Turia forgetting history in foreshore fight

Greens co-leader Meteria Turei says Maori party co-leader Tariana Turia is denying outspoken Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira the same rights as a parliamentarian that she took full advantage of while a member of the Labour caucus.

The Maori Party leadership has replaced Mr Harawira with whip Te Ururoa Flavell while the committee hears submissions on the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill, starting later this month.

Ms Turei says parliamentarians should have the right to stand by their principals.

“It's really important, particularly for Tari who was on that select committee with me in 2004 and who fought really hard against that legislation, to remember what that was like, especially when she’s talking about Hone and his position, what it was like for her to be so far outside her party, so far excluded from her party systems because of her very strong views about the Foreshore Act then,” Ms Turei says.

She says the Maori Party is saying the bill is the best they could get ... which is just what the rest of Labour's Maori caucus said during the debate on the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

TIME TICKING FOR MAORI PARTY WITHOUT SUCCESSION PLAN

Meanwhile, a foundation member of the Maori Party says it will disappear from the political scene unless it finds a way to attract younger supporters.

Rotorua lawyer Annette Sykes says most of the faces at the party's conference last weekend were old.

She says it was lacklustre conference, and the lack of succession planning is starting to show.

“We haven’t grappled with that fundamental, how do we attract that younger Maori commitment to a dynamic party of the Maori Party kind and if we don’t, I think it’s too our detriment. We won’t survive maybe one election, we certainly won’t survive two unless we sort something out like this,” Ms Sykes says.

She says it's not a good look that all three senior leaders, Tariana Turia, Pita Sharples, and new president Pem Bird, are in their late 60s.

WAIRARAPA MOANA STORY TO BE TOLD AT MUSEUM

Wairarapa iwi are gearing up for an emotional day tomorrow with the opening of the Wairarapa Moana Exhibition at Masterton's Te Aratoi museum.

Curator Haami Te Whaiti says He Pataka Kai, He Pataka Korero traces the history of the rohe through taonga, photographs, paintings and multimedia.

The centrepiece is Te Heke Rangatira, a 14 metre waka taua that's been held at Wellington and Canterbury Museums for more than a century.

Mr Te Whaiti says much of the focus is on Lake Wairarapa.

“For Wairarapa Maori, the moana was everything. For opir people that lost most of their land come the 1850s, 1860s, and Wairarapa Moana was their one last food source. Eventually our people lost that,” he says.

To mark the start of Wairarapa Moana, singer Whirimako Black with guitarist Nigel Gavin will hold a concert in Te Aratoi tomorrow night.

NGAI TAHU MOUNTS CASE AGAINST MARINE AREAS BILL TESTS

Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira is welcoming news Ngai Tahu has come out against the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill.

In the latest issue of Ngai Tahu's Te Karaka magazine, runanga chair Mark Solomon and chief executive Anake Goodall say the Government is minimising the scope of Maori customary rights and demanding they give up rights that the owners of 12,500 private coastal titles will retain.

Mr Harawira, who has been dropped for the select committee considering the bill, says opposition is growing across Maoridom.

“My co-leaders think it’s better than the last one and it’s worth hanging on to but quite frankly I don’t hear a lot of other influential leaders within Maoridom, be they political or otherwise, saying that’ I’m just hoping they will see sense and realise that Maoridom is not supporting this bill and it might be time to pull the plug,” Mr Harawira says.

He says it's time for the Maori Party leadership to listen to the voice of Maori in the issue.

FOCUS ON WAHINE TO STOP SMOKING AT SOURCE

Greens co-leader Meteria Turei says actions coming out of the Maori affairs select committee inquiry into the tobacco industry need to focus on Maori women.

Ms Turei says she doesn't support prohibition.

But she says adopting the committee's recommendations would create a hostile environment for tobacco, which will help groups which are known to be particularly vulnerable.

“We have to protect out Maori women who are still big uptakers of smoking because if you can stop Maori women from smoking you can protect their children and Maori women like all mothers want the best for their babies and if we focus on the babies, focus on the women, the mothers we can get some real progress,” Ms Turei says.

She says more funding for smoking cessations programmes needs to go alongside any restrictions in tobacco sales.

DAME JUNE CELEBRATES PRISONER’S RELEASE

Outgoing Parole Board member Dame June Jackson says she is glad that her retirement coincided with convicted murder David Tamihere being released from prison after 22 years.

Dame June has excluded herself from Tamihere's 14 appearances before the board because of a close association with the family.

But she says he's been a model prisoner, and she's pleased he now gets the chance to spend the rest of his life outside.

Treaty settlements creating economic leverage

Tainui leader Tukoroirangi Morgan says the Ngati Porou treaty settlement will help grow the wider Maori economic base.

Iwi members registered with the Ngati Porou runanga have until mid-December to ratify the $110 million settlement on offer.

Mr Morgan says with leaders like runanga chair Api Mahuika and former Business Roundtable chair Rob McLeod, the East Coast tribe has the ability to quickly grow the value of its settlement assets for the benefit of its people.

“One of the things that I recognize with Api is that he knows that collective leverage is the x-factor when it comes to iwi businesses. As a collective we can extract significant leverage across this country as we begin to grow our economic power,” he says.

Mr Morgan says economic power will give Maori the opportunity to come up with their own solutions to Maori unemployment and educational under achievement.

TIME TO CALL HALT ON GOVERNMENT ADDICTION TO TOBACCO

The head of the smoking cessation organisation QUIT says she sees the harm smoking does to families every day ... and it's time to call a halt.

Paula Snowden from Te Rarawa says by coming out with strong recommendations, the Maori Affairs select committee inquiry into the tobacco industry has given politicians a rare chance to act.

She says nearly one in every two Maori smoke, as tobacco is the most accessible and addictive drug available.

“When you are poor it is really easy to get, even if it is so expensive. It’s just that once you are addicted, it is no longer a choice and Maori really care about this as families, as individuals and as tribes because everyone can see the harm and the money that comes out of the pockets every day from families struggling, it’s a tank of gas a week if you smoke on pack of Horizon a day,” Ms Snowden says.

In the past year QUIT has helped 12,000 Maori who want quit smoking.

MANAHI DEBATE REVIVED IN BOOK

Author Paul Moon wants to reopen the debate on whether Maori Battalion sergeant Haane Manahi should have got a Victoria Cross.

Dr Moon's book The Haane Manahi Story, launched at Te Papa-i-Ouru Marae in Ohinemutu at the weekend, argues that the Te Arawa man was denied the highest military honour for his bravery at Takrouna Ridge because the War Office in London considered the VC awarded to Te Moananui a Kiwa Ngarimu three weeks earlier was enouigh for the Maori Battallion.

He says New Zealand politicians failed to stick up for sergeant Manahi, who died in 1986, because of false information.

“The view that they’ve given was that there were certain atrocities committed at Takrouna and therefore it rules Manahi out of entitlement for a Victoria Cross. What the book shows quite clearly was that there were no such atrocities,” Dr Moon says.

In 2007, after then-defence minister Phil Goff asked Buckingham Palace to award a posthumous VC, the Duke of York, representing the Queen, presented a unique award to representatives of Te Arawa and the Manahi family, including an altar cloth for Saint Faith’s Church in Ohinemutu, a sword and a letter from the Queen, acknowledging sergeant Manahi’s bravery.

GANG PATCH BAN SHALLOW RESPONSE TO DEEP PROBLEM

Gang liaison worker Dennis O'Reilly says a gang patch ban in Wairoa might make the mayor feel better, but the causes of gang conflict in the northern Hawkes Bay town are intergenerational and will require a much deeper fix.

The mayor, Les Probert, wants to adopt a Whanganui-style ban on gang regalia in the wake of a series of increasinly violent incidents between Black Power and Mongrel Mob members.

Mr O'Reilly, a Black Power life member who spoke out against Whanganui's gang patch law, says the mayor just wants to be seen to be doing something.

People in Whanganui are saying they are feeling better about it. Crikey dick, it that’s all it takes, then I’d change my tune on it. But I think there are behaviourial things in there that are deeper than just what you wear. It’s what you do, it’s how you behave that’s the key issue,” he says.

Mr O'Reilly is organising a three day event in January to bring together fathers and sons from both Wairoa gangs in an attempt to end the inter-generational strife.

EDUCATION, JOBS, HEALTH THE CIRITCAL POLICY AREAS

An aspirant to be Labour's candidate in the safe Manurewa seat says while the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process is important for Maori, education, jobs and health are the real priority.

Shane Te Pou from Ngai Tuhoe is a former chair of Labour's Maori council, and he now works for a south Auckland Maori health provider.

He says he's never been shy to advocate a pro-Maori perspective within the party.

“Fundamentally the policies that advance our people’s lot are education, jobs and health and I think we’ve got very good policy, and we always have had very good policy in those areas,” Mr Te Pou says.

TAINUI OPENS TE AWA EARLY FOR CHRISTMAS SHOPPERS

Tainui has brought forward the second stage of its Hamilton shopping mall to take advantage of the Christmas shopping season.

The section of Te Awa at The Base which opened yesterday includes a food court and a number of clothing and fashion stores.

Mike Pohio, the chief executive of Tainui Group Holdings, says the original plan was to open stage two next year.

“The feedback we had from retailers was that some of them wanted to take advantage of the Christmas trade 2010 so we therefore broke the biggest stage into two parts so stage two allows retailers to start trading this Christmas. Stage three will open in effect in two parts, half in April next year and the rest in August next year,” Mr Pohio says.

An adjoining development, which includes a Hoyts cinema complex, will also open about August.

Parent rebellion over national standards

School principal turned Labour list MP Kelvin Davis says Education Minister Anne Tolley has a parent rebellion on her hands over national standards.

Mr Davis says the new measurement system should have been trialed to make sure it improved student achievement.

He says the boards represent their communities, and more than 80 percent of Maori students attend mainstream schools.

“It's one thing to go out and slam teachers and unions and principals for their opposition to the national standards. It’s another thing when 225 boards of trustees come out and say these national standard are fundamentally flawed, that they’re unworkable and they’re confusing and I think Anne Tolley needs to get off her high horse and sit at the table and listen to what people, board members, teachers, parents are all saying about the national standards,” Mr Davis says.

TOBACCO CONTROL RECOMMENDATIONS HARD TO IGNORE

The head of QUIT says MPs will find it hard to ignore the recommendations of the Maori Affairs select committee on the tobacco industry.

Paula Snowden from Te Rarawa says in the past year her organisation has helped 12,000 Maori who want to stop smoking.

She says a ban on shop displays, plain packaging and a staged reduction in the amount of tobacco let into the country can all help make New Zealand smoke-free by 2025.

But she says firstly politicians need to stop seeing smoking as a personal choice.

“Once you're addicted it’s no longer a choice. The first cigarette may be, it may be just silly, but after that you’re addicted, and when you have dangerous products in society you do have regulations for them to keep communities safe. Alcohol has regulations. Speed has regulations. What goes into our milk and butter has regulations. It’s all the keep our people safe, so I think the government has got to stop seeing smoking as a personal choice,” Ms Snowden says.

TANUI OPENS TE AWA STAGE TWO

The second stage of Tainui's $100 million Hamilton mall development opened its doors to customers this morning.

Tukoroirangi Morgan, the chair of Te Ara Taura executive, says Te Awa at The Base in Te Rapa was designed as an iconic investment, showing the tribe's commitment to the regional economy.

He says the architects were instructed to incorporate historic and cultural symbolism, and they have made extensive use of the nihoniho taniwha pattern of interlocking triangles, representing Tainui's determination to succeed.

“The nihotaniwha pattern was also a symbol of strength and even in hard and despairing times the tribe has always found its feet and moved forward in an attempt to succeed in whatever it wanted to do,” Mr Morgan says.

The third stage of Te Awa opens in the New year.

HIKURANGI KAITIAKITANGA A POINTER TO SETTLEMENT AHEAD

Ikaroa-Rawhiti MP Paraekura Horomia says Ngati Porou has shown it's more than ready for its treaty settlement.

The tribe has signed off on a $110 settlement which will give it the right to buy Crown properties, as well as give it a say in management of infrastructure and natural resources in its rohe.

Mr Horomia says in the 19 years since Mt Hikurangi was returned to the iwi, Ngati Porou has shown it is a good guardian of the land - despite initial misgivings from some Pakeha groups.

“There was a real reaction, about access to the Maunga, about Maoris, it should stay with DoC and all that, those are fleeting past moments now. They’ve done a great job. No one has been banned from it and I think Maoris are very good at looking after things that are dear to them” Mr Horomia says.

People on the Ngati Porou iwi register have until December 13 to vote to ratify the settlement.

DAME JUNE JACKSON STEPPING DOWN FROM PAROLE BOARD

The longest serving Parole Board member, Dame June Jackson, is retiring.

Dame June says in her 22 years on the Board she has had to make tough calls on the release of many Maori, who make up half the prison muster.

Her hope is that a new generation of Maori will find ways to stay out of the criminal justice system.

“We have choices now and I think a lot of our people are doing exactly that, ensuring that their homes are safe, ensuring that the kids are okay, all those kinds of things. Perhaps the dysfunction that permeated our people in the past will diminish. That’s what I hope anyway,” Dame June says.

She expects to continue counselling whanau with members inside.

INTERNSHIP ENTRY INTO DENTAL CAREER

Taranaki District Health Board has taken on its first Maori dental cadet as part of its Whakatipuranga Rima Rau initiative to get more Maori into health jobs.

19 year old Te Waikapoata Tamati will work for the next year at the Rangiatea Community Dental Clinic, while also taking courses related to dentistry.

Ngawaia Henare, the DHB's chief advisor for Maori Health, says there's a pressing need in the province for oral health professionals, as Maori have some of the worst oral health in the country.

“A good way of trying to improve Maori oral health status is to have more working in that field,” Ms Henare says.

She hopes Ms Tamati will pursue a degree in dentistry.

Iwi leaders lobby for coastal bill changes

Tainui leader Tukoroirangi Morgan says iwi are still unhappy with the Marine and Coastal Area Bill, which is now before the Maori affairs select committee.

He says the debate on reform of the Foreshore and Seabed Act won't be over until a suitable replacement comes out of Parliament.

Mr Morgan says as well as the select committee process, the relationship that the Iwi Leaders Group has formed with the Government means the Maori case can be put as strongly as possible.

“We have huge opportunities to continue to lobby the Crown including the Prime Minister to get the changes that are necessary to make the semblance of a potentially good bill into a very strong bill for Maori,” Mr Morgan says.

He's keen for the current bill to be made acceptable to Maori, rather than for it to be thrown out completely.

STATUTORY BOARD STRUCTURE DOOMED

Maori academic Rawiri Taonui says the structure of the new Auckland super city Maori statutory board dooms it to failure.

The board was appointed by Maori affairs minister Pita Sharples from the recommendations of a committee drawn solely from mana whenua iwi.

It includes seven mana members and two representing all other Maori who call Auckland home.

Mr Taonui, who has stepped down from his position at Canterbury University to complete a book on Maori politics, says the undemocratic nature of the process will blight its effectiveness.

“I respect mana whenua, the rightful place of Ngati Whatua, Tainui, the Hauraki tribes,but the have 20 percent of Auckland’s Maori population secure seven on the nine positions on the Maori statutory board I think is going a bit too far because what it does I think is silence the majority,” says Mr Taonui, from Ngapuhi and Ngati Maniapoto.

LIQUOR OUTLET BOOM FUELING BINGE DRINKING

ALAC's strategic operations manager says new research on binge drinking strengthens the case against proliferation of liquor outlets.

Maori communities in south Auckland have protested against the lack of bylaws to stop bottle shops going in to every suburban shopping strip in low income areas.

Tuari Potiki says the findings by a Otago University team that there was a 4 percent higher incidence of binge drinking within one kilometre of liquor stores confirms the Alcohol Advisory Council's concerns about the relationship between availability and abuse.

“We've known for a while that there’s a very strong correlation between the number of outlets where alcohol is available and the levels of harm that occur locally and the levels of binge drinking which lead to that harm,” Mr Potiki says.

Communities should have more say in the placement of liquor outlets.

MAHUTA BACKS REBEL SCHOOLS ON NATIONAL STANDARDS

Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta is backing school boards of trustees in her Hauraki-Waikato electorate who say they won't implement national standards in their schools.

Thirty Waikato school boards have joined more than 225 nationwide who says the process of introducing the new achievement targets has been rushed, and it will lead to students being branded as failures.

Ms Mahuta says she is particularly concerned at the effects of the standards on Maori students in mainstream schools.

“National standards, Maori Party-supported, that will lead to a narrowing of the curriculum probably making it harder for our kids to get their full range of skills recognized through a national standards system,” Ms Mahuta says.

ANTI-SMOKING GROUP UPS THE ANTE

Anti-smoking group Te Reo Marama wants marae to take a harder line on tobacco.

Spokesperson Shane Bradbrook says the report of the Maori Affairs select committee's inquiry into the tobacco industry gives a clear recommendation for kaupapa and tikanga-based approaches to the battle against smoking.

He says one place to start is for marae to not only ban smoking but to ban tobacco products.

“Auahe Kore means it’s a smokefree marae but I can still carry my cigarettes in there whereas a kaupapa tupeka kore approach would say, ‘this marae is tupeka kore, this is the kawa of this marae and you are not to bring tobacco in,’ and I think it’s a subtle difference but for our people it’s a cultural shift in cultural behaviour and our norms and behaviours that we have in places such as marae,” Mr Bradbrook says.

GARDINER KEEN TO BRING MUSEUMS CLOSER

The new chair of Te Papa Tongarewa wants to build a family of museums in New Zealand.

Sir Wira Gardiner says the national museum already works closely with other regional museums.

But he says with the additional government funding unlikely any time soon, even closer co-operation between museums in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin is a way to go.

“We need to enter into a series of discussions with all the other museums about how we can kind of create a family of museums across New Zealand which are linked together and do things that other organisations in these times are doing like sharing back office facilities IT, research capacity and those kinds of things. I’d just like to explore that a little bit over the next little while,” Sir Wira says.

Working with the other museums will be a way of bringing Te Papa's Wellington-based collections to people around the country.

Tobacco industry report seeks phase out

Anti-smoking group Te Reo Marama says the Maori Affairs select committee report on the tobacco industry is just what it was hoping for.

Spokesperson Shane Bradbrook says Maori have been disproportionately affected by tobacco, and adoption of the committee's recommendations will give Maori communities a way to fight back

The report, tabled in Parliament today, which recommends a smoke- free New Zealand by 2025, a ban on shop displays, mandatory plain packaging for cigarettes and loose tobacco and a ban on smoking in cars and public places.

Mr Bradbrook says the committee did not lose its Maori focus, despite the fact smoking is an equal opportunity killer.

“The things we were looking for in the report were kaupapa-centric measures that will help out people and that’s in the report, they’re saying Maori should take control of this, both whaanu and iwi, and it should go towards kaupapa tikanga-based,” he says.

Iwi like Ngati Kahungunu are already adopting tikanga-based measures to fight tobacco use.

MORGAN WELCOMES LUXTON ADDITION TO RIVER PANEL

Waikato River Authority co-chair Tukoroirangi Morgan is says the appointment of former National cabinet minister John Luxton to sit alongside his is a sign the Crown is serious about getting the river cleaned up.

Mr Luxton, a Waikato farmer, also chairs Dairy NZ, a research and advocacy organisation funded by a levy on milksolids.

The authority, which is charged with spending $210 million over 30 years, has five iwi and five Crown appointees.

Mr Morgan says the former Maori affairs minister should help bind the two sides.

The other Crown appointees are Environment Waikato chairman Peter Buckley, Waipa District mayor Alan Livingston, forest manager Sally Strang, and resource management consultant Jenni Vernon.

SONS OF IO OUT HUSTLING MUSIC A DECADE ON

A reggae band that formed to bring in the millennium is taking its music to the streets, literally.

Singer and guitarist Jack Karetu says Sons of Io started in 1999 on a music course at Te Wananga O Aotearoa's Gisborne campus, with the target of performing in New Years celebrations.

They're still playing original music around the country, and Mr Karetu says they don't wait for others to promote their sounds ... as motorists were finding out in Auckland today with band member selling the EP to motorists for a koha.

Proceeds from the CDs go into more recordings.

GOFF BACKS SMOKING CESSATION BY 2025

Labour Party leader Phil Goff is endorsing the recommendations from the Maori affairs select committee inquiry into the tobacco industry.

Mr Goff says he would love to see the end of tobacco sales within 15 years and fully supports measures such as banning point of sale advertising and plain packaging.

But he says the Government is going the wrong way, with $12 million cut from smoking cessation programmes in this year's Budget.

“It's about giving people a helping hand which is why you’ve got to provide that positive support for people to break away from it as well. Millions f dollars are spent each year on the costs of smoking. One in two smokers will ultimately die from smoking-related diseases. The time has come to turn our backs on tobacco and do it in as quick a manner as we can,” Mr Goff says.

GARDINER PICKED TO LEAD NATIONAL MUSEUM

Former National Party Maori vice president Sir Wira Gardiner has been made chair of Te Papa Tongarewa.

Sir Wira, who was appointed to the board just over a year ago, says he's conscious the national museum is unlikely to get any extra government funding in the current economic climate, so the emphasis will be on finding smarter ways to use existing resources.

“The funds we get, about 40, 50 percent come from the government. We raise money ourselves. We get sponsorships. We get people who donate significant money or funds or resources to us to help us. And so I think we’re all right, but I think there’s a much more general question New Zealanders have to face and that’s how we manage not only Te Papa, the national museum, but also Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin museums,” Sir Wira says.

He's keen to see more cooperation between the country's museums.

ROTORUA PASSES AIR LINK PILOT WITH FLYING COLOURS

Rotorua's deputy mayor says the city's Maori will benefit from its confirmation as an international airport.

Trevor Maxwell from Ngati Rangiwewehi says continuation of twice weekly direct flights from Sydney was conditional on uptake, and the service has come through its trial period with bookings far exceeding expectations.

As well as boosting tourist numbers, the flights have given whanau in Australia a more direct way home for hui and tangi.

The Sulphur City is now keen to see direct flights from Brisbane and Melbourne.

Luxton Crown pick for river clean up board

Waikato farming leader and former National Party MP John Luxton has been appointed to co-chair the Waikato River Authority alongside Waikato-Tainui leader Tukoroirangi Morgan.

The former Maori affairs minister says he's confident the farming and business interests he now represents will be able to work with iwi to clean up the awa.

Mr Luxton is one of five Crown appointees to the authority which will manage the $210 million river clean-up.

He expects improvement to be gradual.

“There has been an intensification of dairying. That’s led to a lot more jobs in the region and it’s going to be a process of trying to balance both the economic outcome and the environmental outcome going forward but seeing a gradual improvement,” he says.

Mr Luxton, who also chairs the Dairy NZ research and advocacy group, says Maori are major farmers in the wider Waikato region and have an interest in ensuring farming can continue alongside the clean-up.

TIME FOR PRAGMATISM SAYS NGATI POROU LEADER

Ngati Porou leader Api Mahuika says after 23 years of treaty claims and negotiations, it's time to be pragmatic and accept the settlement on offer.

The East Coast iwi has been offered an $110 million deal plus $13 million in accumulated forestry rentals, as well as a say in the management of natural resources in its rohe.

Mr Mahuika says he expects beneficiaries registered with Te Runanga o Ngati Porou to ratify the deed before Christmas, and then it's up to the government to pass it into law.

“If we continue to procrastinate we will loe the momentum in these times to be a local player, a national player and a global player to enhance the mana and the economic wealth of our people,” Api Mahuika

NEGRO MAORI KIWI LAID TO REST

A non-Maori former captain of the Maori All Blacks will be laid to rest today in Masterton, after dying on Sunday aged 87.

Alan Blake, or as he was better known, Kiwi, made the New Zealand Army rugby team, also known as the Kiwis, in the last year of World War 2.

He went on to play over 170 first class games, including 108 for Waiararapa, one All Black test and 26 games for the Maori All Blacks.

His brother in law George Mahupuku, himself a former Maori All Black captain, says Kiwi Blake didn't speak of his whakapapa, which included an Afro American grandfather, but Kiwi’s brother was refused entry to the team because he had no Maori blood.

Kiwi Blake's service is at the Rosewood Chapel in Masterton.

MAHUIKA DEFENDS TREATY SETTLEMENT

Ngati Porou chair Api Mahuika says the East Coast iwi won't allow dissidents to derail its treaty settlement.

The Ngati Porou Runanga has fought of High Court challenges against its mandate, and on the weekend it initialed a $110 million settlement of historic claims.

Mr Mahuika says on top of that the new settlement trust, Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou, will get $113 million in accumulated rent on Crown forests as well as the assets built up by the runanga.

“We do not let dissension stand in the way as we are moving forward to create opportunities for our people so that if you look at the Runanga o Ngati Porou that started in 1987 without any financial backing. We are now in the process of handing over to our new entity assets in the value of abut $50 to $60 million,” Mr Mahuika says.

The runanga also secured the return of Mt Hikurangi and it has a foreshore and seabed settlement waiting to be legislated.

NEW STRUCTURE BETTER FOR MAORI INTERACTION

The head of Maori protocol for the new Auckland super city says it's well placed to work with iwi groups.

Rewi Spraggon expects his team to be involved in up to 60 events a month, including citizenship ceremonies, building and exhibition openings and welcomes for visiting dignitaries.

He says the 23-strong Maori strategy and relationships department has drawn together the various Maori teams from the previous cities, and the members all have existing relationships which will allow them to maintain good lines of communication with the region's iwi and hapu.

“With this unit we’re more focused on this area so we can focus on our areas a lot better whereas before we were pretty much a jack of all trades looking after policy, looking after contracts for iwi relationships, protocols,” Mr Spraggon says.

REMOTE SCHOOL WANTS BROADBAND OPPORTUNITIES

The teacher from the award-winning Te Kura O Hiruharama near Ruatoria says it's imperative remote schools get ultra-fast Internet within the next few years.

Two teams of Sue Ngarimu-Goldsmith's 8 to 12 year olds are among the winners of the Outlook for Someday Awards, which was open to filmmakers under 25 to make five-minute shorts on the theme of sustainability.

She says her students have a hunger for technology, and technologies like fibre optics, wireless or satellite should give them the same opportunities as city kids.

“If we want our whaanu to be able to function in a modern environment contributing to the knowledge economy, it’s an absolute imperative for our government to do this,” Mrs Ngarimu-Goldsmith says.

Her students are going to Auckland for next week's prize giving, and she doesn't expect them to be over-awed by the big city.

Maori welcome in super city council

The new Auckland super city's head of Maori protocol is chalking up the city's first day as a significant win for tangata whenua.

Rewi Spraggon from Ngati Hine, Te Wai O Hua and Ngati Maniapoto says from the dawn powhiri by mana whenua iwi to the evening inauguration ceremony at the Town Hall, Maori played significant roles.

He says the way Maori were involve augurs well for the future.

Mr Spraggon says the council's Maori strategy and relationships department expects to be involved in about 60 events and ceremonies a month.

CARE NZ DRUG PROGRAMME EXTENDED

A prison drug rehab programme which is proving particularly effective for Maori inmates has had its contracts extended.

Tim Harding, the head of Care New Zealand, says the programme is used in Waikeria, Spring Hill, Hawkes Bay, Rimutaka, Arohata and Christchurch prisons.

He says it treats about 500 prisoners a year, of whom about half a Maori, by creating therapeutic communities.

“One person sitting in front of a group of people telling them how they can change behaviour is not nearly as effective as when you create a community where the main focus is supporting each other to change. It’s very effective all over the world but it works particularly well for Maori,” Mr Harding says.

Research shows Care New Zealand's programme reduces the frequency and severity of reoffending by about a third.

HARRIS STUCK ON WRONG SIDE OF TASMAN FOR CUP

Champion jockey Noel Harris from Ngati Te Whiti missed out on a ride in today's Melbourne Cup, but he's not quite ready to retire.

The 55-year-old has ridden in 11 cups since piloting Glengowan as an 18-year-old apprentice in 1973.

He's amassed nearly 2500 winners, and while he may be in the twilight of his career, he still enjoys riding and will wait until next year to decide if and when to hang up his crop.

“It's up to the individual, how your body is. It’s a bit like a rugby player. You’ve got the younger ones and the older ones who can still compete but come winter time say it’s time to call it a day. In saying that, if you win a million dollar race, it keeps you going a little bit longer,” he says.

Noel Harris had a string of rides at Auckland today.

NGTI POROU SETTLEMENT INITIALLED

Ngati Porou members are considering whether to ratify a $110 million settlement signed off at the weekend.

Treaty Negotiations minister Chris Finlayson says the settlement recognises that the reason the East Coast was one of the most socio-economically deprived areas in the country was because the Crown-imposed Maori land tenure systems made it extremely difficult for Ngati Porou to use their land for economic benefit.

Apirana Mahuika, the chair of Te Runanaga o Ngati Porou, says if iwi members sign off a bill could be put before parliament as early as next month.

Once it gets through the select committee process, the bill could be passed by the middle of next year.

Mr Mahuika says the settlement will give Ngati Porou a greater say in how natural resources in its rohe will be managed.

LAW SETS TIMETABLE FOR BOARD TASKS
The new Maori statutory board for the Auckland super city has got a big workload if it is to meet the obligations set out in its legislation.

The board of seven mana whenua representatives and two representing all other Maori living in Tamaki Makaurau was appointed by Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples.

Its executive officer, Joy Hames from Ngati Raukawa, says it needs to hold its first meeting by November 15, when the first item on the agenda after appointing a chair will be to develop a prioritised schedule of issues of significance for Maori.

“They've got to have that done within three months. They got to get their work programme set, they’ve got to come to an agreement with the council about how that’s funded and it’s all got to be done by about February 15 so there’s not going to be a lot of sitting round trying to work things out. It will be up and running pretty quickly,” Ms Hames says.

The board must report annually to the council and to the iwi selection panel - which only convenes every three years.

HURUHARAMA KURA A HOTBED OF ANIMATION TALENT

A small primary school just south of Ruatoria on the East Coast has won two of the 20 prizes in a youth short film award.

The Outlook for Someday Sustainability Film Challenge is open to individuals or teams of filmmakers aged up to 25.

Sue Ngarimu-Goldsmith from the 90-pupil Te Kura O Hiruharama says the two films made by her students, who are aged from 8 to 12, were on the theme of cultural sustainability.

The animated stories are based on waiata from the Hiruharama area.

She says it will be a huge adventure for the children to they travel to TVNZ in Auckland next week for the selection of eight special awards.

All 20 winners which will be screened during December on www.theoutlookforsomeday.net, where viewers can vote for their favourite.

Harawira expresses confidence in leader Bird

Dissident Maori Party MP Hone Harawira says he's confident new president Pem Bird will do a good job, even though they differ on whether the Marine and Coastal Area Bill is a suitable replacement for the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Mr Harawira says he's invited Mr Bird to visit his Tai Tokerau electorate so he can hear members' concerns about the party's direction.

He says the Murupara kura kaupapa principal has his respect.

“Pem has always been a good man, a really good kaupapa man, he’s got a really ngakau mahaki that fella,” Mr Harawira says.

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia has also expressed confidence that Mr Bird will carry on the work of his predecessor, Whatarangi Winiata, in building party unity.

PARATA REJECTS MINIMUM WAGE PLATFORM

National's candidate in the Mana by-election says independent candidate Matt McCarten's call to lift the minimum wage to $15 an hour is unaffordable.

The Unite Union boss says a high number of the Maori and Pacific island workers in the electorate are on the minimum wage, and the policy would have a substantial impact.

But Hekia Parata says it would hit the electorate's businesses hard.

“That particular platform does open a whole lot of questions about how affordable it is and whether small to medium businesses can afford to absorb that kind of cost and the official advice is they can’t and it would be at the cost of 8000 jobs,” she says.

Ms Parata says at this stage three weeks out from the poll she's not sure if Mr McCarten's run will take enough votes from Labour to let her switch her list seat for the electorate seat.

KAPA HAKA PULLS TOGETHER DIVERSE WORKFORCE

The Auckland manager of infrastructure company Downer Construction is using kapa haka to keep his workforce happy.

Henare Clarke from Ngati Porou has won an Equal Employment Opportunities Trust Walk the Talk Award for his management methods.

The 51-year-old, who started in the company's Hamilton yard when he was 18 year old, and now oversees, says the workforce is a veritable United Nations, but they find a common bond through Maori culture.

TURIA DETERMINED TO STICK WITH GOVERNMENT

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says she won't allow divisions over Maori Party support for the Marine and Coastal Area Bill to undermine its support for the Government.

The replacement for the Foreshore and Seabed Act was a major topic of debate at the party's annual conference on the weekend, after Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira was stood down from the select committee considering the bill.

Mr Harawira says if there is enough flax roots opposition, the Maori Party should change its vote, but Mrs Turia says that won't happen.

“People have been very clear with us, they don’t want us to pull out of the Government, they know that’s where the decisions are made and if you can’t participate in decision making, all you can do is be critical. Our people don’t want that. They do want to have a say about our future and they do want to be participating constructively in the government,” Mrs Turia says.

She sees the Marine and Coastal Area Bill as a piece of Maori Party legislation.

MIDDLE EARTH TO MANA TREASURE TRANSFER SOUGHT

Independent Mana byelection candidate Matt McCarten says the money the Government is giving Warner Brothers to make The Hobbit would be better spent creating jobs for the electorate's 3000 unemployed.

The National candidate, Hekia Parata, says there is no money for job creation.
But the former Alliance president says the National-led Government seems to have no trouble finding cash for its mates, like Southern Cross Finance lenders and Sir Peter Jackson.

He says creating the jobs is easy.

“Put two teacher aides to every classroom so they could do clubs and sports and read to the kids, patrol, help the teachers and so on. It’s work and people would love that job, go down to the school and help out my school and get paid for it. That would take, if you had two for each classroom, on average, you would create 120 jobs just like that,” Mr McCarten says.

Providing home help to pensioners and invalids would also provide jobs.

WHANAU A APANUI TEEN WINS TOP MODEL SPOT

New Zealands' next top model, 19-year-old Danielle Hayes from Te Whanau A Apanui, says all Maori women are beautiful.

The 19 year old has the modeling world at her feet after winning Friday night's final.

She says the contest was far removed from her life growing up in Kawerau, and she sometimes had to be remind herself she was actually living in a house in the city with 13 other hopefuls, who would have to remind her they did not speak Maori.

Maori Party claims coastal bill as own

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill is a Maori Party bill - and that's why it had to take Hone Harawira off the select committee considering it.

Mrs Turia says when the issue of Mr Harawira's opposition to the bill was raised in caucus, the Tai Tokerau MP did not seem to object being stood down.

“This piece of legislation does not belong to anyone other than the Maori Party. Why would be put somebody on the committee to talk against us. It will not happen,” she says.

Te Ururoa Flavell, the party whip, will sit on the Maori Affairs select committee while the bill is being considered.

HARAWIRA SEEKS TO RALLY MEMBERS AGAINST BILL

But Hone Harawira says he's counting on Maori Party members to sway the leadership against the Marine and Coastal Area Bill.

The dissident MP says he was gutted at being asked to stand aside from the select committee, and he intends to make his own submission on the bill.

Mr Harawira says he hopes the party will eventually put its principals before the coalition.

“Tariana made a good comment the other day when she said that the party will take its position based on the view of Maori people through our own consultation processes and through the select committee and if there is a clear majority in opposition to the bill, the Maori Party is likely to change its vote at the next reading,” Mr Harawira says.

GRANTS ENCOURAGE LINKS BETWEEN SCIENTISTS AND IWI

The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology has awarded six Te Tipu Putaiao Fellowships to emerging researchers whose work may strengthen Maori knowledge, people and resources.

Michael Kearney from Ngati Tuwharetoa, Tainui and Tuhoe, a postdoctoral researcher at Te Whare Wananga O Awanuiaarangi, will develop an eel fisheries management plan for Ngati Awa.

Lincoln University researcher Amanda Black's work on retention of nutrients in agricultural soils is aimed at improving the soil health of Maori land blocks, while Waikato University PhD student Shane Carter's experiments in turning water-weed into biofuel could create energy businesses for Maori groups.

Other projects include research into blood structure at the time of death, marine toxins, and the effect of river engineering on native fish.

Richard Templar, the foundation's chief executive, says the fellowships encourage relationships between researchers and Maori communities.

“We very much hope that the links they build with iwi groups they are working with will continue right through their research career and ensure that these young and talented researchers are looking for opportunities to contribute to Maori and therefore to New Zealand right through their career,” he says.

TURIA CONFIDENT WHANAU ORA GETTING OFFICIAL SANCTION

Whanau Ora minister Tariana Turia says she is confident the government will provide more money for Whanau Ora if needed.

On Friday Te Puni Kokiri named the 25 coalitions of 158 providers who will deliver health and welfare services under the new model.

The Government has budgeted $134 million over four years for administration, training and capacity building, on top of the funding the providers already get from existing contracts with government agencies.

Mrs Turia says there is genuine belief in government that the model is the way to go.

“We haven't actually known what the likely cost would be and I think this gives us an opportunity to roll it out, have a look at what’s been put aside and my job is to go back for another budget if it is not sufficient,” she says.

Mrs Turia says organisations that missed out in the first round have indicated they intend to change the way they operate so they may win future contracts.

MAORI PARTY PRESIDENT FEARED IMPLOSION OVER POLICY

The retiring president of the Maori Party, Whatarangi Winiata, says much of his work during his six year tenure was making sure policy debates did not destroy the party.

Professor Winiata stepped down at the weekend conference and was replaced by Murupara kura kaupapa principal Pem Bird.

He says the party would be no use to Maori if it broke into factions.

“We didn't implode. We’re still together. We’ve been to the edge but no over and we’ve been to the threshold but not beyond. We’ve been close at times. My only disappointment is that we haven’t found a recipe to address it, so the risk is still with us,” Professor Winiata says.

He says Taitokerau MP Hone Harawira has been both a benefit and a liability to the party, but he is keen that he stay part of it.

FILIPAINA COUNCIL LINK TO MAORI BOARD

Auckland super city councillor Alf Filapaina has been given responsibilty for looking after Maori intests in the council.

The serving police officer who has Ngapuhi and Samoan whakapapa says he will be the council's initial point of contact with the new Maori statutory board.

But he says the board, whose members were appointed by Maori Affairs Minister Peter Sharples from the recommendations of mana whenua iwi, is independent of the council.

“I am there just to connect not only with the statutory board but with Maori issues that come up. At least there is somebody else. I think my role is that if there are any issues from any of our iwi, I will definitely be going through to the Maori statutory board and getting people to go to them, because they are the voice for all Maori in the Auckland region,” Mr Filapaina says.

He says while three councilors are Maori, they don't have the mandate to speak on behalf of Maori.

Pem Bird new Maori Party president

The new Maori Party President, Pem Bird, says the party is in for the long haul, even if at time members have strong differences of opinion.

The kura kaupapa principal from Ngati Awa took over from Whatarangi Winiata at the party's annual conference in Hastings over the weekend.

He says the party has never been more relevant.

“In terms of article three of the treaty, equality of citizenship, we’re nowhere near there. We want to create solutions for ourselves and be responsible for taking charge of our own destinies and to the richness of this country’s heritage, our heritage, our political heritage, and doing a heck of a lot better than we’ve done before,” Mr Bird says.

While the hui was dominated by debate over whether the party should continue to support the Marine and Coastal Area Bill, Pem Bird says the focus needs to be on picking up the remaining two Maori seats a the next election.

SOLOMON KEEN FOR IWI TO TACKLE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Ngai Tahu want to meet social development minister Paula Bennett to find ways it can work better with her ministry to fight domestic violence.

Runanga chairman Mark Solomon told the Jigsaw anti-violence roopu last week that whanau need to make a stand against violence.

He says social services agencies are only the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, and most of the work needs to be done by whanau.

“Too often when there is whanau abuse the extended family turns their back, they didn’t see it. If we send the message to the perpetrators of violence that it is not acceptable within our families, we have more chance of stopping it than if we try to leave it for the social service agencies,” Mr Solomon says.

Ngai Tahu wants social agencies to provide the names of at risk families so it can find ways to help.

MAORI HEART FOUNDATION BACKS SMOKING DOCO

Te Hotu Manawa Maori and the Heart Foundation have funded a new documentary which aims to shine a light on whanau affected by tobacco.

A Killer Legacy follows up on a 1990 TVNZ documentary Julys' Legacy, which tracked the last year in the life of Judy Minnell, who died of smoking related lung cancer.

She left an 11-year-old daughter, Hiria, who is now the national tobacco control manager for Te Hotu Manawa.

Moana Tane, the organisation’s chief executive, says it aims to build on the work done by the Maori Affairs' select committee inquiry into the tobacco industry.

“Dozens and dozens of Maori women fronted up at those hearing and talked about the losses they had experienced with their mothers, their aunts, their nanas, and we wanted to give them an opportunity to tell those stories on film to be heard by a wider audience,” Ms Tane says.

The documentary will screen on Maori Television in December.

WINIATA KEEN FOR HARAWIRA TO STAY IN PARTY

Retiring Maori Party president Whatarangi Winiata has described controversial MP Hone Harawira is both a benefit and a liability to the party.

Professor Winiata says his main work as party president has been keeping the party together and fostering a sense of unity.


He says it would be unfortunate if Mr Harawira and his supporters were to leave the party.

“I see him for the most part as being of great benefit. What we have to learn and Hone has to learn is how to commit to kotahitanga which means committing to pathways that lead us there,” Professor Winiata says.

He’s confident new president Pem Bird will be able to hold the party together.

RYALL RETHINKING SERVICE DELIVERY IN LIGHT OF WHANAU ORA

Health Minister Tony Ryall is welcoming Whanau Ora as a way to rethink delivery of services across the whole government sector.

Many of the 130 organisations named of Friday as being part of the 25 Whanau Ora provider collectives have existing contracts with the Health Ministry or district health boards, which will be integrated into the new service delivery model.

Mr Ryall says it’s the beginning of a massive change in the way services are delivered to communities.

“We’re going to see I think, especially in the next Parliament, quite an expansion of this philosophy and this thinking because it just makes a lot of sense and there’s a real enthusiasm among the helping organisations to work more effectively and actually to focus more on results rather than ticking the boxes because you are not going to fix any family’s problems if you are just ticking boxes that you are having meetings with them,” Mr Ryall says.

Many of the Whanau Ora providers already have non-Maori clients.

BOOK CONSIDERS MAORI CONTRINUTION TO URBAN PLANNING

An editor of a new book on urban design says councils and urban planners need to recognise the value of Maori knowledge in making cities sustainable.

Keriata Stewart says the Taone Tupu Ora grew out of a discussion between Maori architect Amanda Yates and Otago University Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman, the director of the New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities.

It includes contributions from Maori researchers, Land Trusts, urban planners and architects.

Ms Stewart says many cited the sophisticated land use at Maungakiekie, One Tree Hill in Auckland, which was built in ways that enhanced the community, bringing to gether gardens, community spaces, whanau houses.

“It also concentrated on water sustainability. It was a community that needed to look after itself, and a number of our contributors look at that as a model on how we can be doing things in the present day,” she says.

Taone Tupu Ora is available from the New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities.

Whanau Ora providers named

158 provider organisations have come together into 25 collectives to deliver whanau ora over much of the country.

There was a capacity crowd at Takapuwahia marae in Porirua to see who is part of the new model to deliver social and health services over much of the country.

The list includes iwi, urban authorities, mainstream providers and collectives and four Pacific Island providers, who Whanau Ora Minister Tariana Turia says see the policy as a way to recreate the Pacific village in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

The rigorous selection process managed by Te Puni Kokiri has left some significant areas uncovered, including Thames Coromandel, South Waikato and Taupo, Horowhenua and Manawatu and the Wairarapa.

All the providers have existing contracts to provide health or social services,

Whanau Ora will allow them to integrate many of those services and contracts and employ or redeploy staff as whanau navigators who will provide the main contact with families in need of help.

Mrs Turia says the programme is just the start but it could lead to a fundamental change in the way government delivers services not just to Maori but to all New Zealanders.

PETERS SAYS INITIATIVE SET UP TO FAIL

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says Whanau Ora is set up for failure.

Mr Peters says the system of Maori taking over social and health services with a whanau approach won’t work.

“If you are saying that the way to fix up problems is through the family and yet you know you have so many dysfunctional families, how will that possibly work. So the structure is a pipe dream and the funding, even if the first thing is right, is absolutely totally set up for failure,” he says.

Mr Peters says of $20 million allocated for Whanau Ora $5 million will go to bureaucrats and the other $15 million will be spread among 42 iwi meaning they will get about $500 each or what a Queen St lawyer would charge an hour.

He says New Zealand First would treat Maori as key priorities within each government department.

Mr Peters is expected to announce which electorate he will be contesting the next election at the party's annual conference this weekend in Christchurch.

WORLD ROWING CHAMPS OPEN ON LAKE KARAPIRO

The world will see Maoridom as perhaps never before when the World Rowing Championships are held at Lake Karapiro over the next eight days.

The event which opens with a powhiri at 3 o'clock tomorrow is being run by a partnership of Rowing New Zealand and Ngati Haua and Koroki Kahukura iwi integrating Maori culture and activities at all levels.

Organiser Willie Te Aho says the opening ceremony, which will be broadcast to an audience of over 100 million throughout the world, will include four waka from Turangawaewae and local kapa haka groups.

Mr Te Aho says the event headquarters have an area set up where visitors can taste Maori food and watch of carving, ta moko, weaving demonstrations through the events.

WHANAU ORA OFFERS CHANCE TO MOVE BEYOND CRISIS

One of the architects of whanau ora says it should mean fundamental change in the way whanau development is viewed.

Sir Mason Durie, the head of Maori studies at Massey University, was at the hui at Takapuwahia Marae in Porirua to introduce the first 25 provider collectives who will deliver health and social services under the new integrated model.

He says too often Maori families have little say in what happens to them when they encounter state agencies.

“To a large extent we view whanau as a series of crises waiting to happen and in fact if we take that view we miss the main potential that lies in whanau. The biggest challenge in this for providers, let alone whanau themselves, but for providers the biggest challenge is to use a crisis as a way of encouraging whanau to develop their own capability and their own strengths,” Sir Mason says.

DOWNER BOSS WINS WALK THE TALK EMPLOYMENT AWARD

The winner of the Walk the Talk Award at last night’s Equal Employment Trusts Work and Life Awards in Auckland says his workers are part of his family.

Henare Clarke from Ngati Porou started work with Downers as an 18 year old, and 33 years later oversees 275 full time staff as Downers' Auckland area manager.

He says over the years he's worked hard to bring his predominantly Maori and Polynesian workforce together, and even formed a multicultural kapa haka group to improve morale.

“They all come from tough backgrounds. They all come from backgrounds where people probably haven’t taken any notice of them and I take a lot of time out to try to find out who they are and who their wife is or partner is sop that when I catch up with them outside work so I can have that talk with them as well so yeah, you almost feel like a parent,” Mr Clarke says.

He received his Equal Employment Opportunities Trust Award from the Honourable Tariana Turia at a ceremony in front of 400 guests at Auckland War memorial Museum last night.

KAUMATUA DIES ON EVE OF ROWING REGATTA

There is sadness mixed with excitement among Ngati Koroki Kahukura iwi.

While the iwi is heavily involved in organising the World Rowing championships on Lake Karapiro which kicks off with a powhiri at 3PM tomorrow they are also lamenting the death of elder Bob Tairi yesterday.

Spokesman Willie Te Aho says as well as being heavily involved in tribal politics Bob Tairi had been a driving force in rugby league for many years as a member of the New Zealand Maori Rugby league executive.

Bob Tairi is lying at Maungatautiri marae with the funeral services likely to be held on Monday.