Waatea News Update

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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Ngati Kuri secures fisheries mandate

The tribe which kicked off the Maori commercial fishing claims has finally secured a mandate to share in the settlement.

Ngati Kuri has become the last of the far north iwi to complete Te Ohu Kaimoana's mandating process, meaning allocation of inshore fishing quota in the region can now be finalised.

Peter Douglas, the chief executive of the fisheries settlement trust, says the northernmost can now take delivery of just over $3 million in deepwater fishing quota, cash and income shares in Aotearoa Fisheries.

He says it has taken Ngati Kuri chair Graeme Neho and his trust board a huge effort to get to this stage, including fighting off challenges in the High Court.

TAX RISE LENGTHENS LIFE EXPECTANCY

A leading authority on tobacco says more Maori will live longer because of this year's tax increase bite.

Murray Laugesen says a 15 percent drop in supermarket sales of cigarettes and loose tobacco is three times what he predicted.

He says the excise rise championed by the Maori Party seems to have caused Maori smokers to reconsider, and that will have a long term effect on public health and whanau health.

“If one in two Maori smoke and one in two Maori die early of smoking, hat means a quarter of all Maori deaths are due to smoking. It’s a huge percentage. We could do without it,” Dr Laugesen says.

HOANI WAITITI KURA CELEBRATES FIRST 25 YEARS

The Minister of Maori Affairs, Pita Sharples, has celebrated a highlight in his earlier career as an educationalist ... the 25th anniversary of the first kura kaupapa Maori.

He says a ball in west Auckland last night brought together many of those who helped set up the immersion school at Hoani Waititi Marae.

He says it was gratifying to see what past pupils have gone on and done.

“We've got lawyers and doctors and teachers, a lot of them have come back to teaching, a lot of them are urban Maori who have learned Maori in a Pakeha environment and been able to get through alright with Maori language and now bring up their own children speaking Maori so it is a very exciting thing to be part of,” Dr Sharples says.

NGAI TAHU CONSIDERING INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT FUND

The chief executive of the Ngai Tahu Runanga says the South island iwi is keen to set up a multi-tribal vehicle to invest in infrastructure projects.

Anake Goodall says the runanga learned valuable lessons from its joint venture with Christchurch City Council developing a new $113 million civic centre.

He says New Zealand needs to spend more than $50 billion on infrastructure over the next two decades, but few tribes have the resources to enter public private partnerships of that scale.

“We're actively discussing ideas with other tribal groups. Why don’t we collectives. That iwi with $40 million might want 10 percent of an investment like this and we could have a little investment vehicle we operate between ourselves so we could take it a bit further,” Mr Goodall says.

Ngai Tahu is likely to concentrate on investments in its own rohe.

SHARPLES KEEN ON ADVISORY MODEL FOR CITY

Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples says Maori have done well out of the first crop of appointments to the Auckland super city structure.

He says Local Government Minister Rodney Hide has accepted his recommendations that Tukoroirangi Morgan and Rukumoana Schaafhausen from Tainui and Vivien Bridgwater and Ngarimu Blair from Ngati Whatua become directors of the council owned organisations which will manage the bulk of the city's assets.

He's also met with the mana whenua selection panel for the council's Maori statutory advisory committee, and says the model is looking positive.

“They're not part of council which makes it even better because they can work in their own right and work in areas they want to rather than have to be … many of our advisory groups just get told what council wants them to be told but not this group. They have access to every venture, every business that council does so I’m really pleased about that,” Dr Sharples says.

MEMORABLE LEAGUE SEASON FOR SEVENS’ STAR

Former New Zealand Sevens and North Harbour rugby rep Karl Te Nana says he'll never forget his first season of league.

The 35 year old admits to feeling a bit sore after the Point Chevalier Pirates took Auckland Rugby League's Phelan Shield with a convincing win against the Otara Scorpions on Sunday.

He turned out for the team to support his mates, co-coaches Stacey Jones and Awen Guttenbeil, and says it's great to see professionals giving back to flax roots sport.

“You couldn't learn from better blokes like Monty Betham, Stacey Jones, Awen Guttenbeil, Wairangi Koopu, to give something back to their clubs, and on the rugby side, what Tana Umanga and Chris Jack and Kees Meeuws are doing for their rugby communities, getting the family atmosphere down to the games,” Mr Te Nana says.

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