Whanau Ora policy to be revealed

The wraps come off the government's Whanau Ora policy today, two months after a task force headed by Sir Mason Durie delivered its report on a better way to deliver health, welfare and education services to Maori.

Prime Minister John Key says the government hasn't accepted all the recommendations of the as yet secret report, but budget decisions have been made.

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia, the Associate minister for social development, says families need to be given the power to make decisions for themselves.

“For a long time Maori have been criticised roundly for not addressing significant issues that are impacting on their families, and this is an opportunity for not only them to do so but also we are looking at Pacific peoples and the general population,” Mrs Turia says.

NEW VISION OF SERVICE DELIVERY

Meanwhile, Te Whanau o Waipareira is awaiting today's release of the government's whanau ora policy to see how it ties in with its own vision of social service delivery.

The west Auckland trust is tagged as one of the lead agencies for the policy, and chief executive John Tamihere says it has been training its staff for three months to see beyond their immediate specialties.

He says while the policy is primarily about health, it needs to break down boundaries.

“I suspect what will be announced is what most Maori organisations have been working for and striving for, that is a totally integrated family management type programme reaching across health, welfare, education and justice so that no individual will fall through the huge number of gaps that occur right now,” Mr Tamihere says.

More important than today's announcement will be finding out how much is committed for Whanau ora in next month's budget.

OHIO COLLECTION BOUGHT BACK TO AOTEAROA FOR AUCTION

An Auckland auction house has won the right to sell a collection of Maori and Pacific taonga being made surplus from an American museum.

Neil Campbell from Webb’s says he was approached by the Zanesville Museum of Art in Ohio to value the items, which were being cleared to make room for more Native American artefacts.

Much of the collection was gifted by foreign aid worker Eric Young, who was based in the south Pacific in the 1950s and 60s.

Mr Campbell was able to convince the museum board that repatriating the collection was the right thing to do.

“The material is probably worth more in New York than it is here which is a great irony I guess. On a global setting (Maori) is considered one of the highest forms of indigenous applied arts. The guys that are collecting this sort of material recognize Maori applied arts as some of the best,” Mr Campbell says.

The Zanesville collection will be auctioned in mid-June, and by law the Maori items will have to stay in the country.

WAIPAREIRA FAMILY NAVIGATORS POISED TO START

Today could mark a new era for social service delivery.

The government will announce how much of the Maori Party's whanau ora agenda it is willing to fund.

John Tamihere from West Auckland's Waipareira Trust, which is expected to be a lead agency for the policy, says millions of dollars could be saved by bulk funding Maori providers to work on a whole of family basis.

He says Waipareira has been retraining its health and welfare staff in expectation of the new model.

“Instead of calling people your mental health worker, your social worker, this and that, all they are is whanau navigators. They help you navigate through your health plans, through the education plan for your children through to yourself and what you might want to do in terms of upskilling yourself. They will help you through your welfare difficulties, and if there is a justice issue, we will plug that in too,” Mr Tamihere says.

He says tackling tough social problems at a whanau level is an investment in the health of the whole community.

ENVIRONMENT CANTERBURY SACKING THREATENS IWI INPUT

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei is warning the decision to fire the elected members of Environment Canterbury could shut Maori out of decision-making in that region.

Ms Turei says the appointment of commissioners by Environment Minister Nick Smith and Local Government Minister Rodney Hide derails democracy.

She says mana whenua will struggle to have a say.

“It unhitches the relationship between Ngai Tagu and the council, Environment Canterbury. It makes it uncertain then what the relationship of the iwi are to the council decisions so all the work that has gone into those relationships could be completely undone,” Ms Turei says.

She says the decision by National and Act to shut Maori out of both the Auckland super city council and Environment Canterbury is a disturbing trend.

MONEY AND MENTORING FOR ASPIRING NOVELISTS

The Maori Literature Trust is looking for six Maori writers who are serious about creating a bestseller.

Chair Robyn Bargh says the trust will pay the writers a living allowance for six months and provide mentors to critique their work weekly.

She says the initiative is a way to address the under-representation of Maori work on the bookshelves.

“There's an interesting cross cultural dimension in New Zealand that really isn’t being explored adequately in our literature and so I think this is a good opportunity to encourage Maori writers to actually talk about what it looks like form their perspective and create characters who have different perspectives on life on Aotearoa,” Mrs Bargh says.

Applicants for Te Papa Tupu need to submit a finished piece or working manuscript of more than 5000 words by mid-May.

Waipareira riled over mental health contract

Auckland's urban Maori authorities are squaring off against the Counties Manukau District Health Board over the way it hands out contracts.

Waipareira Trust and Manukau Urban Maori Authority were knocked back last month when they tried pick up a mental health services contract which was being dropped by Guardian Trust.

Waipareira chief executive John Tamihere says the DHB made it impossible for his organisation to put in a proper bid.

“I don't mind losing tenders fairly. I do mind when you are given a matter of hours, not days, a matter of hours to put in place the paperwork when they ask questions like: ‘What right have you from West Auckland coming over here?’ How pathetic is that? We run the largest mental health contract in the Waitakere City area on behalf of the Waitemata District Health Board,” Mr Tamihere says.

Waipareira has asked for documents about the contract, and it intends to lay complaints with the Ombudsman and the Human Rights Commission.

DHB SAYS SAFETY TO THE FORE IN HEALTH CONTRACT

The Counties Manukau District Health Board's senior legal advisor, Janet Anderson-Bidois, has denied the decision to refuse Waipareira's bid has anything to do with race.

The contract to provide mental health services to 300 mainly Pacific Island clients eventually went to mainstream provider Challenge Trust.

Mrs Anderson-Bidois says Waipareira Trust was unable to provide sufficient assurances that it could provide the services.

“At the end of the day it was the safety of those people. You couldn’t take a bet they could pull it off in two days time when you are talking about 200 very high needs, very unwell people. This wasn’t a business opportunity, it was a safety issue, and at the end of the day that’s what we had to make the decision on,” Mrs Anderson-Bidois says.

HOPE HELD OUT FOR TOI IHO MARK

The chair of Te Waka Toi believes the toi iho mark of authenticity for Maori art can be saved.

Te Waka Toi's parent body Creative New Zealand has dropped funding for the mark.

Darrin Haimona says its future is now in the hands of the Transition Toi Iho Foundation, which was set up by some of the 200 artists who use the mark.

“The foundation at this stage is a transition group set up to negotiate with Creative New Zealand and it has shown some interest in being able to take over the mark and move it through," Mr Haimona says.

A hui at Victoria University's te Herenga Waka Marae on March 12 will give Maori artists a chance to say how they think Toi Iho can survive and grow.

GIANT MOKO SCULPTURE PLANNED FOR NGARUAWAHIA

Visitors to Ngaruawahia will be welcomed by a sculpture based on the moko of the second Maori king Tawhiao.

The project replaces a plan to build a giant bronze Maori warrier, which has been canned by Waikato District Council after opposition by Maori and Pakeha residents alike.

Tainiu kuia Tini Tukere, who led the fight against the statue, says King Tawhiao is a far more appropriate figure to have at the town's gateway.

“When the sun comes up in the morning it will shine through the cut out parts of the moko. You want something that’s unique and will identify the town on its own,” Mrs Tukere says.

The stainless steel sculpture was commissioned to celebrate 150 years of the kingitanga.

MAORI MOST AT RISK FROM THREE STRIKES BILL

A former corrections head says Maori will suffer most if the Government goes ahead with the three strikes sentencing bill.

Kim Workman from Ngati Kahungunu, who now heads Rethinking Crime and Punishment, says the Justice Ministry advised the bill put up by the ACT Party breaches the Bill of Rights.

He says the government is also ignoring advice Maori will be worst affected.

“A lot of those people, as the Justice Ministry pointed out, could serve a sentence 10 times longer than the sentence they would possibly have served otherwise. Now that’s clearly a breach of our international obligations under human rights legislation,” Mr Workman says.

What's even more outrageous is that when the Government got advice from the Justice Ministry on the devastating effect of the Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill on Maori, it shifted prime responsibility for the bill to the Police.

PUKEKO STEW BACK ON THE MENU

News pukeko is on the menu for next month's wild food festival in Hokotika has brought back memories for some older Maori.

Kingi Ihaka, who was raised eating godwits, says pukeko is also a delicacy he would recommend.

His suggestion sparked calls to Radio Waatea including one from a woman who chose to remain anonymous, saying pukeko are a way to get through tough times and don't taste too bad.

"Just like wild duck and pheasant, they’ve got a taste of their own. I thought they were. My family thought they were too but my kids weren’t so keen on it because now and then I would forget a bone."

She says the best way to cook pukeko is stewed with carrots and onions, because they're very tough without a long cook.

Whanau ora suits Waipareira model

The chief executive of Waiparaera Trust is endorsing moves to make the new whanau ora health and welfare programmes available to all New Zealanders.

John Tamihere says the three quarters of the 47,000 west Aucklanders on the books of the trust's health care subsidiary are non-Maori, and it has put a proposal to government to extend whanau ora services to 130,000 families.

He says whanau ora should allow the Trust to align education, skills training and welfare programmes with health services.

“That alignment works better for us and it doesn’t matter who gets the service. What matters is that for the first time in New Zealand history, we are actually seen as no longer and anchor or burden to the community but are provising significant solutions,” Mr Tamahere says.

Whanau ora will work differently in other areas of the country where there higher percentages of Maori in the community.

BISHOPS CONCERNED AT HURIHANGA CLOSURE

Catholic and Anglican bishops in the Waikato have combined to voice their concern about the axing of government funding for Hamilton's Te Hurihanga offender rehabilitation centre.

The goverment claims the live in programme, which deals mainly with young Maori men, was too expensive.

But Denis Browne, who co-signed a letter to the Waikato times with Anglican David Moxon, says the programme wasn't given a chance.

“The success rate so far has been really uplifting, As far as we know there haven’t been any breakdowns at all in the formation that is given to these young peole and it’s disappointing a project so young is nipped in the bud before it gets a chance to prove itself,” Bishop Browne says.

He says the government seems to be turning its back on rehabilitation for offenders, particularly young Maori offenders.

CONE PLAN EMPTY WORDS ON PLANNING DOCUMENTS

Ngati Whatua says Auckland's City Council's commitment to protect the city's volcanic cones doesn't go beyond the words on planning documents.
The council has set aside just $457,000 this year to maintain all of the city’s 23 volcanic features.

Ngarimu Blair from Ngati Whatua o Orakei Trust Board says that means the continued degradation of the ancient sites.

That's a concern for the 12 mana whenua iwi and hapu who signed a framework agreement last week with the Crown promising them ownership and co-management of at least 11 cones.

Mr Blair says the budget doesn't match the council's claim the maunga make Auckland what it is.

“They're empty words on planning documents so if there is no real commitment from protecting these sites from erosion, form over-use of tourism and so on, it’s a travesty,” Mr Blair says.

WAKA TOI AXING COULD BE GOOD TIMING

A former head of Te Waka Toi and Creative New Zealand says the arts council needed an overhaul, but it's important to maintain a strong Maori presence.

The Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Christopher Finlayson, is scrapping separate Maori and Pacific arts boards in favour of a single 13-member board, which would include four members with knowledge of Maori arts.

Cliff Whiting says Creative New Zealand had become top heavy and bureaucratic.

“That's a natural process in the way things grow and develop. I think it’s reached a point now where change needs to take place but I do hope and I’m pretty sure the minister and others who are involved will make sure it is a fair split all the way round with ethnic groups and not only treaty partners but also with the different art forms,” he says.

Cliff Whiting was among the group of Maori artists and writers who lobbied for a separate Maori arts council back in the 1970s.

SKEPTICISM ON NEW ATTEMPT TO PUSH EDUCATION VOUCHERS

Labour's education spokesperson says Maori are unlikely to benefit from education vouchers.

A working group of National, ACT and Maori Party MPs yesterday released a paper proposing that parents can shift their kids to another school if they are in the top 5 percent or bottom 20 percent of students.

Kelvin Davis, who was an intermediate school principal before entering parliament, says it's nonsense for Maori children are in rural areas, because there are no alternative schools.

“There's going to be more inconsistencies for Maori kids with this whatever this report says and whatever these vouchers are meant to allow kids to be able to do. I don’t think Maori are going to benefit from this whatsoever,” Mr Davis says.

He says the scheme is likely to mean the diversion of funds from low decile schools which are already struggling to teach large numbers of Maori children.

MAST STEP FOUND IN MURIWAI WAKA

An ancient waka dug out of Muriwai Beach last year has revealed some surprises.

Robert Brassey, the Auckland Regional Council's heritage specialist, says restorers have spotted a socket or step for a mast, making it a rare example of a sailing canoe.

The seven metre kauri canoe was moved yesterday from a temporary tank at the Muriwai Parks Depot into a more permanent container, and Mr Brassey says preservation could take two years.

“The only thing that's stopping the waka deteriorating is that the cell structure of the timber so if it were to dry out it would shrink and collapse and turn to dust so in the longer term that water needs to come out and be replaced with something more permanent which is Polyethelyne glycol,” Mr Brassey says.

Once preservation is complete the waka can be put on display, after consultation with iwi.

Ngapuhi line-up preparing for hearing

Northern iwi Ngapuhi is fine tuning its attack for next month's opening hearing on its claim over the meanings of the Treaty of Waitangi and the 1835 Declaration of Independence.

Mere Mangu, who coordinated a meeting this week of Te Kotahitanga o nga hapu o Ngapuhi, says the iwi is adamant their tupuna never conceded sovereignty.

She says the hui was impressed by the line up of kaumatua and tribal scholars who will put the case.

“Nuki Aldridge is talking about the world view of Maori. Rima Edwards will concentrate his korero on the word ‘mana’ in He Whataputanga. Patu Hohepa has a paper on the language that was used in both He Whataputanga and Te Tiriti,” Ms Mangu says.

A further Kotahitanga hui will be held in a fortnight on Oromahoe Marae.

CONSTITUTIONAL ROAD TRIP GOODBYE PORK BARREL

Meanwhile, Maori Party MP Hone Harawira wants this year's promised constitutional review to be taken out to the nation.

With the party's co-leaders now government ministers, the Tai Tokerau MP and protest leader has been delegated to front the issue for the party.

He says it's not something that can be left to Wellington.

“We have to make sure it gets on the road, it stays on the road, we get it onto Maori radio, it becomes something people can talk about and understand and not just up there in the air. We’ve got to keep it low to the ground. There’s the whole issue of Maori rights, human rights,” Mr Harawira says.

He's optimistic the Moana Jackson-led roopu put together by the Iwi Leaders Forum to work on the review will provide a useful balance to the official process.

PROBLEM GAMBLING SETS UP PASIFIKA UNIT WITH MAORI INPUT

The Problem Gambling Foundation's new Pasifika unit is drawing on the experience of Maori-focused services.

Mapu Maia unit manager Pesio Ah-Honi Siita says gambling causes huge problems in both Maori and Pasifika communities.

She says the challenge is to create culturally focused interventions, including talking to people in their own languages and less emphasis on counseling.

“We don't have that concept in the Pacific. We call it talanoa which is talking, sharing stories and talking about our families and where we are connected and building that trust first before we can talk about the problem so developing different ways of doing things and delivering those services in a Pacific effective way,” Pesio Ah-Honi Siita says.

WHANAU ORA TAILORED FOR MAORI PROBLEMS

Associate social welfare minister Tariana Turia says if non-Maori want whanau ora, they can develop their own version.

In this week's statement to Parliament, Prime Minister John Key said the Government will ensure Whanau Ora is available to New Zealanders of all races who are in need.

Mrs Turia says while she doesn't mind other people having the same opportunities, the Whanau Ora taskforce led by Sir Mason Durie is working on Maori solutions to Maori problems.

“It's not a welfare progamme but when you transform people’s lives to take back more control over their lives, to be more self-determining about their future, to reconnect them to the essence of who they it is no doubt that we, through doing this, will address many of these social ills that impact on our people,” Mrs Turia says.

TE ARAWA SEEKS TO LEARN FROM WAIPAREIRA EXPERIENCE

Now it has completed its land settlement, Te Arawa is talking with other Maori groups around the country about social services.

Police superintendant Wally Haumaha from Ngati Ngatauranui was part of a Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa group which met with Te Whanau o Waipareira.

He says the West Auckland trust has built up considerable expertise in service delivery which the iwi can draw on.

“Now that we’ve come through treaty settlements and mapping our economic future within the tribe, we’ve also got to look at what that means for the well being of whanau, so our social programmes and social development aren’t left behind and forgotten,” Superintendant Haumaha says.

It's important to develop service delivery structures which are tailored to Maori needs and aspirations.

OWAIRAKA KAUMATUA PUT TOGETHER ROOPU TO OFFER MARAE HELP

A kaumatua group in Auckland has reformed to offer assistance to urban marae short on speakers.

Te Roopu kaumatua o Owairaka ki Tamaki was started in 1992, but went into recess a few years later.

Yesterday about 40 kaumatua met to breathe life back into the kaupapa.

Spokesperson Hone Komene says all members are over 60, and have put their hand up to help wherever needed.

The group will meet to learn waiata, tikanga and kaupapa which will help on the marae.

Hone Komene says as well as strengthening paepae when invited, the kaumatua roopu will continue to visit maori inmates in jail.

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.