Swine flu hitting young Maori population

Recent figures showing more than half of swine flu patients are Maori or Pacific Islander are cause for concern but not panic, according to a leading Maori health researcher.

Of the 761 confirmed swine flu patients for whom ethnicity is known, 27 percent are Maori, 28 percent Pacific Island, 34 percent European, and 11 percent other ethnicities.

Papaarangi Reid, the deputy Maori dean of Auckland University’s School of Medicine, says because ethnicity has not been recorded in all cases it is not yet clear whether the virus is hitting Maori harder than other ethnic groups.

However she says Maori are more at risk.

“we're a younger population and it is mainly young people who are getting this particular influenza and we’ve got far more risks in terms of our determinants of health so lower access to healthcare services, worse housing, more overcrowding, different access to good food, warm clothing etc at this time of year,” Dr Reid says.

The number of confirmed cases of swine flu sits at 1059 with a national death toll of three.

HARAWIRA KEEN ON SEABED COMPO BUT NOT PUSHING

Maori Party MP Hone Harawira says compensation is not an issue for the Maori Party in resolving issues around the foreshore and seabed legislation.

Mr Harawira, who led the hikoi which resulted in the formation of the party, says individuals within the party, and the party as a collective, are categorical in their view that they did not oppose the foreshore and seabed legislation to get compensation.

“That's something that’s been thrown up by Eddie Durie, I guess by his work as a jurist, in understanding that when you deny people access to something them they have to be compensated for it later on. That’s what happens in Pakeha business circles. That’s what happens everywhere else in life. There’s no reason for assuming it shouldn’t happen for Maori,” Mr Harawira says.

He says compensation will be something for the courts to sort out and is not something the Maori Party is going to worry about.

The review panel was High Court judge and Waitangi Tribunal chair Justice Edward Taihakurei Durie, barrister Richard Boast, and educationalist Hana O'Regan.

FAMILIAR FACES SPOTTED ON HIKOI HISTORY

The photographer behind a New Plymouth exhibition documenting social reality over the years says the works show how Maori determination to protest perceived injustices has never changed.

The exhibition Photo Histories is showing at New Plymouth's Govett Brewster Art Gallery with images by Mark Adams, Bruce Connew and John Miller from Ngapuhi including Nga Tamatoa, the Land March, the Raglan and Bastion Point Occupations, Waitangi Protests and the Foreshore and Seabed Hikoi.

John Miller says one of the things that stood out was the reemergence of people years later.

“In the land march was a photo of Dave Ruru from the East Coast pushing his little girl Tanya down the motorway into Wellington in a pushchair, and on the wall opposite is a photograph of Tanya, now a grown woman, waving her Ngati Porou flag outside Parliament during the Foreshore and Seabed hikoi,” Mr Miller says.

Other recurring faces include a young Tame Iti at Waitangi in 1972 and in Queen St in 2004, showing how the fight for tino rangatiratanga has not lessened with the passing of time.

GOFF REJECTS COMPENSATION AS FACTOR IN FORESHORE DEBATE

Labour leader Phil Goff says if review of the foreshore and seabed legislation becomes about compensation it will not work.

Phil Goff says the National and the Maori parties have flip flopped on the issue of compensation following the review panel saying it was something that should be looked.

He says however now all parties seemed to be in agreement that the issue should not be about compensation.

“I don't think this issue is about compensation and if it becomes focused on compensation I don’t think it’s going to work. This is about finding a resolution between the rights of New Zealanders to have access to the beach, which is fundamental, and the rights of Maori people who have long occupied those areas where appropriate to have customary title and to have their rights acknowledged,” Mr Goff says.

He says there is a real chance of finding a solution and getting a reconciliation between the different views.

Prime Minister John Key has indicated compensation might be excluded from an agreement to recognise Maori customary rights over the foreshore and seabed and Maori party co-leader pita Sharples says he is relaxed about this.

KAUPAPA MAORI APPROACH TRIED TO MATHEMATICS

The researcher behind a maths project where Maori pupils are allowed to talk and laugh in class groups while solving sums says the kaupapa Maori approach is working.

Massey education lecturer Bobbie Hunter have been researching year 7 and 8 Maori and pasifika pupils in Auckland to study whether their maths performance and attitude improves when they work in groups.

She says the project is reflective of their larger families and their home life and this is key to their improvements.

“It’s the way they’re brought up. It’s the fact everybody looks out for each other in a Maori or Pasifika family. Then they cOme into a school where maths so often is done, each person is an individual and you’ve got to get the answer right and it’s up to you as an individual so they actually really honouring them working in groups and the value of group work,” Ms Hunter says.

Discussion and laughter are also part of the learning process for Maori pupils, as opposed to traditional classroom etiquette.

She is one of 180 international maths educators at the 32nd international Mathematics Education Australasia conference being held at Massey University’s Wellington campus this week.

ART STAR SHOWS NEW WORK TO WHANAU FIRST

New beginnings are being marked by brighter colours for a Ngati Wai/Ngati Manuhiri artist exhibiting at Whetu Rangimarie Gallery in Pakiri over the next two months.

Star Gossage is showing her figurative series of paintings to celebrate the gallery's acknowledgement of the Matariki star cluster and Maori New year.

“They are not necessarily to do with matariki but we hung them for matariki in my auntie’s gallery. I didn’t want to send them off to my galleries. I wanted to show them at home in Pakiri, where all my whanau live,” Ms Gossage says.

TPK tries to unite Tamaki Maori

Te Puni Kokiri is leading the co-ordination of an iwi consortium to represent Maori in Tamaki Makaurau.

Regional director of the Ministry for Maori Development, Pauline Kingi, says several months ago leaders from the two principal iwi, Ngati Whatua and Tainui met with Nga Puhi to discuss the details and undertakings for last weekend's Atamira, Maori in the City.

She says it was timely that discussions of a consortium surfaced.

“An iwi Maori consortium concept of mana whenua and a critical iwi Maori groupings in the Tamaki Makaurau region and so we asked Tainui to carry that and work with us on both the mana whenua side and the taura here side to sew it all up, so there will obviously be further dialogue with the urban Maori authorities as we get that consortium bedded down,” Ms Kingi says.

The formation of an iwi consortium is the beginning of a long term strategy which will ultimately serve Maori at a number of economic and social levels.

HARAWIRA KEEN ON FLAGS FLUTTERING FAR AND WIDE

Maori Party MP Hone Harawira will seek government support to have a Maori flag distributed to every marae in the country and flown at every New Zealand embassy around the world on Waitangi Day.

A national Maori flag consultation team will begin hui around the country this week seeking views on what flag should represent Maori.

Mr Hawawira says any flag should be widely distributed.

“I recall from the old days, the old people telling me something like the internal affairs department sent flags out to all the marae so I’m going to see if we can get Internal Affairs, whatever the flag is, make up heaps and heaps of them and offer them to every marae in the country,” he says.

Mr Harawira says the flag decision is due by mid-September.

MOANA’S TRIBE OFF TO BORNEO RAINFOREST

Maori singer Moana Maniapoto and her band are off to Borneo to perform.

And she's expecting a positive response to the environmental and respect for the land messages embodied in her music when the band plays before local tribes.

“We are going to meet some tribal representatives over there and I notice they have been in a big struggle with the government and Indonesia in terms of the palm oil biofuels that is devastating a lot of their lands, so I think we will have a bit in common,” Maniapoto says.

TREELORD DEAL SEETING GOOD PRECEDENT FOR FUTURE

One of the chief negotiators of the $500million CNI deal says the government's attitude bodes well for future settlements.

The so-called Treelords deal which came into force on July 1 and was celebrated at the weekend was negotiated with the Labour government led by Dr Michael Cullen as Treaty Negotiations Minister but the new governent saw the settlerment process through.

Chief Te Arawa negotiator Rawiri Te Whare says the positive attitude was carried on by the new Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson.

“The way that National has engaged to date has been very encouraging and I think their attitude to settlements represents a positive side that suggests they also want to see settlements achieved going into the future so I’m very encouraged with discussions we’ve had with ministers to date,” Mr Te Whare says.

The real work managing the forests and wisely investing money received now begins for the CNI collective and individual iwi.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE WILLING TO RUN WITH BALL

Te Puni Kokiri says Maori businesses need to prepare to shine under the international spotlight during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Ministry for Maori Development Rugby spokesman, Paora Amunsden, says Maori culture is what makes Aotearoa unique and tourists will come here wanting to see the sights, learn the culture and take home Maori merchandise.

Mr Ammunsden says during the 2007 Rugby World Cup, French retailers ran out of goods like images of the Eiffel Tower and berets.

He says Maori businesses need to make sure this does not happen here.

“The opportunities for our retail merchandise operators around selling taonga Maori, Maori product, the opportunities for Maori tourism operators. Something in the order of 4.5 billion viewers will watch the tournament so we’ve got a real opportunity to sell Maori inc if you like to the world, to communicate what’s unique and special about our people,” Mr Ammunsden says.

Creating a unique Maori brand associated with the rugby world cup is essential for Maori business to maximise opportunities.

INTERNET TELEVISION VENTURE WINS INNOVATION AWARD

The work of a group which has set up a television station which broadcasts in medical centre waiting rooms and hospitals has been acknowledged with the supreme award for innovation at Atamira - Maori in the City over the weekend.

Travis O'Keefe of Ngati Porou whose company Health TV has been in operation for four years says the aim is to educate people about health issues and not to sell pharmaceuticals.

He says the tool has far wider potential which will only be fully realised with further investment.

Flag on Maungawhau to highlight super city debate

The largest tino rangatiratanga flag in the world will be flying from Maungawhau this week, as the government select committee prepares to hear oral submissions on the future of local governance in Auckland.

Organiser Ngarimu Blair from the Iwi Have Influence action group, says hundreds are expected at dawn vigils at the summit of Mount Eden to show their dissatisfaction at the government's decision not to include Maori seats on the proposed Auckland super council.

He says they were looking to do something more relevant than standing waving placards among the crowds at the select committee hearings.

“So the thought was let‘s go to Auckland’s most visited site where 1.2 million people per annum come, it generates a huge amount of money for the city, it’s the poor man’s skytower to get a view of the city notwithstanding it’s a waahi tapu, a sacred site for many of the tribes of Auckland and for many Aucklanders,” Mr Blair says.

A subcommittee will look into the issue of Maori wards at sittings at Orakei, Te Puea and Hoani Waititi marae, from Wednesday to Friday.

FORESHORE ACT REWRITE COMEBACK OPPORTUNITY FOR NZ FIRST

A Maori political commentator is predicting New Zealand First leader Winston Peter's breaking of his silence since the election to criticise the Ministerial Foreshore and Seabed Act review could be the start of a political come back.

Matt Mc Carten says Winston Peter's criticism on the Television One programme "Q & A" at the weekend of the review as the path to separatism is tailor-made for Winston Peters and could have a marked affect on the political scene.

“The Nats and by extension ACT who normally would attack these things, kind of can’t, and Labour’s all over the paddock on it. So their Maori MPs, what’s left of them, say ‘don’t rock the boat’ so no party is going to oppose it because the Greens won’t and this is a tailor-made issue for Winston to make a comeback,” Mr McCarten says.

He says support for Winston Peters on the issue could force the government to back down from a weakening of its stance on separate Maori seats on Auckland super city.

LEADERSHIP AWARD FOR WHANAU WORK IN PRISONS

A prison programme manager from Kaikohe says the merits of tikanga-based arts programmes like kapahaka and whakairo are making inroads in connecting prisoners to their whanau.

Mark Lynds is being awarded with a Prison Arts Leadership Award in Parliament tonight, for his work promoting the arts as a vehicle for rehabilitation at the Northern Region Corrections Facility and Auckland Prison.

He says art and cultural knowledge are important keys to restoring the mana of Maori who have lost their way.

“You can physically see a change in the way the men interact. There are less incidents, they’re easier to manage and they become quite positive. Some of the guys have had no contact with whanau for quite a while when they’ve been in here basically because they‘ve pushed their whanau away. It’s not until they reconnect that they start developing the want and need to get back in with their extended whanau,” Mr Lynd says.

The programmes have allowed prisoners’ work to be displayed inside and outside of prisons, raised money for charity through the sale of prison art, and he is in negotiations with several councils around the country to submit whakairo.

WORK NOW ON BEDDING IN TREELORD FORESTRY SETTLEMENT

One of the chief negotiators of the CNI deal which was celebrated at the weekend with the return of nearly $500 million worth of forests and cash to central north island tribes says the work has only just begun.

Rawiri Te Whare, who was the chief Te Arawa negotiator, says the deal makes iwi the largest forestry owners in the country.

“It's a considerable amount of assets and cash and so brings with it a huge challenge to the leadership of the CNI. The work is only just begun now, putting all the infrastructure and the process and they systems me need to get in place to ensure the steady careful prudent management of these assets,” Mr Te Whare says.

Te Arawa is not in a hurry to spend the money its receives and will be investing it conservatively.

TOBACCO FIGHTERS WANT TAX INCREASES TO HELP QUITTERS

The director of a Maori tobacco-free organisation is calling on the government to increase the tax on loose tobacco to help encourage Maori to quit.

Shane Kawenata Bradbrook says its a myth that loose tobacco is less harmful, with recent research showing people who smoked roll-your-own cigarettes are inhaling up to 28 percent more smoke than those who smoked tailormades.

He says that, coupled with a high Maori smoking population is a recipe of gloom for Maori.

“You increase tax, there’s an incentive there for people to quit. Smokers are price sensitive just like any other consumer, so increase the tax you are going to see people starting to make decisions around quitting and I think that is a massive disincentive for people,” Mr Bradbrook says.

An increase in tax needs to be supported by an increase in access to support services for Maori like Aukati Kai Paipa

ATAMIRA ORGANISERS AIMING TO MATCH PASIFIKA

An Estimated 120,000 people flocked to Atamira, Maori in the City over the weekend and organisers predict the event will eventually be as big as Pasifika.

Pauline Kingi from Te Puni Kokiri says Atamira started two years ago as a showcase for Maori creative and performing artists.

Ms Kingi says this year's expansion and the inclusion of business, science and innovation was to create strategies for all areas of Maoridom to grow and prosper.

“Pasifika was an important statement of the achievement of Pacific peoples in the New Zealand context. Similarly, Atamira is an important contributor to where Maoridom is moving to. We are now in an economic debate and climate in which Maori are integral to the growth, the expansion for our country,” Ms Kingi says.

Maori target rugby world cup cash-in

Te Puni Kokiri and the Maori Tourism Council are putting a Maori face on the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

TPK ran a seminar during this weekend’s Atamira Maori in the City show in Auckland on how Maori cash in on the thousands of tourists and the billions on television viewers.

Project coordinator Paora Ammundsen says there are groups being formed around each of the 13 game venues to link in to the world cup organising body.

He says Maori are getting excited about the opportunities, but there needs to be a coordinated response.

Paora Ammundsen says he is also working with the Maori language commission Te Taura Whiri on ways te reo Maori can be highlighted on banners, signage and other communications.

MAORI LEGAL DOCUMENTS GO ON LINE

A major collection of legal documents in te reo Maori has gone on line.

More than 14,000 pages of 19th century documents with references to Maori situations or concepts have been digitised by Victoria University's electronic text centre.

They include speeches by Maori MPs, land deeds, translations of acts and bills, petitions from Maori and reports of the Native Affairs select committee.

Mamari Stephens, the leader of the Legal Maori Project, Te Kaupapa Reo-a-Ture, says it’s a resource for those who want to use Maori vocabulary to describe Western legal concepts.

She says the documents have been publically available but hard to access until know.

Mamari Stephens says the material has been collected as part of a bigger project to produce a Maori legal dictionary.

WRITING WORKSHOPS COULD UNLOCK FAMILY STORIES

Maori are being encouraged to use series of workshops run by Manukau City Libraries and the New Zealand Society of Authors as a way to learn how to get their stories recorded.

Jocelyn Watkin, project manager for Write Around Manukau, says the workshops on different themes will be running at libraries around the city until November.

She says the sessions on oral story-telling may appeal to Maori and spur them to get their words on paper.

The series also includes a session on short story writing run by Ngapuhi author James George.

PROTEST PHOTOS WORTHY OF ART GALLERY SURVEY

Maori protest has entered the museum in an exhibition of photography which opened at New Pymouth’s Govett Brewster Art Gallery this weekend.

Photo Histories looks at the way three photographers, Mark Adams, Bruce Connew and John Miller from Ngapuhi, document social reality.

Miller, a familiar figure wherever people have gathered to challenge authority over the past four decades, says his images of Nga Tamatoa, the Land March, the Raglan and Bastion Point Occupations, Waitangi Protests and the Foreshore and Seabed Hikoi are a way Maori can hold on to their own history.

“I just felt at the time it was important these events be recorded. People pass on, a younger generation arises, and it’s really important that they can look at these images and see what happened in the past so they realise where we’ve come from,” Miller says.

The Photo Histories show was opened by Taranaki kaumatua Lindsay McLeod, whose tuakana, the late Eddie McLeod, features in a 1972 image of Nga Tamatoa members on the porch of a Waiomio meeting house.

NELSON MAORI GROUPS GET INTO JOB-FINDING BUSINESS

Nelson iwi have gone into the job-finding business to tackle the high level of high Maori unemployment in the region.

Kimi is a joint venture between Ngati Rarua Atiawa Iwi Trust and Wakatu Incorporation with support from Work and Income, based at Wakatu House.

It will offer advice on careers, training, apprenticeships and study options.

Project manager Jenny van Workum says while the long term focus is to get more Maori into middle and senior management positions, it is also important to encourage participation in training and education at all levels.

“We are wanting people to go into particular industry groups so particularly in Nelson Marlborugh we are focused on aquaculture, horticulture, viviculture, tourism, so we are keen people get the right skills and training in those areas to put them in a place to get good job opportunities into the future,” van Workum says.

Kimi will work closely with employers so it can ensure Maori are getting appropriate training for what’s available in the region.

RELAXED APPROACH TAKEN TO MARAE SUBMISSIONS

The select committee on Auckland governance starts a marathon session in the city today to hear the thousands of people who want their submissions heard.

Maori who don’t want to join the crush at Parnell’s Barrycourt conference centre can go to Orakei Marae, Te Puea Marae and Hoani Waititi later in the week.

Maori Party MP Hone Harawira says a special subcommittee will hear formal submissions in the morning sessions, then open up the floor in the afternoons.

“It’s going to be like an open forum on any marae so people can feel comfortable getting up. I mean, we’re not really comfortable writing submissions. Some of us are, but most of us aren’t, and you can tell from the hikoi that people will give their energy in different ways, so what we are saying is be a Maori, come to the marae and tell us what you have to say,” says Mr Harawira, whose Tai Tokerau electorate includes Rodney district, North Shore City and parts of Waitakere City.

Maori in city showcased

Auckland's ASB Showgrounds echoed this morning to the sound of the karanga as Ngati Whatua elders welcomed visitors to Atamira, a showcase of Maori in the city.

More than 1000 people turned out for the first day of the three day event which showcases Maori innovation in the arts and business.

Organisers aim to put a Maori face to the country’s biggest city.

Tonight there is a hui on how Maori can position themselves to benefit from the influx of visitors to the 2011 rugby world cup, and tomorrow there’s a science and technology innovation summit.

The draw for most vsitors is the music, with featured acts including Herbs Unplugged, Nesian Mystic, Trinity Roots, Whirimako Black and Moana Maniapoto’s Tribe on its last appearance before it heads off next week for a rainforest festival in Borneo.

Stallholders say it’s important rangatahi see the range of fields Maori are active in, and many government agencies are using the TPK-sponsored event to reach out to the Maori community.

SPECIAL MAORI COMMITTEEE TO HEAR SUPER CITY CONCERNS

Maori with a point to make about the Auckland super city will get their chance at next week.

A special subcommittee of the Auckland Governance Legislation select committee will sit at Orakei marae on Wednesday, Te Puea Marae in Mangere on Thursday and Hoani Waititi in the west on Friday.
Subcommittee chair Tau Henare says it's a first for Parliament, and he's trying to reach more than the two or three hundred Maori who have lodged written submissions so far.

“It just gives Maori a chance to be comfortable in their surroundings. We are going to hear submissions, those who have written in to us, in the morning, and then in the afternoon period we will open it up to a sort of open forum so we’re hopeful those who want to moan about the Auckland super city idea or those who want to say it’s a good idea can come along and give us their view,” Mr Henare says.

Some Maori may also make submissions to the main select committee, which is holding hearings at the Barrycourt Motel in Parnell all week from 9am to 9pm.

MAORI HALF COMBO COULD KEEP WARRIOR HOPES ALIVE

The Warriors are being urged to stick with the Stacey Jones-Lance Hohaia combo at half.

Sports commentator Ken Laban says the Auckland-based rugby league franchise has chopped around its line-up so much this year the players must be getting dizzy.

The Warriors must beat the Broncos in Brisbane tonight to stay in with a chance of reaching the final eight.

Mr Laban says while some critics believe Hohaia is more potent coming off the bench, a better indicator is the success Queensland coach Mel Meninga has had by persevering with the inside back combination of Johnathan Thurston and Darren Lockyer, giving them enough games together to develop an understanding.

FOREST TRIBES GATHER TO MARK LAND AND CASH TRANSFER

Hosts Ngati Tuwharetoa are expecting more than 500 people to Hirangi Marae tomorrow to mark the largest ever treaty settlement.

Land under the Crown's central North Island forests has been handed to eight iwi, and with it comes more than $200 million dollars in cash, which is the rent that has accumulated in the Crown Forest Rental Trust over the past 20 years.

Ten percent of the forest assets have been held back for iwi who did not join the Treelord collective.

Trust chair Sir Graham Latimer says it's an outcome he could only hope for when his New Zealand Maori Council went to court 20 years ago to stop the sale of state forests.

“Well it was a hope at that stage but it wasn’t a fact. It’s a mighty sum of money. To be able to bring ourselves up to a level and compete in the business world, you’ve got to have the waywithall to go with it,” Sir Graham says.

Even with $200 million taken from its putea the Crown Forest Rental trust has enough money left to keep funding claimant research until the end of the historical claim process, but it will need to work on tighter budgets in future.

CNI TRIBES LOOKING TO ADD VALUE TO SETTLEMENT

Meanwhile, a Te Arawa negotiator says CNI tribes are keen to take a major role in the region's economy.

Willie Te Aho says the iwi don't want to just be landlords of the 176 thousand hectares under the forests.

IN: We want to look at how we can add vale to our wood before it goes offshore so there’s on the ground forestry jobs, processing, marketing opportunities. Then there’s the geothermal possibilities under our land,” Mr te Aho says.

The settlement will also give the iwi capital to play a role in infrastructure investment.

HINEMIHI TO BE CENTRE FOR UK MAORI ACTIVITY

The only wharenui in England is being restored and enlarged to serve as the centre of cultural activity for Maori based in the United Kingdom.

Hinemihi stands in Clandon Park, Surrey, where it was brought by a former governor general soon after it was dug out from under the ashes of the 1886 Mount Tarawera eruption.

Jim Schuster, a Maori heritage advisor for the Historic Places Trust and a great grandson of Tene Waitere, one of Hinemihi's carvers, says National Trust conservation architects are drawing up the plans for the restoration, and totara for a new ridgepole has been sent over.

He says the project follows a long debate in British heritage circles about the future role of the house.

“They wanted Hinemihi to be the centre for Maori cultural activities for UK-based Maori. Now that’s in the mission statement they’re all behind the project. It took a while to convince them of that and now they’re behind the project and they realise I think there’s lots of Maori people living in the UK and they find it’s their way of reconnecting with home,” Mr Schuster says.

Ngati Hinemihi weavers will travel to England to work on the tukutuku panels with members of London's Ngati Ranana and other UK-based Maori who want to learn the art.

Foreshore intentions must overcome obstacles

The conciliatory tone of the Ministerial Review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act has struck a dischordant note with a veteran Maori rights campaigner.

The report called for repeal of the Act and the recognition of Maori ownership of the takutai moana, but said all New Zealanders consider they have a right of public access to the beach.

Moana Jackson says the submission he prepared for Ngati Kahungunu challenged that access being taken from granted.

“We would be prepared to allow access, but if it was ours we could determine and should be able to determine the terms of the access and if we are to grant that access, then those Pakeha who also have entitlements to the foreshore and seabed like marinas and harbour boards should able be required to give access to the foreshore and seabed,” Mr Jackson says.

He's skeptical about National now standing up for Maori rights, because it was then leader Bill English in 2003 featured on billboards saying beaches were for all New Zealanders.

NGATI MUTUNGA SIGNS UNDERSTANDING WITH TARANAKI COUNCIL

Ngati Mutunga has become the first Taranaki iwi to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Plymouth District Council on how the two parties should work together in future.

Iwi chair Jamie Tuuta says it is seeking cultural and economic benefits from the deal, including collaborative projects.

He says the north Taranaki iwi has wanted to improve its relationship with the council since it started treaty settlement negotiations with the Crown 15 years ago.

“The iwi was seeking greater control over our rohe and everything relating to us and it was clear many of the day to day matters that directly impacted or affected our iwi actually emanated from the actions and policies of local government rather than central government,” Mr Tuuta says.

Ngati Mutunga wanted a stronger relationship with the council at operational and governance levels than it could get through participation in New Plymouth's iwi liaison subcommittee.

ART OFFERS PATH OUT OF ILLNESS TOWARDS TAHA MAORI

A Ngati Hine woman is crediting art with changing her life after a serious illness.

Theresa Reihana's show Matariki is at Whangarei's Tuatara Gallery & Design Store until the end of the month.

She took up painting seriously 10 years after a bout of mastitis forced her to give up work and return home to Taitokerau.

Ms Reihana says painting healed her and made her proud of her Maori heritage.

CNI SETTLEMENTS SHOW STRATEGY NEEDED ELSEWHERE

As celebrations continue for the achievement of the multi-iwi central North Island settlement, there are calls for the lessons learned in the process to be applied elsewhere.

Te Arawa, Tuwharetoa, Tuhoe, Ngati Whare, Ngati Raukawa and Ngati Rangitihi will gather at Hirangi Marae by Lake Taupo tomorrow to mark the handover of the Crown's forests in the region.

Rawiri Taonui from Canterbury university says the historic deal came together because the previous Labour government stopped taking advice from the Office of Treaty Settlements and took a rangatira to rangatira approach.

He says that's what's needed to complete the settlement of Auckland claims, rather than just relying on the plan put up by facilitator Sir Douglas Graham.

“The proposed settlement they had a couple of years ago with Ngati Whatua left our Ngai Tai, Te Kawerau a Maki, Waiohua, all of those tribes whose occupation of Tamaki predated that of Ngati Whatua. It’s not a put down for Ngati Whatua but it was a real lesson about doing proper justice for all the parties,” Mr Taonui says.

NATIONAL PROGRAMME NEEDED TO TACKLE SKIN INFECTIONS

A Wellington paediatrician is calling for a national post natal education programme to wake parents up to the danger of skin infections.

Brendon Bowkett says a patient audit at a Porirua clinic where last month, when more than 120 people presented with skin infections over 10 days, is an indication of the scale of the problem.
He says New Zealand's skin infection rate is comparable to third world levels, with Maori particularly affected.

Many infections are avoidable if the broken skin is treated early, but often parents don't act until infection sets in.

“When there is a lesion like a mosquito bite or a cut or a scratch, it gets treated there and then. The knowledge to do that has to be imparted on the people who are looking after that child, and that’s the key factor, because I work in some third world countries, and I haven’t seen rates of skin infection in those populations that mimic what we see here,” Dr Bowkett says.

Whanau support workers, plunket nurses and midwives could be used to get the word out.

TE ARAWA WEAVERS PREPARING FOR HINEMIHI RESTORATION

Historic Places Trust conservators have been stockpiling natural fibres in Rotorua to be used in the restoration of the United Kingdom's only Maori wharenui.

Maori heritage advisor Jim Schuster says the restoration of Hinemihi in Clandon park in Surrey was held up because funding in the sector had been diverted towards preparations for the 2012 London Olympics.

But architects have drawn up plans for the interior, and Te Arawa weavers can start creating the interior tukutuku panels.

The National trust has launched a webpage devoted to the Ngati Tuhourangi wharenui, which was salvaged after the Mt Tarawera eruption 123 years ago.

Labour ready to improve foreshore framework

Labour's Maori Affairs spokesperson is keen to work with other parties to clarify the laws around the foreshore and seabed.

Parekura Horomia accepts some of the criticisms in a ministerial review that the previous Labour government could have done better in its response to Maori claims for recognition of customary interests in the takutai moana.

But he defends its attempt to clarify and codify Maori rights through legislation.

“If you don't have legislation, a while lot of other things can happen and that’s what I think in relation to water. The one thing with the takutai moana now, it has some clear construct in terms of where Maori rights should be and at the same time enduring all New Zealanders can get rid of this nonsensical fear that Maori can keep them away from the beach and all of that,” Mr Horomia says.

HARAWIRA BLOCKS LABOUR VIEW FROM CONSIDERATION

But the Maori Party MP who organised the 2004 foreshore and seabed hikoi is not interested in working with Labour on a replacement for the Act.

Hone Harawira says the review panel confirms that Labour and its Maori MPs got the issue totally wrong.

He says the MPs not only backed a nasty and destructive piece of legislation, they stood by it for five years while they were rewarded with ministerial jobs and high list placings.

His priority is to make sure any new legislation serves Maori interests well.

“And I'm really not interested in listening to any of the suggestions from Labour’s Maori members of Parliament since all they’ve done on this particular issue since we’ve gotten into power. Labour’s Maori members of Parliament, is parrot exactly what they white leaders have said to them,” Mr Harawira says.

He says the best thing Labour's Parekura Horomia could do is stand up in Parliament and apologise for getting the issue wrong.

DANCE PIECE DRAWS ON MAORI BATTALION MEMORIES

A soldier turned choreographer steps out tonight to honour his grandfather, who fought in the 28 Battalion.

Maaka Pepene from Tuhoe and Ngati Hine spent six years in the infantry before studying dance.

Over the past decade he has worked with Taio dance theatre, Black Grace and now the Atamira Dance Collective.
Tonight at Belmont's Rose Theatre on the North Shore, Atamira kicks off a tour of Pepene's Memoirs of Active Service, inspired by his grandfather's wartime diaries.

He says it's demanding on the five dancers who also sing as they portray shearers turned soldiers caught up in the war effort.

“Click Go the Shears, The Maori Battalion Marching Song and He Tara Wa Huka about a punch in the jaw to this bugger Hitler. It’s a physical theatre with movement, dance as the basis of it but they have to act and sing and dance as well,” Mr Pepene says.

Memoirs of Active Service also includes videos and a backdrop inspired by painting by Peter McIntyre, New Zealand's official war artist.

TURIA DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM LABOUR AFTER FORESHORE REVIEW

The MP who quit the Labour Party over the Foreshore and Seabed Act wants her former colleagues to admit they were wrong.

Tariana Turia says the Ministerial Review Panel on the Act, set up as part of the Maori Party's support agreement with National, has exposed the flaws in Labour's approach to Maori customary rights.

The panel recommended the Act be repealed, and outlined a range of options for recognising the interests of hapu and iwi in the coastal marine environment.

Mrs Turia says while other parties did play politics with the Court of Appeal decision that sparked the Act, ultimately responsibility for the law lies with the former government.

“I think Labour’s feeling guilty. They know they were wrong. I know those Maori members must know they were wrong. There wasn’t one iwi that agreed with them. Of the 3945 submissions to select committee at that time, 95 percent said the legislation was wrong,” Mrs Turia says.

She says Labour should apologise to Maori for making a discriminatory law.

ALCOHOL RESEARCHER CAMPAIGNING FOR HIGHER PRICES

The head of Christchurch School of Medicine's National Addiction Centre is touring marae and other community centres to win support for more controls on alcohol

Professor Doug Sellman says New Zealand is suffering an alcohol crisis, with Maori disproportionately affected by the resulting violence and health problems.

He says solutions could include restricting liquor outlets and opening hours, regulating marketing, tighter drink driving limits, and price rises.

"This campaign has come at exactly the right time because a recession will bring abut a reduction in drinking because of the price issue naturally. Increasing the price even a little bit more could get really good gain in terms of better control of liquor in New Zealand society," he says.

Professor Sellman says New Zealanders have become numb to the damage alcohol is doing to society.

The Law Commission is due to publish an issues paper this month on the sale and consumption of alcohol.

TRADITIONAL NAMES INTRODUCED TO SCIENTIFIC DEBATE

Maori have been meeting with GNS Science today to advise how the Crown research industry can use Maori knowledge in its mahi.

Advisory group member Emma Gibbs from Ngapuhi says matauranga Maori can offer fresh perspectives on the CRI's work in geology and natural sciences.

She says today's agenda included potential names for recently discovered geothermal fields.

"We believe that we’re doing a good job to make sure Maori stay in the process of scientific research, especially when it comes to naming land masses, waterways. They all have traditional names, rather than a scientist discovering a land mass and calling it XO 5678," Ms Gibbs says.

Scientists sometimes need to be reminded to protect Papatuanuku or the earth, rather than abusing her.

Foreshore Act review advocates repeal

The Attorney General Chris Finlayson has taken delivery of a hard-hitting review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

A panel headed by former Waitangi Tribunal chairperson Eddie Durie slammed the law passed by the previous Labour government's after the Court of Appeal ruled Ngati Apa could ask the Maori Land Court to determine its customary interests in the Marlborough Sounds.

It recommended the Act be repealed and replaced with one which balance the customary rights of hapu and iwi in the coastal marine area with the rights of use and enjoyment held by the general public.

Mr Finlayson says the panel's comments on public access were excellent.

“There is almost tattooed into the brain of every New Zealander a belief in the importance of the beach culture in their lives, so I never really thought after Ngati Apa came out that public access was every going to be an issue but this makes it clear beyond doubt and that should reassure those New Zealanders who may be worried about public access questions,” Mr Finlayson says.

The panel also raised the need for a wider review of the laws on coastal management.

CNI FOREST RENTS HANDED OVER TO TREELORD TRIBES

Central North Island forests were today put in the name of the region's iwi, ending an historic treaty claim process stretching over 20 years.

Roger Pikia, a Te Arawa negotiator, says the Treelords deal came together because of the willingness of former Treaty negotiations Minister Michael Cullen to negotiate on a rangatira to rangatira basis.

As well as the land, the iwi are getting $279 million in accumulated rental held by the Crown Forestry rental Trust, minus 10 percent being held back for a few smaller iwi groups which did not join the main settlement.

“That fund will be transferred today and then transferred out to the CNI iwi members. What the CNI iwi members will do from then, that’s the post-settlement governance entities, for those that have got corporate structures in place and strategic plans and business plans and so on, those things will evolve as we move forward,” Mr Pikia says.

As well as managing the forest, there could be opportunities such as energy generation where the iwi might want to work together on.

TAURANGA KURA MOVES INTO NEW FUNDED HOME

A Tauranga kura kaupapa Maori has won Education Ministry funding after nine years going it alone.

Te Kura Kokiri has left Tawhitinui Marae in Omokoroa, where it started in 2000 with seven children, and today moved its 88 pupils into a former primary school in Papamoa.

Principal Mark Nicholas says it could not get funding if it remained at the marae.

“The best place for our kids to be educated in on their marae among our kuia and koroua, their tikanga and their reo, but the ministry had extreme difficulty supporting that concept. Their idea was that to do so would mean putting government money into private establishments,” Mr Nicholas says.

Along with its registration, the kura is also celebrating 11 of its students gaining Bachelors of Matauranga Maori through Te Wananga O Raukawa while still at secondary school.

MAORI TRUSTEE GETS INDEPENDENCE AND NEW ROLE

A former Maori Trustee says the Maori Trust Office needs to do more for Maori development and stand up for Maori people and institutions.

The office was today cut free from Te Puni Kokiri, and given extra funding to operate as a standalone organisation.

Neville Baker, who ran the office in the early 1990s, says as well as administering more than 100,000 hectares of Maori land, the Maori Trustee has a unique advocacy role.

“Today should be a celebration for Maori in particular because there now is an independent entity that has the ability to advocate and to work with the tribes and therefore the whole dynamic changes from the role when it was connected with Maori Affairs and more recently TPK,” Mr Baker says.

He says Maori Trustee John Paki should be talking to post-settlement iwi about how he can provide services and accelerate their development.

NGATI WHATUA MARKS 21 YEARS SINCE TAKAPARAWHA RETURNED

Ngati Whatua o Orakei today celebrated the 21st anniversary of the return of Bastion Point.

Hapu chair Grant Hawke says it was one of the first pieces of land returned to Maori as the result of a Waitangi Tribunal recommendation.

He says the battle for the Auckland coastal site inspired other Maori, and also helped Pakeha see New Zealand history in a different light.

He says it sets the precedent for other claims, and pointed to a new direction for setting grievances.

Mr Hawke says the challenge for Ngati Whatua now is to achieve a comprehensive Tamaki Makaurau settlement, working alongside other iwi in the region.

HONORARY DOCTORATE AWARDED TO LATE MANUTUKE MATRIARCH

Whanau of the late Heni Materoa Sunderland gathered at Whakato Marae in Manutuke today for a special tribute to their kuia, who died a year ago aged 92.

Mrs Sunderland, who helped set up Gisborne-based iwi authority Te Runanga o Turanganui-a-Kiwa and the region's first Kohanga Reo, was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Waikato.

Louis Moeau from Rongowhakaata says his aunt was a formidable woman who combined a deep knowledge if the traditions and customs of Turanganui-a-Kiwa with a willingness to do what she saw as best for her region, including standing up on the mare to whaikorero.

Forestry assets transferred

It’s an historic day for Maori.

The massive Central North Island Treelords settlement takes effect today with the return of $500 million worth of assets to eight iwi in the region.

And the review panel on the contraversial Seabed and Foreshore legislation reports back to parliament this afternoon.

Iwi in the Central North Island broke new ground when they came together without lawyers last year and agreed to the CNI deal under which the Crown returns 170,000 hectares of forest.

The eight iwi will also divvy up around $280 million from Crown Forestry Rental Trust bank accounts.

In anticipation of the settlement consultants employed to investigate business opportunities are recommending the iwi consider the creation of a $2 billion power generation company to tap into the areas geothermal resource.

This could see the tribes supplying 10 to 20 per cent of New Zealand's electricity within five to 10 years.

And this afternoon the country will learn what the panel set up to review the Seabed and Foreshore legislation has come up with.

Both National and Labour have indicated they won't be quickly responding to recommendations aimed at addressing concerns which led to the formation of the Maori Party five years ago when the Labour government passed legislation to guarantee public access to beaches.

WARDEN PATROLS A TASTER FOR POLICE CAREER

An iwi liasion officer says workibng as Maori wardens is a perfect training ground for rangatahi wanting to pursue a career in the Police.

None Martin, from Waitakere City Police, says the wardens provide a solid environment with practical experience dealing with all types of people.

He says the police and the wardens have a good working relationship.

FORESTRY SETTLEMENT POSITIVE IN FACE OF RECESSION

The manager responsible for bedding down of the CNI Treelords deal, which sees $500 worth of assets returned to central North Island iwi today, says the treaty settlement will give Maori great heart at a time when the recession is being widely felt.

George Asher who has been lead negotiator on behalf of the eight iwi who today take over management of 170,000 hectares of forest and receive around $280 million in cash says considerable work has gone into ensuring the asset is wisely used.

This includes employing consultants to investigate business opportunities who are proposing iwi consider investing in a $2 billion project to develop the geothermal energy under the forest.

“It’s very significant in time of economic downturn that iwi are in this position to consider those opportunities,” Mr Asher says

The power project which could see the iwi supplying 10 to 20 percent of the country's electricity within 10 years is in the preliminary stage of investigation will only come about if the various iwi decide to invest in it.

NEW TISSUE BANK AIMED AT FINDING MAORI CANCER CURE

Middlemore Hospital's new tissue bank will rely on Maori patients consenting to store and study their cancerous DNA, which could lead to better targeted therapies to attack certain cancer cells prevalent in Maori populations.

The cancer tissue bank, the first in the North Island, is expected to start storing samples in -80C freezers next year in an effort to determine genetic abnormalities that cause cancer.

Clinical director Samar Issa says the hospital is sensitive to the dilemma faced by Maori in the storage and use of dna and each case will have strict ethics approval.

Dr Issa says staff are working with the hospital's iwi group, and will be offering advice on the research and targeted therapies.

ATAMIRA AIMS TO HONOUR INNOVATORS

Billed as the ultimate showcase for Maori art, culture and business, the Maori expo Atamira which takes place in Auckland this weekend, will also take the time to recognise those who have contributed to Maori Innovation.

Atamira co ordinator, Ngaire Wilson, says on Saturday a one day innovation summit will be held on Saturday.

Ms Wilson says it's a timely opportunity for Maori to honour their peers who have made a real difference to science and research innovation.

Rhonda Kite, who runs post-production facilities, and Ian Taylor from Animation Research, the man behind the America's cup graphics are among the keynote speakers.