Rush to sell water before treaty issues settled

The Greens say there should be no contracting out of water services until Maori rights to own and manage water have been resolved.

Local Government Minister Rodney Hide has introduced legislation to allow councils to contract out water services for up to 35 years.

Greens leader Meteria Turei says as well as transforming water services from public good to a source of private profit, the bill ignores Maori and treaty interests.

“Issues around who owns water or who has the right to manage water from a tikanga Maori point of view has not been settled yet so any attempt to start the process of charging for water needs to be preceded by a proper sorting out of the Maori interest in water,” Ms Turei says.

PHONE GAMES HELP MAORI TEENS TACKLE DEPRESSION

Auckland University psychiatrists are working with Maori computer game developers and kaumatua to develop high tech games which can help adolescents overcome depression.

Professor Sally Merry says one in five Maori women will have suffered a bout of depression by the time they are 18, and psychiatrists need to find culturally appropriate interventions.

She says game developer Maru Nihoniho worked with doctoral student Matt Stewart and kaumatua Rawiri Wharemate on Internet and cell phone games which make use of Maori mythology.

“There's a particular need for Maori adolescents because they are at particular risk for depression, but also we have protocols to actually work in partnership with Maori and I have been fortunate to have a kaumatua we have worked with for years to try to ensure anything we do is appropriate for Maori,” Professor Merry says.

The team has been fired up by the enthusiastic response the games got from this week's congress of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists congress in Auckland.

LAND TRUST LOOKS AT GETTING PROPERTIES THAT PAY WAY

A successful central North Island Maori land trust is on the hunt for poorly performing farms it can turn around.

Chairperson Andrew Kusabs says Rangatira 8-A 17 used profits from subdividing what used to be a sawmill's rubbish dump to buy the 220 hectare dairy farm at Reporoa, which is a finalist in this year's Ahuwhenua awards for Maori farming excellence.

He says the trust, which represents 1500 owners from the Rauhotu hapu of Ngati Tuwharetoa, still owns 15 hectares of land around Taupo.

Some of that land could be swapped for farm land once market conditions improve.

“It's possible we could subdivide that and do the same thing we’ve done in this case, purchasing a farm or other properties. I don’t care what we buy as long as it’s self-sustaining,” Mr Kusabs says.

An Ahuwhenua open day will be held on Rangatira 8-A 17's Reporoa property tomorrow.

TAINUI EXPRESS HEADS FOR WELLINGTON

It's all aboard the Tainui Express, as members of the tribe head to Wellington to witness the third reading of a bill giving the iwi a say in the management of the Waikato River.

Spokesperson Moko Tini-Templeton says three buses of kaumatua are traveling down overnight, and dozens more people are traveling by car.

They'll be welcomed by Taranaki Whanui on to Pipitea Marae at 11 before heading over to Parliament.

The Waikato-Tanui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill is due to be passed about 3.30pm

THREE STRIKES BILL OUTWEIGHS THE POSITIVES

The Greens say the three strikes bill which passed its second reading yesterday shows the government is out of touch with Maori.

Leader Meteria Turei says the criminal justice system is already weighted against Maori in arrests and sentencing, and the bill is likely to subject many Maori to extremely long sentences.

She says that will harm Maori whanau and communities.

“This is a government that on one hand is going out and doing their best to schmooze Maori in all sorts of areas and then at the same time where it counts, where the policies directly affect us, they’re quite happy to have corrections policy that is more likely to put us in jail for longer,” Ms Turei says.

She says Corrections and Police Minister Judith Collins has taken a narrow and conservative approach and refused to engage in real dialogue on Maori issues.

GREAT BARRIER IWI NOMINATES TOKI FOR UN ROLE

A woman from one of New Zealand's most remote communities will represent indigenous people will represent the indigenous peoples of the Pacific on the United Nations permanent forum on indigenous issues.

Valmaine Toki is from the Ngati Rehua hapu of Ngati Wai, based on Aotea-Great Barrier Island.

The Auckland University law lecturer says she's had a keen interest in global and indigenous issues, so she saw the opportunity of a three-year term on the 16-member council as a great way to encourage Maori participation in the forum.

She spotted the notice of the election while scanning the UN site for information for a research site, and brought it to the attention of her iwi trust board which nominated her.

Valmaine Toki says her nomination was in before New Zealand finally affirmed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, but the timing could have helped her case.

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.

Waitangi occupiers given ultimatum

A group which has been camping out at the lower Waitangi marae for five weeks have been given until Sunday to leave.

It includes members of the Hokianga-based Nga Uri o Tupoto sovereignty group from the Hokianga area which occupied a commercial building in Kaikohe until evicted by police in August.

Leader Tas Davis says the 20-strong group is there by right of the 1835 declaration of independence, and it won't leave until Waitangi Day on February 6.

But marae chair Kingi Taurua says Waitangi's Ngati Rahiri hapu has had enough.

“No tribe or person or subtribe is permitted to go and occupy another subtribe’s land and that is war because if you look at the Treaty of Waitangi, it talks about hapu, subtribes, having their own authority over themselves,” Mr Taurua says.

If the occupiers are not out by Sunday Ngati Rahiri will remove them by force if necessary ... but police won't be called in.

WATER SUMMIT A SUCCESS WITH UNITY KAUPAPA

One of the iwi leaders behind yesterday's national summit on water says it provided a sound basis to push for Maori ownership of water.

Mark Solomon from Ngai Tahu says iwi were keen to take a united approach to the Government's New Start to Freshwater initiative, which is looking at issues around water quality, allocation and demand as well as future governance arrangements.

He says like many iwi, Ngai Tahu is concerned at growing pressure on the resource.

“There are areas that are over-allocated for water. One of the major concerns for Ngai Tahu is about at least guaranteeing the in-stream flow ratios or guaranteeing the ecology of the whole catchment and in some areas that’s not happening. In some areas there’s water consent below what’s considered the minimum flow regimes,” Mr Solomon says.

He says there needs to be certainty around water management.

TIME RUNNING OUT TO BUY MOBILE PHONE SHARES

Meanwhile, iwi at yesterdays' national water hui were told time is running out to buy shares in mobile phone company Two Degrees.

Te Huarahi Tika chair Mavis Mullins told the hui the spectrum trust's American and European partners will take up the share if iwi don't, diluting the Maori interest down to 12 and a half percent.

She says Te Huarahi Tika and its commercial arm Hautaki have done the hard yards over the past decade lobbying regulators and laying the ground for investment in a third mobile operator.

“We've found the shareholders, we’ve found the investment, the last couple of years there’s been more than $200 million dollars invested into New Zealand’s infrastructure, we’ve created over 250 new jobs, all in a global recession. This thing is so derisked that it is time, Maori need to step up, we need to maintain that 20 percent because spectrum is the farm of the future for our kids, this is the primary asset for the future,” Mrs Mullins says.

Many Maori organisations feel more comfortable investing in forests or farms than phone companies, but they will never get another chance to buy the shares at such a low price.

NGATI MANAWA SETTLING HISTORIC CLAIMS

A new chapter opens for Bay of Plenty iwi Ngati Manawa as it settles its historical treaty claims.

Chairman Bill Bird says up to 500 people are expected at Murupara for tomorrow's signing, where the Crown will be represented by Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples.

He says the cultural redress package includes sites of significance in and around the Kaingaroa Forest and te Urewera National Park, and comes on top of the commercial redress which was part of the eight-iwi Central North Island forestry settlement.

Mr Bird says Ngati Manawa lost its land through confiscation during the land wars of the 1860s, through later actions by the Native Land Court, and throughout the 20th century through local government takings under the Public Works Act.

“So we've got an opportunity to stop that and all we’re saying is any development in our area, we want to be part of the decision-making, not just lip service, you go to see a kaumatua and say we’ve got that iwi’s approval, those days are gone,” Mr Bird says.

PRESSURE ON FOR WATER OWNERSHIP

Iwi leaders are determined to keep pushing for ownership of water.

A national hui in Wellington yesterday heard from the consultative group which is attempting to include a Maori perspective into the Government's New Start to Freshwater policy process.

Rotorua lawyer Willie Te Aho says while iwi in different parts of the country have different priorities, they are united on asserting their treaty right to the resource.

“There was a perspective from iwi that the water is owned by iwi and you just need to look at the Te Arawa and Taupo Tuwharetoa examples of, if you’ve got the ownership of the bed of a lake and it’s akin to a cup, the water that drops into that cup surely belongs to you, but that is not the current reality,” Mr Te Aho says.

Iwi are interested in the co-management regimes emerging over the Waikato and other rivers through the treaty settlement process.

REALITY SHOW PRODUCER HOPES FORMAT A WINNER

The producer of a six-part Maori-language reality show hopes overseas broadcasters will pick up the format.

Former TV3 producer Bailey Mackey also wrote and financed One Land, which screens on TVNZ this Sunday night.

It takes three families and puts in them in conditions from the 1850s, with a European family, a Maori-speaking family, and a Maori family living in a Pakeha setting.

Mr Mackey says it could have international appeal, even with 20 to 25 percent Te Reo content.

“One of the other interesting aspects would be round the sale of the format which will include the whole language element which I think other countries will look to pick up as well. There are countries where an indigenous language has been overtaken by different forms of colonization,” Mr Mackey says.

The format industry is worth $22 billion worldwide.

Common stand sought on freshwater management

Iwi leaders will gather in Wellington next week to thrash out a common position on development of the government's freshwater management policy.

Toby Curtis from Te Arawa says a small group of leaders have been talking with the Crown about the policy, and they now want to report back to the rest of Maori.

He says the current government seems willing to talk about ownership of water, but there are language difficulties.

“The trouble is when you’re dealing with it in the English language, Pakeha people have the ability to make it mean what they want, so I go back to how our people spoke about the water and how it was part of us and we were part of the water and we use te reo as the basis for what we mean by ownership, you have a totally different outcome,” Mr Curtis says.

Maori would reject the recommendation in the Brash taskforce report that a system of tradable water rights should be introduced to help this country catch up with Australia.

LOOK FOR SECOND HELPING IN FAT FIGHT CHALLENGE

A whanau weight loss challenge which saw south Auckland Maori lost more than 1300 kilos is likely to be repeated next year.

Organiser Tahuna Minhinnick says 50 teams of 10 took part, with the overall individual winner shedding 32 kilos and the winning team 135 kilos lighter at the final weigh in.

He says everyone who took part felt like a winner, and there is strong demand for second helpings, so people who try again have 12 weeks of experience they can apply to the next challenge.

Mr Minhinnick says the contest will have significant health benefits for whanau who took part.

TANGATA WHENUA EMBRACE DUTCH MONUMENT

The decendants Foxton's Dutch settlers are uniting with Maori in an ambitious project to reflect the township's cultural heritage.

Hayley Bell from Ngati Raukawa says the nine mana whenua hapu are joining with a national Dutch collective to build a $12 million arts and crafts museum and library.

It's near a windmill that is already a major attraction in the Horowhenua town.

“We're having korero, we’re trying to talk to people and I think it’s been great not only for our Dutch community but also for the other members of our community to learn about our tangata whenua groups because it’s enabled a lot of the history of the mana whenua to be brought out into the open,” Ms Bell says.

Stage one of the project should be open to the public by 2011.

DAMNING REPORT IGNORES POLICE CONTRIBUTION TO CHAOS

A lawyer who works in South Auckland is blaming poor police work rather than poor defence for delays in the court system.

Catriona MacLennan says Dame Margaret Bazley's review of the legal aid system which slams lawyers working out of the Manukau Court ignores the difficult conditions many of their Maori and Pacific Islands clients face.

She says clients would be better served if the courts were more efficient, and there is little defence lawyers can do about that.

“There has been a problem in recent years in that quite a large number of inexperienced police offices have come into the force and of course they’re not experienced to know what would be the appropriate charges to lay and that can result in quite a waste of time,” Ms MacLennan says.

There aren't enough judges to hear the number of cases, and the system is also clogged by sticking with a paper rather than an electronic records system.

OLDER MEN BECOME SUICIDE RISK GROUP

A Rotorua Maori suicide prevention group says the problem of self harm is shifting from rangatahi to middle aged Maori men who feel they have lost their mana.

Kia Piki Te Ora project leader Michael Naera says more Maori men over 35 are taking their own lives.

He says family break-ups and a change in economic circumstances are factors, along with alcohol and drugs.

“Our people were quite reliant on the men as the kai gatherers, the person who sustained the household with income, that’s changing now where the men’s role isn’t as prevalent,” Mr Naera says.

He says men's behaviour can also lead to incidents of self harm among women.

Kia Piki Te Ora, which is backed by Te Runanga o Ngati Pikiao, has won funding from Lakeland Health to address the issue at community level.

BRASH CALL FOR QUOTA SALES RINGS ALARM BELLS

Don Brash's call for fishing quota to be made available for sale to foreign investors has rung alarm bells with Maori fishing interests.

The recommendation to include quota in what Dr Brash calls the most liberal feasible foreign investment regime is included in the 2025 Taskforce report on how New Zealand can catch up with Australia.

Morrie Love from Te Atiawa says Maori didn't fight for a stake in the industry only to see the prime assets pass into foreign hands.

He says the current regime hasn't stopped foreign investment on terms favourable to New Zealand participants.

“There always have been foreign vessels involved. In fact they developed the deepwater industry. But the important thing is ownership says indigenous and we are able to have some significant say in the large foreign markets where we have to sell,” Mr Love says.

He says the New Zealand fishing industry needs to move to move towards a single desk seller model - which Dr Brash is totally opposed to.