Unemployment hitting Maori first

The Maori Party says latest unemployment figures are a crisis for Maori and Pacific Island workers.

The latest Household Labour Force survey showed unemployment at 3.6 per cent, with 29 thousand fewer people in work than three months ago.

Co-leader Pita Sharples says the government is downplaying the signals.

“You've got the Minister for Employment saying that 3.4 percent unemployment up to 3.6 is no major worry, but it is. That may be the general New Zealand but Maori unemployment has shot up to 8 percent, and so has Pacific Island unemployment. 29,000 jobs have just been closed down. There is a crisis,” Dr Sharples says.

He says economists are predicting no relief in the short term, so Maori need to prepare for tough times.

KAPITI COUNCIL RUBBERSTAMPS AIRPORT BOONDOGGLE

Opponents of the Paraparaumu Airport redevelopment are vowing to fight on after the latest setback.

On the casting vote of chair Ann Chapman, Kapiti District Council approved a business park on land taken from Maori and other owners in the 1940s for airport purposes.

Mike Wood from the Paraparaumu Airport Coalition says the consent will be appealed to the Environment Court.

He says what's being proposed isn't the upgrade many residents expect.

“It's a business park which is basically going to be an industrial commercial centre with big warehouses, large trucks. It’s airport land. It’s nothing to do with airport, but that’s what’s been sold to people out here. They think they’re going to get an upgraded airport, with Air New Zealand flying into here to a magnificent new terminal,” Mr Wood says.

He says the redevelopment will put extra pressure on the area's roads, stormwater and sewerage systems, with the bill picked up by ratepayers.

WELL-TRAVELLED BOXER PICKED FOR SYDNEY TEST

A young Maori boxer is showing what it means to go the distance.

16-year-old Shaye Walker-Brock has been picked for tonight's transtasman tournament in Sydney.

Tui Gallagher from the Auckland Boxing Association says the Gisborne Boys High student regularly comes to Auckland to fight quality opposition.

She says that dedication got him into the five-member team for Sydney, and he has a great future if he gets the right opportunities.

“Being way up there on the coast it’s hard for him to get around the country and get to fight so when the opportunity came up for us to send a team over, we saw the weight division and thought it’s an opportunity for our young fella,” Ms Gallagher says.

After the transtasman test, Walker-Brock will set his sights on the Golden Gloves in Taupo at the end of the month and the national champs in October.

RANKIN TOLD TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP

The Maori Party is challenging a potential electoral rival to put up or shut up.

Northland man David Rankin is threatening to reveal a senior Maori Party MP's involvement in the cover up of a million dollar misappropriation, as part of his run for the Taitokerau seat held by Hone Harawira.

Co-leader Pita Sharples says there's no way Mr Rankin can be considered a credible threat either to the Maori Party's hold on the seat or to its reputation.

“We're not nervous. Hone’s not nervous. (Rankin’s) threatening he knows something about a million dollars going missing or something and I know exactly what he’s talking about and he’s up the wrong tree by 100 miles so we’ve told him to put up or shut up because he’s actually breaking the law himself, knowing about a crime and not divulging that to the police,” Dr Sharples says.

GAMBLING PROBLEMS SPUR RECORD TALKING

If you've been moving round the radio dial today, you may have heard a lot of John Stansfield and Alistair Galpin.

The pair are trying to beat the world record for a two-person team of 54 radio interviews in 24 hours, as a way to highlight the damage done to communities by pokie machine gambling.

Mr Stansfield, the head of the Problem Gambling Foundation, says while overall spending on gambling is down, it's still a major problem for Maori.

“The statistics for Maori are much worse and the statistics for Maori women in particular are worse even more and in a quarter where gambling expenditure dropped dramatically by 11 percent, there’s only one group standing out as having grown in expenditure and that's Maori,” Mr Stansfield says.

BALLOONS FOR ASTHMA AWARENESS

Don't be surprised to see hundreds of helium filled balloons in the air tomorrow.

They're being released as a fundraiser to raise awareness of World Asthma Day.

Jane Patterson, the executive director of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, says asthma puts more children in hospital than any other cause.

She says Maori children are disproportionately affected.

“The rate is pretty much the same across all populations, but it’s true Maori have a higher rate of more severe asthma, so it’s pretty important they take all opportunities they can to find out how to look after themselves and do things that might be helpful like avoiding cigarette smoke in the home or the car, things that might trigger asthma,” Ms Patterson says.

The foundation has beefed up its capacity to service Maori so it can respond to high rates of respiratory illness in those communities.

Unemployment hitting Maori first

The Maori Party says latest unemployment figures are a crisis for Maori and Pacific Island workers.

The latest Household Labour Force survey showed unemployment at 3.6 per cent, with 29 thousand fewer people in work than three months ago.

Co-leader Pita Sharples says the government is downplaying the signals.

“You've got the Minister for Employment saying that 3.4 percent unemployment up to 3.6 is no major worry, but it is. That may be the general New Zealand but Maori unemployment has shot up to 8 percent, and so has Pacific Island unemployment. 29,000 jobs have just been closed down. There is a crisis,” Dr Sharples says.

He says economists are predicting no relief in the short term, so Maori need to prepare for tough times.

KAPITI COUNCIL RUBBERSTAMPS AIRPORT BOONDOGGLE

Opponents of the Paraparaumu Airport redevelopment are vowing to fight on after the latest setback.

On the casting vote of chair Ann Chapman, Kapiti District Council approved a business park on land taken from Maori and other owners in the 1940s for airport purposes.

Mike Wood from the Paraparaumu Airport Coalition says the consent will be appealed to the Environment Court.

He says what's being proposed isn't the upgrade many residents expect.

“It's a business park which is basically going to be an industrial commercial centre with big warehouses, large trucks. It’s airport land. It’s nothing to do with airport, but that’s what’s been sold to people out here. They think they’re going to get an upgraded airport, with Air New Zealand flying into here to a magnificent new terminal,” Mr Wood says.

He says the redevelopment will put extra pressure on the area's roads, stormwater and sewerage systems, with the bill picked up by ratepayers.

WELL-TRAVELLED BOXER PICKED FOR SYDNEY TEST

A young Maori boxer is showing what it means to go the distance.

16-year-old Shaye Walker-Brock has been picked for tonight's transtasman tournament in Sydney.

Tui Gallagher from the Auckland Boxing Association says the Gisborne Boys High student regularly comes to Auckland to fight quality opposition.

She says that dedication got him into the five-member team for Sydney, and he has a great future if he gets the right opportunities.

“Being way up there on the coast it’s hard for him to get around the country and get to fight so when the opportunity came up for us to send a team over, we saw the weight division and thought it’s an opportunity for our young fella,” Ms Gallagher says.

After the transtasman test, Walker-Brock will set his sights on the Golden Gloves in Taupo at the end of the month and the national champs in October.

RANKIN TOLD TO PUT UP IOR SHUT UP

The Maori Party is challenging a potential electoral rival to put up or shut up.

Northland man David Rankin is threatening to reveal a senior Maori Party MP's involvement in the cover up of a million dollar misappropriation, as part of his run for the Taitokerau seat held by Hone Harawira.

Co-leader Pita Sharples says there's no way Mr Rankin can be considered a credible threat either to the Maori Party's hold on the seat or to its reputation.

“We're not nervous. Hone’s not nervous. (Rankin’s) threatening he knows something about a million dollars going missing or something and I know exactly what he’s talking about and he’s up the wrong tree by 100 miles so we’ve told him to put up or shut up because he’s actually breaking the law himself, knowing about a crime and not divulging that to the police,” Dr Sharples says.

GAMBLING PROBLEMS SPUR RECORD TALKING

If you've been moving round the radio dial today, you may have heard a lot of John Stansfield and Alistair Galpin.

The pair are trying to beat the world record for a two-person team of 54 radio interviews in 24 hours, as a way to highlight the damage done to communities by pokie machine gambling.

Mr Stansfield, the head of the Problem Gambling Foundation, says while overall spending on gambling is down, it's still a major problem for Maori.

“The statistics for Maori are much worse and the statistics for Maori women in particular are worse even more and in a quarter where gambling expenditure dropped dramatically by 11 percent, there’s only one group standing out as having grown in expenditure and that's Maori,” Mr Stansfield says.

BALLOONS FOR ASTHMA AWARENESS

Don't be surprised to see hundreds of helium filled balloons in the air tomorrow.

They're being released as a fundraiser to raise awareness of World Asthma Day.

Jane Patterson, the executive director of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, says asthma puts more children in hospital than any other cause.

She says Maori children are disproportionately affected.

“The rate is pretty much the same across all populations, but it’s true Maori have a higher rate of more severe asthma, so it’s pretty important they take all opportunities they can to find out how to look after themselves and do things that might be helpful like avoiding cigarette smoke in the home or the car, things that might trigger asthma,” Ms Patterson says.

The foundation has beefed up its capacity to service Maori so it can respond to high rates of respiratory illness in those communities.

Treaty talks stretch system capacity

The Treaty Negotiations Minister says his officials are working to almost full capacity.

Michael Cullen yesterday signed terms of negotiation with the Ngati Pahauwera confederation.

The talks will cover historic treaty claims for land and forests in northern Hawkes Bay hapu as well as customary rights claims to foreshore and seabed around the Mohaka River.

Dr Cullen says he was able to bring the talk forward because of the group's strong mandate and the work it has done in the Waitangi Tribunal and the Maori Land Court.

“We're pretty much getting to the end of our capacity at the moment it’s fair to say and we got issues going on in the north, the central North Island, the Waikato River, the top of the South Island, the bottom of the North Island, and some other negotiations under way, so the Office of Treaty Settlements resources are pretty stretched at the present time and we are having to indicate to some groups there may need to be a little bit of a pause,” Dr Cullen says.

He hopes final agreement can be reached soon on the Waikato River and Central North Island claims, which should free up negotiating capacity later in the year.

MORE TEEN OFFENDING PROGRAMMES NEEDED

An Auckland youth worker says not enough resources are put into programmes to tackle youth offending.

Steve Boxer runs Male Youth New Direction, which offers military-style camps and counseling to change the behaviour of at-risk teenagers.

He says it's one of a number of similar programmes around the country, but they struggle to get funding ... and the preferred response seems to be to do nothing.

“We always like to say you’re putting a plaster on a wound where you should have a bandage. We’re trying to provide options where we can become that bandage but we need the resourcing, we need the funding in order to do it and do it properly so they’re not going through the system beyond the age of 17, going into the district court and being seen as a lost soul and having a bed made for them in prison,” Mr Boxer says.

He'd like to see more marae running programmes to combat youth offending.

ARTSOURCE TEACHES CREATIVES ACCOUNTING

Art may feed the soul, but artists have to eat.

That's the thinking behind a Manukau City Council business training programme for people into creative areas like music, fashion, art, graphic design, film making, dance or theatre.

Leilani Kake, an Otara-based multi-media artist with Tainui, Nga Puhi and Cook Islands whakapapa, says the year-long ART source course changed her thinking about business.

“For me it was a bit of a dirty word, it would corrupt your art. But it isn’t. We’ve all got to make a living and I love being a visual artist and if I can survive and be self-sufficient, that's even better,” Ms Kake says.

The closing date for applications to this year's programme is June the second.

MT EDEN MAKUTU STILL LINGERING

A former head of prisons hopes a new prison at Mount Eden may finally lay to rest fears of a curse on the old building.

The government has approved plans to turn the old Victorian gaol into an administration block, with inmates housed in a new eight storey cell block next door.

Kim Workman, who now works in prisoner rehabilitation, says the prison had held many notable Maori, including Whakatohea chief Mokomoko, falsely accused of the murder of missionary Carl Völkner in the Bay of Plenty in 1865.

“Not long after I became the head opf prisons we noted the level of suicides in the prison mainluy related to Maori prisoners and there was a view among Maori prisoners that the place had a makutu on it because of the burials that took place. We subsequently arranged the exhumatin of those bodies. Mokomoko was one of course who stiood out and he was reputed to have been buried standing up so that his soul would never rest and it was a very emotional time to be able to exhume those bodies and remove them to Waikumete Cemetery and the families of those people who were executed in the prison would feel some relief as a result of that,” Mr Workman says.

FOR WHOM THE KEY TOLLS

Tax cuts, treaty settlements and continuing subsidies.

That's what National leader John Key sees as the alternative to this week's buy back of Toll Holdings' rail and ferry business.

He says the deal was a misplaced use of the country's resources, when the rail system was being run well by the Australians.

“They know what they're doing. They’re a world class operation. Quite simply it was pretty easy for the Government to increase the subsidy to Toll. That gets passed on to the customer. It means freight and passenger services are cheaper on rail, and that would have increased patronage,” Mr Key says.

HOROMIA SEES END OF ROAD TRAINS

But the Minister of Maori Affairs says the rail deal will strengthen the whole economy.

Parekura Horomia says the increased investment will mean more jobs, and the chance to drive a shift of freight from road to rail.

“You know the way I see the economy picking up, ffreight movement will be a critical point. If you’ve been on the road at 1am or 2am in the morning like I have some times, going between Waiouru, Taupo and Auckland, it’s Christmas tree highway, you know you’ve got hundreds of trucks. That’s a lot of steam and a lot of wear and tear,” Mr Horomia says.

Maori have an historical attachment to rail, and the business still has a relatively high Maori workforce.

Pahauwera enters treaty talks

The Government has signed terms of negotiations for both the foreshore and seabed and the Waitangi Tribunal claims of Ngati Pahauwera.

Grant Powell, the lawyer for the northern Hawkes Bay iwi, says the negotiations arose from a successful hearing in the Maori Land Court on customary rights to the Mohaka River.

He says the solidarity showed by the various hapu in the confederation, and a new willingness by the Government to engage with claimants, means there is now some prospect of resolving long-standing claims.

“They've obviously been left landless as a result of the breaches that the tribunal has found. There are a number of issues that arise through the Mohaka transaction of 1851, through various Crown purchases and then the impact of the Native Land Court. As well as that, of vital importance is working through the issue relating to the rivers in the rohe, particularly the Mohaka River,” Mr Powell says.

The parties are aiming for an agreement in principle by September.

MARAE BEST PLACE FOR YOUTH TRAINING

A Ngapuhi former soldier wants to see marae running more programmes to combat youth offending.

Steve Boxer runs the Male Youth New Direction programme in Manukau, which runs military style camps for 14 to 17 year old boys, as well as offering follow-up counseling and mentoring.

He says marae-based programmes have advantages over other interventions for young offenders or at risk rangatahi.

“They know how to link them back into their culture, and that’s the first stepping stone of linking them back into the family and the extended family, so they’ve really got to step up with regards to a lot of the kids that grow up in the city, because they can induct them straight away into their marae and then take through the emotional and cultural and spiritual journey that a lot of other groups struggle with because they’re brought up in the urban jungle,” Mr Boxer says.

Male Youth New Direction it talking to government agencies about extending its programme throughout the ocuntry.

NEW NAME TO LET ORCHESTRA’S SPIRIT FLY

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has a new name; Te Tira Puoro o Aotearoa.

The title, which means the traveling musical instrument group of New Zealand, was bestowed by the Maori Language Commission, along with a new slogan - Tukua to wairua kia rere - let your spirit fly.

Peter Walls, the orchestra's chief executive, says as a national institution it wanted to express its commitment to all.

“That means expressing a strong relationship to the tangata whenua, and of course Maori musical abilities are legendary so we feel that this taonga we’re looking after, they symphonic music, is something that we want to share with Maori on the one and we want to draw on those musical abilities of Maori at the same time,” Mr Walls says.

Tomorrow's Made In New Zealand concert in Wellington will feature Whirimako Black's interpretations of jazz standards in Te Reo.

CULLEN CONFIDENT OF PAHAUWERA DEAL BY ELECTION

The Treaty Negotiations Minister is confident a settlement can be reached with northern Hawkes Bay claimants by September.

Michael Cullen today signed terms of negotiation with Ngati Pahauwera, a confederation of hapu around the Mohaka River.

It covers three sets of historic claims which have been heard by the Waitangi Tribunal, as well as a foreshore and seabed claim which has been before the Maori Land Court.

Dr Cullen says Ngati Pahauwera has a strong mandate.

“There's strong evidential basis from the tribunal reports themselves. Obviously there will be issues around the foreshore and seabed evidence which will be to some extent new issues in that regard but I’m confident we can make good progress with this group. There’s very good feeling in terms of negotiations,” Dr Cullen says.

There are enough Crown assets within the Ngati Pahauwera rohe to deliver a satisfactory settlement.

PRISON WILL SAP INMATES’ SOULS

A former prison service head says the designers of a new Auckland prison need to consider the psychological effect of the building on prisoners.

The Government has approved a new $200 million, eight-storey building beside the existing Mt Eden Prison to house 450 prisoners.

Kim Workman of Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa and Rangitaane says it's a definite improvement of the existing stone prison, which is cold, damp, dirty and with inadequate sanitation.

But the high-rise design, with its reliance on artificial light, could have an effect on Maori inmates.

“We talk about our relationship with Rangi and Papa but if you can’t see them, feel the grass under your feet or see the blue sky and the stars, something happens inside of you. Aboriginal people who are locked away in those sorts of custodial provision often died as a result of that, not because of ill treatment but simply because they lost contact with the earth and their environment,” Mr Workman says.

POTATOES GROWN FOR HERITAGE PROTECTION

The only commercial growers of Maori potatoes with organic certification say preserving the tradition is more important than making money.

Markus Gripp and Rochelle Bertrand started growing taewa at Waioturi marae in Patea, and expanded onto land leased from another organic grower.

They sell the spuds from their own vegetable shop as well as supply supermarkets around the country.

Ms Bertrand says they're trying to encourage Maori to value traditional crops.

“It's not really the money value, it’s more the taonga they give and the health benefits. We knew we’d never get rich from them but it’s about keeping them safe from mainly the bigger commercial growers out there and also giving them out to other hapu or whanau who want to grow them because ultimately we’d love to see everyone eating them rather than the potatoes we have not that are all modified and engineered,” Ms Bertrand says.

Their taewa are popular on Taranaki marae for hui and tangi.

Tribunal mediates Pumautanga row

The Waitangi Tribunal has stepped in to try to bring together factions contesting Rotorua land settlements.

Over the past two days tribunal deputy chair Judge Carrie Waiwright and member Wharehuia Milroy have mediated between Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa, Ngati Whaoa and two hapu of Ngati Pikiao.

Te Pumautanga has an agreement in principle for a settlement involving the purchase of Crown forest lands.

Colleen Skerrett-White from Ngati Te Rangiunuora says as a result of the mediation, her hapu will get representation on the Ngati Pikiao committee affiliated to the settlement body.

She says it's the best outcome they could get in the circumstances.

“Te Pumautanga never had a legitimate mandate to represent us and we have some very specific issues in terms of the settlement process. Despite our request to come and hui with us, it never happened. When we made an application to the tribunal in terms of our issues, the mediation process came out of that,” Ms Skerrett-White says.

She says Ngati Te Rangiunuora's involvement will strengthen Ngati Pikiao's claim over the Rotoehu forest.

WEAVERS HELPING OUT WITH MOSES BASKETS

A flax basinette is being touted as a solution to the dangerous practice of bedsharing in Maori whanau.

The Rotorua coroner this week heard four cases of sudden infant death from bed sharing.

Pauline Hopa, the national operations manager of Maori SIDs, says it highlighted the dangers of bed sharing.

She says a weaving hui later this month at Tapu-i-Hikitia Marae in Gisborne will try to spread the word on the benefits of flax bassinettes which can hold baby beside or on the bed.

“We're bringing together master weavers and health promotion people to learn how they can make these waha kura and then take that matauranga back to their rohe and share it as a way of spreading the news about safe sleeping with babies and using this traditional method,” Ms Hopa says.

A majority of the 60 or so cot deaths in New Zealand each year are Maori babies.

MAORI CHILDREN LESS LIKELY TO HAVE COMPUTER IN HOME

A new study has confirmed that Maori children are on the wrong side of the digital divide.

The Colmar Brunton survey done for the Broadcasting Standards Authority found only about half of Maori children use a computer at home, compared with 77 percent of Pakeha children and 89 percent of Asians.

Dominic Sheehan, the authority's chief executive, says that has implications for the way children are able to use new media in the future.

“Maori and particularly Pacific Island children had less access to certain sorts of media. This study of course only shows what they have at home so we don’t know how children were accessing the Internet in other places but at home the study seems to say the Maori have less access to the Internet than Pakeha or Asian children,” Mr Sheehan says.

Tamariki Maori appeared to have the same access to console games as other children.

RAHUI PART OF WAIKATO RIVER STRATEGY

Traditional Maori techniques like rahui could be used a part of a new strategy for managing the Waikato River.

That's part of a draft vision released yesterday by the river Guardians Establishment Committee, which includes Waikato-Tainui, other river iwi, Environment Waikato and crown representatives.

Tainui negotiator Tukoroirangi Morgan says as well as legislative change to stop pollutants going into the river, there are contributions to be made by those living alongside, including Maori.

“If you walk through the history of the Waikato River, this is no ordinary river. This was our tupuna. There are practices that still exist today or rahui and other approaches that are uniquely Maori and all of those will be wrapped into one collective approach, one unique approach to the long term co-management of the river,” Mr Morgan says.

The guardians will hold consultations during May, with the results going into the settlement being negotiated between Waikato-Tainui and the Crown.

RAIL BUY BACK SHOULD KEEP LOGGING TRUCKS OFF ROAD

The Greens' Maori spokesperson believes the buy back of the rail system will benefit rural Maori.

Metiria Turei says there's now a real prospect of moving some of the logging traffic off the roads and onto the rails.

She says that means extending some rail links to taken them closer to the forests.

“Over time we’re going to see more and more freight put back onto the rail. That’s what I would expect. It will be especially important in places up around Gisborne say, places where there is heaps of logging trucks along the road which cause a real hazard, especially where roads are difficult at best. Getting a lot of that traffic off the road and onto rail will make those roads much safer for the people who have to drive them,” Ms Turei says.

DEPTH IN RUGBY FIELD DESPITE SENIOR RETIREMENTS

The national Maori rugby coach is satisfied there's enough talent available to field a strong team this year, despite the retirement of senior players.

Donny Stevenson says the departure of Crusaders' star utility Caleb Ralph to Japan creates an opportunity for another young Maori player to make a name for himself.

He says the focus is on the Pacific Cup tournament later this year.

“Maori rugby has probably never looked as strong as it has this year, particularly in the backs and the New Zealand Under 20 team. These are actually boys playing in the Super 14 like Zac Guildford, Sean Maitland, playing for the Super 14 and the New Zealand Sevens, so yeah, we're looking strong,” Mr Stevenson says.

Waikato guardians unveil strategy

The Waikato River Guardians Establishment Committee has unveiled its draft vision and strategy for consultation.

The committee includes representatives of Waikato-Tainui, other river iwi, Environment Waikato regional council and crown appointees.

Tukoroirangi Morgan, Waikato-Tainui's co-negotiator, says it's an opportunity for iwi to play an active role in restoring the health of their river.

“We have never been ever part of the management of the river. We’ve always been spectators. And while we continue to say that, here’s an opportunity now where we can make a significant contribution to the health and well being of our tupuna awa,” Mr Morgan says.

The guardians' committee is looking for ways to wrap in matauranga Maori with western science.

UNION WELCOMES RAIL BUY BACK

The Rail and Marine Transport Union is welcoming the government's buy back of rail and ferry assets from Australian company Toll.

Sam Kahui, the central regional delegate for Ontrack and a member of the CTU Runanga, says railways still has a significant Maori workforce, but it's lost many in recent years to higher paying jobs in Australia.

He says the prospect of new locomotives and rolling stock could draw many experienced workers back.

I believe as we get investment in there and get certainty of employment, there will be opportunities for Maori and other races as well but definitely we can see ourselves with some certainty into the future, as we see the investment,” Mr Kahui says.

He says conditions and career prospects in rail lines company Ontrack have improved since it came back into government hands.

TUAKANA RALPH GONE FROM TEAM

The coach of the Maori All Blacks will be missing the experience of Caleb Ralph experience in this year’s campaign.

The Crusaders utility is joining Japanese club Fukuoka Sanix Blues at the end of the Super 14 season.

Donny Stevenson says older players like Ralph and Rua Tipoki make a huge contribution to the whanau culture the Maori team tries to encourage.

“Tuakana teina aspect is very strong with us and that’s why senior boys like Caleb and the likes of Rua offer it, and especially with the Pacific Cup, playing against Tonga and Fiji and Samoa, well Caleb’s been playing that for years since he first made the Maoris and he has so much to offer the team,” Mr Stevenson says.

HAPU MEDIATED IN TO ARAWA SETTLEMENT

Te Pumautanga has agreed to take in a Ngati Pikiao hapu which had been shut out of the proposed Te Arawa land settlement.

Colleen Skerrett-White from Ngati Te Rangi-unu-ora says as the result today's mediation facilitated by the Watangi Tribunal, Ngati Pikiao will hold a special meeting next month to elect an additional two trustees to represent the hapu on the settlement body.

She says the hapu, which is based around lakes Rotoiti, Rotoma and Rotoehu, will strengthen the legitimacy of Ngati Pikiao's claim to the Rotoehu forest.

“We're going to discuss with the Pikiao committee of Pumautanga issues that we have with regard to the registration of our people and the mana whenua of the Rotoehu forest we’re hoping will come back to Pikiao, and we will go through our cultural redress issues with the Crown in terms of statutory interests in some of the reserves that were taken from our lands,” Ms Skerrett-White says.

Ngati Te Rangi-unu-ora is unhappy with the way its claims have been treated, but it has been given no other option than to work in the te Pumautanga.

BEDSHARING STILL HIGH RISK FOR MAORI BABIES

There's a new warning about the dangers of sharing the bed with baby.

The Rotorua Coroner has reserved his findings on four cases dealt with yesterday of babies who died in bed with their parents.

Pauline Hopa, the national operations manager for a group dealing with sudden infant deaths among Maori, says while bed sharing is a valuable traditional practice, in combination with other factors it can be unsafe.

“Some things we need to do is look at the environment in which we’re sleeping out baby. Sometimes mum’s too tired or overtired or there are too many in a bed. Sometimes adult beds aren’t made for small babies. And all of those things tend to add another dynamic to that traditional co-sleeping, baby rearing practice,” Ms Hopa says.

Maori SIDS is encouraging use of a Waha Kura - a flax basinette that can be placed in the bed or close to it.

NAT SAYS RAIL BUY NOT PUTTING FOOD ON TABLE

National's Maori affairs co-spokesperson says the Government should use its surpluses to tackle things affecting family budgets rather than spending it on trains.

Georgina Te Heuheu says the government is unlikely to get much kudos from its $655 million buy back of trains and ferries from Toll Holdings.

That's because families face more immediate pressures.

“The prices of basic food items, petrol, having gone up, I’m not sure that a big buy back of the railways gives any assurance to those ordinary families struggling every day that that is going to be of benefit to them,” Mrs Te Heuheu says.

Mark in Tempest temper tantrum

New Zealand First's law and order spokesperson has attacked the High Court for giving Tame Iti his passport back.

The Tuhoe activist has been cleared to travel to Europe to perform in choreographer Lemi Ponifasio's adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest.

He'll be back in time for his deposition hearing on firarms charged stemming from the so called Urewera terror raids last October.

Ron Mark says ordinary New Zealanders should be upset Iti is allowed to leave the country, given the seriousness of the allegations swirling around him.

“It's a bit of a slap in the face for someone who wants to go on holiday but hasn’t paid a traffic fine being stopped at the border, to see someone who’s facing serious firearms charges to be allowed to go, and to not only be allowed to go but to do it on taxpayers' money,” Mr Mark says.

The play, which was developed before last year's raids, uses the Tuhoe experience to look at questions of sovereignty and unlawful detention.

IWI SHOULD BUILD ON WHAKAPAPA DATABASE

The manager of a national whakapapa database wants iwi to work with him promoting the service.

Tuhono was launched four years ago to allow Maori to find or register their iwi affiliations in advance of treaty settlements.

Dan Te Kanawa says it initially managed to capture information about 30 percent of Maori, but that's dropped to about a quarter.

He says because it's linked to the electoral rolls, it has advantages over beneficiary rolls administered by individual iwi.

“Unfortunately when people die they don’t tell the iwi they’re moving on and this is something that’s captured in the Electoral Enrolment Centre by Births, Deaths and Marriages. Tuhono’s positioned downstream of that so any updates they get that relate to our database, they’re downloaded every month,” Mr Te Kanawa says.

He says the best way to access the service is through the Internet at tuhono.net.

SUN RISING FOR CALEB RALPH AT END OF SUPER 14 CAREER

A former professional rugby player says Caleb Ralph will have no trouble slotting in to Japan.

Wanganui's Glen Osborne spent two seasons playing in the land of the rising sun, and says the Canterbury utility will fit in well on and off the field when he joins the Fukuoka Sanix Blues at the end of the Super 14 season.

Ralph's career to date includes 14 appearances in the All Black jersey, eight years as a Maori all black and four seasons with the New Zealand sevens.

“He's been sensational for New Zealand rugby and he’s been at the highest level and now he’s changing over to play for a team in Japan, he will do really well because we know he’s a really experienced player and we know he dedicates himself to training,” Osborne says.

TAME NO EASY MARK FOR IRATE POLITICO

An MP's temper tantrum isn't going to stop Tame's Tempest.

New Zealand First's law and order spokesperson, Ron Mark, has slammed the High Court for allowing Tame Iti to travel to Europe to act in a theatrical work based on Shakespeare's last play.

Mark says ordinary New Zealanders will be enraged someone facing serious arms charges should be allowed to go overseas on a taxpayer-subsidised jaunt.

But the Tuhoe activist says Lemi Ponifasio's production was developed before last October's police terror raids, which led to the charges.

He says it draws on Tuhoe's history of struggle against oppression.

“Some people might feel it’s a bit shocking but people feel shocked about truth. The basis of Tempest is based around Tuhoe. This is about long before the raid,” Mr Iti says.

MARAE MANA SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE FOR SANSKRIT SPEAKER

The head of Waitakere City's Indian Association wants all new migrants to get a dose of Maori culture.

Manoj Tahal says the Immigration Service should make a marae visit a prerequisite for people wanting to settle in this country.

“Every migrant coming into the country should experience the Maori culture first hand by visiting a marae. It’s such a sacred place for reflection. In my experience I would actually recommend everyone to actually go and visit a marae and learn about the Maori culture,” Mr Tahal says.

He was surprised to learn of a linguistic connection between India's ancient language, Sanskrit, and te reo Maori, with words like mana having a similar meaning.

SPRAGGON WORKING ON FIRST TAONGA PUORO CD

Two West Auckland musicians have made traditional Maori instruments their ticket to the world.

Rewi Spraggon and Riki Bennett have been playing of taonga puoro together here and overseas for almost a decade.

They're now putting together their first album, The traditional sounds of the Maori.

Mr Spraggon says it's in response to demand from live audiences.

“It's all original music on this album. The second half is contemporary, anything from bass to drums to ukulele and guitar. All our songs are in te reo Maori and all of our songs have some form of taonga puoro in there. We think we’ve got a sort of niche market if you like,” Mr Spraggon says.

The CD will include a booklet explaining the sounds of the different taonga puoro instruments.

Henare says no to state trains

A Maori National Party MP is taking personally the buy-back of the country's trains.

Tau Henare says the $655 million paid for Toll's rail and ferry business represents a $235 million on book value, giving the Australian company a massive windfall from the New Zealand taxpayer.

He says there were other ways to improve rail services.

“I've come from a longstanding railway family. And quite frankly, government doesn’t know how to run a railway. It doesn’t know how to, it never has, and it never will. And I’m disappointed that we haven’t told Toll ‘run it properly or hey, we’ll make you run it properly,” Mr Henare says.

He says Maori workers were most affected when New Zealand Rail was privatised, but buying back the company won't bring those jobs back.

BUST WILL STIGMATISE GANG SAYS DEVIL BATTLER

A Maori drug educator is defending gangs caught up in drug raids yesterday.

Several members and associates of the Tribesmen and the Killer Beez appeared in Manukau District Court today on a charges stemming from raids in south Auckland and Waikato, which netted more than $200,000 cash, weapons and half a million dollars worth of methamphetamine.

Shane White, from Patua Te Ngangara or battling the devil, a Maori community drug education programme, says there are people in the gangs trying to tackle drugs.

“Every group of people, whether it be a gang or whether it be the army or the police, or even Rotary have a good side and a bad side, and it’s about whether you just throw people away or whether you concentrate on trying to accentuate the positive. There are people in there who are trying to good things and they all have been tarred now with ‘oh yous is the P dealers.’ This could be just one person’s personal stash and now that whole gang has been considered the main players in the P trade,” Mr White says.

He says many Maori are lured into manufacturing P by easy financial gains.

BEAUTY SEES PAGEANTS AS INPIRING OCCUPATION

Miss World New Zealand hopes her win will encourage other aspiring Maori beauties.

Seventeen year old Kahurangi Taylor, from Ngati Te Ata, Waiohua and Te Waiariki will represent this country at the Miss World finals in the Ukraine in November.

The staunch Maori Party member is a former Miss Teen New Zealand, and she competed at last year's Model of the World pageant in China.

She says being the first Maori to win the title brings mixed feelings.

“Proud, extremely proud, but at the same time I’m kind of sad that I’m the first. This pageant has been round for years and I’m the first Maori so it’s kind of sad and I want to encourage more Maori to get into pageants and express themselves,” she says.

Kahurangi Taylor is a seventh former at Auckland Girls Grammar, and previously attended Pukekohe's Te Rumaki Reo and Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Waiuku.

MORNING AFTER PILL MEANS BLIND EYE TO NIGHT BEFORE

A Maori health researcher says plan to give teenage girls free emergency contraceptives ignores major issue round teen pregnancy.

The Auckland District Health Board is considering offering the Levonelle 1 morning after pill through community pharmacies.

Marewa Glover from Auckland University's School of Population Health says it's the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, and there needs to be more education on informed consent.

“What's being done about looking at why these girls are getting pregnant in the first place. Who is sexually abusing young girls under the age of 16? Not all of them are resulting from consenting sex or informed consent on the part of the child. It’s still illegal to have sex with a child, isn’t it?” Dr Glover says.

About 16 percent of Maori babies are born to mothers aged between 16 and 19, while 0.8 percent are born to mothers under 16.

BASEMENT NIGHTCLUB PLAN FOR WAITOMO CAVES

A plan for a nightclub near the Waitomo Caves is splitting the small King Country Village.

Developers have won planning permission for a three storey restaurant and bar complex near the Maori-owned tourist attraction, but locals are objecting to their application for a 21 hour liquor license.

Dan Te Kanawa, whose property borders the planned development, says row highlights the need for the Waitomo District Council to come up with a proper development strategy.

“Well looking 50 years down the track, driving into Waitomo you’re either going to have a lot of buildings crammed in like other places have, or it’ll still have its current character. That’s the kind of debate and discussion I think should be the focus of people’s minds rather than reacting to each development as it seems to pop up,” Mr Te Kanawa says.

At the moment the Waitomo caves area is vulnerable to disruptive ad hoc developments.

TOO EARLY TO WORRY ABOUT VOTER AWARENESS

Lack of awareness of election year isn't fazing one of the key players.

A survey conducted by the Electoral Enrolment Centre found 41 percent of Maori, 55 percent of Pacific people and 53 percent of young people don't know there's an election this year.

But Prime Minister Helen Clark says it's still early days.

“Right now there's not an election campaign. We’re in the first half of the third year of the Parliamentary term. Later in the second half everyone’s minds will turn to the election and I’m confident that Maori, Pacific people, new Asian settlers and New Zealand young people will start to focus on the campaign, when they're ready,” Ms Clark says.

Kingitanga focus for unity

The King Movement is being seen as a way to bring Maori together in a post-settlement environment.

Tainui MP Nanaia Mahuta says the support from iwi around the country for the movement's 150th anniversary celebrations show how Kingitanga is able to renew itself each generation.

She says there was a lot of discussion about the challenges Maori face and how the movement can contribute to their political, economic and social development.

“We need the movement as a means of bringing the iwi together but also of asserting aspirations which is to unite Maori, to hold on to our resources, whether that be our lands or whatever, but also the new conversation is how can iwi determine greater partnership across themselves to be able to take Maori forward,” Ms Mahuta says.

Iwi are also concerned about possible constitutional debate, and want Maori to be at the centre of the debate rather than an afterthought.

HEALTH CHECKS TO CHECK DIOXIN ROSK

Tangata whenua in New Plymouth are welcoming free annual health checks to people who lived near the former Ivon Watkins Dow agri-chemical plant in Paritutu, or worked in it.

The checks come in response to a new independent report on the potential of exposure to dioxin when the plant was making the herbicide 2-4-5-T between 1962 and 1987.

Peter Moeahu, the secretary of Ngati Te Whiti, says he'll be encouraging hapu members to take the checks when they become available from the first of July.

“Unless we go through that process we’re really not going to know whether any of our members’ health has been affected or not. And that’s why I’m quite pleased with the proposal for the health checks. There are those who say it’s too little too late, but I am of the view anything’s than nothing at this stage,” Mr Moeahu says.

While some hapu members have health problems, it can't yet be proven they were dioxin-related.

OTACO CEMENTS TIES WITH NGATI TOA

Otago University has formalised its decades-old link with Wellington iwi Ngati Toa.

The link was forged by the late Eru Pomare, a leading medical researcher, who gave his name to the university's Wellington-based research centre.

Darryn Russell, the University's director of Maori development, says the memornadum of understanding signed yesterday at Takapuwahia Marae in Porirua extends the relationship to all departments in the university.

He says it will strengthen what the university has to offer.
“We're looking at strong support in the teaching of our hauora Maori and cultural competency from a community perspective, we’re interested in partnering in good quality research that produces information to help with the well-being of our communities,” Mr Russell says.

He says the memorandum will give Ngati Toa the opportunity to understand the university's research agenda and become involved with the teaching of graduates who will engage with their communities.

WAIPAREIRA SETS SIGHTS ON DOCTORS’ CARTELS

Hard on the heels of its education summit, West Auckland's Waipareira Trust is setting its sights on the health of its whanau.

Chief executive John Tamihere says it's working with Ngati Whatua on a healthcare strategy, and the trust-linked public health organisation, Wai Ora, is growing rapidly.

He says by the end of the year it should have 50,000 patients registered.

“For the first time we are having research and data sets in our hands which give us a remarkable opportunity to engage in a very well documented, very well researched way in changing the health system to get better health outcomes for low paid, unemployed, or those with low access because they’re scared like hell about going to the doctors and costs and all that sort of stuff,” Mr Tamihere says.

He says most Maori get their healthcare from an accident and emergency clinic rather than from a wellness plan.

SAWMILL WORKERS FIGHTING LEGACY OF POISON

A former Whakatane sawmill worker says the problems of dioxin poisoning aren't confined to Paratutu.

The Government has announced people living round the former Ivon Watkins Dow plant in New Plymouth can get free annual health checks because they may have been exposed to dioxins in the 1960s and 70s.

But Joe Harawira from Sawmill Workers Against Poisons, or Swap, says workers from the Whakatane mill, which closed 20 years ago, are still suffering from poisons used in timber treatment.

“When you look at the sawmill workers in Whakatane and you see the levels of dioxins that are in our system, they far outweigh everyone else’s in New Zealand including the Paratutu ones,” Mr Harawira says.

He says sawmill workers need to be eligible for Accident Compensation support and ongoing healthcare.

CHEAP GLASSES ENCOURAGE SHORT-SIGHTED VIEW

The first Maori man to graduate in optometry wants Maori to be more aware of their eye health.

Jacob Ormsby joined a practice in his hometown of Katikati after graduating from Auckland University in 2003.

He says many Maori buy cheap non-prescription glasses from chemists or other stores, rather than getting a full check.

He says that's a short sighted approach.

“Once people start seeing well with the help of those glasses they probably put it to the back of their mind – they’re doing ok and their eyes are alright. But maybe that’s not the only way to have an eye test. Maybe someone looking inside there and checking the areas you can’t test yourself are more important that being able to see clearly right in the now,” Mr Ormsby says.

Jacob Ormsby says a proper eye test can pick up conditions like type 2 diabetes, which can cause blindness.

Tuhoe in a Tempest

Tuhoe activist Tame Iti is flying into another tempest.

Iti, who is awaiting trial for firearms offences laid after last October's so called terror raids in the Bay of Plenty, has won a change in his bail conditions allowing him to travel to Europe for performances of a theatre work based on Shakespeare's The Tempest.

He says the work, a collaboration with Butoh dancer and choreographer Lemi Ponifasio, has changed considerably from the version which played at last year's Auckland Festival.

“The Tempest will be a lot more abstract, without any dialogue, just based on movement, motions and images, and it is like going into art galleries so you have to gather your own thoughts, so you may have 100 people watching the show, with 100 different views to it, so it’s a different approach to what your normal drama is, so it's not a drama,” Iti says.

When he gets back from performances in Belgium, Spain and England, Tame Iti will be taking up a new job as host of an Auckland Maori radio station.

MAORI NEED HURRY UP ON ELECTION DATE

The Electoral Enrolment Centre is concerned Maori may miss out on voting.

It has found just under half of the Maori population don't know it's election year, with younger people more likely to be in the dark.

National manager Murray Wicks says people need to prepare themselves by getting correctly enrolled.

“There's a lot of young Maori people which are now first time voters and they need to enroll. When it comes to enrolment as well, Maori are one of those groups that are less likely to be enrolled than other groups in the population,” Mr Wicks says.

Update packs are going out this week to everyone on the electoral roll so they can check their details.

WHAKAPAPA CONCERN FOR IVF TREATMENT

Concerns over geneology can be a barrier for Maori couples considering using donated eggs or sperm.

That's one of the conclusions of Your child is your whakapapa, a new study by Auckland University's School of Population Health.

Co-author Marewa Glover says for many Maori, the desire for children is closely aligned with the need to pass on their whakapapa.

And while the assisted reproduction technology makes it a current issue, Maori have faced similar issues with adoption.

“It occurs with whangai as well, if you look at membership of iwi, and this is going to be more and more relevant with treaty settlements, who belongs, who is a member of the iwi. Not all iwi recognise whangai who whakapapa externally to that iwi,” Dr Glover says.

She says assisted reproduction is being increasingly sought because the falling birth rate among Maori women means there are fewer babies available to be whangai'd within families, which was a traditional Maori response to infertility.

HUI CELEBRATES REGENERATION IN KINGITANGA

Tainui MP Nanaia Mahuta says celebrations of 150 years of Kingitanga demonstrate the movement's ability to rejuvenate itself.

The five-day event attracted thousands of people to Turangaewaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia.

Ms Mahuta says it was a chance to look back at why the movement has survived, and to look forward to how it can be used as a focus for Maori unity and cooperation.

“For each generation there’s been a resurgence of its aspirations. Kingitanga’s been relevant for the generation of the time and people are still saying it has relevance and it has a role to play, and significantly at the commemorations over the weekend, a new generation coming through wanting to articulate where the way forward is,” Ms Mahuta says.

There was much talk of how iwi can work with each other in a post-settlement environment.

GANGS KEEP MEMBERS GOING BACK TO PRISON

Gang affiliation is seen as the reason for a disproportionate number of Maori in prison.

The first of what’s to be an annual analysis of the prison muster has found the percentage of the population behind bars has doubled over the past 20 years, from 91 per 100 thousand to 188 per 100 thousand.

More than half of prisoners are over 30, compared with just 20 percent in 1980.

Peter Johnson, the Correction’s Department’s manager of strategy and research, says longer sentences are one reason for the increased average age, but the drug trade and gangs play a part.

“If people are members of gangs then there’s a tendency to remain again stuck in a criminal lifestyle and we have seen that the average age of gang members has increased in the same way that the offender population has increased,” Mr Johnson says.

The Offender Volumes Report identified that last June 3.2 percent of all 23-year-old Maori males were in prison, compared to point 4 percent of Pakeha of the same age.

KURA CLEANS UP OWN BACK YARD

Cleaning up an awa was the ticket to Wellington for a Whangarei schoolgirl.

15-year-old Erana Walker from Te Wharekura o Te Rawhiti Roa was one of 44 teenagers from around the country brought together for the 2008 Sir Peter Blake Youth Environment Forum.

During the week the rangatahi worked with on projects with staff from the Ministry for the Environment.

Ms Walker says since 2003 her school has tried to keep the Waitoa River on its boundary pollution free.

“We were doing stuff to clear it. We were planting beside the river to help restore it. We were getting hold of our local councils and our regional councils to come in help pull all the dead willows and the rubbish in it because there were things like couches and old washing machines and there was everything,” Ms Walker says.

On June 5 Te Wharekura o Te Rawhiti Roa is marking World Environment Day, Arbour Day and Matariki by planting the banks of the Waitoa.

Kotahitanga around Kingitanga hui

An organiser of historic Kingitanga celebrations says the kotahitanga of other iwi made the event a success.

Despite the weather, thousands of people passed through Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia over the past five days to mark 150 years of the King Movement.

Highlights included the launch of a new waka, Taatahiora, a brief speech from King Tuheitia asking for unity among Maori to support the Kingitanga, and a special stamp issue.

Rahui Papa says while the movement is central to iwi from the Tainui waka, the celebration shows it is valued by all Maori.

“The unity among the people was awesome. Coming in from all the areas of the country, added that ihi I suppose to the whole event overall. To see new faces, rangatahi and kaumatua, attending these celebrations, and that just gives us heart for the future purposes of the Kingitanga,” Mr Papa says.

WILLIE APIATA RETURNS HOME TO NGAPUHI

The North has reunited with one of its most esteemed sons.

Tai Tokerau tribes turned out in force on Saturday to welcome SAS Corporal Willie Apiata, the first time he has formally been back in the region since he was awarded a Victoria Cross for bravery in action in Afghanistan.

Northland-based Labour list MP Shane Jones says the occasion at the Waitangi Treaty grounds gave honour not only to the man but to the whole iwi.

“When he was welcomed, it was pointed out to Willie that a waka wairua, a spiritual canoe was guiding him forward onto Waitangi, and it had the spirit of Moana Ngarimu, the last Maori to win the VC, and also brought forth by the Whanau Apanui people who actually showered him with affection and understanding when he was growing up which is equally as importance as his blood inheritance which he got from the Apiata whanau and the Ngapuhi,” Mr Jones says.

With his demonstration of purpose, obligation and
comradeship, Corporal Apiata is a fitting role model for Maori youth.

YOUNG MAORI MORE LIKELY TO BE BEHIND BARS

More than three percent of 23-year old Maori males were behind bars last June.

That’s one of the disturbing statistics to come out of the inaugural Offender Volumes Report, a new annual census of the prison population.

Peter Johnson. The Corrections Department’s manager of strategy and research, says since 1980 the number of prisoners as a percentage of the total population has doubled, and the median age has been getting older.

But he says there’s an alarming concentration of Maori males in the younger age classes, peaking at 3.2 percent of Maori 23-year-olds compared with 0.4 percent of Pakeha at the same age.

“Maori males are more likely to commence an offending career. They tend to commence offending careers at an earlier age. On average they are more likely to continue offending and (get) arrested and reimprisoned and they tend to remain in an offending career for longer than non-Maoris,” Mr Johnson says.

The gang lifestyle means longer sentences, drugs, and the gang lifestyle are factors in the increased population and age of prisoners.

APIATA HONOURED WITH GIFTS FROM THE NORTH

New Zealand’s first Victoria Cross winner this century has been showered with gifts from his home people.

About 3000 people gathered at Waitangi Marae on Saturday to welcome SAS Corporal Willie Apiata.

He was taken on to the marae by members of Te Whanau a Apanui, from where he grew up, and Ngati Porou, including members of the family of fellow VC winner Moananui Ngarimu.

Northland-based Labour list MP Shane Jones says the gifts he was given, including ancestral weaponry and a photograph of his great grandparents, was a reminder Corporal Apiata had history before he started making it.

“Coursing through his veins is the blood of the colonial soldier, sergeant Cherrington, and the indigenous warrior Te Aho, who met each other at Ruapekapeka Pa 1845, and of course Te Aho, the warrior chief of Ngati Hine, the lieutenant to the great ancestor Kawiti, was killed in the Ruapekapeka confrontation and sergeant Cherrington ended up marrying his daughter. Willie Apiata is the descendant of those two traditions, the colonial soldier and the native warrior,” Mr Jones says.

Corporal Apiata is a reminder New Zealanders have a sense of nation and know he turangawaewae where they belong.

MAORI FERTIITY RATE IN SURPRISING FALL

The co-author of a new report on Maori attitudes to assisted human reproduction says falling fertility rates are affecting the traditional practice of whangai.

Marewa Glover from the University of Auckland's School of Population Health says adopting a relative’s child used to be a common response to infertility.

But there are now fewer children available to be whangaied, so couples are turning to fertility services.

She says the decline comes as a surprise to many Maori.

“We're sort of led to believe though media focus on teenage pregnancies that if anything we’re still popping out too many babies, you know ‘those Maori girls, you can’t stop them,’ and in actual fact we’re down to 2.7, on average, per Maori woman, and that is quite a shock to a lot of Maori. They did not realise our fertility had dropped that far,” Dr Glover says.

It’s likely the fertility rate will be down to 2.4 by 2010.

MAORI DEAF FACE ADDITIONAL HURDLE

New Zealand's third official language celebrates its second birthday this week.

It’s New Zealand sign language, developed by deaf people when an earlier generation of educators refused to teach them the international sign language.

Tony Blackett, the general manager of the Deaf Association, says there is still work to be for Maori, who make up a disproportionate number of the deaf community.

“If you are deaf and Maori in New Zealand, you have a double layer of challenges to work through around issues like language and therefore access to the general community, which can present real challenges to those basic human rights like freedom of expression,” Mr Blackett says.

In the 2006 Census, 24 thousand people said they use New Zealand sign language to communicate.