Truancy moves part of wider education reform

The Prime Minister John Key says measures are needed to address why half the 30,000 kids wagging classes each day are Maori or Pacific Islanders.

Yesterday the budget for fighting truancy was boosted to $8 million a year.

John Key says that's on top of investment in curriculum and national standards, so kids have the basics and don't describe themselves as dumb.

He says school won't be the best place for every student, which is why alternatives are being developed.

“Our youth guarantee scheme is basically aimed at all of that. Instead of saying to a child that’s probably in year 10 or year 11, year 12, look stay at school, do the three Rs, and that will be the thing you need to do, why don’t we say we can pass this back to a polytech or wananga or whatever it might be that have those courses that may be more interesting,” Mr Key says.

He says education in a relevant manner is a top priority for the government.

RACE CRITICISM FROM ACT NOT CREDIBLE

Labour leader Phil Goff says ACT's claim the Maori Party is damaging race relations and promoting Maori privilege is a bit rich coming from a party that blocks Maori aspirations at every turn.

The claims were made in a speech by former MP Muriel Newman to ACT's annual conference, and endorsed by leader Rodney Hide.

Mr Goff says in one breath ACT blocked Maori representation on the Auckland super city, and in the next it criticises the other government support party for promoting Maori issues.

“The Act Party is the ones that wanted to implement Don Brash’s report for the National Government to cut the statutory minimum wage by $100 a week and pay more money to their very wealthy mates. Well sorry. The Act Party doesn’t represent the New Zealand that I believe in. I don’t put much store on its words on anything,” Mr Goff says.

NGARIMU AWARD SPECIAL FOR DAUGHTER OF BATTALION VETERAN

Getting a Ngarimu VC and 28 Maori Battalion Memorial Scholarship has a special meaning for Kahurangi Waititi.

The Te Kaha 27-year-old from Te Whanau Apanaui, Ngati Porou and Kaitahu was one of the eight winners from a field of 57.

She felt proud to pick up the tohu at Parliament this week alongside her 88 year old father, who served in C company alongside second Lieutenant Moananui a Kiwa Ngarimu.

“There is that connection with the 28 Maori Battalion. I’ve grown up with stories of the Maori Battalion. My father was one of those soldiers, Major John Waititi. I think he was really happy because I’m sure he’s aware of how competitive these scholarships are,” she says.

Kahurangi Waititi has completed a Master's degree from Waikato University where she researched applying kaupapa Maori processes to documentary film making, and she also plays netball for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.

MAORI TELEVISION LEAD BROADCASTER FOR FREE RUGBY

Maori Television is celebrating the final deal on free-to-air television rights deal for next year's Rugby World Cup, which allows it to broadcast all 48 games of the tournament, 16 of them live.

Television One and TV3 will each simulcast seven key games live.

Chief executive Jim Mather says the channel's objectives were met.

“We're very pleased that we’ve been able to secure the rights for our te reo channel because that means that those 16 key live games will be broadcast 100 percent in te reo and on our Maori Television channel we have agreed the Maori language content can be up to 10 percent so we think we are gong to have the language and cultural bases very well covered under this arrangement,” he says.

Mr Mather says Maori Television is still planning for complementary programming around the tournament, even though it lost the Te Puni kokiri subsidy originally intended to allow this to happen.

IWI GO FOR AGREEMENT ON PULP MILL DISCHARGES

Three eastern Bay of Plenty iwi have signed an agreement with the operators of the Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill to work together to improve the quality of the Tarawera River and surrounding land.

Ngati Awa, Ngati Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau and Ngati Rangitihi objected to Carter Holt Harvey Pulp & Paper and Norske Skog Tasman getting a 25-year resource consent.

But Graham Pryor from Ngati Rangitihi says now the consent is through, subject to appeals to the Environment Court, the iwi want a less adversarial way to engage with the companies.

“The consent process that we went through, pretty much everything that was requested by the individual iwi was met, so we haven’t got any issues right now with the consent process. There are review periods and there are things that have to be done over certain time periods. There are some people who are not happy with that but I think a lot of those issues will be addressed in future as we work through this,” Mr Pryor says.

About 100 people were at Umutahi Marae in Matata today to witness the agreement.

MANUREWA KURA GETS TO GO IT ALONE

There was a big turn out at Te Wharekura O Manurewa today to hear the Minster of Maori Affairs, Pita Sharples, officially grant the Maori immersion secondary school stand alone status.

Since it started a decade ago the kura has operated under the umbrella of kura kaupapa from Kaitaia and Mangere, but the agreement with the Ministry of Education means it can operate autonomously from the beginning of April.

Tumuaki Mahia Nathan says staff, students and Manurewa Maori appreciated Dr Sharples' personal touch, rather than just sending a letter.

The kura will soon move from relocatable classrooms behind Manurewa Marae to a new site in Brown's Road next to Homai College.

Ngati Rangitihi holds power trust to account

A Bay of Plenty iwi has stymied the Eastern Bay Energy Trust's plan to move to full ownership of listed lines company Horizon Energy.

Te Mana O Ngati Rangitihi Trust got an injunction stopping the release of a beneficiary poll seeking approval to borrow $20 million for the deal.

iwi chair Graham Pryor says the energy trust's 20,000 beneficiaries, which includes a large proportion of Maori, weren't properly informed.

“They didn't provide information that backed up their proposal, ie, there’s no financial analysis. They didn’t disclose whether they received any advice, if they’d take that advice, and they didn’t disclose what the financial impacts on the trust were going to be of the purchase,” Mr Pryor says.

The chair of Eastern Bay Energy Trust, David Bulley, says lawyers for the two trusts are hammering out an agreement which will allow the process to start again.

He says the energy trust owns 77 percent of Horizon, and wants to move to full ownership so it can save on the high costs associated with a listed company.

TAX CHANGES WILL FAVOUR THOSE AT TOP OF HEAP

Labour leader Phil Goff says the government's proposed tax changes will again favour the privileged and hurt Maori at the bottom of the heap.

Prime Minister John Key today ruled out the capital gains and land taxes recommended by a tax advisory committee, but said the government was considering a 20 percent increase in GST.

Mr Goff says last year's tax cuts didn't reach many Maori, and today's announcement does nothing to redress that.

“They excluded families earning less than $40,000 from the tax cuts last year. That’s where most Maori are, They didn’t get anything. But if you’re on the top tax rate you’ll certainly get a cut,” Mr Goff says.

He says there was nothing in the Prime minister's statement that would help Maori unemployment, which is at a 17 year high.

WHALE WATCH FUTURE WILL BE IN AUSTRALIA

Whale Watch Kaikoura sees its growth being in Australia rather than in the northern South island township.

The Ngai Tahu-owned firm is getting ready for the judges for the World Tourism and Travel Council's Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, for which it's been nominated in the community benefit section.

Chief operating officer Kauahi Ngapora says while there are always improvements to be made in the Kaikoura operation, including upgrading to more fuel-efficient vessels, the focus is increasingly in whale watch ventures over the Tasman.

The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards will be announced at the 10th Global Travel and Tourism Summit in Beijing in May.

TE TAURA WHIRI CEO MOVES ON FOR FRESH START

The ousted chief executive of Te Taura Whiri says she's proud of what she achieved in her three years in the job.

Huhana Rokx resigned after an investigation and mediation process sparked by a letter from Maori language commission staff complaining about her management style.

Mrs Rokx says it's time for fresh thinking in the job, but she leaves her successor with a strategy mapped out to meet the board's objective of being out of business within 20 years.

“Being out of business means the country will have taken te reo Maori to its heart, and Maori, non-Maori. All people living in Aotearoa would be using the language and seeing the language as a huge benefit not only to themselves but to the country as a whole,” Mrs Rokx says.

Maori Language Commissioner Erima Henare says Huhana Rokx's performance in the job had been exemplary, and her resignation was an honourable response to difficult circumstances faced by the CEO, the staff and the Board.

NEW ZEALAND HISTORY TOO CONTENTIOUS FOR TEACHERS

An education researcher says secondary school history teachers avoid New Zealand history to appease non-Maori parents and students.

Richard Manning of Canterbury University's College of Education studies the relationship between Te Atiawa ki Poneke and 24 schools in the Port Nicholson Block claim to see how using local examples could enhance learning.

But he says most parents and students see New Zealand history as Maori history, which is too contentious.

“Teachers feel safer to teach about Black civil rights in America than New Zealand’s race relations. They feel safer to teach Israel, Palestine and the conflict in Ireland than they do about the conflict that exist on our own soil, and I see that as being highly problematic and not a healthy situation in terms of our long-term future,” Dr Manning says.

Te Atiawa ki Poneke and other Wellington iwi are keen to work with teachers to make lessons relevant to budding young historians.

TAPU TAKEN OFF AKAROA BATTLE SITE RESERVE

A Ngai Tahu hapu is celebrating the creation of an historic reserve near Akaroa.

George Tikao, the upoko of Onuku Runanga, says George Tikao says Takapuneke is the site of an 1830 battle between Ngai Tahu ariki Te Maiharanui and Ngati Toa's Te Rauparaha in which 150 people were killed.

He says a weekend blessing ceremony to protect the site was hugely moving.

“The blessing was all about lifting the tapu of this area from a urupa back to the living. Part of the ceremony and the blessing was replanting of some young seedlings just to spiritually say now we are going to bring this land back to the living,” Mr Tikao says.

Takapuneke was also known as Greens Point.