ERO slams schools for ignoring Ka Hikitia

The Education Review Office says the Ka Hikitia strategy will lift Maori educational achievement, but too few schools are implementing it.

A major review of how schools are managing their Maori students found widespread failure to develop specific programmes or policies, despite continued evidence of failure.

Charles Rolleston, the ERO's review services manager, says Ka Hikitia suggested ways for schools to bring whanau and iwi into the school to help Maori secondary students learn ... but only a minority of schools have picked it up.

“Schools who have done really great things for Maori students have been those schools that have looked and taken on board the principles in Ka Hikitia. Likewise the schools that aren’t performing swell, they were the schools that we found didn’t look at Ka Hikitia or had read Ka Hikitia and hadn’t taken any action,” Mr Rolleston says.

Schools which don't improve the performance of their Maori students will be put under close scrutiny until they up their game.

CULTURE IN EDUCATION TO BE SCRUTINISED

Meanwhile, a hui in Taumarunui over the next two days will discuss the importance of culture in education.

One of the organisers, Te Huinga Jackson-Greenland from Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Porou, says the principle that one size doesn't fit all is well established in other like health service delivery.

She says contributors like Sir Mason Durie from Massey University and Bentham Ohia from te Wananga o Aotearoa will discuss how a person's cultural identity, language and culture affects what they get out of a service.

“It really is an attempt to gain a range of educationalists, health experts, people in the justice department, people in social services, to I guess unpack further the notion of culture in the context of service delivery, teacher education, rehabilitative programmes,” Mrs Jackson-Greenland says.

PREGNANT WOMEN NEEDED FOR SLEEP RESEARCH

Massey University researchers are looking for pregnant Maori women to join a study on disrupted sleep.

Sarah Jane Paine from Tuhoe and Ngati Rongo says 500 of the thousand women in the three-year E Moe Mama study need to be Maori.

She says sleep apnoea and associated disorders are more prevalent in Maori than the general population, affecting health, performance at work, and relationships.

“The study is looking at how sleep changes during pregnancy and the late stages of pregnancy and then after baby is born to see whether any changes in sleep that happen at those times have an effect firstly on the type of delivery that the woman go through and then if it has an effect on any of their health outcomes,” Ms Paine says.

Hapu wahine who would like to contribute to the Health Research Council-funded study can make contact on 0800 mumsleep.

CALL FOR SOUTH AUCKLAND VOTE TO BE EXTENDED

An Auckland super city candidate wants postal voting to be extended by a week because of problems with the delivery of voting papers.

The electoral officer, Dale Ofsoske. is setting up a special polling booth in Mangere East because voting papers weren't delivered to some streets in south Auckland.

Waina Emery, who is standing in the Papakura - Manurewa ward, says her door knocking in the heavily-Maori ward indicates the problem is widespread.

She wants special booths set up across South Auckland and voting extended.

"I made that call and asked for that because I thought it was a way of getting it sorted and to give the public confidence and I have to be mindful that some people will say ‘it’s just because it’s Maori and they want Maori to do this’ or there will be criticism I just want the poll to last longer because maybe they will vote for me and maybe they won’t but it’s not that at all. It’s all about the fairness for people,” Mrs Emery says.

She says unless action is taken so everyone gets the opportunity to vote, the results are likely to be challenged through the courts.

STANDARDS FOR MAORI SCHOOLS IMMINENT

The Prime Minister, John Key, says Cabinet is considering the next steps towards rolling out national standards for full immersion Maori schools.

Mr Key says he's impressed by the work Maori-medium leaders have put into the draft Nga Whanaketanga Rumaki Maori standards.

He expects Maori parents will embrace the standards.

“The feedback from parents around national standards has been hugely popular and successful because there’s a sense of progress how the child’s doing, a sense of perspective what’s happening with their child and a clear idea what they need to do. Now rolling that out in the Maori immersion schools will again provide the same sort of guidance and insight,” Mr Key says.

GREENIES CONCERNED AT GOLD TREATY CLAIM

Coromandel conservationists want gold left out of the Hauraki treaty settlement.

Paul Majurey, the chair of the Hauraki iwi collective, says Hauaraki's problems with the Crown started when gold was discovered on their land, so gold needs to be on the table now.

But Denis Tegg, a Thames lawyer and long time anti-mining campaigner, says gold and other Crown minerals need to be out of the claim process.

“You've got to differentiate between the land and the minerals beneath it. In the situation with gold, it was not ever a mineral that Maori used or valued so I think the values that applied in Taranaki with oil are likely to apply here.
Mr Tegg says

He has no objection to conservation land being part of the settlement mix.

Key blames TVNZ for Henry slur

The Prime Minister says state broadcaster Television New Zealand must share some of the blame for breakfast broadcaster Paul Henry's comments about the Governor General, Sir Anand Satyanand.

Mr Henry has been suspended for two weeks for asking John Key whether Ponsonby-born Sir Anand, who has Fijian Indian whakapapa, was a New Zealander, and whether the next governor general would look and sound like a New Zealander.

Mr Key told Radio Waatea that he didn't object to the question because he was caught by surprise - but the host was doing the job he's paid to do.

“Look, y'know there's no question the comments are totally inappropriate and over the line. To a certain degree though he’s encouraged by Television New Zealand so it’s not all fault on Paul’s side but he should know like anyone knows that someone’s a New Zealander because they have love of New Zealand,” he says.

Mr Key says the next governor general will be chosen for their ability to do the job and represent New Zealand well.

SOLUTION HELD BACK FOR LACK OF MONEY

The manager of the New Zealand Education Institute's Maori section, Laures Park, says the government has the capacity to improve Maori education, but it won't put the resources where they are needed.

The Education Review Office says most schools aren't doing enough for their Maori students, and in future it won't regard schools as high performing unless their Maori students are showing progress.

Mrs Park says Te Kotahitanga, a professional development programme for teachers, has shown what can be done, but it has only been implemented in selected secondary schools with high Maori rolls,

“When they started that whole exercise of scoping Te Kotahitanga for primary schools, the whole project was called ff, lack of money, the usual stuff, so if it’s so successful, why isn’t it a nationwide thing,” Mrs Park says.

Money spent on professional development and classroom resources will do far more for Maori achievement than the government's national standards push.

ELECTRONIC VOTING OVERDUE

A Maori standing for the Auckland super city says electronic voting should have been available this election.

Waina Emery says her experience door-knocking in the Papakura – Manurewa ward is that large numbers of voters haven't received their papers even if they have been living at the address for a long time.

She says the city of the future is being built on antiquated voting system that is clearly failing.

If voting papers aren't in the mail by today, people need to deliver them to council offices before Saturday to ensure they are counted.
KEY EYING RADICAL CHANGE TO HELP ACHIEVE

Prime minister John Key is not ruling out radical action in response to an Education Review Office finding that schools are failing to meet the needs of Maori students.

In his report Promoting Success for Maori Students, Graham Stoop, the ERO's chief review officer, said few schools use the Ka-hikitia framework which was designed to lift achievement, and many schools don't monitor how their Maori students are doing.

Mr Key says he's concerned too many Maori students leaving school without qualifications.

“Basically Graham Stoop is a good fellow. I think he is on the right track here and we need to lift that overall performance even if we have to break a few eggs to make an omelet,” Mr Key says

TELEVISION BOSSES KEEN ON HENRY STILL SAYS GREEN

Greens co - leader Meteria Turei says Television New Zealand needs to be held to account for broadcaster Paul Henry's attack of Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand.

Ms Turei it's not enough just to suspend the Breakfast Show host for asking Prime Minister John Key whether Ponsonby-born Sir Anand was a New Zealander ... and whether the next governor general would look and sound like a New Zealander.

She's been inundated by complaints from people who found the questions racist and TVNZ's reaction inadequate.

“TVNZ has really gone way beyond the realms of sense and as a public broadcaster they need to take responsibility, not just for Paul Henry, reining him in, and potentially looking at whether they should still employ him but actually their own culpability in allowing him to get away with it for so long and then blaming the New Zealand community for those racist comments,” Ms Turei says.

WANANGA READY TO MOVE AHEAD

The head of the largest Maori tertiary institution says the conclusion of the wananga capitalisation settlements means wananga are now in a better position to compete for Maori and other students.

Bentham Ohia from Te Wananga o Aotearoa says this week's $14.5 million settlement with Te Wananga o Awanuiarangi is a tribute to Sir Hirini Mead, Joe Mason and others in ngati Awa who set up the Whakatane-based institution.

He says all three wananga struggled in their early years because of a funding formula that pushed them into a second class status with no money for buildings or capital assets.

The other parts of the tertiary sector has been supported by capital grants over a long period.

Mr Ohia says now they are all on a firmer financial footing, the three wananga are working closely together on strategies for growth.

Police seek relationship with Taranaki Whanui

Wellington Police hope a relationship agreement with iwi will result in fewer Maori going to jail.

The Area Commander, Inspector Simon Perry, says the agreement with Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust, which respresents Taranaki, Te Atiawa, Ngati Ruanui and Ngati Tama descendants, is a step to building friendship and respect in the community.

He says after more than three decades in the police, he's convinced new solutions are needed.

“Jail is often not the best answer but what I have seen is some very successful initiatives where Maori have been engaged at an iwi level in relations to healthy families and the like and we have seen some very positive results from those initiatives. When I say that, we are not seeing young people going to jail and having their lives ruined, and that is what a lot of this is about,” Inspector Perry says.

The agreement aims to change attitudes both ways between police and young Maori.

MAORI HOUSES LESS OVERCROWDED

A team of social scientists say a long term reduction in Maori smoking rates, less overcrowded houses and an increase in secondary school pass rates means Maori society is better off than it was 30 years ago.

Andrew Sporle, Martin von Randow and Cindy Kiro were commissioned by the Maori centre for research excellence, Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, to analyse Census data from 1981 to 2006.

Mr Sporle says while the drop in smoking means fewer cancers in the medium to long term, there is a more immediate health benefit in people having adequate housing.

“With overcrowding we will begin to see benefits in terms of child health quite quickly because the more crowded a house, the more likely you are to get an infectious disease which can end up as a chronic illness so this is really good news and it shows some positive change is possible,” Mr Sporle says.

The research shows there are still significant areas of inequality between Maori and non-Maori households.

NGATI POROU ENCOURAGES VOTER ENGAGEMENT

Te Runanga O Ngati Porou is taking the credit for any increase in the local government vote from parts of the East Coast with high Maori populations.

Chief executive Monty Soutar says last election the turnout in suburbs like Kaiti, Mangapapa and Elgin was less than 27 percent.

Since then the runanga has run a major doorknocking campaign to raise voter participation for its own elections ... and that has spilled over into the current poll.

He says to keep up with the iwi’s youthful population, the runanga has been ahead of the government in embracing technology, and is allowing text and Internet voting for its settlement ratification.

KEY ACCUSED OF DOGWHISTLING TO NATIONAL BASE

Labour MP Shane Jones says the Prime Minister failed to react on air to breakfast host Paul Henry's attack on Governor General Sir Anand Sayanand because he didn't want to offend some National voters.

Television New Zealand has suspended Mr Henry for asking John Key whether he would appoint someone who looks like a New Zealander as the next governor general - and questioned whether Ponsonby-born Sir Anand was one.

Mr Jones says Mr Key let the country down by failing to challenge the host's racist statement.

“What we saw from John Key in the Paul Henry interview was dogwhistle politics. Many of the supporters of the Prime Minister privately want to create that 1950s Pakeha cultural dominance. Those days are gone. The reality is that we’re probably even beyond biculturalism now, we’re in to multiculturalism,” he says.

Mr Jones says Paul Henry has no place in public broadcasting and should be sacked by TVNZ.

FLAVELL KEEN TO SEE MORE WANANGA

Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell says Maori need to challenge the idea that there should be no more than three wananga or Maori universities.

The former chief executive of Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi says the country's three wananga have each established a unique formula for more Maori involvement at the teriary level.

He says a $14.5 million settlement of Awanuiarangi's treaty claim over not getting an establishment grant shouldn't be the end of wananga development.

Mr Flavell says he doesn't buy the argument that the maori catchment is too small with his own area of Rotorua being suitable for a small wananga.

EXHIBITION CELEBRATES WORK OF JOHN HOVELL

The curator of an exhibition on the work of a master mahi kowhaiwhai says intricate painted roof panels of marae throughout the country are testament to John Hovell's skill.

Damian Skinner says the artist, who is now an Anglican minister in the Solomon Islands, grew up at Kennedy Bay next door to celebrated carver Paki Harrison.

Dubbed the Maori Michaelangelo because of the amount of time he spent on his back painting kowhawhai, Mr Hovell also used became a significant contributor to contemporary Maori art.

“The relationship is quite close in that kowhaiwhai, particularly the kapirua motif which is the crescent with the circles cut out of it which is a really strong kowhaiwhai motif from the East Coast has really been his lifelong love and in a sense all of his about exploring the possibilities of the kapirua and in a wider sense kowhaiwhai,” Mr Skinner says.

The Passing World, The Passage of Life: The Art of John Hovell runs at the Tairawhiti Museum until December, and Damian Skinner's book on the artist's life will be released next month.

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.

Court threat an opportunity for Hamilton marae

The leader of a Hamilton marae occupation says he's prepared to call tribal elders to his defence if Tainui takes court action to evict him.

Lawyers for landowner Tainui Corporation have warned Tuuta Ormsby that they will got to the High Court to get an eviction order unless his group vacates Rangimarie Te Horanganui Marae.

Mr Ormsby says the land was earmarked for community purposes by his brother, the late Sir Robert Mahuta, after Tainui's claim settlement, but the current leadership is only focused on commercial development of the site.

He says elders have been muzzled.

“This thing is a straight story. It is a kaupapa set by the house of ariki, given by the house of ariki, known by those, there are many still alive that fear to stand up individually so if it takes High Court action to get them into court to stand up yest, that was the given thing for this whenua, then that’s possibly where it’s going to go,” Mr Ormsby says.

The chair of Taunui's te Arataura executive, Tukoroirangi Morgan, has refused comment on the dispute.

GOFF DEFENDS FUSSY FOOD TAX POLICY

Labour leader Phil Goff says Maori on the street think that removing GST on healthy food is a good idea.

Mr Goff's policy initiative has been widely criticised as breaking the political consensus of a simple no-exceptions sales tax system.

But he says health rather than politics is driving him.

“We've now got a real problem in New Zealand, one in four of our kids at age five when they start school are already overweight. We’re the third most obese country in the world. The thing that they tell us, the doctors, the nurse the nutritionists, you send a price signal, drop the price of the stuff that is good for you and people will eat more of it, and that’s what we want them to do,” Mr Goff says.

Dropping GST from fresh food will also help families facing with rising costs.

MAORI DESIGNERS GET NATIONAL SHOWCASE

A designer from the deep south says she's a beneficiary of the principled stand taken to have Maori represented at New Zealand fashion week.

Amber Bridgeman's Maori superhero T-shirts and caped dresses were part of the Mira Moda showcase on the last day of the glamourfest.

Ms Bridgeman, from Ngai Tahu, Ngati Mamoe and Waitaha, says it was a big boost for her Kahuwai label, and gives thanks to the Mira Moda Collective who lobbied the organisers to include Maori designers.

HAURAKI MAORI READY TO PUSH BACK IN HOLIDAY ZONE

Ngati Porou ki Hauraki leader John Tamihere says a framework agreement signed last week gives Hauraki iwi a foothold back in their own whenua.

Mr Tamihere says a treaty settlement could reverse the process of marginalisation and displacement which has affected the 12 iwi of Hauraki and the Coromandel Peninsula over the past century and a half.

“It's the home isn't it of the absentee landlord isn’t it so it’s all the rich ex-All Blacks who’ve gone to their estates all the way through to Waihi, Whangamata, so it’s all the great leisure places for those from Auckland, Tauranga and Hamilton so for the first time Hauraki Maori will start to lever their position up in their own areas on their own terms so I think it’s going to be a great time over the next ten years,” he says.

Hauraki iwi expect to complete settlement negotiations in the next 18 months to two years.

MAORI BROADCASTING SUMMIT IN ROTORUA

Te Mangai Paho has called a Maori broadcasting summit in Rotorua next weekend to map the path ahead.

Its chief executive, John Bishara, says the government has indicated funding is capped in the short to medium term.

He says this means the Maori broadcast funding agency needs to get the best value it can from its putea.

“We're doing really well and we’d like to do better so hopefully with the support of the sector we want to bring people together over this weekend and we want to talk about what they believe the direction for the future of Maori language broadcasting is,” Mr Bishara says.

Maori language revitalisation will remain the primary purpose for funding Maori broadcasting.

MAORI DESIGNS TOP WORLD IN VANCOUVER CONTEST

Maori artists have scooped the pool at the first World Art Market awards in Canada.

Tia Kirk from Wellington's Iwi Art Gallery says she entered four pieces in what is a new initiative by the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology to create marketing opportunities for indigenous artists.

A waka huia by Clive Fugill from Ngai te Rangi, a kite by Rongowhataata weaver Fiona Jones, and a jewellery box by Taranaki artis Rangi Kipa took the top prizes in three of the six sections, while Taranaki jeweller Matthew McIntyre came second to Fugill in the 3D art category.

Ms Kirk says it will boost the strong presence Maori art already has in the Vancouver area.

“There is huge potential for Maori art, with the success with the Spirit Wrester Gallery and now the World Art contest and I think there will be more invitation for Maori artists and cooperatives to take part in things like this,” Ms Kirk says.

The works were judged on design, aesthetics and craftsmanship, and the international judging panel was not told the four works were by Maori.

Cooperation key to Whanau Ora drive

A former Labour government minister says it will be up to Maori rather than the government to make Whanau Ora a success.

John Tamihere, the chief executive of west Auckland's Te Whanau o Waipareira Trust, says Maori providers will need to work together to find new ways of delivering health and social services.

He says there are high expectations in the Maori community about the new model.

“Whether it will deliver will depend not on Tariana Turia necessarily. Her job is to score resources to fire us on the street. The reality with the success of Whanau Ora is whether on the street we have leadership that is willing to cooperate and collaborate with one another,” Mr Tamihere says.

The government is expected to name its Whanua Ora providers this month.

LEADERS’ SILENCE ON CHILD ABUSE SLAMMED

A former Women's Refuge chief executive says tribal leaders aren't doing enough to address the disproportionately high numbers of Maori child abuse cases.

Merepeka Raukawa-Tait told a coronoer's inquest into the 2007 death of Nia Glassie that the Rotorua 3-year-old's whakapapa should have been her guarantee of safety and protection, but instead she was failed by her family and her tribe.

Mrs Raukawa-Tait says the coroner was keen to get input from Maori, but only she and one other fronted.

“There were a number of people that were asked, Maori leaders, people that deliver social services, in Rotorua, would they like to comment to the coroner around what we have learned and what we an do better. Apart from a person from the kohanga reo, not one other person came forward. That was very disappointing,” Mrs Raukawa Tait says.

TE PUKE HEALTH TRUST IN FRUIT FOR NUTS CAMPAIGN

Kiwifruit can help people overcome depression, and that's why a Maori mental health service in the kiwifruit capital of the world, Te Puke, is highlighting the hairy berry during Mental Health Awareness Week this week.

Isobel Whelan from the Poupoua Charitable Trust says its doors are open all week for people struggling with mental health and addiction issues.

On Thursday the trust will give away kiwifruit icecreams to all comers - and a giant-sized kiwifruit sundae who can recite the campaign's theme - flourishing for everybody, feel good and function well - and this year's whakatauki, “the sun arises with each new day, its rays beckon opportunity for all living things,” Ms Whelan says.

BANKS BEHIND IN MAORI OUTREACH SAYS BROWN

Manukau mayor and Auckland super city mayoral candidate Len Brown says he already has the sort of relationship that rival John Banks is promising to create after the election.

Mr Manks says he appoint a Maori policy advisor who will set up strong lines of communication with iwi.

Mr Brown is asking why Auckland city doesn't already have such a position, as Manukau has had for years.

He says the question of how both mana whenua and taura here groups should both be represented raises challenges,

Mr Brown says getting Maori policy advice right will a key issue for the new council.

GANGS WANTING HELP TO EXTEND ANTI-DRUG PROGRAMME

A Mongrel Mob leader wants iwi to stump up with cash for a programme that helps gang members overcome methamphetamine addiction.

Edge Te Whaiti says the Notorious chapter's partnership with the Salvation Army to run seven-week residential courses for P addicts and whanau members is delivering the message that the gang is prepared to change.

He says the aim is that members ditch the drug and start taking responsibilities for their families ... and that's something tribal leaders should get behind.

“Maybe some of the onus should lead back to iwi leaders rather than relying on government to come through on the day because they’ve drifted in how they support and how they deliver. Things could move faster and easier if we could get non-government organisations and iwi leaders behind it,” Mr Te Whaiti says.

Other gangs are starting to ask their leaders whether they could create similar drug treatment programmes.

REO BECOMES PART OF SPORTS AWARDS

Nominees for next month's Taranaki Maori Sports Awards are brushing up on their reo, just in case they win.

Leanne Matuku from the organising committee says since the Awards were resurrected 3 years ago, there is an expectation winners respond i roto i te reo maori.

She says it gives people a chance to acknowledge their connections to the rohe, and the te reo acceptance speeches have become an integral part of what is the highlight of the Taranaki Maori Sports Calender.

Ms Matuku says over the years more people have been able to stand up and give a mihi with their whakapapa.

Taranaki achievers Charlie McAlistair and his son Luke will be the speakers at the awards at the TSB Hub in Hawera on November 6.

Sharples writes haka on Maori seat void

The MP for Tamaki Makaurau is doing a haka about the lack of dedicated Maori seats on the Auckland super city council.

An iwi advisory board set up by Pita Sharples in his capacity as Minister for Maori Affairs is currently identifying mana whanua and mataawaka representatives to sit on the council's statutory Maori advisory board.

But Dr Sharples says he's still not happy at the way the government handled the issue, and he'll be making his views felt at next February's national Maori performing arts festival in Gisborne.

“In fact Manutake will be performing again at the national Matatini in February and our haka will be about the seats. We stall are hopeful of gaining the seats there and we still think it’s not been a good history in terms of Ngati Whatua’s contribution to the inner city,” Dr Sharples says.

FRAMEWORK WILL ACCELERATE HAURAKI SETTLEMENT

The Minister of Treaty Negotiations says a framework agreement signed with the 12 Hauraki iwi is a way to accelerate settlement talks.

Chris Finalyson says the agreement signed on Friday at Wharekawa Marae in Kaiaua means there are clear expectations set.

He says the two sides can get down to working out what king of historical account and cultural and commercial redress should be in the agreement in principle.

“People wanted to move on that fairy smartly so I would say sometime next year get to AIP stage and then all things being equal my experience has been about a year thereafter to get to the deed of settlement. These days we try to concurrently draft settlement legislation with the deed of settlement and then it goes into the House so fantastic progress over the last year, still a lot more to be done,” Mr Finlayson says.

He’s pleased internal divisions and mandating disputes have been resolved so Hauraki confederation can move forward together, rather than as 12 separate negotiations.

MANIAPOTO GIVEN A SAY ON WAIPA RIVER MANAGEMENT

The chair of the Maniapoto Maori Trust board, Tiwha Bell, says the iwi it happy to have finally been given a say in what happens to its awa.

It signed a deed of settlement last week giving it input into planning, monitoring and enforcing the clean up of the Waiap River.

Mr Bell says it builds on the iwi co-management deals for the Waikato River, which meets the Waipa at Ngaruawahia.

“We’ve never had a say. Our old people never had a say. They raped our rivers, the government of the day or the councils. From the Waipa, a lot of shingle was taken to build Auckland, and our people never had a say,” Mr Bell says.

Maniapoto still has to negotiate details around the $30 million the Crown says it will contribute to the clean up over the next 20 yeas.

BANKS LINKED TO IWI BY FIBRE OPTIC

With every vote counting in the Auckland super city mayoral elections, candidate John Banks is trying to appeal to Maori voters.

His challenge to rival Len Brown that he didn’t want South Auckland replicated across the rest of the city hasn’t gone down well among Maori and Pacific voters, who exit polls indicate are giving their votes to the Manukau mayor by more that four to one.

But Mr Banks says the region’s iwi will be an important part of the super city, particularly when their treaty settlements are resolved.

“They will have a big role to play in the future of this greater Auckland. That is why I am putting someone on the policy platform so that every day of the week I know what iwi are thinking, we are linked with fiber optic cable, linked into all of the constituent iwi across the region and we can make a difference,” he says.

Mr Banks says the people of Auckland owe a huge debt to iwi, particularly Ngati Whatua.

HAURAKI KEEN TO BOOST SETTLEMENT QUANTUM

The chair of the Hauraki Collective says conditions are now right for rapid movement on their historic treaty claims.

After years of internal division and mandating battles, the 12 iwi signed an agreement with the Crown on a framework for reaching a settlement within the next 18 months or so.

Paul Majurey says the package will include the right to purchase five forests and a Landcorp farm on the Coromandel Peninsula, but the total value of the settlement is still to be negotiated.

“A quantum was offered in June 2009 by Sir Douglas Graham, $53 million, that was before any negotiation. It’s a starting point and we have to actually negotiate on that and bring our side of the story to the table,” Mr Majurey says.

DREAM RUN FOR STARSHIP HOSPITAL SONG

Maniapoto musician Tiki Taane says today's release of his Starship Lullaby is the realisation of a dream.

The bilingual song is available on his tikidub.com and other download sites, with all money from downloads going to Auckland's Starship Childrens Hospital.

Taane says he wrote the song for his infant son Charlie Te Marama, and then had a dream to gift it to the hospital.

He says it's been a great ride since then.

“We went and shot a video a couple of weeks ago with all the kids that were in the hospital, and you can download the track and know that 100 percent of the money, about $1.90, goes to Starship Children’s Hospital, so it’s been awesome for me. I’ve never done anything like this. It’s a good buzz,” Tiki Taane says.

Starship Lullaby will also be on his next album In The World Of Light, which is due for release next March.

Maniapoto ready for Waipa River clean-up

The Maniapoto Maori Trust Board and the Crown have agreed to terms for co-management of the Waipa River.

Board chair Tiwha Bell says a major clean-up effort is needed to prevent continued pollution of both the Waipa and the Waikato downstream of the confluence at Ngaruawahia.

Under the deed of settlement signed this week, the Government has committed to spend $30 million over the next 20 years.

Mr Bell says there's a lot of work to be done.

“Our initial step is to educate our farmers, and everybody’s got a part to play, to have a good river like in our day, we had kai, we could swim, everything was beautiful and it was clean in our area round Te Kuiti here and up towards Pouerua. It’s still clean, but as it hits the bottom it gets dirtier and dirtier,” Mr Bell says.

The Maniapoto co-governance legislation is expected to be introduced into Parliament this month

SHARPLES MOURNS LOSS OF WESTERN IDENTITY

Tamaki Makaurau MP Pita Sharples says he's sad to see the end of a separate Waitakere City.

The Maori Party co-leader has been immersed Maori life in West Auckland for more than 30 years including leadership roles at Te Roopu Manutaki Maori Culture Group, Hoani Waititi Marae, Waipareira Trust, kohanga reo and kura kaupapa.

He says it's important the west does not lose its unique identity once it's merged into the super city.

“Don't let us disintegrate and just become absorbed into the whole Auckland area, because in many ways the west has its character, the south has its character, east and so on, the city has it’s own personality and it’s good to have to different personalities and I hope it doesn't dissolve,” Dr Sharples.

FESTIVAL OF LIGHT CHANCE FOR CROSSING CULTURES

This weekend's festival of lights is a special cause for celebration for a Rotorua artist with both Maori and Indian heritage.

As part of tomorrow's Deepawali Festival at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre, Gina Wright from Ngati Naho, whose great grandmother was a gypsy from Rajasthan, is running workshops on Indian arts.

She says Rangoli, which uses coloured rice, sand and flowers to create colourful designs, is enjoyed by tamariki from all cultures.

There will also be Mehndi or temporary skin art, yoga, clothing and food stalls, and a cultural show and fireworks display in the evening.

GST RISE RAT DINNER FOR SHARPLES

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples says he's unhappy with today's 20 percent gst hike ... even though he voted for it.

Dr Sharples says the new 15 percent rate will hit low income Maori particularly hard.

But he says the party had to vote for it as part of its confidence and supply agreement with the National Government.

“Sometimes you have to eat rats or whatever the expression is even though nobody is worse off although the trouble is if you’re on the lower economic area, zone, ladder, then you’re going to get some money retrospectively rather than at the time so all this seems like it is a big bite. What seems unfair is that those on higher incomes will get bigger tax relief,” Dr Sharples says.

HAURAKI DOZEN SIGN FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

The 12 iwi of Hauraki, including Ngati Porou ki Hauraki and Ngati Pukenga, today signed a framework agreement to negotiate a settlement of their historic treaty claims.

Paul Majurey, the chair of the Hauraki Collective, says the hui at Wharekawa Marae at Kaiaua on the shores of Tikapa Moana was marked by a feeling of kotahitanga that contrasted with the tensions that developed during the mandating process.

He says the confederation is keen to push the settlement value up from the $53 million proposed last year.

“What's on the table are the rights to purchase five forests in Hauraki, the rights to have discussions on a forest that is shared, that being Athenree, the right to purchase Whenuakite farm owned by Landcorp, and a range of measurements involving co-management which will have us in discussions with the Crown,” Mr Majurey says.

The aim is to have agreements in principle by next April working towards deeds of settlement a year later.

RAUPATU EFFECT ON FORESHORE DEAL BREAKER

Meanwhile, negotiations immediately to the south could come unstuck this weekend unless the Government is prepared to make assurances about the effect of its reform of the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Negotiator Willie Te Aho says Ngati Ranginui meets on Sunday to give its advocates their instructions.

He says the bottom line is that the land confiscations of the 1860s and other illegal actions by the Crown should not allow customary rights to be denied.

“Unless the issues relating to what they call the moana or Taurangamoana are resolved and specifically recognising that raupatu broke continuous occupation that our people had otherwise enjoyed which means we would be entitled to at least recognition of customary title. Unless that anomaly is resolved in the legislation, we will not be settling,” Mr Te Aho says.

Education cuts striking Maori apirations

The president of the Council of Trade Unions Helen Kelly says Maori communities suffer hugely from cuts in education.

Helen Kelly delivered a message of support to the Post Primary Teachers' Association Conference in Wellington yesterday.

She says the cuts are having a dramatic effect on low income communities where Maori are disproportionately represented.

“Things like the cuts to night schools are real cuts to second chance education. Early childhood education, Maori have invested huge amounts of energy setting up early childhood centres and getting their kids into these centres. To have this funding cut, to remove the requirement for trained teachers in those early childhood services, really serious implications for Maori kids,” Ms Kelly says.

She says the Education Ministry's insistence that schools put new staff on a 90-day probation will put teachers off applying for remote schools which are likely to have high Maori rolls.

NEW THEORY ON TASMAN ATTACK

An Otago University archeologist believes he has found out why Golden Bay Maori attacked Abel Tasman's crew in 1642.

The traditional view is that the first recorded European-Maori contact went wrong because the Dutch were seen as strangers and enemies.

But Ian Barber says his excavations in Golden Bay indicate that Tasman's crew was seen as a threat to crops and stored food close to their likely landing spot.

“These guys visiting, big ship, lots of them, they were likely to have been hungry, looking for supplies and provisions, we know at that time Maori are traveling up and down both of the big motu, they’re traveling up and down the country visiting each other, they’re exchanging greetings, that’s why I don’t buy into this fear of strangers thing,” he says.

Dr Barber says the small boat on which three crew members were killed came close to the hapu's extensive kumara gardens.

TEKOTEKO FOR EDEN PARK

In conditions of tight security, four giant tekoteko have been brought from the Bay of Plenty to Eden Park

John Waller, the chair of the Eden Park Trust, says the tekoteko will stay under wraps until a dawn blessing in 10 days time.

Representing Tanemahuta, Rongo, Tumaatauenga and Tawhirimatea, they will stand at the four corners of the refurbished park to provide a towering cultural welcome to visitors to new year's Rugby World Cup.

“We were always keen to have a strong Maori presence at the park and we thought that given this is going to be such an iconic stadium and an international showpiece for New Zealand we were looking for something that would be stunning and be a fine tribute to Maoridom and really enhance the park,” Mr Waller says.

The tekoteko were designed by Arekatera Maihi from Ngati Whatua and carved by teams under his direction in Rotorua and Whakatoane.

PIKIA, ELLISON PICKED FOR ETS ADVISORY BOARD

Two Maori with extensive farming experience have been appointed to the committee which will advise the government on how agriculture will be brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme.

Roger Pikia, the chief executive Te Arawa Group Holdings, and Edward Ellison, a sheep and beef farmer from Ngai Tahu and Te Atiawa are on the eight-member committee chaired by former National MP Katherine Rich.

Mr Ellison says he is looking forward to working out what New Zealand has committed to.

“Our role is to give advice to the minister to yes I think it is strategically important and two hopefully to assist in terms of clarification,” he says.

Mr Ellison says there are unique aspects to Maori owned land and Maori farming which need to be taken into account as ETS regimes are developed.

INDIGENOUS BUSINESS TOPIC FOR FULBRIGHT STUDY

A Ngati Kahungunu woman will spend four months at Harvard University comparing Maori and Native American businesses.

Cherie Spiller says ethical crises like the global financial crisis or the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has people asking whether indigenous business models can offer anything to the mainstream.

Her Fulbright scholarship gives her a chance to develop themes she found when she studied Maori business.

“Many businesses believe that the purpose of a business is to produce a profit. However in my doctoral research, working with Maori companies, it’s evident that the purpose from a Maori perspective is to create well being and businesses often talk about a triple bottom line which is the social, economic and environmental well being but a Maori business will also look at spiritual and cultural well being,” Dr Spiller says.

She says indigenous businesses put value on the long term relationships they create.

TRADITIONS EARN NANA GARDENER OF YEAR TITLE

A kuia from Patea with 37 mokopuna and 35 moko tuarua or great grandchildren is this year's Taranaki gardener of the year.

Harriet Rei from Te Atiawa has helped hundreds of people to re-learn Maori gardening techniques of yesteryear.

She and husband Spencer spend a lot of time in the garden, planting whatever brings a smile to the faces of their tamariki, including tasty fruits and sometimes massive vegetables.

Mrs Rei says the quality of her produce spiked when she returned to the traditional Maori planting calendar.

“I find it much better, like if the moon’s starting to become full you’re getting moisture into the ground, and once the moon starts receding it’s taking that out of the soil and you are able to prune trees, shrubs or whatever because there’s no sap there,” she says.

Voting forms for the national title are in this month’s edition of New Zealand Gardener magazine.