Health service for rural marae

Rural marae in south Auckland and north Waikato will benefit from a new health service.

It's a partnership between Huakina Development Trust and general practice group ProCare Network Manukau.

Kate Moodabe, ProCare's executive officer, says whanau will be transported to the 14 marae covered by Huakina to three hub marae, where clinics will be run by GPs and primary health workers.

She says a lot of research has gone into the needs of the 6000 Maori in the rohe.

"We've had 400 needs analysis come back of what the marae populations see as important to them and it's come back as needing help with drug and alcohol addiction and violence, much better diabetes management and care, cardiovascular screening and quitting smoking help," Ms Moodabe says.

The area Huakina covers is considered very high need.
 
MAORI SCHOOL TRUSTEES PUT ISSUES ON TABLE

The way school governance affects Maori will be high on the agenda today for the Maori arm of the School Trustees Association.

Te Koru Puawai O Aotearoa is holding its national hui at Te Rehua Marae in Otautahi before the association's three-day conference.

Spokesperson Roberta Karangaroa says the aim is to improve outcomes for Maori students.

The Christchurch hui will also look at the new Maori curricula developed for mainstream schools and kura kaupapa.
 
COUNCIL BARS RODEOS ON AUCKLAND PUBLIC LAND

The matriach of a famous Maori rodeo whanau says Auckland City Council is a horse's posterior.

The council has passed a bylaw banning rodeos on its land, in response to submissions from the group Save Animals From Exploitation.

Sue Church from Rerewhakaitu, who along with husband Merv has raised generations of champion cowboys, says it's a whanau sport.

She says the animals are well cared for, and a vet is on hand at each event.

"Racehorses are treated worse than our horses. They only buck for eight seconds, and that's it for the year. They don't know what they're talking about. They need to go to a rodeo and see," Mrs Church says.

The national rodeo season starts in October, with most rodeos run on private land.
 
RADAR RAY LEMON PLAYS LAST CHORD

The guitarist for a band of blind musicians who have entertained New Zealand for more than 50 years has died.

Ray Lemon from the Radars died on Monday and is being taken this morning to his marae at Awaru, just out of Kaikohe.

Allan Witana, a longtime musical colleague, met Mr Lemon as a teenager at the Blind Institute in Parnell in 1957.

His friend broke ground with his guitar, playing sounds which players not try to emulate with effects boxes.

E te tohunga puoro, tohunga waiata, moe mai ra.

GETTING ELECTED WILL BE A WHANAU EFFORT

The Maori Party's Te Tai Tonga candidate will be relying on whanau and friends to get her campaign message out to the huge electorate.
Rahui Katene was selected by party members over the weekend to replace the late Monte Ohia, who died last month.

The Wellington lawyer and treaty consultant says with her links to Ngati Koata, Ngati Kuia, Ngati Toa and Kai Tahu she has family links throughout the South Island and lower North Island she will be calling on.

She hopes the same support which won her the chance to take on Labour's Mahara Okeroa will be there for big job.

"Two weeks the nominations were open and the first week I had pneumonia so I couldn't do anything so I only had one week to get the thing up and running and so I had to really depend on all the supporters to do it themselves," Ms Katene says.

Her campaign will be helped by the groundwork laid by Monte Ohia, and lingering resentment over Labour's record on issues like the foreshore and seabed.
 
INSULTS AND BLOWS AT WHANGAMATA MARINA PROTEST

Support from kaumatua is keeping the spirits high of the group occupying the site of a planned marina at Whangamata.

Members of Hauraki iwi and other residents say the ministers of Conservation and Environment should take another look at the project, because variations in its resource consents have greatly changed its scope.

Pauline Clarkin, the protest organiser, says marina supporters have hurled and in one case threw a punch at an occupier.

She says the occupiers have maintained a peaceful stance over the past fortnight, which has been reinforced by elders from Hauraki and
elsewhere.

"We've had our kaumatua come thorough, but we're sort of encouraging them to just come during the day, the warmer days. It really isn't the kind of weather for our kaumatua to be sitting out here. We've had a number call in from around the country, so that always adds to the morale of the stand we're taking," Ms Clarkin says.

The protesters are still waiting for a response from ministers.
 
AMATEURS SPIT DUMMY OVER GISBORNE CRAY AREA

Recreational fishers in Poverty Bay have been accused of gamesmanship in their attempts to get preferred access to crayfish near Gisborne.

The recreational representatives have walked out of a forum designed to bring Maori,  commercial and amateur groups together to manage the fishery in the region.

They included the Maori representatives of putting their commercial interests first.

Stan Pardoe from Rongowhakaata says Maori aren't opposed to the principle of reserving some areas for recreational and customary use, but it will take some time for commercial fishers to change their harvest plans.

"They wanted it to happen this year. They've got a big meeting in Gisborne this coming weekend and they want a big announcement in Gisborne here that they've got a closed area here during the summer months for recreation only and that couldn't be delivered, and they decided to spit the dummy, go public," Mr Pardoe says.

He says the walk-out has backfired on the recreational lobbyists, with the public mood going against them.