"Revolutionary" change led by Maori

Leading Treaty of Waitangi scholar Claudia Orange says Maori have driven a lot of what can only be described as revolutionary change in New Zealand over the past 40 years.

At Te Papa tonight, Dr Orange hosts a debate on the development of Maori activism between Whakatohea academic Dr Ranginui Walker and his biographer Paul Spoonley.

She says change may have happened anyway, but it has been given a push through the treaty process.

“Change has been forced and it has been forced by Maori, sometimes by protest and sometimes by judicious means by a whole range of issues and there have been key Maori leaders at each time in different areas and spreading that drive in a whole range of issues and political persuasions,” Dr Orange says.

The debate and another next week between Massey university professor Mason Durie and political commentator Colin James will be broadcast on Radio New Zealand National.

MAORI FAMILIES UPSET AT IMMIGRATION POLICIES

Immigration consultant Tuariki John Delamere says a planned protest at Waitangi could get heated.

The former New Zealand First MP and immigration minister is acting for six families where the fathers of Maori children were deported as overstayers.

He says the health of whanau is a treaty issue, so the families intend to go to the birthplace of the treaty to make their point.

TOTAL BAN DEMAND ON TOBACCO PRODUCTS

The director of a Maori anti smoking group is calling for a total ban on the sale of tobacco products in New Zealand by 2013.

Shane Kawenata Bradbrook from Te Ao Marama says more than 600 Maori will die this year of a tobacco-related condition.

He says if government can ban party pills, it can ban tobacco.

“Not one death occurred and yet it was gone overnight, yet here we have this situation, 5000 New Zealanders, 600 Maori die each year and there’s no such urgency,” Mr Bradbrook says.

He says this year's Maori Affairs select committee's investigation into the tobacco industry is a chance for Maori to take the industry to task for the damage smoking does to Maori communities.

UNDERSTANDING OF TREATY ON THE RISE

The Human Rights Commission says understanding of treaty issues has risen significantly in the past year.

Race Relations commissioner Joris de Bres says the commission's annual survey found those who considered they had a good understanding of the Treaty rose from 34 to 41 per cent.

He says 56 per cent saw it as New Zealand's founding document.

“Those were good results. The general view still in terms of those surveys is the health of the Crown-tangata whenua relationship has some way to go,” Mr de Bres says.

The government was seen as making good progress with Treaty settlements, despite refusing to allow Maori representation on the Auckland super city council.

TECHERS PREPARE FOR TE KOTAHITANGA ROLL-OUT

It's back to the classroom already this week for teachers in the 17 schools coming in to the innovative professional development programme Te Kotahitanga.

Russell Bishop, the foundation professor of Maori education at Waikato University, says the schools, which include clusters on the East Coast and the Hawkes Bay, bring more than 6000 Maori students into programme.

In-school facilitators are training the teachers about what support they can expect and how they can change their classroom practices and interactions with Maori students to improve outcomes.

Professor Bishop says it's an important week for the 50 schools in Te Kotahitanga.

“Some of these schools are using these weeks now as part of their initiation into the school and so new staff come along and existing staff come in and support them and they use it as a big team building exercise for the start of the year,” he says.

Professor Bishop has just completed a book on how innovation can be scaled up through the school system, and he's writing another one on the lessons of Te Kotahitanga.

EDUCATIONS STANDARDS WILL EXCLUDE MAORI STUDENTS

Meanwhile, Greens' co-leader Meteria Turei says the Government's planned national education standards will hurt Maori students.

In yesterday's cabinet reshuffle, Education Minister Anne Tolley was relieved of her tertiary education responsibilities so she could concentrate on introducing the new testing regime for primary schools.

Ms Turei says it's clear Mrs Tolley is following former United States president George Bush's no child left behind policy, even though it has been shown to have a negative effect on students from minorities.

“In the UK and US the black and poorer students in those countries have suffered the most under national standards because teachers are teaching to the test, there are students who don’t get access to the test because they won’t pass it and therefore the school won’t allow them to sit those tests,” Ms Turei says.

Low decile schools which include lot of Maori children will be hit hardest by national standards.

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.