Deadline for full disclosure of Crown case

The Office of Treaty Settlements has until noon today to give the Waitangi Tribunal any documents which may be relevant to its proposed settlement of Auckland claims with Ngati Whatua o Orakei.

Tribunal acting chairperson Carrie Wainwright demanded the documents after the discovery of a previously undisclosed 2003 report, which challenged the historical research underlying the $80 million settlement.

Judge Wainwright says the tribunal can't safely complete its Tamaki Makaurau Settlement Process report until all significant questions are answered.

Ngati Te Ata kaumatua Eru Thompson says while the delay is hard on the tribes challenging the proposed settlement, it's crucial an accurate historical record is established.

“It's our historical background, who we are, the effect it will have on us in the future of course if the decisions are made and the historical events aren’t reflected, and so the concerns for all claimants, all of the tribes, is that part of their history, our history will now be removed as the result of the direction they’re taking at the moment,” Mr Thompson says

He says the Office of Treaty Settlements was wrong to exclude other tribes with historical links to Auckland from the Ngati Whatua settlement process.

BAD BEDSIDE ATTITUDE LEADS TO BAD HEALTH

The attitudes of health professionals is one of the reasons cited for a disproportionately high level of hospital admissions for Maori children with asthma.

Asthma Foundation Maori services director Sunny Wikiriwhi says Maori and non-Maori have similar incidence of asthma and respiratory disease, but the symptoms for Maori are much more severe.

Ms Murray says that's why they're twice as likely to require hospitalisation.

She says the foundation's new Maori reference group will try to tackle some of the barriers which Maori families face.

“More commonly cited barriers for Maori is about the cost of consultation, that’s the cost of going to a GP, access to transport to get to hospitals, to see their GP, telephone costs, and another one that is quite often talked about from a Maori perspective is the attitude of health professionals,” Ms Wikiriwhi says.

Many Maori parents feel put down by health professionals talking to them in clinical and technical language about their child's health.

MAORI FEAR WILLS TEMPT FATE

An Auckland based lawyer says many Maori are hesitant to draft wills because they fear the act will make death come sooner.
Andrew Lawson, who spent a decade working at the Mangere Community Law Centre in South Auckland, says that's the feedback he gets when he goes to tangi.

“That reticence, almost as if making a will is bringing it on or close, you know, it’s not something that people are proactive some times, and it’s just a formal document that basically sets out your wishes,” Mr Lawson says.

Maori need to spread the message about the benefits of spelling out what happens to taonga, including interests in Maori land, and the problems they leave for whanau if they die without a will.

CITY FAREWELL FOR HENARE TE UA

Fellow broadcasters, friends and members of the many communities touched by the late Henare Te Ua will get a chance to say their farewells in Auckland today.

The long time head head of Radio New Zealand's former Te Reo o Aotearoa Maori and Pacific Island unit died on Wednesday aged 74.

He will be taken to St Matthews in the City at 10 this morning, and lie in state until a service at 7 this evening.

Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia says as a grandson of Ngati Porou leader Sir Apirana Ngata, Mr Te Ua was able to bring real authority to his role.

“In his sort of stately way he carried himself with something he was born and bred with, and I suppose in that sense his ability to project what he thought and really talk on behalf of his people was something I’ll sadly miss and just knowing Henare and the great person he was, he really was a true professional,” Mr Horomia says.

After tonight's service, Henare Te Ua's body will be taken to Waihirere near Gisborne, where he was brought up, and he will be buried there on Sunday.

TREATY UNDERSTANDING VITAL FOR FISH HEAD

Ngapuhi chairperson Sonny Tau says the next head of the Fisheries Ministry needs to understand Maori and treaty issues.

Current chief executive John Glaister has resigned for family reasons and will return to Australia.

During his two and a half year reign, Dr Glaister proposed changes which Maori see as undermining the treaty fisheries settlement and the industry believes will undermine its commercial viability.

Mr Tau says getting an outsider was a bold experiment which didn't pay off, and the State Services Commission should look for someone who understands New Zealand's unique fisheries environment and can balance customary, commercial and recreational interests.

“I think that they should be looking for a person who has a lot of experience in fisheries and also an experience working with the different sectors and actually understanding the legislation that they currently have,” Mr Tau says.

He says Dr Glaister's reign woke Maori up to the real value of their fisheries settlement.

TRANSTASMAN COMPS SHOULD BENEFIT YOUNGER PLAYERS

Former Silver Fern Noelene Taurua says top Maori netballers will benefit from international experience in a trans Tasman competition.
The competition starts next year with five teams each from New Zealand and Australia.

Ms Taurua, who coaches the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, says it will provide a path for Maori players into national squads and make them focus more on their sport.

“Be awesome to get more international exposure and at that semi-professional level – it’s not fully professional, but it is a step in the right direction,” Ms Taurua says.

She'll be looking at how young Maori players like Liana Barret Chase, Danika Wipiiti and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Ricket from the Southern Sting benefit from playing at a higher level.