National says farm for Hauraki

National leader John Key says his party would have landbanked the Landcorp farm at the centre of a row over the sale of Crown land is under Treaty of Waitangi claims.

The Government last week postponed the sale of Whenuakite station near Whitianga so it can review Landcorp's policy of selling off non-core, high value land.

Mr Key says Treaty Negotiations Minister Mark Burton made a mistake by not stepping in when Landcorp gave the Office of Treaty Settlements first option on the block.

“I mean it's blindingly obvious that that land is going to form part of the settlement for Hauraki Maori, and frankly, all that they needed to do was to buy it back, and everything would have been fine, but they didn’t do that, they didn’t follow the procedure properly as to what the Office of Treaty Settlements should have done,” Mr Key says.

Since the row blew up, the Government has changed its procedures so decisions on selling surplus Landcorp land will in future be made at ministerial level.

WARRIOR GENE STUDY BAD SCIENCE

Scientists have lined up to attack a claim Maori carry a "warrior gene" which pre-disposes them to risk-taking, addicition and crime.

This month's New Zealand Medical Journal contains a detailed critique of a conference presentation by genetic epidemiologist Rod Lea from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research, who identified a high occurrence of the monoamine oxidase gene among a group of Maori he was studying in Wairoa.

Tony Merrriman, a senior researcher at the Christchurch School of Medicine, says Dr Lea's sample was too small to make any valid conclusions.

“Basing all of this on a sample of 17 males is really small. You know in our work we wouldn’t look at anything less than 200, one or two hundred to start getting an estimate of the frequency of a particular genetic variant,” Dr Merriman says.

He says Dr Lea's study failed to account for environmental influences, and the whole controversy was whipped up by poor journalism.

MAORI LOOKING FOR MORE CHINESE TOURISTS

The Maori Tourism Council has met with Chinese officials to look at ways Maori businesses can get more of the Chinese tourist dollar.

Chief executive Johnny Edmonds says the council hosted the Chinese ambassador and members of a visiting Chinese business council on Kapiti Island over the weekend to discuss how ready Maori businesses are for the growing numbers of visitors from that country.

Mr Edmonds says both groups are looking for sustainable relationships.

We are about to start our collaborative planning on how do we make sure that Chinese manuhiri engage with whanau Maori businesses who provide experiences about engaging with Maori culture and in a way that produces something really top rate for Chinese visitors,” Mr Edmonds says.

RUSSELL OCCUPATION THREATENING FRAGILE SUPPORT

A prominent Ngati Hine kaumatua says a land occupation at Russell could set back a 15 year push to build a marae in the historic Northland township, known to Maori as Kororareka.

Raumoa Kawiti says the Maori sovereignty group which last week set up camp Conservation Department land near Maiki hill are not from the area.

The group is calling for the return of conservation land to Maori.

Mr Kawiti says their action riled Russell residents.

“Got all the people of Kororareka supporting hem, until these blokes created raruraru up there, and now I guess it’ll take a long while to heal this, and Kororareka Marae Committee could miss out altogether with the plan they’ve had going for a while,” Mr Kawiti says.

He hopes the group will be gone by this weekend, when there is ceremony on Maika Hill commemorating the 1845 sacking of Kororareka by Ngapuhi leader Hone Heke.

DENTAL HEALTH SIGN OF GOVERNMENT NEGLECT

National Party health spokesperson Jo Goodhew says children's teeth are rotting while the government dithers.
Ms Goodhew says little progress is made despite $100 million being earmarked to combat dental decay among tamariki, little progress is being made.

She says the scheme has become tangled in red tape, as District Health Boards struggle to develop the business plans needed to access the funds.

She says statistics show Maori pre-schoolers are particularly affected.

“Up in Northland they are absolutely shocking. They are the worst statistics of anywhere in the country, of any group that’s been measures, 14 percent of those children have no holes in their teeth. There has to be urgent action on that, not just waiting and waiting and promising, but not getting anywhere,” Ms Goodhew says.

RENATA CONCERN FOR DROP-OUTS

Hauraki Maori Trust Board chairperson Toko Renata says Maori university students need encouragement to finish their education.

Mr Renata says too many Maori students are dropping out of tertiary study.

The achievements of 27 new doctors in medicine, law, architecture, education and social sciences were celebrated at the National Maori Academic Excellence Awards at Turangawaewae Marae on the weekend.

Mr Renata says while it was a joy to see so many highly qualified Maori coming through the system, he also thinks about those who didn't make it.

“Once those students drop out of university, there is no institution to pick them up and take them forward in their particular goals,” Mr Renata says.

At the awards, Mr Renata was given an award for his contribution to education and matauranga Maori or Maori knowledge, despite his lack of formal education.