I'm pleasantly surprised - aren’t you? - by how things went at Waitangi this year.

There were no dildos, no mud, no manhandling, there were no ugly scenes and none of the stuff that many of us were probably expecting.

Given what’s happened in the past, and how much more tense it was predicted to be this year, because of the Government's Māori related policies.

Instead, things were handled exactly how they should always be handled, with conversation.

The people responsible for the policies fronted up like grown ups to explain themselves and listen, and the people who weren’t happy about those policies let it be known.

There were a couple of people who kinda let their teams down- Winston getting all het up wasn't that flash, Peeni Henare chose a bad turn of phrase, and Hone Harawira swearing like a school boy did him no favours.

But otherwise, it was mostly fine.

And I tell you what, it gives me some heart that we can actually get through this debate over the Treaty Principles Bill like adults.

That has been the thing that has worried a lot of people the most. That yes, we absolutely need to talk about this, and we almost certainly need to change some things here.

But getting to that point was what really worried me, because I thought things were going to be very ugly.

Well, we’ve just had a demonstration that we can do it. That we can debate and challenge ideas without resorting to the violence that we have been warned will inevitably come.

It doesn’t have to. If it didn’t happen at Waitangi, which is one of the most combustible political venues, then it doesn't have to happen

And hopefully, based on what we saw this week, it won't.

LISTEN ABOVE

I'm pleasantly surprised - aren’t you? - by how things went at Waitangi this year.
There were no dildos, no mud, no manhandling, there were no ugly scenes and none of the stuff that many of us were probably expecting.
Given what’s happened in the past, and how much more tense it was predicted to be this year, because of the Government's Māori related policies.
Instead, things were handled exactly how they should always be handled, with conversation.
The people responsible for the policies fronted up like grown ups to explain themselves and listen, and the people who weren’t happy about those policies let it be known.
There were a couple of people who kinda let their teams down- Winston getting all het up wasn't that flash, Peeni Henare chose a bad turn of phrase, and Hone Harawira swearing like a school boy did him no favours.
But otherwise, it was mostly fine.
And I tell you what, it gives me some heart that we can actually get through this debate over the Treaty Principles Bill like adults.
That has been the thing that has worried a lot of people the most. That yes, we absolutely need to talk about this, and we almost certainly need to change some things here.
But getting to that point was what really worried me, because I thought things were going to be very ugly.
Well, we’ve just had a demonstration that we can do it. That we can debate and challenge ideas without resorting to the violence that we have been warned will inevitably come.
It doesn’t have to. If it didn’t happen at Waitangi, which is one of the most combustible political venues, then it doesn't have to happen
And hopefully, based on what we saw this week, it won't.
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.