Tau Henare defends committee veto
National MP Tau Henare has defended his veto which kept Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell from sitting in on a Maori Affairs select committee hearing in his electorate. Mr Flavell was forced to sit silently in the audience as the committee sat in Rotorua to hear submissions on the Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Bill. Mr Henare says allowing Mr Flavell to join in would have upset the balance of the committee.
"It was always best that the members on the committee do the business. Maori party was represented on the select committee and also Te Ururoa may have come in for some questioning about 'all well is he too close to it. I mean he is Te Arawa, he's there, he's a local Member of Parliament," Henare said.
NEW PRISON GETS IT RIGHT
The head of Prison Fellowship New Zealand, says the Corrections Department have got it right with the new Auckland Regional Women's Prison.
The 286-bed prison in Wiri was opened yesterday, and the first inmates will go behind its bars in August.
Kim Workman says it will be a few years before the effectiveness of the new complex can be gauged, but he's impressed with the way Maori concepts have been built into the design and the opportunities for rehabilitation which will be available to inmates.
Mr Workman says many Maori oppose construction of new prisons, but they will eventually see the benefits of this one.
"You know we don't want any more prisons but we also have to can see that on this occasion that the department has pretty well got it right. The facility is leaps and bounds ahead of any of the women's facilities that currently exist," said Workman, who is a former head of the Corrections Service.
DON'T DIS DA YOOF
An advocate for Maori youth says they are interested in current affairs and politics, and don't deserve to be mocked.
Kapua Smith hosts a rangatahi panel show on Maori Television. She says Labour MP Shane Jones is doing young Maori a disservice with his comments that rangatahi are too lazy to enrol to vote.
Ms Smith says rangatahi will be a huge force in years to come.
"By the year 2020, 50% of Maori will be under the age of twenty seven so it is important we acknowledge rangatahi. They are not lazy, they do have a point of view, and they actively seek to participate. We should be encouraging that and not just mocking it," Smith said.
Mr Jones has said lower than expected numbers of first time enrolments is one of the reasons the current Maori Electoral Option is unlikely to result in an eighth Maori seat.
MAHUTA BACKING TAHAROA WIND FARM
The MP for Tainui has her fingers crossed for a Maori incorporation hoping for the green light to join the energy business.
Taharoa C overseees large tracts of land south of the Kawhia Harbour on the North Island's west coast. Today is the final day of hearings by Environment Waikato, who is considering an application for a joint venture to build wind farms on incorporation land.
Nanaia Mahuta says it is an exciting time for Maori economic development, and if the wind farm application is successful, other Maori organisations may follow suit.
"Maori are looking for all types of opportunities. The fact that Taharoa have considered alternative energy generation and how they can contribute to the national grid, I think is exciting. It signals a new period of Maori economic development and investment," Mahuta sai.
TREATY SETTLEMENTS RUSH FOR GOOD NEWS
National Party list MP Tau Henare says the Government is rushing into treaty settlements. Mr Henare, a former Maori Affairs minister, says the Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Bill and the proposed settlement of Ngati Whatua o Orakei's claims to Auckland are examples of settlements being done before all the facts are out. He says taking more time would result in fewer people getting upset.
"There is a view within Labour that is saying, hey come on guys we need to have some runs on the board' and they've gone out too quickly when all of the 'i's haven't been dotted, and all the't's haven't been crossed. I know that people have been waiting years for settlements, some of them have been waiting 150 years, and a couple of years longer won't hurt," HE SAID.
Tau Henare says it's often at the select committee stage that problems with settlements emerge.
MATARIKI CELEBRATIONS UNIFYING
Chief executive of the Maori language commission says the festival of Matariki or Maori New Year is becoming a unifying force for Aotearoa.
Maori artists including Whirimako Black, Ruia Aperahama and Ardijah will perform at a Matariki celebration in the Manukau Events Centre tomorrow, and there are other events around the country in the days and weeks ahead.
Haami Piripi says it's taken a while for an indigenous festival to be observed in this country and Matariki is an appropriate choice:
"We've found that New Zealanders are desperately seeking opportunities to gather together with other New Zealanders, Maori or Pakeha Pacific Islanders or other immigrants, under a common positive rallying point and it seem Matariki is that point," Piripi said.
Tomorrow's celebration at Manukau will also include the rededication of a three-storey carving depicting the settling of the Pacific.
"It was always best that the members on the committee do the business. Maori party was represented on the select committee and also Te Ururoa may have come in for some questioning about 'all well is he too close to it. I mean he is Te Arawa, he's there, he's a local Member of Parliament," Henare said.
NEW PRISON GETS IT RIGHT
The head of Prison Fellowship New Zealand, says the Corrections Department have got it right with the new Auckland Regional Women's Prison.
The 286-bed prison in Wiri was opened yesterday, and the first inmates will go behind its bars in August.
Kim Workman says it will be a few years before the effectiveness of the new complex can be gauged, but he's impressed with the way Maori concepts have been built into the design and the opportunities for rehabilitation which will be available to inmates.
Mr Workman says many Maori oppose construction of new prisons, but they will eventually see the benefits of this one.
"You know we don't want any more prisons but we also have to can see that on this occasion that the department has pretty well got it right. The facility is leaps and bounds ahead of any of the women's facilities that currently exist," said Workman, who is a former head of the Corrections Service.
DON'T DIS DA YOOF
An advocate for Maori youth says they are interested in current affairs and politics, and don't deserve to be mocked.
Kapua Smith hosts a rangatahi panel show on Maori Television. She says Labour MP Shane Jones is doing young Maori a disservice with his comments that rangatahi are too lazy to enrol to vote.
Ms Smith says rangatahi will be a huge force in years to come.
"By the year 2020, 50% of Maori will be under the age of twenty seven so it is important we acknowledge rangatahi. They are not lazy, they do have a point of view, and they actively seek to participate. We should be encouraging that and not just mocking it," Smith said.
Mr Jones has said lower than expected numbers of first time enrolments is one of the reasons the current Maori Electoral Option is unlikely to result in an eighth Maori seat.
MAHUTA BACKING TAHAROA WIND FARM
The MP for Tainui has her fingers crossed for a Maori incorporation hoping for the green light to join the energy business.
Taharoa C overseees large tracts of land south of the Kawhia Harbour on the North Island's west coast. Today is the final day of hearings by Environment Waikato, who is considering an application for a joint venture to build wind farms on incorporation land.
Nanaia Mahuta says it is an exciting time for Maori economic development, and if the wind farm application is successful, other Maori organisations may follow suit.
"Maori are looking for all types of opportunities. The fact that Taharoa have considered alternative energy generation and how they can contribute to the national grid, I think is exciting. It signals a new period of Maori economic development and investment," Mahuta sai.
TREATY SETTLEMENTS RUSH FOR GOOD NEWS
National Party list MP Tau Henare says the Government is rushing into treaty settlements. Mr Henare, a former Maori Affairs minister, says the Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Bill and the proposed settlement of Ngati Whatua o Orakei's claims to Auckland are examples of settlements being done before all the facts are out. He says taking more time would result in fewer people getting upset.
"There is a view within Labour that is saying, hey come on guys we need to have some runs on the board' and they've gone out too quickly when all of the 'i's haven't been dotted, and all the't's haven't been crossed. I know that people have been waiting years for settlements, some of them have been waiting 150 years, and a couple of years longer won't hurt," HE SAID.
Tau Henare says it's often at the select committee stage that problems with settlements emerge.
MATARIKI CELEBRATIONS UNIFYING
Chief executive of the Maori language commission says the festival of Matariki or Maori New Year is becoming a unifying force for Aotearoa.
Maori artists including Whirimako Black, Ruia Aperahama and Ardijah will perform at a Matariki celebration in the Manukau Events Centre tomorrow, and there are other events around the country in the days and weeks ahead.
Haami Piripi says it's taken a while for an indigenous festival to be observed in this country and Matariki is an appropriate choice:
"We've found that New Zealanders are desperately seeking opportunities to gather together with other New Zealanders, Maori or Pakeha Pacific Islanders or other immigrants, under a common positive rallying point and it seem Matariki is that point," Piripi said.
Tomorrow's celebration at Manukau will also include the rededication of a three-storey carving depicting the settling of the Pacific.
posted by Adam | 10:59 am
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