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Friday, September 15, 2006

Arawa Lakes Settlement Act passes

Te Arawa Maori Trust Board chairman Anaru Rangiheuea says the passing of the Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Act is just the start of the hard work.

The Act gives Te Arawa title to the beds of the 13 lakes around Rotorua, although the Crown continues to own the water column and airspace in what it calls the Crown stratum above the beds.

The settlement also spells the end of the trust board in its current form, and a new Te Arawa Lakes Trust will managed the tribe's interests and the $10 million dollars in financial redress.

Mr Rangiheuea says he was elated by the settlement.

“I almost jumped out of my seat in Parliament. It was really an occasion to be remembered by Te Arawa. What we’ve got to do now is go back and get our legal people together to set up the structure, have elections for trustees, set up directors And get Te Arawa into the commercial business it will now be set up for,” Rangiheuea said.

Anaru Rangiheuea says Te Arawa plans a public celebration of the settlement in Rotorua towards the end of the year.

LADDIE’S MEDALS RETURNED TO WHANAU

A set of medals belonging to one of the first volunteers to the 28 Maori Battalion, the late Te Maera Laddie Milner of Ngati Porou, has been returned to his whanau in an emotional ceremony at the Gisborne RSA.

The medals had been misplaced at the Napier Returned Services Association.

Son Geoff Milner says it was a real honour to get the medals back, and the family is now considering how they should be displayed, probably at Ruatoria or the Tairawhiti Museum.

MANU KORERO STANDARD APPLAUDED

A former winner says the standard of both English and Maori at the Manu Korero secondary school speech competitions has improved over the years.
Musician and broadcaster Ruia Aperahama was master of ceremonies at the event which finished in Opunake yesterday.
He says rangatahi are the future guardians of te reo Maori, and it's clear the language is in good hands.

“A lot of of the contestants that are coming through in the Maori section are kohanga reo graduates. So the fluency of Maori was exceptionally high, again when comparing back to my time, and that’s going back a few years, the eloquence and level of Maori and standard is also high and the young generation, I was just blown away by that potential,” Aperahama said.

Senior Maori and best overall winner was Hona Black of Hato Paora College in Feilding.

Aperahama says he's relieved many young Maori are choosing their taha Maori over the bling bling and hip hop of American culture.

“I saw a lot of young boys walking around with tokotoko and they were aspiring to be kai korero and kaumatua. I saw that as encouraging because our youth were putting value on those attributes that our old people were carrying for such a long time,” he said.

BILINGUAL UNIT TURNS 20

One of the country's longest serving bilingual units is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Te Pua Waitanga o te Purapura Pai at Birkdale Primary School on Auckland's North Shore held a powhiri for former pupils this morning, and there's a dance tonight.

Principal Roger Shearer says the unit was started because the school saw the need to do something for the graduates of the neighboring kohanga reo. It now caters for about 80 students.

Mr Shearers says much of the success of Te Pua Waitanga comes from the support of parents and the commitment they have to their children’s education.

Roger Shearer says in its early years the bilingual unit created headaches for administrators, but recent policy changes mean it can now get properly funded.

MUNRO BACK ON BEAT

Veteran police superintendant Pieri Munro will get a chance to put more than a decade's experience as general manager of Maori, Pacific and ethnic services to more practical use as he takes up his new job as Wellington District Commander.

Superintendent Munro, from Ngati Maniapoto, Ngati Ruanui, Ngaitahu and and Ngati Kahungunu will have close to 1000 staff under his command in one of the biggest districts in the country.

He says the capital will be a great place to apply his skills.

“I think the role here in terms of being Wellington District Commander puts me back into an operational focus. There are some real opportunities to take a lot of what I have been developing in the past, to blend and integrate that in terms of the Wellington District,” Munro said.

Pieri Munro begins his work in his new position on Monday.

Also starting a new job is Northland district commander Viv Rickard from Ngati Whakaue and Ngati Porou, who takes over responsibility for North Shore, Waitakere and Rodney.

2 Comments:

Blogger Beef-Hooked said...

The Independent Police Complaints Authority has received a complaint alleging District Commander Superintendent Pieri Munro failed to acknowledge or investigate a criminal complaint last year.

The complaint referred to Mr Munro involved serious fraud resulting in a criminal breach of trust. Evidence of fraudulent accounting practice was presented to acting Superintendent Dave Trappit, who conceded there was as case to answer and referred the matter to Mr Munro.

It is alleged that Mr Munro failed to follow proper procedure and act in accordance with his sworn obligations as a Police Officer, to uphold and enforce the laws of New Zealand.

The complainant John Creser said today “None of these are trivial matters and reveal a deep-seated malaise within the culture of the New Zealand Police. At this present moment the Police are seeking to interview four members of the touring British Lions over an incident at an Auckland Hotel, without so much as a complaint or a complainant. In my case there is a pattern of denial from the Police who consistently refuse to acknowledge that I've made a complaint at all .”

5:11 am  
Blogger Beef-Hooked said...

Financial abuse of elderly people does not seem to rate as an issue of concern to the current Labour administration or the New Zealand Police.

In 2004 a complaint was made to the Porirua Police that a person holding an enduring power of Attorney for an elderly resident of a rest home had falsified accounts and documentary proof was provided that an account had been inflated by $1000.

At the time the Police claimed that the falsification of accounts disclosed no offence because all parties to the transaction were aware the bill was artificially inflated or padded.

This view is very surprising given that the account was made out to the incapacitated resident of a rest home. The only parties who were aware the account was fraudulent were those not responsible for the bill, ie; the two trustees who held an enduring power of attorney.

Despite a direct complaint to Superintendent Pieri Munro of the Wellington Police, there has been no investigation or attempt by the Police to obtain disclosure of bank records to confirm the artificial inflation of an account, which is an offence under the Secret Commissions Act 1910.

5:39 pm  

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