Foreshore Act replacement tabled

Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell says the foreshore and seabed deal is the best the Maori Party could do with the National-led government.

The Marine and Coastal Area Bill introduced yesterday will repeal Labour's 2004 Act and sets up tough tests under which hapu and iwi can claim customary title, either in negotiations with the Crown or through the courts.

Mr Flavell says it addresses many of the key concerns identified by the working party led by retired High Court Judge Sir Eddie Durie, but there are still areas where Maori may want to push for change.

“Clearly you know it's a negotiation process between us and the National Party who have their constituency and have things that they have to complete but the select committee process hopefully will open up the door to allowing out people in and give some comment on the things that are in the bill and take stock from there, that is the select committee process in action,” Mr Flavell says.

BLAIR PESSIMISTIC ON BROWN SEAT PROMISE

A Ngati Whatua member of a group lobbying for Maori seats on Auckland City Council is skeptical that mayoral candidate Len Brown can deliver on a promise to address the issue.

Ngarimu Blair from IHI says he is still pushing for elected representation, despite being appointed a director of one of the council owned organisations, Auckland Waterfront Development.

He says if he gets the super city's top job, Mr Brown would have to use the process set out in the Local Electoral Act 2001.

“To create Maori wards, you would first have to convince the whole council it is a good idea to call a public poll on the issue. Then we go to the vote which we’d have to win, and if two Maori wards were created, two seats would be taken away from the current 21 and I don’t think Aucklanders who are already feeling like their voice has been diluted by only having 21 councilors would vote in favour of taking two of those away and creating Maori wards,” Mr Blair says.

The Ngati Whatua heritage and environment manager says it would take direct government intervention to get Maori seats on the super city.

MEN URGED TO GET PROSTRATE CANCER CHECKS

A Maori prostate cancer survivor is recommending all men get checked for the disease during what the Prostate Cancer Foundation has called Blue September.

Syd Pitman says he's always had regular health checks, but became concerned when he had to keep getting up through the night to mimi.

Tests confirmed a cancer in his prostrate, which was successfully treated.
The 63 year old, who now sits on the foundation's board, says the cancer hits men of all ages.

“A 28 year old, a 23 year old and a 21 year that has been diagnoses so it is not just the old man’s disease everyone thought it was. Anyone who has a difficulty with urination should go and have this test. What’s it worth to enjoy your children and your grandchildren. Go and have it done,” Mr Pitman says.

COASTAL BILL NOT DELIVERING AS PROMISED SAYS SYKES

One of the leaders of the 2004 foreshore and seabed hikoi says the Marine and Coastal Area Bill is a step back for Maori.

Lawyer Annette Sykes from Ngati Pikiao says the Maori Party has copped in allowing the bill to go forward in its current form.

She says while Labour's Foreshore and Seabed Act is to be repealed, the replacement is equally discriminatory, and in some ways worse.

“Sixty six percent of the current foreshore coastline is owned in what we call private or general title at the moment. Under this new proposal, none of that will be the public domain spaces, the common spaces that they are calling will actually adjoin those private titles. Only 33 percent of the space in this country will be converted into common marine and coastal areas,” Ms Sykes says.

She says the Marine and Coastal Area Bill gives use right holders like harbour boards more rights than hapu who are able to pass the stringent tests to prove customary rights.

RESEARCH ON IMPLICATION FOR MORE AGED MAORI

A public health researcher says more needs to be done to understand the needs of an ageing Maori population to ensure the right resources are available for kaumatua in the future.

Wiremu Edwards from Taranaki earned his doctorate by studying Maori perspectives on ageing, and he has now won a Health Research Council post-doctoral fellowship to continue the mahi.

He says Maori life expectancy is growing, but there is a lack of reliable data on what hopes people have for their latter years.

“I've looked at it from a Maori perspective and I guess if we are living longer, trying to ensure that we’ve got the right measures throughout life so that those people who are able to live into the older age, that they are comfortable, well looked after and planned form” Dr Edwards says.

He says for Maori, ageing doesn't start suddenly at 65, but is part of a lifelong process starting at birth.

WANANGA FOR WAHINE WHAIKORERO STRIKES HITCH

Plans to hold a wananga for Wairarapa women to learn how to speak on marae have run into strife.

Kapiti man Matiu Te Huki from Ngati Kahungunu and Rangitane ki Wairarapa planned to hold the training last weekend, but postponed it pending further consultation.

He will make his case to kaumatua at a hui at Te Ore Ore Marae near Masterton on Friday.

“So I've been speaking on paepae around the country for years as a male and that’s just something that has been handed over to me very easily just for the simple fact I am a male and I can korero Maori. Over the yeas I have felt some of the women around would be better suited to stand on behalf of the marae or the kaupapa that was going down on the day, but that was not to be of course because that was not part of our tikanga,” Mr Te Huki say.

He says some marae in the rohe have been so short of men able to korero that women have had to welcome manahiri ... and have been left feeling like they are doing something wrong.

Family essential to early childhood education

One of the guiding lights behind the kohanga reo movement says a greater focus on pre-school education and family development will have benefits for all of society.

Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi, who became the founding chief executive and then chair of the Kohanga Reo National trust after a long career as a Maori welfare officer, says the current approach to Maori families is about fixing individual things that go wrong, rather than looking at the bigger picture.

She says there are more than 40,000 Maori children under 5 who are not in pre-school education.

“That's a frightening number because while we are trying to fix them at a teenage level they are giving birth and graduating because we are not there at the beginning of their lives. That was the magic of Kohanga Reo when it started. We were there in the homes,” Dame Iritana says.

She says working productively with families takes special skills, and the current silo-based fix it model of social work isn't up to the task.

REO PANEL COULD SEEK MORE TIME FOR THOROUGH JOB

A member of the independent panel reviewing the government's spending on te reo Maori initiatives says the job could take longer than expected.

The Minister for Maori Affairs, Pita Sharples, has indicated he wants the report completed early next year.

“But Pania Papa, a teacher and broadcaster from Tainui, says the panel needs to consult widely as well as conduct an in-depth review of a multitude of government agencies before it gives Dr Sharples any recommendations he can take to Cabinet.

“Now he's wanting to do that sometime next year, preferably before Maori language week, but we’re not so sure that the big amount of work that needs to be done in order for this job to be done properly is able to be done in that time frame,” Ms Papa says.

The next step is to organise 10 rohe hui to get community feedback on existing language promotion programmes.

MORRISON SEEKING STEP UP FROM FRANKLIN

A Franklin county councilor hopes to be the first Maori elected to the Auckland super city council.

Des Morrison from Ngapuhi is standing on the Citizens and Ratepayers ticket for the Franklin ward.

The former New Zealand Steel executive says his two previous election wins shows a person's reputation is more important than ethnicity.


He says he has a lot of support from the business community because of his work with New Zealand Steel, from rugby connection and from being on the board of Wesley College.

One of the things he did on the Franklin council was push for the establishment of its Maori standing committee.

TAURANGA TRIBES BURY HATCHET FOR SETTLEMENT TALKS

A leading Tauranga kaumatua says the release of a second Waitangi Tribunal report on Taurangamoana claims will help focus settlement negotiations.

In its report on events and Crown actions that happened after the original raupatu confiscations of the 1860s, the tribunal found Tauranga tribes were marginalised socially, culturally, and economically, and their socio-economic status lags behind non-Maori.

Hauata Palmer says there were initial fears that the claims would open up old wound in an area where hapu and iwi had taken different sides in the war, but it became clear that all suffered in the following century.

“At the time of the first lot of claims, feelings were still running pretty high about proportions, about who lost most, but now we’ve got to the reality of what can be returned in terms of redress, I’m pleased that discussions we are having inter-iwi are going a lot more positively than I had originally thought,” Mr Palmer says.

The three iwi, Ngai Te Rangi, Ngati Ranginui and Ngati Pukenga, hope to complete their settlements by the end of 2012.

BADGES ENCOURAGE REO CONVERSATION

Maori speakers in Helensville are being encouraged to engage in conversation with local high school students.

Kaipara College is issuing its reo Maori students with badges indicating their proficiency level.

Carlin Shaw, the head of Maori studies, says it's part of making the language a part of normal life.

“At the end of the day I hope there is more korero Maori, not just in my classroom. It’s beautiful in my classroom, they try and are writing Maori and stuff. The next step is hearing more Maori in the community as a whole,” Mr Shaw says.

About 40 of the Kaipara College's 200 Maori students are learning te reo, but he hopes wider community acceptance will lead more to take it up.

FORMER FERN FARAH SALUTES CUP FOUR

Three time Women's Rugby World Cup winner Farah Palmer has congratulated the Black Ferns for making it cup number four.

Since retiring from the team the Piopio native has been busy lecturing at Massey University, serving as an independent director of the Maori Rugby Board, and having a baby, at 37.

She says the Ferns' 13-10 win over England to clinch the title had all the drama one expects from a cup final.

It was exciting to have fellow Tainui player Carla Hohepa from Te Awamutu named as player of the tournament.

Quake sign earth in upset

A Christchurch Maori leader says Saturday's earthquake has whanau asking what has upset deity Ruaumoko so badly.

Tihi Puanaki lives in Linwood, which was one of the worst hit areas of the city.

She says the road opened up before her eyes and sewerage pipes burst everywhere.

Mrs Puanaki says the crisis has made her think of others around the world who have been hit by natural disasters, and she feels blessed there was no loss of life.

SECOND TRIBUNAL REPORT ON TAURANGA MOANA CLAIMS

Iwi in Tauranga moana are welcoming a Waitangi Tribunal finding they should be compensated both for both for land taken under the Public Works Act and for land seized because of unpaid rates.

Kaumatua Hauata Palmer says Ngati Te Rangi, Ngati Ranginui and Ngati Pukenga have been in talks with the Crown over the land confiscated after the wars of the 1860s,

He says the weekend release of the tribunal's second report on the district, covering post-raupatu claims from 1886 to 2006, ups the ante.

As late as the 1960s large tracts of multiply owned Maori land at Maungatapu and Matapihi were taken without compensation for the Tauranga to Mt Maunganui motorway, splitting communities and leaving remaining land unusable.

TREATY RIGHTS SEPARATE FROM LOCATION OF MONARCH

Politician turned treaty negotiator Michael Cullen says many Maori have a misconception that being part of a monarchy protects their Treaty of Waitangi rights.

The former Labour deputy prime minister says it is inevitable New Zealand will become a republic, probably after the end of the reign of the current monarch.

He says part of the process of getting there is to allay Maori fears about the status of the treaty signed between chiefs and the ancestor of the current queen.

“The responsibility with respect to the treaty lies with the New Zealand government, lies with the Crown in New Zealand. In moving to a republic it does seem important to me that that issue is made clear, that changing to having a head of state solely within New Zealand does not affect the status of the treaty or the legal implications of the treaty,” Dr Cullen says.

He says to prepare for a republic, parliament should choose the next governor general without reference to Buckingham Palace.

SXHARPLES STICKS NECK OUT FOR LANGUAGE REVIEW

The Minister of Maori Affairs, Pita Sharples, says he will put his political credibility on the line to secure a positive outcome from his review of spending on Maori language revitalisation.

A team of educationalists led by a former secretary for Maori Affairs, Tamati Reedy, has been given six months to weight up whether the government is getting value for the $200 million plus a year it spends on te reo Maori programmes.

Dr Sharples says he was concerned lack of an overall strategy might be slowing progress.

“I'm sticking my neck out here because when the review is in, what am I going to do with it? Have I got the muscle to encourage government to make the changes if they are required? But I am prepared to do that because if we don’t have Maori language we don’t have the culture, If we don’t have the culture, we are gone as a people to the world,” Dr Sharples says.

He says the direction for the language needs to be set by te reo speakers.

OBJECTIVITY AIM OF REO REVIEW TEAM

Meanwhile, one of the members of the ministerial panel looking at te reo Maori says the next step is to draw feedback from the community through a series of 10 rohe hui around the country.

The panel convened a national language conference at Parliament last week so educationalists and government agencies could have their say.

Pania Papa, a teacher and broadcaster from Tainui, says it's not a job that could be done by a ministry like Te Puni Kokiri.

“It's important to have people from the outside looking in rather than people reviewing themselves and their own work. Much more objectivity is the goal and having an independent panel of experts representing various parts of the sector will help bring that objectivity,” Ms Papa says.

After the rohe hui, the panel intends to review each of the government agencies who run te reo Maori programmes.

FOMA HEAD SHARES EXPERIENCE OF MAORI WOMEN

The chair of the Federation of Maori Authorities says wahine are increasingly taking the lead in managing Maori business.

Tracey Haupapa is set to address a conference in Auckland tomorrow of the Global Women's Network.

She says the experience of FOMA's 160 members should be of interest to the audience of women innovators, entrepreneurs and business leaders, as women become an increasing force in Maori trusts and land incorporations.

She says including women on boards has been shown to produce more successful outcomes and bottom line returns for organisations.

Ngai Tahu property withstands quake

The head of Ngai Tahu Property says the tribe’s Christchurch portfolio seems to have come through the earthquake without major damage.

As part of its treaty settlement Ngai Tahu ended up as the landlord for several government agencies and also developed commercial properties and the new Christchurch Civic Centre.

Tony Sewell says the weekend was spent checking properties.

“My team was out first thing in the morning and they had a look at our shopping centre, Tower Junction, and everything was OK there. They looked at the law courts in Christchurch, everything was fine there, police station, civic building, things are ok, it’s just a bit of minor damage and the furniture and things thrown around but no doubt by the end of the week we will be back in some form of order and life will go on,” Mr Sewell says.

UPHEAVAL SCARS OLD CITY

Maori and Christchurch rugby legend Bill Bush thought he was having a bad dream until the reality of the earthquake hit home.

The hard man of All Black and Maori front row says it reminded him of being in Italy in 1979 when an earthquake destroyed many buildings in Naples.

He says his heart was saddened when he went into the centre of Christchurch on Saturday morning to city to help out saw the damage done to many of the old buildings.

“It was quite frightening to see, I love this city, it’s a beautiful city, but it’s scarred now with all the debris from particularly the old buildings that’s come down, it’s sad actually,” Mr Bush says.

He praised new building codes which meant houses such as his own 6 year old villa in Belfast 15 minutes north of the city survived unscathed.

SHARPLES LOOKING FOR BUSINESS IN CHINA

The Minister of Maori Affairs is in China this week looking for openings for Maori business.

Pita Sharples is taking 15 Maori business leaders to visit Beijing, Shanghai and Guizhou.

He says they are calling the visit Te Ara ki Haina, because they believe the cultural relationships formed will open up pathways for trade and business.

“China is now our second largest partner for exporting, although 60 percent in and 40 percent out, we’ve got to increase the out part to balance up and grow the economy here because by growing the economy we create jobs. I’m sure a number of ventures we’re going out to China with will yield fruit later on,” Dr Sharples says.

After visiting the World Expo in Shanghai, Dr Sharples will help bless and open the massive carved waharoa or gateway at the Baoshan Folk Arts Museum, which has been gifted by New Zealand to the people of China after being worked on throughout the expo.

NGAI TAHU KEEN TO BE AT TABLE FOR REBUILDING TALKS

Ngai Tahu chair Mark Solomon says the tribe needs to be at the table when plans are made for rebuilding Christchurch in the wake of Saturday morning’s devastating earthquake.

Mr Solomon says despite its violence, his own Maori Affairs-built home came through the quake without a crack.

But with large parts of the city and its infrastructure needing rebuilding, he says the tribe has much it can contribute.

“Definitely believe we will be invited to the table, Of course we have to be, we’re part of the community. I think we’ve got a long road ahead. There’s a lot of damage. I think there are opportunities of us all working together as a community,” Mr Solomon says.

The curfew of inner Christchurch means Ngai Tahu Runanga staff won’t be able to get to the office today, but he hopes they can be back at their desks as soon as possible.

MARAE READY FOR RELIEF IF NEEDED

Te Tai Tonga MP Rahui Katene says Christchurch’s marae are on standby if they are needed for emergency accommodation in the wake of the earthquake.

Mrs Katene had a quick inspection of the city over the weekend.

She says the authorities have moved quickly to provide for people whose homes were too damaged to stay in, and Maori are ready to play their part.

“Certainly are opening up more what they’re calling welfare centres for people to stay and they are expecting more will be needed over the next few days as people realise hey cannot keep staying in their damaged houses. If the marae are needed, they certainly look in a condition to be able to be used,” Mrs Katene says.

RUAUMOKO COMES THROUGH SHAKE

Even amongst the terror of the Christchurch earthquake and its aftershocks, there were brighter moments.

One of these was when Canterbury University Maori studies head Rawiri Taonui discovered his seven month old daughter had slept through the upheaval, including the chimney falling in.

He says thanks were given to the Maori god of earthquakes.

“She slept all the way through to 9 o’clock, just woke up and wondered where her bottle was. We’re going to christen her at Te Unga Waka in October in the second week of October so we’ve decided to add Ruaumoko as one of her middle names, it seems appropriate,” Mr Taonui says.

He was heartened at the way neighbours pitched in and helped each other.

Hamilton group standing in way of Tainui plans

A group of Waikato Maori say they will need to be forcibly removed from a Hamilton marae Tainui leaders want to demolish to make way for a supermarket.

Tuta Ormsby, the chair of Rangimarie Te Horanganui Marae chair, says the site near Glenview on the city's west was turned into a marae at the wish of the late Waikato - Tainui leader Sir Robert Mahuta.

He says Tainui Group Holdings wants them off the site by next Tuesday, but they intend to stay.

“I'm going to stand up and I’m going to doe on this kaupapa. They won't,” Mr Ormsby says.

Tainui executive chair Tukoroirangi Morgan declined to respond.

SHARPLES MOVED BY COMBINED ABORIGINAL WELCOME

The Minister of Maori Affairs, Pita Sharples says he was deeply moved by yesterday's launch of the rugby world cup campaign in Sydney.
Dr Sharples opened the doors of the giant inflatable rugby ball on the Circular Quay landscape soon after sunrise.

“We had an Aboriginal ceremony which was really moving as they did their smoke cleansing, but they also did some traditional welcme dance and welcomed the Maori party, and then the Maori party joined them and welcomed the Australians. It was really brilliant,” Dr Sharples says the organisers hope to bring the giant rugby ball to New Zealand in the lead up to next year's tournament.

NEW ARTS CENTRE FOR MANGERE

It's a big weekend in the south Auckland with the opening of a new arts centre in Mangere.

Manager Naomi Singer says the design of the distinctive yellow building in the heart of the town centre came about after extensive consultation by the architects with the local community and mana whenua, who gave it the name Nga Tohu o Uenuku

She says the entrance has a stylised rainbow, and the shape of the theatre references Mangere maunga.

Naomi Singer says there will be cultural performances over the weekend as well as an exhibition by local artists.


SHARPLES OPENING CHINA DOORS FOR ENTREPRENEURS

Maori affairs minister Pita Sharples is off to China tomorrow to open doors for Maori entrepreneurs.

He's heading a group of 20 Maori business leaders for an 8 day visit taking in Beijing and Shanghai.

He's expecting great things to come from the trip.

“It's going to be a whirlwind week, very busy, so I’m relying on the entrepreneurs, young and old, that I’m taking over there to capitalize on the occasion, set up communications, and of course we’ve got our expats over there, they’re very keen to assist in business arrangements, so very exciting,” Dr Sharples says.

The delegation includes people in farming, fishing, forestry, science, telecommunications and graphics.

BADGES INVITE COMMUNITY TO KORERO WITH STUDENTS

A Northland school has come up with a way of encouraging Maori in the community to korero with its students who are learning te reo.

Kaipara College's Maori department has produced badges showing the student's level of ability to understand and speak Maori.

Carlin Shaw, the head of department, says He Akonga badges are for students with basic Maori while he korero Maori badges go to students with more extensive knowledge.

“This is the first step. We’ve got these badges now and we have told the community via the newspaper, also going out to local iwi and talking to them about it and they were very supportive of it which has been awesome,” he saus

Mr Shaw says the students feel encouraged when members of the community talk with them.

ROWING PAERTNERSHIP CONTRASTS WITH RUGBY HAKA PARTY

One of the Maori involved in World Rowing championships at Lake Karapiro, Willie te Aho, says the way Maori are being integrated is in sharp contrast to other sports.

The Maori Affairs Minister, Pita Sharples, has come under fire for adding a Maori flavour to yesterday's launch of the Rugby World Cup campaign in Sydney, despite failing in his efforts to get a Maori rugby ambassador appointed.

Mr Te Aho says organisers of 2011 Rugby World Cup seem to take Maori for granted, but don't allow them to play a substantive role.

“Yes there are people on the ground trying to do things but my good comparison is the New Zealand Rowing and the rowing world championships that are going to be held at Karapiro and they are working in partnership with us and that’s the huge difference with rugby, is that they don’t see us as a partner, they see us as a marketing tool and they see their partners as the international community, and that has to change,” Mr Te Aho says.

Ngati Koroki Kahukura and Ngati Haua have been fully involved in the planning of the World Rowing Champs, which start on September 30.

Iwi cash for social programmes limited

The head of Canterbury University's school of Maori and ethnic studies says Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has shown a lack of understanding of both the Maori world and the Treaty of Waitangi with her call for iwi to bear some of the cost of child welfare programmes.

Ms Bennett last month challenged the Iwi Leaders Forum to take some responsibility for fighting what she said was a disproportionate amount of child abuse among maori, and suggested some programmes for them to fund.

Rawiri Taonui says even post-settlement iwi don't have the money to spare.

“What cash they have is either reinvested for future generations or is already, a significant amount of it, spent by tribes on the cultural redevelopment of their people, the welfare of their people and so on and so forth,” he says.

Mr Taonui says article three of the treaty entitles Maori to the same government services as other New Zealanders.

ANGER AS FARMERS OPT OUT OF RIVER CLEAN UP

The instigator of protests which led to a wide-ranging commitment to clean up the Manawatu River has slammed Federated Farmers for refusing to sign the accord.

Malcolm Mulholland who farmers are among the biggest contributors of pollution into the river.

He says the Tararua branch of the farmers' lobby had attended meetings of the Manawatu River Leaders Forum, but was not among the 27 industry, council, environmental and iwi groups that signed the accord.

“There's a bit of suspicion that word came from high in Federated Farmers to the local level to say don’t sign up to this because farmers are going to have to fork out left right and centre in order for the various waterways throughout the country not to be polluted,” Mr Mulholland says.

He says Federated farmers may be misreading the community mood about river pollution.

TOIHOUKURA STUDENTS EMBRACE MODERN TOOLS

A show at Te Pataka museum in Porirua is demonstrating how students from Tairawhiti Polytech's Toihoukura school of visual art and design use computers and multi-media installations to take Maori arts into new territories.

Steve Gibbs, the school's principal tutor, says while the students also learn to use traditional materials like paint, fibre, clay and wood, there is also a basis in tradition for embracing new technologies.

“For Taiarawhiti you can go back to Raharuhi Rukapo who picked up a steel nail and in that process transformed carving. If he was alive today he wouldn’t be using steel chisels still. He’d be using laser cutter, plastics, whatever tools are around. They weren’t simply carvers, they were creative thinking people,” Mr Gibbs says.

The Toihoukura exhibition closes next week

LANGUAGE PART OF WIDER WHANAU DEVELOPMENT

The founding chief executive of Te Kohanga Reo says Maori language revival can't be separated from the overall development of Maori families.

Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi says this week's national language conference at Parliament was a good opportunity to look at whether the money going to Maori language programmes was being well spent.

She says people get caught in a fix it mentality, rather than seeing how the family as a whole can grow.

“We're all running round trying to fix what is going on with families, whether it is education, health, Maori language or what have you, and I think there is a lot of very earnest effort and a lot of investment but megabucks are going in and surely it is time to ask, are we operating in a system that is ineffective? That is a rhetorical question because in fact we are,” Dame Iritana says.

She says part of the reason for kohanga reo's success was the way it harnessed the energy of the whole whanau in raising children in te reo.

KURA STUDENTS TO FILM IN TOWNSHIP

The producer of a Maori Television documentary about kura kaupapa students in South Africa says it's a way to put te reo Maori on the international stage.

George Andrews says the six students have cameras to record their experiences in a predominantly black township near East London in Cape province, and there is also a camera crew on location.

He says the six were chosen because of their fluency in te reo Maori and their kapa haka skills, with a concert for their hosts being part of the package.
“The wonderful thing for me has been to realise how fluent they are in te reo, how much they re at home in speaking it and how the language they speak is not a formal or high church Maori but what they are talking and what they are giving us is the new era Maori they have learned to speak themselves,” Mr Andrews says.

The documentary will follow a similar format to ones made by Maori students in China and Chile.

TATA MAERE BRINGS DOWN THE HOUSE

In the Hawkes Bay settlement of Bridge Pa they simply call her Nanny Tata but across the rest of Aotearoa they are calling her a legend.

91-year-old Tata Wairukuruku Maere brought the house down at the Waka Toi Awards in Wellington at the weekend.

After accepting a Ta Kingi Ihaka Award for her contribution to te reo maori and culture, the Radio Kahungunu host picked up her ukulele and showed the talent that took her on numerous tours to the United States during the 1960s with Te Arohanui Group.

Nanny Tata says while a hip replacement has slowed her up a little, she is looking forward to getting back on her jet ski when she next visits Hawaii.

Minister misguided in abuse call

An academic who has made a study of child abuse says Social Development Minister Paula Bennett's demand that iwi leaders take more responsibility for tackling abuse is based on false assumptions.

Ms Bennett last month asked iwi leaders to pay for initiatives she considered would help keen Maori children safe.

Rawiri Taonui, the head of Maori and Ethnic studies at Canturbury University, says Ms Bennett and newspaper columnist Fran O'Sullivan, who backed her call, are looking at child abuse and child homicide as a purely Maori problem.

He says only 28 of the 88 children who died as a result of domestic violence between1993 to 2003 were Maori.

“Forty eight of those deaths, 54 percent of them, were children who died in Pakeha homes. Now there is no parallel call out there saying ‘hey, the Pakeha community has to front up with cash to do something about Pakeha child homicide.’ Part of the root problem here is the way that the media and commentators like Fran O’Sullivan present this issue of child abuse as being a Maori-only problem. It’s a much wider problem than that,” Mr Taonui says.

WORLD CUP SYDNEY STUNT GIVES FALSE IMPRESSION

Labour's Maori affairs spokesperson has slammed Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples for launching of New Zealand's rugby world cup campaign in Australia.

Dr Sharples and King Tuheitia officiated at a dawn ceremony at Sydney's Circular Quay this morning to open a giant inflatable rugby ball, which will show multimedia presentations about New Zealand until after the September 11 Bledisloe Cup test between New Zealand and Australia.

Mr Horomia says Dr Sharples went along with the plan, despite his lack of success in getting the Government to appoint a Maori ambassador for the cup.

“What we mustn't do is just continue to be the performers who poke their tongue out and slap their knees and keep everybody happy and worse still, give a false impression that our connection here is complete because it’s not,” Mr Horomia says.

It still grates him that Pacific island nations will be represented at the world cup in their own right while Maori will not be.

BUCH SHELFORD BECOMES KI O RAHI AMBASSADOR

Meanwhile, Buck Shelford has given up waiting for the call to be a Rugby World Cup Ambassador ... and he's off to be an ambassador for ki o rahi instead.

The former All Black captain and his wife Joanne are traveling with the national ki o rahi squad to Europe.

Coach Harko Brown says games are lined up in England and France, where the traditional Maori ball game was learned from French soldiers who fought alongside the Maori Battalion members in World War 2.

“We've raised a pretty strong squad. We’ve had a few games around New Zealand with iwi teams. Buck agreed over a year ago to join us. He’s just passionate about ki o rahi, calls himself the ki o rahi ambassador, so who are we to argue with such a legend,” Mr Brown says.

The England game has been put together by the Saracens rugby club, where Buck Shelford coached after being dropped from the All Blacks.

LANGUAGE EXPERTS LOOKING AT CHANGING PATTERNS

The head of an expert panel reviewing Maori language initiatives says demographic forces may mean kohanga reo needs to change.

Tamati Reedy called a national language conference at Parliament yesterday to discuss what's needed to ensure the survival of te reo Maoi.

He says when the Maori language pre-schools were started in the early 1980s to start the revival of the language, there was still a pool of native speakers to call on.

“We had plenty of our kaumatua going into kohanga, providing good models of te reo. Now today, we have a different set. We’ve got those who were youngsters at that time, they are now the parents and there are fewer and fewer of those people who are competent in te reo going in to kohangas to implant the reo,” Dr Reedy says.

He says the successes in language revival has come from Maori-run initiatives like kohanga reo, so government spending should be directed and managed by Maori.

KEY KEEN ON PUBLIC IWI PARTNERSHIPS

The Prime Minister say he wants to see more public-iwi partnerships like the Ngai Tahu joint venture which built a new home for Christchurch City Council.

The $113 million civic centre opened on the weekend, with the tribe's 50 percent stake giving it guaranteed revenues for years to come.

John Key says the government has a lot of infrastructure it needs to build, and around the world public private partnerships have become a popular way to fund such projects.

“It's a great win win for everyone. It’s great for everyone who wants to use those services. It’s also good for the Crown because we don’t have all the borrowing on our balance sheet and it’s good for the investor, in this case whether it’s Ngai Tahu or Tainui or others so I think you are going to see more of this, not just from iwi. You are going to see it from pension funds and specialist funds that will get set up that you and I can invest in if we want to,” he says.

Mr Key says the reason many New Zealanders have been caught in finance company collapses is because there is a lack of safe investment opportunities.

KURA KIDS OFF TO SOPUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIP

A group of rangatahi are on their way to South Africa to make a documentary for Maori Television about life in a township.

Producer George Andrews says it's the third in a series, following exchanges in China and Chile.

He says the six students were selected for the three week trip by auditions in kura kaupapa Maori.

They will be farewelled tomorrow at Te Kura Kaupapa Maori a rohe o Mangere by members of Auckland's South African community and the South African high commissioner.

“They go to the second largest township in South Africa, Mdantsane in East London, and that’s all Xhosa, they’re mainly black people and they will be home staying in those schools but they will also be visiting a coloured school and an Afrikaaner school,” Mr Andrews says.

The students will be in the republic during the annual commemoration of the death of Steve Biko, whose murder by police 33 years became a unifying point for the anti-apartheid movement both in South Africa and New Zealand.

Crown makes up rent shortfall it made

The chair of Ngati Rarua Atiawa Trust, Paul Morgan, says there is still a lot of work needed before all issues over its land at Motueka are resolved.

The government is to pay the trust $5 million for past rental losses on the Whakarewa lands, which came back to the trust in 1992 from the Anglican Church encumbered by perpetual leases.

Mr Morgan says the issues are similar to the Taranaki leases which were covered by the 1997 Maori Reserved Land Act, but Ngati Rarua Atiawa has not been able to get its leases reformed.

“The package they got in 1997 brought them down from 21 years to seven. That’s still not market but it‘s much improved. The negotiation just recognized the loss in rental. We haven’t addressed those steps in changing the leases, but we hope we can continue discussions and address that,” Mr Morgan says.

The leases means the Whakarewa lands generate little income for Ngati Rarua Atiawa, despite being prime horticultural and urban commercial land around Motueka.

HOME INSULATION SCHEME PROVIDING JOBS FOR MAORI

Greens co-leader Meteria Turei says the home insulation scheme pushed by the Greens is proving a great employer of young Maori.

Ms Turei says the scheme is improving the health and wealth of many Maori families, who have warmer, drier houses and lower heating costs.

It's also getting young Maori off the dole queue.

“A lot of the young ones doing that work are young Maori. I’ve been to see a few of those schemes and there are a lot of young Maori working in that area which is good. It’s part of that whole skill development," Ms Turei says.

She says the government should now launch a major state house building programme, which would both address the predicted loss of 20,000 construction jobs in the weakening economy and the need for an extra 70,000 additional affordable homes in New Zealand.

TE PAPA ADVISES ON CARE OF TAONGA

Te Papa Tongarewa is holding workshops around the country to train people to care for tribal taonga.

Gavin Reedy, the national museum's iwi development officer, says the first two wananga in the Waikato and Maniapoto had sparked great interest from whanau keen to learn techniques like paper conservation and the use of digital photography.

He says the museum's Te Pairangi unit is a good first point of contact for whanau wanting to ensure taonga are well cared for.

There are also people expert in helping people classify and file away their taonga.

“We also have links to all sorts of government departments that people can tap into so we become brokers of information in trying to connect people up to the right people,” Mr Reedy says.

He is meeting with Te Arawa people in Rotorua today.

FINANCE COMPANY COLLAPSE SYMPTOM OF WIDER MALAISE

The chair of a South Island Maori incorporation says the type of lending which contributed to the collapse of South Canterbury Finance was symptomatic of a flawed approach to land.

The government is spending more than $1.6 billion bailing out depositors and lenders to the company founded by Timaru accountant Allan Hubbard.

Paul Morgan from Nelson's Whakatu Incorporation says much of the lending contributed to a speculative bubble which Maori trusts can't benefit from, because they won't sell their land.

“We're forever driving up land values and if you really look at the model, the return on capital is just not there. We’re talking about three to five percent. We really should be focusing on a model that returns and appropriate return on the capital invested as against a system that is based on capital appreciation and retiring on that capital appreciation,” Mr Morgan says.

Land bubbles harm Maori trusts because they end up paying higher rates and service charges.

SCREENING PROGRAMME TARGETS WAHINE MAORI

A new cervical screening advertising campaign will target Maori and Pacific women, who continue to have lower screening rates and higher cancer rates than the general population.

Hazel Lewis, the clinical leader of the national cervical screening programme, says earlier campaigns had been effective, with just over one in two wahine Maori having a smear test in the past three years.

She says screening can reduce a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer by 90 percent.

“Wahine are carrying a lot of burdens with them and this is something that we want them to feel very relaxed about and encourage them to go and just talking with the nurse or the doctor and tht will help put them at ease and that will help them have the smear and it’s all over in not too long,” Dr Lewis says.

She says Maori women say they feel a whole lot better after being tested.

MAORI OPENING FOR RUGBY PROMO IN SYDNEY

The karanga will be ringing out at Sydney's Circular Key about now as Maori and Aborigine join together to launch New Zealand's world cup campaign in Australia.

Maori king Tuheitia and Maori Affairs minister Pita Sharples are officially opening the giant inflatable rugby ball which was first used at the last Rugby World Cup in Paris to promote the New Zealand presence.

It will be open to the public in the lead up to the Bledisloe Cup game between the All Blacks and Kangaroos on September 11, showcasing New Zealand’s heritage, culture and people through a free, 10 minute multimedia experience.

Dr Sharples hopes it's just the start of a greater Maori role in cup preparations.

“I'm still waiting for my tono to the Government to appoint a Maori rugby ambassador to happen and it hasn’t happened yet so I’m waiting in there on that one,” he says.

Last night Dr Sharples reached out to potential Maori party voters at a hui at Sydney's Wynyard railway station.

Reo review timely says Key

The Prime Minister, John Key, says the strategic review of the government's Maori language strategy is timely.

Language advocates are meeting at parliament today with the expert panel put together by Maori Affairs minister Pita Sharples to look at whether the $200 million spent on language programmes each year by the state sector is delivering value.

Mr Key says he expects suggestion to come out of it about ways the to encourage wider use of te reo.

“I think the use of te reo is becoming much more common, it’s far more widespread in all schools, not just kuras and the like. I think for the average kiwi, the number of words or phrases that they know and understand is definitely broadening out,” Mr Key says.

GREENS PUSH FOR HOUSE BUILDING SCHEME

Greens' co-leader Meteria Turei says Maori would benefit in a number of ways if her party's call for a major new state house building programme was taken up.

She says it would provide jobs and trade skills for a large number of young Maori who are now on the dole queue, and it would improve the quality of Maori housing, with significant health benefits.

But she says the Government has rebuffed the call, putting thousands of construction industry jobs at risk.

“This government doesn't know how top join the dots, how to understand that there are needs across the community that affect those right at the very bottom which ten to be Maori and that we can resolve a great deal of it if we just use the government’s resources in the wisest way rather than in the way that benefits the richest,” Ms Turei says.

She says the government should heed the advice of its own Housing Shareholders Advisory Group, which recommended ways to boost the number of affordable homes.

KUMARA PLANTING TIPS COME WITH SPRING

It's the beginning of spring, and that's a special time for Maori.

Gardener and chef Rewi Spraggon says the flowering of the kowhai is a sign the kina will be getting fat.

It's also a busy time for the gardener.

“My grandmother had a good way of getting the tapapa. They used to put kumara and potatoes in straw and set them up, it would have been a month ago, and then the seedlings from the kumara start shooting out, you can break those tipu off and them start planting them in potting mix and eventually start putting them in the ground,” Mr Spraggon says.

Recent rains should provide good growing conditions as the soil warms up.

GOFF REJECTS COMPULSION FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING

As Maori language experts gathered in Wellington today to discuss the government's Maori language strategy, Labour leader Phil Goff has emphasised encouragement over compulsion.

A survey last month found while there was strong support among Maori and Pacific island people for te reo Maori to be taught to all children in schools, across the whole population more than 60 percent of New Zealanders were still opposed to the idea.

Mr Goff says it's too early to talk about adding it to the compulsory syllabus.

“I probably wouldn’t make the decision at this stage to make it compulsory. I think you could turn some people off the language whereas I would say what more can we do to promote it and what more can we do to make sure that for a large section of New Zealanders who are Maori, that this is a language that they can continue to maintain and speak fluently,” Mr Goff says.

He's keen to see what recommendations the ministerial review team on Maori language strategy comes up with.

CIVIC CENTRE LOOKING GOOD ON BALANCE SHEET

Ngai Tahu's chief executive says the new Christchurch Civic Centre is the kind of safe investment the iwi needs to have more of.

The $113 million Ian Athfield-designed Te Hononga centre, which opened on the weekend, was a joint venture between the iwi and the council.

Anake Goodall says the tribe's 50 percent stake will deliver a useful dividend from ratepayers each year which can underpin those iwi programmes which need continuity of funding.

“We need to get our reliable cash flow up a little bit more so that those horrible years like we had a year or so back don’t knock us around too much. On top of that you have those investments that are a higher risk profile and therefore a higher return profile and that’s Shotover Jet and investments in that sector so a bit of both but we could do with more of this type of asset on the balance sheet and I suspect that’s true for a lot of iwi authorities actually,” Mr Goodall says.

He says iwi like Ngai Tahu can't leave their money in the bank because they have to grow their capital base, but they must always be conscious of the inter-generational nature of the enterprise.

MAORI TOHU ACCEPTABLE TO TE ONEROA PHILLIS

An 84-year-old author and educator from Ngati Awa says she only agreed to accept an award from arts funding body Te Waka Toi because it was a tohu Maori.

Te Onehou Phillis was given Te Tohu mo Ngoi Kumeroa Pewhairangi in recognition of her leadership and outstanding contribution to te reo Rangatira.

Her books include a biography in te reo Maori of her father Eruera Manuera, the last paramount chief of Ngati Awa.

She says she's not interests in government honours, but accepted this tohu out of respect for her relative, noted songwriter the late Ngoi Pewhairangi, and to uplift the mana of her hapu.

“I thought if I accept this, at least it will be something for Warahoe, my hapu, to be proud of. I wasn’t too worried about Ngati Awa, Ngati Awa has got some tohunga there. But I was very much so about my Warahoe hapu,” Mrs Phillis says.

Lobby group member makes transition

A spokesperson for super city lobby group IHI or Iwi Have Influence says the appointment of co-founder Ngarimu Blair to the board of one of Auckland's council owned organisations won't stop it fighting for Maori seats on the council itself.

Helen Te Hira says just because organisation take to the streets to make their point doesn't mean members can't take up governance roles.

She says the Ngati Whatua o Orakei manager will make a valuable contribution to the Auckland Waterfront Development Agency.

“Very happy for Ngarimu. He’s still a valued member of IHI but I think his appointment has come into a role that acknowledges he is from Ngati Whatua and as heritage manager takes with him a lot of knowledge about Ngati Whatua,” Ms Te Hira says.

IHI plans a hui on September 11 for those people unhappy with the super city's structures to have their say.

IWI BEING CREATIVE IN 1000 YEAR DEALS

The chief executive of Te Ohu Kaimoana, Peter Douglas, says he's impressed with the way iwi are managing the Maori fisheries settlement at ground level.

Northernmost iwi Ngati Kuri has just completed the mandating process, meaning that far north iwi can now negotiate among themselves how quota for coastal species in their region should be divided up.

Mr Douglas says going on how other regions have managed the task, he's confident of a rapid outcome.

“The way you look at these things, they are 1000 year deals. You have to say ‘this is how we think we should share the fish along this coasts’ and you don’t want to brass of the people to the south or north of you so you try to look for solutions everyone feels comfortable with and I think it’s a good exercise to go through and it’s an important thing for more enduring relationships,” Mr Douglas says.

By achieving its mandate, the Ngati Kuri Trust Board gets access to the population-based part of the settlement, amounting to just over $3 million in deepwater quota, cash and shares in Aotearoa Fisheries.

JOSEPHS STAMPS MARK ON SOUTHERN FRANCHISE

The Highlanders' new coach Jamie Josephs has stamped his mark on the Otago team with the signing of five new players, including Jarrod Hoeata from Taranaki, and Canterbury first five Colin Slade.

Commentator Karl Te Nana says the former Wellington and New Zealand Maori coach is showing he has the right temperament and skills to make the Highlanders a real force in the Super 15 competition.

The former New Zealand Sevens captain says Joseph's challenge now is to mould his players into a winning combination, and the results are likely to show in a couple of years.

HOROMIA KEEN TO SEE REPUBLICAN DEBATE RESUMED

With Prime minister John Key off to Scotland next week to see the Queen, Labour's Maori Affairs spokesperson Parekura Horomia says it's time for New Zealanders to start thinking about becoming a republic.

Mr Horomia says Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's call for Australia to cut its ties to the monarchy once the current incumbent dies makes sense for this country too.

He says Aotearoa has some unique issues, but these can be resolved.

“There are only two lots of people who signed the treaty, descendants of Queen Victoria and us, the tangata whenua, and I think it’s really important to make sure that the essence is preserved, it’s not lost, and I’m nit sure how you do that, but I think time has come for a republic, we've grown up,” Mr Horomia says.

EXPERTS GATHER TO DISCUSS REO VALUE

The expert panel looking at Maori language strategy has called reo advocates to a hui at Parliament's banquet hall today.

Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples has asked the panel to say whether the government is getting value for the $200 million a year it spends on the reo.

Its chair, Tamati Reedy from Ngati Porou, says it also has to assess whether what's being done by government is in line with the aspirations of iwi and Maori.

“Apart from value for money there are other values such as what is it doing to create an identity within the nation, identity within Maoridom itself, how is it contributing to the well being of the Maori people, and so those are deep philosophical questions and who is to carry this great task of nurturing the reo so it lives on for all time,” Professor Reedy says.

MESSAGE FOR FORMER ADDICTS FOR GAMBLE FREE DAY

It's Gamble Free Day, and the manager of a Maori problem gambling service says that's a great a chance to reflect on the damage pokie machines are causing to communities.

Zoe Hawke from south Auckland Maori public health provider Hapai Te Hauora Tapui says although many councils are bringing in sinking lid policies, there are still far too many gaming machines in poor suburbs.

She says former addicts are driving the kaupapa, bringing to it their experience of how addictive pokies are.

Gamble Free Day was started in 2004 by delegates at a community action on gambling conference in Rotorua.