Maori bank plan flawed

The Federation of Maori Authorities says there's a need for a Maori investment fund, but not the one the government is proposing.

FOMA has made a submission against the Government's plan to put $35 million of the Maori Trustee's accumulated profits into a new agency called Maori Business Aotearoa New Zealand.

Chief executive Paul Morgan says a viable fund would need to be well over $100 million, and focus on helping Maori owners unlock the value in their existing resources.

"We look at the industries we're in and also industries that Maori are not in, and then say to ourselves what would be the strategy to invest in those industries, how will we position and who will we work with to take up those opportunities. Clearly if there was a strategic fund there, Maori businesses would have a potential partner," he says.

Mr Morgan says the Government should split the Maori Trustee Bill so long-delayed reforms can go ahead, while more work is put into the business agency concept.
 
MORE PROTECTION NEEDED FOR MAORI INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Maori lawyers fear intellectual property laws don't give enough protection to matauranga Maori.

Karen Waaka, the chair of the Maori Trademarks Advisory Committee, says threats to Maori knowledge such as bioprospecting were topics of debate at the seventh annual Maori Legal Forum in Wellington this week.

She says patents, trademarks and copyrights only apply to new knowledge, and don't cover the historic nature of the Maori collective experience.

"Nga Taonga i tuku iho, nga mata nei tino rangatiratanga o tatou taonga katoa, so it's looking at those things that are inherently Maori from our arts, our crafts, our language, those concepts, imagery, photographs, taonga Maori," Ms Waaka says.

The Waitangi Tribunal's report on the WAI 262 fauna and flora claim should give lawmakers some guidance on the issue, but that's not expected until some time next year.
 
KEEN INTEREST IN JOINING POLICE

Maori are still interested in joining the police, despite strained relations with some Maori communities since last October's terror raids in the Urewera.

Wally Haumaha, the manager Maori, Pacific and ethnic services, says a recruitment roadshow earlier this year is paying rewards.

"We attracted over 380 signatures from people ranging from 17 to mid-40s and I thought that was an excellent effort and excellent support from our people looking at policing as a career because it does make a difference in the way we police our communities," Superintendent Haumaha says.

There has been interest from police in Australia, Canada and Britain to find more about how New Zealand police manage their iwi liasion scheme.

TAMIHERE STANDS UP FOR MAORI MEN LEFT BEHIND BY ECONOMIC CHANGE

Maori men need someone to stand up for them.

That's the response of Waipareira Trust chief executive John Tamihere to a study which found more than twice as many Maori women are getting a tertiary education than Maori men.

The former Labour MP says Maori men have struggled to cope with the changes in the labour market over the past 30 years, and they are no longer able to look after their families the way their fathers and grandfathers did.

He says they find they're on their own.

"We go down the family courts today in Henderson, if a man arrives, he arrives by himself. When a woman arrives, there's about three agencies sitting there to support her. And that's good. I don't knock that. But there's no group supporting men in their hour of difficulty and need. And so they often walk away rather than contest custody or contest access," Mr Tamihere says.

He says organsiations like Te Whanau o Waipareira may need to put more of their focus into young Maori males.
 
WARDENS GET THE JUMP ON THIEVING WOMEN

Maori wardens are being credited with reducing shop thefts in Hamilton.

Wally Haumaha, the police manager for Maori, Pacific and ethnic services, says the city used to be one of the worst in the country for shoplifting.

He says the offenders were mainly Maori women ... and those dishonesty offences locked them into the criminal justice system.

Superintendent Haumaha there have been almost 400 fewer offences this year, thanks in part to Maori wardens working closely with the police.

He says more than 300 wardens have done special training courses at the Police College in Porirua since April last year, giving them more skills to do their mahi.
 
TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE SUBJECT OF PRESERVATION HUI

Preserving Maori traditional knowledge is the challenge for a hui opening at Hopuhopu today.

The Taonga Tuku Iho Survival 2050 Conference will look at how to protect, preserve and disseminate the treasures whcih come down from the ancestors.

Organiser Hinureina Mangan says the ease with which information can be converted to digital formats has brought up ethical questions of tikanga and kawa which could be overlooked in the haste to engage with the new technology.

She says the hui will bring together kaumaatua who are experts in cultural heritage with some of the rangatahi who are working on its preservation.
 
VANDALISM DRIVES MURUPARA RADIO STATION OFF AIR

Murupara has gone off the air.

Radio station Rangatahi ERFM stopped broadcasting to the remote community in the middle of the Kaingaroa Forest after it was burgled and vandalised.

Bill Bird, the chair of Te Runanga o Ngati Manawa, says it's a major blow after a decade of service.

"But you know we're in a state of shock at the moment about the damage that was done, about $15,000 worth. It's a community service that has basically been shut down through acts of vandalism," Mr Bird says.

Police are still investigating the vandalism, which was probably done by young people.