Waikato signing marks new era for river

Waikato-Tainui is looking forward to having a say in managing its awa.

A large contingent from the iwi will be arriving in Wellington in the next few hours to witness the third reading of the Waikato-Tanui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill just after three this afternoon.

Spokesperson Moko Tini-Templeton says once the ink is dry and the celebratory cup of tea is drunk, the real work begins cleaning up the river for future generations.

The settlement creates a management body for the river, including iwi and local government representatives.

INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION OF WEASEL WORDS

The Greens' leader Metiria Turei is welcoming international condemnation of the Government's lack of commitment to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Ms Turei says even though New Zealand has affirmed the document, respected indigenous commentators have noticed its emphasis that the declaration is aspirational and non-binding.

She says this country needs to do better when taking on international human rights commitments.

“We need to have that international condemnation of the lack of commitment by the Government to adhere to the declaration, to work through its precepts and look at how our domestic policy needs to change, and the more international condemnation of its weasel words, the better,” Ms Turei says.

FRENCH PARLIAMENT VOTES TO LET TOI MOKO GO HOME

National museum Te Papa Tongarewa hopes some of the 20 toi moko held in French museums will be back in Aotearoa by Christmas.

The French Parliament this week voted 577 to 8 in favour of allowing the mummified tattooed Maori heads to be repatriated.

Museum acting director Michele Hippolite says it's been a long campaign, and Te Papa is applauding the realisation that for Maori toi moko are not curios or artefacts but ancestors.

She says more work is needed to find what the museums hold and how they might have got the items, as well as where the toi moko came from.

TAINUI ON HAND TO WITNESS RIVER SETTLEMENT

A large ope from Waikato-Tainui is in Wellington today to witness the passing of a bill settling the iwi's river claims.

Three bus loads of kaumatua headed out of Huntly, Ngaruawahia and Hamilton last night, and many more are expected at a powhiri at Pipitea Marae this morning.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson says after the third reading about 3.30 pm, there will be a special ceremony for the iwi at Parliament.
He says once the bill is given the royal assent, Tainui and other tribes along the river will become part of a new authority charged with cleaning it up.

“It's not going to happen in the first 100 days. It’s not going to happen in the first 1000 days. It’s going to take many years to restore the health of the river. But both the tribe and the regional government say let us begin,” Mr Finlayson says.

There is sadness that Lady Raiha Mahuta was not able to live long enough to see the passing of the settlement she negotiated on Tainui's behalf.

NGAI TAHU BUSINESS LOOKS TO CHINA FOR GROWTH

Delegations from Ngai Tahu are off to the Shanghai World Expo to advance the South Island iwi's commercial interests in China.

Greg Campbell, the chief executive of Ngai Tahu Holdings, says the company is a key sponsor of the New Zealand pavilion, alongside companies like Zespri, Fonterra and Air New Zealand.

He says 80 percent of the tribe's fish exports go to China, and it's also keen to promote its tourism activities to the Chinese market.

“We are primarily there to grow our business contacts and our relationships and understandings around doing business within China We’ve identified that as a tremendous opportunity for our businesses and for the wealth of the iwi ultimately,” Mr Campbell says.

NGATI POROU APPOINTED TO TOP TAURA WHIRI ADMIN JOB

Ngati Porou educationalist Glenis Philip-Barbara has been appointed the new Chief Executive of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori, the Maori Language Commission.

She is currently director of business development at Gisborne's Tairawhiti Polytechnic.

Ms Philip-Barbara says it's her dream job.

“The reason I took this job is because I love the Maori language strategy and I like the direction Taura Whiri is moving and that’s really about taking our reo and putting it back into the homes of our people, embedding it in the framework of our nation as a normal part of our everyday lives. I mean that’s the vision that had me apply for the job in the first place. That’s where my heart is,” Ms Philip-Barbara says.

As a teacher and researcher she has seen the powerful positive impact that learning te reo Maori has for Maori and the insight gained by non- Maori people who take the time to learn.

Waikato signing marks new era for river
Waikato-Tainui is looking forward to having a say in managing its awa.

A large contingent from the iwi will be arriving in Wellington in the next few hours to witness the third reading of the Waikato-Tanui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill just after three this afternoon.

Spokesperson Moko Tini-Templeton says once the ink is dry and the celebratory cup of tea is drunk, the real work begins cleaning up the river for future generations.

The settlement creates a management body for the river, including iwi and local government representatives.

INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION OF WEASEL WORDS

The Greens' leader Metiria Turei is welcoming international condemnation of the Government's lack of commitment to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Ms Turei says even though New Zealand has affirmed the document, respected indigenous commentators have noticed its emphasis that the declaration is aspirational and non-binding.

She says this country needs to do better when taking on international human rights commitments.

“We need to have that international condemnation of the lack of commitment by the Government to adhere to the declaration, to work through its precepts and look at how our domestic policy needs to change, and the more international condemnation of its weasel words, the better,” Ms Turei says.

FRENCH PARLIAMENT VOTES TO LET TOI MOKO GO HOME

National museum Te Papa Tongarewa hopes some of the 20 toi moko held in French museums will be back in Aotearoa by Christmas.

The French Parliament this week voted 577 to 8 in favour of allowing the mummified tattooed Maori heads to be repatriated.

Museum acting director Michele Hippolite says it's been a long campaign, and Te Papa is applauding the realisation that for Maori toi moko are not curios or artefacts but ancestors.

She says more work is needed to find what the museums hold and how they might have got the items, as well as where the toi moko came from.

TAINUI ON HAND TO WITNESS RIVER SETTLEMENT

A large ope from Waikato-Tainui is in Wellington today to witness the passing of a bill settling the iwi's river claims.

Three bus loads of kaumatua headed out of Huntly, Ngaruawahia and Hamilton last night, and many more are expected at a powhiri at Pipitea Marae this morning.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson says after the third reading about 3.30 pm, there will be a special ceremony for the iwi at Parliament.
He says once the bill is given the royal assent, Tainui and other tribes along the river will become part of a new authority charged with cleaning it up.

“It's not going to happen in the first 100 days. It’s not going to happen in the first 1000 days. It’s going to take many years to restore the health of the river. But both the tribe and the regional government say let us begin,” Mr Finlayson says.

There is sadness that Lady Raiha Mahuta was not able to live long enough to see the passing of the settlement she negotiated on Tainui's behalf.

NGAI TAHU BUSINESS LOOKS TO CHINA FOR GROWTH

Delegations from Ngai Tahu are off to the Shanghai World Expo to advance the South Island iwi's commercial interests in China.

Greg Campbell, the chief executive of Ngai Tahu Holdings, says the company is a key sponsor of the New Zealand pavilion, alongside companies like Zespri, Fonterra and Air New Zealand.

He says 80 percent of the tribe's fish exports go to China, and it's also keen to promote its tourism activities to the Chinese market.

“We are primarily there to grow our business contacts and our relationships and understandings around doing business within China We’ve identified that as a tremendous opportunity for our businesses and for the wealth of the iwi ultimately,” Mr Campbell says.

NGATI POROU APPOINTED TO TOP TAURA WHIRI ADMIN JOB

Ngati Porou educationalist Glenis Philip-Barbara has been appointed the new Chief Executive of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori, the Maori Language Commission.

She is currently director of business development at Gisborne's Tairawhiti Polytechnic.

Ms Philip-Barbara says it's her dream job.

“The reason I took this job is because I love the Maori language strategy and I like the direction Taura Whiri is moving and that’s really about taking our reo and putting it back into the homes of our people, embedding it in the framework of our nation as a normal part of our everyday lives. I mean that’s the vision that had me apply for the job in the first place. That’s where my heart is,” Ms Philip-Barbara says.

As a teacher and researcher she has seen the powerful positive impact that learning te reo Maori has for Maori and the insight gained by non- Maori people who take the time to learn.

Mystery injury keeps king home from school

Kingitanga representatives are refusing to discuss the injuries that kept King Tuheitia from opening a west Auckland kura kaupapa yesterday morning.

A spokesperson says the king was in an accident at his Huntly home on the weekend, but his injuries are not serious.

Eru Thompson from Te Kawerau a Maki says the king's absence at the opening of Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Kotuku in Ranui was a disappointment, but the show went on with members of the royal household and from Tainui.

MAATATUA UNITE OF FORESHORE STRATEGY

Mataatua iwi are presenting a united front on their claims to the foreshore and seabed in the Bay of Plenty.

Whakatohea, Ngati Awa, and Ngaiterangi were among the tribes represented at a consultation hui in Kawerau on replacing the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Kaumatua Joe Mason from Ngati Awa says the iwi approve of the repeal of the Act, the removal of automatic Crown title to coastal areas and allowing Maori to go back to court to prove their title.

He says the legacy of the land wars of the 1860s means the iwi would struggle to prove the unbroken relationship with the takutai moana that is needed for customary rights claims ... and that needs to be addressed in any reform.

“We are actually talking about the extinguishing of customary title I suppose. That goes much further than the Act. For example, the extinguishment of title as the result of the confiscation in the Bay of Plenty along the coastline adjacent to that foreshore and seabed,” Mr Mason says.

Today's foreshore and seabed consultation hui and public meetings are in Gisborne.

CREWS TRAINED FOR EPIC OCEAN VOYAGE

Waka expert Hoturoa Kerr is confident the crews of four double-hulled voyaging waka will be ready to head for Tahiti with a few more months training.

The fibreglass vessels underwent trials on Waitemata harbour last weekend.
Mr Kerr, the head of Te Wananga O Aotearoa's waka culture course, says crew members come from Vanuatau, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Fiji and Aotearoa.

“We've got a good mix of fairly experienced waka sailors and a lot of ones that are just trying to build that experience up so I’m kind of looking at it, if everything goers right in the next three or four months, of a band of reasonably experienced sailors for this sort of vessel, so it’s all looking good,” Mr Kerr says.

The voyage later this year is to draw attention to the environmental threats faced by Pacific nations.

MANA TAMARIKI BUILDING WINS ARCHITECTURE PRIZE

A Palmerston North Maori immersion school designed by non-Maori architects has been singled out in the public architecture category of this year's New Zealand Architecture Awards.

Project leader Ewan Brown says while his Wellington practice Tennant and Brown has designed many schools, Mana Tamariki kura kaupapa was the first time it was required to incorporate Maori concepts into a building.

“It was trying to make it a Maori building without reflecting it as a wharenui. They wanted to have it all under the one roof so we put the kohanga and kura under one roof so we picked up on the idea of the cloak, the korowai so this roof that went over both organisations became the korowai, sort of this over-arching support over the whole organization,” Mr Brown says.

He and partner Hugh Tennant have joined a reo Maori class and are working on a project for Te Whare Wananga O Raukawa in Otaki.

TAURA WHIRI WANTS TO CONTINUE COMMUNITY FUNDING

The Maori Language Commission is making a case for continued funding of flax roots Maori language regeneration programmes.

Te Taura Whiri acting chief executive Wayne Ngata says Ma Te Reo, which distributes $1.8 million each year to iwi, hapu, whanau and individuals to promote the language, is due to be wound up this year.

Applications have just opened for the final funding round.

Mr Ngati says since the programme was launched in 2001, huge strides have been made.

“There is scope for more to be done and we have been carrying out research to make a case to continue to support community-based language,” Mr Ngata says.

To encourage a spread of Ma Te Reo funds across regions, Te Taura Whiri is encouraging iwi, hapu and other providers to collaborate on applications.

Deadline is May 7.

SOPHISTICATED HOOKS FOR FISHING RESEARCH

A researcher into traditional Maori fishing practices says it appears different sized hooks were used as a sophisticated way of conserving fish stocks.

Sarah Coup from Mapua and Richard Hamill from the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre are studying middens around the Wainui estuary in Motueka.

She says they will make replicas of any hooks found to test the theory.

“What we think was that a partcular sized hook was used for the middle sized fish, If you have a large fish, the hook slips out, and a small one couldn’t target so it was obviously to target that right sized fish,” Ms Coup says.

The findings could be used to develop sustainable methods for modern day fishing.

Language agency streamlining on agenda

Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples is sympathetic to calls to streamline efforts to strengthen te reo Maori.

Maori language commissioner Erima Henare has recommended merging Te Taura Whiri with the Maori broadcast funding agency. Te Mangai Paho, with any savings used for community-level projects.

Dr Sharples says resources were being wasted through duplication of language promotion.

“So we need to co-ordinate the effort whether it’s Taura Whiri, whether it’s kura kaupapa, whether it’s mainstream, we need to coordinate that so we get a good effort, because we’re not out of the woods yet in saving Maori language,” Dr Sharples says.

Improvements could come from organisations working together rather than by full mergers.

PEER BEHAVIOUR MAKES QUITTING TOUGH

The head of anti-smoking group QUIT says Maori face particular difficulties in over-coming the addiction.

Paula Snowdon from Te Rarawa says the first step is getting nicotine out of the system, with people who use nicotine patches twice as successful at giving up.
They then need to develop new strategies to deal with smoking behaviour.

“The thing with smoking is the challenge to quit. The only difference between Maori and non-Maori is more Maori smoke so when you try to quit you are in an environment when re more of your family and friends and work colleagues are smoking around you, it makes it so much harder to stay quit,” Ms Snowden says.

Smokers have to want to quit before cessation efforts will be successful.

MAORI COSMOLOGY INCLUDED IN OBSERVATORY REFIT

Wellington's Carter Observatory plans to use state of the art digital technology to tell the Maori creation story alongside the Big Bang theory.

The observatory in Kelburn re-opening at the end of the month after a two year, $2 million refit.

Spokesperson Dawn Muir says the Wellington 10ths Trust was involved throughout the project.

“We are looking at Maori navigation and cosmology as it relates to our southern skies so it’s a very important story and we are encouraging the use of Carter Observatory for Maori in our community for things like navigation training,” Ms Muir says

Visitors will able to use the observatory to track the stars in the way Maori did when they came to Aotearoa.

MINISTER WANTS MAORI TEAM IN RUGBY WORLD CUP

Maori affairs minister Pita Sharples is standing by his view a Maori team should take part in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Rugby Union officials were upset when Dr Sharples made the suggestion yesterday while hosting a lunch at parliament to celebrate 100 years of Maori rugby.

He says Maori are a nation within the New Zealand nation, in the same way Scotland, Wales and England all come within the nation of Great Britain, which tours as the Lions.

“Most of the Maori in that room definitely agreed that it’s time that we did lash out a bit and have more games and possibly in the World Cup as well,” Dr Sharples says.

He says the NZRFU is treating the Maori team as second rate citizens who are less important than Super 14, NPC or even under 19 teams.

TE ATIAWA WANTS WAIWHETU STREAM CLEANED UP

Hutt Valley Maori are incensed the Greater Wellington Regional Council won't stop overflows of untreated sewage into the Waiwhetu Stream.

Te Rira Puketapu from Te Atiawa says decades of factory waste have already made Waiwhetu one of the most polluted waterways in the country.

He says the new 15 year consent granted to Lower Hutt City Council will mean on average six overflows a year in heavy rain.

He says the alternative requires the council to replace decaying clay pipes put in when the goverment built about 8000 State houses in the valley during the 1930's and 40's.

“As kaitiaki we have a heavy responsibility and if nobody else is going to worry about it, someone has to speak it, not just for Maori but for everyone. This is the 21st century and we’ve got to catch up,” Mr Puketapu says.

As an alternative the overflows could be discharged into the Hutt River during storms where they would be absorbed by the greater river flow.

MARAE REMEMBERS HARBOUR HEROISM

A feat of bravery 66 years ago will be aknowledged tomorrow at a marae on the shores of the Kaipara harbour.

In 1944, Wana Ruarangi Paikea rescued eight children when a punt capsized off Otamatea marae.

His 7 year old sister drowned in the accident, and her body was never found.

Broadcaster Jim Perry says survivors of the punt are now dead, but Mr Paikea is still alive at 84, and the marae believes it's time his feat is more widely recognised.

A kohatu , or memorial stone will be unveiled at the marae tomorrow aknowledging the lives saved and lost in 1944.