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.

Harawira pushing tupuna title ahead of policy

Taitokerau MP Hone Harawira is on the road gauging Maori opinion on replacing the Foreshore and Seabed Act, despite there being no clear alternative on the table.

A technical working group chosen by the Iwi Leaders Forum is working with a small group of Crown officials on a proposal for Attorney General Chris Finlayson to take to Cabinet.

Fellow Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell has backed the process, and said the party believes an effective solution can only come out of meaningful engagement between the Crown and iwi and hapu.

But Mr Harawira says he’s not waiting, and he’s looking for support for his idea of replacing Crown ownership with Maori or tupuna title.

“They’re not clearly Maori Party policies but unless you go out with a basic set of information, you’re out there floundering, so we’re not floundering, we’ve got some basic ideas – Maori title, no sale and access for all, see what our people think,” he says.

Last Friday’s hui at Dargaville was only the first of what he expects will be 40 nationwide.

JUDGE PRAISES QUALITY OF LAWYERS BUT NOTES GAPS

The new deputy chief judge of the Maori Land Court is praising the depth of Maori legal talent.

Between 10 to 20 Maori are admitted to the bar each year, and there are now a few hundred Maori lawyers.

Caren Fox says it's great to see Maori doing commercial, regulatory and environmental law, but there aren't enough lawyers in other fields with a high Maori need.

“The criminal courts and the family courts could do with a good smattering of Maori lawyers but they don’t tend to go into those fields and stay very long,” Judge Fox says.

DENTAL DECAY LEADING TO OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS

The head of the Maori dental association, Pauline Koopu, wants Maori and mainstream health organisations to give priority to Maori oral health.

Te Ao Marama held its annual hui at Rotorua over the weekend.

Dr Koopu says many Maori never go near a dentist once they turn 18 and stop getting free treatment.

That creates other health problems.

“There are underlying diseases such as diabetes, cardio-vascular. Pre-term low birth-weight babies have also been linked to having poor oral health so there’s a huge link there between oral health and general health that isn’t well known,” Dr Koopu says.

Te Ao Marama is trying to make iwi realise the importance of oral health.

THREE STRIKES LAW WILL INCREASAE STREET VIOLENCE

South Auckland youth worker Haami Chapman says ACT’s three strikes bill being pushed through Parliament is likely to lead to more serious offending.

Mr Chapman, who was named local hero in this year’s New Zealander of the Year awards for his work with gangs, says by trying to look tough, the Government is ignoring effective community-driven responses to crime.

He says increased prison terms don’t act as a deterrent for rangatahi caught up in violence.

“If you know you ain’t got no other option for you, if you know you’re going away for a long time, what’s to prevent you from doing whatever you want to do. Let’s just make a good job of it. If you know you are going to be locked away the next 30 years, I may as well go the whole hog. See, it has that opposite effect,” Mr Chapman says.

What is working in south Auckland is whanau-based programmes, which are turning lives around.

SHAPLES DISAPPOINTED AT HEATLEY DEPARTURE

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples says former housing and fisheries minister Phil Heatley did a lot for Maori.

The Whangarei MP stood down on Friday over his use of a ministerial credit card.

Dr Sharples says Mr Heatley brought together Housing New Zealand and Kiwibank to allow people building on ancestral land to get loans.

He also pushed to get agreements between those managing customary fisheries, recreational fishers and quota holders, so it’s a disappointment to lose him from Cabinet.

“I don’t know whether there’s something behind it or not but I do know he’s a genuine guy and to be down the road for a couple of bottles of wine seems to me really silly when you look at what company executives do ore even employees with their privileges and so on,” Dr Sharples says.

WOMEN THE FACE OF MOKO REVIVAL

One of the country's top ta moko artists is crediting women with keeping the ancient art alive.

Mark Kopua from Tologa Bay has been demonstrating tattooing at the Face Value Exhibition of moko at Waikato Museum and Art Gallery.

He says in the same way wahine Maori led the way in language initiatives like kohanga reo or Aataarangi, they are also embracing the moko kauae, the chin moko and other designs that reflect their tribal identity.

“Our women are the strongest carriers of moko. Throughout the country the women outnumber the males and it’s very obvious to us the women are the strongest carriers of that type of kaupapa,” Mr Kopua says.

Preserved heads welcomed back to Te Papa

Te Papa is working on finding where the latest repatriated koiwi and toi moko originally came from.

A powhiri is being held at the museum about now to welcome the remains of 30 ancestors from five museums in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Sweden.

Acting chief executive Michelle Hippolite says the museum is now researching how the bones and four tattooed preserved heads ended up so far from home.

“We seek to understand more about the people that received or collected or gifted the skeletal remains and the toi moko to the museums we’re repatriating them from. That can often tell us the place they were uplifted from It doesn’t always tell us they were from this iwi or that hapu but at least it gives us a sense of the area they were uplifted from,” Ms Hippolite says.

If the remains can't be identified and returned to their iwi, Te Papa has a special storage area for them.

CALL FOR ROYAL COMMISSION ON JUSTICE SYSTEM

The Maori Party is calling for a royal commission of inquiry into the criminal justice system.

Justice spokesperson Rahui Katene says both National and Labour take a "lock them up" approach to offending.

She says a commission, as was first suggested by Ombudsman Mel Smith two years ago, will allow fresh ideas to come into the debate.

“We need to have a new justice strategy, a kaupapa Maori justice strategy where we look at doing things from a Maori value base. We want to look at restoring and transforming, not imprisoning and forgetting,” Mrs Katene says.

She says because of a looming crisis in prisons the Maori Party has reluctantly supported legislation to allow the holding of prisoners in police cells.

TUHOE OPUS VALUABLE FOR TRIBAL STRATEGY

Tuhoe kaumatua Wharehuia Milroy is hailing a new history of the iwi as a significant contribution to the tribe's future.

Encircled Lands by Judith Binney covers Te Urewera for 1820 to 1921, detailing how the Crown stripped Tuhoe people of their land and and autonomy.

Professor Milroy says it's the culmination of years of intense research and will be of great benefit for Tuhoe now and in the future.

“They will be much clearer as to their own history and relationships to the Crown and the way forward for them is to understand those relationships and how they begin to deal with the Crown and everyone else within this country," Professor Milroy says.

Much of the material Professor Binney prepared for Tuhoe's Waitangi Tribunal hearings is included in the book.

Encircled Lands was launched today at Waikerekere marae in Ruatoki, and it's available in bookshops now.

MINISTER SLATED FOR LEAVING MAORI OUT OF RUGBY PLANS

The new chair of the Maori fisheries trust says official attitudes are some of the biggest impediments to creating a Maori brand.

Ngahiwi Tomoana from Ngati Kahungunu wants to see iwi work together to market their seafood to the world.

He says creating Maori branding around exports and tourism would help sell New Zealand as a whole, but the government's position can be seen from the way it is handling the current major opportunity to showcase the country, the Rugby World Cup.

“There's a 40 to 50 page commentary from the Minister for Rugby, Murray McCully There’s not one single mention of the word Maori in it. That’s what we’re up against when we’re looking at a Maori brand. Maori, Pakehja, Hainamana, when they eave here they love dropping into a haka when they’re in Europe or America but when it comes to take the Maori with them, then they don't want to know,” Mr Tomoana says.

SCHOOL TRIES NEW WAYS OF REACHING PARENTS

The manager of a programme aimed at lifting Maori and Pacifica students’ achievement through parental involvement says what's taught at school needs to be complemented by what's learned in the home.

Ariana Williams says the ASB Trust has promised to fund the Mutukaroa pilot at Auckland’s Sylvia Park Primary School for five years.

It includes development of a resource centre at the school so parents can track their child’s progress and learn how assessment works.

She says school report cards are a poor substitute for an ongoing relationship with parents.

Ariana Williams, who is originally from Taipa in the far north, has been working at Sylvia Park Primary for the past three years.

MERRY XMAS BABY CD BRINGS IN DOLLARS FOR PLUNKET

Plunket fundraising CD Merry Xmas Baby has gone platinum.

The collection, which includes contributions by House of Shem, Wirimako Black, Annie Crummer, Hollie Smith and other, was launched at the end of September and has already sold more than 15,000 copies through music stores, online and through Plunket's 550 branches.

National cultural advisor Danial Hauraki says the artists responded to the violent death of Rotorua toddler Nia Glassie and wanted to help the organisation to do more to help young Maori mothers.