Waatea News Update

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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Kelvin Davis in campaign mode

Labour list MP Kelvin Davis says he's looking forward to being in campaign mode for the rest of the year.

Te Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira has submitted his letter of resignation to the speaker effective from May 20, two days before the deadline after which there would be no need for a by-election.

Mr Davis says over the past two years he has built up Labour's membership in the seat, which stretches from west Auckland to North Cape, and he's confident he can trounce both Mr Harawira and whoever the Maori Party puts up.

“Everyone in the Tai Tokerau is looking forward to going out and fighting a good clean fight and taking the electorate of Te Tai Tokerau or bringing it back to Labour,” Mr Davis says.

He says while there are some local issues, people's main concerns are the rising cost of living and the high rate of unemployment among Maori whanau in the north.

FRESH WATER POLICY LEAVES OUT MAORI

Green co-leader Meteria Turei says the government's national policy statement on fresh water does little for Maori aspirations to help manage the country's waterways.

She says the statement also doesn't help those councils who want to check the intensification of farming, which is leading to increased pollution of lakes and rivers.

“For Maori this just means even less control over protecting our waterways, it means they’re not engaged in the process, there’s no involvement of Maori. It’s a typical, very weak approach to protecting our freshwater resources by National,” Ms Turei says.

RANKIN UPLIFTS ALLEGED HEKE BONES

Ngapuhi kaumatua Ron Wihongi says there is outrage in the north at the removal of bones alleged to those of Hone Heke being removed from a cave on the outskirts of Pakaraka.

Auckland plumber David Rankin says he uplifted the bones to protect them from development and took them to a temporary location in Kaikohe.

Hone Heke was the first northern chief to sign the Treaty of Waitangi, but went to war with the Crown five years later because it did not produce the outcomes he expected.

Mr Wihongi says Mr Rankin has no authority to interfere with burial caves.

“He hasn't the authority and he hasn’t the right people to do those sorts of things. There should be a tohunga and there are very few Maori tohunga around, not just an ordinary minister, but a tohunga that is able to do those things, to exhume bones and things,” Mr Wihongi says.

He says if similar action had happened with a European leader the person who did it would be jailed.

GOFF SAYS HARAWIRA TOO ISOLATED TO DO JOB

Labour's Te Tai Tokerau candidate Kelvin Davis wants the forthcoming by-election to be about issues, but for his leader it's about personality.

Phil Goff has fired his first shots of the campaign by attacking incumbent Hone Harawira, who tendered his resignation to the speaker yesterday.

He says despite forming a new Mana Party, Mr Harawira is looking increasingly isolated.

“He's burnt off the Maori Party. The Green Party don’t want to work with him. I don’t want to work with him. National doesn’t want to work with him. To have effective representation in the north you’ve got to have a member of Parliament that can work with a group and use collective strength to do the things that need to happen for the north and the Maori people of Te Tai Tokerau,” Mr Goff says.

Kelvin Davis is likely to come through the middle if the Maori Party splits off some of Mr Harawira's vote.

AUT HOLDS 14TH MAOIR EXPO

Auckland University of Technology chancellor Sir Paul Reeves says AUT's 14th annual Maori expo will present the positive face of young Maori.

Up to 20,000 rangatahi are expected at Auckland Vector arena today.

Sir Paul says they will be exposed to the best of Maori fashion, political debates of the highest order and demonstrations of the full range of young Maori talent.

Sir Paul says the expo celebrates Maori success and aims to encourage young Maori to enter tertiary education.

ONE MAN PRETEST GETS SOUVENIRS OFF SHELVES

An Auckland man is thanking police and the city council for helping make his one-man protest against the sale of offensive souvenirs a success.

John Kairau, who offers tourists the chance to have their photo taken with a live Maori, says he approached all the souvenir shops in the Queen Street area and asked them to stop selling images of Maori ancestors.

He says there was one defiant outlet, which caved as he was about to mount a round-the-clock vigil outside the store when the police advised them to take the pictures off display.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Maori absence noted in world cup showcase

Labour tourism spokesperson Kelvin Davis says National seems determined to make Maori invisible during the Rugby World Cup.

The list MP says there was almost no mention of Maori at the launch of the Real New Zealand Showcase, which is supposed to show visitors for the cup what the country has to offer.

“The Real New Zealand Showcase cannot be called real New Zealand if there is absolutely no Maori input into anything or no Maori being showcased other than a few Maori waiters and a couple of Maori songs that were played. It’s a total disgrace and it reflects on the government’s support of Maori in initiatives and Maori ventures,” Mr Davis says.

He says as Tourism Minister, Prime Minister John Key has so neglected the Maori sector that the $4.5 million set aside to develop a Maori tourism action plan is largely unspent.

TE HEUHEU STEPPING DOWN WHILE PARTY STILL ON TOP

Retiring National list MP Georgina te Heuheu says she's please she can retire while her party is on top.

The Ngati Tuwharetoa lawyer isn't seeking reselection after 15 years in the job.

Mrs te Heuheu currently holds the portfolios of Courts, Disarmament, Pacific Island Affairs and Associate Maori Affairs.

“I'm very proud to have been involved in Parliament as a member of the National Party but also when we’ve got a government which I believe is showing very strong leadership under John Key in what has been and will continue to be quite challenging circumstances so I have decided it is time for me to step down,” Mrs te Heuheu says.

She is looking forward to having more time for her family.

BATTALION WEBSITE MAKES AWARDS FINAL

The developer of the 28th Maori Battalion website says it's proving its worth as a source of memories and histories.

Monty Soutar says the bilingual site, which was launched two years ago by the Battalion Association in partnership with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and Te Puni Kokiri, is drawing more than 3000 unique visitors a month.

It has made the finals of the Crown - Maori relationships category of the Internet Providers Association Awards.

The site includes a page for each of the 3600 battalion members where people can contribute memories, images or videos.

KEY KEENER ON WATER MANAGEMENT THAN OWNERSHIP

Prime Minister John Key says he's more interested in how water is managed than who owns it.

Indigenous law expert Jacinta Ruru has suggested the new national policy statement on fresh water ignores underlying claims of Maori ownership.

Mr Key says it's an argument that comes up often.

“The view of the Crown is that no one owns water, like no one owns fresh water, the sea, water, the airwaves or air space. We have usage rights and Maori have significant usage rights. Water, yep, there is always going to be contention about who owns it. I don’t think we should be too hung up about that. I think we should focus on the usage rights and actually making sure it’s more efficient. At the moment we have quite an inefficient allocation system when it comes to water.

GREENS OFFERING STABILITY TO MAORI VOTERS

With Hone Harawira's Mana movement threatening to draw votes from the Maori Party, the Green Party is pushing for some of those votes.

Co-leader Meteria Turei says it's the only party to consistently stand up for Maori aspirations ... which is why it opposed both the Foreshore and Seabed Act and the Marine and Coastal Area Act as discriminating against Maori.

She says the Green-inspired home insulation scheme has benefited thousands of Maori families.

“In terms of a place to put your vote for a stable Maori advocacy I think we are the best option by far and away, our policy is the best, our stability is the best, our political power is the best,” Ms Turei says.

AUNTY’S GARDEN SITE OPENED FOR BUSINESS

Kahungunu Asset Holding Company today launched Aunty's Garden, an online network of Maori growers, artists and service providers.

General manager Aramanu Ropiha says the project arose out of the mara kai scheme to create marae-based vegetable gardens.

She says it has expanded to include a wide range of Maori producers who are looking for a way to cut out the middle man.
Growers must declare their commitment to traceability, sustainability and fair trade.

Ms Ropiha says the Aunty's Garden site is now only informational, but it could become an e-commerce site in future.

Freshwater policy will sideline Maori

New Zealand Maori Council member Maanu Paul says the government's national policy statement on freshwater management allows regulatory authorities to sideline Maori.

The Maori Party has welcomed the statement as acknowledging the significant relationship between iwi and fresh water.

But Mr Paul says the policy that local authories "shall take reasonable steps to involve iwi and hapu in the management of" water is open to abuse.

“What if the regional council decides, ‘We’ve spoken to one Maori, that will do us.’ They meet the criteria of the statement but there’s no compliance in saying ‘But have you spoke to a statutory Maori?’ No, it’s really not worth the paper it's written on,” he says.

Mr Paul says the Government failed to properly consult Maori while drawing it up the national policy statement.

MAORI SOUGHT FOR PARENTING PROGRAMME TWEAK

An Auckland University research group is looking for Maori parents to see whether a Queensland parenting programme can be adapted for New Zealand conditions.

Researcher Cassy Dittman says the Triple P programme aims to teaches parents the skills to manage children with behavioural problems.

She says the trial needs 56 whanau from a range of ethnicities with children aged from 3 to 6.

The Triple P trial will run for 8 weeks in Auckland and Wellington.

JOURNALISM COURSE MOUNTING 25 YEAR REUNION

Waiariki Institute of Technology is trying to get hold of its journalism graduates.

Lecturer Craig Tiriana says the reunion will mark the 25th anniversary of the country's first full-time Maori journalism course.

He says the Rotorua course has always tried to produce students who can do more than the newsroom basics.

“We want to turn out some people that have knowledge and have a mind that they will think about things and think about them from a Maori perspective and a New Zealand and then start reporting in that manner. We don’t want people who will just go out, listen to someone and write what they said. We want people that can think and interpret and also make a difference at some point,” Mr Tiriana says.

HARAWIRA WAHINE BOOST OPPONENT’S PROSPECTS

Labour's Te Tai Tokerau candidate says winning the electorate won't be easy .... but sitting MP Hone Harawira's family is helping his cause.

Kelvin Davis was chosen by the party's national council on Monday and endorsed by the caucus yesterday.

He says the incident on the weekend when Mr Harawira's mother Titewhai and sister Hinewhare disrupted a Maori Party hui shows voters the calibre of the opposition.

“I think they help my cause quite a lot because people are sick of that sort of politics, that nasty, snarly in your face type stuff. That’s not Maoridom. That’s not how we operate and I think if anything the Mana Party would have shed a lot of support and I’m hoping it would have swung my way,” Mr Davis says.

He will campaign on creating successful Maori futures through education.

KIWISAVER CHANGES DESTROYING CONFIDENCE IN SAVING

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the government's tutuing with Kiwi Saver will hurt many Maori.

Prime Minister John Key is expected to announce changes to the retirement savings scheme in a pre-budget speech today.

Mr Peters says a greater percentage of Maori than Pakeha voted for his compulsory superannuation plan in 1997, and they still want a credible savings plan.

“Maori realised then and they do still now the importance of savings and KiwiSaver was one way of doing it and they were joining in their droves so this is tragic. To be interfering with it, totally shaking people’s confidence in a plan that has been put there for their betterment,” he says.

Mr Peters says the government's actions show National is not interested in encouraging saving.

FOMA HEAD DEFENDS EMPLOYMENT RECORD

The chair of the Federation of Maori Authorities says Maori corporates are doing their part to address Maori unemployment.

Last week's Maori economic summit came under fire for its focus on large scale investment and exporting at a time more than 16 percent of Maori workers are jobless.

Traci Houpapa says while addressing unemployment is primarily a government responsibility, Maori trusts and businesses do their bit by strengthening their bottom line.

“The growth in Maori authorities and Maori commerce across the sector will have a spin off in terms of employment, skills and trade development,” Ms Houpapa says.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Water policy ignores untested ownership right

An expert in indigenous land and water rights believes the government could be picking a fight with Maori on freshwater management.

Jacinta Ruru, a senior law lecturer at Otago University, says the water national policy statement released yesterday sticks with the official line that no one can own the water.

She says that conflicts with common law understandings of indigenous rights.

“We have a doctrine, part of our legal system, that is recognising indigenous peoples’ prior ownership of lands and management prior to the change in sovereignty, and although that hasn’t been applied too much in New Zealand, it is the potential under the doctrine of native title whether that doctrine is going to recognized Maori ownership of water,” Ms Ruru says.

The Maori Party has welcomed the water reform as acknowledging the significant relationship between iwi and fresh water.

AOTEAROA TUATAHI STAYING CLEAR OT TE TAI TOKERAU RUN-OFF

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says his party won't be wasting taxpayers money by contesting a by-election in Te Tai Tokerau.

He says the by-election is a political stunt, as the right time for MP Hone Harawira to seek a mandate would have been when he split from the Maori Party in February.

“He can't say ‘well I’m seeking a mandate with my new arrangements’ because the answer is ‘well, you didn’t seek the consent in February, March, April, May, and you still won’t get the consent until July it looks like, if you go soon.’ And no, we won’t be wasting the taxpayers’ money by entering it,” Mr Peters says.

Labour today announced list MP Kelvin Davis will contest the by-election, making it a three way race with the Maori Party if it goes ahead.

PARIKHAKA POEM TURNED INTO ORCHESTRAL PIECE

Parihaka residents have joined forces with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra to tell the story of their Taranaki settlement.

Composer Steven Matthews has adapted a poem by Robert Sullivan of Ngapuhi on the 1881 invasion of Parihaka into a work for orchestra and a chorus of kotiro and kaumatua.

Chorus member Maata Wharehoka says the Pakeha composer went about it the right way, using a young woman from Parihaka to introduce himself to the community and get people involved.

Witnessing Parihaka will be performed at Auckland's Aotea centre tomorrow, and the composer will be talking about the piece at Auckland University tonight.

SPEAKING OUT CHANGES CLIMATE IN TOWN

Hauraki - Waitako MP Nanaia Mahuta says the courage of a Ngaruawahia woman is leading to zero tolerance for violence against children in the town.

The woman, known as Cheree, has faced retaliation for speaking out after the alleged killing of six month old Serenity Jay Scott-Dinnington in her neighbourhood.

Ms Mahuta, a fellow Ngaruawhia resident, says Cheree has her full support.

She says the community hui called by Cheree resulted in a determination to work together against family violence and support those who stand up against it.

SOUTHERNER HAPPY WITH WILD WAITANGI HUI

A Maori Party supporter says a hui at Waitangi on the weekend to rebuild the party's infrastructure in te Tai Tokerau wasn't as bad as is being made out.

Those at the hui were subjected to four hours of interjections and abuse by members of MP Hone Harawira's family.

But Tihi Puanaki of Nga Puhi says there were issues that needed to be put forward, which is what happens on marae.

“It actually was a lovely hui, i te mutunga, and for those of us whop had been in those sort of arenas, kei te pai te raru, kei te pai te tau tuhituhi. Debate and that is ok, it’s just working strategies to get through and not hate each other in the end,” she says.

AMBERGRIS FIND PAYS FOR MARAE RESTORATION

A south Wairarapa hapu says finding a large lump of valuable ambergris is like a gift from the gods.

Haami Te Whaiti from Ngati Hinewaka says a group from Kohunui Marae had gathered at a beach near Mangatoetoe last August to bless and bury the remains of an 18 metre beached bull sperm whale.

He says the 40 kg lump of the waxy substance, which is used in the perfume industry, literally fell from the whale before their eyes.

The price a French perfumier paid for the ambergris is confidential, but it was a major contribution to the cost of rebuilding of Kohunui marae, which will feature on Maori Television's Marae DIY programme next month.

Poll shows Maori Party losing repeat voters

The interim chair of Hone Harawira's new movement says the writing is on the wall for the Maori Party.

Matt McCarten says a Horizon Research poll finding that the Mana Party could 15.1 of party votes cast by Maori voters shows the Maori Party risks losing all its remaining seats.

He says it should think again about putting up a candidate against Mr Harawira in Te Tai Tokerau.

“Only 30 percent of people who voted for the Maori Party last election will remain loyal, less than one third. Forty two percent say they will move to Man and the rest will move to Labour. It’s pretty clear what’s going to happen. They Maori Party is going to lose all their seats,” Mr McCarten says.

The Horizon survey used a specialist panel of 517 Maori voters and has a 4.3 percent margin of error.

PRESIDENT BIRD WAITING FOR TREND IN POLLING RESULTS

Maori Party president Pem Bird says the Horizon poll showing support among Maori voters for Hone Harawira's new Mana party is just a snapshot, and there is no indication it's a trend.

He says the Maori Party has a record of achievement.

“We haven't even begun to talk about ourselves. We’re not good at that. We’ve developed some capacity as a party and we will focus on the issues. The Maori Party is a must. It’s essential for the survival of the Maori people. It’s not should we, we must,” Mr Bird says.

BATTALION STORY USED FOR SCHOOLS’ MARAE THEATRE

Veteran actor Jim Moriarty is taking his play about the Maori Battalion back to his old school.

Mr Moriarty says he's concerned about the number of Maori students leaving mainstream schools without formal qualifications.

The play has been used by his Te Rakau Trust to change behaviour in prisons, remand centres and at-risk communities, and he's now staging a production with students from St Patrick’s and St Catherine’s colleges in Wellington.

“We're using The Battalion as a too to celebrate the history of our tupuna who fought but also as a way of using drama as a communication tool, waiata, haka, the lot, but also to offer an opportunity for Maori and PI children and also all children who are struggling to stay in mainstream and this is a way to strengthen them through theatre, theatre marae,” says Mr Moriarty, who is of Ngati Toa, Ngati Koata and Ngati Kahungunu.

MANA PARTY IMAGE BLIGHTED BY HUI ROW

Greens co-leader Meteria Turei says the new Mana Party is looking a shambles.

Ms Turei says the handling of the threatened by-election in Te Tai Tokerau and the disruptive behaviour of party founder Hone Harawira's mother and sister at a Maori Party hui in Waitangi on the weekend leaves a negative impression.

She says there seems to be no one in charge of the party's political positioning.

“Without that strong management of the political messages that party is sending out to the public in its very first few weeks of existence, it undermines the rhetoric around what that party is standing for and what it is trying to do,” Ms Turei says.

SADLER KEEN FOR NGAPUHI TO STAY LINKED TO PARTY

A Ngapuhi leader says the tribe isn't giving up on the Maori Party.

Hone Sadler called the hui at Waitangi on Sunday where party supporters resolved to rebuild branches in the north .... and stand a candidate against their former representative Hone Harawira.

He says despite claims of support for Mr Harawira's new Mana party, only seven of the 4000 Maori Party members in the electorate have formally resigned.

“What we were concerned about was whether or not the party was still alive in the north and whether or not Tai Tokerau wanted to retain its ties with the Maori Party and the numbers tell us people want to remain with the party,” Mr Sadler says.

INDIGENOUS SCHOLAR RECOGNISED FOR OUTSTANDING RESEARCH

Following her interest in indigenous rights has won University of Otago law lecturer Jacinta Ruru of Ngati Raukawa and Ngati Maniapoto an award for outstanding research.

The Rowheath Trust Award and Carl Smith Medal recognises early-career staff at the university.

Ms Ruru says her work on indigenous people's rights to own, manage and govern land and water is appreciated more overseas than it is back in Aotearoa.

“A lot of my work has had more of an impact over in Canada with the indigenous peoples so I get a lot of calls from the indigenous peoples, first nations groups over there wanting to use and refer to a lot of my work and really creating a lot of those relationships there so it obviously happens here as well but it tend to happen more so with relationships with academics in North America than here,” Ms Ruru says.

She says the current debate around Maori ownership of water is a rich topic for research.

Marae disruption alarms Turia

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says Tai Taokerau MP Hone Harawira's mother and sister put on the worst display she has ever seen on a marae.

Titewhai and Hinewhare Harawira kept up a barrage of interjections and insults as the full Maori Party caucus met with about 50 party members and Tai Tokerau elders at Waitangi yesterday to discuss rebuilding the party's infrastructure in the north.

Mrs Turia says it was distressing for many of those at the hui, both old and young.

“When you come from whanau, hapu and iwi where kaupapa and tikanga are incredibly important, it does throw you when you see that sort of behaviour and I was very disappointed because there was no need to try to disrupt the hui. I mean if you believe in your kaupapa, if you believe in what you are doing, you don’t need to try to disrupt someone else's,” she says.

Mrs Turia says she made a mistake to take Hone Harawira's word that he had total support of the branches in Te Taitokerau.

APOLOGY TO MANUHIRI FOR TE TII CHAOS

Meanwhile, Waitangi kaumatua Kingi Taurua is apologising for how visitors at the hui at Te Tii marae were treated.

Mr Taurua says he had considered having Titewhai and Hinewhare Harawira removed for their behaviour, but feared it could lead to greater problems.

“The tikanga was actually blurred. It’s always been our policy, Maori policy, to recognise that any manuhiri come onto the marae, they should be cared for and looked after, and therer was manuhiri there from all over the country to support the Maori Party and I felt sorry for them because they were supposed to be looked after and cared for,” Mr Taurua says.

He says the relatively low turn-out for the hui indicates the Maori Party could struggle to put a dent in Hone Harawira's majority in the seat.

TRIBAL RUGBY TAONGA LOANED FOR WORLD CUP SHOW

Taonga which have been hotly contested for generations by Taranaki Maori rugby players will go on display at New Plymouth's Puke Ariki Museum during the Rugby World Cup.

Coordinator Thomas Katene of Ngati Ruanui says the exhibition is part to the region's celebration of 125 years of rugby.

He says items like the Parihaka Shield, which were handed to curators yesterday, will allow the museum to tell about the flair and strength of the Maori game.

The Rugby World Cup pool games in the province in September will be preceded by a tribal rugby tournament.

TAI TOKERAU RUN A SUICIDE MISSION

Hone Harawira's campaign manager says the Maori Party is on a suicide mission if it contests a election in Te Tai Tokerau.
Matt McCarten says the accord he negotiated when Mr Harawira left the Maori Party was supposed to be mutually beneficial.

He says the Maori Party has more to lose in November's general election by breaking it than does Mr Harawira's new Mana roopu.

“If there was a competitive relationship between Mana and the Maori Party, Hone would keep his seat, Tariana (Turia) would probably keep her seat and everyone else would go down so they’re certainly on a suicide mission in their decision of last night, that’s for sure,” Mr McCarten says.

He says Labour will be the beneficiary of a split Maori vote.

FAULT WITH HARAWIRA FOR DEAL BREAKING

But Maori Party president Pem Bird says it's Hone Harawira who will break the agreement if he forces a by-election.

Mr Bird says it's clear from yesterday's hui in Waitangi and west Auckland that members want the Maori Party to rebuild in the electorate ... and they want the option of standing a candidate.

“The context for the relationship with Hone was for the 2011 general elections. A by-election is not a general election. The p[arty machine is ready to move as soon as Tai Tokerau signal their aspirations, we will be here to support that,” Mr Bird says.

RAUKUMARA RUCKUS BEST STRATEGY FOR DRILLERS

Greens co-leader Meteria Turia is welcoming news Petrobras has ended its seismic survey in the Raukumara Basin.

A spokesperson for the Brazilian oil giant confirmed the company wound up activities on Friday after completing the full survey it intended.

Ms Turei says Te Whanau a Apanui, Ngati Porou and Greenpeace did a great job of letting the company know it was not welcome in East Coast waters.

“The idea of making this country a very unpalatable and hostile environment for these guys to operate is I think the right strategy. Protesting when they‘re here, causing this ruckus when they’re here for the public to see and hear makes it very difficult for the company to feel like they’ve got a social contract to mine,” she says.

Ms Turei says the fight now shifts to the Canturbury coast where US explorer Anadarko wants to drill in deep water.

Monday, May 09, 2011

Infant death avoidable says coroner

The Rotorua coroner says too many Maori and Pacific babies are dying because they are sharing a bed with adults.

Wallace Bain says about 60 infant deaths a year are the result of unsafe sleeping practices, and three quarters are Maori or Pacific babies.

He says while there are cultural practices around taking children to bed, safety is overlooked.

“Mothers and grandmothers and so on will tell you in court that whilst they take them top court and/or breast feed, they cannot guarantee they will not fall asleep. Well if you don’t guarantee that, you run a very high risk you will kill the baby,” Mr Bain says.

He says babies are so fragile that even holding a couple of fingers lightly on a baby's chest for a short time can be enough to suppress its heart, causing death.

SHARPLES SAYS PRESSURE ON IWI TO CREATE JOBS

Maori Affairs minister Pita Sharples is rejecting criticism his Economic Taskforce focused developing international markets for Maori business rather than tackling rising Maori unemployment.

Council of Trade Unions Maori vice president Syd Kepa says the taskforce had overlooked the needed of Maori workers, more than 16 percent of whom are now jobless.

Dr Sharples says exports are what will grow the Maori economy.

“What he's got to realise it that iwi are getting into the frame of mind where they are not just building the economy but they are looking back at the social side of supporting people. Of course there is high unemployment and we all hate that but the point its it is about those organisations that can create jobs to create jobs, and we must put the pressure on them,” he says.

Dr Sharples says the real solution for Maori unemployment is education.

ROYAL WEDDING SPARKS TREND TO REPUBLICANISM

Republican Movement head Lewis Holden says Maori are bucking the trend of increasing suport for the monarchy.

Mr Holden says a poll done for the movement showed that in the weeks leading up to the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, support for the monarchy among women rose sharply and overall support rose 3 percent to 54 percent.

But he says the poll showed Maori weren't as keen on Prince Charles following his mother as New Zealand's monarch, and he believes the coverage turned a lot of Maori off the monarchy because it reminded them of the colonial heritage.

Mr Holden says the Royal Wedding showed that no Maori can be head of state of Aotearoa unless a republic is created.

WINIATA PUSHING FOR TIKANGA MAORI HOUSE

Former Maori Party president Whatarangi Winiata says the presence of multiple Maori parties in parliament would require them to find new ways of working together.

Independent Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira is seeking registration for his Mana movement, and his campaign has included a series of attacks on his former waka.

Professor Winiata says he should not try to undermine the role the Maori Party has played as a tikanga Maori house within Parliament.

“If other parties get established that are Maori and we see Mana as one of those, then it can strengthen the Maori presence in parliament if they agree to work as a tikanga Maori house and that means being driven by kaupapa Maori,” Professor Winiata says.

He says Hone Harawira needs to change his style, and the Maori Party may need to be more accommodating of him.

KOURA INC LOOKS AT MAORI-BRANDED ROCK LOBSTER

Iwi quota holders could soon be selling live lobsters direct into China under a Maori brand.

Project director Tamarapa Lloyd says the Koura Inc initiative was developed by the Maori Economic Taskforce as a practical way to assess export stategies and the value of collaboration.

He says major players like Ngai Tahu, Moana Pacific and the Chatham Island iwi are looking at how it can boost returns and take much of the risk out of selling into the market.

It is doing market research on direct sales into China, and a proposition will be put to shareholders in July to invest money in growing the business.

Mr Lloyd says the three-week closure of the Hong Kong-China border to Australian rock lobster exports earlier this year was a wake up call for the industry.

TE MATATINI AUDITIONING FOR THEATRICAL EXTRAVAGANZA

Te Matatini wants to put the best of kapa haka on display.

The national organisation for Maori performing arts is auditioning 25 performers for Arohanui, a 90-minute show devised by Annette Wehi and Tanemahuta Gray that will run in Wellington and Auckland theatres in October.

Ms Wehi says it's part of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage's Real New Zealand programme designed to run alongside the Rugby World Cup.

People who want to audition need to get their details in to Te Matatini's national office in Wellington by next Monday.