Archbishop Whakahuihui Vercoe performed his last duties as head of the Anglican Church in New Zealand today, closing the General Synod in Christchurch.

77-year-old Bishop Vercoe became primate at the synod two years ago, after heading Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa since 1981.

Along with layman Whatarangi Winiata, he led the drive in the 1980s to establish the Maori arm of the Church as an independent entity, or tikanga.

Tai Tokerau Bishop Kito Pikaahu says Bishop Vercoe provided firm strong leadership which the church needed at the time.


"He's been a fearless leader but he has also been leader able to amalgamate all the Maori tribes and he has been a pioneer for the Anglican Church within Maoridom," Bishop Pikaahu said.

He said while Bishop Vercoe is a traditionalist regarding Maori language and culture, he is also a revolutionary.

Under the Church's new three-tikanga structure, Bishop of Aotearoa Brown Turei has become the primate for the next two years, with Hamilton Bishop David Moxon and Pasifika bishop Jabez Bryce serving as co-presiding bishops.


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Former NZ First list MP Bill Gudgeon says he's pleased a report on the exposure of soliders in Vietnam to Agent Orange will be released uncensored.

Veteran Affairs Minister Rick Barker told National's veterans' spokesperson Judith Collins he had no plans to edit the report on veterans' concerns.

Mr Gudgeon, a Malaya and Borneo veteran, says it's time the truth came out:

"My thinking is that report should be made public so everyone knows what happened, the truth, and the facts are our men who fought in Vietnam should be compensated where required and also medical attention where required and
consideration given to families who suffered from the effects of their dads," Mr Gudgeon said.

The report written by a working group chaired by former State Services Commissioner Michael Winteringham, was given to Mr Barker and Defence Minister Phil Goff earlier this month.



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The views of young Maori are being given a prime focus in Arero, a new panel discussion show which starts tomorrow on Maori Television.

The panel will be hosted by Kaapua Te Paea Smith, a tutor at Auckland University working towards her PhD in political studies.

Series producer, Claudette Hauiti, says rangatahi views have been largely ignored by television broadcasters.

"Our rangatahi Maori are really sophisticated, they are global in vision, they know their politics, and we don't hear enough of their opinions, hear what they think. The future is for Maori, so this is a good forum for them to come and say
what the future is from their perspective," Hauiti said.

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A trust that helps Maori businesses was last night named joint winner of the Vero Excellence in Business Support Award for the most significant contribution by a not-for-profit organisation.

The Poutama Business Trust was set up in 1988 to offer business development services to Maori entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Chief executive Richard Jones says the award is a big endorsement for the trust.

Mr Jones says he hopes it was noted by the major business players who attended the awards ceremony, a black tie dinner in Auckland last night which formed part of the small business expo.

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They say a week is a long time in politics, and Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples says this week will take a long time to forget.

Dr Sharples says he was shocked at Labour's Maori MPs, who voted against the Maori Party's proposed changes to the Education Amendment Bill.

Dr Sharples says he thought he had agreement on the changes, which were designed to improve the status of schools which teach in te reo Maori.

The votes were lost by 60 to 61.

Dr Sharples says he expected better from the Maori MPs.

"No explanation no nothing just bang, that was a shock, I was gutted. I suppose I should learn. i don't want to learn. I really want us Maori in Parliament to start working together on vital issues of kaupapa Maori around the survival and development of te reo me nga ona tikanga , we really must be working together," Dr Sharples said.


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More than 240 Maori Anglican women from 9 to 90 have descended on Te Tii Marae in Waitangi for the bi-annual Kahui Wahine.

Organiser Lynnore Pikaahu says the highlight will be a pilgrimage to the Marsden Cross at Oihi in the Bay of Islands, where the first Anglican missionaries landed in 1814.

The hui is also the first major event for the church's new primate, Archbishop of Aotearoa Brown Turei, who was installed at the General Synod in Christchurch yesterday.

He replaces Archbishop Whakahuihui Vercoe, who retires today after a quarter century as a bishop and more than half a century as a priest.

Mrs Pikaahu says women are a major force in the church, with 78 in clerical positions in Tai Tokerau alone.

She says Bishop Turei is supportive of there being a Maori woman bishop within the next decade, and the Kahui Wahine is working together towards that aim.

Iwi give Maori Council new blood

The Maori Council is looking at a fresh lease of life, as new members come on board the district Maori councils ahead of triennial elections for the national body.

Chairman Sir Graham Latimer says the growth of iwi runanga overshadowed the council through the 1990s, but many of the people working in runanga are now getting involved with their district council.

Sir Graham says the council still has a role, especially for issues of national importance for all Maori.

Sir Graham Latimer says the Act governing the Maori Council is up for review, and the council intends to play a major role in that review.


The head of Prison Fellowship New Zealand says putting people in prison for relatively minor charges is bad for the country.

Kim Workman says a third of the prisoners in this country are serving sentences of six months or less, and for many it does more harm than good.

He says prison exposes them to a hardened criminal element, and increases their likelihood of re-offending.

Prison Fellowship has organised the Beyond Retribution hui in the Hutt Valley today, bringing together some of the top names in the criminal justice field.

Kim Workman says it's a chance to get some reasoned debate on what can be emotive issues.

“We'll get debate round who is in there. You get publicity about the spectacularly evil criminals, andthere may be a couple of hundred of those in the system who deserve to be inside, but there are 7300 prisoners serving less than six months,” Mr Workman said.



If you are ever in Christchurch and are looking for the Rarere whanau, you might find them living in a street named after their Dad.

Members of the Aranui community gather today for the naming ceremony for Rarere Avenue.

The name acknowledges the three decades Ben Rarere put into community initiatives in the suburb.

His widow Lorna Moke says Mr Rarere moved from Wairoa to Christchurch in the early 1970's.

She says her husband, who died four years ago, was always willing to lend a helping hand.

Lorna Moke says her husband would have been humbled but proud at having a street named after him, and the whanau is building a house there..



The Minister of Maori Affairs, Parekura Horomia, says Maori should think twice before shifting across the Tasman.

ACT leader Rodney Hide says exodus of Maori to Australia is driven by New Zealand's tax system and the lucky country's bouyant economy and greater opportunities.

But Mr Horomia likens the Maori drift across the ditch to that of the 1950's and 60's which saw Maori come from rural areas into the cities.

He says Maori move for many reasons, but tax is unlikely to be one of them.

“I for one don’t want to stop people going. Australia is the new Wainuiomata, the new South Auckland, but there is a huge amount of opportunity here. I don’t want Maori to be fooled into thinking everything great is overseas,” Mr Horomia said.

Parekura Horomia says while the latest tax cuts announced by the Australian Government may seem attractive, other costs such as Medicare levies means tax paid by families is similar on both sides of the Tasman.



Chief Ombudsman John Belgrave wants to make his office more friendly to Maori users.

Mr Belgrave says his office receives relatively few cases from Maori, given Maori make up almost 15 percent of the population.

He says Maori need to know the Ombudsman is available to work on their behalf to untangle problems they may have with government agencies.

Mr Belgrave says the advice he has got from Maori is that he needs to front
up more kanohi ki te kanohii.



Northern Maori MP Hone Harawira says the Government's deadline for historical claims breaches the spirit of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Government wants all historic claims lodged by September 2008, so it can complete settlements by 2020.

Mr Harawira says that isn't why Maori chiefs signed the treaty back in 1840.

“I don't believe they intended the Treaty stop in 2010 or 2020. They saw the Treaty as a way to ensure the management authority of Maori continue. Otherwise, I think it unlikely they would have signed all those other rights away,” Mr Harawira said.



Matamata Piako District Council in the Waikato is reviewing its Maori representation.

As well as considering a Maori ward, it has set up Manawhenua Forum to give the district's hapu a voice.

Manawhenua representative Butch Hakaraia says the new standing committee has greatly improved communication between Maori and the council.

“A lot of things going on we knew nothing about, they were asking the wrong
people, but now we have direct contact with them we don’t have the hassles we used to go before,” Mr Hakaraia said.

Final decisions about representation will be made in April next year.

Bishops installed with Maori first among equals

Thursday May 11


The Minister of Maori Affairs says oppostion to the Ngati Porou fisheries settlements was expected, but it is time to move on.

A group of hapu representatives were on hand this week to protest the fact Te Runanga o Ngati Porou was receiving the $36 million in fisheries settlement assets on behalf of the East Coast iwi.

Parekura Horomia, who is from Ngati Porou, says most iwi who settle with the Crown the face in-house division over how settlement money is spent.

“It really is a test on the leadeship, helping people strenghthen their governance, helping our people understand the opportunities that come from it,” Mr Horomia said.

Parekura Horomia says the Crown only signs off on settlements when it is convinced the group it is dealing with has the mandate to represent all claimants - and it is then up to tribal leaders to make sure entitlements are distributed fairly.

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Former Women's Refuge chief executive Merepeka Raukawa-Tait says Maori leaders need to get more involved in stopping domestic violence.

Mrs Raukawa -Tait says the number of Maori women who use refuges is a sign it should be top of the Maori agenda.

“As Maori make up over 60 percent of refuge clients we should be doing something. Maori leadership are absolutely silent, they sit on their bums doing nothing, and the siutuatioin for maori women and children gets worse,” she said.


Merepeka Raukawa -Tait says says the $9 million the government is spending on family violence prevention over the next four years spread will be spread too thin to make much of a difference.

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The whanau of convicted fraudster Donna Awatere-Huata is now preparing for October's appeal.

The former MP has been granted home detention eight months into her two year nine month prison sentence for taking $80,000 from her Pipi Education Foundation.

Her niece, Huia Huata, says the whanu is looking forward to Awatere-Huata being back in Bridge Pa next week.

She says there is a lot of work to do.

“I was saying to Auntie Donna we must quickly move to the next stage, the appeal, focus on that, and do things differently from what we did at the trial last year, saying this time, we got to be there,” Huata said.

Donna Awatere- Huata and her husband Wi Huata are both appealing conviction and sentence.


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The Bishop of Aotearoa, Brown Turei, will this be installed as the primate of the Anglican Church in New Zealand in a ceremony at Christchurch Cathedral this evening.

Kito Pikaahu, the Bishop of Tai Tokerau, says the ceremony marks the start of a new model of shared leadership that honors the church's three-Tikanga structure.

He says the ceremony will also install two other archbishops, Bishop David Moxon from the church's Pakeha wing and Pasifika Bishop Jabez Bryce.

“The other two bishops are co-presiding bishiops but the notion is they all share the responsibilty. But the legislation to bring that into effect won’t be for another two years, when all three will be equal co-equal, as we have been using that phrase,” Bishop Pikaahu said.

Bishop Pikaahu says the current primate, Archbishop Wakahuihui Vercoe, ends
his term tomorrow at the last day on the church's biannual general synod.

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workman prisons

Prison reform comes under the spotlight at a hui in Wellington tomorrow.

Beyond Retribution, Advancing the Law and Order Debate, has been organised by
Prison Fellowship New Zealnd.

Fellowship head Kim Workman, a former head of the Corrections Service, says
the focus will be on sentencing, rehabilitation, imprisonment and
reintegration of prisoners and ex-prisoners, and the impact of offending on
victims.

Guest speakers include the ministers of corrections and justice, criminologist John Pratt, social commentator Celia Lashlie, and senior figures from the youth court and parole board.

Mr Workman says many groups are concerned at the high rate of imprisonment in this country.

“You know we need to do something different. Someone said the definition of insanity is doing more of the same and believing you will get a better resuilt. All we are doing is increasng exponentially the number of people in prison. We are not preventing crime, we are creating it,” Workman said.

Kim Workman says calls to get tough on crime are a distraction from informed debate, which is what is needed to lower imprisonment rates.

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Maori in the South Island town of Picton are searching for answers to the wreckless behaviour of some of the town's youth.

Karaitiana Poki, chairman of the Waikawa Marae, says recent incidents including arson and drunken rampages have alarmed the Maori community.

Mr Pohi says problems with young people are nothing new, but the escalating violence is of real concern to local Te Atiawa.

Bringing us up to date

Posts for Monday May 8

The head of a Gisborne-based runanga says Maori people need to learn how to be more selfish, rather than putting all their efforts into building tribal institutions.

Te Runanga a Turanganui a Kiwa, which brings together Te Aitanga a Mahaaki, Ngai Tamanuhiri and Rongowhakaata, is celebrating its 20th year, and looking forward to the next 20 years.

Chairman Pene Brown says the runanga runs a successful private training establishment, a radio station, a social services organisation, and looks after the iwi's interests in local government resource management processes.

But he says it needs to do more to help individual tribal members stand on their own feet.

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National Party Treaty of Waitangi spokesperson Gerry Brownlee says the whole
treaty claim process is overdue for an overhaul.

Mr Brownlee says it is almost 20 years since the process of settling historic claims started, and the government should recongise there may be quicker ways to proceed.

He says the extra money being pumped into Office of Treaty Settlements won't help, because the bottlenecks are often in the Waitangi Tribunal - whose requests for more resources are consistently turned down.

“We'd also like to see the OTS indicating whether they will change the way they operate, because we are staring down the barrel of 35 years arguing about these matters, getting entangled in arguments we should be moving on from,” Brownlee said.

He said the government also needs to give the Waitangi Tribunal its own chairman, rather than sharing him with the Maori Land Court.

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Green Party MP Metiria Turei says group of National Party women MP's are using feminist issues to bash Maori.

Ms Turei says she has no sympathy for MPs Judith Collins and Ann Tolley, who
came under fire from a south Auckland kaumatua when they seated themselves in
the front row of the papepae at a powhiri last Friday.

She says they knew what they were getting into, and their cries of sexism aren't credible.

“And if they are truly committed to getting rid of sexism, where they when Katherine Rich was sacked, where were they when Georgina Te Heuheu lost her portfolios for criticising their leader, where are they in their own party battling sexism that's going on,” Turei said.

She says Ms Collins and her colleagues crossed the cultural divide into a world where they have no influence.

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The first Maori woman to receive a doctorate in law says she was driven by a desire to find out how Maori tikanga was used in the past, and how it could become the basis for a new system of Maori custom law.

Nin Tomas was capped at Auckland University's Waipapa Marae this weekend, along with her son Inia, who became a medical doctor.

Dr Tomas says her thesis was based on a previously unstudied archive of Maori language documents from the Hokianga, where she has whakapapa links to.

She says the elders used tikanga in a far more diciplined manner than it is used today.

“But today use is all over the place, broad principles, you can use anything you want them to be, and I go on marae and its often how loud your voice is that carries the day,” Dr Tomas said..

Nin Tomas says if people want to use tikanga in modern legal processes, they need to ensure they have a sound understanding of how it worked in the past.

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Ngati Porou Runanga chairman Api Mahuika says the transfer of $36 million in fisheries settlement assets to the tribal fishing company marks a new chapter in the tribe's development.

Te Ohu Kaimoana fisheries settlement trust handed over the assets at a ceremony in Gisborne yesterday which was marked by a small group protesting against the runanga.

Mr Mahuika says while people have the right to protest, the runanga has an overwhelming mandate to hold and and grow the assets for the whole iwi.

“This is a new chapter in our lives and what we have to do is grow the asset
for the benefit of our people and the benefit of those generations yet to be
born,” Mr Mahuika said.

The assets transferred to Ngati Porou include 2700 tonnes of
deepwater fishing quota. A further 1300 tonnes of inshore quota will be
transferred over once agreement on boundaries is reached with neighbouring
iwi.

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The Green Party spokesperson on Maori Affairs says the Governement's decision to up the funding for the Office of Treaty Settlements is a slap in the face to Maori claimants.

Metiria Turei says the $5.2 million over four years would have been better spent helping claimants prepare their cases for the Waitangi Tribunal.

Ms Turei says many hapu find they can't afford the expense of employing professionals to research historical aspects of their claims.

She says the government needs to level the playing field if it wants to speed up the claims process..

“The OTS is not the side of the deal which needs the money to progress claims. The money has gone to the wrong place, the wrong people, and it will just make the settlement priocess more unfair than it is already,” Turei said.


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A Maori National Party MP is defending her colleagues for a breach of protocol at a powhiri in Auckland last week.

Paula Bennett was sitting behind fellow MPs Judith Collins and Anne Tolley during a visit by the law and justice select committee to a youth justice facility in Manurewa.

Mr Bennett says the MPs weren't expecting a formal powhiri, and were right to walk out when a kaumatua castigated them for sitting in the front row.

Paula Bennett says the kaumatua was extremely rude and insulting, and the MPs
had no right of reply.


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Associate Tourism Minister Dover Samuels says the Maori tourism sector is now much more than kapa haka and culture performances.

Tourism operators are in Wellington for a two day wananga organised by the Maori Tourism Association.

Mr Samuels says tourism is the second biggest source of foreign exchange earnings, and Maori are playing their part.

He says they are now the owners of businesses, rather than just performers or bus drivers.

Mr Samuels says Maori operators are able to give overseas visitors an authentic Maori experience that mainstream operators can't match by explaining the Maori connection with the natural environment.

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Associate Minister of Tourism, Dover Samuels, says Maori are still not making the most of their tourism opportunities.

Maori tourism operators gathered at Te Papa in Wellington today for the Maori
Tourism Council's national wananga.

Mr Samuels says tourists are looking for a more diverse set of Maori experiences, and operators need to stop thinkinkg just of kapa haka and culture performances.

He says this should also help attract domestic visitors.

Mr Samuels says Maori tourism operators should be agressively promoting the
sector internationally.

Dover Samuels says tourism is the second highest money earner for the country, so it is an important part of the Maori economy.

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Labour MP Georgina Beyer says National MPs acted disgracefully in walking out during a powhiri in South Auckland.

MPs Judith Collins and Anne Tolley deliberately breached protocol by sitting in the front row during the welcome for the opening of a new Youth Justice centre in Manurewa on Friday.

After they were scolded by a kaumaatua they walked out, accompanied by another National MP, Paula Bennett , who is Maori.

Ms Beyer says the MPs' action was like a red rag to a bull, and Ms Collins got what she asked for.

“Take it on the chin I say but they won’t -- They want to turn it to cheap political point scoring at the expense of Maori protocol. If women want to argue about speaking on the paepae and where they are seated, that is an argument for Maori women,” Beyer said.

Beyer says Ms Collins can expect to get challenges if she comes into Maori situations.

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The manager of the National Collective of Women's Refuges says the movement doesn't have enough paid Maori staff.

Heather Henare says services are at breaking point, with a 14 percent jump in cases last year to 23,370,

Ms Henare says only a small number of the 350 Maori women working in Refuges are in paid positions, which causes problems with retention.

That means Maori women coming in don’t get the service they should expect, of Maori on Maori.

Awatere redemption forseen

Leading Ngati Porou kuia Iritana Tawhiwhirangi says Donna Awatere-Huata still has a lot to contribute to the Maori world.
The former ACT MP has been granted home detention and should be back home in BridgePa near Hastings next week.
Awatere-Huata was sentenced last September to two years and nine months in jal for defrauding her Pipi Education Foundation. Mrs Tawhiwhirangi, the former head of Kohanga Reo National Trust, is a long time friend and supporter of Awatere-Huata. She says the imprisonment has been traumatic for the whanau, but Awatere-Huata will bounce back.
"Donna, you know nobody wants to go through this, but she's not her father's daughter for nothing, she'll rise up again. Having gone through such as awful period of time for anyone to get up again, I mean most people would just crawl under a rock and stay there but she'll redeem herself in the long term," Mrs Tawhiwhirangi says.
She says Maoridom needs people like Awatere-Huata who are willing to challenging systems they think are wrong.

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The Education Ministry is denying a claim by Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia that ministry staff have been told not to speak Maori. Mrs Turia made the claim on an Auckland Maori radio station yesterday. Rawiri Brell, the ministry's Maori Group Manager, says the Ministry supports te reo Maori as an official language of New Zealand and strongly values its staff who are fluent. He says a key part of the ministry's business is working with Maori language teachers and educators to develop new curriculum professional development, so having staff fluent in te reo Maori is particularly valuable.

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Let the dead rest in peace.
That's the word from South Taranaki man Ruka Broughton, about Patea Community Board's continued search for the graves of colonial troops killed during the battle of Moturoa, in the summer of 1868. He says the issue hasn't been discussed with tangata whenua, who fear their ancestors' remains will be unearthed in the process of locating the Pakeha gravesites. Mr Broughton says the community board should show more respect for the dead.
"It's about the preservation of our tupuna, ensuring that the scared line places our tupuna are kept that way. All the dead, all those who died are tapu," Mr Broughton said.
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Size does matter when it comes to driving a golf ball.
Maori golfer Baden Waiwai says working in the freezers at AFFCO's Wairoa works for the past three years has helped his fitness levels. Waiwai has just been picked for the New Zealand long drive team after coming second in the national championships. He says he has some natural advantages which help him drive a ball over 380 metres.
"It's all timing that helps being 6ft 8'' for starters. Having an arch, so you drive the ball abit harder, and through it more. It's a lot of practice as well," Mr Waiwai says.
He got he got his love of golf from his grandfather, who brought him up.
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The chairman of Labour's Maori Caucus says the Maori Party has insulted the Te Arawa Confederation, and that will hit them in the polls. The Maori Party refused to vote on the introduction of the Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Bill, under which the Crown will return the beds of 13 lakes in the Rotorua region to Te Arawa iwi and pay $10 million compensation. The party says Maori claimants have too little power in settlement talks to get a fair deal. But Shane Jones says the Maori Party should respect the tino rangatiratanga of Te Arawa tribes to make their own decisions.
"When the Arawa leadership, the tribe, comes in force to parliament to support a bill, that will go to the select committee and there’s an opportunity there to further ventilate, that it was grave insult to the Te Arawa tribe by Tariana and her team in opposing them," Mr Jones said.
He said Maori voters will become increasingly turned off if the Maori Party keeps lining up with the National Party to oppose the decisions of tribal leaders.
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Act Party leader, Rodney Hide says Maoridom will continue to lose many of its best and brightest if the government won't give tax breaks to workers and business. He says Maori leaders should be concerned at the exodus of Maori talent across the Tasman, in search of more opportunities and a better lifestyle. The Australian Budget yesterday announced tax cuts totalling $37 billion. Mr Hide says with its bouyant economy, Australia is an attractive proposition for Maori looking to get ahead.
"We have the extraordinary situation where Maori do better in Australia then they do in New Zealand and I find that sort of sad really. New Zealand, our home, and in order to get a better life, in order to get ahead, I'm afraid for young Maori would get up and go and the best thing they could do is go to Australia, " Mr Hide said.
Almost 100,000 Maori are believed to live in Australia.
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The chief executive of the Maori Language Commission, Haami Piripi, says claims by an English amateur historian that Maori are descended from a mix of Chinese and Melanesians is pure fantasy. Former Royal Navy captain Gavin Menzies has been in New Zealand promoting his book about a fleet of Chinese ships which he claims explored the world in 1421. Mr Menzies claims at least one of the ships got to Aotearoa, but Mr Piripi says that has no historical basis.
"It's been fairly established that Maori people have lived in Aotearoa for at lest 2000 years been. The date of 1400 is way off, Kupe was estimated to be traveling around in the year 600 AD so every way you work it out these stories doesn't make sense and amazing how this fantasy can be developed," Mr Piripi said.

Maori Party slip on lakes issue

Waatea News feed, May 10 2006

Bulletin 1:

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia, says her party's opposition to the Rotorua Lakes settlement shouldn't be seen as criticism of Te Arawa. Mrs Turia says the party refused to vote for the bill, which returned 13 lake beds to the iwi and gave it a $10 million cash payment. She says it had to send a message to the government that the compensation fell far short of fair redress for Te Arawa's long standing grievances.

"We weren't opposing Te Arawa themselves, but we were opposed to the way in which the Crown treated them and settled with them. They got $10 million dollars, when they need over $200 million to clean up the lakes. It just didn't seem fair," Mrs Turia says.
Te Arawa's negotiator Tania Rangiheuea says the settlement was for only of a small but symbolically important part of the iwi's claims, and the $10 million has nothing to do with the effort required to clean up the lakes.
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A Whakatohea woman has become the first dedicated community worker servicing the needs of Maori in Sydney.
Mother of five Bronwyn Hadife has lived in Australia for 27 years. As the Maori family support worker at the Canterbury Bankstown migrant centre, Mrs Hadife says many Maori families find living in Australia's largest city is not as rosy as they were led to believe. She says many need assistance with their rangatahi, who are struggling to fit in. Mrs Hadife says people don't realise how important their whanau networks were to them back in New Zealand.
"So they come here and they start working hard but they seem to forget that whanau support is not there and that's where the kids are getting off the track and losing identity because the parents aren't passing on what was giving by the extended family," Mrs Hadife says.
She says changes in Australia's welfare system which make it harder for non-citizens or permanent residents to get benefits also hits newly-arrived Maori families hard.

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Maori are regarded as an entrepreneurial people, and the prospect of being their own boss is seeing more Maori than ever before setting up businesses.
Pere Maitai, the communications manager for Te Puni Kokiri, says he expects to see many of them at week's small Business expo in Auckland. Mr Maitai says many Maori businesses seek advice from Te Puni Kokiri's business facilitation service because they prefer to discuss their issues with another Maori. He says the expo will provide an ideal networking opportunity for the Maori businesses involved.
"Their point of difference is that they are Maori. It's an excellent opportunity for Maori enterprises to profile their work particularly in a mainstream environment. We're linking them up with other businesses, giving them a platform to be recognised," Mr Maitai says.
Pere Maitai says other Maori business organisations like the Federation of Maori Authorities, Lake Taupo Funds and the Poutama Business Trust will be at the expo to raise their profile with the wider business community.

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Bulletin 2

One of the negotiators of Te Arawa's Rotorua lakes claim says the Maori Party doesn't understand what the settlement is about. The Maori Party refused to vote on the settlement bill, because it said the $10 million compensation was too low, and only a fraction of what was required to bring the lakes back to environmental health.
But Tania Rangiheuea says the negotiations were just about the lakes, not Te Arawa's other claims, which are still in negotiation. She says the settlement may not look like much to outsiders, but it is very important for iwi in the Te Arawa confederation.
"In this settlement we were granted back ownership of the lake bed, which in affect really only a slither of a asset, but it's the symbolic ownership of that which is important for Te Arawa. They also have a right as an owner of the lake to negotiate and to discuss the nature of that ownership with any person, whether it be the crown, a local body, whoever," Ms Rangiheuea says.
She says the $10 million dollars is not for cleaning up the lakes - that is a shared responsibility, which must be dealt with by the whole community.

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Organisations supporting Maori business will be out in force at a small business expo in Auckand over the next three days. They include the Federation of Maori Authorities, Poutama Trust, and Te Puni Kokiri's Maori Business advisory service. Martin Mariassouce from Te Puni Kokiri says perceptions need to change about where Maori sit in the business world.
"Most expos of this nature have generally said 'this is New Zealand, it is generally a non-Maori New Zealand" and we are taking opportunity where we can find them to tell the world that Maori are a part of this country's economy."
Martin Mariassouce says as Maori collective wealth grows, there are opportunities for all Maori business people.

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A leading New Zealand archaeologist is rubbishing claims by an English writer than Maori were descended from the union of Chinese concubines and Melanesian slaves.
Retired Royal Navy captain Gavin Menzies has been in New Zealand promoting his book which claims these islands were discovered and settled by Chinese explorers sometime around 1421.
But in an essay in a new collection published by Otago University Press, Disputed Histories, Atholl Anderson from Ngai Tahu says the conclusive evidence from archaeology and linguistics is that Aotearoa was settled about 1200 AD by small groups from the Cook Islands or Society Islands. Professor Anderson, who teaches at the Australian National University in Canberra, says Mr Menzies is only the latest in a line of people who approach history with no scientific method.
"They write books suggesting that New Zealand was settled by the Celts or the Phonecians or by somebody else. I mean all you can say is that there isn't any evidence of this. If you want to demonstrate such a thing you have to actually find some evidence. Neither Gavin Menzies nor any of the other people have found anything that would convince anybody but themselves," Professor Anderson says.
He saw Gavin Menzies' book in manuscript, and dismissed it as being of no worth - and he never thought it would become a best-seller.