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Monday, October 30, 2006

Foreshore stance defended

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says opponents are deliberately misinforming the public about her bill to repeal the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Mrs Turia says she has received feedback from people who are upset the bill confirms the foreshore and seabed is in Crown ownership, rather than putting it in some sort of Maori title.

She says there is no way the party could do that.

“We never ever said that. That’s not our role. That is actually the role of the various hapu and iwi, and by us repealing the foreshore and seabed it actually leaves the gateway for them to have due process which is what they were denied,” Turia said.

HOME OWNERSHIP CONCERN FOR MAORI

Decreasing rates of home ownership could spell trouble for Maori in the future.

The Centre for Housing Research, has the number of Maori who owned their own homes dropped by seven percentage points between 1991 and 2001, from 55 percent to 48 percent.

Over the same two census periods, the overall home ownership rate dropped from 72 percent to 68.

Social policy analyst Charles Waldegrave says there is no improvement in sight.

“Now we know those levels are continuing to drop for the whole population, and we know they will be for Maori. It’s quite serious because home ownership is critical to security, particularly in retirement or once you’re 65. These dropping rates could mean that there’s quite a serious problem ahead if we don’t do something about it,” Waldegrave said.

Charles Waldegrave a higher percentage of Maori all into the lower to middle income bracket, which is least likely to own a home,

BREAST SCREENING VAN AVAILABLE

Counties Manukau District Health Board hopes a new mobile breast screening service will help it reach more Maori women.

Maori health manager Bernard Te Paa says less than half of Maori and Pacific Island women in the region have regular mammograms, and he wants to see those figures improve.

Mr Te Paa says if women are having problems getting to clinics for a mammogram, it makes sense to take the service to them.

“The idea is that we look at an ability to provide this service in rural areas particularly, areas like the marae, take it out to the people, getting our at risk people, our Maori people our Pacific people in to be screened earlier,” Te Paa says.

Bernard Te Paa says early detection is the best way to combat breast cancer.

HOUSING INVENTION NEEDED

Social policy analyst Charles Waldegrave says more creative solutions are needed to boost the level of Maori home ownership.

Mr Waldegrave was one of the people behind a report from the Centre for Housing Research which found Maori home ownership dropped from 55 to 48 percent in the decade from 1991 to 2001.

He says Housing New Zealand is sitting on billions of dollars which in assets which could be leveraged to get low and middle income earners into their own homes.

“All sorts of arrangements, public private arrangements, could be made between big lenders like insurance companies and banks, Maori trusts and building societies, between them and government sharing ways of providing finance to enable people into housing,” Waldegrave said.

Charles Waldergrave says the Centre for Housing Research study was based on analysis of census data which shows an overall trend away from home ownership.

TUHOE SPLINTER REGROUPS

A group which lost its bid to challenge the mandate for the Tuhoe fisheries claim settlement body plans to stay around to contest any Tuhoe land settlements.

Te Kotahi a Tuuhoe chairperson Tamati Kruger says Tuhoe people aren't being given enough information about what their tribal leaders are doing.

Mr Kruger says Te Kotahi a Tuuhoe plans to hold a hui in Wellington this week aimed at building support so it can be in a position to speak for Tuhoe in future claim negotiations.

He says the fisheries battle, which ended when Te Ohu Kaimoana Trust decided to hand over $16 million in fisheries assets to a trust set up the the Tuhoe Maori Trust Board, was a wake up call.

“Te Kotahi a Tuhoe I think is disappointed at the fact that it wasn’t prepared enough to be a real contender in that. Our whole fisheries experience teaches us the values of working together and consultation and the need we have to do that better,” Kruger said.

AQUARIUM PLAN UPSETS TANGATA WHENUA

A man who organised a petition against an aquarium development on Wellington's South Coast says allow the project is a threat to traditional food gathering practices.

Toi Waaka says the Save the Point campaign want to appeal Wellington Regional Council's decision to grant the aquarium a resource consent.

Mr Waaka says the Te Raekaihau site is one he and other whanau use regularly to gather kaimoana.

“It's also a customary fishing, mahinga mataitai area, and when they start to take away – they being government and commercial sectors – start to take up the pace and impinge on our customary rights, that starts to affect our kaitiakitanga in our conservation,” Waaka said.

1 Comments:

Blogger Mere said...

Thankyou for the news there is alot of things going on in Maoridom and this is the way I find out thankyou
Mere

7:28 pm  

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