Waatea News Update

News from Waatea 603 AM, Urban Maori radio, first with Maori news

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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Whanau Ora story oversold

Mana Party leader Hone Harawira says the Maori Party has over-sold the success of its Whanau Ora policy.

Mr Harawira says in his campaign for the Te Tai Tonga by-election, he's constantly having to explain why he left the Maori Party.

He says he got frustrated on its inability to deliver on the kaupapa it was elected on ... and it's spinning of what little it did get out of National, like the flagship social service delivery programme.

“People talk it up tara tara but all we got was the words. In terms of the budget, we got probably 0.7 percent of the social welfare budget for whanau ora, and of that, John Key insisted it be for all New Zealanders so in terms of Maori we’ve probably got 0.1 percent in terms of its direct assistance to Maori,” Mr Harawira says.

He says the Maori Party voted in favour of National's funding for private schools, but failed to win increased funding for kura kaupapa Maori.

HOROMIA GLAD BOUNCY TIMES PAST FOR HUGHES

Labour MP Parekura Horomia says former whip Darren Hughes should be given a second chance by the party.

He says the list MP showed his principles by resigning from Parliament to lay to rest the media storm surrounding a police investigation about allegations made by an 18 year old man.

The police this week said the allegations do not reach the evidential threshold required to bring charges.

Mr Horomia say Mr Hughes is a big supporter of Maori.

“He's one of the few MPs there who can talk in the reo fluently. He did a lot of time among the wananga people in Raukawa and he’s always been supportive of Maori issues and I’m really glad for Darren’s sake he got through this mess and looking forward to what the future holds for him,” he says.

Mr Horomia says everybody has bouncy bits in their past, but politicans can be more exposed to that than other people.

DAWN CEREMONY FOR MATARIKI SMOKEFREE CHALLENGE

The head of Quitline, Paula Snowden, says she's impressed with the way rangatahi are challenging their elders to give up smoking.

More than 100 young people joined Quitline kaumatua Amster Reedy of Ngati Porou at a dawn ceremony in Wellington yesterday to encourage people to start the Maori new year smoke free.

Paula Snowden says it was a great way to celebrate Matariki, with rangatahi laying the challenge down to parents and elders.

Quitline is suggesting schools use a haka composed by Raureti Mokonuia-rangi in 1883 as a warning to his people of the danger of smoking.

DESTINY INSIDER BACKING MANA PARTY

The head of Destiny Church's social services arm says the church should back the Mana party and its leader Hone Harawira.

George Ngatai from Te Oranga Ake says the church has a policy of not publicly supporting political parties.

But he says Mr Harawira is standing up against the wrongs of the current system.

“Hone is not afraid to challenge anyone and stand up for anything that benefits Maori because if it benefits Maori, if it is good for Maori, it will be good for the rest of the country, and I think we need a lot more politicians ready to challenge that sort of stand,” Mr Ngatai says.

He says the National-Maori Party government has discriminated against Destiny by turning down more than 300 applicaitons for state contr5acts over the past three years.

KIWI LEAGU LEGENDS DON OTAHUHU CENENARY STRIP

Rugby league legend Awen Guttenbiel says the Maori contribution to the game in South Auckland was celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the Otahuhu club last weekend.

Mr Guttenbiel says the club has been to the forefront of getting Maori youngsters into rugby league for generations and the turnout of superstars recognised this.

He says five former Kiwi captains who had played for the club ran out in the masters’ game, including Rueben Wiki and Hugh McGann.

MATARIKI EVENTS GROWING IN STRENGTH

The co-ordinator of Auckland's Matariki celebrations says recognition of the Maori new year is growing in strength.

Nigel Borrell is organising tomorrow night's Stars of Matariki concert at the Telstra Pacific Events Centre in Manukua, featuring Maori reggae band Nesian Mystik and singer Bella Kalolo.

Candidate on attack over waka jumping slur

Mana candidate Hone Harawira has admitted his campaign team is having to explain to potential voters why he quit the Maori Party.

Labour list MP Shane Jones has reported strong sentiment in Te Tai Tokerau against waka jumpers, with people reminding canvassers the both Matiu Rata and Tau Henare lost the electorate after they quit their parties.

Mr Harawira says it's a question he's getting a lot, and his answer is the Maori Party moved on issues like education funding, the increase in GST and the best way to recognise Maori interests in the foreshore and seabed.

“In terms of our core issues, we were going backwards. I’ve got memos on these things challenging us to be stronger against National, challenging us to be more open to Labour and the Greens but my party just refused to go along with any of those things so at the end of the day I felt we were moving too far away from our kaupapa, I felt we were moving too close to National,” he says.

Early voting has opened for the by-election, with 16 booths in the electorate and election registrars around the country also accepting votes.

YOUTH COUNCIL MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS

The Maori youth council wants mainstream schools to take lessons from kura kaupapa Maori.

The council delivered its report to Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples today, including recommendations on education, youth justice, the creative arts and youth representation.

Wiremu Flavell says they adopted Sir Mason Durie's education goals for Maori to live as Maori, actively participate as cities of the world and enjoy good and a high standard of living.

He says schools mainstream schools need to strengthen relations with their community, as Maori immersion schools do.

Mr Flavell says the council has also recommended that all teachers to increase their understanding of Maori language and culture.


WAHINE SUPPORT GROUP TAKES AIM AT TAANE

A North Shore Maori women's support group is trying to help men turn their lives around.

Chair Lucy Ripia says the Mana Wahine Trust will hold eight wananga for men over the next two months.

She says it already has considerable experience supporting women in with a range of issues from drug and alcohol problems to re-entering the workforce, and it has developed similar programmes for men.

DESTINY FEELS PICKED ON OVER SERVICE CONTRACTS

The Destiny Church is crying discrimination over the failure by its social services arm to win government contracts.

Te Oranga Ake manager George Ngatai says over the past three years some 300 applications have been declined.

He says its application to become a whanau ora provider wasn't treated seriously and it never got a change to make its case.

“There's probably discrimination because of the fact we are predominantly a Maori organization and so that is certainly seen as an issue from our point of view and there is discrimination because we are predominantly a male-run organization,” Mr Ngatai says.

Destiny's involvement in Community Max actually cost Te Oranga Ake money, because the $850,000 paid by the Ministry for Social Development only covered wages, with overheads covered by the provider.

BANKS READY TO FIGHT FOR UNDERDOG

ACT's Epsom candidate says if he's returned to parliament he will fight for the Maori underdogs filling the country's jails.

John Banks says when he was MP for Whangarei in the 1990s he made sure there were work schemes for Black Power gang members in his electorate.

The former Auckland mayor told Radio Waatea host Titewhai Harawira that he won't sit back and watch young Maori wind up on the dole or in prison because they can't get trade training.

“I'm going down to Wellington and represent the underdog because if the underdog is not represented, then this country doesn’t have a future. I’m not talking about all the politically correct BS we have to put up with. I’m talking abut the jails that are full of Maori and Pacific youngsters that have drug and alcohol problems that need help,” he says.

John Banks says the current approach of releasing people from prison and expecting them to behave themselves when they can't get jobs is bankrupt.

SOBER FUN MESSAGE FROM ALAC POU ARAHI MAORI

The Alcohol Advisory Council's new Pou Arahi Maori wants whanau to learn to have fun without too much alcohol.

Matiu Julian of Nga Ruahine and Te Atihaunui-a-Paparangi comes to the job after working in Maori health and education in Taranaki.

He says binge drinking and reckless behaviour is a problem for Maori, and with the Rugby World Cup coming up it's important to make sure whanau drink responsibly and that people are okay.

ALAC is working on new messages for Maori to complement the current "ease up" campaign

Waka jumper could get punished

Labour MP Shane Jones says voters in Te Tai Tokerau could be set to punish Hone Harawira for jumping out of the Maori Party waka.

Mr Jones says Labour's Kelvin Davis is starting to pick up momentum, even though Mr Harawira's is clearly the most well-known name in the race.

“I do think quite a few people on the ground, those we have spoken to over the telephone or bumped into n the street, keep reminding us that the north don’t like waka jumpers. They made Tau Henare suffer. They made Matiu Rata suffer. I think that Hone and his supporters are now starting to realise that he could end up copping most of the blame for jumping out of the Maori Party waka,” he says.

Mr Jones says Kelvin Davis's focus on housing, health and education is being welcomed by many voters as a break from the usual incendiary rhetoric coming out of the north.

GAY TESTS DESTINY HOSPITALITY

A young gay Maori who attended the Destiny Church political forum says he was made to feel welcome and his sexuality was not questioned.

Jevan Goulter attended Saturday's forum with Mana leader Hone Harawira.

He says over time the Destiny Church may drop its homophobia, as the Salvation Army has.

“They welcomed me into their house. I ate their food, I drunk their wine. I spoke to them, I interacted with them. And I made vey clear the fact I’m proud of who I am. But the question I would throw back to our community is if Bishop Tamaki were to come into our community, would be treat him the same way,” Mr Goulter says.

He says because the debate was not about sexuality, there was no reason for the politicians to raise the issue ... as academic Leonie Pihama says they should have.

ORAL HISOTRY AWARDS GIVE SENSE OF NATION

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage's senior oral historian, Alison Parr, says this years Oral History Award recipients will give New Zealanders a broader sense of themselves.

The 14 projects to be funded include a series of interviews with influential Maori and Pasifika men in contemporary New Zealand Dance, a history of taonga puora revivalist Richard Nunns, and a study of the Nga Tama Toa protest movement of the 1970s.

Ms Parr says oral history can go beyond the big movers and shakers and draw out individual stories which cast a different complexion on the past.

“You'll see in the huge diversity of the projects we’ve really covered a very wide range of New Zealand activities. They are aspects of New Zealand history the committee thought could be further explored, the interviews would be a really important legacy,” Mr Parr says.

EARLY VOTING FOR BY-ELECTION URGED

Labour's Te Tai Tokerau candidate Kelvin Davis says voters should take up the chance to vote before the June 25 by-election.

Early voting opened yesterday, with 16 advance voting places in the main towns in the electorate, as well as at the Electoral Commission in Wellington and the offices of election registrars around the country.

Mr Davis says the remoteness of many settlements and the price of petrol means the earlier people vote the better.

“If people live out in the backblocks of Tai Tokerau and someone is going into town, say Kaitaia or Kaikohe or Kerikeri, they should put a few of their rellies in the back seat and all head in together and cast their vote for Labour,” he says.

Kelvin Davis says because there are no open voting booths outside the electorate on polling day, it's important that people wishing to cast tangata whenua votes do so early.

GREENS CONCEDING VOTE TO MAORI PARTIES

Meanwhile, Greens co-leader Meteria Turei says the emergence of the Mana Party means her party may struggle to pick up votes in the Maori electorates come November.

Ms Turei says the Greens picked up more than 10 percent of the Maori vote in 2003, but under 4 percent in the two subsequent elections.

She says Maori are understandably keen to vote for Maori based parties, despite the Greens strong support in Parliament for Maori interests.

“That may not flow into votes because there are the Maori parties to vote for and people tend to support that kaupapa but they know we are there for them and to be honest I am okay with that because as long as we are there and supporting we can get some good change for Maori in Parliament,” Ms Turei says.

NEW MAGAZINE FOR WAIATA MAORI MUSIC

The man behind the new Waiata Maori Music magazine says it aims to cover a wider range of sounds than the mainstram magazines touch on.

Takitimu Trust director Tama Huata says the free biannual magazine is tied in with the trust's annual Maori music awards.

He says the first issue, which will be distributed through radio stations and music stores over the next couple of weeks, features contemporary stars Taisha and Maisey Rika, industry icons Ardijah and Frankie Stevens, and iconic composer the late Sir Kingi Ihaka.

“It becomes a great marketing tool for all Maori performers, both traditional and contemporary. The real buzz I get is it’s the first time we can start talking about the Maori music industry,” Mr Huata says.

Tama Huata says the next issue of Waiata Maori Music will be published in October, after the Waiata Maori Music Awards and the Takitimu Festival.

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Destiny date unfinished business

Labour MP Shane Jones says the attendance of Maori MPs at a Destiny Church event cannot be read as a sign for some of the movement's more extreme positions.

Maori academic Leonie Pihema has slammed Mr Jones, Hone Harawira, Tau Henare and Pita Sharples for failing to challenge church leader Brian Tamaki's teachings on homosexuality and the role of women when they spoke at the Destiny's annual conference at the weekend.

Mr Jones says he regularly accepts invitations to speak to church groups ... and in the case of Destiny there is unfinished business with Labour.

“There's been a lot of bad blood historically between elements of the Labour Party and that particular group. Three and a half thousand people washed through their convention, predominantly Maori, I’m in the business of securing Maori support for Labour so I’ve got no compunction about fronting up to them,” he says.

Mr Jones says it's clear Destiny wants taxpayer funding for its social programmes, but it had created problems for itself with its extreme attacks on the previous Labour Government.

SPRECTUM TALE HIGHLIGHTS MAORI ECONOMIC PATH

A member of Te Huarahi Tika Trust (Maori Spectrum Trust) says he's keen for people to realise how much treaty claims are contributing to the New Zealand economy.

Anthony Royal is speaking at the first of three Nga Korero Tataki leadership events for Matariki being run by Auckland's Unitec.

He says the Maori spectrum claims, which led to an investment in mobile phone company Two Degrees, shows what can come out of Maori direct action.

“And now that Two Degrees is up and running and has become quite successful I think it’s time we told the story of how Maori can really contribute not just to the Maori economy but to the whole economy of New Zealand,” he says.

Antony Royal will share the Unitec stage tonight with artist Lonnie Hutchinson and Te Rarawa chair Haami Piripi.

TRUST OFFERS KAPITI SANCTUARY FOR BUDDING WRITER

The Kaitiaki o Kapiti Trust is offering a young Maori writer the chance to spend eight weeks on the island sanctuary.

Trustee John Barrett says last year's winner, Nuki Takao of Ngati Rarua, Te Ati Awa and Tuhoe, managed to complete a children's book and two short stories during her stay.

He says the trust is looking for writers at the start of their career who want to test some ideas or who is looking for space to spend a few weeks thinking and creating.

The Tau Mai e Kapiti Maori Writer's Residency comes with a $4800 stipend.

GREEN SUPPORT WOULD COME AT HIGH PRICE

Meteria Turei says National would have to drop large chunks of its agenda if it wants support from the Greens.

The Greens' annual conference voted that no options would be off the table after the election, prompting former MP Sue Bradford to claim she had quit parliament because of the party's shift to the right ... rather than being beaten by Ms Turei for the co-leadership.

Ms Turei says the bar for National would be set high.

“They would have to change a great deal of their policy platform and their approach and I think that’s a challenge for them but if they wanted to have a different kind of relationship with the Greens but we‘ll work with them constructively where we can and we’ve said that we would prefer to support a Labour-led government,” she says,

TE PUNI KOKIRI FAILS OT ACHIEVE IN SECTOR SURVEY

The ministry of Maori Development and its chief executive have scored passing grades in the latest Trans Tasman survey of the public service.

The political newsletter's 22-strong independent board of advisors says while Te Puni Kokiri chief executive Leith Comer is considered kind and well-meaning, he has failed to achieve anything of substance.

It blames constant changes in Ministerial direction and unclear strategic vision, as well as intractable and bureaucratic procurement systems.

Te Puni Kokiri improved over the course of the year on almost all the indexes measured by TransTasman, which include CEO performance, ease of doing business with the department, Budget performance and value for money.

The top CEO for the year was departing Ministry of Social Development boss Peter Hughes, with Conservation boss Al Morrison number two, after being unranked last year,

NGA TAMATOA FOR ORAL HISTORY TREATMENT

Film-maker Hineani Melbourne wants to tell the story of Nga Tamatoa.

It's one of 14 projects to receive funding from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage in this year's New Zealand Oral History Awards.

Ms Melbourne says few people now know much about the young warriors of the early 1970s who fought for causes like getting te reo Maori taught in schools.

“There's a lot of concentration on old Maori history like pre-European but I’m just aware that often our young people who are attending kura kaupapa for example, including their teachers, really don’t know the struggle that has gone to ensure to ensure they are able to attend those schools, that they are able to learn in Maori,” she says

Hineani Melbourne says oral history is cheaper to produce than film, and the project will extend her knowledge.

Teachers in youth council sights

The Maori Youth Council is recommending all new teachers take compulsory lessons in Maori.

The Council, appointed by Maori affairs Minister Pita Sharples, will deliver its report to the minister today.

Member Wiremu Flavell from Nga Puhi and Ngati Maniapoto, a Maori student advisor at Massey University, says the council believes teacher attitudes are key to raising Maori student achievement.

“For new teachers the recommendation that tertiary institutions implement a te reo Maori paper alongside an additional tikanga Maori or Maori education paper as well. Our next step is for professional development to allow existing teachers to pick up te reo Maori block courses perhaps or evening classes as well,” he says.

Wiremu Flavell says the Maori Youth Council also wants to see more schools using Te Kotahitanga and He Kakano professional development programmes.

PAKEHA STANDING IN BY-ELECTION IN SHOW OF SUPPORT

Political maverick Kelvyn Alp says he's taking a message of local solutions to the voters of Te Tai Tokerau.

The Pakeha head of the Our New Zealand Party says he was raised by the Hita whanau of Nga Puhi, and he's traveled overseas on a Maori passport to highlight Maori issues.

He says a vote for him in the June 25 by-election is a vote for more money to go into tackling the region's high Maori unemployment.

“Resources and targeting needs to be spent on the local hapu, whanau areas, even via the marae, and have local problems addressed by local solutions. These people know what they need. All they need is the support to get it done and I believe they will be able to do it themselves,” Mr Alp says.

SECOND COMING OUT CREATES FILM CONTROVERSY

Filmmaker Katie Wolfe says a change in the race of the lead character has created more controversy about her adaptation of Witi Ihimaera's novel Nights in the Gardens of Spain than its gay storyline.

Kawa featured at the Wairoa Maori Film Festival over the weekend, and Ms Wolfe won the first mana wahine award for her body of work.

She says Ihimaera wrote the treatment for the film instructing the screenwriters to make the lead character Maori.

“Well he calls it a second coming out. When he first published the novels, it was hidden behind a Pakeha character, and subsequently I have spoken to people who love the novel and felt disappointed it had been changed to a Maori story, that essentially it had been colonised by Maori (laughs),” Ms Wolfe says.

She's looking forward to traveling with Ihimaera to San Francisco this month for a screening of Kawa at the Frameline Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

DATE WITH DESTINY SCRIPT IRKS ACADEMIC

Maori academic Leonie Pihama says Maori politicians should have challenged the Destiny Church to mend its ways.

Pita Sharples, Hone Harawira, Tau Henare and Shane Jones took part in a political forum at the church's conference in Auckland over the weekend.

Dr Pihama says they failed to tackle the church's stance on homosexuality or the role of women.

“None of them challenged the position of women in that church and the way they entrench sexists views of women, given the number of particularly Maori women. None of them challenged the fact that church advocates smacking children,” she says.

Dr Pihema says despite its high Maori membership, the Destiny Church does not advocate positions in line with tikanga Maori.

TE KOTAHITANGA FNDING CUT FOR KERIKERI HIGH

The chair of Kerikeri High School says the Government has cut Te Kotahitanga funding for the school ... despite a big jump in Maori achievement.

Rick Palmer says Northland's largest secondary school earned a glowing Education Review Office report after raising NCEA pass rates past 70 percent.

He says funding has now ceased, and there is a $60,000 hole in the school's budget if it wants its continue the professional development programme.

“Here we've got a situation where we are seeing this dramatic increase in statistical results and really good comparable achievement with our Maori students. If it’s cut, we think it’s a bit of a crime really,” Mr Palmer says.

He says Te Kotahitanga is increasing the chance for Maori pupils to go on to tertiary education.

MAORI STUDENTS RESPOND TO HIP HOP DANCE CREW

In the wake of their appearances on MTV's America's Best Dance Crew, the Request Dance Crew is fielding a torrent of requests to perform their mix of Maori, Polynesian and Hip Hop moves at schools around the country.

Member Parris Goebel says Request is raising funds to get back to the United States to defend its title at the World Hip Hop Championships in July.

She says their success and Polyswag style has seized the imagination of rangatahi.

“Gong to the schools, you can definitely see pride coming form those who are Polynesian and Maori because we are representing for them and because we have made such a bold statement about being Polynesian and having polyswag,” Ms Goebel says.

Request is currently doing a short tour to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Gold card great for Maori says Peters

Winston Peters says the Maori Party should be speaking up for his Gold Card for superannuitants ... before it comes under threat from any future government.

The New Zealand First leader says Maori are among those who have benefited most from the scheme, introduced when he was in coalition with Labour.

He believes it's not getting Maori Party support because it wasn't their idea.

“And I think the Maori Party and others should be far more generous about that. Rather than saying Winston Peters, we won’t say a thing about it. The thing is, for tens and tens of thousands of elderly people, it has opened up their lives,” Mr Peters says.

INTERMEDIATE KIDS URGED TO FORSAKE TOBACCO

A Taranaki health educator says it's never too early to encourage Maori to be smokefree.

Jason Mathews of Te Atiawa says an Action on Smoking and Health survey showing a 29 percent drop in the number of Taranaki 14 and 15 year olds lighting up on a daily basis is a tribute to the work of the district health board and hauora groups.

As well as promoting cessation services, they targeted places with high numbers of Maori, such as sporting events, and also created a leadership programme for intermediate schools.

“That's like building the culture of resisting the uptake of smoking and building the smokefree culture with that year six and seven age group so that’s a time they start to experiment,” Mr Matthews says.

He says the DHB's anti-smoking programmes focus on schools with high Maori rolls, especially in South Taranaki.

OPERATION 8 AUCTION GOES ONLINE

Organisers of an art auction to raise money for the defence of people charged in connection with the July 2008 anti-terrorism raids plan to do it all over again ... on a global scale.

More than $6000 was raised at the auction in Wellington on the weekend, which included a screening of the Operation 8 documentary.

Ben Knight says software developed on the eve of the auction allowed people to bid over the Internet against those on the floor.

The idea will be extended for another auction within the next couple of months, with artists around the world contributing works to be auctioned online for the October 15 solidarity fund.

Mr Knight says while many of the works sold for bargain prices at the weekend, the auction had allowed people to raise more questions about the trials of the 18 defendants, which have been put off until next year.

RANGATAHI LIST PLACE WERO TO NEW MANA PARTY

A rangatahi organiser for the Mana Party says young Maori want Hone Harawira's new movement to reflect their voice.

Wiremu Flavell of Nga Puhi and Ngati Maniapoto says the Maori Party stopped listening to rangatahi years ago, and its selection of Solomon Tipene to contest the Te Tai Tokerau by-election shows how out of touch it is with a predominantly youthful electorate.

He says while Maori tend to rely on kaumatua because of their knowledge and experience, that doesn't mean the young can be ignored.

“We want to see a rangatahi Maori candidate placed in the top five for the Mana Party at the end of the year elections. The solutions to the issues that we have can only come from rangatahi themselves. In the past, we see rangatahi issues, we have older people making decisions for us,” Mr Flavell says,

If Mana doesn't listen to its growing numbers of rangatahi supporters, they might consider creating their own youth party.

KATIE WOLFE WINS FILMMAKING MANA WAHINE PRIZE

The winner of the first Wairoa Maori Film Festival mana wahine award says it was nerve-wracking to take her latest production back to the marae.

Katie Wolfe won the award for both her acting and for her filmmaking, which includes an adaptation of Witi Ihimaera's coming out novel, Nights in the Garden of Spain.

She says it was good to show Kawa in a marae setting.

“The subject of homosexuality in te ao Maori is sensitive so I get quite nervous actually but it was great. In the Wairoa Maori festival all the films just sit there, they’re all played in wharenui and the work is all in context. It’s quite relaxing in that sense,” Ms Wolfe says.

She will be taking Kawa to the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco later this month and the Outfest in Los Angeles in july.

O’KEEFE HONOURED FOR URGE TO HELP

Hawkes Bay Maori leader Henare O'Keefe ... QSM ... says he is simply intoxicated with helping people.

The Flaxmere identity was given the Queen's Service Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

He says over the years he has nominated many people for honours, but never expected to be recognised himself.

“I'm quite addicted to helping people. It’s just a great buzz. I’m pohara in the material sense but I can go anywhere in the country and have a pillow to caress my head. That is so precious to me and I want to look after that,” Mr O'Keefe says.

One of the places he is showered with offers of hospitality is Christchurch where he took his tunu tunu BBQ after the February earthquake.

Food or pre-school choice for parents

Labour’s associate education spokesperson says early childhood education is becoming an issue of real concern in the Te Tai Tokerau by-election.

Kelvin Davis, who is seeking to wrest the seat from Hone Harawira, says Education Minister Anne Tolley’s tinkering is raising the costs to whanau.

He says that’s on top of other policies which are hitting lower income Maori households.

“Parents are having to make the choice between actually having to put food on their kids table and sending them off to early childhood education and they are compromising the future well being of Maoridom by their short sighted and short term cuts,” Mr Davis says.

He says Maori in the north fear for their jobs under current conditions.

CO-GOVERNANCE RECOMMENDED FOR ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

The Environmental Defence Society says a co-governance model would have offered more environmental protection than the new Environmental Protection Agency.

Chairperson Gary Taylor says having just two people with Maori backgrounds on the board, former Ngai Tahu chief executive Anake Goodall and Taria Tahana from Ngati Pikiao, isn’t adequate Maori representation.

“Rather than having one or two Maori, I’d prefer to see these sorts of bards established on a co-governance model with equal Maori representation, but that hasn’t happened,” Mr Taylor says.

ANTHOLOGY OFFERS POETS CHANCE TO PUBLISH

An anthology of Polynesian poetry has made the finals of the New Zealand Book Awards.

Co-editor Reina Whaitiri says Mauriola: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English features established poets like Hone Tuwhare, Albert Wendt, Roma Potiki and Tracey Tawhiao.

It also allows people to pick up on emerging voices.

“Anthologies such as this give our poets the opportunity to be published. They may not have enough work of their own to publish a whole collection, but they can get into an anthology like this. If they only have one or two poems they think are good enough to publish, they can offer them,” she says.

Reina Whaitiri and co-editor Robert Sullivan are working on another anthology of just Maori poets.

MAORI UNDER-REPRESENTED IN EPA

Greens co-leader Meteria Turei says Maori are under-represented on the new Environmental Protection Agency.

She says the agency’s eight-member board headed by former Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast has a clear pro-development bias.

The board includes consultant Taria Tahana from Ngati Pikiao and Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu chief executive Anake Goodall.

“There’s only two Maori on the Environmental Protection Agency. I don’t think that’s enough. I don’t think that’s a properly representative board. Therefore Maori issues will be too easily sidelined by the board and I think it will be difficult for Maori to be decision-makers in this process,” Ms Turei says.

Priorities for the Maori would be for the EPA to step up monitoring of the marine environment and land-based mining.

BUDGET CUTS PUT MAORI HEALTH AT RISK

An economist for the Council of Trade Union is warning cuts to Maori health spending in the Budget will soon show up in worsening health statistics.

Bill Rosenberg says the health vote didn’t include the extra $127 million needed to keep up with rising costs and population increase.

“Maori will be affected because in every area Maori do rely on the district health boards to provide services and it’s the people on lowest incomes who are most reliant on public health services for their healthcare. If the cuts are coming from that, it is most likely to be the people on lowest incomes who will be affected,” Mr Rosenberg says.

TRADITIONAL FOODS FOR MATARIKI BOIL UP

It may be the Maori new year, but Rewi Spraggon is celebrating Matariki by cooking up some old food.

The chef and artist will be at Auckland War Memorial Museum tonight and tomorrow night demonstrating ways of preparing and preserving traditional Maori kai.

He says the foods and the stories around them offer a glimpse into the lifestyles of those who have gone before.

“Pirihawhea which is preserving fish and preserving toroi, puha and mussels and delicascies that our tupuna ate, ti kouka, all that sort of stuff, mamaku, and a lot of food our people aren’t eating these days,” Mr Spraggon says.