CNI collective threat to iwi identity

A lawyer involved in central North Island treaty claims says iwi risk losing their individual identities within a regional collective.

Annette Sykes of Ngati Pikiao is working for Ngati Makino, which stayed outside the Central North Island Collective which has signed up to the Treelord forestry settlement.

She says the iwi in the collective substituted the Crown's previous policy of large natural groupings for one of regionalisation ... and in the process may have compromised their own tino rangatiratanga.

“They've embraced the concept, they’ve adapted it, and the danger in adaptation is that they get caught in the wake of what the policy was designed to do which was to assimilate Maori into groups rather than to allow them to assert their own mana in accordance to the whakapapa groups that they have always belonged to like hapu and iwi,” Ms Sykes says.

She says the Central North Island forestry settlement bill is full of terms like tikanga and mana whenua which don't include clear definitions, or any indication how the interests of smaller iwi and hapu will be protected.

POLICY WILL IMPROVE MAORI PROGRAMMES SAYS TE HEUHEU

National's Maori Affairs spokesperson says unshackling Television New Zealand from its charter will deliver better results for Maori viewers.

Georgina Te Heuheu says the charter failed to make the state broadcaster run it Maori programmes in prime time slots, and most of its line-up, such as Te Karere and Waka Huia, was funded by Te Mangai Paho.

She says putting the $15 million in charter money into a contestable fund administered by New Zealand On Air should enhance Maori programming.

“And we see that an organisation which its clear focus is to fund quality local content, that is a better option for Maori and all other broadcasters and producers than what we had with TVNZ being hidebound with a charter and returning a commercial dividend,” Mrs Te Heuheu says.

Labour MP Shane Jones says the policy is just softening up the public broadcaster for privatisation.

CLUB AIMS TO TACKLE SIDELINE DRINKING CULTURE

A leading Maori rugby league club is trying to tackle problem drinking.

Turangawaewae has joined forces with Waikato health provider Nga Miro and the Alcohol Advisory Council to make its clubroom a safe drinking environment.

Wynae Tukere says the committee has noticed a shift in drinking culture around the club.

“They just bring booze to the fields and pull up a deck chair and watch football in the sun with a glass of wine and committee members decided they don’t want to do this, we don’t want this culture to start spilling over to our up and coming generation so we’re trying to stop it,” Ms Tukere says.

The Turangawaewae club is closely associated with the marae and it's not unusual for the ringawera to head to the rooms after a long day taking care of manuhiri.

EMPLOYMENT POLICY WILL HARM MAORI WORKERS

The Prime Minister is warning Maori workers are likely to be disproportionately affected by National's plan for a 90-day probation period for new employees.

In businesses with fewer than 20 workers, employers will be able to sack staff in the first three months without risking an unjustified dismissal claim.

Helen Clark says the existing law allows for probation periods, without stripping workers of all their rights.

She says it's daft to discriminate against people working for small employers.

“If you've got a good job, and a small employer says ‘I’ll offer you a better one,’ well, if you go down the road to him and it doesn’t work out, you can get fired with no notice, no rights at all, so why would you do that? It actually inhibits the thing the Pational Party claims it is for, which is labour market flexibility, the ease of people to move between jobs,” Ms Clark says.

The Council of Trade Unions said the policy could affect up to 200,000 workers a year.

STRUGGLING FAMILIES PUSHED TOWARDS TAINED SEAFOOD

Rising prices and sick shellfish are causing concern in Te Tai Tokerau.

Jonathan Jarman, the Northland medical officer of health, says as whanau incomes come under pressure from increased food and fuel costs, they are increasingly turning to tangaroa to put food on the table.

But only three of the 17 sites regularly tested by Northland councils are safe for collecting kai moana.

Dr Jarman says food poisoning is under-reported, and research suggests there are 200 unreported cases for every one reported.

TE HOKOWHITU ATU TAKES COAST KAPA HAKA TITLE

One of the East Coast's oldest kapa haka groups is on its way to the Te Matatini finals.

Te Hokowhitu Atu from Tokomaru Bay took out the regional title in Gisborne, and was also voted crowd favourite.

Current national champion Whangara Mai Tawhiti, Waihirere and Tu Te Manawa Maurea also booked their tickets to the nationals in Tauranga in February.

Kapa haka fan Willie Te Aho says a record 14 teams performed on the day, but the 78-year old Te Hokowhitu Atu was outstanding with a lot of heart in its performance.

The male leader title was shared by Tauira Takurua from Te Hokowhitu Atu and Whangara mai Tawhiti's Derek Lardelli, while Te Aroha Papa from Whangara was judged best female leader.