Tuwharetoa Landcorp deal overpriced at $85.5 million

A trustee for the Tuwharetoa group buying $85.5 million of Landcorp farms around Taupo says they did the deal to stop the land being sold to third parties before the tribe was able to negotiate a treaty claim settlement.

Peter Clarke from the Hikuwai Hapu Lands Trust says Tuwharetoa asked the Office of Treaty Settlements to land bank the five stations, but it was turned down.

Mr Clarke says the trust has bought the land as a package deal, even though it disputes the valuations of the two stations adjoining the Taupo township.

“Tauhara North, that’s all the land around our mountain, Mount Tauhara, and Tauhara South, from the Napier Road to the highway to the airport. Now with those two blocks, it was highly over-inflated, to the extent there was a big margin between our valuer and Landcorp to the tune of about $22 million,” Clarke said.

Peter Clarke says Tuwharetoa interests already own about 65 percent of the Taupo basin.

TARAWA OPPOSES PANMURE EVICTION

Prominent Auckland kaumatua Matiu Tarawa says the decision by Housing Corporation to evict a Panmure family out of a state house is disrespectful.

Mr Tarawa is supporting 19 year old Olivia Maana, whose mother, the tenant of the Dunkirk Street house, died last month.

He says the family isn't ready to move.

“For 32 years they’ve lived there. The grandparents were there for that length of time and all the children that were born, were born there and all the afterbirth were buried there, It’s a very sensitive issue. And the other thing, the family's still grieving,” Tarawa saiud.

Matiu Tarawa believes Housing Corporation wants the property vacant so it can develop the site into units.

KAHUI PUTTING CLAIM ON CENTRE SPOT

Maori sports commentator Scotty Morrison says the All Black selectors will be keeping a close eye on Waikato centre Richard Kahui in tomorrow night's Air New Zealand Cup final in Hamilton.

He says the clash between Kahui and Wellington centre Tana Umaga will be a feature of the final, expected to be played in front of a sellout crowd.

Mr Morrison says the young Maori player has added a lot of starch to the Waikato backline during the season, and if his good form continues, will warrant consideration from the All Black selectors next year.

“I think Kahui’s definitely got a good chance because they’ve tried a lot of other centres and they’ve all failed, so if they can’t convince Tana Umaga to go next year then Kahui’s definitely a candidate that could go as long as he plays a good Super 14,” Morrison said.

TUWHARETOA CHALLENGES MOUNTAIN GIFT

Ngati Tuwharetoa says its ancestor Horonuku Te Heuheu the fourth never gave away the central North Island mountains.

Paramount chief Tumu Te Heuheu told the Waitangi Tribunal hearing on the Tongariro National Park Claim today that his great great grandfather never intended that the Crown would assume sole ownership and control of mounts Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngaruahoe.

Tuwharetoa spokesperson Paranapa Otimi says te Heuheu was looking for some kind of joint protection arrangement with Queen Victoria.

“The issues of a gift from a Maori – our understanding – was the furtherest thng his mind, and all he wanted to do was keep the mountain sacred and inviolate and protected,” Otimi said.

Paranapa Otimi says Tuwharetoa wants a much grerater say in the future management of the Tongariro National Park.

MAORI REPORTING SUBJECT OF DOCO

A documentary highlighting the inadequacies of mainstream news reporting of Maori issues will screen tomorrow morning.
'Framing Maori' at 9.30 on TV One is part of the He Matapaki series.

Producer Kay Ellmers says director Tere Harrison is looking at why mainstream stories never seem to tell the whole story, the way that Maori understand it.

“A lot of the issues that Tere explored in the piece were round lack of context for the news. Part of that was because of the commercial nature of news, the short timeframes,” Ellmers said.

Kay Ellmers says the Ms Harrison has interviewed Maori working for mainstream news outlets on their views of the work environment.

WAIROA FILM FEST KICKING OFF

The second Wairoa Maori Film Festival kicks off this weekend.

Co organiser Huia Kozial says the participating filmmakers will be welcomed onto the marae by this year's hosts, the Ngati Raakaipaaka people of Nuhaka.

The festival includes a survey of the films of Ngati director Barry Barclay of Ngati Apa, and it also includes lectures and workshops for young people interested in film making.

Mrs Kozial says its a chance to celebrate the contributions Maori can make to the silver screen.

SQUASH TOURNEY BRING PLAYERS BACK HOME

A Maori squash tournament which has nurtured many of this country's A grade players will be held for the 26th time in Wainuiomata this weekend.

Maori squash chairperson Dennis Karauna says teams and supporters from as far north as Kaitaia are expected at the Nga Hau e Wha tournament.

Mr Karauna says even when Maori players make it big on the mainstream circuit, they don't forget their roots.

“Top players that come out of the mainstream, a lot of them are whanau that have come through Nga Hau e Wha Maori Squash. We’ve got Tamsin Levy and all of them, they frequent the tournament, the Moeke boys from Mataatua and Whakatane, they’re supporters. A lot of the top players, the A grade players, if they’re not on the circuit or overseas, they attend the tournament,” Karauna said.

Dennis Karauna says for many participants, squash is just the vehicle to get together and the tournament is based on tikanga.

Tuwharetoa buying Landcorp farms

Landcorp is looking at selling five sheep and beef farms around Lake Taupo to Tuwharetoa interests.

Landcorp chief executive Chris Kelly says the state owned enterprise signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday with the Hikuwai Trust to work on the deal, with a binding agreement expected before Christmas.

Mr Kelly says the five farms total about 7000 hectares, and they have development potential.

“We have elected strategically to over time exit the Taupo region for various reasons – value of the land, nitrogen issues, things like that. Tuwharetoa are interested in talking to us, and hence the signing of the MOU,” Kelly said.

Chris Kelly says the sale is a commercial deal and not a treaty settlement issue.

HAUTAKI BOSS SAYS SHARES A DEAL

The head of the Maori company trying to build a third mobile phone network says it's a project Maori trusts and incorporations may want a part of.

Hautaki, the commercial arm of the Maori spectrum trust, and its current partner Econet Wireless are in the final stages of negotiating with London-based Communications Venture Partners and Hong Kong- based GEMS for the capital needed to build the network.

Hautaki chairperson Bill Osborne says some shares will be reserved for Maori.

Mr Osborne says it could appeal to some of the more forward looking Maori bodies.

“I think when people see new investors of the nature who are coming in to the game, and understand their background, and the other investments they have made and the success of those investments, that will help people understand there is a doable deal here. They will still have to do due diligence, people have to make up their own minds on those things,” Osborne said.

Bill Osborne says the venture intends to start with cellphone networks in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

HAKA HOKEY TOURNEY FOR ROTORUA

You've probably heard of haka boogie, but how about haka hockey.
That's what's expected of the teams taking part in the annual national hockey tournament this weekend.
This year's tournament featuring eight mens and eight women's teams is being held in Rotorua.

Former national women's coach, Margaret Hiha, says the tournament can only be staged in rohe that have two astroturf venues.

Mrs Hiha says over the years not only has the standard of Maori hockey improved, but also the standarad of cultural performance.

“Part of the kaupapa for the tournament is for teams to do Maori items and teams are much more imaginative. Some of the teams have had waiata written for their rohe, and it has been great,” Hiha said.

Margaret Hiha says last years' winners, Takitimu in the women’s section, and Tamaki Makaurau in the men’s, will be looking to defend their titles.

TAUPO FARMS SOUGHT BY TRIBE

Tuwharetoa interests are looking at short circuiting the claims processes and buying five farms around Lake Taupo directly from Landcorp.

Landcorp chief executive Chris Kelly says a memorandum of understanding was signed yesterday with the Hikuwai Trust to work on the deal.

A binding agreement for the five farms, totaling about 7000 hectares, is due by December the 15th.

Mr Kelly says the state owned enterprise has made a strategic decision to quit the Taupo area.

“Tuwharetoa recognise that is their tribal land and they are prepared to pay an amount of money commensurate with that, and they believe this will give them a good stake for their future generations and I support that, rather than going through the tortuous and very arduous treaty claims process,” Kelly said.

MAORI RUGBY LEAGUE IN ROTORUA

The annual Maori rugby league tournament starts in Rotorua tomorrow, and is the last chance for players to make the national squad which will play three tests against the Cook Islands in Rarotonga next month.

Maori Rugby League secretary Christine Woods says 30 teams will be on show in the rohe, waka, wahine and rangatahi sections.

She says the annual Labour weekend tournament continues to be a showcase of talent, and a vehicle to promote whakawhanaungatanga through sport.

She says Maori coach, Dean Clarke will be keeping a close eye on proceedings.

RUNGA PICKS UP ANOTHER TUI
Maori songbird Bic Runga is soaring high after winning two of the top Tui awards at the New Zealand Music awards this week, for best album and best female solo Artist.

The seven piece band of mainly Maori musicians from Wellington, Fat Freddy's Drop also took out the two top popularity awards, Highest selling New Zealand album for 'Based on a True Story' and the People's choice award.

The video for Flat Freddy's 'Wanderin eye' won a Tui for director Mark Williams.

And Te Reo Takiwaa Dunn's self-titled album which fused contemporary Maori and R'n'B music took out best Maori album of the year.

Maori get call for mobile phone funding

Maori incorporations and trusts will be offered the chance to invest in a company building a mobile phone network which uses spectrum set aside for Maori.

The Maori spectrum trust, through its commercial subsidiary Hautaki, has been working for six years with Zimbabwe-based Econet Wireless on the project.

Hautaki chairperson Bill Osborne says a deal is close to being signed with new investors from Hong Kong and London who have experience in similar networks.

Mr Osborne says as part of the deal, a fixed portion of the shares must be available for Maori.

“We want to make it as pan-Maori as possible so people actually have the opportunity to participate in it, but it has to be a commercially significant amount so we are not dealing with lots and lots and lots of little amounts,” Osborne said.

Bill Osborne says the calibre of the new investors should reassure Maori investors that the project will go ahead.

CURRICULUM WILL REFLECT MAORI WORLD VIEW

Education Minister Steve Maharey says a new curriculum for Maori immersion schools will reflect a completely Maori world view.

Mr Maharey says the document, which is due to introduced next July, won't just be a translation of the mainstream curriculum.

Mr Maharey says a lot of knotty questions had to be considered.

“What is a Maori style of learning, what is the learning and teaching going on here, and how can we ensure the curriculum reflects that style. So come July next year, that will be a very helpful development and hopefully a very productive debate before it gets put into practice,” Maharey said.

LEAGUE DRAWS 100,000 TO MAORI TV

Last weekend's delayed telecast of the Kiwi versus Kangaroo league test turned out to be a huge coup for Maori TV.

More than 100 thousand viewers tuned in for the delayed telecast.
Maori Television spokesperson Sonia Haggie says the use of sport to draw attention to the fledgling channel is paying off.

“We went after rugby league as a signature sport because it appeals to so many of our own people but also a broad range of the New Zealand population and what we do with the rugby league is through the programming we introduce the reo at a very basic level, and that is our way of accessing a wider mainstream audience,” Haggie said.

DOVER ALL AT SEA WITH FORESHORE BILL – SHARPLES

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples says Labour's Dover Samuels is wrong in his interpretation of the Foreshore and Seabed Act (Repeal) Bill.

Mr Samuels says the Maori Party's flagship members bill confirms that foreshore and seabed is Crown property, and it will not do what the party's supporters were promised.

But Dr Sharples says his party just wants to give Maori a chance to have their day in court.

“The bill we put forward brings it back to the status quo, where it was before the Foreshore and Seabed Act, which gives Maori the right to go to the Maori Land Court and test before the law their relationship to the foreshore and seabed,” Sharples said.

Pita Sharples says more than 30 other Acts of Parliament will need to be amended to repeal the Act.

MAORI DROP OUT OF TERTIARY EDUCATION PLAN

The Maori policy advisor for the Association of University Staff says Maori risk dropping out of the national Tertiary Education Plan.

Naomi Manu says Maori need to oppose a plan to remove a specific reference to Maori strategy from the plan.

She says Maori educational concerns are being put on the back burner.

“There needs to be specific priorities for Maori in the tertiary education strategy. If we don’t act, support for Maori staff and students will be omitted from the government’s priorities for tertiary education,” Manu said.

MAORI OBESITY TACKLED AT HURIA HUI

Maori health professionals met in Tauranga today to try to find Maori ways to tackle obesity.

Leonie Mapoi, the nutrition and physical activity manager for the Maori heart foundation, Te Hotu Manawa Maori, says obesity has a range of causes, and there is no simple solution.

She says the hui at Huria Marae discussed the need for improved nutritional education, and the availability of fresh foods in Maori communities, where fast food is often easier to find than fruit and vegetables.

Ms Mapoi says the hui looked for Maori solutions.

“It's kaupapa Maori. We know the most effective nutrition silutions have come from by Maori for Maori approaches, so we really see the need to develop that,” Mapoi said.

Bill confirms foreshore in Crown hands

Labour list MP Dover Samuels says the Maori Party's bill to repeal the Foreshore and Seabed Act is a con job on its members.

The bill in the name of Te Tai Hauauru MP Tariana Turia was drawn from the ballot and could be put before Parliament as early as next week.

Mr Samuels says Maori Party supporters believed their party was fighting for Maori ownership of the foreshore and seabed.

But he says the bill actually confirms the position adopted by the government.

“This bill basically mimics exactly the same principles considered by the Labour Maori caucus, the Labour and New Zealand First, and I want to say to our people, have a look at clause 9 and clause 13 where it says the the seabed revested in the Crown,” Samuels said.

Dover Samuels says the bill takes away the opportunity in the current bill for Maori to pursue customary rights claims to coastal areas.

MAORI TRUSTEES SOUGHT

It can be a lonely thing to be the only Maori on a school board.
That's one of the reasons the School Trustees Association is looking for more Maori parents to stand as candidates in next year's elections.

President Lorraine Kerr from Ngati Awa and Tuwharetoa says communities need to identify these people now because it will take a while for them to build up confidence - as she can confirm from personal experience.

“Boards that I have sat on have been primary, intermediate and college level, and it hasn’t been easy being the lone Maori, you just have to gain the confidence to feel a part of the decision making. The more Maori we have, the better we will be. That would be a wonderful outcome,” Kerrr said.

Lorraine Kerr says schools are crying out for input from Maori parents.

HERITAGE COUNCIL MEMBER APPOINTED

The newest member of the Maori Heritage Council of the Historic Places Trust will bring 20 years of experience in heritage and museum studies to his new position.

Tairawhiti Polytechnic lecturer Mike Spedding has been appointed to represent the central region for three years.

Mr Spedding says he would like to focus on the special dual heritage between Maori and Pakeha, especially in the East Coast area where he has been living for the past 15 years.

“I’m interest in those places of which the Turanganui River is a really strong case in point that we have neglected over time, and there are numerous examples, throughout the country, and for us to find ways we can recognise and protect those places, and one of the best ways we can do that is become better educated about those places,” Spedding said.

Mike Spedding will join an esteemed group of Maori on the Maori Heritage Council which is chaired by Tuwharetoa paramount chief Tumu Te Heuheu.

RULE CHANGE WILL HELP SPECTRUM TRUST

The chair of the Te Huarahi Tika Maori spectrum trust says a review of regulations covering the mobile telephone market will help it finally get its network off the ground.

Mavis Mullins says the trust's annual meeting in Wellington yesterday was briefed by Bill Osborne, who heads the trust's joint venture with mobile phone company Econet Wireless.

Mrs Mullins says the joint venture has been unable make much progress because of barriers to enter the market.

But she says the decision by the Commerce Commission to look at the existing regulations will help Econet raise the almost $100 million needed to build a network.

”With the equity partners that we are now talking with, the fact that this has been brought forward, that government will be looking it, gives them a lot more security and comfort around the fact the regulation will eventually occur,” Mullins said.

Mavis Mullins says the Econet network is likely to offer a wider range of services than just voice calling.

FORESHORE BILL A BETRAYAL

Labour list MP Dover Samuels says the Maori Party is betraying its members with its bill to repeal the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

The members bill in the name of Tariana Turia is due to come before Parliament on members day next Wednesday.

Mr Samuels says the Maori Party MPs were elected because their supporters thought they would oppose the principle that the Crown owned the foreshore and seabed on behalf of all New Zealanders.

But he says that's not how the bill will work.

“Now that really 
was the guts of the whole political movement, and now you see this bill here, right before us, and before the Maori nation, really confirming Crown ownership,” Samuels said.

Dover Samuels says the Maori Party seems to have adopted the same position on the foreshore and seabed as Labour's Maori Caucus, but without some of the protections for customary rights.

GRANDFATHER INSPIRES WAR DANCE

The wartime experience of a Maori Battalion member is being used as the basis for a new dance work being rehearsed in Auckland.

Five dancers from the Atamira Dance Collective will perform Memoirs of Active Service at the Maidment Studio at Auckland University next month.

Choreographer Maaka Pepene says he was inspired to create Memoirs after reading his grandfather's wartime diary.

Mr Pepene, who himself spent six years in the army himself, and says he was moved by many of the entries.

Matauri X deal necessary

Labour list MP and Matauri X shareholder Dover Samuels says he is happy with conditions on a proposed 25 hectare beachfront development at Matauri Bay.

Mr Samuels says in granting the resource consent, the Far North District Council and Regional Council has taken into account the concerns of shareholders and whanau living at the bay.

The development will allow the incorporation to pay back $6 million in debt racked up as the result of an investment into a water bottling company which failed.

Mr Samuels says while many shareholders are still angry at the loss, they recognise it is time to move ahead.

“We also recognise we do have a debt, unfortunately many of our shareholders were not privy, were not asked in fact if they supported the project that fell over that resulted in the incurrence of this debt, but we have to pick up the tab, and the only asset we have to repay the debt is our land,” Samuels said.

Dover Samuels says the development should lead to training and work opportunities for the Matauri community and shareholders.

MAORI NEEDED FOR SCHOOL BOARDS

The head of the School Trustees Association says Maori parents with children in mainstream schools need to stand up and be counted.

Lorraine Kerr from Ngati Awa and Tuwharetoa says with school trustee elections coming up next year, now is the time to be identifying potential candidates and pushing them forward.

She says the kohanga reo and kura kaupapa movements helped many Maori parents become more active in their children's education, and the same thing needs to happen in mainstream schools.

“When you think about 75 percednt of our Maori tamariki go through mainstream schools, we need more Maori standing up and being counted, getting involved in their tamariki, getting involved in education themselves,” Kerr said.

Lorraine Kerr says becoming a school trustee is one of the best ways parents can support their tamariki's education.

HUNTLY REVAMP HAS ROOM FOR MAORI

Long time Huntly resident and MP for Tainui, Nanaia Mahuta, says the Waikato District Council has a legal obligation to consult with the Maori community over a proposed revamp for the town.

Waikato kaumatua Timi Maipi has complained the council hadn't taken Maori views into consideration, when it announced a revamp of the town centre along an industrial heritage theme.

Ms Mahuta says there are opportunities for Maori input.

“The district council is obligated to consult with the community, the Maori community in particular, people with a view about how Huntly should be reshaping its identity can feed into that process. If that is not happening, it is just sheer laziness,” Mahuta said.

Nanaia Mahuta says if Huntly Maori don't make submissions on development, she will want to know why.

ARC APPEAL GOOD NEWS FOR PUKETUTU

Waikato kaumatua Sonny Rauwhero is welcoming the Auckland Regional Council's decision to fund an appeal against a proposed compost operation on Puketutu Island

The Environment Court has approved compost company Living Earth plans to compost 75 thousand tonnes of garden waste on the island in the Manukau Harbour each year.

Mr Rauwhero says hapu at Ihumatao and Pukaki on the shores of the harbour will support the appeal.

He says the long time environmental abuse of the area has gone on long enough.

“By the time they’re done with what they want from the land and the sea, we’re left with the rubbish to pick up. Same thing with the sewage ponds, we’re still picking it up. Even though they’ve done a lot of good things, so they say, we’re still left with a lot of sore, the hakihaki and all those sorts of things that goes with the families,” Rauwhero said.

Sonny Rauwhero says Puketutu Island contains sites of spiritual significance to Tainui, including a pa occupied by the first Maori king, Potatau Te Wherowhero.

BREAST CANCER SCREENING UPTAKE PROBED

Maori women aren't taking advantage of the free screening available during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Dr Mona Jeffries, a senior lecturer in public health at Massey University, says she wants to find out why such campaigns aren't reaching Maori women.

Dr Jeffries is part of a study which aims to interview 250 women with breast cancer and 1000 without.

She says the study will look particularly hard at Maori women.

“We do know that Maori women are much less likely than Pakeha women to take part in the screening programme, and that’s a real pity because having screening is by far a women’s best chance of doing something proactive about reducing her risk of dying from breast cancer,” Jeffries said.

Dr Mona Jeffries says the findings from the study should be available by the end of 2007.

GOVERNMENT URGED TO COUGH UP FOR FEES

Maori Students Association chairperson Veronica Tawhai says government rather than students should cover the higher costs of university education.

Ms Tawhai says planned fee rises at Auckland, Canterbury and Massey universities will force many Maori to abandon their dream of tertiary education.

She says the universities are responding to the demands of government, so the government should pay.

“They're looking for better quality and better completion rates, so institutions are having to really up the services they provide, both in terms of teaching and other services students need to complete, so the government should come though with extra funding to support that move,” Tawhai said.

Veronica Tawhai says because more than 40 per cent of Maori students are from low income families, they will be the group most affected by the fee hikes.

Ngai Tahu structure overhaul call

A former director of Ngai Tahu Holdings says the South Island tribe needs changes to its structure to make representatives more accountable to its beneficiaries.

Richard Parata says the way Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu is elected is good for ensuring the individual marae communities are represented.

But Mr Parata says the system does not give a say to the thousands of Ngai Tahu beneficiaries who have little or no interaction with their marae.

“Representatives need to be more accountable to the beneficiaries. They simply are not. We have 18 marae, we have 37,000 beneficiaries, and only six out of the 18 include a system where beneficiaries can actually vote,” Parata said.

Richard Parata says he would like to see Ngai Tahu give all beneficiaries the chance to vote for a board which could be responsible for the tribe's $600 million in assets.

SAND MOVE SUITS NGATI WAI

The Ngati Wai Trust Board says taking sand from the Matapouri estuary could be good for the health of the environment.

Chief executive Addie Smith says the board was satisfied with the consultation process adopted by the Northland Regional Council, which has given consent to move 18 thousand cubic metres of sand from the estuary to an adjoining sandspit.

Ms Smith says sand has been moving from the beach into the estuary.
She says Ngati Wai was consulted because the erosion threatened some Maori blocks on the coast.

“So we know that the processes have been in place. Whangarei District Council has always consulted with us all along thw way. We favour the move of the sand because with the geographic change and the weather, over time the sand out in the bay has washed into the estuary part and collected there,” Smith said.

MIDWIFE SHORTAGE TOPIC FOR HUI

The Maori midwife's association Nga Maia says numbers are well short of what is needed to cope with the Masori birth rate.

The issue was a major cause for concern at Nga Maia's annuml meeting in Christchurch.

Spokesperson Henare Kani says only 100 Maori midwives hold current practicing certificates.

He says that is a real issue for Maori women who want help from other Maori during delivery.

“This year there'll be 60,000 babbies born in Aotearoa, and 12,000 will be Maori babies. To cope with that amount, we will probably need to have 300 or 400 midwives, so we’re well short to cope with our own birthrate, let alone anyone else's,” Kani said.

Henare Kani says there are about 3000 certified midwives nationwide.

NGAI TAHU BOARD BATTLES BREWING

A former member of the board of Ngai Tahu Holdings has spoken out against the chief executive of the South Island tribe's runanga.

Richard Parata stepped down from the board in June, and is now campaigning for greater accountability in the tribe.

He says the Ngai Tahu structure was deliberately set up so its commercial arm acted independent of the tribal government, but with the runanga chief executive providing a line of communication between the two bodies.

Mr Parata says that has broken down, in part because runanga chief executive Tahu Potiki attended only five board meetings in the five years to June.

He says the health of the tribe is at stake.

“The way it was structured is the holding corporation would make the money so the tribe could spend it, or it could be spent on the tribe, and those dividends we produce each year, unless you have good governance and good management, they will simply wane,” Parata said.

Richard Parata says Ngai Tahu needs to overhaul its voting structure to make it more accountable to beneficiaries.

MIDWIVES WORKING ON KAUPAPA MAORI DEVELOPMENT

The Maori midwives association, Nga Maia, is working with Ngati Raukawa aims to create positive kaupapa Maori birthing experiences for women and their whanau.

Nga Maia kaitiaki kaupapa Henare Kani says the Whakaohooho i Te Mauri programme includes kaupapa Maori antenatal education.

Henare Kani says early results are promising.

”Out of that came six resources that we’ve just finished having evaluated, and we’ll make them available to whanau groups and hauora groups and anyone else who wants to do kaupapa Maori antenatal programmes,” Kani said.

Henare Kani says Nga Maia is also trying to address the shortage of Maori midwives, with only 100 certified nationwide.

TRADITIONAL GAMES COULD AID LEARNING

A Maori physical education teacher says Maori should return to traditional games to educate tamariki.

Wairoa College teacher Val Irwin of Ngati Kahungunu and Tuhoe says tamariki are hugely interested in Te Reo Kori, the language of movement.

Mr Irwin presented his philosophy of Maori physicality to the recent International Congress of Health, Physical Education, Dance, Recreation and Sport in Wellington.
He says the simplest things can be used for teaching.

“When you get a button and you put it through some string and you wind it up and you get ‘what’s that sound?’ and the adult of that was the porotiti, not to mention the tops, the kites, the stiles, all the aquatic games, the running games,” Irwin said.

Val Irwin is about to undertake his PHD in the field of Te Reo Kori at Waikato University.

Matauri X shareholders still unhappy on lease

A Matauri X shareholder says there is still considerable suspicion among landowners about a plan to prevent a mortgagee sale of the Northland seaside land.

The Far North District Council has granted resource consent for a 139 lot subdivision, which will be leased out to allow the Maori land incorporation to repay a $6 million debt incurred as the result of a failed investment by its previous board of management.

But Nau Epiha says the result may be the owners have as good as lost their best land.

“When it comes to whenua, someone can come onto your whenua and they do an improvement, and it’s an improvement that you cannot pay back after 52 years, do you think that’s a lease. I know once I put my house on the whenua, it’s mine forever,” Nau Epiha said.

WHANGANUI PROTEST NOT NECESSARY

The Prime Minister says the theatrical protest by Whanganui claimants is unnecessary.

Over the weekend a group led by Ken Mair ploughed up lawns on Crown surplus properties and planted pumpkins,.

Mr Mair says he took his action because the Office of Treaty Settlements was not consulting with claimants over the way the land was managed.

But Ms Clark says Mr Mair did not need to take such extreme measures

“He knows the way to go about talking to the Crown about these things. There’s just being quite a historic handover of say the courthouse site, in Wanganui to the local iwi, they’re trying to progress the Wanganui River claim, there’s ways of doing things, and there’s ways of drawing attention to yourself through protest, and I think we all know what the most effective way of doing things is,” Clark said.

TUUPEKA KORE NOW THE ANTI SMOKING WORD

A change in wording of the Maori anti-smoking message is on the cards.
Shane Bradbrook of the Maori Smokefree Coalition says rather than auahi kore or smoke free, the aim is to be tuupeka kore or tobacco free.

He says tuupeka - a transliteration of word tobacco - is more appropriate, because auahi was traditionally associated with the special significance of fire.

Mr Bradbrook says the anti smoking message will be become more powerful.

“While the auahi kore smokefree message has made an impact on our people, having something like tuupeka kore as a concept is very clear, unambiguous, our people understand the concept around what tuupeka is and it gets to the gusts of it, it is ultimately around tobacco, and that is the product that is hurting, harming, killing our people,” Bradbrook said.

WYLLIE LANDS FISH IWI LIAISON JOB

Former New Zealand First MP Tutekawa Wyllie has been hired to boost commercial relationships between Sealord Group, Aotearoa Fisheries and their iwi shareholders.

Aotearoa Fisheries chief executive Robin Hapi says Mr Wyllie's role as chair of the Treaty Tribes Coalition during the height of the battles over allocation of fisheries settlement assets did not play a factor in the appointment.

He says the companies believe they need to develop better relationships between iwi who want to get more value out of the quota they have been allocated.

“Tu knows about those sorts of things and we believe that he can act as quite a valuable coordinator of activity within our group,” Hapi said.

Robin Hapi says Tu Wyllie has just returned to New Zealand after completing a three year Masters in Business Administration at Henley Management College in England.

CIG SHOPS TO GET SHAKE UP

Maori anti-smoking advocate Skye Kimura says shops need a shake up over the way they push cigarettes.

The study by Otago's School of Medicine has found most retail outlets aren't displaying cigarettes in the manner set out by law, and the worst offenders tend to be in lower socio economic communities.

It found some stores displaying cigarettes next to children's products, while others failed to show smoking kills sign within 2 metres of cigarette displays, as required by law.

Ms Kimura says she welcomes indications from associate Health Minister Damien O'Connor that the Health Ministry will take a stronger stand on enforcing the rules.

“It already has started and I think once the minister gives the OK to his ministry to be doing something about this, we will see a change in terms of point of sale,” Kimura said.

KING TUHEITIA TO VISIT MURIWHENUA

A visit by the newly crowned king Tuheitia to the far north later this month will rekindle the whakapapa connections between Tainui and the north.

Te Aupouri kaumatua Kingi Ihaka says there has always been a strong bond between the iwi, and that has been strengthened by the marriage of Tuheitia s father, Whatumoana Paki, to the late maori queen.

Mr Ihaka says as soon as the new king was crowned, the Te Aupouri Trust Board contacted Tainui with an invitation for him to visit.

“He'll be going up to meet with the confederation of far north tribes. That’s Ngati Kuri, Te Aupouri, Ngai Takoto, Te Rarawa and Ngati Kahu, So it will be an opportunity for the people of the far north to meet the new king, as well as an opportunity for him to rekindle his links, so to speak, with the tribes of the far north,” Ihaka said.

Kingi Ihaka says King Tuheitia's grandmother is from Te Aupouri.

Fish company the gift that will keep giving

Aotearoa Fisheries chairperson Robert McLeod says a valuation Ngapuhi put on its stake in the pan-Maori fishing company is unrealistic.

Ngapuhi has has discounted the shares it received as part of its fisheries settlement allocation by 90 percent to $5 million.

That values the total company at $39 million, rather than the $350 million that Te Ohu Kaimoana fisheries settlement trust says it is work.

Mr McLeod says it's hard to put a market value on the company, because its structure was designed to keep the fisheries settlement assets within Maoridom.

“The value of the settlement over time would be by way of the income on the assets, kind of like the fruit and the tree analogy. The tree is to be kept by all generations of Maori, through the generations, and the fruit is to be enjoyed by successive generations,” McLeod said.

Rob McLeod says iwi should record their Aotearoa Fisheries shares in their accounts at a fair value, and that means the value they might be willing to sell them for, if they were able.

REFUGE MANAGER WANTS IWI MONEY

The manager of a South Auckland women's refuge says iwi authorities and runanga should be doing more to help.

Marlene Bolton from Camelia House in Manurewa says refuges are turning away some women because they lack enough resources to cope with the number who need their services.

Ms Bolton says a disproportionate number of the women are Maori, and it's time iwi authorities looked at those of their people most in need:

“If there is money sitting there that can help our whanaus, that's what it should be being used for. It's no good sitting there looking good in the books. Look at our people there who are struggling, and I would say all women's refuges are struggling,” Bolton said.

BARRY BARCLAY SURVEY FOR WAIROA FESTIVAL

This year's Wairoa International Maori Film Festival is showcasing the work of Barry Barclay, who has broken the ground for many Maori film makers.

Organiser Leo Koziol says organising the event is easier the second time, now that it has been established that people will make their way to the East Coast town to see the best of Maori on celluloid.

While Mr Barclay is from Ngati Apa, Mr Koziol says through his filmmaking he has established some important connections to the coast.

“We're taking an opportunity to do a retrospective of his earlier works. Opening night will be Ngati, which is also marking the very sad passing of (actor) Wi Kuki Kaa and (screenwriter) Tama Poata, who were both very strongly ingvolved in the film, and we are also showing Te Rua, Feathers of Peace and The Kaipara Affair,” 
Leo Koziol said.

The Wairoa Maori Film festival starts on Friday.

CROWN LAND PRIMED FOR PUMPKINS

Whanganui protest leader Ken Mair says his group is eyeing more Crown-owned land to dig up for gardens.

A group led by Mr Mair dug up a number of lawns over the weekend with rotary hoes and planted pumpkin and kamokamo.

They were protesting the way the Office of Treaty Settlements is managing surplus Crown land which may be needed to settle the Whanganui tribes' treaty claims.

Mr Mair says the group reached back into the past when formulating their action.

“Many of our families were very supportive of Parihaka, Te Whiti and Tohu, and we decided the concept of ploughing up the land and putting it into gardens was consistent with the actins of our tupuna of the past, and that’s exactly what we've done,” Mair said.

Ken Mair says claimants should be involved in the management of the surplus crown land

PTERS PRAISES DESTINY RESULT

It may have stood candidates against him in the last election, but New Zealand First leader Winston Peters still has a good word for the Destiny Church.

In a speech to his party's annual conference in Auckland, Mr Peters said the church led by television evangelist Brian Tamaki should be praised for its commitment to family values and discipline and the changes it has made to the lives of many Maori people.

Mr Peters says that is overlooked by the church's critics.

“Here was a church or a movement that had got many Maori following a sound family ways and responsibilities, and they were the butt of criticism form all sectors. How could people not see the benefit of that angle of their activities,” Peters said.

LAWYER PRAISED RESTORATIVE MODEL

The president of the Auckland District Law Society says he'd like to seem more use of Maori models of restorative justice in the mainstream system.

Gary Gottlieb says use of restorative justice may have helped uncover the truth earlier about his clients who spent seven months in prison after being falsely convicted of an aggravated robbery in 1999.

The three have just accepted compensation for their ordeal.
Mr Gottleib says he has been impressed with some of the processes he has seen working on marae around the country.

Gary Gottleib says many of the legal processes people have to go through are pointless and achieve nothing.

TOKM defends Aotearoa valuation

Te Ohu Kaimoana Trust has moved quickly to counter Ngapuhi's aggressive write down of the value of its Maori fisheries settlement assets.

In its annual accounts, the northern tribe has valued its eighth share in pan-Maori fishing company Aotearoa Fisheries at less than $5 million, $40 million less than the value put on it by the Trust.

Te Ohu Kaimoana chief executive Peter Douglas says because the assets have been held in trust for iwi, they should be entered on the books as equity at fair value.

“There's an implication with fair value that there’s a willing seller and a willing buyer. In the case of the assets being valued at $5 million for instance instead of $45 million, that would suggest there is someone willing to sell them at $5 million and someone willing to buy them. Well there would be plenty of people willing to buy them, but not many wanting to sell them,” Douglas said.

Peter Douglas says Te Ohu Kaimonana has received advice on how to value the shares from accountants Ernst and Young, and it is getting an independent valuation prepared for the guidance of iwi.

PARIHAKA PLOUGH PROTEST TRIED IN WHANGANUI

In a protest harking back to Parihaka, Maori rights campaigner Ken Mair, has ploughed up a Crown block on the edge of the Wanganui River which has been landbanked for possible use in a treaty settlement.

Mr Mair says the weekend action was to highlight the lack of Maori involvement in management of the land.

He says they deliberately used a form of protest used by Te Whiti O Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi in Taranaki in the 1870s.

“We're plowing up Crown land banked lands or land that should have been land banked. We’re plowing them up and putting them in gardens and we’re going to feed the community but we also challenging the Crown regarding its policies around this surplus land, where they set all the policies and criteria,” Mair said.

TE KU TE WHE GETS REMIX TREATMENT

A remix album of a 1993 landmark recording of traditional Maori instruments has just hit record stores.

The new album named Te Whaiao is a remix edition of the original Te Ku Te Whe album and features some of this country's finest contemporary artists.

Ngati Tuwharetoa songstress Moana Maniapoto says the remix will help take the music of the late composer Hirini Melbourne and instrumentalist Richard Nunns to a wider audience.

“Hirini and Richard top people who really know the breadth and depth of New Zealand music, they’ll be familiar artist, but a lot don’t, because most mainstream radio stations don’t play Maori language music. It will enable their unique sound to be accessible to other people,” Maniapoto said.

Other remixers on Te Whaiao include SJD, Sola Rosa, Salmonella Dub and Rhian Sheehan.

 AOTEAROA VALUATION UNREALISTIC

The chief executive of Maori fisheries settlement trust Te Ohu Kaimoana says Ngapuhi's valuation of its shares in pan-Maori fisheries company Aotearoa Fisheries is unrealistic.

Ngapuhi received just over 12 percent of Aotearoa Fisheries in the last financial year and has entered it in its books at less than $5 million.

Peter Douglas says that is about 90 percent less than the trust valued the company, based on its assets such as deepwater quota and a half share in New Zealand's largest fishing company, Sealord Group.

“Well from what I can understand, that valuation ends up seeing the whole of Aotearoa Fisheries valued at something like $39 million, when we are valuing it at over $300 million, so I am surprised anyone could apply discounts to that extent,” Douglas said.

Peter Douglas says Te Ohu Kaimoana has prepared advice for iwi on how they should treat the Aotearoa Fisheries Shares in their accounts.

KAPA HAKA FIRES SOUTH AUCKLAND COMMUNITY

The Auckland Secondary Schools Kapahaka Competition proved a huge boost for the south Auckland Maori community.

Mahia Nathan, the principal of host school Te Wharekura o Manurewa, says more than 3000 people attended the event at Manurewa Marae to support their teams.

He says there was a high standard of entrants and a positive feeling all around.

First on aggregate was Otara's Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Piripono, with minor placings going to Nga Puna Waiorea from Western Springs College and Nga Tupuranga from Clover Park Middle School, also in Otara.

TAMAITI PARAONE TURNS 90

Live a good clean life.

That's the advice from Tamati Parone, the former president of the 28 Maori Battalion, who turned 90 over the weekend.

His son, Pita, a New Zealand First MP, says the whanau were honoured to host 450 people at his dad's celebration, held at Otiria marae near Moerewa.

He says it was humbling to see the effort made by his father's second world war comrades.

At least a dozen made the trip, as well as a number of widows of men he fought beside.

“The number of people who turned up to honour our father was a reflection of the commitment he has made in his life to other people,” Paraone said.

Ngapuhi writes $40 million off AFL share value

The country's largest iwi Ngapuhi has written down the value of its shares in pan-Maori fisheries company Aotearoa Fisheries by 90 percent.

Ngapuhi Runanga chairperson Sonny Tau says the $40 million write-down will ensure tribal members did not get a false picture of the runanga's financial health.

He says Ngapuhi's share of the Maori fisheries settlement included $3.8 million in cash, $19 million of quota and just over 12 percent of Aotearoa Fisheries.

Te Ohu Kaimoana fisheries settlement Trust said that stake was worth $45 million, but Mr Tau says Ngapuhi got an independent valuation.

“We're getting about $1.8 million a year off our quota, we’ve had a bit of an increase in that since we’ve got our quota given to us, but by and large the shares aren’t redeemable for five years, so you won’t be getting a return off those shares for five years,” Tau said.

The 2006 accounts just published showed Ngapuhi's revenue increased slightly from 4.6 to five million dollars, but profits were static at $1.4 million.

TURIA COMMENDED FOR LEADERSHIP

Maori Party president Professor Whatarangi Winiata has commended party co-leader Tariana Turia for her 10 years in Parliament.

Mrs Turia capped off her first decade by having her Seabed and Foreshore Act Repeal Bill drawn from the parliamentary ballot.

Tariana Turia entered Parliament in 1996 bas a Labour List MP, and went on to win the Te Tai Hauauru seat twice for Labour and twice for the Maori Party.
Dr Winiata says Ms Turia provides much-needed parliamentary experience for the one year old Maori Party.

“The Caucus is group of quite independent individuals, but they rely greatly on the experience that Tariana brings to them, from that decade in Parliament, and of course the many years she spent on the Whanganui River and the work involving her people,” Winiata said.

ROCK ART HOLDS WHAKAPAPA SECRETS

Maori Heritage Trust manager Te Kenehi Teira says historical rock art sites hold very important whakapapa for their surrounding hapu and iwi.

160 sites have been identified in the North Island from Houhora on the Aupouri peninsula to the East Coast.

Mr Teira says the highest concentration of sites is in the central plateau in Ngati Pikiao, Tuhourangi, Tarawera and Ngati Tuwharetoa territory.

He says the ancestors associated with many of the sites are known.

“One site we visited in the Taupo area is Te Kakaho, and it has a whole korero for Nga Uri o Tia and the descendants of Te Arawa ancestors that came into the Taupo basin area. They are able to talk about the specific tupuna who lived there and are associated with the rock art,” Teira said.

Te Kenehi Teira says he'd like to see a group formed to support kaitiaki of Maori rock art.

TRIBUNAL KNEECAPPING BILL DRIVEN BY ENVY

A leading treaty lawyer says a New Zealand First bill which would ban Maori Land Court judges from sitting on the Waitangi Tribunal could be motivated by the high quality of the current bench.

David Williams, the associate professor of law at Auckland University, says it is common for judges to sit on royal commissions and other inquiries.

He says Maori Land Court judges have specialist skills which are particularly useful in Waitangi tribunal inquiries, and they also tend to be younger and better educated than judges on other courts.

“The bill seems to me to be entirely ill-focused really. Perhaps it’s just a certain jealousy some people have among politicians that this highly educated group of qualified judges on the Maori Land Court are not be as amenable to the executive as some judges may have been in the past,” Williams said.

David Williams says the quality of tribunal reports could be damaged if the best available minds on maori law and history are not allowed to serve.

TB DISPROPORTIONATE AMONG MAORI

A Wellington School of Medicine researcher says more work needs to be done on early detection of tuberculosis among Maori.

Michael Baker says Maori are up to 20 times more likely to contract TB than Pakeha.

Dr Baker says infection rates among Maori are increasing, but there are preventative measures which will make a difference:

“The main way of controlling this disease is to recognise cases early and treat them. One of the programmes we think is excellent is the Housing New Zealand Healthy Housing programme, where they are doing work to enlarge houses and decrease crowding levels , so we think that is a so we think that is a really important direction for the future,” Baker said.

Michael Baker says most of the tuberculosis cases in New Zealand originate overseas.

ROCK ART KAITIAKI URGED TO DO MORE

The Historic Places Trust is trying to encourage Maori with links to historical rock art to take more responsibility for its preservation.

Conservation practitioners, kaitiaki Maori and heritage agencies met in Taupo last week to discuss how the vulnerable sites should be managed.

Te Kenehi Teira, the trust's Maori heritage manager, says many of the North Island's 160 sites are concentrated on the central plateau.

He says kaitiaki Maori need support if they are to look after what are important parts of their whakapapa.

“We're trying to put the word out to all the people in the different iwi and hapu who might be interested in conserving and protecting Maori rock art, to come together so they have a place where thy can talk about protecting the rock art.

Te Kenehi Teira says the inspiration for the hui came from the Ngai Tahu Rock Art Trust, who have been operating for almost 10 years.