Language commission chief says only speakers can be leaders

The chief executive of the Maori language commission says people can no longer become Maori leaders if they don't speak the language.

Speaking on the importance of Maori Language Week, Haami Piripi says he is heartened by the commitment many younger Maori put into learning and speaking te reo.

He says some Maori leaders have been around for decades without being able to speak the language, but it will become increasingly difficult to function in Maori cultural environments without having that skill.

"You can't really become a Maori leader nowadays unless you can speak Te Reo Maori, because you're missing out on so much of what's happening in the Maori world. It's probably always been the case but in the last 50 years or so it's shallowed a bit, but now I think it's starting to deepen up again," Piripi said.

RACISM POOR FOR HEALTH

Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres says more work needs to be done to address racism becasue of its impact on the health system.

Mr de Bres told a symposium on Treaty persectives for a healthy Christchurch that there is now a solid body of evidence that acknowledging people's culture and identity has positive outcomes for their health.

He says that is why there is cause for concern over research published in the British meidcal journal The Lancet that a third of Maori experienced discrimination in health, housing and employment.

"The experience of racial discrimination is a significant factor for health outcomes once you discount all the other factors like social and economic ones. So this tells us that we really still have to work at this issue of race relations to achieve better outcomes in health," de Bres said.

TAITOKERAU POLICE AT FULL COMPLEMENT

The Police iwi liason officer for Taitokerau is hard at work introducing a big intake of new officers to the Maori community.

Paddy Whiu says with Maori making up a large percentage of the region's population, so it's important the new recruits get a basic understanding of Maori issues and meet key members of the community who can help them do their jobs.

Mr Whiu says the region now has a full complement of staff, though he'd like to see more Maori and female officers in the north.

"We have 344 officers working out of 21 stations within the whole of Taitokerau, that's from Wellsford-North. We've also had an influx of new staff including staff from the UK, Maori, and it is good to have our staff numbers lifted because it takes pressure off others," Whiu said.

PUKETAPU-HETET WOVE TOGETHER THOUSANDS

Thousands of people have passed through Waiwhetu Marae in Lower Hutt this week to pay their last respects to weaver Erenora Puketapu-Hetet, who will be buried today.

Mrs Puketapu-Hetet was known for her mastery of traditional weaving styles, as well as her willingness to innovate. She was also highly regarded as a teacher, both at the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua and in recent years at the programmes she ran at Waiwhetu with her husband, master carver Rangi Hetet.

Her brother, Kara Puketapu, says she played a major role in the renaissance of Maori culture, and that has been reflected in the tributes on the marae.

"She must have visited just about every center where there was an art carrying on and the different ones coming in just surprised me how many bases she had touched. She was always creating or contributing to individuals," Puketapu said.

BOOZE AT ROOT OF SOCIETY ILLS

Tackle the booze before you tackle anything else.
That is the message south Auckland community leader June Jackson had for a major hui in Mangere yesterday on tackling family violence.

Mrs Jackson, who heads the Manukau Urban Maori Authority as well as being the longest serving member of the Parole Board, says government and community agencies are constantly struggling to clean up after alcohol-fuelled incidents.

"Alcohol was at the basis of a lot of offending that has occurred over many, many years. While drugs are also of concern, alcohol has wreaked havoc on our people because their love of alcohol is more important than their love for the whanau,” Jackson said.

LANGUAGE CALL ELITIST SAYS TAMIHERE

Former Labour MP John Tamihere has branded as elitist the pronouncement by Maori Language Commission chief executive Haami Piripi that Maori leaders must be Maori speakers.

Mr Tamihere, who is now back at West Auckland's Waipareira Trust as well as being chief executive for the National Urban Maori Authority, says Haami Piripi is well off the mark.

He says Mr Piripi has unwittingly exposed what is a policy in parts of the bureaucracy.

"It's the first honest acknowledgement of an elitist group that is forming to endeavour to attempt to describe what a leader can be and what they can't be. In all things our people will back people on merit, regardless. So if you stand and deliver regardless of whether you deliver in a Maori tongue or not, it's whether you deliver for them or not," Tamihere said.