Milk plant planned on Tuaropaki land

Two Maori land trusts are teaming up to build a $100 million milk processing plant at Mokai northwest of Lake Taupo.

Tuaropaki and Wairarapa Moana run about 10,000 cows, which could supply about a fifth of the plant's capacity.

Kingi Smiler, the chair of Wairarapa Moana Incorporation, says once they get resource consents from Environment Waikato they will seek to involve other Maori trusts within the region, both as suppliers and investors.

He says it's an advance on supplying milk to Fonterra.

“In terms of our particular trusts and Maori in particular we are generational farmers and we think there is a lot of demand out there for milk products and we think this is the next logical move on behalf of our shareholders which will be a more attractive proposition for our shareholders over time,” Mr Smiler says.

Initially Miraka will make whole milk powder.

LESSONS ACROSS TASMAN FOR RECESSION BUSTING

Phil Goff says New Zealand could learn lessons Australia on how to beat Maori unemployment.

The Labour leader says with the number of Maori out of work now running at over 15 percent, the highest it's been since the early 1990s, all the Government can think of is more tax cuts for the well off.

He says in contrast to National's do-nothing approach, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd responded to the spike in unemployment with well targeted stimulus and training packages.

“The result is that they have brought their unemployment rate down, and our unemployment rate is now 30 percent higher than that of Australia. For most of our history, New Zealand has had a much lower rate of unemployment that Australia. They’re beating us at that now even though John Key said he wanted to close the gap. Well, he’s going in the wrong direction,” Mr Goff says.

Skill and apprenticeship training programmes targeted at young Maori are desperately needed.

NCEA GIVES MAORI STUDENTS CHANCE OF CATCHING UP

An education researcher says the National Certificate of Education Achievement is working for Maori students.

That's in spite of a Salvation Army report showing only half Maori school leavers have NCEA level two compared to three quarters of Pakeha.

Dr Rose Hipkins, the chief researcher for the Council for Education Research, says while there is a gap between Maori and Pakeha achievement, that gap narrowed by 4 percent between 2004 and 2008, and the trend is continuing.

“They're definitely doing better because there is a wider range of subjects they can do their learning in and get credits for their NCEA for. It’s not like the old system where you had to be good at the academic subjects or you were likely to be a failure. The whole premise on which it is based is different,” Dr Hipkins says.

She says the work schools are doing to improve the performance of their Maori students will show results over time.

SEMINAR TO HEAR MAORI VIEW ON WATER OWNERSHIP

A seminar in Wellington today will hear that Maori want their claims for ownership of water to be considered in any reform of water allocation and management.

Morrie Love from Te Atiawa says he'll seek to show attendees at the New Zealand Freshwater Management Forum that Maori, in common with many other indigenous groups, see control of water as being even more important than control of land.

He says that jars with English law which takes as its starting point ownership of land.

“The whole concept that water can’t be owned is in fact an English law construct. Maori see it in a different way. They might not use the term ownership but certainly, as the people of the Whanganui say, ‘I am the river and the river is me.’ That is a statement of ownership.
Mr Love says.

He says the government has indicated it wants to make a fresh start on water policy, and Maori want to be part of that.

LAWYER DEFENDS COUNCIL PROCEDURES OVER IWI ARRANGEMENT

A Maori lawyer says the behaviour of the Iwi Leaders Forum shows there's still a need for the New Zealand Maori Council.

The Maori Affairs select committee is holding an inquiry into the operation of the Maori Community Development Act, which provides the legal foundation for Maori councils and Maori wardens.

Annette Sykes from Ngati Pikiao says the council has been under attack for years from iwi leaders who say it's outdated and the Crown should deal directly with iwi.

But she says secretive negotiations between the Iwi Leaders Forum and Attorney general Chris Finlayson over replacing the Foreshore and Seabed Act show they can't be trusted.

Ms Sykes says the Maori Council has a proud record of fighting for treaty rights as well as advocating for poor, urban and disengaged Maori.

DIVERSITY LOSS LIKELY FROM POLYTECH RESTRUCTURE

Maori look set to make way for bean counters as the government's reforms bit into the tertiary sector.

The government is trimming the size of polytechnic councils to eight members, and appointing half of those itself, including the chairs and deputy chairs.

Tom Ryan, the president of the Tertiary Education Union, says that means students, staff, union, regional employers and Maori will have to fight for the remaining four slots, and their ability to influence the programmes polytechs offer will be greatly reduced.

“It's basically community representation and all the different groups that represent the community, they’re benign done away with, and basically it’s the bran counters and accountants, the business people who are going to be put on these boards,” Dr Ryan says.

Iwi need to get in now and lobby the polytech boards to specify a position on the new boards for Maori.

Seeka deal creates opportunity for Maori growers

The chief executive of Tauranga Maori kiwfruit company Te Awanui Hukapak says amalgamation with the region's biggest processor will allow shareholders to benefit from changes in the sector.

Hemi Rolleston says by joining with Seeka Kiwifruit Industries, the company started 25 years ago by a group of Maori land trusts goes from processing 5 percent of the crop to 25 percent.

He says the added size means it can take advantage of new varieties and new ways of going to market, including bringing more Maori land into production.

“When you're investing in new developments you certainly need a partner and we’ve been doing it with a lot of our Maori orchards but we’re getting a little too small in terms of scale in able to finance some of these transactions and Seeka has a history of assisting Maori orchards and joint ventures to develop the land so we think there are some exciting opportunities for Maori to create economic development and employment and utilise our land so it ticks a lot of boxes there,” Mr Rolleston says.

The $24 million deal includes provision for Te Awanui to continue marketing kiwifruit overseas under its own brand.

MINISTERIAL INFLUENCE LAST CHANCE FOR POLYTECH POSITIONS

The Maori Party will try to get Maori representatives on polytechnic councils through the back door.

The party failed this week to get an amendment to the government's polytechnic reforms, and withdrew its support as the bill was passed with ACT's support.

The bill scraps dedicated seats for Maori and other stakeholders on polytechnic councils.

Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell says as associate education minister, party co-leader Pita Sharples gets another chance to influence how the new law is implemented.

“We are hopeful of working behind the scenes with the minister to set up some rules that say if you are going to have ministerial appointments then the ministerial appointments that appoint up the rest of everyone else on the councils, then we need to put some rules there that say they must give consideration to ensuring that mana whenua or Maori are represented on the council,” Mr Flavell says

He says polytech councils need Maori on board so Maori training needs are catered for.

MAORI SQUADS PREPARE FOR INDIGENOUS TOURNAMENT

There'll be only a smidgeon of Christmas cake for members of the national Maori touch squads chosen to contest the world indigenous touch tournament in Rotorua late next month.

Carol Ngawati from Maori Touch says the three open teams chosen at last weekend's nationals will be up against the best in the Pacific as they vie with Australian Khoori, Cook Islands and Chinese squads for the world title.

The Maori tournament attracted 80 teams, with strong growth in younger grades as well.

The World Indigenous Touch tournament starts on January 27.

MAORI COUNCIL REJECTS ROGERNOMICS TEST ON TREATY CLAIM

The Maori Council is rejecting criticism from ACT that its fourth generation spectrum claim was a waste of time and money.

ACT economic spokesperson Sir Roger Douglas says instead of going to the Waitangi Tribunal, the council and fellow claimants Nga Kaiwhakapumau i te Reo and Graham Everton should address issues like Maori educational under-achievement.

Jim Nichols, the council's deputy chair, says the former Laour finance minister's recipe for Maori development is a proven failure.

“When he was in government, they made no effect at all in the changing of the Maori economic position. The spectrum can make a very significant contribution to Maori well being in terms of education and the significant influence that Maori television and Maori broadcasting has had talking Maori into the lounges of people throughout the country,” Mr Nichols says.

He says the claimants are being forced back to the Waitangi Tribunal because the Crown is yet again making decisions about resources in which there is a proven treaty interest without properly consulting its treaty partner.

The Waitangi Tribunal will hold a hearing on the claim in late January.

TURIA EXPLAINS WHANAU ORA POLICY

Associate health minister Tariana Turia says her policy of whanau ora isn't hard to understand.

Families Commission head Jan Pryor last week told a parliamentary committee she could not explain the fledgling policy because as a middle class white woman it included concepts she was unfamiliar with.

Mrs Turia says whanau ora recognises that you can't treat individuals or issues in isolation.

She says Maori families in crisis may become involved with multiple government agencies.

“What this is about is turning all that around to provide the opportunity for our families to start looking at the issues that are impacting on all of them and to work with them in the first instance to change that themselves rather than having other people always telling them how to be, always telling them what to do,” Mrs Turia says.

She says her integrated approach is getting support from people right across health and social sector.

WHANAU RETURN TO LEND SKILLS TO PARIHAKA PEACE FESTIVAL

Organisers of the 5th Parihaka Peace Festival are buoyed by support from Taranaki whanau who are pitching in to create a better event.

Director Te Miringa Hohaia says the three day festival, which starts on January 7, draws on to the village's record of passive resistance to land confiscations after the Taranaki wars.

He says up to 10,000 people are expected to hear artists like Tiki Tane and Fat Freddy's Drop or take part in other events such as discussion forums, and whanau have been returning home to help the hau kainga run the event smoothly.

“Of the 25 managers we’ve got, 23 of them are Parihaka people. We’ve pulled home also a lot of our skilled people. We didn’t realise we had so many people involved in production, film, theatre, media and that helped us to upskill people who are here on the ground,” Mr Hohaia says.