confidence”) we can achieve a GE-free future now. It is actually much more complex than that.

  The Government doesn’t have to get our permission to do anything. They can go right ahead and allow all releases and field trials and they don’t need legislation to do it because the law already allows it. There will only be a vote in parliament if the Government decides to restrict GE, not if it decides to continue to allow it.

  When they have made their decision, we then have to decide our response to what they do. If the decision is bad we have the option of voting against them on the next confidence vote. There is the opportunity to initiate a confidence vote only a couple or so times a year. The next scheduled confidence vote is not until February of next year.

  If we say we will withdraw confidence, the Government could rely on Winston Peters of New Zealand First for confidence and continue to govern but without consulting us on anything. Alternatively they could call an election any time after we announced we would not continue to support them on confidence.

  Winston has already said he would abstain on confidence and allow the Government to operate as a minority government. Whether and how long the Government would want to do this is an open question. In any case, the decision of what to do is the Prime Minister’s decision. We can withdraw confidence but we cannot force an election now.

  Even if there were an early election, Labour might well secure enough seats to govern without us, even if we get more MPs. In that case there would be nothing stopping them allowing GE to proceed as they wish. Or, worst of all, the Nationals with the help of the ACT party might be able to form a government and give the full go-ahead to GE. Labour knows all this and knows we know it as well.

  We are talking with the Government to try to move them closer to our position. The TV1 poll, released on Wednesday night, showed 62 per cent opposition to field trials outside a lab. This confirmed our own polling a few months ago, which showed that two-thirds of the public don’t want GE outside the lab. The strong stand by the Maori caucus and (we think) by the Alliance has added strength to our position.

  There is some chance of shifting the Government towards our position but it is unlikely to go all the way we want. We would then face the choice: do we express our great displeasure and disappointment in a range of ways but continue to give them confidence, knowing we have achieved a great deal towards our goal, or do we withdraw confidence and maybe have an early election?

  If they have come most of the way to our position but not as far as we would like, we risk losing those gains if we have an election and they no longer need us. That is because legislation is needed to implement any improvement to the status quo and legislation takes many months to pass. Having only the status quo would be bad for the GE-free cause.

  If the Government does not even come close to our position, then we have little option but to withdraw confidence and then deal with whatever the Government decides to do in response. As I said publicly this week the Green Party will not support a government that takes us down the GE road. The Party will of course have a plan ready to kick-in if an election is called at short notice.

  So you see the issue is not really about compromise at all. It’s not about weakening our position. It’s not about accommodation. It’s about how far we can persuade them to go. It’s about them having the power to do what they like and us having the power to withdraw confidence if we don’t like it, with unknown consequences.

  Thanks to all of you who have worked so hard over the past months and years. I hope this letter clarifies the present position a bit. Our decision must be about how to best protect and preserve the GE-free option right now. As I hope I have explained above, that is a much more complex calculation than simply “do we withdraw confidence?”

  We had all hoped the Royal Commission would be the end of our struggle for a GE-free New Zealand, but it is clear it is just one step along the road. Victory will come but it will take ongoing work, now and in the future.

  We will write to you all again as soon as there is more concrete information to share.

  Yours for a GE-free New Zealand

  Jeanette Fitzsimons

  Co-leader

  Green Party Aotearoa-New Zealand.

  “D’ya reckon she’s selling out, Koa?”

  “No way. Not half as much as Helen Clark might be by the sounds of the leaks so far. I think the Greens have no option but to go down this path. None of us can rely upon Winston Peters as tangata whenua because he whistles like the wind and moves the way he thinks his best votes will go.” Koa drops the last seed into the containers and begins another row.

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right. Besides, I trust Jeanette. She’s never compromised for the sake of ambition and she’s clearly here for the long haul.” Iri scrolls through the supporting material on screen to see what other responses there are. So far, all are in support of Jeanette’s stand and the way the Greens have reacted. Ever since the Royal Commission made it plain that New Zealand might as well abandon the possibility of being GE and it would be a compromise whatever the government finally chose to do, the internet has been buzzing with responses, and newspapers, television and all media have been jammed with irate New Zealanders demanding to know what is going on. Helen Clark, as a feminist Prime Minister known for her socialist leanings, is under incredible scrutiny and she realises it. She knows full well how strongly Kiwis voted against having nuclear power, nuclear weapons and nuclear-powered ships in their ports; she knows that the submissi
ons against genetic engineering registered 92 per cent against, and the 8 per cent in favour were groups and researchers paid by International Seed Corporation and MagicMilk and other multinationals who had everything to lose by the decision. Even in the general electorate, 62 per cent of Kiwis are against any form of genetic engineering, and that includes the conservatives, even by their own polls.

  Iri hopes these numbers will force the government into a decision against GE and a reversal of the findings of the Royal Commission. But will big business put on so much pressure that the government cannot afford to turn its back on the economic opportunities offered here? Only time can tell. Iri sees that Koa has nearly completed the pohutukawa seed planting. She logs off and quietly tiptoes behind her lover, wrapping her arms warmly around her large and beautiful body. Koa snuggles into her embrace. “Wanna hot tub, Koa?”

  Koa turns around to face her, hands covered in sand and dirt. She smiles. “Sure do. Does that include a back rub and massage?”

  “Only if you tell me some more stories tonight.”

  “That depends on the quality of the back rub.” Koa smiles. Irihapeti loves her talkstory and is always hungry for more.

  “I can guarantee that in advance,” whispers Iri into her ear. “I start here, like this …” She runs her fingers down Koa’s spine and rubs out from the backbone toward her sides. This always sends delicious shivers through Koa’s body, and she finds it hard to resist Iri’s sensitive touch. Her green fingers, caressing plants and soil like a lover, have prepared her to be so caring to others. It’s so integrated into her being that it would be hard to separate the grower from the lover, the activist from the spiritualist, the carer of the land from the carer of the body of land that is Koa, Papatuanuku, Earth Mother. Our heritage.