ID :
77822
Tue, 09/01/2009 - 12:13
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/77822
The shortlink copeid
Bankrupt Aussie `Maori` angers Kiwis
A bankrupt Australian life coach has upset indigenous New Zealanders by styling
himself as a Maori guru.
Shane Wenzel might be a white Australian but he has adopted a Maori name, Maori
culture and is using his now defunct career as a life coach to "re-educate"
indigenous Kiwis looking for spiritual guidance.
Wenzel's work has angered a senior Maori politician who has accused the 48-year-old
of exploiting vulnerable people.
As an Australian, he has no right to speak on behalf of Maori, said Maori Party MP
Hone Harawira.
"This Womble character undermines the legitimacy of (our culture) by duping Maori
who are in the main uneducated, poor and gullible, into believing he is some kind of
saviour. He ain't," Harawira told the Sunday Star-Times.
Wenzel has had several run-ins with the law since moving to New Zealand, the most
serious of which involves $NZ4.7 million ($A3.83 million) in mortgage fraud charges.
New Zealand's Serious Fraud Office alleged Wenzel used his unorthodox New Age
methods to train staff at Case Boreham Associates (CBA), a teacher aide-training
college.
In his trial, currently underway, authorities have claimed he acted as a "puppet
master", involving staff in property deals and employing them in a string of 100
interconnected companies also run out of the CBA office, which collapsed in 2007.
Wenzel hit headlines in July when, acting as a Maori "elder", he led a protest group
that disrupted a high profile High Court trial to draw attention to injustices
against Maori.
Going by the Maori name Tane Rakau, Wenzel claims indigenous status by virtue of
having been "adopted" by the protesters.
But his role has disappointed Harawira, who said Wenzel was a "clown" who should
never have been allowed to adopt a Maori name, assume elder status or lead the
protest group around "by the nose like a farmer leads pigs to the slaughter".
In his latest incident, Wenzel was arrested last week after confronting police who
were overseeing the demolition of an illegally built soundstage at his Auckland
compound.
Wenzel says his arrest has not disrupted plans for more protests to come.
himself as a Maori guru.
Shane Wenzel might be a white Australian but he has adopted a Maori name, Maori
culture and is using his now defunct career as a life coach to "re-educate"
indigenous Kiwis looking for spiritual guidance.
Wenzel's work has angered a senior Maori politician who has accused the 48-year-old
of exploiting vulnerable people.
As an Australian, he has no right to speak on behalf of Maori, said Maori Party MP
Hone Harawira.
"This Womble character undermines the legitimacy of (our culture) by duping Maori
who are in the main uneducated, poor and gullible, into believing he is some kind of
saviour. He ain't," Harawira told the Sunday Star-Times.
Wenzel has had several run-ins with the law since moving to New Zealand, the most
serious of which involves $NZ4.7 million ($A3.83 million) in mortgage fraud charges.
New Zealand's Serious Fraud Office alleged Wenzel used his unorthodox New Age
methods to train staff at Case Boreham Associates (CBA), a teacher aide-training
college.
In his trial, currently underway, authorities have claimed he acted as a "puppet
master", involving staff in property deals and employing them in a string of 100
interconnected companies also run out of the CBA office, which collapsed in 2007.
Wenzel hit headlines in July when, acting as a Maori "elder", he led a protest group
that disrupted a high profile High Court trial to draw attention to injustices
against Maori.
Going by the Maori name Tane Rakau, Wenzel claims indigenous status by virtue of
having been "adopted" by the protesters.
But his role has disappointed Harawira, who said Wenzel was a "clown" who should
never have been allowed to adopt a Maori name, assume elder status or lead the
protest group around "by the nose like a farmer leads pigs to the slaughter".
In his latest incident, Wenzel was arrested last week after confronting police who
were overseeing the demolition of an illegally built soundstage at his Auckland
compound.
Wenzel says his arrest has not disrupted plans for more protests to come.
