Bad faith act threatens treaty policy

The Maori Party is asking whether Prime Minister John Key has broken the treaty settlement process.

Co-leader Tariana Turia says Mr Key's vetoing of a proposal to return Te Urewera National Park to Tuhoe showed bad faith.

The Prime Minister has denied there was agreement the park land would be included in the final settlement package, but Mrs Turia says all the signs are it was.

“Tuhoe clearly believed from a hui that they held just the day before that they had an agreement in principle and who have that withdrawn in the way that it was has created a feeling that anybody’s settlement can be withdrawn at whim,” Mrs Turia says.

She says John Key's action was clearly driven by the National Party's polling and by pressure from party members attending a regional conference the previous weekend.

GEOTHERMAL PROFITS TO FUEL HAPU DEVELOPMENT

A Taupo Maori trust intends to use profits from a new geothermal power station for development of the whole hapu rather than paying individual dividends to beneficiaries.

Tauhara North Number 2 has a 25 percent stake in Mighty River Power's 140 megawatt Nga Awa Purua plant at Rotokawa, which opened at the weekend.
Trust chief executive Aroha Campbell says the 785 Ngati Tahu owners agreed to forego annual dividends.

“The challenge for the trustis to come up with new ideas round sponsorships, scholarships, education and well being,” Ms Campbell says.

She says the trust is also working closely with the Ngatu Tahu Ngati Whaua Runanga in Reporoa on ways to benefit the hapu as a whole.

Construction on the second of three power stations the trust is building with Mighty River Power will start later this year.

VETERAN DANCERS SHOW OFF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MOVES

Contemporary dancer Taane Mete says tonight's performance at the Hawkes Bay Opera House will give his whanau to see how his career developed after he left his Napier home more than two decades ago.

Mr Mete, from Ngati Koroki, developed Tama Maa with fellow dancer Tai Royal for the Tempo Dance Festival in Auckland in 2008.

He says it's an autobiographical work, showing the transition from boyhood to manhood, and allows them to show off the skills they've mastered.

They have taken parts of the piece to a dance festival in the United States, and they will tour it to Australia later this year.

BULK UP MESSAGE FOR WHANAU ORA

The minister in charge of the new Whanau Ora programme wants social service providers to team up to deliver services.

Tariana Turia says there is huge interest in the policy, with hui to explain the new funding model attracting between 300 and 600 people.

She says delivering a wrap-around health and welfare service to families will stretch the capacity of many existing organisations, and they may need to reconfigure themselves or merge to realise the programme's potential.

“This is not another opportunity to industrialise our whanaus’ misery. We’re saying to people, ‘do not see this as a programme, do not see it as an opportunity to get a lot more money.’ We want this money to be as close as possible to the whanau, hence whanau ora,” Mrs Turia says.

There will only be 20 accredited Whanau Ora providers, so the size of those providers will be an important factor in who gets the contracts.

HAURAKI SHARE SENSE OF BETRAYAL WITH TUHOE

The chair of Hauraki's kaumatua council says the Government's refusal to return Te Urewera National Park to Ngai Tuhoe is mirrored by his iwi's experience.

Jim Nichols says in both cases the Crown acquired land unjustly, and it's refusing to give it back.

He says like Tuhoe, Hauraki is still waiting for the government to honour commitments made in the late 19th century.

“In Hauraki they said ‘we promise to give you your land back, we only want it to mine the gold.’ When the gold mining ceased, they did not give the land back. And that is the basis our treaty claims are in front of the Crown right now,” Mr Nicholls says.

The Hauraki Kaumatua Kaunihera delivered a firm message last week to Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee that the iwi will oppose his plans to reopen the Coromandel for mining.

MAORI ARTISTS FLY FLAG FOR AOTEAROA IN WORLD MUSIC

Despite it being New Zealand Music Month, Maori musicians say they're doing better on the world market than at home.

Ngahiwi Apanui, the chair of Puatatangi Contemporary Maori Music, says lack of airplay outside of iwi stations means Maori acts aren't picking up the local sales they merit.

That's forcing many to look for opportunities offshore.

“Talking to people who have been going overseas, groups they talk about are not ones you hear about through the mainstream press like OpShop. They’re talking abut groups like Wai, Moana and Pacific Curls, they’re the people that are distinctive for New Zealand on the world music scene,” Mr Apanui says.

This year's Pao Pao Pao symposium and concert at Pipitea Marae on Friday and Saturday could uncover the next Maori world music star.

Kura foundation for stellar career

A Maori scholarship winner says this year's Ngarimu VC and 28 Maori Battalion Awards demonstrate the value of kohanga reo and kura kaupapa.

Kahurangi Waititi from Te Whanau Apanaui, Ngati Porou and Kaitahu was honoured for her postgraduate work at Waikato University and her netball prowess with the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.

She says six of the eight award recipients went to Maori immersion schools.

Ms Waititi says as one of the first kohanga and kura kaupapa pupils, she remembers the skeptics who said it wouldn't prepare tamariki for the real world.

“You know your reo and tikanga gives you that identity to be able to move in any world you choose to move in and it definitely is a testament to the value of kohanga and kura kaupapa,” she says.

Kahurangi Waititi received the award at Parliament from her father, 28 Maori Battalion veteran Major John Waititi.

PM DEFENDS RACE RELATIONS RECORD FROM ACT HARPING

The Prime Minister is rejecting criticism from ACT that National's relationship with the Maori Party has damaged race relations.

ACT leader Rodney Hide has endorsed former MP Muriel Newman's speech to ACT's weekend conference that the Government was promoting Maori privilege and encouraging welfare dependency.

John Key says ACT is off the mark.

“One of the legacies of our government will be improved race relations and seeing more young Maori becoming successful in New Zealand and we have done a lot of things, whether it be advancing the treaty settlement process and hopefully getting to a more sensible outcome for the foreshore and seabed legislation to simple things like and not being afraid to raise a flag that shows on Waitangi Day Maori and the Crown are standing side by side like they did when they signed the treaty,” he says.

The Prime Minister says the government is getting overwhelming public support for its efforts to build a multi-cultural country based on a bi-cultural foundation.

YOUNG MAORI IN CONTENTION FOR SHEARING GOLD

There are some gun young Maori shearers vying for top honours at the 50th Golden Shears in Masterton this week.

Commentator Koro Mullins says John Kirkpatrick, Dion King, Cam Ferguson and Dean Ball represent the new generation, trying to match the Maori shearing dynasties of the past.

But they have some tough Pakeha to beat, including world champion Paul Avery and five time world champion David Fagan.

TRUNACY FINES ANOTHER HURDLE FOR FAMILIES ON BOTTOM

Green's co-leader Meteria Turia says the government's punitive approach to truancy will keep Maori families in poverty and their children out of the school system.

The Government plans to spend extra on school attendance, including prosecuting the parents of truants.

Ms Turei says one of the reasons Maori truancy levels are so high is that insecure housing means they keep moving and get little chance to settle down in a school.

“Fining families who are already on the lowest possible income, who don’t have the money for proper housing let alone to pay fines, is just a way of keeping those families in poverty and keeping them out of the schooling system. Why would a family commit to schooling when they know if there are any problems they could be hit with a huge fine,” she says.

FLAXMERE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMME WINS OSCAR PRIZE

The only registered kaupapa Maori after school programme has been honoured for service to the Hastings community.

The Te Aka Consultants won three awards from OSCAR, the Out of School Care and Recreation programme.

Alayna Hokianga and her husband established the After Kura Activities programme for 5 to 13 year olds in 2007 because Flaxmere children had nowhere to go after school.

She says the bilingual programme appeals to parents with children in mainstream schools who want to encourage the use of te reo.

“They have found their children have learned more in terms of te reo, tikanga Maori from our after school because we hammer it every day whereas in schools they might get a bit of Maori depending on what class they're in,” Mrs Hokianga says.

Te Aka won the region's Most Outstanding OSCAR Programme, Best Family and Individual Awards, and is a finalist in the National awards in May.

TOUCH ENTHUSIAST GERARD NGAWATI DIES

Maori touch rugby has lost its pou and rangatira.

Gerard Ngawati from Ngati Hine, Ngapuhi and Ngati Porou died on Tuesday aged 54.

As well as setting up Maori Touch in the 1990s with his wife Carol, Mr Ngawati worked as a Pouwhakataki for the Ministry of Education, and in Maori training and employment at the Hillary Commission and Skill New Zealand.

Teresa Hindle from Maori Touch says his enthusiasm for using sport as a vehicle for personal and Maori development was infectious, and many whanau benefited from his commitment.

Gerard Ngawati will be taken from his Titirangi home to Hoani Waititi marae this morning, before Ngati Hine takes him back to Te Rito Marae at Otiria.

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 Whatua wants mana whenua to prevail

The chair of Auckland's Ngati Whatua hapu wants the Maori advisory board for the super city to be limited to the 12 iwi and hapu who this month signed a framework agreement to manage the city's maunga.

The government has yet to announce the board's structure.
Grant Hawke says Ngati Whatua has reluctantly agreed to go on the board, despite its preference for Maori seats on the full council.

“If we all boycott it that means that others who would want to be there who don’t represent us entirely will be doing the negotiation from their perspective, not from the mana whenua perspective,” Mr Hawke says.

Ngati Whatua will continue to push for the Royal Commission's recommendation of seats on the council.

KEY SAYS LOAN CRACKDOWN CRITICS SCAREMONGERING

Prime Minister John Key is assuring Maori students his Government won't be cutting them off from access to student loans.

Comments in the Prime Minister's speech to Parliament about toughening up on loan recipients have been interpreted by

Canterbury Maori studies head Rawiri Taonui and Massey University vice chancellor Steve Maharey as a threat to Maori, who tend to enter university later in life.

But Mr Key says no-interest student loans are here to stay.

“People might want to run around and scaremonger but we have universal access rights to universities in New Zealand and universal rights to student loans providing people follow the rules and do what’s required of them at the time,” Mr Key says.

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce is yet to start his review of student funding.

ENVIRONMENT STEWARDSHIP FACTOR IN DAIRY AWARDS

The chief judge of the Ahuwhenua dairy farming awards says Maori tend to take greater care of the environment than other farmers.

It's the third time Doug Leeder has been on the panel to pick to top Maori farmer.

The Opotiki farmer says this year care for the environment has jumped up the judging criteria.

“The cultural aspect Maoridom in terms of managemenrt of the land nad guardianship of the land, has demonstrated to us probably a higher level of compliance than would have probably been seen across the general dairy industry,” Mr Leeder says.

Good environmental practices are vital for the long-term sustainability of farming as a business enterprise.

Initial judging takes place next month, with field days on the three regional finalists in April and the prizegiving in Taupo at the end of May.

TRIBUNAL DELAYS START OF NGAPUHI HEARINGS

The start of hearings on Ngapuhi's historical claims has been put off again.

The hearing of the last major tribal grouping to go before the Waitangi Tribunal was due to start on late March with evidence on the northern iwi's understanding of the meaning of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the 1835 Declaration of Independence.

But the tribunal has sought a two month delay because it was not able to field the full panel of members that week.

Nuki Aldridge from Te Kotahitanga o nga hapu o Ngapuhi says if it drags on further, important kaumatua evidence could be lost.

“The people that are going to present the korero, they are elders. If the korero needs to be spoken by them, give them the opportunity to do that. And I know the ones that passed on wanted to be there, they couldn’t and that’s because of all the damn holdups,” Mr Aldridge says.

He says it's important the evidence is heard by the full tribunal panel.

THREE STRIKES THROWS RANGATAHI FURTHER INTO MIRE

Labour's Maori affairs spokesman Parekura Horomia says many Maori will end up unfairly penalised by ACT's three strikes legislation.

The National Government is pushing through the bill despite concerns voiced by the Justice Ministry and by prison reform and human rights groups.

Mr Horomia says rangatahi Maori are already getting strikes they do not deserve.

“The real danger for Maoridom is a lot of our youth unnecessarily penalized because of their immaturity and their inability to understand the legal process and the system,” he says.

Mr Horomia says legal aid duty lawyers often tell young Maori to plead guilty to crimes they have not committed to speed up the system and avoid a full trial.

GENERATIONAL COMPLAINTS SIGN OF REO HEALTH

An expert in New Zealand English says it's a sign of a healthy language when elders complain how the younger generation is using it.

Jeanette King, the head of linguistics at Canterbury University, says all languages change over time because of changes in society and technology.

She says because Maori went through a long period of neglect, the recent revival of te reo in the education system meant the Maori Language Commission needed to build up a vocabulary of modern terms.

“Te Taura Whiri got the job of purring the job together and received a lot of flak. Sometimes they say its something about the way younger people speak, but we do also have to remember that older Pakeha complain about younger Pakeha and how they speak,” Professor King says.

PM’s comments upset mobile phone insurgent

Mobile phone operator Two Degrees is taking the Prime Minister to task for his suggestion New Zealand may not be big enough for three mobile networks.

John Key made his comments in a discussion with Radio Waatea host Dale Husband on why Maori seemed reluctant to invest further in the company, which uses frequences gained through Treaty claims.

Two Degrees chief executive Eric Hertz says many countries of comparable size or smaller have multiple networks, including Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland and Iceland.

He says Mr Key needs to create the conditions for fair competition.

“I would like to see the government drive down those wholesale costs tat each carrier pays each other so that 2Degrees customers aren’t subsidizing Telecom New Zealand by the high cost to call those customers and I think that’s really the key thing that will level the playing field and make it much more easy to be successful over the long term, to drive those wholesale prices, those mobile termination rates down more quickly,” Mr Hertz says.

He says a Commerce Commission recommendation that Telecom and Vodafone be allowed to gradually lower wholesale prices won't benefit New Zealand consumers fast enough, and the Government needs to regulate.

COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS MAORI DAIRY PRESENCE

The chief judge of this year's Ahuwhenua awards for Maori dairy farming excellence says unemployed rangitahi should look towards the industry.

Opotiki dairy farmer Doug Leeder says Maori are already major players in dairying, and more opportunities will be created if plans come off for a Maori-owned processing plant.

He says when one in three young Maori is jobless, the sector needs to be seen as a source of job creation.

“The days of agriculture or the dairy industry being seen as the poor cousin to other types of employment is long gone. It’s now a skilled industry and I think the future is looking good both in terms of employment for Maori and the success of Maori enterprises,” Mr Leeder says.

He employs a number of young Maori on his Opotiki farm.

TA MOKO ARTISTS WORKING LIVE IN EXHIBITION

An East Coast ta moko expert says the wider public is keen to learn more about the ancient Maori art form.

Mark Kopua and his colleague Turumakina Duley have spent the past week tattooing people in the Face Value Exhibition at Waikato Museum.

The photo and video exhibition, curated by Serena Stevenson, explores the relationship between ta moko artists and their subjects.

He says there is a lot iof interest from Maori and non-Maori, who get a surprise when they see some of the artists featured in the exhibition are in there working.

Face Value is at Waikato Museum and Art gallery until the end of March.

REGULATION NEEDED FOR FAIR COMPETITION

The chief executive of 2 Degrees says the Government needs to regulate the mobile phone market to give his company a fair chance to compete.

Prime Minister John Key said yesterday New Zealand may be too small for the third network being created around frequencies which were allocated to Maori as a result of treaty claims.

But Eric Hertz says many comparable countries are running three or four networks.

He says if Mr Key wants real competition, his government needs to reject a Commerce Commission recommendation that Telecom and Vodafone continue to set the wholesale price for switching calls between networks.

“The role of the government and the regulator in this situation is to make sure that the playing field is leveled so you can stimulate more competition because it is competition that brings out innovation and brings prices down. What the commerce Commission has recommended will not bring the benefits to New Zealand consumers fast enough,” Mr Hertz says.

He says apart from wholesale pricing, most of the conditions for true competition are now in place.

GLAMOUR NEEDS TO BE TAKEN OFF GAMBLING

A Maori lawyer says Maori should think about ways to get rid of gambling machines from their communities.

Moana Jackson addressed an international problem gambling conference in Auckland yesterday on the indigenous responses to gambling.

He says gambling has long been a part of Maori life, but were often community activities housie or poker schools where the benefits flowed back to the marae or hapu.

That's change with modern state-sanctioned initiatives like Lotto and poker machines.

“When it became industrialised it got marketed and sold as this glamorous activity and when you do that the costs then get swept under like for years smoking was a glamour acticity, it was cool to smoke It took a long time to break that down but I think the same process is happening with gambling and that needs to be broken down as well,” Mr Jackson says.

He says pokies are disproportionately in poor and Maori areas, but the profits are taken out of those areas.

MAORI DOCUMENTARY FEATURES IN EDGE FESTIVAL

The director of the Documentary Edge Festival says viewers might be challenged by a documentary which is almost completely in Maori.

He Wawata Whaea - The Dream of an Elder profiles educator and Ngati Kuri kuia Meremere Penfold.

Dan Shanan says it was chosen for the New Zealand Competition section not only for its subject but because director Shirley Horrocks wanted the entire documentary to be in Maori.

The Documentary Edge Festival starts in Auckland tomorrow.

PM queries Maori phone investment

Prime Minister John Key says he can understand why Maori groups were reluctant to invest more money in new mobile phone company 2Degrees.

A capital raising last year by Te Huarahi Tika Maori spectrum trust failed to find new investors, resulting in a dilution of the Maori stake in the company, which uses frequences gained through Treaty claims.

Mr Key says Telecom's problems with its new XT network highlights the risk of investing in telecommunications.

“I guess the challenge is, and maybe that’s why the iwi leaders and those with a bit of cash were reluctant, is that new telecom networks are very capital intensive and what you’ve seen in the case of XT is Telecom’s thrown a lot of money at this things and yet it’s still not working. That’s your big risk, isn’t it?

“I think the challenge always was can New Zealand support three mobile networks. Now, the answer is we don’t know. Other countries have three, they have a bigger population than us but other countries do have three and support three so I expect that’s what we’ll find out in the next few years,” Mr Key says.

He says 2Degrees appears to be doing well with international investors who have deep pockets and know what they are doing.

The Government is currently considering its response to a Commerce Commission report that highlighted major barriers to new entrants in the mobile phone market.

PAY RATES NOT CAUSE OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

Greens co-leader Meteria Turei says the huge rise in young Maori without jobs is caused by the recession rather than lack of youth rates.

A private bill in the name of ACT's Sir Roger Douglas to bring back youth rates was drawn from the ballot yesterday.

Ms Turei says getting rid of youth rates was a big win for the Green Party, and it will fight their reintroduction.

“If we want our rangatahi to be proud about their work, to feel that they are contributors to their society, to act responsibly and as adults, then we have to treat them that way, and one of the ways it to pay them the minimum adult wage,” she says.

Ms Turei says many young Maori are doing adult jobs and accepting adult responsibilities.

ENGLISH PICKING UP WORDS FROM MAORI

An expert in New Zealand English says the language is picking up more reo Maori.

Jeanette King, the head of linguistics at Canterbury University, says Pakeha are using Maori words more often because of what they learn from school and the wider society.

She says that means specific words are crossing over like hui, kaupapa and tangi.

Professor King says most of the country's print media no longer put English meanings in brackets next to common Maori words, which shows most New Zealanders know what those words mean.

JUDGE LOOKS TO INTERNATIONAL EXAMPLES

The new deputy chief judge of the Maori Land Court says New Zealand can learn from international experience to find local solutions for Maori problems.

Judge Caren Fox from Ngati Porou and Rongowhakaata has studied international law as it relates to indigenous peoples, and has worked with Native American and Pacific groups.

She says lessons can be learned in areas such as natural resource management and economic development, without forgetting what is unique to Maori.

“It's important that we recognise however solutions to the issues that impact on Maoridom are to be found ultimately here and only here,” Judge Fox says.

MAORI LEFT OUT OF THREE STRIKES SUBMISSION PROCESS

A Maori prison reformer says Maori are being excluded from the debate around ACT's three strikes sentencing law, despite the effect it will have on Maori prisoners.

Kim Workman from Rethinking Crime and Punishment says the Government is limiting submissions on the Sentencing and Parole Bill to people who spoke up when it was first introduced.

That excludes most Maori organisations.

“They were all agin it but when you ask them ‘Why didn’t you make a submission?’ the response was ‘because we never thought the National Government would take this bill seriously.’ They honestly believed it was such an outrageous piece of legislation it was simply not possible for the National Government to support it to the extent they have,” Mr Workman says.

He says the government is ignoring advice from the Ministry of Justice about the effect of the bill on Maori and the chance people could be locked up for up to 10 times longer than they would be under current legislation.

FAMILY TALES CAST NEW LIGHT ON PARIHAKA STORY

The author of a new book about Parihaka says it reveals a previously untold story about Maori urbanisation.

The Parihaka Album, Lest We Forget by LaTrobe University journalism lecturer Rachael Buchanan is being launched about now at the Wellington Railway station.

It draws on stories from her own whanau, many of whom ended up in Wellington after their ancestral lands in Taranaki were confiscated.

That challenges the widely accepted narrative that urbanisation was mainly a 1950s and 60s phenomenon.

“Maori also were urban people and they stayed in cities and tried as best they could to preserve what was left but it was pretty difficult for like my grandmother and great grandmother when there weren’t any marae left for them to connect with and I think there was probably a bit of a feeling of shame or they were whakamaa about going back to Taranaki,” Ms Buchanan says.

Parihaka Album is published by Huia

Key takes softer line on Whanau Ora

The Prime Minister is reassuring Maori who fear his demand Whanau Ora be available for all could dilute the new welfare delivery model.

Details of the policy are under wraps while Cabinet considers the recommendations of the Whanau Ora Taskforce led by Sir Mason Durie, but John Key told Parliament last week it would be available to all families who are struggling.

But he now says it's designed around a Maori kaupapa, and like kohanga reo it is likely to be largely used by Maori.

“In the end it might suit some families in the way that kohanga reo and kuras are welcome to any individual. It’s largely Maori kids that go there but not exclusively,” Mr Key says.

He says whanau ora means the state will trust poor families to take greater responsibility for their own care.

MAORI PARTY LOOKING FOR FLEX IN EDUCATION SYSTEM

The Maori Party wants to see more flexibility in the education system to help Maori children do better.

Education spokesperson Te Ururoa Flavell says he's backing the call from an Inter-Party education working group for the top five percent and bottom 20 percent of children to have the right to switch schools, because Maori make up a big percentage of the bottom 20 percent.

He says the needs of students in Mangere are different from those in Remuera or Ruatahuna... so the solutions needs to be flexible too.

“Some schools have had the choice of locking in to the resources of the Correspondence School and have been able to make advances for rangatahi Maori thorough their programme so there are advances that can be adjusted and moved,” Mr Flavell says.

The Inter-Party Working Group wants more work to be done by MPs or officials on the broad brush ideas in its report.

SIR DOUGLAS GRAHAM DEFENDS TRIBUNAL CONTINUITY

Former treaty negotiations minister Sir Douglas Graham says the Waitangi Tribunal needs to continue after historical treaty claims are settled.

The government has a target of 2014 to settle such claims.

Sir Douglas, who acted as facilitator on a comprehensive multi-iwi Auckland settlement, says the tribunal will still have a role considering new issues that arise.

“If Maori people feel that the Crown or the government is not acting properly, they ought to be able to go off to the Waitangi and say so. So I’m not one who thinks after the historical claims are settled, we ought to abolish the tribunal and forget about it. I think it ought to remain there as a safety valve and somewhere for Maori to go,” Sir Douglas says.

The country should be proud of itself on the way treaty settlements are progressing, and he's happy to continue to be involved if asked.

PETERS PREFERS TARGETING OVER SIMPLE REPETITION

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says there's a case for a targeted welfare delivery system for Maori, but it should not be turned into a one size fits all model.

The Whanau Ora policy being developed as part of the Maori Party's support agreement with National was supposed to use Maori providers to help Maori families in need deal more effectively with government agencies.

The Prime Minister, John Key, now says will be available to all families in need.

But Mr Peters, who was Maori affairs minister in the Bolger government in 1991, says a well-designed policy can make a real impact in Maori families ... but be meaningless to non-Maori.

“To do what they’re intending in a way is not to understand the Polynesian character and culture and the Maori character and culture. Maoridom, as the Maori, as the army has proven, thrives on direct intervention and leadership and certainty as to where they are going, and they do not like a vacuum,” Mr Peters says.

He says the controversy over the policy shows the Maori Party's political naivety.

KEY KEEN TO USED TALENTS OF FORMER MINISTER

The government has more work for former treaty negotiations minister Sir Douglas Graham.

Sir Douglas helped bring together Auckland tribes to develop the framework for settlements across the isthmus.

Prime Minister John Key says the government is considering where Sir Graham will be dispatched next.

He says the former National MP has a sharp legal mind and can see a way through complex situations.

“I think he is someone who is respected as someone who comes to iwi talking with the voice of the Crown. He’s not just some junior official we’re putting out there and I think that does help progress issues,” Mr Key says.

ATAMIRA DANCE TROUPE KEEN TO SPREAD REPERTOIRE

Atamira Dance Company has the world in its sights.

Executive director Moss Patterson says an infusion of Creative New Zealand funding has given the 10-year-old Maori troupe confidence about its future.

It will take two new works, Memoirs of Active and Taonga, to present to bookers at next month's Performing Arts Market in Wellington and at other such markets such as the Tokyo performing arts market.

Atamira will showcase its younger dancers and choreographers at special event at Corban Estate in West Auckland the first weekend of March.

Key pleased at Ratana reception

Prime Minister John Key is counting the year's first major hui as a win for National and its partner the Maori Party.

Mr Key says the effusive praise he heard for his government at Ratana Pa over the weekend was a welcome endorsement of the coalition's Maori initiatives.

He says it was a clear sign that the long historical relationship between Labour and Ratana is in trouble.

“My sense is that is not anywhere near as strong as it used to be that tie is fairly severely broken. I think you’d say the majority of that support has gone over to the Maori Party,” Mr Key says.

MOREHU FEELING INTERESTS COMPROMISED BY LABOUR

An emerging Ratana leader says the morehu or church members are sick of being taken for granted by Labour.

Ruia Aperahama says the relationship began in the 1930s when Labour was desperate for votes from Ratana members.

But he says Labour failed to keep its side of the bargain by helping Ratana with serious social and economic issues, and now many members are switching allegiances after staying silent for decades.

“You will find that there are a lot of Ratanas who because of this history have had enough of the compromise. They don’t want to be taken for granted any more. They put their sway behind the Maori Party,” Mr Aperahama says.

He says Labour is good at developing Maori policies but lacks the courage to follow through.

IMMIGRATION POLICIES BREAK UP MAORI WHANAU

Meanwhile, John Key's next major hui may not go so smoothly.

Immigration consultant Tuariki John Delamere says the Prime minister can expect a protest at Waitangi against the deportation of the parents of Maori children.

Mr Delamere, an immigration minister in the 1996 National - New Zealand First coalition, is acting for six families whose fathers have been kicked out of New Zealand as overstayers.

He says the families intend to confront the Mr Key on Te Tii Marae, and emotions may run high.

“They're Maori children, from Whakatohea, Tainui, Te Whanau Apanui, Ngapuhi, and they’re entitled to live in this country because they are tangata whenua and they are citizens and the treaty says they have the right to grow up with their whanau. Well, their whanau includes their father,” Mr Delamere says.

He would like other families in the same situation to join the protest, even if they are not Maori.

WAKA READYING FOR SPECTACULAR WAITANGI REGATTA

Waka are arriving Te Pewhairangi, the Bay of Islands, for the largest gathering of traditional canoes since 1990.

They include Mataatua Puhi, the first waka built by Hekenukumai Busby, Te Toi o Mataatua from Whakatane, the voyaging waka Te Aurere and a waka which will have an all-female crew.

Mr Busby has spent the past few months restoring two Northland waka, Ngatoki matawhaorua, which were commissioned by Princess Te Puea for New Zealand's centenary.

“They celebrated the 1940 commemorations together and this will be the first year, 70 years after, they will actually be on the water together,” Mr Busby says.

More than 300 kai hoe or paddlers have been attending weekend wananga in Auckland, Whakatane and the Bay of islands to fine tuning their paddling skills and learn waiata, karakia and haka appropriate to waka.

WHANAU ORA TOP OF GOVERNMENT PRIORITIES

The Prime Minister says rolling out Tariana Turia's whanau ora family support programme will be one of his government's top priorities for the year.

The scheme will put Maori providers between government agencies and families in need.

John Key says shifting funding from Wellington-based government agencies to social service providers in the community makes sense.

“There no particular reason why Waipareira Trust for instance can’t take responsibility for 200 or 300 families or more, go there and say we will look after all your needs, we’ll work with you. You’ve got some responsibilities but you have too, let’s work our way through it,” Mr Key says.

The principles behind whanau ora could be applied to other groups receiving government services.

AVATAR HAS LESSONS FOR MAORI

The head of arts organisation Toi Maori says the blockbuster Avatar has lessons for Aotearoa.

The James Cameron movie, which includes special effects by Wellington's Weta Workshop and an invented language based on Maori, tells the story of an indigenous race fighting off a ruthless mining corporation.

Garry Nicholas says it's a story indigenous peoples can relate to, and it should serve as a warning to the government over its plans to open national parks up to mining.

“What we saw in Avatar is no different to what’s happened to a number of indigenous people’s throughout the world and the work that is being done now internationally to try and protect those sacred areas, those special areas of uniqueness, I applaud that effort,” Mr Nicholas says.

He says iwi will join with conservation groups to block mining plans.