Cheeky launch upsets Tainui MP

Cheeky is how Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta is describing the Maori Party's launch of its national election campaign in the heart of her Waikato-Hauraki electorate.

She says the launch at the Frankton Markets last Saturday was nice to watch but nothing of substance, and studiously avoided acknowledgement of how Maori in the electorate have benefited from Labour's policies.

“It's led to increased support, especially in the social services area. More players are participating in the provision of Maori healthcare. We’ve had really good outcomes in education. The wananga is here in this electorate, and the Labour-led government settled with Te Wananga o Aotearoa to make sure we could increase the number of Maori participating in tertiary education, and there are a whole lot of other gains,” Ms Mahuta says.

She says the Waikato River settlement is extremely progressive for the region, and the Hauraki side will benefit from this week's $97 million dollar commercial aquaculture settlement.

TARARUA SITE WELL PLACED FOR RETREAT

A Manawatu education group is reviving its plans for a remote learning centre now the threat of a wind farm on neighbouring land has been lifted.

The Environment Court has ruled that the limit for wind turbines in the northern Tararua Ranges has probably been reached ... lifting a shadow that has lain over He Kupenga Hao i Te Reo.

Kaimahi Ian Christensen says the group bought land in the ranges five years ago, and has planted 2000 trees as well as harakeke, toitoi and a maara kai.

It can now go ahead with building an eco-retreat on the elevated site.

“We can look out from this piece of land out to Taranaki in the west, the maunga Ruapehu in the north and the whole of the Manawatu plains in between, the establish a place where te reo Maori would be paramount,” Mr Christensen says.

The retreat will be a place were people can study traditional aspects of Maori culture and matauranga.

REMNANT OF OLD PA TURNED INTO HERITAGE SITE

Uncovering Te Aro Pa in downtown Wellington has been hailed as a one in a million find.

A permanent heritage display incorporating a part of the 180-year-old pa will be unveiled at the Taranaki St site tomorrow.

Associate Culture and Heritage Minister Mahara Okeroa says the area was settled by Ngati Mutunga when the iwi migrated from Taranaki in the early 1820s.

Remains of the pa were found during foundation work for an eight-storey apartment complex.

Mr Okeroa says it was a major achievement to save the site.

“Its preservation is a sense is quite historic in the ability to negotiate with a developer that has sunk a considerable sum of money only to accidentally uncover the site and having the ability to negotiate with the developer, councils and other groupings, we have this outcome,” Mr Okeroa says.

Showing the small fragment of the pa that has been uncovered may help people visualise what else lies under buildings in the Taranaki St-Courtney Place area.

ELECTION ADVICE FALLS SHORT OF FAIR STANDARD

Labour's Waikato-Hauraki candidate is accusing the Maori Party's Hone Harawira of giving deliberately confusing messages to voters in her electorate.

Nanaia Mahuta says the Taitokerau MP told this week's Kingitanga poukai at Waahi Marae in Huntly that voters could get two MPs by giving their electorate vote to Maori party candidate Angeline Greensill and their party vote to Labour.

She says that's at odds with the two-tick message the party is giving elsewhere.

“It's not like he’s going around in Taitokerau sauying ‘give your electorate vote to Kelvin (Davis) who’s standing for the Labour Party because he’s a little way down on the list and give your party vote to Hone because he’s number three on their list.’ Hone’s not doing that in the north but he comes down to Hauraki Waikato and promotes just that scenario in our patch. I don’t think that’s on. I think they're inconsistent,” Ms Mahuta says.

PARIHAKA DAY BETTER CHOICE FOR NOVEMBER 5 COMMEMORATION

A Christchurch treaty educator wants November the 5th marked as Parihaka Day.

Robert Consedine says after the Taranaki township was sacked in 1881 to end a campaign of passive resistance to land confiscation, many of the inhabitants were imprisoned without trial in the South Island.
He says New Zealanders need to be more aware of significant dates in their history.

“To try and bring New Zealand history more into the consciousness by commemorating some of the big events of New Zealand history and perhaps slowly moving away from celebrating colonial events, and down here in Christchurch of course, Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi were jailed in the Addington Jail,” Mr Consedine says.

A permanent exhibition about the two prophets wil be installed in the jail over the next year.

JAMAICA TRIP DREAM COME TRUE FOR RATANA

A Maori musician says his visit to the home of the late Bob Marley was a dream come true.

Ruia Aperahama was in Jamaica to film a documentary on the influence of reggae music on Maori.

The crew visited Nine Mile... where Marley was born and raised.
Mr Aperhama says when he visited the Bob Marley museum in one of the singer's former homes, he presented gifts including his CDs of Marley's songs in te reo Maori, a waka huia, and a covenant.

“As a Ratana we have a tradition of covenants and the similarity I could see between Ratanas and Rastafarianism, born out of poverty and crushing circumstances. Also during the 1920s and 30s and the rise of Ratana, there was also the rise of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who was (considered) a prophet in Jamiaca,” Aperahama says.

A personal highlight was singing No Woman, No Cry in te reo Maori at the government yards in Trenchtown, where Bob Marley wrote the reggae classic.