Urban authorities make play for whanau ora

The head of west Auckland-based Waipareira Trust says urban Maori authorities are likely to be major providers of services under Whanau Ora.

John Tamihere is holding a hui tonight at Nga Whare Waatea Marae in Mangere to inform the community how the new integrated health and welfare service will be rolled out in south Auckland.

He says it's not a job that iwi groups should assume they have a monopoly on.

“We have always respected and supported mana whenua’s rights to look after their preferential beneficiary base. I’m not part of that. Tens of thousands of Maori in Auckland are not part of Ngati Whatua or part of Waikato. We have forged a new way of protecting our interests in town and good on the mana whenua people, but we have never given up our mana tangata and never will,” Mr Tamihere says.

A joint whanau ora bid by the National Urban Maori Authority will bring together groups like Waipareira, Te Runanga o Kirikiriroa in Hamilton, Te Runanga Awhina ki Porirua and Maata Waka in Christchurch, which already deliver services to more than 300,000 Maori,

GREENS SEEK VOTES IN BRINY DEEPS

Greens co-leader Metiria Turei wants the courts to determine whether Maori have customary title to seabed in New Zealand's exclusive economic zone beyond the 12 mile limit.

Ms Turei says the Government shouldn't be issuing permits to explore or exploit offshore oil and gas until the question is decided.

She says there are many iwi which would want to be party to such a case.

“There are no laws, New Zealand laws, that apply to seabed beyond the 12 mile limit. The Resource Management Act doesn’t apply. So the question becomes, was that ever extinguished? If customary title as determined under tikanga Maori before 1840 extended beyond the 12 mile limit, arguably those areas beyond the 12 mile limit have never been extinguished by an act of law, and therefore customary title exists,” Ms Turei says.

MARAE FOOD SAFETY TICKET TO JOB

A south Auckland marae has become the first to get its kitchen certified as a commercial kitchen.

Manurewa Marae has been taking part in the New Zealand Food Safety Authority's Kai Manawa Ora project, which aims to prevent food-borne illnesses coming out of hui.

Project coordinator Raniera Basset says ringa wera are given training in food handling which can give them a basis for further accreditation.

“A lot of our people when they get this ticket, there’s an opportunity for them to work on their marae but also to go the local cafeteria or restaurant and say ‘are there any jobs going,’” Mr Basset says.

The Manurewa Marae kitchen has also earned an A rating from the Manukau City Council's food safety team.

ENGLISH DEFENDS NATIONAL STANDARDS PUSH

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English says Maori teachers need to give national standards more time to work.

The annual hui of the NZEI Te Rau Roa's Maori arm called for the government to pull back on the new testing regime and run pilots to determine whether they will achieve the desired outcomes.

But Mr English says measuring every child against a national standard will ensure they get the teaching they need.

“Everyone has a common objective which is to raise the achievement of children. That’s particularly important for Maori children and there is I think basic agreement about the method which is find out what the child knows and doesn’t know and teach them what they don’t know and it’s just a matter of implementing that system and it’s going to be bit testing because some schools haven’t done this and it’s difficult for them,” he says.

Mr English says national standards will give parents the information they need to get more involved in their child's education,

BODY LANGUAGE INCLUDED IN CROSS CULTURAL STUDY

Canterbury University researchers believe their work on Maori body language can help break down cultural barriers.

Project leader Jeanette King from the New Zealand Institute of Language says the project is looking at differences in the way Maori and Pakeha communicate, including not only oral language but facial expression, posture and body language.

She says the differences come through in both English and Maori.
“(That) te reo Maori is a language which uses this aspect of communication so richly is a wonderful source and inspiration for us because it’s full of all these gestural aspects,” Dr King says.

Her research will build on the Joan Metge and Patricia Kinloch's 1978 book Talking Past Each Other, which identified the cross-cultural difference.

FUNDING CONFIRMED FOR HAWKES BAY MUSEUM OVERHAUL

The director of the Hawkes Bay Museum and Art Gallery says an $18 million dollar redevelopment will allow the institution to better display its nationally-significant collection of taonga Maori.

The government has announced it's putting $6 million into the project through the regional museums policy, with the rest of the money coming from Napier City Council and public donations.

Douglas Lloyd-Jenkins says the museum was founded in the 1850s by pioneer missionary and printer William Colenso, and was also associated with scholar Augustus Hamilton and premier Donald McLean, who between them laid the foundations for the largest Maori collection outside the main centres.

Among the treasures include 120 cloaks, including rare dogskin examples, which illustrate the depth and complexity of the collection.

The Hawkes Bay Museum and Art Gallery will close at the end of the month and reopen in 2013, with 15 new galleries.