Sir Norman Perry’s wisdom recalled

The chairman of the New Zealand Maori Council says the late Sir Norman Perry will be remembered as a wise man who did a huge amount for Maoridom.

Sir Norman, who died on Wednesday, was secretary to Sir Apirana Ngata, and went on to become an officer in the Maori Battalion, a senior official in the Maori Affairs Department and a major contributor to the Maori Council and to many Maori Trust Boards and incorporations.

Sir Graham Latimer says he worked with Sir Norman for more than 40 years, and learned a huge amount from him about law and government.

“He was a very pleasant person, full of knowledge, wisdom, and looking for people to pass it on to so that he wouldn’t take it all to the grave with him, and I’m certain there are a lot of people in New Zealand who will say thank you to him for the contribution he made to their lives,” Sir Graham said.

Sir Norman Perry is lying at a family home in Auckland until Sunday, when he will be taken to Maungarongo Marae in Ohope and on to Tutawake Marae in Omaio the next day.

INVERCARGILL MARAE RAZED
An Invercargill marae has been gutted by fire for the second time in a year.

Plans for the refurbishment of Te Tomairangi Marae and kohanga reo were being finalised by architects after an arson attack last year.

Marae chairman Herewini Neho says the whanau had hoped to rebuild the marae using parts of the old, but the second fire means it will now need to be fully replace.

Herewini Neho says the buildings were insured

SCHOOLS READY FOR RUGBY CLASH

The Te Aute versus Hato Paora First 15 rugby fixture on Saturday at Hastings tomorrow is a chance for Hato Paora to break their duck.

Since the two Maori boarding schools started an annual clash in 2001, Fielding's Hato Paora has yet to win a game.

The closest it got was last year, when it went down 6-5.

KAHUNGUNU CUTS DEAL ON FISH FILLET

Hawkes Bay iwi Ngati Kahungunu is back on track to collect its share of the Maori fisheries settlement.

Te Ohu Kaimoana chief executive Peter Douglas says Ngati Kahungunu Iwi incorporated has met the consitutional and structural requirements to receive settlement assets, after reaching agreement with Mahia hapu Rongomaiwahine.

Rongomaiwahine will stay within the kahungunu structure, but will get a precentage of the assets for its own benefit.

The tribes are set to recieve more than #31 million dollars worth of deepwater quota and shares in Aotearoa fisheries.

Mr Douglas says Te Ohu Kaimonana has now passed the halfway mark for allocating fisheries assets to iwi, and it is ahead of schedule.

MAORI SHOULD READY FOR RETIREMENT

Maori shouldn't bet on not reaching 65.

Retirement commissioner Dianna Crossan says she is aware some Maori don't put aside money for their retirement, because they don't believe they will reach retirement age.

She says that is unwise.

Ms Crossan says with improved medical services, life expectancy for Maori is increasing, and people should re-think their attitudes towards retirement savings.

LABOUR TREATY BACKDOWN PART OF TREND

Maori lawyer Moana Jackson says the Labour governemnt is backing away from the Treaty of Waitangi as part of an international trend.

Mr Jackson says he can see a pattern in the exclusion of the treaty from the draft school curriculum, Labour's support for the introduction of New Zealand First's Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill, and its stance on the United Nations Draft Declaration on Indigenous Rights.

He says it is in line with what has been happening in countries like Australia, Canada and the United States over the past 15 years.

“There has been a definite trend internationally of trying to minimize and redefine the nature of treaty. So they have become a subservient document about a minority group, rather than being an inter-nation agreement, which is what treaties are,” Jackson said.

Moana Jackson says removing references to the treaty marks a return to the old policies of assimilating Maori rather than acknowledging their unique place in New Zealand.

Curricululm bad for treaty future

The Greens' Maori Affairs spokesperson says the government is sending ominous signals, by omiting references to the treaty of Waitangi from the draft curriculum.

Meteria Turei says Labour sems to have bowed to pressure from Opposition parties who oppose any hint of race based funding.

Ms Turei says Maori fear the government will eventually renege on its treaty responsibility to ensure Maori subjects are available to students in mainstream schools.

MAYOR STICKING BY BAN DESPITE LEGAL QUERIES

Rotorua deputy mayor, Trevor Maxwell, says he will be hugely disappointed if the council is not able to enforce a ban against convicted criminals roaming the city centre.

The council this week passed Mr Maxwell's motion barring people with more than five dishonesty convictions from the CBD.

It is now in the hands of lawyers, who are checking whether it is legal.

Mr Maxwell says a small group of criminals are responsible for most of the thefts from cars and moterls in the city.

He says the council has a responsibilty to the one and a half million people who visit Rotorua each year.

TRIBUNAL BIBLIOGRAPHY ONE IN EYE FOR ACADEMICS

A leading treaty historian says the publication of a reference of 30 years of research done for the Waitangi Tribunal should help make the material more widely known.

Vincent O'Malley from HistoryWorks says the Waitangi Tribunal Bibilography is the first definitive list of the 1200 research reports prepared for the tribunal.

Dr O'Malley says it will be of huge use to claim researchers, students, and to historians in other fields who have often looked down on those involved in the claim process.

"The one group of people I hope read this document are some of the academics who are highly critical of the research that has been commissioned for the claims process, but judging by the lack of reference to the works never seem to have picked up a copy of a research report written for the process, because some of it is of a very high standard and adds greatly to the overall knowledge of New Zealand history," O'Malley said.

CURRICULUM CUT HAS LONG TERM CONSEQUENCES

Maori lawyer Moana Jackson says taking the Treaty of Waitangi out of the curriculum, will give mainstream schools an exuse to cut down the rersources they put into Maori learning.

Mr Jackson, who specialises in indigenous and constitutional issues, says many of the improvements in education for Maori students has come through the claims process.

He says the government seems to be backing away from the treaty, and that could have inter-generational consequences.

"If you remove that specific reference, then you enable schools and specific teachers to excuse themselves from that responsibility, so you effectively exclude all future generations from the treaty relationship," Jackson says.


TUREI SAYS WILSON WOMAN IN TOUGH JOB

Support for the Speaker of Parliament from the Green Party Metiria Turei.

Ms Turei says the sort of pressure Margaret Wilson is coming under is an all too common disrespect men have to women in positions of authority.

She says Ms Wilson is doing a good job, in difficult circumstances.

TREATY WORK UNIQUE VIEW ON HISTORY

A treaty historian says much of the material uncovered for the Waitangi Tribunal offers a unique view of New Zealand's past.

Vince O'Malley from HistoryWorks says most of the 1200 research reports listed in a just-published Waitangi Tribunal Bibliography are unknown outside tribunal circles.

He says the bibilography should allow a larger number of people to access work which may not have come out in any other way.

WHAREHUIA MILROY GETS HUMANITIES PRIZE

Tuhoe language expert and former Waikato University head of Maori studies Wharehuia Milroy has been awarded the inaugural Pou Aronui by the New Zealand Humanities Association.

Haami Piripi, who represents the Maori language commission on the association, says Professor Milroy has played a major role in bringing Maori ideas about the development and transmission of knowledge into the academic world.

He says New Zealand is leading the world in the way it has incorporated indigenous knowledge into the humanities, which encompasses fields like the arts, history and philosophy

Sir Norman Perry dies

Maoridom is today mourning the death of Sir Norman Perry, who made a huge contribution to Maori social and economic life over more than half a century.

Sir Norman died yesterday in Auckland.

Te Puni Kokiri executive officer Bert Mackie says as a young man Sir Norman became secretary to MP Apirana Ngata.

After serving in Italy with the 28 Maori Batallion during the second world war, Sir Norman became the Maori welfare officer for the eastern Bay of Plenty.

He was influential in Maori Council and National Party circles, and served as moderator for the Presbyterian Chruch.

Mr Mackie says Sir Norman walked tall in the Maori world.

“He wasn't a Maori, but Wi Huata, who was the chaplain when he was wounded, said when he came across him, he was praying in Maori. He lived what he believed in,” Mackie said.

ARAWA CHIEF BACKS CRIM BAN

The Rotorua District Council's plan to ban criminals with five or more dishonesty convictions from the town's centre is a courageous move.

That's the view of Te Arawa Maori Trust Board Chairman Anaru Rangiheuea, who says that if community safety is to be maintained, serious steps must be taken.

Mr Rangiheuea says reducing crime in the district is a priority.

Anaru Rangiheuea says the Rotorua Council's problem will now be finding ways to legally enforce its ban.

ACT PROTECTS TAONGA FOR FUTURE

The Associate Minister of Arts, Mahara Okeroa, says an Act passed last night, will help protect taonga Maori from being sold overseas illegally.

The Protected Objects Amendment Act received cross party support.

Mr Okeroa says the Act will help curb the illegal trade in Maori cultural objects.

He says the Act can't be used to repatriate taonga already offshore.

Mahara Okeroa says the Protected Objects Amendment Act also addresses the finder's keepers attitude, that has resulted in many taonga being sold overseas.

KURA BUS SIGN VICTORY

Victory for a Bay of Plenty Maori immersion school in the battle of the school bus sign.

Land Transport New Zealand has agreed that Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Rotoiti can use the word kura on its vehicles, as long as it is accompanied by an internationally-recognised pictorial sign for children.

Kura principal Hawea Vercoe is pleased LTNZ accepted his compromise proposal.

He says the ruling is a victory for the Maori language.

POVERTY HAND UP NEEDED

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says Maori supporting each other is a step towards overcoming poverty.

A Ministry of Social Development report has highlighted the increasing number of people facing severe hardship, despite an overall improvement in living standards.

Ms Turia says people have become complacent about poverty, and it's time for Maori to tautoko or support those less fortunate:

Tariana Turia says rather than praising itself for what it is doing for Maori, the government should recognise there are still problems.

LEGAL SYSTEM FAILING

Restorative justice advocate Dennis Hanson says the current legal system is clearly failing.

The Tai Tokerau kaumatua was among more than 100 people at today's hui on restorative justice at Nga Whare Waatea Marae in South Auckland.

Mr Hanson says better ways must be found to deal with the disproportionate number of Maori in the criminal justice system.

He says Maori have been blocked from dealing with their own.

“They have moved the goalposts away from our marae, away from our communities, away from our tribal committees, away from our Maori wardens, and they have written up a kaupapa to satisfy the Pakeha regime, rather than giving the mana to the Maori,” Hanson said.

Water rights still hot topic

Prominent Ngai Tahu kaumatua Rick Tau says councils are still ignoring Maori landowners over water rights..

Mr Tau, who chairs Te Runanga o Tuahiwi near Rangiora, says use of the rivers and of mahinga kai or food gathering areas has been a point of contention since Ngai Tahu signed the Treaty of Waitangi.

He says the pressure is becoming greater, as more South Islanders develop farms and demand access to a dwindling water supply.

Mr Tau says local authorities who regulate water use behave as if Maori have no stake in the resource.

“The local authorities have never consulted with us and they drain a lot of these waterways, Some of them were lagoons, and there is now no water. Under the Resource Management Act they are required to consult with landowners and required to consult with Maori. They still do not consult with us, as if we do not exist,” Tau said.

HARAWIRA UNHAPPY WITH OPTION EFFORT

Maori Party MP Hone Harawira says the government got it wrong, by relying too much on a media campaign to inform Maori voters of the electoral option.

The option closed yesterday, and the Electoral Enrolment Centre will give a final tally next Monday of how many people switched between the Maori and general rolls.

Maori Party MPs took to the road to urge Maori to shift onto the Maori roll, with the aim of creating at least one additional Maori seat.

The Electoral Enrolment Centre also had contractors out kanohi ki te kanohi or face to face with Maori giving out neutral information, but Mr Harawira says that wasn't enough.

TREATY DELETION CONCERNS SCHOOLS

Maori schools are concerned about the deletion of the Treaty of Waitangi from the draft curriculum.

Hato Paora college principal Tihirau Shepherd says the curriculum is a powerful document within the education system, and it needs to have regard for the nation's founding document.

Mr Shepherd says ignoring the treaty will also mean non Maori will miss out on understanding their country.

“Classrooms are very powerful places. Schools are very powerful places. Given the lack of reference to the treaty, it disempowers our people from gaining access, and it also disempowers non-Maori from gaining access to our history,” Shepherd said.

LANGUAGE COMMISSIONER IN RAROTONGA

Maori language commissioner Patu Hohepa says the type of Maori spoken in Rarotonga is in danger of disappearing because families want their children to be fluent in English.

Dr Hohepa is in the Cook Islands this week consulting with educators and communities on how the language can be maintained.

He says while the dialects spoken on other islands seem secure, in Rarotonga people feel their children need te reo Pakeha so they can move to New Zealand for work.

Dr Hohepa says the message needs to get through at the ground level that children will have a better start in life if they are bilingual.

HARAWIRA PREDICTS LABOUR LOSS IN SEATS

Taitokerau MP, Hone Harawira, says the Labour Party didn't push the Maori Electoral Option, because it knows it will lost the Maori seats at the ballot box.

The electoral option closed yesterday, but it could be until next February before it is known if there was a large enough increase in the Maori roll to create an eighth Maori seat.

Mr Harawira says while the Maori Party hit the streets to talk face to face with Maori voters, the government was content with mail outs and advertsing campaigns.

MAORI BUSINESS SUCCESS SUBJECT OF COMP

The winners of a competition highlighting Maori business success will be announced in Hamilton tonight.

The Rangatahi Business competition was organised by Waikato University's school of management studies.

Spokesperson Duke Boon, says six teams of senior students from Waikato high schools visited Wellington early in the year to study successful Maori businesses.

He says the students used business modelling techniques to evaluate the companies.

Mr Boon says each team will make a final 10 minute presentation at Hamilton's Founders Theatre, in the hope of winning the overall award worth 2 and a half thousand dollars.

Awanuiarangi boss admits over-staffing

The acting head of Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi says the Whakatane-based Maori tertiary provider was overstaffed with administrators.

The wananga last week laid off 51 staff.

Kuni Jenikins says the wananga had to act because it was facing a $4 million deficit this year.

She says while some of that was because of lower unemployment driving down the number of students enrolling, the wananga was also guilty of misallocating resources.

“We were almost running a 1-1 – one academic person to one admin staff person, so there had to be some rebalancing of our workforce, We were also running small classes, which was uneconomic. There has to be a certain number of students to make a class worthwhile,” Jenkins said.

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE HUI THURSDAY

People interested in restorative justice have been invited to a hui at Nga Whare Watea Marae in Mangere tomorrow to hear how offenders can be made to face up to their victims.

Restorative justice is an option under the sentencing act, and can lead to a reduction in sentence.

Speakers will include judges and people involved in victim advocacy and support.

Hui organiser June Jackson says restorative justice is often a way people can stop feeling like victims.

She says it can also make offenders atone for their crimes in a way other sentences can't.

“There are many things they can do to make up for the terror, the terror victims have when this happens to them,” Jackson said.

ROTORUA TO BAN CRIMS FROM CBD

Rotorua deputy mayor Trevor Maxwell, says ethnicity didn't come into a decision by Rotorua District Council to ban convicted criminals from the city centre.

He says there was overwhelming support for the proposal at last night's council meeting, with only one councillor voting against.

The proposed bylaw would make it illegal for people with five or more convictions for crimes involving dishonesty, to enter the CBD.

Mr Maxwell says the council is seeking legal opinions on how to proceed, but councilors felt they had to do something to curb escalating street crime.

“We get 1.8 million visitors each year and cars are getting broken into an motel units, and it certainly harms our image here and when they get back overseas,” Maxwell said.

STUDENTS MIX CULTURE AND COMMERCE

Maori students are hanging on to their reo, whatever their degree.

That's the experience of Waikato University's School of Management Studies.

Spokesperson Duke Boon says Maori students make up around 7 percent of the school.

He says they are mixing their studies or subjects like accounting, economics, human resources, tourism and communications with a strong tikanga Maori base.

RATANA STUDY UPDATES 40-Y-O TOME

A new book on the Ratana movement will be launched this week.

Ratana Revisited, an unfinished legacy by Keith Newman deals with the Ratana's history as a church and a social movement, and its place in contemporary society.

Ratana spokesperson Ruia Aperehama says the book celebrates the movement's contribution the nation's fabric.

Mr Aperehama says it's a significant update on a book written in the 1960s by Jim Henderson, and Mr Newman has drawn on a lot of material which was not available before.

“We were wanting to get more information out again to help people make their own informed decisions, in particular in hindsight what happened in the political arena last election with the Tumuaki’s son, Erroll Mason, and his younger brother, Andre Mason, with regards to the political alliance with Labour,” Aperehama said.

HEALTH MINISTRY TO RELEASE GAMBLING STATS

Maori and Pacific Island communities continue to be the hardest hit by problem gambling.

Shayne Nahu, the manager of the Health Ministry's gambling project, says two reports to be released this month will show how the gambling industry targets poorer communities.

Mr Nahu says just over 1 percent of the populations are estimated to be problem gamblers, but the impact is more widespread:

Shayne Nahu says general practitioners and social service workers are being trained to identify those at risk from gambling.

Treaty taken out of curriculum

The Maori Party says the proposed new curriculum will greatly weaken Maori influence in the education system.

Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell says the draft has dropped the reference in the 1993 curriculum requiring schools to recognise the signficance of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Mr Flavell, a former school principal, says that acknowledgment gave Maori parents a way to hold the system to account and win some positive changes for their children.

“By taking it in this case out of the education system there is nothing left for holding the Education Ministry and schools to account, and that's a major move away from the whole recognition of the treaty and the relationship of tangata whenua to the treaty and of course our relationship with tauiwi,” Flavell said.

TAMATI SEEKS SUPPORT FOR VIOLENCE TRUST

A Taranaki based Trust working with violent prisoners hopes for more recognition after a visit from Associate Minister of Corrections Mita Ririnui yesterday.

Te Ihi Tu chairperson Howie Tamati says the 13 week programme makes prisoners review their lives and reflect on how their actions affect their whanau and communities.

He says 73 percent of those who finish the course don't re-offend.

Mr Tamati spoke with Mr Ririnui about the trust's problems getting the Corrections Department to refer prisoners, and to fund the programme properly.

“We get about $13,000 cost per offender whereas Montgomery House ahas $22,000, Fosbury street has $23,000. That puts a lot of pressure on the trust. It seems to be a lot harder for a Maori organisaitnn that is kaupapa Maori based, that has such a good succcess rate, has to struggle like it does," Tamati said.

RIMA EDWARDS PUT ON HERITAGE COUNCIL

One of the leading figures in behind the far north Muriwhenua claim has been appointed to the Maori Heritage Council of the Historic Places Trust.

Cultural consultant and accountant Rima Edwards of Kaitaia has chaired Te Runanga o Muriwhenua for 18 years, and has also served on the Kaitaia Borough Council and the Tai Tokerau Maori Trust Board.

The council oversees what the trust does to protect wahi tapu and historic places of maori interest, and works with iwi to identify and conserve such sites.

Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Judith Tizard says Mr Edwards has a wealth of experience to contribute:

Maori Heritage Council deputy chairman Waaka Vercoe of Whakatane was reappointed for three years.

WAIT LIKELY FOR MAORI SEAT CONFIRMATION

The Maori Electoral Option ends today, but it could be next February before the country finds out whether there will be an eighth Maori seat.

Electoral Enrolment Centre manager Murray Wicks says by the beginning of July there had been a net increase in the Maori roll of about 11 thousand electors.

If that trend continued, the final increase could be somewhere around the estimated 14,000 needed to create another seat.

Mr Wicks says that estimate was based on 2001 census data, and was only indicative.

The actual results will be based on 2006 census data, so it could be February before it is known how many Maori seats there will be for the 2008 and 2011 elections, Wicks said.

Murray Wicks says forms filled in at post offices or posted today will be accepted, as long as they reach the Electoral Enrolment Office by noon Thursday.

MAORI WOMEN PROBLEM GAMBLERS

They may not be as spectacular as Christine Keenan, who gambled away $6 million dollars at the Dunedin Casino, but Maori women are over-represented in the ranks of gambling addicts.

That's the experience of Ruth Herd from Wahine Tupono, a support group for Maori women who keep trying to beat the odds.

Keenan's three year spree only stopped when she was arrested for stealing 470 thousand dollars from her employer to fuel her habit.

Herd says almost a third of the callers to gambling addiction help lines are Maori women.

She says the problem usually remains undetected until it is too late.

CLARK SAYS MORE PAKEHA NEED MORE MARAE

Prime Minister Helen Clark says it's not only new arrival migrants who have a poor understanding of the Maori culture.

Human Rights Commissioner Joris de Bres last week suggested Maori should open their marae to new migrants, so they can get a greater appreciation of tangata whenua.

Ms Clark says that's not a bad idea, but a it's clear Pakeha could also benefit from opportunities to interact with Maori, but at the moment most seem to live separate lives.

Harawira backs off “nga Hurae” comment

Maori Party defence spokesperson Hone Harawira has apologised for criticising Jews for Israel's killing of United Nations observers in South Lebanon last week, but he is not backing off his criticism of Israel and the United States.

Mr Harawira says his reference in Parliament last week to "nga Hurae" was because he could not remember the Maori word for Israel, and he only realised his mistake when he saw the translation in Hansard.

But he says the United States is the key to stopping the attack by Israel on Lebanon, but instead it is not doing enought to bring peace to the region.

“They give a box of ammunition to the Israelis and a box of kai to the Hizbullah after they have been bombed out of existence by Israel. It’s a very sad state of affairs and what makes it impossible to resolve the crisis, is that the policeman of the world, which is the United States rather than the United Nations, is backing one side.” Harawira said.

ANTI-VIOLENCE PROJECT FACING CHOP

A project which trains Maori to intervene in violent homes and whanau could face the chop because it can't get fresh funding.

Social services agency Te Korowai Aroha o Aotearoa has been administering Project Mauriora since 2003, providing workers for iwi-based anti-violence programmes.

But chief executive Josie Karanga says the Social Development and health ministries and Child, Youth and Family are no longer funding iwi violence srvices, putting the programme at risk.

Ms Karanga says it has been a struggle so far.

“We've made funding that was for only two and a half years stretch out to four, five years. Many of our sites have just survived,” Karanga said.

Josie Karanga says Project Mauriora takes referrals that no other agency will work with.

ROT0RUA LAND COURT GETS FACE-LIFT

The Maori Land Court in Rotorua has been given a Maori face.

The court reopened with a dawn ceremony yesterday after a complete revamp

Rotorua Deputy Mayor Trevor Maxwell says the new facility is a big improvement on the old premises, which looked like a drab office.

He says the new offices include carvings and tukutuku work prepared by the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute at Te Puia.

ELECTORAL OPTION DEADLINE

It's the last chance for Maori to change their electoral roll.

The Maori Option ends tomorrow, and there won't be another chance until after the next census in five years.

Murray Wicks from the Electoral Enrolment Centre says interest has been similar to the last such exercise in 2001, with people moving from the general to the Maori roll at a greater rate than those going the other way.

HENARE SLAGS PETERS’ BLUFFING

Harsh words from a former colleague.

Former New Zealand First and now National MP Tau Henare says Winston Peters doesn't have the discipline to be a good minister of foreign affairs.

Mr Peters trip to Washington this month was overshadowed by his spat with the media and questions over his dealings with likely Republican presidential hopeful John McCain.

Mr Henare says his former leader doesn't put in the necessary groundwork, and often arrives at meetings unprepared.

“He doesn't have any substance in terms of his work rate. He likes to shoot from the hip and think he knows about a lot of the things. The difference between Phil Goff and Winston is Phil Goff actually studies the job at hand. He does the hard yards, he reads, he gets to know the topic. But Winston is a bit of a bluffer,” Henare said.

FISHY FUTURE FOR RICHIE BARNETT

Former Kiwi Rugby league captain Richie Barnett has turned from being a professional sportsman to a fishmonger.

Mr Barnett says he's always loved fishing, and grew up in a whanau who collected kaimoana regularly, so he's no stranger to the sights and sounds of the fishmarkets.

He's a regular at the 5 AM sales, and does his stint behind the counter at Nosh, a new upmarket food retailer in Auckland's Eastern Suburbs.

Mr Barnett says when he was running around the league fields of the world he never imagined a life of gutting and filleting fish, but he couldn't resist a sound business proposition and a chance to relive some old memories of fishing with the whanau.

Rongowhakaata wants dialogue on changes

Rongowhakaata lawyer Willie Te Aho is demanding better consultation from the Gisborne district council in the wake of the row over Alfred Cox Park.

Gisborne mayor Meng Foon has admitted the council was wrong to write a bill giving it greater control of the popular city reserve without consulting the iwi.

Mr Te Aho says the council needs to overhaul of the way it deals with iwi in its region.

"There's sending something out in the mail and noting you have a certain amount of time to respond, which people call consultation. We don't. Consultation is about engagement, and certainly the Gisborne District Council should know better," Te Aho said.

Willie Te Aho says there are other council and Crown properties around the region which Rongowhakaata feels should be returned to it, or which they want a say in managing

ROY SAYS WHANAU NOT ALWAYS BEST FOR WHANGAI

ACT List MP Heather Roy says the emphasis on finding extended family to provide foster care is ill advised.

Ms Roy Told the ACT regional cvonference this weekend there have been too many cases where children have been taken from one unsafe situation and placed in another.

She says the Child, Youth and Family Service must have the obligation to place children with whanau removed.

"What social workers need are access to temporary accommodation of that type. It buys them time to find the best option for thoise children. It may be with whanau and it may not be. We shouldn't automaticaly assume that one or the other is best for children, every case is very different," Roy said.

Heather Roy says welfare dependency is at the heart of the family violence problem.

MATAIRA NOVEL TURNED INTO TALKING BOOK

The writer of the first published novel written in te reo Maori, says Maori are not readers of the language, but like listening.

Kataraina Mataira says she's pleased her 2002 novel, Makorea has been turned into a talking book and a radio series.

Makorea is a historical drama based on epic journeys and conquests of nineeenth century Ngati Toa chief Te Rauparaha.

Ms Mataira says releasing the work in a number of formats will make it more accessable to more people.

"Maori are still not readers of Maori but they are listeners. That's why I did the talking book, I thought older people, many of them love to listen to korero. Certainly the many people who are learing the reo, one of the hardest things for them is to hear it in context," Mataira said.

NGATI MUTUNGA UNITES AROUND SETTLEMENT

One of the negotiators for Ngati Mutunga says negotiating its treaty claims has brought the north Taranaki iwi together.

The Ngati Mutunga Settlement Bill passed its first reading last week, and the tribe is now on track to get $14.9 million, an apology from the Crown and 10 sites of significance.

Lawyer Jamie Tuuta says the deal has taken 10 years to put together.

He says even though the tribe won't get full compensation for its losses, the deal was worth pursuing.

"We are one of the only tribes in the country which hasn't had a significant manadate dispute, and it has actually brought our people together in building that enthusiasm and passion for being Ngati Mutunga. We have always understood the settlement isn't going to provide what we want it to provide. At the end of the day it's our people," Tuuta said.

tau elitist reo

National Party MP Tau Henare says claims by Maori language commission heads that Maori leaders must be able to speak Maori is elitist and wrong.

The former minister of Maori affairs says Maori people look for the people who can best represent them.

He says commission chief executive Haami Piripi has an unrealistic view of Maori society.

"It's a lot of claptrap. It's elitist, it's this fundamentalist view. Is Haami saying all those who speak Maori are leaders and all those who don't, are not leaders? People who take that attitude are the losers, because people like myself made the committment a long tiome agio that we might have missed out, but our kids ain't," Henare said.

MASSEY TEAM LOOKS AT MAORI DRINKING

Massey University researchers have highlighted the impact of Maori alcohol abuse on children's welfare.

Research director Sally Casswell says there is a well known link betweeen alcohol and aggression and violence, so children in families where there are heavy drinkers are at greater risk.

Dr Casswell says while alcohol use is not Maori-specific, there is a culture of binge drinking which is a cause for concern.

Professor Sally Casswell says New Zealand is failing to properly protect its young people against alcohol and its effects.

BREASTFEEDING PUSH IN NORTH

A hikoi to raise awareness of breastfeeding is on its way around the north.

Health and iwi organisations have activities planned for every Northland centre this week to mark International Breastfeeding awareness week.

Organiser Waireti Walters says Maori woman are getting the message that breastfeeding is the best start for their babies.

Woolerton wanting clarity on principles deletion bill

New Zealand First MP Doug Woolerton says his Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill is necessary because the party can't get straight answers about what the principles are.

The bill has been referred to the Justice and Law select committee with government support, but Labour says that's where its support ends.

Mr Woolerton says New Zealand First has been asking for straightforward definitions of the principles for years, without success.

He says if anyone does know what the principles are, they should turn up to the select committee and lay them out.

“If there is clarity, if there is a definition comes out of this, fine. We will know all of those things openly and publicly after it’s been to the select committee, and we can say it didn’t achieve what we wanted achieved in the first instance, but something was achieved,” Woolerton said.

MAYOR APOLOGIES FOR GISBORNE PARK OVERSIGHT

Gisborne mayor Meng Foon has apologised for not properly consulting tangata whenua before making changes to a city park.

Parliament last week passed the Alfred Cox Park Validation Bill, which allows the council to control activities on the popular reserve.

The land was taken from Rongowhakaata owners under the Public Works Act and transferred to the Council in 1944.

Mr Foon says the council wanted to clarify the status of the land, but didn't handle the process as well as it could have.

“In terms of Rongowhakaata, I think we should have been proactive. Even before we advertised it in the paper we should have met with them to discuss the validation, the issues surrounding Alfred Cox Park. I got to say regretfully we never did that,” Foon said.

NO MAORI TEAM FOR WORLD CUP

A push to include a Maori side in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup has failed.

The event is co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia, and Maori Rugby League chairperson Howie Tamati is upset the international Rugby League Board has Maori and Aboriginal cases for inclusion.

The Maori squad took part in the competition in Great Britain in 2000.

Mr Tamati says his board gave the bid its best shot.

“I don't think they understand if you don’t make the Kiwi side, the mana and status accorded to Maori players who play for New Zealand Maori is just as strong and just as passionate as if you were representing the Kiwis. It’s very hard in a 20 minute presentation to get that across to them, but we did our best,” Tamati said.

Howie Tamati says he will now push for a Maori team to play an Aboriginal selection as a curtain-raiser to the World Cup final.

HAURAKI TRIBES NEED TO TALK TO POROU

Hauraki and Ngati Porou ki Hauraki tribes need to sit down and talk about their foreshore and seabed grievances before they talk with the Crown.

That's the view of Korohere Ngapo who has whakapapa ties to both camps caliming mana over Kennedy Bay and Mataora of the Coromandel Peninsula.

Ngati Porou ki Hauraki is already discussions with officials, and some members of Ngati Maru, Ngati Tamateraa and otherl Hauraki iwi say their traditional interests are being ignored.

Korohere Ngapo says the Crown is buying trouble in future if it only talks to one side in the Coromandel.

ACT SAYS KNEEJERK RESPONSES WON’T WORK

ACT list MP Heather Roy says proposals thrown up in the wake of the Kahui case for more monitoring of beneficiaries and children are unworkable.

National wants a smart card system to monitor beneficiary spending.

Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro is suggesting a national database to track tracking children.

Ms Roy says those are kneejerk responses which will to disempower large sectors of the community:

COMMITMENT TO LANGUAGE TOO WEAK

Maori Tertiary Students Association president Veronica Tawhai says the Government's commitment to the Maori language is half hearted.

TV1's Marae programme has revealed about 80 percent of Maori secondary students receive no Maori language tuition at all, and what the balance get is of variable quality.

Ms Tawhai says that affects the options Maori students have when they study at higher levels.

She says more needs to be done to uphold the Treaty guarantees to protect the language, as established by the Te Reo Maori claim before the Waitangi Tribunal.

Veronica Tawhai says there should be a 100 percent subsidy for all te reo lessons.

Maori land registration project

The Maori Land Court has launched a four year project to clearly identify all Maori freehold land and put information about it into Land Information New Zealand's Landonline database.

Project Amanda Watson says the status of the land isn't being changed, but the exercise allows the court to clear a backlog of outstanding orders.

It will also allow people to search for their land online from home.

Ms Watson says because a lot of Maori freehold land was never surveyed, the project means for the first time ever all Maori records will have some form of visual represention of areas and boundaries.

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Amanda Watson, project manager of the Maori Freehold Land Registration Project.

Haami pacific reo

Maori Language Commission chief executive Haami Piripi is floating the idea of a pan-Pacific language to reverse the decline in the numbers of fluent speakers of individual Polynesian languages.

Mr Piripi says such a project would start with a language database that could be used to form a Meta Polynesian language.

He says a lot of research has already been done into linguistic and cultural similarities:

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Haami Piripi says the New Zealand and Australian Governments should fund the language database, because of their role in the decline of Pacific languages.

Ball on Mangere exhibition

An exhibition starting at the Mangere Arts Centre week will provide a unique insight into taa moko or traditional Maori tattooing.

The Living Art of Pacific Tattoo show features photographs by Serena Stevenson of some of the more intimate and not often seen aspects of the taa moko process.

Curator Stephen Ball says it is and unknown world for many.

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Mangere Arts Centre curator Stephen Ball

dyson violence

The Minister in charge of the Child Youth and Family Service, Ruth Dyson, says domestic violence has not increased over the past 40 years, but New Zealander's attitudes to it have changed.

She says it is certainly not just a Maori problem, as it is currently being painted.

Ms Dyson says people forget how violence was part of the lives of many families and communities in the 1950's and 60's.

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Ruth Dyson

brenda close

Maori nurses say taking out references to the Treaty of Waitangi from health legislation would hurt Maori.

Brenda Close from Te Runanga O Aotearoa, the Maori arm of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, says the New Zealand First-sponsored Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill now before a parliamentary select committee should be seen as an attack on Maori health.

Ms Close says during their training every nurse must pass units on cultural safety, which includes a strong focus on the treaty.

She says removing that sort of training and requirement for equity could compromise the quality of care deliverd to Maori.


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Brenda Close from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation.

de bres marae

Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres says he'd like to see Maori sharing more of their culture with non maori.

Mr de Bres says there are mutual benefits to be gained, as Maori could also learn a great deal from non Maori, especially migrant communities.

He says previous race relations conciliators have run marae visit programmes.

Mr de Bres says he was concerned by a Te Puni Kokiri survey which found that only six percent of non-Maori had been on a marae.

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Race Relations Commissioner, Joris De Bres.