Nothern research centre to return

December 18

Auckland University is relaunching its Sir James Henare Maori Research Centre.

The centre went into recess early in the year after disputes over staffing and funding.

But Ngati Hine spokesperson Erima Henare, the son of the late Sir James, says new university vice chancellor Stuart McCutcheon has committed to finding the quarter of a million dollars a year needed to run the centre.

Mr Henare says it will be co-located in Auckland and Whangarei, which should give it added strength.

He says one of the problems with the previous centre was its distance form the people it was supposed to be accountable to in the north.

Projects which need to be resumed include a proposed Ngapuhi dictionary and a collection of proverbs and sayings from the north.


DEADLINE BREAKS HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP

Maori academic Rawiri Taonui says the notion of partnership between Maori and the Crown has been broken once and for all by the imposition of a deadline for lodgment of historical treaty claims.

The head of Maori and indigenous studies at Canterbury University says the deadline contained in the Maori Purposes Act was made without proper consultation.

He says it flies in the face of statement by the Waitangi Tribunal, the Court of Appeal, the Privy Council and previous governments about the partnership promised in the Treaty of Waitangi.

Office of Treaty Settlements policy manager Dean Cowie says Mr Taonui has misunderstood the intent of the bill, and all historic claims should be fully heard by the time the process is completed.

WAITEMATA WARDENS WOFFER HELP TO OTARA

The Waitemata Maori Wardens have offered the hand of assistance to their colleagues in South Auckland over the Christmas season.

Otara Maori wardens told Manukau City's community safety committee this week that Otara town centre was become too dangerous for their nightly patrols because of an upsurge in drunken and violent behaviour.

Jack Taumaunu from the Waitemata wardens says his group is larger, and can help throw in extra resource.

WAIPAREIRA TACKLING MEN’S HEALTH

Waipareira is back and it wants everyone to know about it.

Chief executive John Tamihere says the Brothers event held yesterday to promote men's health, is a forerunner to other health initiatives planned for next year.

The trust's Henderson complex is festooned with Christmas lights, something Mr Tamihere says was to make a statement to the West Auckland community.

Mr Tamihere says it's important they know there has been a changing of the guard.

OTS SAYS ACADEMIC MISUNDERSTANDS TREATY PROCESS

The Office of Treaty Settlements says Christchurch University academic Rawiri Taonui has misunderstood a deadline for the lodgment of historic treaty claims.

Mr Taonui says the deadline is unfair and will deny tribes the chance to have their claims properly heard.

But Office of Treaty Settlements policy and negotiations manager Dean Cowie says claims are already in the system for most parts of the country, and OTS will attempt to identify other potential claimants before the September 2008 deadline.

Mr Cowie says the deadline doesn't mean all issues can't be considered, because people can amend historic claims once they are lodged, and the Waitangi Tribunal itself demands a full restatement of claim at the start of hearings.

ARDIJAH SHOW RELEASED ON DVD

Maori entertainer Betty Anne Monga says a DVD of the final show of Ardijah's New Zealand Tour shows how close her band has become to its audience.

She says this year's tour was a reminder of how kiwi audiences have made songs like Watchin' You and Time Makes a Wine their own.

Monga says the DVD features highlights of Ardihajh's 25 years on the road, and the fans who have made it possible, including backstage footage and mini documentaries.

She says with Ardijah, what you see is what you get, and there was no post-concert doctoring of the soundtrack.