Waatea News Update

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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Maori miss out on voting papers

A candidate for the Auckland super city council is concerned many Maori have not received voting papers.

Waina Emery says Papakura Manurewa has the highest percentage of Maori of any ward in the city.

She says her door knocking has revealed far too many people who don't have papers ... and there is only a day left to do something about it.

“People have to send away for a special vote and then they’ve got to go to the post office if they’ve changed address and it’s quite involved and then they need to get their vote by Wednesday and post it. If they don’t get it posted they have to take it in to the council. We’re going to need to ask some questions because how can our Maori vote if they haven’t got the papers,” Ms Emery says.

She'd like to see a simpler process for special voting.

SETTLEMENT FINALLY FOR TE WANANGA O AWANUIARANGI

Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell says a $14.5 million payment to Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi addresses a long-standing injustice.

Mr Flavell was the Whakatane-based wananga's chief executive in 1999 when the Waitangi Tribunal's Wananga Capital Establishment Report found wananga had to meet their own start-up costs, while universities and polytechnics had benefited from decades of state funding.

He says the settlement signed yesterday by Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce and Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples should have happened a long time ago.

“It was all there for everyone to see. It’s just disappointing it has taken four ministers to formalise this agreement bearing in mind we’re talking 10 years since the tribunal hearing and prior to that the arguments had been going at least another 10 years,” Mr Flavell says.

When he was there the Whakatane campus was all prefabs, but the settlement will allow a comprehensive building programme to be completed.

MINING PROTEST DRAWS FULL HOUSE IN RUATORIA

The full house signs have been out at this year's Ngata Memorial Lectures in Ruatoria.

Monty Soutar, the chief executive of Te Runanga o Ngati Porou, says Natis from the East Coast and beyond see the three-day forum as a chance to discuss political, social and even sporting issues and to have input into tribal decisions.

He says there was particular interest in a presence by Whanau a Apanui lawyer Dayle Takitimu on what can be done to protest planned oil exploration just of the Ngati Porou coast.

“Down here nobody wants it and I guess the discussion was ‘how do you stop it?’ That’s why you had so many people there. We’re up against big money, we’re up against a government that wants to mine all the resources and in that context we’ve got a heck of a challenge ahead of us,” Mr Soutar says.

KEY SLAMMED FOR SITTING SILENT AS RACIST COMMENT AIRS

Labour MP Shane Jones says the Prime Minister let the country down by failing to challenge Breakfast Television host Paul Henry's racist attack on the Governor General.

TVNZ today suspended Mr Henry for two weeks for asking John Key during an interview yesterday whether New Zealand-born Sir Anand Satyanand was "even a New Zealander?"

Mr Jones says the former National Party candidate was speaking to that part of the audience that wants New Zealand to return to a Pakeha-dominated society ... and Mr Key was happy to go along with it.

“Bottom line is the Prime Minister let the whole country down. He sat next to that petty racist Paul Henry, did not correct him and did not stand up for the multiplicity of people that comprise New Zealand’s population. The Prime Minister had every opportunity on our public broadcaster to say ‘that question is out of line, you’re out of line, this is a famous New Zealander, his ethnicity is an irrelevancy,’” Mr Jones says

He says Paul Henry needs to join former ACT MP David Garrett and depart public life.

CENSUS DATA SHOWS GOVERNMENT POLICIES CAN IMPROVE LIVES

A new report on the well being of Maori families has given a big thumbs up to the former Labour government's Working for Families tax policy.

Former Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro and social scientists Martin von Randow and Andrew Sporle were commissioned by the centre for Maori research excellence, Nga Pae o Te Maramatanga, to analyse 25 years of census data.

Mr Sporle says what stood out was the big improvement in the well being of Maori households between 2004 and 2008, when the new system of topping up family incomes was introduced.

He says that has implications for the upcoming Whanau Ora policy.

“I stand here with hope for Whanau Ora to say this document has showed that policies can make a difference for Maori households, so let’s use this as a benchmark and use it to help inform those Whanau Ora policies and see if it’s made a difference in five, 10, 15 years time,” Mr Sporle says.

FASHION WEEK RUN A PICK UP FOR NGAI TAHU DESIGNER

An Invercargill-based designer hopes presenting her collection on the catwalk at New Zealand Fashion Week opens doors for her Kahuwai label.

Amber Bridgeman says she's proud to call herself a Maori designer, and has just completed a degree in Maori visual arts to help her add authenticity to her work.

The former Mai Time television presenter says getting into the Mira Moda showcase event boosted her esteem after years of having doors slammed in her face.

Ms Bridgeman says one of the biggest challenges Maori designers face is copies of Maori designs made overseas and imported for sale in New Zealand.

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