Bringing us up to date
Posts for Monday May 8
The head of a Gisborne-based runanga says Maori people need to learn how to be more selfish, rather than putting all their efforts into building tribal institutions.
Te Runanga a Turanganui a Kiwa, which brings together Te Aitanga a Mahaaki, Ngai Tamanuhiri and Rongowhakaata, is celebrating its 20th year, and looking forward to the next 20 years.
Chairman Pene Brown says the runanga runs a successful private training establishment, a radio station, a social services organisation, and looks after the iwi's interests in local government resource management processes.
But he says it needs to do more to help individual tribal members stand on their own feet.
----
National Party Treaty of Waitangi spokesperson Gerry Brownlee says the whole
treaty claim process is overdue for an overhaul.
Mr Brownlee says it is almost 20 years since the process of settling historic claims started, and the government should recongise there may be quicker ways to proceed.
He says the extra money being pumped into Office of Treaty Settlements won't help, because the bottlenecks are often in the Waitangi Tribunal - whose requests for more resources are consistently turned down.
“We'd also like to see the OTS indicating whether they will change the way they operate, because we are staring down the barrel of 35 years arguing about these matters, getting entangled in arguments we should be moving on from,” Brownlee said.
He said the government also needs to give the Waitangi Tribunal its own chairman, rather than sharing him with the Maori Land Court.
---
Green Party MP Metiria Turei says group of National Party women MP's are using feminist issues to bash Maori.
Ms Turei says she has no sympathy for MPs Judith Collins and Ann Tolley, who
came under fire from a south Auckland kaumatua when they seated themselves in
the front row of the papepae at a powhiri last Friday.
She says they knew what they were getting into, and their cries of sexism aren't credible.
“And if they are truly committed to getting rid of sexism, where they when Katherine Rich was sacked, where were they when Georgina Te Heuheu lost her portfolios for criticising their leader, where are they in their own party battling sexism that's going on,” Turei said.
She says Ms Collins and her colleagues crossed the cultural divide into a world where they have no influence.
---
The first Maori woman to receive a doctorate in law says she was driven by a desire to find out how Maori tikanga was used in the past, and how it could become the basis for a new system of Maori custom law.
Nin Tomas was capped at Auckland University's Waipapa Marae this weekend, along with her son Inia, who became a medical doctor.
Dr Tomas says her thesis was based on a previously unstudied archive of Maori language documents from the Hokianga, where she has whakapapa links to.
She says the elders used tikanga in a far more diciplined manner than it is used today.
“But today use is all over the place, broad principles, you can use anything you want them to be, and I go on marae and its often how loud your voice is that carries the day,” Dr Tomas said..
Nin Tomas says if people want to use tikanga in modern legal processes, they need to ensure they have a sound understanding of how it worked in the past.
---
Ngati Porou Runanga chairman Api Mahuika says the transfer of $36 million in fisheries settlement assets to the tribal fishing company marks a new chapter in the tribe's development.
Te Ohu Kaimoana fisheries settlement trust handed over the assets at a ceremony in Gisborne yesterday which was marked by a small group protesting against the runanga.
Mr Mahuika says while people have the right to protest, the runanga has an overwhelming mandate to hold and and grow the assets for the whole iwi.
“This is a new chapter in our lives and what we have to do is grow the asset
for the benefit of our people and the benefit of those generations yet to be
born,” Mr Mahuika said.
The assets transferred to Ngati Porou include 2700 tonnes of
deepwater fishing quota. A further 1300 tonnes of inshore quota will be
transferred over once agreement on boundaries is reached with neighbouring
iwi.
---
The Green Party spokesperson on Maori Affairs says the Governement's decision to up the funding for the Office of Treaty Settlements is a slap in the face to Maori claimants.
Metiria Turei says the $5.2 million over four years would have been better spent helping claimants prepare their cases for the Waitangi Tribunal.
Ms Turei says many hapu find they can't afford the expense of employing professionals to research historical aspects of their claims.
She says the government needs to level the playing field if it wants to speed up the claims process..
“The OTS is not the side of the deal which needs the money to progress claims. The money has gone to the wrong place, the wrong people, and it will just make the settlement priocess more unfair than it is already,” Turei said.
---
A Maori National Party MP is defending her colleagues for a breach of protocol at a powhiri in Auckland last week.
Paula Bennett was sitting behind fellow MPs Judith Collins and Anne Tolley during a visit by the law and justice select committee to a youth justice facility in Manurewa.
Mr Bennett says the MPs weren't expecting a formal powhiri, and were right to walk out when a kaumatua castigated them for sitting in the front row.
Paula Bennett says the kaumatua was extremely rude and insulting, and the MPs
had no right of reply.
---
Associate Tourism Minister Dover Samuels says the Maori tourism sector is now much more than kapa haka and culture performances.
Tourism operators are in Wellington for a two day wananga organised by the Maori Tourism Association.
Mr Samuels says tourism is the second biggest source of foreign exchange earnings, and Maori are playing their part.
He says they are now the owners of businesses, rather than just performers or bus drivers.
Mr Samuels says Maori operators are able to give overseas visitors an authentic Maori experience that mainstream operators can't match by explaining the Maori connection with the natural environment.
---
Associate Minister of Tourism, Dover Samuels, says Maori are still not making the most of their tourism opportunities.
Maori tourism operators gathered at Te Papa in Wellington today for the Maori
Tourism Council's national wananga.
Mr Samuels says tourists are looking for a more diverse set of Maori experiences, and operators need to stop thinkinkg just of kapa haka and culture performances.
He says this should also help attract domestic visitors.
Mr Samuels says Maori tourism operators should be agressively promoting the
sector internationally.
Dover Samuels says tourism is the second highest money earner for the country, so it is an important part of the Maori economy.
---
Labour MP Georgina Beyer says National MPs acted disgracefully in walking out during a powhiri in South Auckland.
MPs Judith Collins and Anne Tolley deliberately breached protocol by sitting in the front row during the welcome for the opening of a new Youth Justice centre in Manurewa on Friday.
After they were scolded by a kaumaatua they walked out, accompanied by another National MP, Paula Bennett , who is Maori.
Ms Beyer says the MPs' action was like a red rag to a bull, and Ms Collins got what she asked for.
“Take it on the chin I say but they won’t -- They want to turn it to cheap political point scoring at the expense of Maori protocol. If women want to argue about speaking on the paepae and where they are seated, that is an argument for Maori women,” Beyer said.
Beyer says Ms Collins can expect to get challenges if she comes into Maori situations.
---
The manager of the National Collective of Women's Refuges says the movement doesn't have enough paid Maori staff.
Heather Henare says services are at breaking point, with a 14 percent jump in cases last year to 23,370,
Ms Henare says only a small number of the 350 Maori women working in Refuges are in paid positions, which causes problems with retention.
That means Maori women coming in don’t get the service they should expect, of Maori on Maori.
The head of a Gisborne-based runanga says Maori people need to learn how to be more selfish, rather than putting all their efforts into building tribal institutions.
Te Runanga a Turanganui a Kiwa, which brings together Te Aitanga a Mahaaki, Ngai Tamanuhiri and Rongowhakaata, is celebrating its 20th year, and looking forward to the next 20 years.
Chairman Pene Brown says the runanga runs a successful private training establishment, a radio station, a social services organisation, and looks after the iwi's interests in local government resource management processes.
But he says it needs to do more to help individual tribal members stand on their own feet.
----
National Party Treaty of Waitangi spokesperson Gerry Brownlee says the whole
treaty claim process is overdue for an overhaul.
Mr Brownlee says it is almost 20 years since the process of settling historic claims started, and the government should recongise there may be quicker ways to proceed.
He says the extra money being pumped into Office of Treaty Settlements won't help, because the bottlenecks are often in the Waitangi Tribunal - whose requests for more resources are consistently turned down.
“We'd also like to see the OTS indicating whether they will change the way they operate, because we are staring down the barrel of 35 years arguing about these matters, getting entangled in arguments we should be moving on from,” Brownlee said.
He said the government also needs to give the Waitangi Tribunal its own chairman, rather than sharing him with the Maori Land Court.
---
Green Party MP Metiria Turei says group of National Party women MP's are using feminist issues to bash Maori.
Ms Turei says she has no sympathy for MPs Judith Collins and Ann Tolley, who
came under fire from a south Auckland kaumatua when they seated themselves in
the front row of the papepae at a powhiri last Friday.
She says they knew what they were getting into, and their cries of sexism aren't credible.
“And if they are truly committed to getting rid of sexism, where they when Katherine Rich was sacked, where were they when Georgina Te Heuheu lost her portfolios for criticising their leader, where are they in their own party battling sexism that's going on,” Turei said.
She says Ms Collins and her colleagues crossed the cultural divide into a world where they have no influence.
---
The first Maori woman to receive a doctorate in law says she was driven by a desire to find out how Maori tikanga was used in the past, and how it could become the basis for a new system of Maori custom law.
Nin Tomas was capped at Auckland University's Waipapa Marae this weekend, along with her son Inia, who became a medical doctor.
Dr Tomas says her thesis was based on a previously unstudied archive of Maori language documents from the Hokianga, where she has whakapapa links to.
She says the elders used tikanga in a far more diciplined manner than it is used today.
“But today use is all over the place, broad principles, you can use anything you want them to be, and I go on marae and its often how loud your voice is that carries the day,” Dr Tomas said..
Nin Tomas says if people want to use tikanga in modern legal processes, they need to ensure they have a sound understanding of how it worked in the past.
---
Ngati Porou Runanga chairman Api Mahuika says the transfer of $36 million in fisheries settlement assets to the tribal fishing company marks a new chapter in the tribe's development.
Te Ohu Kaimoana fisheries settlement trust handed over the assets at a ceremony in Gisborne yesterday which was marked by a small group protesting against the runanga.
Mr Mahuika says while people have the right to protest, the runanga has an overwhelming mandate to hold and and grow the assets for the whole iwi.
“This is a new chapter in our lives and what we have to do is grow the asset
for the benefit of our people and the benefit of those generations yet to be
born,” Mr Mahuika said.
The assets transferred to Ngati Porou include 2700 tonnes of
deepwater fishing quota. A further 1300 tonnes of inshore quota will be
transferred over once agreement on boundaries is reached with neighbouring
iwi.
---
The Green Party spokesperson on Maori Affairs says the Governement's decision to up the funding for the Office of Treaty Settlements is a slap in the face to Maori claimants.
Metiria Turei says the $5.2 million over four years would have been better spent helping claimants prepare their cases for the Waitangi Tribunal.
Ms Turei says many hapu find they can't afford the expense of employing professionals to research historical aspects of their claims.
She says the government needs to level the playing field if it wants to speed up the claims process..
“The OTS is not the side of the deal which needs the money to progress claims. The money has gone to the wrong place, the wrong people, and it will just make the settlement priocess more unfair than it is already,” Turei said.
---
A Maori National Party MP is defending her colleagues for a breach of protocol at a powhiri in Auckland last week.
Paula Bennett was sitting behind fellow MPs Judith Collins and Anne Tolley during a visit by the law and justice select committee to a youth justice facility in Manurewa.
Mr Bennett says the MPs weren't expecting a formal powhiri, and were right to walk out when a kaumatua castigated them for sitting in the front row.
Paula Bennett says the kaumatua was extremely rude and insulting, and the MPs
had no right of reply.
---
Associate Tourism Minister Dover Samuels says the Maori tourism sector is now much more than kapa haka and culture performances.
Tourism operators are in Wellington for a two day wananga organised by the Maori Tourism Association.
Mr Samuels says tourism is the second biggest source of foreign exchange earnings, and Maori are playing their part.
He says they are now the owners of businesses, rather than just performers or bus drivers.
Mr Samuels says Maori operators are able to give overseas visitors an authentic Maori experience that mainstream operators can't match by explaining the Maori connection with the natural environment.
---
Associate Minister of Tourism, Dover Samuels, says Maori are still not making the most of their tourism opportunities.
Maori tourism operators gathered at Te Papa in Wellington today for the Maori
Tourism Council's national wananga.
Mr Samuels says tourists are looking for a more diverse set of Maori experiences, and operators need to stop thinkinkg just of kapa haka and culture performances.
He says this should also help attract domestic visitors.
Mr Samuels says Maori tourism operators should be agressively promoting the
sector internationally.
Dover Samuels says tourism is the second highest money earner for the country, so it is an important part of the Maori economy.
---
Labour MP Georgina Beyer says National MPs acted disgracefully in walking out during a powhiri in South Auckland.
MPs Judith Collins and Anne Tolley deliberately breached protocol by sitting in the front row during the welcome for the opening of a new Youth Justice centre in Manurewa on Friday.
After they were scolded by a kaumaatua they walked out, accompanied by another National MP, Paula Bennett , who is Maori.
Ms Beyer says the MPs' action was like a red rag to a bull, and Ms Collins got what she asked for.
“Take it on the chin I say but they won’t -- They want to turn it to cheap political point scoring at the expense of Maori protocol. If women want to argue about speaking on the paepae and where they are seated, that is an argument for Maori women,” Beyer said.
Beyer says Ms Collins can expect to get challenges if she comes into Maori situations.
---
The manager of the National Collective of Women's Refuges says the movement doesn't have enough paid Maori staff.
Heather Henare says services are at breaking point, with a 14 percent jump in cases last year to 23,370,
Ms Henare says only a small number of the 350 Maori women working in Refuges are in paid positions, which causes problems with retention.
That means Maori women coming in don’t get the service they should expect, of Maori on Maori.
posted by Adam | 10:46 pm
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