WAI 262 claimants ask for ANZTPA intervention

WAI 262 claimants have asked the Waitangi Tribunal to issue an urgent report about the likely effect of the proposed Australia and New Zealand Therapeutic Products Authority on their claims regarding indigenous fauna and flora.

The tribunal has been sitting in Wellington this week for the last of the claimant evidence.

Annette Sykes, the lawyer for Maori organic growers group Te Waka Kai Ora, says the government is due to introduce a bill next month setting up the authority, known as ANZTPA.

The authority could be in a position to regulate the use Maori can make of rongoa or traditional natural remedies.
Ms Sykes says there has been no provision for the Treaty of Waitangi in the ANZTPA process, and only four hours consultation with Maori in the 10 years the project has been on the drawing board.

She says establishment of the authority could turn the 14 year investigation into the indiginous fauna and flora claims a waste of time, because the tribunal would not be able to recommend any meaningful remedies.

The Waitangi Tribunal will hear evidence from the Crown in December and January, and closing submissions are due to take place next March.

CARVER OPENS TANEUATUA GALLERY

The small eastern Bay of Plenty settlement of Taneatua gets a new art gallery this weekend.

Tuhoe master carver John Rua is opening the space to display whakairo he completed during 30 years living in Christchurch and other works from his private collection.

His wife, Lisa Rua, says the gallery will also feature local artists as well as being used for classes for students of Taneatua school. Mrs Rua says it could also be a tourist draw.

MWWL STILE RELEVANT

The Minister of Maori Affairs says the Maori Womens Welfare League is still relevant in modern Maori society.

Parekura Horomia was the opening speaker at the league's annual conference, being held this year at Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia.

Mr Horomia says the league had played a significant role into encouraging Maori into business and into professional careers.

He says its support for Maori families has never wavered.

SHARPLES SAYS TALKING TO NATS PART OF JOB

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples says Don Brash may be off Tariana Turia's visiting list, but he will continue to talk to the National Party leader.

Mrs Turia says Don Brash's comments about there being few if any full blooded Maori was going too far, and he has a negative impact on race relations.

Dr Sharples says to effective in Parliament, the Maori party needs to keep open lines of communication with other parties, even if they disagree with some of their views or policies.

He says he will be talking to Dr Brash and other National MPs about winning support for the introduction of a bill to repeal the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Pita Sharples says the whole idea of blood quantum as a way of measuring indigenous identity was deeply flawed and caused huge problems for native peoples in the United States, the only place it is officially used.

Turia taking Brash comments personally

Maori Party co leader Tariana Turia says her falling out with Don Brash is not about the National Party.

She says many National Party members must shudder when ever he opens his mouth.

Mrs Turia has cancelled a dinner date with Dr Brash, although her co-leader Pita Sharples may still attend.

She says Dr Brash's latest public comments, on the blood quantum of Maori was one example to many of his refusal to acknowledge Maori rights.

“We have rights to participate fully in this country, and that’s what we are denied. And he tries to make out we are people of privilege. Now I know I have overlooked his attitudes in the past, mainly because at a personal level, he does not talk like that,” Turia said.

Tariana Turia says Dr Brash's comments have a negative effect on race relations.

BLOOD STATEMENT BEYOND THE PALE

Meanwhile, political commentator Chris Trotter says Don Brash has gotten off lightly for his comment that there were few Maori with pure blood.

Mr Trotter says the National leader is propounding views which have no place in civilised political discourse.

“The idea that you could assign ethnicity to people on the basis of blood quantum is absolutely indistinguishable from the so called racial science that prevailed in Germany between 1933 and 1945, and I think for anybody in this day and age to talk about how much blood you have, whether it be Maori blood or Jewish blood, is extremely dangerous,” Trotter said.

Chris Trotter says the modern understanding is that ethnic identity is socially and culturally determined and has litte to do with genetic factors.

SMOKING LEAVES GAP THAT CAN’T BE FILLED

Maori anti-smoking group Te Hotu Manawa says smoking has taken away too many Maori mothers and grandmothers far too early.

The group will be speaking at the National Maori Women's Welfare League conference in Ngaruawahia on how smoking by women and particularly pregnant women affects their whanau.

Spokesperson Marama Davidson says she saw all her aunties and nannies smoking while growing up, and now she doesn't see them any more.

“We all saw our nannies smoking. We saw them die from it. We saw them die far too young. Tobacco took them away from us far too early, took away their mana and their knowledge,” Davidson said.

Maori women's rates of smoking are some of the highest in the world.

CLOSE ESCAPE FOR MAORI PARTY FROM NATIONAL EMBRACE

Political commentator Chris Trotter says Don Brash's comments about Maori ethnicity and blood were a timely warning to the Maori Party about the risks of getting too close to National.

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says she can no longer work with Dr Brash, after a year of leaving that possibility open.

Mr Trotter says the Maori Party tried to avoid the predicament facing the Greens, whose unequivocal support for Labour before the election meant it was taken for granted when the govermnent was formed.

But he says it was a risky strategy, because the overwhelming majority of voters on the Maori roll gave their party vote to Labour, even if they voted for Maori Party electorate candidates.

“Courting the National, however shrewd that might appear in a purely strategic sense, it is also a highly risky strategy, given the centre left leanings of most Maori voters,” Trotter said.

Chris Trotter says the Maori Party had a commendable first year in Parliament.

BUSINESS SCHOOL GETS CLOSE TO MAORI

The dean of Auckland University's school of business says his faculty is keen to involve more Maori, even to the extent of going where they live.

The faculty this week presented awards to Maori former students who have excelled in business and scholarships to Maori currently undertaking business degrees.

Professor Barry Spicer says New Zealand's economic future is tied in with Maori business success.

He says his faculty has acknowledged that by running courses in Rotorua and Kawakawa in Northland, as well as developing Maori focussed papers at its Auckland campuses.

“The Maori population is growing. Quite a lot of that population lives outside the main centres and finds it quite hard to access relevant business education. So what we have done is try to go where the people are,” Spicer said.

RESEARCH ON KINDERGARTENS

New Plymouth kindergarten teacher Ramila Sadikeen has received an NZEI Te Tiu Roa scholarship to research how teachers can strengthen their links with Maori communities to enhance learning and bicultural practices in early childhood education.

Ms Sadikeen, who is originally from Sri Lanka, is the first early childhood teacher to receive a scholarship from the union.

She says singce the Te Whariki framework was introduced a decade ago, there has been no real examination of how the policy is working, or how kindergartens interact with Maori.

“The principles of the whaariki tells those are the things we have to work with. Well I have found we haven’t worked well with them It’s time that we did,” Sadikeen said.

Adlam honoured by Szaszy business award

Kawerau business person Bev Adlam has been named the first winner of the Dame Mira Szazy Alumni Award at the Auckland University Business School's Maori business awards.

Ms Adlam first came to public notice through her work revitalising Kawerau in the eastern Bay of Plenty.

She led the negotiations for the Ngati Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau treaty claim, and now chairs the post settlement organisation and its commercial arms, Ngati Tuwharetoa Holdings and Ngati Tuwharetoa Geothermal Assets.

She also chairs Tarawera Forests.

Ms Adlam says the late Dame Mira Szaszy was someone she looked up to.

“She didn't take a fight lying down, she expressed what she thought, and I feel very honoured to have received an award named in honour of Dame Mira because I guess I’ve always regarded myself as a bit of a battler and a fighter over all these years,” Adlam said.

Another winner was Business Roundtable chairperson Rob McLeod of Ngati porou, who was judged outstanding Maori business person of the year,.

PUT ‘EM IN THE ARMY

Manukau Urban Maori Authority head June Jackson says a return to compulsory military training may be what's needed to set many young Maori men back on the straight and narrow.

Mrs Jackson has been a prison visitor for many years, and is a long serving membner of the Parole Board.

She sees many young Maori men drift into a life of crime, because of a lack of discipline.

Mrs Jackson says a stint in the army could keep many out of jail.

HINEMHI GETS TOUCH UP FROM MOKOPUNA

A 126 year old whare in an English garden will stand for another 100 years if she is looked after.

That's the view of carver Jim Schuster, who is in Surrey restoring the house Hinemihi in the grounds of Clandon Park where it has stood since 1891.

Mr Schuster is the great great grandson of Tene Waitere, who carved the house at Te Wairoa near Lake Tarawera in 1880.

He says Hinemihi means a great deal to him and his family:

“The house has been hera a long time and really I’m just trying to fix up our kuia. To the National Trust which owns her, she’s just a house in a garden, but to us it’s a tipuna whare. She has a wairua and we need to make sure she is fit and healthy for another 100 years,” Schuster said.

BRASH TALK ENDS TURIA OUTREACH

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says Don Brash seems to be blind to the negative impact his statements have on race relations.

Mrs Turia has cancelled a planned dinner date with the National Party leader in the wake of his comments about few Maori longer being pure blooded.

She says Dr Brash is always polite to her in private, but his public comments on Maori issues show he is divorced from reality.

“What he hasn't
 stopped to think about is every time he makes an utterance, he influences literally hundreds of thousands of of New Zealanders. And our people don’t need that, our kids don’t need it, and at some point you’ve got to say why bother
,” Turia said.

Tariana Turia says she is no longer willing to work with Dr Brash.

RESOURCE CONTROL KEY TO MAORI BUSINESS

An inaugural winner of Auckland University Business School's Dame Mira Szaszy Maori Alumni Award says Maori need to find ways to have greater control of the resources they own.

Bev Adam from Ngati Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau chairs a number of tribal farming, forestry and geothermal energy development companies in the eastern Bay of Plenty.

She says her business career has been about taking on governments, corporates and other bureaucracies to find new ways for Maori to participate in management of their own resources.


”The real growth and the real development is in us not just receiving a royalty but it’s from us being able to participate in the decision making, understand the industry and the sector we are involved with so we make a real contribution,” Adlam said.

Other alumni to receive awards were Crown Forestry Rental Trust chief executive Ben Dalton of Ngapuhi and Hone Kiwa Whatarau of Ngati Raukawa ki te Tonga and Ngati Kahungunu, while Business Roundtable chairperson Rob McLeod of Ngati Porou, was outstanding Maori business person of the year.

AUAHE KORE GROUP TEAMS WITH MWWL

Maori smokefree group Te Hotu Manawa Maori is working with the Maori Women's Welfare League to encouraging Maori women not to smoke while they are pregnant.

Marama Davidson, an Auahi Kore role model with the group, says a smoke free pregnancy is in keeping with the values of te ao Maori, the Maori world.

Ms Davidson says it is Maori tikanga to value unborn children.

“That's our mokopuna inside us that are growing, Even the word mokopuna is about our tipuna valuing each new pepe coming into the world. It is a mark of them. It is the moko being added into the puna, which is the pool. So if you think about returning to tea o Maori our traditional values, this is why a smoke free pregnancy is a fantastic initiative,” Davidson said.

Marama Davidson says the campaign will be lauinched at the Maori Women's Welfare League annual conference in Ngaruawahia this week.

Owners denied chance to buy back CHH leases

Maori forestry owners are disappointed billionaire Graeme Hart refused them a chance to buy back their forest leases.

Almost 20 percent of the 275,000 hectare Carter Holt Harvey forest estate being put up for sale by Mr Hart is on Maori land or Crown forest leases.

Glen Katu, director of Te Kuiti-based Kokakotaea Forestry Group, says owning the forests outright would give landowners more opportunities to extract value through downstream processing.

Mr Katu says Maori success in recent years with other forest holdings means they could have raised the money for the leases, but there is no way they could bid for the whole estate.

“It's a pity though we didn’t get the opportunity before Carter Holt Harvey decided to put their total forest estate up as one lot because we’re one of a number of Maori incorporations and trusts that have the ability and the capacity now to do financial transactions of the scale required to purchase back our leases, and they're not cheap,” Katu said.

Glen Katu says families within the Kokakotaea Forestry Group see their investments as being about hundreds of years rather than short term planting cycles.

GOVERNMENT NOT LISTENING TO MAORI IN POLICY DRIVE

A south Auckland Maori leader says government initiatives to address social problems in Maori communities are doomed to failure without sufficient Maori input.

June Jackson says while there may be goodwill on the government's part, the agencies charged with implementing initiatives have too few Maori in decision making roles.

She says that could lead to a lack of Maori buy in.

“I don't know that there’s any right answer. I think that the government attempts to try top make a difference, but when you only have mainly Pakeha advisors designing programmes for us and others, they will never get it right, never,” Jackson said.

ROB MCLEOD OUTSTANDING BUSINESS PERSON

Auckland University Business School's outstanding Maori business person of the year says he's hearterned by the growing numbers of Maori entering the commercial sector.

Rob McLeod from Ngati Porou chairs the Business Roundtable and sits on the boards of Sealord, Sky City, Tainui Group Holdings, ANZ National Bank and several other companies.

He is a tax specialist and former chair of accounting firm Ernst and Young.
Mr McLeod says Maori in business used to be a rare commodity, but that's not the case now.

“As time has come on there are more and more Mari graduates and more and more Maori people coming into the sector, and I think that can be only a good thing for people who have Mari connections or are looking to have company in that social sector in terms of Maori opportunities and Maori people,” McLeod said.

Rob McLeod says in the post settlement environment, Maori increasingly need people with both commercial expertise and Maori cultural understanding.

FOREST SALE LOST OPPORTUNITY

A Te Kuiti-based Maori forester says the likely sale of Carter Holt Harvey's forest estate to overseas owners is a lost opportunity for Maori landowners.
Carter Holt owner Graeme Hart has put all 275 thousand hectares up for sale as one lot.

Glen Katu, a director of Te Kuiti based Kokakotaea Forestry Corporation, says Maori landowners asked Mr Hart to split off their leases and Crown forest licences, which account for almost 20 percent of the estate.

“We thought it would entice them to say yes, if you can come up with 300 or 400 million dollars, could be roughly the price. Rally the only companies that can afford one or two billion dollars are the offshore companies,” Katu said.

Glen Katu says Maori landowners are able to get more value out of foresty if they can own the forests themselves and have greater control of downstream processesing.

MWWL STARTS ANNUAL HUI

The Maori Womens Welfare League will be welcomed to Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia today for its four day annual conference.

President Linda Grennell says it's time to look at issues affecting Maori beyond our shores as well as at home.

Ms Grennell says that's why the hui will hear from Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters Tuwharetoa leader Tumu Mr Heuheu, in his capacity as Chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Council.

Other speakers include Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia, Tainui MP Nanaia Mahuta and Womens Affairs Minister Lianne Dalziel.

MAORI OUT OF POLICY LOOP

Manaukau Urban Maori Authority head June Jackson says Maori in South Auckland struggle to have meaningful input into policies aimed at addressing social problems in the community.

The Government is looking at improving and better coordinating its services to the region in light of rising violence and social dysfunction.

Mrs Jackson says if they are to succeed, any new programmes will need the support of Maori.

She says that will be hard to achieve since so few Maori are actually making the decisions.

Sharples takes message to Brash at Orewa

Maori Party leader Pita Sharples took his message into the heart of opposition territory last night, delivering a speech to the Orewa Rotary club.

Doctor Sharples says even though the audience only included a few Maori, it seemed to represent a cross section of small town New Zealand, and was friendly and welcoming.

He says it's a pity the club is associated with National Party leader Don Brash and his speech attacking Maori last year.

“Dr Brash is unable to truly comprehend what a tangata whenua is. He has this idealistic view of how New Zealanders should be and it’s like him, we must be like him, and he cannot see perhaps our different needs and different aspirations and different groups,” Sharples said.

Pita Sharples says Dr Brash needs to understand thr Treaty of Waitangi entitles everyone's children to play on Orewa Beach.

MAORI SOCIAL WORK LACK LOOKED AT

A Massey University academic wants to find out why so few Maori study social work at graduate and post-graduate levels.

Fiona Te Momo from Ngati Porou and Ngati Kahungunu has received a $10,000 Massey research fellowship to continue, her research.

Dr Momo says a lot of Maori are involved in voluntary social work work in organisations like Maori Women's Welfare League and Maori Wardens, but the number actually enrolled in social work degrees is low and getting lower.

She says the imbalance needs to addressed.

“How come we have a high contribution to that sort of area, in voluntary work, yet we don’t have high numbers coming thorough getting bachelors degrees in social work, a masters in social work when we predominantly do it and what are the issues round why we are not filling up the classes and taking on this tohu, because we are doing it anyway in our communities,” Te Momo said.

Fiona Te Momo will conduct her research among Maori in North Shore and West Auckland.

POWERLIFTER WANTS TO LIFT TOP TITLE

The reigning 60 KG class World Powerlifting Masters Champion is on a mission.
Rangimaaria Brightwater-Wharf from Ngati Kahungunu leaves this weekend to defend her title at the 2006 World Championships in Killeen, Texas.

Her niece, Hinemanu Thompson says the 40 year old has been in the sport for 12 years but it's only her second time at the Worlds.
She says her aunt is aiming even higher this year.

“Her main objectives are to retain her title and to become the world champion of champions,” Thompson said.

OREWA PLATFORM FOR SHARPLES

The Orewa Rotary Club has maintained its reputation as a centre for debate on race relations, with Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples giving his side of the argument.

The club, half an hour north of Auckland, was the venue for National Party leader Don Brash's one New Zealand speech in 2004.

Dr Sharples says Orewa has become a code word for a brand of political conservatism associated with conflict, condemnation and division.

But he says the members were friendly and willing to listen to his message of racial unity.

“And I discussed with them the treaty being totally relevant for today’s time and how it could take us all forward as a nation. It’s a real contract between two peoples agreeing to accommodate each other and then looking for things that connect us, things that bind us as a New Zealand people,” Sharples said.
.
Pita Sharples says while Don Brash's comments at Orewa seem to have hit a raw nerve, the Labour led government's responses to the speech were just as damaging to Maori.

TE ATATU MARAE DREAM STILL ALIVE

Supporters of a proposed marae on Auckland's Te Atatu peninsula are optimistic the project will go ahead despite continuing legal challenges by neighbours and former landowners.

Waitakere City will rezone 2.5 hectares of reserve for marae purposes, if it wins a case before the High Court next month.
Te Atatu Marae Coalition spokesperson Bobby Newsom says fundraising and planning work is continuing.

Mr Newsom says a hui has been called for October 8 to update residents and supporters on the legal battle.

Bobby Newsom says Te Atatu has one of the largest concentrations of Maori in west Auckland, and there is a crying need for a marae in the suburb.

TIPOKI DESERVES ALL BLACK GO

Former All Black and North Harbour stalwart, Glen Osborne, says Rua Tipoki deserves a spot on the All Blacks end of year tour.

He says Tipoki has become a formidable player and captain, and showed his class in North Harbours' dramatic Ranfuly Cup win against Canterbury over the weekend.

Tipoki spent most of the season on the sidelines after he was suspended for a dangerous tackle during a Super 14 game.

Mr Osborne says despite that transgression, Tipoki deserves an opportunity.

“I hope he does. He’s playing a lot better than the Auckland boys, who always seem to make it into the All Blacks,” Osborne said.

Radio head welcomes cash for new gear

The chairperson of the umbrella group representing iwi radio stations says while a $3.4 million capital injection into the sector is welcome, the continuing needs of the sector still need to be addressed.

The new money will be used to upgrade equipment at the 21 iwi radio stations, much of which was installed when they were launched 15 years ago.

Te Maumako Akuhata from Te Whakaruruhau o Nga Reo Irirangi Maori says what is needed is an increase in operational funding so the stations can better service their communities.

“15 years down the track we’re all getting $320,000, but the overall radio funding putea has not increased. The next push will be for more operational funding, but we have to prove a case, and that is going to be difficult,” Akuhata said.

TOO MANY BUREAUCRATS FOR TAU

National list MP Tau Henare says the government is creating unnecessary jobs in agencies like Maori development ministry Te Puni Kokiri to buy votes by creating jobs unnecessarily.

The former minister of Maori affairs, says under Labour New Zealand is experiencing an unprecedented level of bureaucracy. Mr Henare says it has to stop.

“You can't keep growing the public service so that every three years those public servants will vote for Labour. That’s what they’re basically doing. It’s a sinister attempt to bolster the unions and it’s a sinister attempt to create jobs when there are no jobs, and all they are doing is creating bureaucrats,” Henare said.

Tau Henare says a National-led government would analyse the worth of the public service.

MANGERE FAMILIES GET NEW START

Turuki Health CEO Syd Jackson says the Family Start programme is about empowering parents to give their tamariki the best start.

The Mangere-based Maori health providern launched the Ministry of Social Development-funded programme in south Auckland yesterday.

It will target young pregnant mothers and whanau with children under a year.
Mr Jackson says parents need to be encouraged to commit themselves to raising their children, and they need to learn some skills to help them.

“We are about strengthening families, we are about teaching parents to be dedicated to the role they have taken on as parents, because they are the first teachers that our tamariki have, and to ensure that the health and well being of our tamariki is protected in the Mangere area,” Jackson said.

Syd Jackson says about 5 percent of the Mangere population could qualify for Family Start services.

MANAAKITANGA MEANS NOT BURNING THE HOUSE

The Fire Service Maori liaison officer says good hosts are fire conscious.

Piki Thomas says while marae go to great lengths to be hospitable, many overlook simple precautions.

The need was highlighted over the weekend with fires at a marae in Welcome Bay and a kura kaupapa in Porirua.

Mr Thomas says while many marae can't afford a sprinkler system or can't install one because of water supply problems, they can at least put in smoke alarms.

“It really sits within the concept of manaakitanga for our manuhiri or being able to be good hosts, and that goes beyond being able to feed them and welcome them, it also means being able to provide them with a safe environment 
to sleep in,” Thomas said.

FAT FIGHT HITS TUCK SHOP TILL

The government's no-tolerance attitude to fatty foods in schools may prove costly.

Education Minister Steve Maharey has pledged to spend $28 million in schools and early childhood centres to combat childhood obesity, which is a particular concern with Maori and Pacific Island children.

But Post Primary Teachers Association president Debbie Te Whaiti says schools rely on the revenue from their tuck shops, and what the minister is offering may not be enough to make up the cost of supporting the initiative.

“School run canteens and they want to run them, not at a huge profit, but a little bit of a profit, and unfortunately healthy fod can be more expensive to buyt than crap food. You’re asking schools to put money into a canteen rather than get some money out of it or break even,” Te Whaiti said.

KOHANGA FACE MAN DROUGHT

National Party list MP Tau Henare says kohanga reo are facing the same problem as mainstream preschools - they can't get enough male teachers.

Mr Henare says women working in early childcare need to accept men have a valuable role in childhood development.

“There's a man drought, not only in the early childhood sector but also in the primary schools. It’s come about in the past 10 years because men actually are being forced out because there is this social engineering thing that only women can do the job,” Henare said.

BUSINESS AWARDS HIGHLIGHT MAORI OPPORTUNITY

The Auckland University Business School today celebrates Maori business success.

Manuka Henare, the associate dean of Maori and Pacific Development, says one highlights of the annual Maori Business Awards will be the recognition of accountant and tax expert Rob McLeod from Ngati Porou.

As well as chairing the Business Roundtable, Mr McLeod is a director of Sealord, Tainui Group Holdings, Telecom, Sky City and ANZ National.

Dr Henare says the awards aim to change the way people see Maori.

“There are some remarkable stories. We want to highlight those and bring them out so that people can see oh, Maori are not just a cheap labour force, they can also be the managers and owners and inspirers or creators of new wealth,” Henare said.

Manuka Henare says there will also be awards for past Maori students and scholarships for aspiring Maori business people.

Mangere gets Family Start provider

The head of a South Auckland Maori health service provider says hundreds of families in the area could benefit from the Family Start programme.

Turuki Health won the contract to run the programme, which aims to improve the health and education of children by giving their parents more skills and knowledge.

Chief executive Syd Jackson says Family Start has been around since 1998, but there were challenges bringing it to South Auckland.

“It’s now a movement of vast proportions which stretches from Kaikohe to Invercargill, but the important difference we have in Mangere and other providers is Mangere is the worst area in the country so the need is far greater, and the number of people we will be dealing with is greater proportionately than other areas,” Jackson said.

Syd Jackson says Turuki Health's Family Start programme will target young mothers from the second trimester of pregnancy and parents with infants under 12 months.

FIRE NOT HOT PRIORITY FOR MARAE

The Fire Service's Maori spokesperson says Maori are still not making fire safety a priority.

Piki Thomas says weekend blazes which extensively damaged the Ngati Pukenga marae in Welcome Bay and a kura kaupapa in Porirua, highlight how vulnerable whare are to fire.

He says most can't afford sprinkler systems.

Mr Thomas says while sprinkler systems might stop fires getting out of control, they are not something most marae committees give enough thought to.

Piki Thomas says the Fire Service can't demand marae install spronlers, if the whare met the building standards of the time they were built.

ROSKRUGE GETS DOCTORAL BOOST FOR LAND PROJECT

A Massey University lecturer has been awarded a $10,000 scholarship to continue a doctoral project on developing Maori land for horticulture.

Nick Roskruge from Te Ati Awa and Ngati Tama hopes his research project, named "Hokia ki te whenua" or return to the land, will help Maori landowners improve their economic returns.

He says it's important the research is given a true Maori perspective.

“It's about targeting a more economic land use, so the owners are more comfortable and it will acknowledge the qualities of the whenua and be sustainable
,” Roskruge said.

Nick Roskruge says key issues will include how knowledge is owned and accessed.

IWI RADIO GETS CAPITAL UPGRADE

Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia has announced $3.4 million in funding for major upgrades to iwi radio stations.

Te Maumako Akuhata, the head of Maori broadcasters collective Te Whakaruruhau o Nga Reo Irirangi Maori, says the money is very much needed.


Ms Akuhata says many stations need to replace vital equipment.

“Well over 15 years since the initial capital injection so this is a huge coup for Maori radio,” Akuhata said.

The first station to upgrade will be Te Reo Irirangi o Te Korimako in Taranaki, which is installing an digital broadcast system.

MOANA WARNS ON NAME THEFT

Ngati Tuuwharetoa songstress Moana Maniapoto says there is an urgent need to draw up a formal agreement to protect Maori language and culture.

Ms Maniapoto, who is also a lawyer, made the submission to the Waitangi Tribunal WAI 262 fauna and flora claim hearing in Wellington yesterday.

She says the actions of a German company, which stopped her using the name Moana to market her music in Europe, was an example of the threats Maori face.

Ms Maniapoto says Maori culture and imagery shouldn't be up for grabs:

“It's important for us to consider some way how we could control the use of our cultural items that go to the heart of what it is to be Maori, imbued with values and the authenticity of being Maori, so I get angry when I see unauthorised, inappropriate use of Maori imagery offshore,” Maniapoto said.

The hearing continues in Wellington this week.

LANGUAGE CHIEF WANTS ESOL FOR KURA KIDS

The chief executive of the Maori language commission says Maori immersion students reentering the mainstream system may need some English as a second language support.

Educationalists say many kura kaupapa students have limited grasp of the academic English used in the classroom, which puts them at a disadvantage in subjects like maths and science at NCEA level and higher.

Haami Piripi says while overseas students can get support from English as a second language tutors, there is no such option for kura kaupapa students.

Mr Piripi says now the problem has been identified, if should be addressed.

“We think a lot more work needs to be done to provide some infrastructural support to those students to enable them to succeed both in the English world an the Maoir world from our point of view this is a basic right New Zealand citizens should be entitled to,” Piripi said.

Haami Piripi says most children from kura kaupapa have good conversational English, but can struggle when asked to write papers in a more formal academic style.

Academic English too much for kura kids

A Tauranga speech teacher says most Maori immersion students don't have the academic English they need to excel at NCEA level.

Merle Braithwaite from the Tauranga Speech and Learning Centre says kura kaupapa students are usually fluent in conversational English, but they have missed out on the sort of English which is used in the classroom.

She says that puts them in a similar position to foreign students who need to take courses in English as a second language before they can tackle mainstream classes.

“We're finding a lot of the Maori students are in the same situation. They’re fluent in te reo and they have been learning their subjects in te reo, but when they get into the English mainstream, they don’t seem to have the academic language to deal with subjects like maths and science in English,” Braithwaite says.

Merle Braithwaite says the issue is becoming a matter of concern because of the large number of kura kaupapa students coming into the school system at secondary level.

DRINK TO THE LAST DROP CULTURE CRITICISED

Alcoholic liquor advisory council chief executive Sandra Kirby says Maori need to tackle a culture of binge drinking.

Ms Kirby says the way Maori drink is the biggest alcohol problem they face.

Alcohol abuse can lead to a range of other societal problems.
Ms Kirby says it's an alarming pattern.

“When you link it with those things like high unemployment rates, the pattern gets exacerbated, so what seems to be true for many Maori people, and it’s certainly not going to be all Maori people, is that you have long periods where they don’t drink at all, but when alcohol is available, there is drinking until the alcohol is gone,” Kirby said.

Sandra Kirby from says binge drinking has a cost not only to families but to workplace productivity.

KING TUHEITIA IN ARAWA

A long-standing relationship between Tainui and Te Arawa will be further strengthened today during a visit to Rotorua by the new King Tuheitia.

Kingitanga spokesperson Moko Templeton says eight busloads of Kingitanga supporters travelled to the region yesterday, and were hosted by Ngati Pikiao at the Houmaitawhiti marae.

This morning the king will be welcome by the sulphur city by the rest of the Te Arawa Confederation at one of its main marae, Tamatekapua in Ohinemutu.

“There'll be full welcome for King Tuheitia from Te Arawa whanui, nga pumanawa e waru o Te Arawa, for them to then say to the king here we are, we’re open to options that might arise out of the Kingitanga movement now
under the new leadership, or there’s talk of the new pan-tribal roopu forming at Pukawa, there will be a bit of that discussion going on I'm sure,” Templeton said.

Moko Templeton says the Tainui ope will also attend the Te Wananga O Aotearoa kapa haka competitions at the Rotorua Girls' High School.

TREE CHOPPER SMITH SWINGS AX AT PARTY PARTY

The Maori Party is celebrating its first year in Parliament, but veteran activist Mike Smith isn't joining in the party.

He says initiatives like co- leader Tariana Turia's members bill to repeal the Foreshore and Seabed Act are doomed to fail.

Mr Smith says that as much as he likes the members personally, Maori party voters will become frustrated with how little the party can do in the existing political system.

“Huge expectations, little capacity to actually be able to deliver meaningfully. I think that’s going to become more and more apparent over time. I think the Maori Party will probably only maybe two or three elections before people realise there isn’t much they actually can do. I’m not blaming any individuals for that situation, it’s just a question of numbers,” Smith said.

Mike Smith says Maori unrest will continue to grow unless Maori concerns for social justice are properly addressed.

HEALTH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ROADSHOW

Maori health workforce development organisation Te Rau Matatini is holding a series of regional hui this week to discuss the priorities iwi want to set in the health arena.

Advisor Megan Tunks says it is now well established that many Maori people prefer dealing with Maori health providers, but there is a shortage of available resoureces in the area.

She says the hui will help health providers target their resources better.

The roadshow is at the Manukau Institute of Technology marae in Auckland today, Rotorua tomorrow, Christchurch on Thursday and the Te Rau Matatini offices in Wellington on Friday.

HINEMOA BAKER PICKED FOR UBUD FESTIVAL

Maori musician and poet Hinemoa Baker has been chosen to attend the prestigious Ubud Writers Festiva in Indonesia next week.

The annual five-day Festival has become an important part of Bali's efforts to draw people back after the 2002 Bali bombings.

Ms Baker, who is of Ngai Tahu, Raukawa and German descent, is a late replacement for Ngati Porou writer Apirana Taylor, who couldn't make the trip.

She says she is looking forward to meeting writers from around the world, and hearing a multitude of different languages other than English.

Other writers at the festival include Anita Desai, Madhur Jaffrey and William Dalrymple.

Ngati Pukenga house gutted by fire

Ngati Pukenga is determined to rebuild the meeting house at Whetu o Terangi Marae at Welcome Bay near Tauranga, which was gutted by a suspicious fire in the early hours of this morning.

Runanga chairperson Rehua Smallman says the fire inspector has ruled out an electrical fault as the cause of the blaze.

Mr Smallman says the carvings at the front of the wharenui and some in the mahau or verandah can be salvaged, but everything in the house was destroyed.

The building was moved to its present site around 1916.

Mr Smallman says the iwi is devastated by the fire, but it wants to rebuild.

He says the wharenui had no sprinkler system.

PORIRUA KURA DAMAGED BY FIRE

A supporter of a Porirua Maori immersion damaged by fire in the early hours of Saturday morning, says the school community will survive.

Tamati Olsen, a former member of the Board of Trustees says news of the blaze came as a shock to the 280 students and their families.

Two teenagers are facing charges over the fire, which gutted four classrooms and damaged other the buildings and resources at Te Kura o Porirua.

Mr Olsen says news of the fire spead quickly through the kumara vine, and hundreds of parents and children gathered for karakia.

Tamati Olsen says kura representatives will meet with Ministry of Education officials tomorrow.

MAORI PARTY HOPING FOR NATIONAL SUPPORT

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia is confident National will support her bill to repeal the Seabed and Foreshore Act.

The Maori Party is consulting other parties on the bill before it puts it into the ballot.

Ms Turia says she has the support of ACT and the Greens for the bill to be introduced, and hopes National will jump on board.

“I am quietly confident that they will see the importance of property rights, and if we are able to get United Future, who look at this issue from a property rights perspective, I think we have every change of getting the bill through,” Turia says.

Tariana Turia says two years after crossing the floor over the Seabed and Foreshore bill, she's adamant she made the right decision.

OHIA DEFENDS WANANGA PURPOSE

The head of the country's largest Maori tertiary institute says the need is still there for an institution to reach out to people who would not normally get the chance for higher education.

Te Wananga o Aotearoa is holding a national hui for its staff in Rotorua this week, to review changes over the past year in the wake of the departure of founder Rongo Wetere and the imposition of Crown managers.

Chief executive Bentham Ohia says despite cuts to staff and courses, the wananga has 47 thousand students, half of them Maori.

Mr Ohia says critics overlook the fact the wananga opened the door to education for a wide range of non-traditional students.

“The hurt for the institution, the hurt for the supporters and the communities that support this institution has been that the fact we have been able to engage people in a learning environment through education as the tool to make positive improvements for them and for their families in the future, not only for Maori in this country but for the future of the country as a whole,” Ohia said.

Bentham Ohia says Te Wananga o Aotearoa is now more financially secure with positive cash flow, but it will still show a loss on its books this year.

BRASH COMMENTS TOO MUCH FOR TURIA

National Party leader Don Brash's latest pronouncements on Maori identity could prove too much for the Maori Party.

The party has tried to reach out to National on a number of issues, including the foreshore and seabed debate.

But co-leader Tariana Turia says Mr Brash's comments to a Sunday newspaper that there are few full Maori remaining is racist and offensive.

Mrs Turia says she would find it hard to work with Mr Brash in future.

“I’m not going to tolerate political parties who use Maori people as a political football and baseball bat us if it suits them when they think their ratings may be going down,” Turia said.

Tariana Turia says it's not about how much Maori you have in you, it's about whakapapa.

FLOOD FOCUS FOR NEW KOTUKU ALBUM

Bay of Plenty flood victims stand to benefit from a new album by Hamilton duo Kotuku Entertainers.

The pair launched their Te Ranga Wairua CD, at Kirikiriroa marae in Hamilton this weekend in a gala concert which also included performances from veteran musicians Mabel Wharekawa Burt and Toko Pompey.

Kotuku member Paretio Ruha says the CD includes 15 songs in te reo Maori.
She says one of the songs is about the floods, and some of the proceeds will go to the Matata volunteer rescue service.

Paretio Ruha says Kotuku dedicated the album to the late Maori queen, who died when the album was being recorded.

Hohepa Delamere tangi draws thousands

Te Whanau a Apanui will today bury tohunga Hohepa Delamere, who died last week in Auckland at the age of 59.

Thousands of people passed through Whitianga marae near Te Kaha over the weekend to pay their respects to Mr Delamere, who gave up a successful career as an successful to follow a family tradition of healing.

He practiced mirimiri and romiromi massage therapies, as well as using rongoa or traditional medicines

He also taught at kohanga reo, kura kaupapa Maori, wharekura and tertiary institutions including Waitech and Auckland College of Education.

At the time of his death he was involved with writing the new hauora or health curriculum for the Ministry of Education.

WHANGAREI STATUE TAKES UNKINDEST CUT

Maori Cultural expert Pita Sharples is at a loss to explain the desecration of a maori carving in Whangarei.

Vandals severed the uri, or penis of a carving at the entrance to the Whangarei museum in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The damage has made the news both in New Zealand, and overseas.

Pita Sharples says the theft is an affront to the maori culture.

"It could be peope protesting about our tikanga or our beliefs or our culture, our artistic representation, or it could be sheer vandalism. Either way it's disgraceful. I hope there will be some protests about what's happened in Taitokerau and I hope the uri will be replaced," Sharples said.

RANGATAHI TARGET FOR MUSIC HUI

Rangatahi maori will be targetted at this years Pao Pao Pao, a gathering of maori from the music industry, in Wellington.

The event, which celebrates maori involvement in music, was instigated by the late Hirini Melbourne, who has been credited with the revival of taonga puoro.

Ngahiwi Apanui, who is co-ordinating the November gathering, says it will feature panel forums, workshops and a concert,

He says kaupapa maori music is missing out, because many talented bi lingual rangatahi don't realise the potential in areas other than kapa haka or hip hop.

"To tap into all bilingual talent that's coming out of kura kaupapa Maori and to say to those kids there's another option besides kapa haka or doing r&b or hip hop, called kaupapa Maori music, which asks you to take your knowledge of tikanga Maori and kapa haka and all the rest of it and your knowledge of hip hop and r&b and fuse it and make that music your own," Apanui said.

POLL BOOSTS MAORI PARTY SPIRITS

The co-leader of the Maori Party says hard work is behind the latest poll result showing huge support for the party.

Over the weekend the Marae DigiPoll showed 43 percent of Maori voters on both the Maori and general roll would vote for the Maori Party if an election was held tomorrow.

Mr Sharples says while an election is still two years away, the poll shows Maori voters are impressed by what the maori party has been able to achieve in its first year in parliament.

"What the DigiPoll shows is the hard work we have been doing and it reflects that we have been a true voice for our people in Parliament. We have been able to raise the issues they want raised and to champion the causes they want championed. I think it's a direct reflection of that," Sharples said.

MUSIC AND MORE MAORI MUSIC FROM HUI

A major gathering later this year of people involved in the Maori music scene, could be a catalyst to see more Maori music coming out of the studio.

Ngahiwi Apanui, the co-ordinator of this years Pao Pao Pao, says the event was founded by the late Huirinin Melbourne.

He says the workshops, discussion forums, and concert give maori musicians a chance to network, and share experiences, to support each other to have more maori music made.

"Essentially what it's about is celebrating te ara puoro, the wide spectrum of music that Maori are involved in, starting with the cultural extreme you're looking at waiata tawhito, and if you look at the other extreme it's rock and pop and contemporary type music, that Maori are doing today in English. It's a celebration of the music that Maori people are involved in making," Apanui said.

PONGIA SEES TV ATTITUDE ON MEND

A Maori television presenter, says TVNZ are starting to make programmes with cross cultural appeal.

Good morning presenter, Brendan Pongia says in the past it might have been thought that maori programmes would appeal only to maori viewers, but that has now changed.

He says there is a recognition fron senior management that many programmes have cross cultural value.

"A classic example was when the Maori queen passed away. TVNZ took the whole show for the whole day, and I think that was fantastic. I thnk that showed to Maori there is starting to be a change where they look at things like that as an important part, that change is slowly starting, but things are still going to take time," Pongia said.