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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Monday, June 05, 2006

More dissent to Brash policy

National MP Tau Henare has questioned party leader Don Brash's hardline opposition to the Maori seats.

Mr Henare says New Zealand First and Act will be gone next election, but the Maori party which currently holds four Maori electorate seats will have a big influence on who forms the next government.

Speaking to iwi radio host, Pierre Lyndon, Mr Henare says the Maori party have been doing well since they've joined the political landscape.

He says although there are only four of them, they've been doing the work of 20. and are putting their views across well in the house.

Mr Henare says National's policy of wanting to scrap the Maori seats, would have to be negotiated if the two parties were to work together in the future.

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"If we're in a position to form a government wioth the Maori party, a whoile lot of issues will be on the table, not just the issue of the Masori seats. Rather than negotaite a coalition agreement here right now, let's see where the card sffall at the next election," Henar said.

COUNCIL CELEBRATES STAMP BATTLE WON

Maori Council spokesperson Maanu Paul has welcomed New Zealand Post's decision to cancel the issue of stamps on the theme of Maori performing arts.

New Zealand Post says it scrapped the stamps at a cost of $180,000 after complaints from the council and Maori arts organisation Toi Maori.

Mr Paul says New Zealand Post would not have got into such a pickle if it had better consultaiton porcedures with Maori.

He says the designs diminished the spirit of kapa haka.

"And it was a caricature, it wasn't a true representation of Maori, so they had fellows doing the haka with muscles that looked like Popeye. It was comical and ridiculous," Paul said.

The artist, Abel Vaireka, says his designs were in a contemporary style and reflected his passion for kapa haka, and he was disappointed the issue won't go ahead.

YOUNG GROUP SEIZES MOMENT AT KAPA HAKA REGIONALS

the success of a new group in the Auckland regional kapa haka competitions shouldn't be too much of a surprise according to one of the judges.

Te Rita Papesh says Nga Tumanako, who were in the top four and will go on to represent the region at the nationals, already has a history.

The team is made up of ex students of Te Kura Kaupapa o Hoani Waititi, the firsdt maori total immersion school in West Auckland.

Most of the members are in their early 20's.

However Ms Papesch says many are already seasone kapa haka performers.


"The new group is made up of performers from Waka Huia, Manutake, from Whangara Mai Tawhiti, so they have all had some seasosn on the national stage already, but this combination is a new one," Papesch said.

The top four in the Auckland Regionals were Te Waka Hui, Manutake, Nga Tumanako and Manu Huia.

TUNA DECISION LEAVES MAORI ON BEACH

A decision to leave albacore and skipjack tuna out of the quota management system is leaving Maori out of the fishery.

Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton announced last month that there were no problems with the sustainability of the fishstocks, so there was no need to make them quota species.

When new species come into the quota management system, 20 percent of the quota must go to Maori.

One of the few Maori companies currently fishing tuna is Te Runanga a Turanganui a Kiwi fisheries subsidiary Ruamano.

Director Stan Pardoe says he is disapponted with the minister's decision.

He says Ruamano would be well positioned to fish any tuna quota held by other Maori companies like Aotearoa Fisheries.

Stan Pardoe says albacore tuna is the bread and butter fish which pays the wages and running expenses of the tuna fleet.

WAITITI MOVIE PICKED UP FOR US DISTRIBUTION

Post-production of Taika Waitit's first feature film has taken on a new urgency now it has been picked up for North American distribution.

Film New Zealand, which is funding the $1.8 million comedy, sold the rights to Eagle vs Shark to key United States distributor Miramax at the annual film marketplace in Cannes.

Waititi got onto Holloward's watch list when his short film Two Cars One Night was nominated for an Oscar, and his second short, Tama Tu, won the Speical Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

Waititi says Eagle vs Shark is a quirky comedy about two nerdy social outcasts.

Producer Ainsley Gardiner says there is no release date yet, and the distribution deal means there needs to be a lot of discusion about the release strategy.

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