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Monday, September 7, 2015

MOLE NEWS ARCHIVE 2



Legal threat ahead of council funding vote
The head of a panel that selects Auckland Council's Maori advisers threatened councillors with personal legal action over a vote to release ratepayer money.

Tame Te Rangi, the chairman of the Independent Maori Statutory Board's selection panel, made the threat in a letter to Auckland Council's chief executive, Stephen Town, on July 24.

Legal threat ahead of council funding vote
The head of a panel that selects Auckland Council's Maori advisers threatened councillors with personal legal action over a vote to release ratepayer money.

Tame Te Rangi, the chairman of the Independent Maori Statutory Board's selection panel, made the threat in a letter to Auckland Council's chief executive, Stephen Town, on July 24.

The Herald on Sunday obtained a copy of the letter, which states if Auckland Council didn't release the funding, he would initiate "legal proceedings against Auckland Council and each member of the Governing Body in their personal capacity".

The vote went ahead and the money — which the selection panel wants to use for a High Court case — was approved.

But some of the councillors have lodged a formal complaint with the Auditor-General calling for an investigation. "In essence this amounted to the individual who had written a letter threatening councillors with legal action against them personally," they wrote.

"No legal advice was forthcoming as to the personal liability of councillors and the vote proceeded."...
See full article HERE

Māori nurse educators: sustaining a Maori worldview
The future direction of nursing workforce development is a key area of discussion for College of Nurses Aotearoa (NZ) Inc board members.

As one of three Māori board members, my worldview always navigates me towards the current state of Māori nursing workforce development. Are we on track to support growth and sustainability for Māori? Current evidence suggests there are major issues impacting Māori nursing workforce growth that need to be addressed1.

We pride ourselves as global leaders in cultural safety and indigenous ways of knowing.

Ensuring students have the opportunity to engage and grow knowledge from within a Māori worldview is essential in the delivery of undergraduate education in our country....
See full article HERE

Sonny Tau withdraws hapū leadership bid
Embattled iwi leader Sonny Tau has withdrawn from the competition to be the new hapū kaikōrero (representative) for Ngai Tāwake on the Tūhoronuku Independent Mandated Authority.......
See full article HERE

Taranaki iwi sign Treaty deed
A $70 million Treaty Deed of Settlement between the Crown and Taranaki iwi has been signed at Pukeiti on the slopes of Mount Taranaki today.

Today's settlement also includes the rights to 29 culturally significant sites, including the Nga Motu Islands off the New Plymouth coast, and a similar number of Crown properties.

The iwi would also have the right of first refusal to surplus Crown land in its rohe.....
See full article HERE

Beaten children 'deserve a sorry'
Former MP Dover Samuels is calling for a formal apology to a generation of children who were beaten - in some cases until they bled - for speaking Maori at school.

No less than an apology from the Prime Minister, on behalf of the government, would suffice.

Mr Samuels said taking away the language was part of a wider disempowerment of whanau and hapu. Later Maori also lost their land, their fisheries, and the rest of their culture.....
See full article HERE

ECE children speak many languages
Samoan, Sign Language and Chinese are the most widely-spoken languages in early childhood centres after English and Maori, official figures show.

Education Ministry statistics showed there were 4299 licensed early childhood education (ECE) services last year, and 4101 of them used English to some extent.
Maori was spoken in 3666 centres, although most said they did so only between 1 percent and 11 of the time. In only 468 centres was Maori spoken more than 81 percent of the time.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


5 September 2015 

No consent for new $10 bill image, Trust claims
A Maori Trust claims the re-designed $10 bank note, due to be released next month, has used their pattern without permission.

The tukutuku panelling features on the background of the note and was taken from the Te Hau ki Turanga meeting house in Te Papa Museum.

But the Rongowhakaata Trust, which legally owns the whare, says it wasn't consulted and has called in the lawyers.

Spokesperson Robyn Rauna says the Reserve Bank didn't ask for permission.

"We think it's an honour to have people want to use our things, but first – just basic courtesy – ask."

She wants an apology and for the Reserve Bank to admit its mistake.....
See full article HERE

Marae nationwide feeling their age
The demand for repairs for marae nationwide is growing as many hit the century-old mark.

But there are fears the loss of knowledge of traditional Maori art work means some marae are missing out on their own tribal touch.

But there are fears the loss of knowledge of traditional Maori art work means some marae are missing out on their own tribal touch.....
See full article HERE

Great South Basin oil and gas exploration up for grabs
Meanwhile, Bridges has also instructed officials to begin engagement and information-sharing with iwi, hapu and local authorities in Southland so he can then consider including parts of onshore and offshore Southland in future block offers beyond 2016.....
See full article HERE

Agreement means Maori can be part of housing solution
An agreement with the Government over developing surplus land in Auckland helps cement the commitment to housing for its people, says the chair of the Tamaki Collective.

Ngati Whatua, which belongs to the collective, has dropped legal action over who gets first right to the land.

Chair of the Collective Paul Majurey said the details of the agreement and process had now been confirmed.

He said amongst other things, it meant private developers will not get better access to land than iwi.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


4 September 2015 

Water NZ wants more iwi-council cooperation
Water New Zealand is encouraging local governments to form partnerships with iwi to co-manage natural resources.

It comes as Ngati Porou and the Gisborne District Council form an agreement for joint management of the land and Waiapu River under the Resource Management Act (RMA).

Mr Pfahlert said, in conjunction with officials, the iwi would be involved in applications for taking water and setting limits on pollution or nutrient levels in the river.....
See full article HERE

Govt and iwi resolve stand-off over Crown land
The Government and Auckland iwi have resolved their stand-off over developing surplus Crown land for housing.

The agreement gives three main iwi the first right to develop housing on the land.

One of the iwi, Ngati Whatua, filed legal action in June, after the Government unveiled the first sites it would offer for development but said iwi had no right of first refusal.

As part of the agreement, 20 percent of homes in any development would be made available to the community housing sector, and a further 20 percent would be affordable, likely to cost less than $550,000.....
See full article HERE

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Welcome New Housing Agreement
“The agreement outlines our shared commitment to 40% of new houses built under the programme being made available for social and affordable housing.

At the same time, it clarifies how the Government and iwi will engage with one another in relation to surplus Crown land....
See full article HERE


$5m for Massey University ecological health researchers
Professor Murray Patterson, from the School of People, Environment and Planning, leads a project that focuses on empowering iwi and hapū to be strong partners in the co-management of estuaries in the harbour.

It will involve collecting an oral history of local iwi and hapū knowledge, gathering ecological knowledge including indicators of estuarine ecosystem health, resilience and functioning and developing a new hybrid geographic information systems model that integrates environmental, economic, cultural, land use and estuarine ecology information......
See full article HERE

Ngati Rangi starts land claim
Ruapehu iwi Ngati Rangi is the first to begin negotiating its Treaty of Waitangi land claim in the Whanganui District Inquiry.

Ngati Rangi aims to reach an Agreement In Principle (AIP) next year. This will be a broad outline of what will be in the settlement, with fine details negotiated after that. An AIP usually includes an agreed historical account of interaction between the iwi (tribe) and the Crown, Crown acknowledgments and apology, cultural redress and commercial redress, including Crown Forest Licensed land.

Ngati Rangi Trust chairman Kemp Dryden said the iwi's settlement aims align with the four focus areas of its strategic plan - environment, wellbeing, cultural revitalisation and prosperity - as well as reconciliation with the Crown....
See full article HERE

Māori Tourism wants government funding boost
Māori Tourism is the fastest growing sector in New Zealand, which is being promoted and lead by New Zealand Māori Tourism, but despite that the industry only gets 1% of the government's annual budget. 

A Māori promoter says it's time Government invested more in its biggest attraction. 

Māori Culture – it’s the uniqueness that sets New Zealand a part from the rest of the world, and it's one of the main reasons our visitors come here.

New Zealand Māori Tourism was established in 2004, to provide an overarching direction and focus for Māori tourism, and is endorsed by the Minister of Māori Development.

Te Ururoa Flavell says, “Māori Tourism is under my portfolio, they have their own autonomy, and they receive government funding through Te Puni Kōkiri to grow Māori Tourism.”

And it seems their request maybe met, the Māori Development Minister, Te Ururoa Flavell is open to assessing their needs, and finding a way to help them achieve their goals....
See full article HERE

South Island Maori close to charter school deal
Land is close to being secured for a proposed charter school project between Ngai Tahu and a wealthy American businessman.

Marc Holtzman planned to lean on acquaintances, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, to raise $10 million to $15 million for a new charter school.

The development comes as the Maori Party took a swipe at Labour over its unsuccessful attempt to stop two of its Maori MPs attending a charter school fundraiser.....
See full article HERE

Why the tino rangatiratanga flag should be our national choice (Opinion)
There's a house not far from here that flies the tino rangatiratanga flag. Every day, rain or shine, its flutters bravely atop its slender flagpole.

A statement? Certainly. But isn't every flag? The tino rangatiratanga flag stands for Maori sovereignty. It's about the proper relationship between those who came to these islands first and those who came later.

In other words, it's a flag that speaks directly to this country's past, present and future. For that reason, alone, it makes the strongest case for being chosen as the present flag's replacement. That it is also a superb design merely strengthens its claim.

It may require a revolution to do it, but, one day, the tino rangatiratanga flag will replace the silver fern, the Southern Cross and the Union Jack.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


3 September 2015

Judd keen to carve up city for Maori vote
New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd wants his council to adopt city wards as a way to increase the chances of Maori getting on the council.

He's called a hui at Owae Marae in Waitara on Thursday to discuss the current representation review.

A referendum rejected the notion of Maori wards, and the council has resolved to support the status quo, which is 10 councillors elected at large to represent the city and two to cover rural areas.

Mr Judd says there are other options available under the Local Electoral Act.

"Out at Owae I want to speak about one that I favour which is a ward structure in the city itself because it carves up the city so there is greater chance of Maori getting on because there are areas of the city where there are more populations of Maori so if I can carve the city up into those voting mesh blocks then I stand a better chance of getting Maori on council," he says.....
See full article HERE

'Everybody else knew about it but us' - Councillors say they were unaware of Panuku name change
Auckland councillors have been kept in the dark about a Maori word being added to the name of a new development agency for the Super City.

The city's 19 iwi were consulted, council chief executive Stephen Town and Mayor Len Brown's office were in the loop - but the city's 20 elected councillors only learned about the Maori element on Monday.

The renaming of Development Auckland to Panuku Development Auckland sparked a debate today about who is running the Super City - the city's elected representatives or the unelected directors of council-controlled organisations(CCOs) and officers.

"This is not about the name or a Maori issue," said councillor Dick Quax, "but an issue of who ultimately runs this city because everybody else knew about it but us."......
See full article HERE

Iwi back claim over Maori in prison
Two Hawke's Bay iwi entities are backing a retired probation officer's urgent claim in the Waitangi Tribunal alleging the Crown has failed to cut the high number of Māori in prison and their reoffending.

Mr Hemopo said Māori in prison needed to be able to reconnect with the Māori world and while that happened to some extent, the system fell down when they got out.

"I know that tikanga Māori works because over the years I've worked with many Māori offenders and once they realised who they were, where they came, from the penny dropped, and the reoffending stopped."

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi chair Ngahiwi Tomoana said Māori wanted to reverse the snowballing negative prison statistics.

Corrections' current policies did not recognise Māori rehabilitation processes and there was no trust in engaging with a Māori approach to finding solutions in the justice system, he said.

Mr Tomoana warned bringing in managers from overseas, who had no understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi or tikanga, was harming Māori......
See full article HERE

Encourage traditional medicine says researcher
Researchers studying traditional rongoā Māori say there is an urgent need to increase the number of healers to stop the knowledge from being lost forever.

Rongoā Māori is a holistic system of healing derived from Māori philosophy and customs.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


2 September 2015 

Customary claim to whitebait won't restrict access for everyone else
More needs to be done to preserve the whitebait stocks,  according to a South Taranaki woman fronting a claim to have customary rights to the native fish officially recognised by the Crown.

In 2005, three Ngaruahine hapu - Kanihi Umutahi, Okahu-Inuawai and Ngati Manuhiakai - filed an application for customary rights orders in the Maori Land Court under the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004. The applications were then transferred to the High Court under the Marine and Coastal (Takutai Moana) Act 2011.

Now the group are about to enter into talks with the Crown to advance the claim, which relates to South Taranaki waterways, including the Waihi Creek to the Ngaere Stream and the mouth of the Waingongoro River.

Noble said whitebait has cultural significance to tangata whenua as it was not only a common food source but it had been part of the Maori economy over the years too. 

"Whitebait is something that Maori have traded for generations," she said......
See full article HERE

Minister sidelines Kohanga Reo board
In an unprecedented move, Education Minister Hekia Parata has dealt directly with Kohanga learning centres, sidelining the National Trust board.

The Trust board has governed Kohanga Reo since 1983.

Two years ago she called a number of inquiries into spending and financial management at the Trust.

An audit and later a Serious Fraud Office investigation found a series of wrongdoings amounting to gross mismanagement.

Ms Parata said she was dissatisfied with changes at the Trust since then.

Now she has written directly to the 460 Kohanga Reo, saying she expected a new governance that was truly representative and auditable.

Ms Parata said that was a pre-requisite for resuming discussions on the Treaty of Waitangi claim and said there had been a lot of misinformation and half truths....
See full article HERE

Northland iwi looks at peat mining proposal
A Northland iwi is looking at a proposal for a new peat extraction industry for former wetlands in the Far North.

Ngai Takoto has been in discussions with private company Resin and Wax Holdings Ltd and economic development agency Northland Inc.....
See full article HERE

CYF private sector moves worry social work expert
"From a Māori perspective the risks are enormous. Unless all the Māori children were to be channelled into a service that was developed in partnership with iwi they risk being lost in systems where their whānau, hapū, iwi connections will not be maintained.

"I would be very worried about further alienation."

"Māori are over-presented as CYF clients, more than half the children in care are Māori, if you were to look at the contracting out of care, that potentially increases the risk of them not being in culturally appropriate placements."......
See full article HERE

Second iwi threatening court action
A second iwi is threatening court action following the Māori King's announcement that Tainui Waikato has treaty claims in Auckland.

Last week Auckland iwi Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei announced it was heading to court to get clarification of the Crown's policy on overlapping claims.

Ngāti Pāoa negotiator Mo-rehu Wilson said it was disappointing iwi who had already settled were resorting to the High Court to attempt to renegotiate with the Crown......
See full article HERE

High Court instructs Tribunal to reconsider Ngāti Kahu claim
The High Court has ruled in favour of Archdeacon Timoti Flavell's judicial review application on behalf of Ngāti Kahu iwi, one of five iwi of the Far North requesting to have their binding recommendations claim heard again by the Waitangi Tribunal who declined their request in 2013.
  
Ngāti Kahu chair Professor Margaret Mutu says, although their claims are a long way away from reaching a treaty settlement, the decision is promising.

The chair of Ngāti Kahu Rūnanga acknowledges that there is a long process ahead of them......
See full article HERE

Dover Samuels on being beaten for speaking te reo Māori at school
Māori political veteran Dover Samuels is expected to give evidence to the Waitangi Tribunal today about a subject he has never spoken of before in public - the brutal punishment of young Māori children in the 1940s for speaking te reo Māori at school.

The tribunal is sitting in Mr Samuels' home community of Matauri Bay in Northland this week to hear the claims of locals and Whangaroa hapu in its long-running inquiry into the historical grievances of Ngāpuhi and other northern iwi.

Mr Samuels - a former Labour minister and the chair of the Northland Regional Council's Māori advisory committee - told Radio New Zealand's Northland reporter, Lois Williams, about the beatings he endured as a small boy who had only ever spoken Māori at home.
"You'd be hauled out in front of the rest of the class, in front of your own whanau, and told to bend over. The teacher would have - he had this container, which had a number of vines of supplejack out of the bush not far from the school... You'd bend over and he'd stand back and give you, what they called it then, six of the best," he said.

Mr Samuels said he would like to see an apology made to the nation, and suggested a scholarship fund could be set up for the descendants of those who were beaten.

"I think that would go some way - along with a really genuine apology - to a generation of Māori children that, really, many people have tried to actually cover up and forget about, simply because it was something of the past." ....
See full article HERE

Water New Zealand applauds council and iwi for first
Water New Zealandis applauding Gisborne District Council and Ngati Porou for working together in forming an agreement, the first of its kind, in relation to the co-management of the Waiapu River under the Resource Management Act.

“This agreement shows a willingness of council to work with the Maori community on river management issues that are of interest to the local community, says Water New Zealand CEO, John Pfahlert.

“Up until now the only other co-management arrangements have been ones based on specific changes – Whanganui and Waikato rivers as part of Treaty settlements.

“The Resource Management Act provides for the establishment of joint management agreements under section 36 – this doesn’t apply just to just rivers but the management of any resources with another party.

The agreement provides for the development of a catchment management plan and joint decision making on how water is used: quality, quantity, limits and targets.

Mr Pfahlert says he hopes to see more collaboration between iwi and councils in the future....
See full article HERE

Carpentry course for Maori students comes to Timaru
Budding Maori and Pacific carpenters in the region now have the chance to learn a trade through a Maori trades training programme.

The He Toki ki te Rika programme starts on Wednesday and will be the first of its kind offered in Timaru.

The course takes up to 16 Maori and Pasifika students, who will train in carpentry free of charge.....
See full article HERE

Sir Edmund Hillary's daughter applauds 'beautiful' new NZ banknotes
While the notes have similar themes to the existing issue, they are noticeably brighter and will include more Maori design.

They will also have Te Putea Matua - the Maori name for the central bank - printed on them for the first time.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


1 September 2015

Tribunal Claim: Too Many Māori in Prison And Reoffending
Waitangi Tribunal Claim Filed Against Corrections Alleges Too Many Māori in Prison And Reoffending

Tom Hemopo, a retired probation officer, has today filed an urgent claim to the Waitangi Tribunal on behalf of himself and his iwi alleging Crown failures to reduce the number of Maori in prison and high reoffending rates.

The ‘Corrections Claim’ targets the Department of Corrections which has failed to reduce high rates of reoffending by Māori and has the support of two Hawkes Bay iwi entities - Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated and Ngāti Pāhauwera Development Trust.

Māori comprise 15% of the population, but make up the highest percentage of all convictions. Half of all men and 63% of all women in prison are Māori. Despite Corrections dealing with high numbers of Māori offenders, the reoffending rates for the group are significantly higher than for any other ethnicity. A 2009 Corrections report found that five years after release from prison, 77% of Māori offenders were reconvicted, and 58% were back in prison.

“I am asking the Tribunal to consider this claim urgently because too many Māori are suffering right now while the Crown ignores its failure to reduce the numbers of Māori in prison and reoffending on release,” Tom Hemopo says.
“I hope by hearing this claim urgently, the Tribunal will hold the Crown to account.....
See full article HERE

Council removes Maori flag from statue
The Maori sovereignty flag was seen flying high over Victoria St this morning in the bronze hand of Gallipoli soldier and artist Horace "Sapper" Moore-Jones.

Councillor Andrew King was on the scene to monitor the flag's removal, and said he suspected it had gone up overnight.....
See full article HERE

Action urged to improve water quality and aquatic life
The Conference in Christchurch Friday 28-Sunday 30 August on Dialogues on Freshwater - Navigating impasses & new approaches was organised by Environment and Conservation Organisations of New Zealand (ECO).

Vowing to join together to tackle declining water quality, and losses of our native animals and life in water ways, conference attendees heard from Maori and Pakeha specialists and reprentatives.

Eminent Maori jurist Sir Edward Taihakurei Durie gave the opening address. He presented new proposals for water allocation. These are founded on the principle of public good and restoration of cultural relationships and knowledge.

That proposal would give priority provision of water for ecosystems, and domestic uses over commercial uses. Commercial users of water should pay for their use and recognise the special customary use rights of hapu or iwi.

Funds from these payments would then be used to protect and restore the water quallity and life in the lakes, rivers and wetlands and to help Maori youth and others to reconnect with their ancestral waters and management and cultural connections.

Dr Linda Te Aho, University of the Waikato, applauded the advances that were occurring through Treaty Settlements with the Waikato and Whanganui River. She said the Whanganui River will have its own legal personality recognised and protected by legally appointed advocates but more needs to be done to redress the legacy of harm and to adopt the principle of responsibility.
More than 100 iwi representatives, specialists, members of the public and ECO member organisation delegates from around New Zealand attended the meeting.
See full article HERE

Govt encourages Maori to get involved in IT
The New Zealand Government has launched a Maori Technology Scholarship to encourage more Maori into the Information Technology sector.

Flavell also acknowledged Ngai Tahu, which is the first iwi to invest in the programme, its committed $25,000 towards placing tribal members in the programme.
See full article HERE

Owners among opponents of Lake Horowhenua work
Three members of the Lake Horowhenua Trust are among those opposed to the latest steps to improve the health of the lake.

Horizons Regional Council received 27 submissions on resourse consents for a suite of cleanup activities at Lake Horowhenua. Among the 11 submitters in opposition were Lake Horowhenua trustees Eugene Henare, Vivian Taueki and Charles Rudd.

The trust represents the interests of the approximately 1600 Maori owners of the lake and is elected by them. The trust also has three seats on the Lake Domain Board and is a member of the Lake Horowhenua Accord.

The trust was among the 15 submissions in favour of the cleanup work, and the submissions from three members against the work is a sign of the division within the trust over the accord process.

Horisons Regional Council had sought resource consent from itself, and from Horowhenua District Council to operate a weed harvester on the lake, to build a fish pass between the lake and the Hokio Stream and to build a sediment trap where the Arawhata Stream flows into the lake.

Henare, a former chairman of the trust, said in his submission he opposed all parts of consents applied for.

He said the council should "go back to the beginning" and restart the application process by holding a series of hui with lake owners and wider consultation with the community.

Taueki submitted on behalf of the Muaupoko Co-operative Society and said the work planned would have serious impacts on taonga and wahi tapu sites at the lake. She also wrote there had been a lack of consultation.

Rudd said Horizons did not have jurisdiction over the area; this was instead held by the Maori Land Court. He said the application was a form of "alienation of Maori land by stealth" as well as a form of "institutional racism".

The trust submission said the cleanup work planned would meet its aspirations for the lake and would have a positive effect on the environment.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


31 August 2015 

Former All Black's rugby pub 'an insult to Maori culture'
Former All Black Byron Kelleher has been slammed for cultural insensitivity over the launch of his new pub Haka Corner.

The 57-test star is preparing to open the sports bar in his home city of Toulouse, and there are also plans to extend to other French cities.

But Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell and his predecessor Sir Pita Sharples have criticised its linking of the traditional Maori war cry with a booze outlet.

"This is blatant piggy-backing off Maori culture and is out of order," Flavell said.

"To make money from associating drinking alcohol with Maori people is completely unacceptable and shows no credibility or integrity.....
See full article HERE

Justice system needs overhaul to reduce Maori crime - expert
Statistics show Maori are more likely to be arrested and get a prison term and less likely to get home detention or a fine.

They also make up more than 50 percent of New Zealand’s prison population.

Auckland University senior law lecturer Khylee Quince told TV ONE’s Q&A programme it's time for a new way of dealing with crime and punishment.

Ms Quince says she’s also advocating for a separate justice system to be introduced for Maori in the long term.

“People tend to act more favourably towards people that look like them and speak the same language and so when you translate that into the decisions of judges, of police officers, of people in the system, than that negatively impacts on people that aren’t represented.” She said.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


30 August 2015

Giving iwi a shared role
A UNANIMOUS vote by Gisborne District Council has given the go-ahead for a joint management agreement between the council and Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou to manage the Waiapu River catchment, a first of its kind in New Zealand.

After listening to a presentation from the runanganui, the council instructed staff to develop the agreement, which will come back to the council’s October meeting for final adoption.

A packed public auditorium heard runanganui presenters Amo Houkamo and Tina Porou describe a historic “win-win” agreement that will allow the iwi to be involved in resource consent applications in the catchment. The sky would not fall because of the agreement, they told the council.....
See full article HERE


Ngati Whatua Orakei seek clarity on overlapping claims
Ngati Whatua has today filed papers in the Auckland High Court to seek clarification of the Crown’s process in negotiating Treaty of Waitangi settlements in Auckland.

Ngati Whatua Deputy Chair, Ngarimu Blair, says the hapÅ« aims to get clarity on the Crown’s policy regarding ‘overlapping claims’.

"This is about protecting our settlements, not stopping anyone else’s.

"Ngati Whatua has been very accommodating, constructive and flexible in its approach to achieve a settlement for wider Auckland.

"We want all iwi in Tāmaki to settle with the Crown. However, the Crown has a responsibility to settle grievances honourably, without undermining existing settlements.

"We have attempted to work through this matter face to face, but as a Trust, we have a duty to protect the interests of our members, and our mana. Our disagreement is with the Crown, not other iwi."

Ngati Whatua says litigation was its last option but it believes this action will ultimately benefit all iwi who have settled, or will settle, with the Crown.....
See full article HERE

Maori Party Accuses Govt of being Slum-Landlord
The co-leader of the Maori Party has delivered a stinging attack on the National-led Government, criticising it as a “slum landlord”.
Marama Fox – whose political party actually props up the Government with a confidence and supply agreement – said Thursday that until the Government brings its state housing stock up to liveable standards it is “the biggest slumlords of this country”....
See full article HERE

Bay of Plenty place names corrected
Land Information Minister Louise Upston has today announced her decision to correct the spelling of 12 place and feature names in the Opotiki District.

The names include such places as the Waiotahi River, Waiotahi Forest and Waiotahi Knoll, which will be corrected to the original Māori name ‘Waiotahe.’...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


28 August 2015 

Ngati Whatua will fight King's land-grab
For generations, Ngati Whatua have been forced to defend our mana and people when neighbouring iwi have come to claim our land and separate us from the generations of our ancestors buried here.

The speech by King Tuheitia Paki at the weekend was a fresh attempt to take our lands and another surprising incursion into politics and other matters unbecoming of the paramount chief of Tainui. An event that should have brought Maori together was instead used for a poorly timed land-grab by the poorly advised King.

The distinctive and delicate nature of claims to Tamaki is the result of a thousand years of migration and settlement by myriad hapu and iwi.

Over 400 years of migration, wars and conquest saw hapu and iwi such as Ngaoho, Ngati Huarere, Ngati Awa, Ngaiwi and Ngariki come and go.

Eventually they were displaced by the large tribal group known as Waiohua around the early 1600s. Waiohua, too, would be forced to move to another part of Tamaki as invaders from the Kaipara took control of the main isthmus, including the largest fortress at Maungakiekie, One Tree Hill.

The descendants of those Kaipara invaders, who came to Tamaki to right a wrong, continue to live and flourish upon the lands of their ancestors. Their headquarters are no longer on that prominent summit, where a large obelisk now stands above the remains of Sir John Logan Campbell bearing words of farewell to the Maori race......
See full article HERE

Incarceration rate for Maori children a stands out in Children’s Commissioner’s report of CYF
Two Maori child advocates say that the high incarceration rate for Maori children is one of the most shocking aspects of the Children’s Commissioner’s report of Child, Youth and Family released today.

“58% of Child, Youth and Family’s care and protection clients are Maori,” says Child Advocate Anton Blank, “which confirms what we already know about tamariki Maori, who experience more child abuse than other groups.

“Once they are part of the Child, Youth and Family system, however, they are more likely to be taken into care and spend time in Child, Youth and Family institutions. A whopping 68% of children in these institutions are Maori.” 

“Maori kids in CYF care talk about the importance of cultural activities. Immersing tamariki Maori in Maori culture generates tangible and positive change.

“This is something we experience with the prevention of SUDI. Our research tells us that young Maori want to experience a Maori narrative of parenting. They want to see Maori imagery and words on our resources because these are things that affirm their identity.”.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


27 August 2015

Resource management on agenda
Treaty settlements have led to co-management regimes for all sorts of things, Waikato River, etc. Uncle Api was a pretty tough negotiator, so Ngati Porou have a Treaty deal that guarantees them a fair bit of say in what goes on along the Coast.

Most New Zealanders don’t yet realise that the Government has negotiated away the democratic control of land and resources, but even when they wake up it will be too late.
And no good grumbling. When the TMO makes a decision, that’s it, moaning doesn’t help.....
See full article HERE

Funding crisis forces Far North iwi to shut down services
A Far North iwi has shut down its social services and ordered a special audit to probe into its "challenging financial circumstances".

The Te Aupouri Trust Board announced this morning that it has laid off 12 staff on the advice of its financial advisers.

The board is funded through property investments and holds government contracts for social work.

Mr Ihaka said he could not comment on reports the board had an unexplained funding shortfall of several hundred thousand dollars until auditors have investigated......
See full article HERE

Iwi protest over wastewater plans
The Horowhenua District Council will continue with plans to pump wastewater into land near Poutū Marae, despite iwi opposition.

Members of Ngāti Whakatere have been protesting the plans outside the Shannon Wastewater Treatment plant since Monday.

But Mr Clapperton said the plans would eventually go ahead, saying the Environment Court had given it the all-clear to discharge treated wastewater onto the land.

Local Māori claim the whenua was the scene of an ancestral battle site, kainga (homes) and said there had been an urupā (Māori cemetery) there too....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


26 August 2015 
Claim to rewrite Auckland history
The chief negotiator for Waikato-Tainui, Tukoroirangi Morgan, says the tribe’s claim for Auckland will rewrite the city’s historical narrative.

Mr Morgan says what was originally known as the Huakina claim was initially lodged in 1987, shortly after the Waitangi Tribunal’s scope was extended to include historical claims.

It was revised in 1993 to cover issues which would not be captured by the tribe’s Raupatu Claim settlement, which covered the areas confiscated by the Crown after its invasion in 1863.

He says it’s separate to the claims of the Tainui hapu that are being dealt with as part of the Tamaki Makaurau Collective.

Material gathered to back the claim includes Governor Sir George Grey’s reports to the Colonial Office about asking Te Wherowhero to protect Auckland from threatened Ngapuhi raids.

Mr Morgan says Treaty Negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson has agreed the claim could go to direct negotiation, and terms of negotiation are being prepared....
See full article HERE

Tukoroirangi Morgan threatens legal action over Govt's land sell off
Tainui spokesperson Tukoroirangi Morgan has threatened legal action over the government's surplus land sell off in Auckland. 

Morgan spoke to Waatea Radio this morning and said the Huakina claim, lodged by Tainui in 1987 regarding their interests in the Auckland region had not been resolved, and any land sell off would trigger court action.

The Prime Minister was surprised to hear that Tainui could be heading to court if land pertaining to their claim in Auckland is sold off...
See full article HERE

Tainui told get mandate and spell out claims
Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson has one message for Waikato-Tainui if it wants to begin negotiating a claim over parts of Auckland - get a mandate and specify your claims.

He said he had given Tukoroirangi Morgan the same message about five times in the past.

"He nods and then nothing happens," Mr Finlayson told the Herald.

"Mandates don't last forever."

Mr Finlayson said he had also formally written to Waikato-Tainui two years ago setting out what needed to be done if it had a claim to parts of Auckland.....
See full article HERE

Minister accused of holding up treaty talks
The Hauraki District's mayor says it is hugely disappointing that the Hauraki Collective's treaty settlement negotiations have been stalled since last December.

Mayor John Tregidga is urging Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson to get on with settling the claims in the Hauraki-Coromandel region.

The mayor said the negotiations were around 99 percent complete, but the minister had refused to negotiate since some Hauraki iwi went to the Waitangi Tribunal over a separate issue of representation on a pan-iwi governance forum in Bay of Plenty.

Mr Tregidga said the delay was a missed opportunity for the region, as he understands the Hauraki iwi would have a balance sheet of about $200 million once the settlement was complete.

"That would make them the biggest business people within the Hauraki District, the Hauraki region, so it is significant," he said....
See full article HERE

Iwi claim consultation was just 'lip service'
A Shannon iwi plan to picket outside the town's wastewater treatment plant until they feel their concerns have been heard by Horowhenua District Council.

Ngati Whakatere are protesting what they say is a lack of consultation over plans to discharge Shannon's wastewater on to a neighbouring farm, which is owned by the council.

Spokesman Robert Ketu told the Manawatu Standard on Monday morning the iwi felt like it had only received "lip service" from the council and that its concerns over the disturbance of wahi tapu and other sites of significance on the farm were not being taken seriously.

Council chief executive David Clapperton met with iwi members on Monday afternoon and said he was confident their concerns could be resolved.

Clapperton says that over the past two years the consultation with the iwi and all other affected parties had been thorough, transparent and meaningful.

Ketu said any work on implementing the land-based discharge system, which received resource consent from the Environment Court in 2014, should be halted until the iwi and council had met.

"We want them to sit down with us and understand the tikanga and the kawa that connects us to this land," Ketu said.

Clapperton said that the resource consent conditions were developed in consultation with Ngati Whakatere and other parties.....
See full article HERE

Universities join forces vying for Northland students
Usually universities are competing to recruit school leavers but the exact opposite will be happening in Northland.

Rather than each university individually visiting schools encouraging students to choose them as a study option, four universities will be visiting 11 Northland schools together as a way of reaching out to Maori students.

Senior future student adviser Maori at The University of Waikato, Alonzo Mason, said it was an approach that best aligned with Maori culture and practice.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


25 August 2015 

Key: Auckland claim appears to have missed deadline
Prime Minister John Key says it appears the Kingitanga movement did not lodge a claim for parts of Auckland by the 2008 deadline.

Waikato-based Maori King Tuheitia told those gathered at Ngaruawahia's Turangawaewae Marae on Friday, including Mr Key, he has launched a claim for much of the Auckland region.

"To actually make a claim you had to register by 2008 and we can't see anything at this point where they have registered," Mr Key told the Paul Henry programme......
See full article HERE

Iwi may buy more state houses
Ngāti Ranginui is considering whether it can purchase a larger cut of the state housing stock earmarked for sale in Tauranga.

Of the 1140 Tauranga state houses to be sold off by the Government, 115 of them have been set aside for Ngāti Ranginui to buy through its Treaty of Waitangi negotiations.

Mr Kawe said as with most iwi, the financial compensation from settlement wasn't enough to cover everything.....
See full article HERE

First for Maori in pipeline
A HISTORIC agreement that would give Ngati Porou the power to become involved in the management of the Waiapu catchment — a first for Maori and the local authority in this district — will be considered by Gisborne District Council on Thursday.

Staff are recommending the council prepare a joint management agreement for the Waiapu catchment that would allow iwi to be involved in Resource Management Act processes within the catchment.

The agreement would see the runanganui involved in a number of planning processes.

A delegation from Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou will be present at the meeting. It will also include notification of the freshwater plan for the district, another process on which the runanganui wants to have an active role.....
See full article HERE

Taranaki Iwi Trust to finalise $70m settlement with Crown
Taranaki Iwi Trust will formally sign its $70m treaty settlement on September 5.

During July's initialling hearing, Minister for Treaty of Negotiations Chris Finlayson said some of the injustices suffered by the Taranaki Iwi Trust were the most "significant and grave" injustices suffered by tangata whenua in New Zealand.

In particular, the invasion of Parihaka and the unfair imprisonment of prophets Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi were events which had left a legacy of hurt, he said......
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


24 August 2015

From the NZCPR Breaking Views archives (By Reuben P Chapple)
Maori Land
Property rights come about in one of two ways:
1. What in a pre-legal society might be referred to as “Customary Title.” This is not ownership at all, merely a temporary right of use or occupation, lasting only until extinguished by superior force.

2. Legal ownership. This means the ability to exclude others by the force of law. The underlying requirement is a universally recognised, settled form of civil government that protects property owners against violent dispossession, and provides for ongoing security of tenure, i.e. “time without end in the land.”

Former Auckland University Professor of Maori Studies, Dr Ranginui Walker, has stated: “On the eve of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, there was not one inch of land in New Zealand without its Maori owners.”

Such an assertion, while politically useful, is factually vacuous.

Prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in February 1840, there was no such thing as a collective “Maori.” Nor was there any settled form of civil government. The functional social unit of pre-European Maori society was the hapu, or sub-tribe. Each hapu was in a Hobbesian state of nature (“War of every man against every man”) with every other hapu, rendering life “nasty, brutish and short.”

In his book Maori Land Tenure: Studies of a Changing Institution (1977), Sir Hugh Kawharu sets out to fabricate a universally recognised body of Maori property rights pre-dating the Treaty of Waitangi. By implication, these were rudely subsumed by white-settler governments, who substituted their own Eurocentric notions of property ownership. This now widely accepted thesis is arrant nonsense designed to fudge or remove the fact that “Customary Title” is in practical terms no title at all.

Within the hapu-controlled estate, whanau groups sometimes enjoyed the exclusive rights of occupancy or usufruct that Kawharu has identified, but the only universally accepted concept of land ownership BETWEEN hapu was "Te rau o te patu" or "The Law of the Club."

This means that before 1840, though various Maori tribes were effectively the sole occupants of New Zealand, they were never owners. In the absence of a settled form of civil government, hapu merely used or occupied land only until someone else came along and took it off them.

Article I of the Treaty of Waitangi (the assumption of national sovereignty by the Crown) modified this position; also Article II, which purported to convert this ephemeral “Customary Title” into permanent legal ownership.

However, the Treaty was never meant to convey to Maori ownership of the entire land area of New Zealand. It was intended to secure the various hapu in a legal (as opposed to “Customary Title”) ownership of land that they actually used or occupied as at February 1840.

In practice, this meant ownership of land identifiably occupied and cultivated. It is ludicrous to propose that someone would expend more energy foraging for food than it would provide once found. So at a most generous assessment, such ownership might stretch to include perhaps one day’s hunting and gathering range around a Maori settlement.

At the time the Treaty was signed, even in the vastly more populous North Island, such settlements were typically few and far between.

The North Island in 1840 was home to an estimated 100, 000 Maori. Ernest Dieffenbach, a German-born naturalist who travelled throughout the North Island in 1844, reported that "even in the areas of greatest Maori habitation, there are huge tracts of land, even up to hundreds of miles, between the various tribes [hapu]."

The South Island lay practically deserted. Edward Shortland's 1846 census found some 2, 500 Ngai Tahu, resident at several coastal locations. To suggest that 2, 500 people [a] lived on; [b] cultivated; or [c] hunted and gathered over more than 13 million hectares of land is arrant nonsense.

Even in the North Island, aside from the immediate areas around a Maori settlement, the "waste lands" were uninhabited, unimproved, uncultivated, and untrod by human feet, other than those of an occasional war party or traveller. Since the forcible exclusion of other groups was in practical terms impossible, the “waste lands” had no “Customary Title” owners to become legal owners under Article II of the Treaty.

The mischievous notion that Maori “owned” land and associated resources they neither used nor occupied was a fiction propounded in the 1840s and 1850s by the missionaries. They were well aware that the Crown had little money for land purchasing. The missionary agenda was to keep secular, worldly Pakeha confined to areas already settled, thus ensuring missionaries remained the only European influence in the all-Maori hinterlands they sought to Christianise.

The Crown was obliged to accept this misinformation because it had a mere handful of troops available to enforce its edicts against 100, 000 well-armed and potentially warlike Maori. Once Maori learned that the Treaty supposedly gave them title to the entire land area of New Zealand, each hapu became an instant "owner" of huge tracts of "waste land" adjoining its settlement(s). Naturally, this created multiple competing “ownership” claims.

To convey a clear title to subsequent purchasers and ensure incoming settlers went unmolested, the Crown was obliged to extinguish this Maori "ownership" by paying all purported claimants. In many early land purchases the Crown paid out anyone asserting a right to be paid.

The Native [now Maori] Land Court was originally set up to deal with these competing claims to the “waste lands.” "Ownership" was typically awarded to whoever could spin the most convincing whakapapa about how his remote ancestor had travelled over the land 500 years before naming natural features after parts of his body.

Had the missionaries not queered the pitch for the Crown, the "waste lands" and appurtenant rights would have simply been assumed by all to be vested in the Crown, to be held, managed, onsold, or otherwise used for the benefit of ALL New Zealanders, irrespective of race.

"Appurtenant rights" of course include those associated with the foreshore and seabed, which in any event fall outside the scope of any rights purportedly reserved to "Maori" under the Treaty.

The English Treaty version at Article II refers to "fisheries." This is simply the right for Maori to go fishing and gather shellfish. Since Article III conveys to individual Maori “all the rights and privileges of British Subjects,” the Crown holding the seabed and foreshore in public ownership clearly fulfils these requirements.

Correctly interpreted, the Treaty establishes no exclusive rights for today’s mixed-blooded New Zealanders whose Maori ancestors signed the Treaty to control any of New Zealand's foreshore and seabed, let alone clip the ticket for activities not in contemplation at the time that the Treaty was signed.

Corporate Iwi claims to seabed and foreshore are already being mounted on the basis of maps such as those accessed via the links below below:

http://www.takoa.co.nz/iwi_maps_north.htm

http://www.takoa.co.nz/iwi_maps_south.htm

As the foregoing discussion demonstrates, this “Map of Europe” approach with its arbitrarily drawn “frontiers” is yet another trougher-fabricated nonsense.

Since Maori owned nothing in 1840, the foreshore and seabed are resources that should rightly remain vested in public ownership for the benefit of ALL New Zealanders, not passed to self-identified, self-interested, minority groups.
January 10, 2015

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


23 August 2015

Tainui’s Absurd Claim for Auckland
National’s indulgence for Maori separatism is leading to ever more ludicrous claims, this time Tainui for Auckland, which was announced by the Prime Minister himself, says New Zealand First Leader and Member of Parliament for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“Imagine how much taxpayer cash Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Chris Finlayson will need to stump up the costs for a Crown negotiator for a settlement like this.

“In all seriousness National is keen to put iwi before Kiwi and that’s not something people voted for.

“Only last month Environment Minister Nick Smith confirmed National was negotiating with many iwi over demands for water ownership. This hitherto had been denied by National.

“And when the Auditor-General found absolutely no evidence of value for money from the $140 million spent on Whānau Ora, National didn’t scrap it. Instead they massively increased the budget.

“You know this is not the National Party of old when Whangarei MP, Dr Shane Reti, supposedly a medical doctor, stands up in Parliament to bemoan how little is being spent on ‘Maori spiritual health’.

“As New Zealand First warned, these claims set iwi against iwi and iwi against the rest of New Zealand

“National has indulged Maori separatism and is now attracting patently absurd claims like Tainui’s for Auckland,” says Mr Peters.....
See full article HERE

Auckland iwi closely watch Maori King's claim
Ngati Whatua Orakei say any new Treaty of Waitangi settlements in the Auckland region must not undermine existing settlements.

The Auckland-based hapu issued a statement today after Waikato-based Maori King Tuheitia launched a claim for much of the Auckland region.

King Tuheitia told those gathered at Turangawaewae Marae on Friday, including Prime Minister John Key, he wanted to see the claim through.

The king's spokesman Tukoroirangi Morgan acknowledged the claim would challenge with Auckland-based iwi.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson had agreed to hear the claim, he said.
Ngati Whatua Orakei deputy chair, Ngarimu Blair, says the hapu has a long-standing relationship with Tainui and the Kingitanga.

"In fact we gifted land to them within Tamaki in the 1830s," he said.

Ngati Whatua Orakei had lived in central Auckland for centuries and would be watching this claim and others very closely, he said.

Meanwhile Ngapuhi leader David Rankin announced plans are underway for Ngapuhi to make a Treaty claim on the greater Auckland area.

Mr Rankin says there are many sites in Auckland that are sacred, and Ngapuhi's presence there, the single biggest Maori population in Auckland, dates back centuries.

"Historically, and because of current occupation, Auckland is a Ngapuhi city first and foremost."

Ngapuhi will claim a breach of the Treaty occurred because the Crown ignored Ngapuhi when settling the Auckland claim with Ngati Whatua.

Mr Rankin says he decided to make Ngaipuhi's claim public after Tuheitia's announcement, but plans to lay a claim go back five years.

"The King of Huntly is being a bit cheeky. His ancestors didn't even sign the Treaty and now he wants a piece of the action. But Ngapuhi's message to him is clear: keep out of Auckland until we've finished with it!"
See full article HERE

Iwi could make joint claim, says historian
The new claim covers the area from the Mahurangi Peninsula in the north down to the Firth of Thames, across to the Manukau Harbour and up to Piha on the west coast.

History professor at Auckland University of Technology Paul Moon said Tainui and Ngāti Whātua jointly opposed the Government's recent move to open up land in Auckland for housing, which showed the iwi have been co-operating closely on the issue.

He said it was likely the two iwi had been negotiating for some time and the new claim was part of a joint effort to get their historical rights recognised.

Professor Moon said while new historical treaty claims are not possible, the iwi could claim the Crown failed to recognise Tainui's historical links to Auckland when it negotiated a settlement with Ngāti Whātua.....
See full article HERE

Ngapuhi claim on Auckland “now almost certain
The Ngapuhi leader David Rankin has announced that plans are already well under way for Ngaphui to make a Treaty claim on the greater Auckland area. It comes just a day after the Maori King Tuheitia said that Tainui were also planning to make a claim on Auckland.

Mr Rankin says that Ngapuhi’s history in Auckland extends back for several centuries, and that there are numerous sites in the city that are sacred to the iwi. He also points out that Ngapuhi make up the single biggest Maori population in Auckland, “so historically, and because of current occupation, Auckland is a Ngapuhi city first and foremost.”

The basis of the claim will be that because the Crown ignored Ngapuhgi when settling the Auckland claim with Ngati Whatua, a breach of the Treaty occurred.

Mr Rankin says Ngapuhi’s plans for a claim go back five years, and he decided to make them public after Tuheitia’s announcement. “In a way”, he says, “the King of Huntly is being a bit cheeky. His ancestors didn’t even sign the Treaty and now he wants a piece of the action. But Ngapuhi’s message to him is clear: keep out of Auckland until we’ve finished with it!”.....
See full article HERE

Climate change warning for marae
A Maori environmental campaigner says Maori need to factor in climate change when considering treaty settlement and development options.

Mike Smith says a new report by former NASA climate scientist saying there is increased likelihood of a three metre sea level rise within 35 years has major consequences for low lying areas like Awanui in the Far North.

It will be made worse by the increasing number of extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, and storm surges could turn the Aupouri Peninsula into an island.

That has consequences for the way settlement money is spent.....
See full article HERE

King Tuheitia delivers his address at Koroneihana 2015
In addressing matters of the nation, King Tuheitia outlined he was pleased with the progress that has been made with Treaty Settlements and congratulated Ngāti Kahungunu on their achievements, while offering them and other iwi the support of Tainui.

He also outlined his strong support for Māori sovereignty while promising to ensure the relevance of the Kīngitanga is maintained.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


22 August 2015

Maori King lays claim to Auckland at Ngaruawahia
Maori King Tuheitia has launched a claim for Auckland extending to the Mahurangi Peninsula and down the Firth of Thames and across to the Manukau Harbour and Piha.

He told more than 500 people gathered at Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia, including Prime Minister John Key, he was determined to see the claim through.

"It must be done," Tuheitia said on Friday. "I am determined to do it with the start of the Kingitanga Claim in Tamaki."...
See full article HERE

Taniwha Springs returned to Ngāti Rangiwewehi
After almost half a century Ngāti Rangiwewehi can now celebrate the return of Pekehaua Springs, more commonly known as Taniwha Springs.

Last night a unanimous vote from the Rotorua Lakes council was reached for the ownership to be transferred from the council to the iwi.

In 1966 the springs were taken under the Public Works Act for public water supply purposes and vested in the Rotorua County Council at the time.

Ngāti Rangiwewehi has always mourned the loss of their taonga saying the taking was morally wrong.

It holds strong historic cultural significance to Ngāti Rangiwewehi and are regarded as precious taonga. They are regarded as the traditional home of the taniwha Pekehaua - a central figure of local traditions - and the place where the tribe's life springs from.

In 2012 Ngāti Rangiwewehi Settlement couldn't get the land back under current council jurisdiction. But now a new agreement between the iwi and council puts Ngāti Rangiwewehi at the negotiating table.....
See full article HERE

Tangata whenua chapter approved despite concerns
Concerns raised by an experienced lawyer did not stop Queenstown Lakes councillors from approving a tangata whenua chapter for its district plan yesterday.
The chapter will go out for public consultation.
Some adjustments were made by councillors yesterday, but Anderson Lloyd consultant Warwick Goldsmith, a planning specialist in Queenstown for 20 years, confirmed afterwards he still had concerns.
Before yesterday's extraordinary council meeting to consider the chapter, Mr Goldsmith warned councillors over certain sections.

One part said that when the council was making resource management decisions, it ''gives effect to'' iwi management plans.

Several councillors shared Mr Goldsmith's concerns and those words were changed to ''takes into account''.

Another section on managing wahi tupuna (ancestral landscapes) stipulated it would ''protect them from the adverse effects of subdivision, use and development.''

Mr Goldsmith - who endorsed Ngai Tahu's involvement in the planning process - suggested the council wait until those areas were identified before approval.

''If the wahi tupuna end up being very broad then that policy to protect them from subdivision and development is a lot stronger than the landscape policy.''

While councillors made other adjustments, the wahi tupuna section was unchanged.

Mr Goldsmith said after the meeting he expected it to be challenged.

''We don't know what the wahi tupuna are - yet there's a policy to protect them.''

A council analysis of the chapter said consent applicants may face increased costs because of additional consultation and iwi involvement. .....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


21 August 2015

Kohanga reo 'still marginalised'
The Kohanga Reo National Trust says the Ministry of Education is still marginalising the movement by promoting other early learning options.

It has been nearly three years since the Waitangi Tribunal found the Crown prejudiced kohanga reo by imposing a funding regime that incentivises centres led by teachers.

Kohanga Reo National Trust co-chair Tina Olsen-Ratana said the funding regime clearly showed the government's intent to marginalise kohanga reo and discount it, and incentivise groups and people to puna reo.

"It was clearly found by the Waitangi Tribunal, and they are still doing it today.".....
See full article HERE

Ambulance patients to benefit from new initiative
Ambulance patients in the Nelson Tasman region are the first in the country to benefit from a initiative to better connect people with appropriate health services before they require urgent care.

The pathway included referrals to the maori health provider Te Piki Oranga as St John had identified the disproportionate impact of health issues for Maori and the need to ensure Maori were being referred and linked to appropriate health services.......
See full article HERE

Maori screen workers asked to work cheap
Maori screen industry organisation Nga Aho Whakaari says workers are paying for systemic under-funding of Maori broadcasting.

The roopu is surveying members who make up 20 percent of Maori in the sector.

Preliminary results show that two thirds of respondents have been asked to work more than 10-hours a day and they are increasingly being asked to work for less pay or nothing because the kaupapa is Maori.

Acting executive director Hineani Melbourne says the online survey, which closes this week is putting some hard data behind the anecdotes.

She says when National became the Government they froze funding for Maori Television and other broadcasters, but demand continues to grow with more programmes being produced.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


20 August 2015

Goal to have everyone in Aotearoa speaking Maori
The recently appointed chief executive of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori Ngahiwi Apanui says its his aim to have everyone in the country speaking Maori.

He says by 2050 the majority of New Zealanders will be Maori, Pasifika and Asian with Pakeha a minority of largely superannuitants.

Ngahiwi Apanui says his job is to put the building blocks in place to ensure te reo Maori is in very good heart not just for Maori but the country.

"Our people will be the engine room of this country and our people will be leading it. So it's important that we at Te Taura Whiri our long term goal is that the whole of the country speaks Maori. We are not going to achieve that probably in my time but I tell you what mate while I'm at Te Taura Whiri I'll going to give it a damn good job trying to make it happen" he says.

Ngahiwi Apanui says Maori language and culture are essential for the leadership the country requires....
See full article HERE

TPP opponents head back to Waitangi Tribunal
Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) opponents are set to go back to the Waitangi Tribunal to ask it to consider what the Crown needs to do to meet its Treaty obligations to Māori during trade negotiations.

Ms Ertel said the claimants will also ask the tribunal to consider what input Māori should have had into the TPP negotiations and its final text.

Moana Jackson, one of the claimants, said the Crown had obligations to consult with its Māori Treaty partner, and ensure that Māori views were taken into account.....
See full article HERE

Shake-up for Māori language funding
The Māori Language Commission has changed its registration and application process for this year's round of Mā Te Reo funding.

The changes mean that any individual, group, marae, hapū or whānau seeking funding must now use the new online system, Pūnaha Pūtea, which is available on the commission's website.
Mā Te Reo funding opened at the start of Māori language week on July the 27th and is for anyone wanting to deliver Te Reo revitalisation programmes.

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori will be giving out between $1.8 and $2.5 million worth of funding this year......
See full article HERE

TPK spending millions on contractors
The Ministry of Maori Development, Te Puni Kokiri, has spent nearly $3 million on contractors already this year.

The numbers have risen sharply despite the chief executive's pledge in 2013 to reduce spending on consultants.

Last month the organisation, which employs about 250 people, spent $669,000 on contractors and in June it was $487,000, bringing the total already this year to nearly $3 million.

Twenty-one staff members have left Te Puni Kokiri during the past 10 months, including one of its deputy chief executives.

Documents handed to Radio New Zealand show that as permanent staff left the bill for contractors rose swiftly......
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


19 August 2015

Raniera Tau pleads guilty to possession of Kererū
Raniera Tau has appeared in the Invercargill District Court this morning charged with unlawful possession of kererū and another charge of hunting kererū.

Te Kāea reporter Harata Brown was in court and says he had with him a support group of around 4 Kaumatua and Kuia.

Mr Tau pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of kererū, however he has pled not guilty to hunting or killing protected wildlife.

The case will again be heard before the Invercargill District Court on the 28th of September for a review hearing.....
See full article HERE

Māori Party push for WoF for rental homes to help alleviate poverty
The Māori Party is putting Warrant of Fitness (WoF) for rental houses back on their agenda to help alleviate poverty in our communities.  

The Child Poverty Action Group is calling on the government to enforce a WoF on rental housing, and the Māori Party are backing them all the way....
See full article HERE

Waikato Iwi against Landcorp conversions
A Waikato River iwi says Landcorp's conversion of forestry to dairy farms in its rohe goes against the purpose of its Treaty Settlement.

The state-owned enterprise plans to add more than 29,000 cows to upper Waikato farms it is converting from forestry.

The Green Party wants it to stop, saying the effluent from the cows will pollute the Waikato River.

Ngāti Koroki Kahukura spokesperson Linda Te Aho agreed, and said the plans did not align with the Māori world view......
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


18 August 2015

Restaurant at Long Bay Regional Park remains closed as human bones found on site
A popular beachfront restaurant at Long Bay Regional Park is facing its third summer of closure as owner Auckland Council tries to meet concerns of iwi and archaeologists over ancient human bones found on the site.

The restaurant closed in May 2013 after 12 years of operation so that the council could refurbish it.

However work has stopped twice when koiwi or pre-European bones were uncovered.

When koiwi are found, the Police contact the iwi to ensure protocol for removal and decisions for reinterment are culturally appropriate.

Long Bay, in the urban north-eastern bays has a million visitors a year and at its peak, the restaurant employed 25 people.

"It's a million-dollar amenity. Very few places equal this one, right on the beach." ....
See full article HERE

Rakiura Maori Lands Trust and Real Journeys team up
Kiwi-spotting on Stewart Island could be the first venture between Rakiura Maori Lands Trust and Real Journeys after they signed a partnership agreement this month.
The two parties said they were looking for new tourism opportunities to help grow world-class visitor experiences on Rakiura-Stewart Island.

The trust is the largest private landowner on New Zealand's third largest island, while Real Journeys operates the ferries to the island, Stewart Island Lodge and various tours....
See full article HERE

Top Energy bid to use Treaty land 'hugely offensive'
The Parahirahi C1 Trust, which represents local hapū in the rohe, is angry the company wants to expand its activities while its claim over ownership is still before the Waitangi Tribunal.

The company is seeking a Notice of Requirement at a Resource Consent Hearing in Kerikeri to use land called the Four Acres for an access road.

But that land is currently leased to the Parahirahi C1 Trust as an interim settlement while efforts to return it to Māori ownership continue.....
See full article HERE

Many Māori feel disenfranchised says Davis
Mr Davis said there was not enough Māori representation in local government given that tāngata whenua were a Treaty partner.

He said the current government system was not ideal.

"Māori just seem disenfranchised and feel disenfranchised by this whole system, we feel to an extent that it is rigged against us....
See full article HERE

Te Aka Puaho calls on Māori to support Turakina as 'Taonga'
Te Aka Puaho has called on Māori politicians, Iwi leaders, the New Zealand Māori Council, the Māori Womens Welfare League, Māori organisations, Māori Boarding Schools, School Boards and whanau to advocate for the protection of Māori Boarding Schools as Taonga......
See full article HERE

Treaty seen as still apt for diversity
Much could be done to make people of other cultures more comfortable in New Zealand, but the Treaty of Waitangi should still be the basis for it, a new report says.

Participants endorsed the recommendations on the Treaty of Waitangi made by the Constitutional Advisory Panel in December 2013. Some were concerned multiculturalism might overtake biculturalism. They wanted Maori rights and responsibilities under the treaty carried forward. .....
See full article HERE

Iwi consultation will be embedded in law
Iwi input is embedded in environmental planning decisions, with the Hawke's Bay Regional Planning Committee Bill about to become law.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council chairman Fenton Wilson was at the final reading of the bill in Parliament last week, with "a large contingent of our treaty partners".

He said the committee worked well, involving iwi in the early stages of consent applications.

In the past, iwi were an "interested bystander" until proposals were made public.

"Iwi now has a table right at the start."

Hastings mayor and president of Local Government New Zealand Lawrence Yule said the bill explicitly future-proofed the committee should council amalgamation take effect in Hawke's Bay.....
See full article HERE

Govt to go ahead with state homes sale
The Government is going ahead with the next stage of selling up to 1500 state houses in Tauranga and Invercargill, despite polls showing the policy is deeply unpopular.

"Consultation confirmed Ngati Ranginui has 115 right of first refusal (RFR) properties within the Tauranga proposed transaction area and Ngai Tahu has three RFR properties within the Invercargill proposed transaction area.

"These properties will be excluded from the open and competitive commercial process. We are working directly with Ngati Ranginui and Ngai Tahu on how to include the properties within the SHRP [social housing reform programme]. The discussions will focus on realising both the Government's RFR obligations as well as the objectives of the SHRP.".....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


17 August 2015

Veteran guide knocked off Mt Taranaki due to iwi concerns
A veteran guide has been kicked off operating on Mt Taranaki because iwi are unhappy with his disregard of Maori culture.

Ian McAlpine, owner/operator of Mt Taranaki Guided Tours,  has been denied a 10 year concession by the Department of Conservation (DOC) which would allow him to take guided tours and tramps in areas such as the Egmont National Park.

In a report supplied to Fairfax Media by McAlpine, the reasons DOC declined his application were related to the Stratford man's lack of support from iwi in the region.  

The report stated the strongest opposition came from the Taranaki Iwi Trust but Te Atiawa and Ngati Ruanui also did not approve.

Taranaki Iwi Trust chairman Toka Walden said Mt Taranaki was "extremely sacred and significant" and needed to be treated with respect. More than 70 per cent of the tracks McAlpine intended to use fell within its rohe or tribal area.

Walden said McAlpine's application was not supported by them due to his past criticism of tikanga, or protocol, connected to the mountain, including comments to the media which undermined the importance Maori values played in the guardianship of the maunga.

This was still an option for McAlpine, according to Ngarewa-Packer, but she said he needed to get up to speed with the fact that Maori culture and values played an important part in how business in Taranaki was done.

The only iwi to give support to McAlpine's application was Te Korowai o Ngaruahine Trust, but they only agreed if conditions were issued, including attendance at cultural training and annual hui with iwi and DOC staff......
See full article HERE

Thousands paid out for electricity project
A multi-million-dollar electricity project straddling properties in the Far North has already attracted more than $100,000 in compensation payments to owners of Maori land.

The Maori Land Court has ordered lines operator Top Energy to pay $105,000 for easement on four blocks of multiple-owned Maori land on which a 110,000-volt electricity transmission line and power pylons from Kaikohe to Kaitaia will run to improve consistency of power supply in the Far North.

Judge David Ambler said the easements would not be detrimental to the landowners' use of their land. Top Energy has not ruled out further compensation payout to owners of Maori and non-Maori land in future.....
See full article HERE
Northland iwi face Statoil over oil drilling plans
Three Māori activists enter a palatial-looking building in Stavanger, Norway. Inside, in a high-tech auditorium, on a broad, sleek stage, sit the chief executives of one of the world's largest oil and gas companies.

Addressing the auditorium, Mike Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) speaks calmly and clearly. He announces that he has been sent as a representative of Māori tribes, and tells the board in no uncertain terms: "You don't have permission to be in our tribal waters." He warns that the tribes will go to the United Nations to seek protection.

When Sami leaders saw the activists' letters of introduction from Māori tribal leaders, "That caused them to lean forward," Smith recalls. "They told us that in meetings Statoil had told them the opposition was from 'fringe groups.' Statoil had been minimising what was going on."

Sami leaders have voiced their support for Māori rights, and have accepted a Māori invitation to visit New Zealand on a fact-finding mission.

Meanwhile, Statoil managers have responded to Māori resistance with a strong dose of wishful thinking.

In reality, "It's been anything but successful," says Mike Smith. "The first meeting they came to, they were thrown off the marae after 15 minutes and were told to leave. It's very unusual for Māori to do that." Later, in Kaitaia, attendees literally upended the tables where oil executives were sitting.

Smith faults the Norwegians less than he faults the New Zealand government for selling off drilling rights in the first place. "The government's been telling them, 'It's all good; we're welcoming you with open arms,'" he says. Yet local Māori arms are closed......
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


16 August 2015 

From the NZCPR Breaking Views archives - (5 part Sovereignty series by David Round)
No Validity to Sovereignty Claims
As we all know, the Northland Nga Puhi tribe, whose traditional territory includes the Bay of Islands, are having their day before the Waitangi Tribunal at present. Included in their claim is the argument that when they signed the treaty they never ceded their ‘sovereignty’, and that, presumably, they still retain it.

For a hundred reasons this is an absurd argument, but that is not to say that it will not be solemnly swallowed by the Waitangi Tribunal. As a matter of strict logic ~ not that logic has much to do with these issues ~ the Tribunal would be cutting its own throat to find that Nga Puhi still had ‘sovereignty’. Even leaving aside the well-known point that the Treaty itself is of no legal validity ~ a point which we should always bear in mind ~ but even leaving that aside, the Tribunal itself is created by the New Zealand Parliament, an institution which by its very existence proclaims the sovereignty of the Queen and the end of any other possible sovereignty. For the Tribunal to find sovereignty still in Nga Puhi would be to find that the Tribunal itself does not or ought not to exist, because the sovereignty of the Queen and her Parliament, which created it, is of no effect.....
Continue reading HERE
May 30, 2010

Claims of Maori Sovereignty Absurd
Last week I offered some arguments as to why any claim to ‘Maori sovereignty’ was absurd. Those arguments had a legal flavour to them; they centred on the actual words of the Treaty and their meaning, and the understandings and intentions of the signatories at the time. I did add, of course, that the Treaty was not the vehicle or instrument by which British sovereignty was acquired over New Zealand. The generally-accepted day when sovereignty was acquired was, until recently anyway ~ it is not impossible that fashionable cutting-edge revisionists have decided to question it ~ the generally-accepted day was the 21st of May 1840, when British sovereignty was formally proclaimed, and New Zealand became one country instead of a divided land of warring tribes. The Treaty was no more than a preliminary political proceeding, and in recent years the High Court has dismissed any claim that the Crown might not have sovereignty over part of New Zealand because a particular tribe did not sign the Treaty.

In terms of ceding sovereignty, then, the Treaty is still a legal nullity. It does not matter what precisely it said. As I say, the words of the Treaty, considered last week, in fact meant and must be taken to mean that sovereignty was intended to be ceded. But even if that were not the case, we would have to answer ~ so what?........
Continue reading HERE
June 7, 2010

Meaning of Maori Sovereignty
What might Maori sovereignty mean in practice? We will have to speculate, of course, but we will be assisted in our speculations by glancing at the possibilities raised in a very informative little book, Maori Sovereignty, The Maori Perspective (ed. Hineani Melbourne, Hodder Moa Beckett, Auckland 1995), from which I shall next week offer liberal quotations. We should not expect to find therein any coherent consistent guide as to the implications of Maori sovereignty; there is a jumble of many different views. All of them, however, point in the same general direction, which is the disintegration of our country. Those arguing for Maori sovereignty are not just wanting a little more local involvement in the delivery of ‘services’. Some of them might perhaps be satisfied by more genuine local self-government, and we might well hesitate to criticise that in principle. The general idea of ‘subsidiarity’ requires that decisions should as a matter of principle always be made at the lowest level possible in any hierarchy of decision-making, and that is not unreasonable. Subsidiarity might of course even mean decisions not being made by anyone at all, or at least leaving them to be made actually by the concerned individuals and communities themselves. When we hear people speaking of sovereignty we should listen carefully to what they say, for if they are only talking about a little more local self-determination we might have little cause to worry. Our state was not always as centralised and bureaucratised as it is now, and a good case can be made for some decentralisation and dismantling of expensive and cumbersome bureaucracy.

But most of those wanting ‘sovereignty’ want far more than local self-government. What they want, if their statements are any guide, is nothing less than the dismemberment and destruction of our country as we know it. Arguments over sovereignty are not like arguments over other items of property, or even ones over the foreshore and seabed. This person or that person may own this or that piece of property, but nevertheless the general legal and constitutional arrangements can remain exactly the same. But a change in sovereignty is more fundamental. Sovereignty is the question of who is actually in charge. Who, in the last resort, makes the decisions? Remember always that once sovereignty has changed, there is no going back. Once someone else is in charge, we will never be in charge again. A change in sovereignty is the first step down a slippery slope up which there is no returning.........
Continue reading HERE
June 13, 2010

The Insidious Creep to Maori Sovereignty
For several weeks now I have been writing about current claims to ‘Maori sovereignty’. A generation ago anyone of education and good sense confronted with such a proposition would have burst out laughing. This does not happen now. The Waitangi Tribunal has not indicated to Nga Puhi that their claim to sovereignty is one which the Tribunal is not prepared to countenance. Sundry ‘scholars’ argue learnedly in its favour, and I do not hear laughter echoing through Wellington’s corridors of power. As far as our politicians and public servants are concerned, it may happen or it may not, but nothing is completely out of the question.

How did it come about that we are now even prepared to consider such preposterous possibilities? It did not happen overnight, but one step at a time. Ask for one thing ~ the righting of historical injustice, real or alleged, even if previously settled ~ then, if you succeed with that, ask for something more ~ and then more ~ and eventually we find ourselves in the situation we are now in, where already our government flies the Maori sovereignty flag, recognises special rights in indigenous peoples declared in a United Nations charter, and where, in the words of the Otago Daily Times speaking of foreshore and seabed, it ‘seems a new class of property owner is to be created with superior rights, as well as unlimited opportunities for the courts to create precedent exclusive to one ethnicity. ‘One law for all’ has thus been abandoned on the cusp of indigeneity.’

And now Maori want sovereignty as well. As no more than the absolutely logical and inevitable next step, the key to our entire country, everything your ancestors and mine and we ourselves have laboured to create over a century and a half is at least on the table and liable to be given away by our enlightened governors. It is the old story of the frog sitting in the pot of gradually warming water, not noticing the heat and eventually being boiled to death. It is Hitler making one last, and then another last, and then another absolutely last territorial claim in Europe. The first claims may be reasonable, the last are anything but. And all our leaders do is wave pieces of paper and promise us peace in our time.......
Continue reading HERE
June 21, 2010

The Maori Sovereignty Movement
Here are some of the ideas about Maori sovereignty as expressed by various Maori leaders in Maori Sovereignty, The Maori Perspective (ed. Hineani Elder, Hodder Moa Becket, Auckland 1995). I mention many of these people in the chapter on sovereignty in my 1998 Truth Or Treaty? Do not think that in the years since then the talk has become moderate or reasonable. It may sometimes now be expressed a little less angrily ~ the ideas are placed before the Waitangi Tribunal now, and are supported by a Maori academic ~ but the policy is still exactly the same. It is just that because now they seem to be making a little headway, there is, for the moment anyway, no need for the aggro. It will still be applied now and then when it looks as though the victim shows any signs of reluctance.

Note several things. This agenda has been around for quite a while. It has been the setting in which all other negotiations so far have been conducted. Other settlements have not been the end of the Maori agenda, but just steps on the way, just softening us up one step at a time. Note that many of the speakers are familiar to us; some are very prominent within Maoridom, and although we may dismiss some others as rabble-rousers, we cannot deny that they do have a following. Note also that some of the real firebrands in this movement ~ Moana Jackson, Annette Sykes, Titewhai Harawira, Tama Iti and Ken Mair are conspicuously absent. Would that have been because their views were even more terrifying?

Just to mention several of those last five, if I may, for a moment. Moana Jackson maintains that by the Treaty ‘Maori allowed for a house of Pakeha culture to be built alongside their house.’ It is not enough to have bicultural room for Maori in the Pakeha house. The Treaty guarantees both peoples the right to house their cultures adequately, and Maori people therefore need an entirely separate independent house. The Maori race ~ whatever that is these days ~ must be entirely independent of Pakeha. In advocating dual sovereignty Jackson observes that ‘at the very least there are more than twenty different sovereignties in the land area of Europe and they seem to operate without too much bitterness or debate’. Does he know the first thing about European history, which, like the history of the rest of the world, is full of bloodshed? The Maori Battalion went to Europe ~ has he never heard of them? Is he actually unaware of Maori history’s dreadful record of war? I find that hard to believe. So why does he say what he does?

At other times Jackson has gone beyond this ‘separate but equal’ view and maintained that ’the Treaty says that people are permitted to live in peace in this country under the mentor of Maori rule’. His English is not perfect, but we understand his message.......
Continue reading HERE
June 28, 2010

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


15 August 2015

Māori 'need more of a voice in local govt'
Labour MP Kelvin Davis says Māori need more of a voice in local government than just token consultation.

Mr Davis said Māori were sometimes considered a minority, but as a Treaty partner they should be given the representation that they deserve.

He said Māori under-representation was a long-standing issue.

"Māori haven't been listened to. Māori needs haven't been seen to since the Treaty has been signed.

He said there needed to be a genuine discussion around Māori involvement in local government.....
See full article HERE

Human Rights Commission congratulates Multicultural NZ
We are immensely proud to see Multicultural New Zealand place the Treaty of Waitangi as the foundation upon which our shared futures will be built upon.....
See full article HERE

Local iwi need more say in merger
Local iwi need space to have a say in Waiariki and Bay of Plenty polytechnics’ merger plans before they are approved says TEU’s Te Pou Tuarā Lee Cooper.

Cooper says the merger is not making enough space to hear the views of Te Mana Mātauranga, which represents the eight hapū in Te Arawa together with other neighbouring hapū and iwi – Whakatōhea, Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Whare to mention a few.

Te Mana Mātauranga is a trust which advises the Council and the chief executive of Waiariki, and ensures Waiariki fulfils its treaty obligations.....
See full article HERE

Worries over the warrior image
An Otago University academic says the image of Māori as a warrior race is misplaced and a colonial construct.

Richard Jackson says historically tāngata whenua were cast in that role which was then used against them.

Professor Jackson is the acting director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.

He is using a $600,000 Marsden Fund grant to study pacifism and non-violence and analyse the way societies tend to look down on non-violent practices.

"One of the pieces of this puzzle is to try and understand how it came to be that, in particular indigenous Maori peace traditions, were sort of suppressed and ignored and treated as if they were ineffectual and didn't really count."

Professor Jackson said Maori culture was instead viewed as being violent and based on the notion of the warrior.

"What I'm interested in here is to try and understand a little bit better not just what the peace traditions were in Aotearoa when the colonialists came along, but the interaction between colonialism and those peace traditions.

"How they were suppressed, but also how they have been revived and brought back to life again in places like Parihaka."

As part of the three-year project Professor Jackson is also funding two doctorate students: one is studying peace traditions at Parihaka while the other is investigating theories of war and pacifism in the field of international relations.

Professor Jackson hopes the project will form the groundwork for a growing field of research into indigenous peace traditions......
See full article HERE

Maori, advisory committee have much to offer; Samuels
More than a year after its formation, the chairman of Te Tai Tokerau Maori Advisory Committee (TTMAC) says he’s thrilled at the way Northland Maori have embraced the concept.

It now boasts more than two dozen permanent members from across Northland and as well as formal meetings in Whangarei every two months, has also held hapu hui at a variety of locations around the region. The latter have included Otiria (near Moerewa), Oruawharo (near Wellsford), Ngataki (south of Te Kao) and most recently at Rawhiti (in the eastern Bay of Islands).

Councillor Samuels says Maoridom has leapt at the chance to engage with council in local settings through TTMAC.

The Te Oneroa-a-Tohe Board will jointly manage Ninety Mile Beach as part of a looming Treaty of Waitangi settlement and includes members of several iwi as well as the regional and Far North District Councils.

“It’s now well-acknowledged that Maoridom is poised to become an increasingly major contributor to our regional economy as a result of treaty settlement processes,” Cr Samuels says. “This is well overdue and it’s pleasing to see councils and other organisations increasingly keen to work positively with Maori to advance the economic aspirations of whanau and hapu.”........
See full article HERE

New Maori legal resource launched
Victoria University’s Law Faculty marked Māori Language Week (27 July to 2 August) with the launch of a new bilingual legal tool.

The Legal Māori Resource Hub (at www.legalmaori.net) allows online users to browse contemporary and historical Māori language texts, look up word meanings, and test new or old Māori words against an enormous document bank. The hub is home to three main resources:
  • an online version of He Papakupu Reo Ture – a Dictionary of Māori Legal Terms;
  • the legal Māori corpus comprising thousands of pages of Māori language text dating as far back as the 1830s; and
  • a corpus browser which allows the user to conduct in-depth and tailored searches of the corpus texts.
This kind of co-ordinated and comprehensive search tool has not been publicly and easily available in New Zealand before........
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


14 August 2015

Further progress for Treaty settlements - Finlayson
The Hawke’s Bay Regional Planning Committee Bill passed its third reading in the House today, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Christopher Finlayson announced.

"When enacted, this bill will give effect to the Crown’s commitment, made in the Ngāti Pāhauwera Deed of Settlement and recorded in the Maungaharuru-TangitÅ« Deed of Settlement, to work with iwi and hapu to establish a joint Maori-Council body in the Hawke’s Bay," Mr Finlayson said.

"This legislation will ensure that relevant iwi entities and the Regional Council can appoint representatives to the Hawke’s Bay Regional Planning Committee. This is consistent with the government’s overarching position on natural resource management in the settlement of historical Treaty of Waitangi claims."

"The bill has received unanimous support from iwi and from the Regional Council. It will form the basis of a new, constructive, on-going relationship between the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and the iwi of the Hawke’s Bay region," Mr Finlayson said.....
See full article HERE

Maori Party welcomes greater Iwi input into local councils
The Māori Party is pleased to see that iwi in the Taranaki and Hawkes Bay regions will have greater input in to their local regional councils.

“While Māori representation on local government authorities is still abysmally low, we are pleased to see that some iwi and councils are making a commitment to try different ways of ensuring tangata whenua views are heard,” says Māori Party Co-leader Marama Fox.

“It’s heartening to see iwi take up the opportunity during their Treaty of Waitangi settlement negotiations to ensure they do have a greater say in local government. It’s critical that iwi and Māori have influence both in local and central government if we are going to continue to move forward as Treaty partners.” ....
See full article HERE

Northland iwi challenge geothermal expansion
Efforts by Top Energy to expand its geothermal power generation in Northland are being challenged by local iwi.

"We want conditions to be set around changes to the hotspring's chemistry. We want to ensure that we have a full participation role on the peer-review panel. We want improved monitoring. We want a precautionary approach taken to the staging, and we want material community benefits to compensate for Top Energy's use of something we believe belongs to us." ....
See full article HERE

Maori Nation and New Zealand Sign Aquaculture Agreements to Give 20% of Approved Area Sites to Maori
THREE new  Māori  aquaculture agreements have been signed in the New Zealand Parliament which will give the people improved fish farming opportunities.
 
The Iwi people  from the Auckland, Tasman, and Marlborough regions have reached  the deal  as a result of the Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004. The Iwi form the largest social unit in Māori culture and translated the word means ‘peoples’ or ‘nations’....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


13 August 2015

Local Māori want Elliot Bay property up for sale land-banked
The Elliot family hope to sell most of their large Elliot Bay property based in the Bay of Islands, which stretches to pristine coastline, and has served as a popular tourist attraction for many years.  Local Māori however are urging the Crown to buy back the land in question and to have it land banked as part of a future Treaty Settlement package.

A property that is an oasis worth millions.

Marara Hook (Ngāti Kuta, Ngāpuhi) says, "The proper name for this whenua is Te Akau not Elliot's Farm and those other foreign names."

Willoughby says many factions of land in the area were confiscated by the Crown including Te Akau, also known as Elliot's Bay which is said to be part of a former Māori land block called Te Pahi.

In a written statement, the Minister of Treaty Negotiations Chris Finlayson office said he has asked his officials to consider options relating to the use of the Elliot Bay property in Treaty settlements....
See full article HERE

Government must fix Maori obesity: researchers
The legacy of colonisation has predisposed Maori to having much higher rates of obesity than the total New Zealand population and the Government must do much more to address this inequity, a group of Otago University researchers say.

"Since European settlement and the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, Maori have been disadvantaged as a consequence of colonisation and repeated breaches of the Treaty ...," the researchers, Drs Reremoana Theodore, Rachael McLean and Lisa Te Morenga, say today in an commentary piece in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

"Loss of land resulted in high levels of poverty and loss of access to traditional food sources for many Maori. The Maori experience, which has been mirrored by many other indigenous groups, has resulted in: wide-scale migration into urban centres; increased consumption of cheap processed foods high in fat and sugar; reduced physical activity levels; and rising rates of obesity and cardiovascular diseases.".....
See full article HERE

Maori have natural affinity with math.
Minister of Education Hekia Parata says Maori have a natural affinity with maths which she wants to see encouraged.

Hekia Parata says this being Math Week in schools it is an ideal time to reflect on what is a challenging area not just for Maori children but New Zealand children in general. 

She says the way ancestors navigated across the oceans involved a mathematical feat of great proportions....
See full article HERE

Minister must engage community in school closure decision
The Education Minister must sincerely engage with the local school community before deciding whether she will close Turakina Māori Girls’ College, Labour’s local MP for Te Tai Hauāuru Adrian Rurawhe says

Labour’s Māori Development spokesperson Nanaia Mahuta says the decision to look at closing Turakina shows a growing trend for Māori boarding schools.

“Hekia Parata is closing these schools which have a long legacy of generating Māori leaders while she is choosing to keep open her experimental charter schools which get up to five times as much funding as the state schools down the road,” Nanaia Mahuta says...
See full article HERE



House sold over unpaid rates bill
Auckland Council has contacted police over claims a Manurewa homeowner whose house was sold by mortgagee sale today has been paying rates to an unregistered Maori authority.

Charlotte Hareta Marsh lost her home in a court-ordered sale after failing to pay rates since August 2006. She has refused to recognise the authority of Auckland Council and claims to have paid her rates instead to the "rightful land owner" - Arikinui o Tuhoe.....
See full article HERE

Otago Regional Council welcomes strengthened relationship
Otago Regional Council chairman Stephen Woodhead has welcomed the signing of a national agreement between local government and iwi which is designed to strengthen and formalise their working relationship.

Mr Woodhead said there were already strong linkages between Kai Tahu in Otago and Southland with councils in both regions which were working well.

ORC also has an established relationship with Kai Tahu based around the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Kai Tahu resource management company KTKO Ltd and ORC collaborate on a regular basis with Otago councils, which helps ensure iwi participation in resource management, and also helps the councils fulfil their statutory obligations to iwi.

Mr Woodhead said the Otago partnerships embody the treaty principles in decision-making and local environmental management, and would be supported by the LGNZ memorandum.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


12 August 2015

'Colossal, unjustified' payments to Treaty negotiators
Winston Peters says inexperienced Treaty negotiators are being overpaid.

The Government has spent nearly $8 million on negotiators for Treaty of Waitangi settlements since it took office, which NZ First leader Winston Peters says is "colossal" and unjustified.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson provided a breakdown of the amounts paid to Government-appointed Crown negotiators for each year since 2008, in response to a Parliamentary written question from Peters.

Details released by Finlayson showed $7.8m was given to 13 individual negotiators, with several former ministers and MPs paid large sums for work on Treaty settlements.

Former Labour Cabinet ministers Paul Swain and Rick Barker were on the list, with Swain paid $611,084 and Barker paid $361,277.

Sir Douglas Graham, who negotiated the Ngai Tahu settlement as Treaty Negotiations Minister in the Bolger government, earned $166,135 since 2008.

Fran Wilde, a former Labour minister and mayor of Wellington, collected $87,000 for work in 2009 and 2010.

The top earner on the list was Michael Dreaver who earned more than $2.2m for his work on treaty settlements in the Auckland and Hauraki regions.

The second highest earner was former director of the Office of Treaty Settlements Ross Philipson, who was paid more than $1.6m.

Former Auckland District Health Board chair Pat Snedden, former diplomat John Wood and Dame Patsy Reddy all collected large six-figure sums for their work on Treaty negotiations.

Peters said the payment amounts were "colossal" and "not in any way justified".....
See full article HERE

Native Affairs - Lost In Translation
According to the Ministry of Education, Māori students do much better when their education reflects and values their identity, language and culture.  Yet in the King Country town of Taumarunui Te Reo Māori is only offered as a six-week optional subject at the High School.

Local kaumātua and whānau are calling for Māori language to be offered again as a core subject at Taumarunui High School.  But as Iulia Leilua reports, the school's priority is on numeracy and literacy.

Mr Rautenbach replied: 
"Our core curriculum at Years 9 and 10 focuses on literacy and numeracy, which are the national priorities." 

"Students were offered a really wide range of interesting study options by staff…. two of the six-week Te Reo Māori courses found favour with students, as did the year-long Japanese project."

He also said: "Over recent years we have noticed fewer students opting to study Te Reo Māori." ....
See full article HERE

Māori nurses 'paid significantly less'
A nurses' conference has heard how the pay gap suffered by Māori nurses is forcing them to take on second jobs to make ends meet.

The Nurses Organisation said nurses who worked for Whānau Ora agencies may earn up to 25 percent less than their district health board colleagues.

The organisation's kaiwhakahaere, Kerri Nuku, said the issue was raised repeatedly throughout the conference.

"What we have at the moment is a lot of nurses, Māori nurses working within Māori and iwi providers that get paid significantly less and those nurses definitely go that extra mile, support and work within the communities but don't get recognised for that extra work they do.
"Not necessarily getting a bonus or anything but getting paid comparative rates with their same colleagues within district health boards."...
See full article HERE

East Coast hapū oppose Forestry NES
Hapū groups with kaiteki responsibilities under the RMA covering more than 60,000 hectares of land on the East Coast are joining Gisborne District Council in opposing proposed changes to national rules for plantation forestry, and suggesting Treaty of Waitangi breaches could result if the proposed National Environmental Standard (NES) is adopted by the government.

“We are advising the Crown that should the NES progress and these issues not be addressed, we reserve the right to seek remedy and protect ecological taonga (treasures) and wahi tapu (culturally significant sites) through the range of legal instruments available to us as Treaty of Waitangi partners with the Crown.” .....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


11 August 2015 

Driver licence invalid ID for iwi elections
Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou (TRONPnui) is no longer accepting iwi members' driver licences for personal identification purposes for the upcoming rūnanga elections.

Nominations for the 14 elected representative positions on Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou opened on 15 July and close on Wednesday 12 August.

The TRONPnui's decision came to light when it informed Te Taurahere o Ngāti Porou ki Pōneke chairman, Sir Tamati Reedy.

It prompted him to write a letter of concern to Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou chair Selwyn Parata, to rethink the decision.....
See full article HERE

What to do with Rena wreck? Iwi in favour of leaving cargo ship on Astrolabe Reef
However, Te Arawa is in favour of the removal following advice by one of their own, Joe Te Kowhai.

Mr Te Kowhai, an experienced diver, had first agreed with the iwi about removing the Rena from the seabed, but after numerous dives to the wreck has changed his mind.

"The remnants of the wreck have integrated themselves really well into the structure of the reef because there is a lot of fauna," Mr Te Kowhai told ONE News.

He says bringing in huge structures and machinery to lift the ship out of the water would "literall tear away at the reef".

Presenting his research to Te Arawa, Mr Te Kowhai has convinced them to support the owners bid to leave the remnants of the Rena where it lies.

But, the change of direction and Te Arawa's million dollar settlement has upset other iwi who say they don't want to leave the legacy of the wreck to their grandchildren.

The fight over the wreck will be heard at a resource consent hearing next month......
See full article HERE

Young Nats: Maori folk should pay for their own coins
The Māori Party have called for more Te Reo Māori to be used on our currency. So the young Nats decided to ask their supporters opinion on this suggestion. In a smorgasbord of racism referring to their fellow countrymen as “Towel head, Maori Folk”. ....
See full article HERE

Water next cash grab for iwi?
At a Rotorua Lakes Council subcommittee meeting last week, the council broke convention in taking an item from the confidential section of its agenda to formally announce it had agreed to return Taniwha Springs at Awahou to Ngati Rangiwewehi, suggesting ratepayers will be charged for water use to which the council has had access for some 30 years. A senior Rotorua councillor Mike McVicker anticipates ratepayers may be hit again......
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


10 August 2015

Council moves on Coromandel Harbour Facilities Project
"At the Sugarloaf we need to resolve land ownership title for reclaimed land and that will need iwi input and consultation," says Council Chief Executive David Hammond, who is also the project sponsor.

In terms of ownership interests, both our Council and iwi have stated positions to the reclaimed land which is currently vested in the Crown as a result of the passing of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act in 2011.

Our Council owns infrastructure upon the reclamation while iwi have signalled their proprietary interests in the foreshore and seabed, and therein the footprint upon which the reclamation sits, via various Treaty settlement-related processes including the current Hauraki Claims......
See full article HERE

Prominent New Zealanders launch "Talk Treaty" exhibition
Going forward, Gareth Morgan hopes to draft a constitution by looking at what New Zealanders value, while honouring the Treaty at the same time.....
See full article HERE

PM John Key supports Maori Kiwifruit Growers in Singapore
Key says he fully supports Maori in growing business opportunities in the Asian region and believes Maori culture can contribute highly to future success.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


9 August 2015

Taniwha Springs set to return to iwi
At a meeting of the council's Strategy, Policy and Finance Committee this morning (5 August) councillors voted unanimously to support a recommendation that ownership of the springs be returned to Ngati Rangiwewehi. The recommendation is expected to be formally endorsed at a council meeting on 26 August.

Taniwha Springs are of major cultural significance to Ngati Rangiwewehi and are regarded as precious taonga. They are believed to be the traditional home of the taniwha Pekehaua - a central figure of local traditions - and the place where the tribe's life springs from.

The springs were taken under the Public Works Act in 1966 for public water purposes, and vested in the then-Rotorua County Council. However Ngati Rangiwewehi have always mourned their loss and regard their taking as morally wrong....
See full article HERE

Decisions on consent changes delayed
Attempts to put the principles of a new partnership agreement between Rotorua Lakes Council and Te Arawa into action for the first time have stalled.

Yesterday, district councillors voted to delay any decision on sweeping changes to how resource applications are treated....
See full article HERE

Northland marae energised by geothermal deal
A Northland marae says an agreement it has signed with an electricity generator will provide positive benefits for the whole community and see Ngāwhā become the geothermal hub of the north.

The Ngāwhā marae komiti has signed a deal with Top Energy that it hopes will lead to development at and around the geothermal field near Kaikohe.

The company is applying for consent to expand its geothermal power plant at Ngāwhā and the agreement addresses concerns the komiti had about the project....
See full article HERE

Group offers support for Maori pupils
The latest meeting of the South Wairarapa Whanau Advisory Group (SWAG) was held at Greytown School on Tuesday.

The group comprises principals, teachers, school trustees and family members of pupils at Kuranui College and South Wairarapa school and early childhood centres.

Educator Lynette Bradnam is co-ordinating the group after a career teaching in the school and tertiary sectors and working as an assistant principal.

Mrs Bradnam spent five years developing university programmes and lecturing at the Wellington College of Education, where she became head of school, Te Kura Maori, when the college merged with Victoria University.

Greytown School has developed a Maori Support Group through the SWAG initiative and principal Ken Mackay said the meetings had yielded "something positive" for his school and its Maori pupils.

SWAG was established through the Kahungnunu ki Wairarapa Education Strategy, He Heke Tuna, He Heke Rangatira, which launched in the region a year ago.

The $788,000 scheme was funded by the Ministry of Education and sets out to boost Maori achievement from early childhood to tertiary level.....
See full article HERE

Defusing the demographic time bomb
Treaty settlements in Taranaki have been described as a potential game changer in the battle to defuse a demographic time bomb ticking in the province.

Speaking at a New Zealand Forum in New Plymouth last week, Professor Spoonley said Māori, who make up 17.4 percent of the Taranaki population, could play a significant role in stemming the tide.

"If you look at the median ages of the population, for the New Zealand Pākehā the average age is in their 40s - for Maori, it is just a little over 20.

"That tells me when you look at the younger cohort more and more of them are going to be Māori, and it is going to be very very important that they be engaged, particularly in education and that they are successful in education."..
See full article HERE

Taking the temperature of Te Reo Māori
The health of the Māori language is about to be put under the microscope.

The Māori Language Commission has contracted the New Zealand Council for Educational Research to carry out a major project.

Twenty-three researchers will be sent to eight different rohe across Aotearoa to measure the health of te reo Māori in homes and communities.

The project, 'Te Ahu o te Reo', is being led by Te Wāhanga from the New Zealand Council for Educational Research, which is working for Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.

The last time the council carried out the study was in the 1970s, when researchers revealed the language was in a perilous state and at risk of dying out....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


8 August 2015

Iwi Leaders and Local Government New Zealand sign MoU
Today, the Freshwater Iwi Leaders Group, on behalf of the Iwi Chairs Forum, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) to support and encourage strong relationships and collaboration between councils and iwi.

Freshwater Iwi Leaders Group chair, Tā Tumu Te Heuheu said, “this signals our intent to work with all communities on areas of common strategic significance including economic development, environment and infrastructure. We believe that these areas, interests and responsibilities are important for all New Zealanders, not just iwi.”

Local Government New Zealand President, Lawrence Yule, said “we are pleased to formalise today the relationship between the organisations. The Memorandum of Understanding establishes an engaged and constructive way of working together on areas of mutual interest into the future.”....
See full article HERE

Water NZ supports agreements between Iwi Leaders and LGNZ
As central government puts increasing responsibility on local and regional councils for managing regional assets like freshwater, it makes perfect sense for councils to be working more closely with important stakeholders like the Freshwater Iwi Leaders,” says John Pfahlert, CEO of Water New Zealand.

Iwi Rights and Interests in Water will be featured at Water New Zealand’s upcoming annual conference on 16 September in Hamilton with presentations by representatives from Ngai Tahu and Tainui.....
See full article HERE

Auckland Maori joint responsibility - Taipari
Both iwi and central Government have a responsibility to help improve the economic situation of Maori in Auckland, a Maori leader says.

Board chair David Taipari said iwi had worked hard to grow their asset base through Treaty settlements and other mechanisms so they now had the income to help turn those figures around.

"I'd like to think there will be a stronger investment of our own capital and our own resources to improve the quality of life of our people. That doesn't take away the fact that the Treaty partner through the central Government has a responsibility to do that as well."....
See full article HERE

Iwi still concerned about Rena wreck
The mauri of the area around the wreck of the Rena will never be fully restored while the remnants of the wreck remain, an iwi representative says.

A $2.4 million government-funded plan to restore the environment damaged by the ship's grounding in October 2011 has now been completed.

The Rena Recovery Plan Group's final meeting heard that no new oil wash-ups related to the Rena have been reported since March 2014.

Local dotterel and penguin numbers are now stable or increasing, and shellfish contamination is no longer at levels of concern for public health.

Ngāti Ranginui representative and co-chair Carlton Bidois said great progress had been made.

But he said iwi and hapū still had concerns about long-term effects and felt the mauri (life force) would never be fully restored while the wreck's remnants remain on Ōtaiti......
See full article HERE

A recent dive on the Rena video shows many fish and the regeneration of sea vegetation > See Video HERE

Importance of Māori views highlighted in review of family violence laws
Whānau, hapū and iwi are being encouraged to have their say on the review of family violence laws.

The review "Strengthening New Zealand's Legislative Response to Family Violence" launched yesterday by Justice Minister Amy Adams aims to reduce New Zealand's horrific family violence track record.

The Minister has outlined that in order to achieve this goal the Government must reach out to all sectors of the community. She also outlined that far too many Māori families were experiencing family violence and the important role iwi could play in this process.

Māori Party Co-leader Marama Fox says, “We know family violence has a devastating impact on our tamariki and whānau so it’s critical that we ensure our views are heard.”.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


6 August 2015

Māori entities make up 5 per cent of Auckland's economy
Māori entities and businesses have an asset base of $23 billion in Auckland, or about 5 per cent of the city's total economy, according to a report released this morning.

It found 55 per cent of the national Māori asset base was in Auckland, 27 per cent of the Māori economy operates in Auckland and Māori contribute $4 billion to the city's GDP.

Māori authority assets are concentrated in real estate, financial and insurance services and IT. Ownership is less in retail, construction, wholesale, hospitality, manufacturing, logistics and other services.

Māori make up 10 per cent of Auckland's population, comprising 2 per cent Auckland iwi, 6 per cent who affiliate with iwi outside the region and 2 per cent who do not know their iwi.

Nearly half of Māori live in the Manurewa, Henderson-Massey,Papakura, Otara-Papatoetoe and Mangere-Otahuhu Local Board areas.

Auckland has a large Māori youth population - 34 per cent are aged under 15 - which is disengaged, the report said.

Māori are more likely to be unemployed at nearly 13 per cent of the workforce - nearly twice the rate of the Auckland total of 7 per cent. Māori incomes are 17 per cent lower than the Auckland average.....
See full article HERE

Māori culture of high value in Asian market
A delegation of Māori kiwifruit growers say Māori culture has put them in good stead in the Asian market as cultural commerce is highly valued.

Anthony Ruakere of Te Awanui Huka Pak says Māori are often hesitant to put a measurable value on their culture.....
See full article HERE

Legal challenge to TPPA secrecy lodged today
Papers were filed in the High Court in Wellington today seeking an urgent judicial review of Trade Minister Tim Groser’s blanket refusal to release any documents sought in a comprehensive Official Information Act request made by University of Auckland law Professor Jane Kelsey in January this year.

Those bringing the case are Consumer NZ, Ngati Kahungunu, the Tertiary Education Union, Oxfam, Greenpeace, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), as well as Professor Kelsey.

Ngati Kahungunu are the third largest iwi and are also claimants in the Waitangi Tribunal challenge to the TPPA. The iwi were original claimants on the WAI262 “flora, fauna and intellectual property” claim to the Waitangi Tribunal which, amongst other things, was about providing for involvement of Maori in the development of New Zealand's positions on international instruments affecting indigenous rights. Ngati Kahungunu continues that work in their continuing advocacy for substantive engagement with Maori in relation to the TPPA.....
See full article HERE

Rāhui in place at Tora, South Wairarapa
Ngāti Kahungungu ki Wairarapa has announced a rāhui (traditional restriction) which has been put in place in the vicinity of Tora, South Wairarapa.

The location for the rāhui is a 1km square area taking in the Awhea River mouth, Seal Point and the Southern End of Stony Bay.  The rāhui is in response to a recent death in the water at Tora.

The rāhui pertains to swimming and the taking of shellfish in the vicinity and will be in place from 3-7 August 2015.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


5 August 2015 

A Maori prison being looked into
The Maori party has got the go ahead from Correction Minister Peseta Lotu-Iiga to explore what is needed to set up a full Maori prison in New Zealand.

Party co-leader Marama Fox says the idea is to apply the concept of the highly successful Maori focus units which already operate in some prisons to a full prison with Maori staff and Maori inmates.

Marama Fox say while the Minister hasn't made a committment at this stage she has got approval to get a group together to get things moving towards a Maori prison which may be 5 years away....
See full article HERE

Council leads in new job creation bid
Masterton District Council's bid to create 500 new jobs in the district during the next 12 months has enjoyed a successful start, with employers registering 19 new positions across a range of industries.

The council has played its part, with the employment of Hoani Paku as Maori liaison adviser (Kaitakawaenga) and Nerissa Aramakutu as policy adviser Maori & General (Kaiwhakarite mahere)....
See full article HERE

Call to 'nurture' te reo Maori
Prime Minister John Key should be ready to "nurture" te reo Maori instead of dismissing it as "boring", a language watchdog says.

The Maori Language Commission, or Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori, said today New Zealand's indigenous language needed more support - particularly from the Prime Minister.

"For te reo Maori to survive it must be nurtured at the highest levels. New Zealand has shown it is ready to nurture te reo Maori and so too should the Prime Minister."

Dr Ngata said it was time Maori language was promoted more intensively and for longer periods of time - exactly what the Waiuku student reportedly put to the Prime Minister at a school assembly last week....
See full article HERE

Student praised for Māori Language Week proposal
The Māori Language Commission is commending a secondary school student for raising the possibility of extending Māori language week with the Prime Minister.

Dr Ngata said in order to preserve the language it needed the support of all New Zealanders, not just Māori. ....
See full article HERE

NZ on Air funds 5 new Maori programmes next year
New Zealand on Air is funding five new Maori programmes next year at a cost of $2 million.....
See full article HERE

Auckland park blessed after shooting
Maori elders will bless the Auckland park where a young Slovakian man wanted over liquor store robberies was shot dead by police.

The scene will be blessed on Tuesday by kaumatua and kuia from Auckland District Health Board and Auckland Council at an ceremony attended by senior police officers.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


3 August 2015

Māori Party call for coins to be bilingual
The Māori Party wants New Zealand coins to have both Māori and English on them.

New $5 and $10 bank notes are expected to be distributed in October this year that will have more Te Reo Māori on them, with $20, $50 and $100 notes to follow suit next year.

Party co-leaders Marama Fox and Te Ururoa Flavell want Māori language to be shared with others, and have reflected this during Maori Language Week.

They encourage The Reserve Bank to print more Te Reo Māori on upcoming coins, since the bank has already committed to making changes on bank notes.

"What we're saying is when the current coins expire, it would be great for the new batch to have the Māori language on them not just images," says Mr Flavell.

The Māori Party hopes to meet with The Reserve Bank to discuss the idea.....
See full article HERE

Greens want more funding for Te Reo
The Green Party says if the Government is serious about keeping Te Reo Māori alive then it should allocate more money into researching how it is used in schools.

"If we're really, really serious about it then the Government and the Budget every year should put up more money for strengthening Te Reo and the best use of those resources needs to be clearly identified. That is why the inquiry is needed."...
See full article HERE

A call for prisons to be managed by Govt, not by Serco or Iwi
As protesters gathered outside Mount Eden Prison in Auckland to call out to the Government to end prisons being managed by private companies like Serco, the debate whether iwi should manage prisons just went up another notch as Labour's Corrections Spokesman and others came out strongly opposing the idea.

"Serco's contract needs to be ripped up and they need to be kick out of New Zealand. They have no place here in NZ to run our prisons", said Davis.

The organiser of the protest John Palethorpe says that prisons need to be returned to the public so that prisons are accountable and transparent.

Reporter Harata Brown spoke to many Māori who were present and said that many believe that prisons should not be administrated or managed by iwi. 

Davis said, "It's the Crown that prosecutes the offenders and send them to prison, it's the Crown's role to ensure their safety and look after them". 

"The iwi's responsibilities do not lie with managing prisons, the role of iwi is to provide restorative justice programs, to empower the communities and health initiatives", said Davidson.....
See full article HERE

John Key leaves girl in tears after calling Maori language month 'boring'
A teenage girl was "upset and embarrassed" when the Prime Minister said her suggestion of   a Maori language month would be boring.

The 16-year-old asked  John Key whether he would extend Maori language week, when he visited a school assembly at Waiuku College, on Friday.

Key said he preferred keeping it to a week of Maori language celebrations and that people would get "bored" by a month.
Prime Minister John Key speaks to a Waiuku College assembly about Maori language week, saying people would be "bored" if it was extended to a month.

A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said Key's meaning was that the celebrations may be diluted over a longer period....
See full article HERE

Tensions boil over at troubled boarding school
Tensions at Auckland's troubled Maori boarding school have spilled over, with the principal suspended and three managers handing in their resignations.

Principal at Northcote's Hato Petera College, John Matthews, was suspended from his role as chief executive of the school's hostel, Radio New Zealand reported. He remains principal of the 100-pupil school.

Mr Taylor said there were too many personalities involved. "There is not a day without argument," he said.

A treaty of Waitangi claim made against the church and Crown by members of the wider school community have led to further tension......
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


2 August 2015

Network Waitangi
The misinformation in this educational resource is very disturbing, it is a crime that New Zealand students are being indoctrinated with manipulated history.

See Treaty Of Waitangi Questions And Answers

The Mole encourages New Zealanders to write to the Minister of Education and her Associate Nikki Kaye and ask whether they approve of the booklet being used as an official education resource by New Zealand education institutions.

The Minister’s email address is here: h.parata@ministers.govt.nz and the Associate’s address here: n.kaye@ministers.govt.nz.

Articles that refute the above (PDF) propaganda on the links below


Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


1 August 2015
 
Iwi Leaders push for marae to have access to clean drinking water
With water quality being a serious topic across the country, the Iwi Leaders Group is pushing for a solution to ensure that all marae across the country have access to fresh, clean drinking water.

Fresh water is of the utmost importance to iwi leaders nation-wide.

Adele Whyte says, “One of the major objectives of the iwi leaders chair group forum is to ensure that all marae have access to good quality drinking water and we know this is a problem for all marae.”

Ngahiwi Tomana says, “The peripheral land use by people like farmers, vineyards and orchardists, they are the ones sucking up all the water from marae.”

Tomoana says, “To enable them to use pure water that is fresh and healthy to nourish whānau and hapū.” ...
See full article HERE

Māori language expert disagrees with statistics showing dwindling numbers of Māori speakers
The statistics that show dwindling numbers of Māori speakers are misleading. This from leading te reo Māori proponent Tīmoti Kāretu ahead of his State of Te Reo Māori address at Te Papa tonight.

A concern that was acknowledged by the Minister of Māori Development, Te Ururoa Flavell and the Māori Language Commission. But this expert says those statistics don't show the full picture.

Kāretu says, "According to the statistics, the numbers are going down, but that is misleading because it doesn't take into account the increase in numbers of the up and coming generation.”...
See full article HERE

TPP: Hone Harawira's letter to Barack Obama
"We're Maori, the indigenous people of a little country down here in the South Pacific called Aotearoa - you probably know it as New Zealand - and we want you to know that we don't support the TPPA; in fact we hate the bloody thing."

The letter goes on to explain how Maori have been trying to win back their rights under the Treaty of Waitangi since it was signed in 1840, but explains "it hasn't been easy".

"In fact, today our people suffer the same levels of deprivation in housing, justice, employment, education and health as Native Americans.

"Yeah bro' ? it's that bad. There's a long, long way to go before we get up to where we should be, and key to all of that is our Treaty, and our treaty rights.

"We want to be able to look after our lands, our forests, our rivers and our seas just like the Treaty said we could, not just for Maori but for everyone in this country, and we're really scared that the TPPA is going to make our fight an impossible one.".....
See full article HERE

Opportunities for Māori in Manawatū-Whanganui
“The report says there are around 190,000 hectares of Māori freehold land in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Finding ways to increase the productivity of this land will bring significant benefits – the report identifies mānuka honey, sheep and beef farming and tourism as ways to do this.

“The current reforms to Te Ture Whenua Māori Act will empower Māori land owners to take more control of the use of Māori land.

“In addition, the new Te Ture Whenua Māori Network that I announced recently will assist in finding ways for Māori land owners to improve the productivity of their land. The network will be supported by a $12.8 million fund to explore, among other things, options for dealing with ratings and landlocked land issues” says Mr Flavell.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


31 July 2015

School opens door to te reo early
Year 2 students at Glenfield's Mānuka Primary School are still learning to read and write in English - but they are already learning te reo Māori too. They learn with actions rather than writing.

"Whaea says ki runga [Aunty says up]," the teacher says. Hands go up in the air.

"Whaea says ki raro." Hands go down.

Counting is done on fingers. Arms stretch to named parts of the body. The children are constantly stood up and sat down.

Schools like Mānuka, where only 12 per cent of students are Māori and the rest hail from around the globe, are making a real effort to give every child a basic knowledge of te reo.

The school uses a programme called Te Reo Tuatahi (First Language).

Te Reo Tuatahi has now spread to 25 North Shore schools and to Blockhouse Bay Intermediate, Kōhia Terrace (Epsom) and Point View (Dannemora), reaching almost 10,000 pupils. But co-ordinator Raewyn Harrison worries that it remains precarious because it depends on the schools' operations grants. At Mānuka, principal Linda Munkowits can afford the programme for only nine of her 13 classes.

Dr Graham Stoop, the Education Ministry's head of student achievement, said the programme was "just the sort of initiative that school operational grants are designed to cover".

"All schools are expected to provide their students with opportunities to learn to reo Māori," he said. "Schools are required to take all reasonable steps to provide instruction in te reo Māori for students whose parents ask for it."

Māori Language Commission acting chief Tuehu Harris said it had limited funds for community initiatives but school programmes should be funded by the Education Ministry......
See full article HERE

Crown rejects proposal for independent review of Treaty of Waitangi exception clause in TPPA
On 23 July, the Waitangi Tribunal held a hearing on whether to grant urgency to Māori claimants seeking to challenge the Crown's entrance into the TPPA. As discussed in our previous article, Māori have raised several concerns in relation to the proposed TPPA, including a claim that it will adversely affect Māori intellectual property rights.

In the course of last week's hearing, claimants proposed that an independent barrister review the Treaty of Waitangi exception clause.

The Treaty of Waitangi exception clause is a clause in free trade agreements that allows New Zealand to provide preferential treatment to Māori, where required to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. The other parties to the free trade agreement cannot challenge this preferential treatment to Māori. 
The Tribunal, while not making an order, was in favour of an independent barrister being appointed to review the clause. However, the Crown sought instructions from ministers, and has declined to accede to the request......
See full article HERE

More than Ministry Encouragement Needed for Te Reo
New Zealand First says Education Minister Hekia Parata needs to do more to ensure te reo Māori is supported throughout Secondary education so the language is not lost to all New Zealanders.

“Official information released to New Zealand First shows that the number of learners participating in Māori language courses drops from 26 per cent of primary students to only 7.5 per cent for students within Secondary education,” says New Zealand First Spokesperson for Māori Affairs Pita Paraone....
See full article HERE

Howie Tamati speaks out about 'embarrassing' Maori ward debate
New Plymouth councillor Howie Tamati says the furore that erupted over the Maori ward debate was embarrassing. 

The former league star spoke out this week about the process the New Plymouth District Council went through to try and get a Maori ward approved for the 2016 local body elections. 

Although the councillors narrowly voted for the ward to be established, a citizen initiated binding referendum saw that decision overturned. 

"We still have no direction in terms of how we are going to move forward and meet our statutory obligations. And I'd like to see something done by this council." 

In May it was announced that eighty three per cent of voters in the binding referendum voted against the creation of the ward, with only 17 per cent of people in favour of the idea. 

From the 45 per cent voter turnout and the 25,338 returned votes, 21,053 people were against the creation of the ward, with only 4285 in favour of it....
See full article HERE

Local government rules discriminate against Maori
Maori local government politicians from around the country who met in Rotorua recently have expressed concern at discriminatory rules at the local council level.

Rotorua Lakes councillor Merepeka Raukawa - Tait who chaired the meeting held prior to the Local Government Conference says the only time a local body needs to hold a referendum to set up a new ward is when it's for Maori representation.

She says if the farming community, for example, wants a new ward to represent their interests the council can simply set it up without polling the people.

Mrs Raukawa - Tait who was the highest polling candidate in Rotorua and who heads the Council's powerful planning committee says her council's recent move to have Maori elect their own representatives to sit on key council committees is a step in the right direction but doesn't go far enough.....
See full article HERE

No legal action against marae over kereru
The Department of Conservation is not taking legal action against the marae that served kereru to Crown ministers.

The protected wood pigeons were served at a hui of iwi leaders and government ministers at Ohakune's Maungarongo Marae in 2013.

DoC says what happened was possibly a misunderstanding, and it had found no evidence any offence took place.

The department says it has no record of authorising dead kereru for consumption, and is continuing to talk with the local iwi Ngati Rangi about the use of kereru for cultural purposes....
See full article HERE
 
Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


30 July 2015

Funding boost for Māori digital media
The Māori media funding agency Te Māngai Pāho is boosting funding for digital media to 1.5 million dollars in this financial year.

That is up from between $400,000 to 600,000, which it has provided for digital media in each of the last three to four years.

This year funding will go towards the production of webseries, pilot series by new producers, and apps....
See full article HERE

Low number of students using te reo at Manawatu tertiary institutes
The low number of Manawatu tertiary students choosing to submit assignments in te reo Maori has some experts saying more needs to be done to encourage students to use the language.

Massey University, on average, receives about six assignments in te reo each year.

UCOL has had two assignments submitted in te reo during the past two years.

Only 10 Massey students have completed Masters or PhDs in te reo Maori since 1991....
See full article HERE

Face of new NZ Post ad shares her Te Reo Māori Journey
To celebrate Māori Language Week, New Zealand Post have released a commercial stating the fact that you can address packages in Te Reo Māori nationwide....
See full article HERE

City Library adopts te reo for check-out experience
Palmerston North City Library's latest technology means a higher profile for te reo Maori.

The new radio frequency identification system is equipped with smart serve desks capable of operating in a variety of languages, and in time for Maori Language Week, Maori is the first language option to be fully checked and translated so users can navigate the full menu in Maori.

"The new smart serve desks will enable lenders with fluency in the Maori language to quickly take out books, view their account details, and pay any library fines," explains city council principal Maori adviser Todd Taiepa.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


29 July 2015

Week dedicated to Māori language not long enough
One week is too short, it should be a whole month to celebrate te reo Māori. Those were the sentiments expressed by the new chairman of the Māori Language Commission, Wayne Ngata at the launch of Māori Language Week at Waiwhetū Marae this afternoon.

This is the 40th year of Māori Language Week, which was increased to a week after previously being a day.

But for the new chairman of the Māori Language Commission, one week isn't sufficient.....
See full article HERE

Parenting programme turns focus on Maori
A Northland iwi working towards introducing Maori culture to a global parenting programme hope the mahi will shine a light on the importance of whanau and tamariki.

The Ngati Hine Health Trust, in partnership with parenting researchers of the University of Auckland and developers of the Triple-P Positive Parenting Programme at the University of Queensland, is working towards bringing aspects of Maori culture to the renowned parenting programme.

The aim is to take the adapted scheme nationwide.

Titled Te Whanau Pou Toru, named in consultation with Ngati Hine kaumatua and kuia, the programme will look at the development of a child, whanau roles, and behaviour while introducing aspects of Maori culture including tikanga and language.

"Some things include talking about the importance of karakia, the importance of kai time - what do you want kai time to look like?...

"Creating that environment that allows korero."

Ms Tepania-Palmer said a parenting programme with a Maori focus would be beneficial for Maori.....
See full article HERE

Maori business optimism higher than rest
Maori businesses are more optimistic and recording stronger profit growth than non-Maori firms, ANZ Bank's 2015 Maori business report says.

The ANZ Privately-Owned Business Barometer found 72 percent of Maori businesses surveyed were upbeat about the next three years, up from a reading of 70 percent last year, and ahead of 51 percent for non-Maori business.
Over the past 12 months, 54 percent of Maori businesses in the survey recorded an increase in profit. That compares to 46 percent for non-Maori firms.

A Te Puni Kokiri report estimates the Maori economy was worth $42.6 billion in 2013. About $23.4b of that was made up by Maori employers, while Maori trusts, incorporations and other entities contributed $12.5b.

Of the 3500 businesses surveyed for the ANZ barometer series, 336 respondents self-identified as Maori in business and represented organisations with a combined annual turnover of more than $1b.

The ANZ report showed that a third of the Maori respondents were invovled in agriculture, forestry and fishing.....
See full article HERE

Greens and NZ First pander to Maori when Maori themselves clearly don’t care enough
If you want to learn Maori, you can.
The slump in fluent Maori speakers is simply due to a lack of interest by… Maori.

Pushing “Te Reo” onto non-Maori via legislation hasn’t worked.  I mean, all the tamariki eat kai at the kai table in kindies, and they’re told ka pai. They sing ka kite before going home. And know their whero from their kahurangi, but none of that ever gets to even the most basic conversational Maori.  It never was going to.

But that doesn’t stop the idiots of the opposition in demanding an inquiry that will help no one, much less people wanting to learn Maori......
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


28 July 2015 

So we get Maori in to bless something so the Taniwha won’t get us, but if an Indian does something, they get deported?
But here is the thing. We get Maori in to bless something so the Taniwha won’t get us, in a sense our own indigenous witchcraft, but if an Indian does something along these lines, they get deported and all manner of media hit jobs attack them.

Perhaps we should look into Maori witch-doctors sprinkling a bit of “holy water” around, wailing a few lines and shaking a branch of a tree for cash at the same time. I mean if we are going to get upset about witch-doctors then it should be against all witch-doctors…..
See full article HERE

Wattle tree removal brings pride to iwi
Mr Raureti said that for Ngāti Rangitihi, if their maunga is ailing so too are its people, but that the project has created a renewed self-respect.

"Their sense of pride, they walk upright. People are asking them 'how is it going up on the mountain?'...
See full article HERE

Te reo Maori is a very special taonga that must be treasured
I am very proud to be Maori and so te reo Maori is a very special taonga that must be treasured.

For me, it helps strengthen my identity and validates who I am. For example I am takatāpui - a word in our language for Māori who are non-heterosexual, gay, lesbian, transgender or gender diverse.

Our terminology, in our language, helps to give me a solid base of identity, immersed in our indigenous language which supports my existence both in the past, today and in the future.

My Māori language story is very similar to many other families’. My father was born in the mid 1940s and grew up in the 50s and 60s when assimilation policies were the norm. It was a time when they were caned in school for speaking Māori – the language was beaten out of them.

I was born in 1972 and am the eldest of four children in our family. Understandably, based on his experiences, my father was very focused on us getting an education through the pakeha system and being successful in the pakeha world.......
See full article HERE

Iwi angered by lack of consultation over Westhaven mineral permit
The two Westhaven blocks were vested with Ngati Tama, Te Ati Awa and Ngati Rarua in April last year  as part of their full and final Treaty of Waitangi settlement after years of negotiation.. 

The tribes held the land for an agreed seven days before handing it back to the people of New Zealand as a mark of goodwill - as agreed under the settlement.

Iwi spokesman John Mitchell said last September Ngati Tama were informed by letter from NZ Petroleum and Minerals that Strategic Elements, a subsidiary of Australian-based Strategic Minerals, had applied for a new prospecting permit (56791).

When iwi handed back land to the people of  New Zealand it  was  up to the Crown to  respect the tenure of the  settlement and look after the land, he said.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


27 July 2015

From the NZCPR Breaking Views archives - By Mike Butler
How treatyist avoids scrutiny
A government program is the nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth, according to the late United States President Ronald Reagan. One such eternal-life programme in New Zealand concerns treaty settlements. The architect of that programme is Sir Geoffrey Palmer, who tells how he set up the process in his new book titled Reform – A Memoir. Regarding critics as racists, he set the policy in motion when his boss was out of the country, he incorporated a redefined version of the treaty into law, and did all that without any regard to the financial and social impact these policies would have.

Sir Geoffrey is an aging white liberal who has spent his entire working life cocooned in a privileged environment, and whose conscience appears to drive him to improve the lot of those he deems less fortunate. But his cocoon means he does not really know much about those he purports to help.

Maori “were subjected to rank injustice in colonial times”, Sir Geoffrey writes without saying what those injustices were, adding “it has taken a long time to remedy those injustices, and the process is not yet complete”.

Sir Geoffrey was Justice Minister in the 1980s Lange Labour government. Since his speciality is law and politics, it is possible he does not know too much about history. But New Zealand has a short history, with the history of white settlement very short. This means you don’t have to go far to find out all there is to know.

There is little doubt that the British believed they were proceeding in an enlightened and humane manner in the settlement of New Zealand because not only was the consent of the indigenous people sought and acquired through the Treaty of Waitangi, any land needed for the settlers was bought and paid for. By contrast, earlier British colonisation involved taking land, importing slaves for labour, and gunning down unwilling natives, circumstances the newly humanitarian British wished to avoid.

Therefore, the “rank injustice” that Sir Geoffrey alleges, in the third sentence of his treaty chapter, took place did so within the context of settlement proceeding by consent, with all land used by settlers being purchased. In fact, the British (government and settlers) bought 24.1-million hectares of New Zealand’s total land area of 26.8-million hectares.

In the sixth sentence, Sir Geoffrey presents the corridors-of-power version of the usual retort “you are racist if you disagree” by saying “there is an unpleasant underside to the New Zealand psyche when questions of race are debated.”

The Lange-Douglas-Palmer government of the 1980s, most especially Sir Geoffrey, began looking at extending the jurisdiction of the Waitangi Tribunal back to 1840 “to deal with the manifest injustices that had been visited upon Maori by the settler Parliaments of the nineteenth century”. Sir Geoffrey wrote that he “did some research on the outstanding grievances and while they were substantial I thought they were manageable. It has taken longer than I thought, although the end is in sight”.

Sir Geoffrey announced the policy when Prime Minister David Lange was away in Europe on February 2, 1984.

What Sir Geoffrey does not say is how those claims multiplied once compensation was offered. By the time another Labour government set a deadline for historical claims, that being September 1, 2008, a total of 2034 historical claims were registered. By contrast, in 1882 a delegation took just nine grievances to Queen Victoria. Sir Geoffrey apparently failed to consider that the promise of compensation always acts like a magnet to claims.

Sir Geoffrey mentions “the rediscovery of the Maori language version of the treaty, from which has flowed a new political vocabulary” as striking features of the Motunui report.

He does not mention how the rediscovery of the Maori language version led to a re-interpretation of the treaty. Sir Hugh Kawharu, who was both a Waitangi Tribunal member and Ngati Whatua o Orakei claimant, is credited with re-defining the words “kawanatanga” and “rangatiratanga” to create a treaty that confirms Maori sovereignty over all things Maori while giving to the Crown limited power to control new settlers.

In his re-interpretation that is posted on the Waitangi Tribunal’s website, Sir Hugh avoids the simple fact that the treaty was drafted in English and translated into Maori, which means that the meaning and intent is clear in the English. The word “kawanatanga” that appears in the Maori text was used to translate “sovereignty” in the English, while “rangatiratanga” was used to translate “possession”.

Sir Geoffrey gained Cabinet authority to set up in the Ministry of Justice the Treaty of Waitangi Policy Unit (that later became the Office of Treaty Settlements) to deal with the Crown response to treaty negotiations. That unit created a report later adopted by Cabinet and published on July 4, 1989, as “Principles for Crown Action on the Treaty of Waitangi.”

Those five principles were: Kawanatanga (the principle of government), rangatiratanga (self-government), equality, cooperation, and redress. Notice how the government that Sir Geoffrey was a part of at this point had accepted that “rangatiratanga” meant “self-government” whereas in the original treaty of 1840, “rangatiratanga” translated “possession”.

The treaty policy enabled Sir Geoffrey to include treaty clauses in legislation, including Section 4 of the Conservation Act 1987 which said “this Act shall be interpreted and administered as to give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi”, with a similar reference to treaty principles in the Environment Act 1986. The Resource Management Act spelled out a number of Maori concepts concerning environmental management. The State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986 had section 9 that provides: “Nothing in this Act shall permit the Crown to act in a manner that is inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.”

Sir Geoffrey wrote that the settlement process has been insulated “from the ravages of extreme opinion” but he did not specify how this has been achieved.

1. He does not say that the government and claimants agreed upon treaty breaches before, yes before, a Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into the claims has been completed. The public assumes that the tribunal conducts an inquiry to establish the validity of the claim.

2. He does not say that that the Waitangi Tribunal is not an impartial panel of inquiry but has become an advocate for Maori interests to the extent that claimants rely on a sympathetic report as evidence for court action as we have seen in the recent claim about water rights.

3. He does not say that treaty settlements are legally binding when they are signed, which means the select committee process and passage through parliament has no bearing on the already agreed settlement. In this manner, most voters and taxpayers have no input in the process whatsoever.

As justification, Sir Geoffrey writes: “I thought then and I still think now that the most serious challenge New Zealand faces is to avoid having a permanent underclass defined by race”. He seems unaware that Maori social indicators have worsened, yes worsened, while the treaty settlement process has proceeded.

According to information provided by the Ministry of Social Development last year, Maori unemployment in 1981 was 14 percent, in 1993 it was 24 percent, and in 2012, it was 36.5 percent. In 2002, 38 percent of those on the domestic purposes benefit were Maori, and by 2012, it was 42.7 percent. In 2002, 23 percent of those on a sickness benefit were Maori, while in 2012 it was 28 percent. In 2002, 19 percent of those on an invalid’s benefit were Maori, while in 2012 it was 22.4 percent.

In his new book, Sir Geoffrey has confirmed that while in government he behaved like an autocrat, exercising absolute power. He appears convinced that he knows best, and has set up a system to ensure that his view of the universe is imposed regardless of what anyone else may think.

Therefore, if you think the treaty settlements programme has achieved the eternal life that Ronald Reagan attributed to government programmes, you may now understand how Sir Geoffrey Palmer carefully set up policies and processes that operate under the radar and outside of meaningful parliamentary oversight.

Source:
Maori, the Treaty and the Constitution – Rt. Hon. Sir Geoffrey Palmer QC, http://maorilawreview.co.nz/2013/06/maori-the-treaty-and-the-constitution-rt-hon-sir-geoffrey-palmer-qc/

http://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.hk/2014/02/mike-butler-autocrat-and-treaty.html
February 11, 2014

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


26 July 2015

Push for iwi administration of public prisons
Hemana Waaka, a Former Cultural Advisor of Mount Eden Prison says that iwi have the ability to administer public prisons and iwi like Ngāpuhi, as well as the collective iwi of the Auckland District and Ngāti Kahungunu, can provide managerial control over prisons within their districts. 

Waaka says that the government now need to consider expression of interests from Iwi Authorities to administer public prisons.

“What is the difference between being able to care for our children in Kohanga, and being able to care for our people in prisons? The administrational control of prisons throughout New Zealand need to be returned to iwi,” says Waaka.

Māori Party Co Leader Marama Fox says she will also table the proposal before the Correction Minister.

“I think that the people of Kahungunu can do this, because there are many of them within the prison here, that's a start,” says Fox.

Waaka says that iwi can apply tikanga Māori to both Māori and non-Māori prisoners and the concept doesn't necessarily need to be initially implemented nationally. 

“It can be left up to iwi to care for the prisoners under their own customs that also align with the law.”

While the idea is still in its infancy, the Māori Party say that they are pushing the concept even further and have already met with Māori who are actively working within prisons....
See full article HERE

Charter school decision dismays Māori principals
Northland Māori principals say they are amazed Education Minister Hekia Parata has chosen to prop up a charter school that they say has been a failure from the start.

Education Minister Hekia Parata said today that she was allowing the school to stay open out of concern for its students.

She said the Government would give the school an extra $129,000 this year to help with its improvement plan, adding that the school would be audited again in October.

The school already receives $1.5 million per year as part of its contract.

Critics have questioned local support for the school, its isolated location, a lack of iwi involvement and the abilities of those running it.....
See full article HERE

Tribe powers ahead as assets grow to $1.2 billion
Waikato-Tainui’s fortunes are steadily increasing as a series of investments diversifies its interests.

Waikato-Tainui's fortunes are steadily increasing, its asset base rising by $123.6 million in the past year to reach $1.2 billion.

The Hamilton-headquartered tribe's annual report, issued by Waikato Raupatu Lands Trust for the March 31, 2015, year and including the result of subsidiary Tainui Group Holdings, was out this week and showed wealth rising from a $1 billion asset base to $1.2 billion.

Financial distributions were also up from last year's $6.1 million to $22.3 million in the latest year....See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


25 July 2015 

Historian: Cultural take could help kererū
The kererū might have a better chance of survival if Māori were permitted a cultural take of the protected bird, says historian Paul Moon.

Professor Moon, who specialises in treaty matters, said the present law which bans any killing of the bird is at odds with article two of the treaty - which promises Māori undisturbed possession of their taonga.

He said kererū were indisputably a taonga and have always been used in association with specific traditions and cultural practices.

The AUT professor said the law as it stands has proven impossible to enforce and, although there was a wealth of anecdotal evidence that kererū were being hunted, there had been few prosecutions.

He said if hapū had a co-governance role with the Department of Conservation (DOC), and could legally take the odd kererū, they would likely do a better job of protecting their patch and using their networks than DOC could manage on its own....
See full article HERE

Muslim policewoman now living the dream
Te Wananga o Aotearoa (TWoA), which runs the 18-week certificate course, is signing a new memorandum of understanding with police to expand the programme. Ms Khan said the increasing ethnic diversity of Auckland's resident population means the city needs an equally diverse police force.

Of the 12,000 sworn police officers in New Zealand, 11.6 per cent are Maori, about 5 per cent are Pacific Islanders and 2.5 per cent are Asian or "others".
See full article HERE
A further article on it HERE 
Tribal Youth Gatherings leave Māori students inspired
A group of Māori students have just returned home from America where they attended Tribal Youth Gatherings.

The likes of Michelle Obama stood and presented inspiring speeches and reminded these youngsters that it's important to continue nurturing their culture.

They're back on home soil, with a renewed sense of passion for their culture.....
See full article HERE

MPs asked to make effort with Māori pronunciation
The Māori Development Minister is challenging Members of Parliament to brush up on their Māori language pronunciation in the House next week to support Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.

The annual campaign to promote the language starts on Monday.

Te Ururoa Flavell said he would like to see MP's making more of an effort at getting their tongue around Māori words.

He said he would like to see members who can speak Māori helping others out....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


24 July 2015

New Māori aquaculture agreements signed
Three regional agreements have been signed with iwi from the Auckland, Tasman, and Marlborough regions following successful negotiations between the Crown and regional Iwi aquaculture organisations.

The agreements are the result of the Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004, which requires the Crown to provide Iwi aquaculture organisations with 20% of new commercial aquaculture space consented since October 2011, or anticipated to occur into the future.

“The agreements in Auckland, Tasman and Marlborough will deliver four hectares of authorisations for oyster space in addition to $46 million as cash equivalent for the remainder of the Crown’s obligations.

Work on agreements in Northland, Hauraki Waikato-East, Canterbury, and Southland regional agreements is ongoing....
See full article HERE

Kererū quota clause for iwi supported
A Ngāti Awa cultural advisor in Whakatāne said there could be individual cases where iwi can include a small kererū quota clause in their Treaty settlements.

He said his iwi included a clause in its Treaty settlement in 2005 so it could harvest tītī, or muttonbirds, from offshore islands in its rohe.

"It's also about preserving our methodologies, our ways in terms of our kai....
See full article HERE

The Cream of Wahine Māori Business Leaders Set to Meet
Māori women business leaders and decision makers from throughout Aotearoa are set to meet in Auckland onFriday July 24 for the annual Huihuinga Wahine Māori Women’s Leadership Summit.

The summit, which is in its fourth year, is hosted by the Federation of Māori Authorities (FOMA).

FOMA chairman Traci Houpapa said the one day conference brought the country’s top Māori women chairs, deputy chairs, CEs, GMs, directors, trustees and governors together to discuss economic and commercial issues important to them and the entities they represent....
See full article HERE

Initiative leads to Maori playgroup
The initiative of a new resident has led to the rapid formation of a te reo Maori playgroup for Queenstown children.

A core group of about 20 families got behind the formation of an incorporated society to be the playgroup's governing body.

Its mission is to deliver quality early childhood education that encourages children to be active learners of Maori language and culture, using collaborative rather than teacher-centred learning, she says.
It is open to Queenstown families with children aged up to 5, and operates on weekdays from noon to 2pm.

''But there's a lot of people who want to know more about Maori, and not necessarily just the language, but customs, traditions and history.

''It's open to anyone - we've got some Japanese and Thai whanau that come along.''

The playgroup is following the Ministry of Education Te Whariki early childhood curriculum, and a ministry official will visit next week to offer advice on its operation.

''Our ultimate goal is reached when we're open as a fulltime early childhood centre specialising in te reo and tikanga Maori,'' Ms Paringatai says.

''Where do our children go when they leave there? We've been having korero with teachers about potential options for our tamariki after Te Puna.'' ..
See full article HERE

Viral speech calls for Māori to be compulsory in NZ primary schools
A YouTube clip posted by a non-Māori student at Kāpiti College has had over 40,000 views since going up at 10pm on Monday.  It features Finnian Galbraith delivering a speech he wrote, emphasising to New Zealand the importance of correctly pronouncing Māori words. 

“So I propose this, it is compulsory for kids to have at least an hour of learning te reo Māori per week, and all teachers have a basic knowledge of the language as well.  To be honest this isn’t much, but it could just give people enough knowledge if the language to help preserve it.”....
See full article HERE

Minister defends Auckland charter school
Bad blood with another school is behind complaints about an Auckland charter school, Education Minister Hekia Parata says.

Angry parents have accused Middle School West Auckland of doing their children more harm than good.

A leaked letter shows some parents - whose children moved from a private Maori Christian school, Nga Kakano, to Middle School West Auckland this year - were not happy.

They said the school had failed to recognise their children's Maori and Pasifika culture and their behaviour was suffering.

The Education Ministry said the school now had a plan in place to address whanau concerns and it was helping the school improve its cultural awareness.

Ms Parata said complaints about the school appeared to be the result of a souring relationship between it and Nga Kakano, with which it shares a site....
See full article HERE

Controversial Maori drivers policy rewritten to include all races
Police have finally released the new wording for the "Turning the Tides" policy, which controversially gave Maori drivers preferential treatment in South Auckland.

A rewrite will now apply the same rules to all drivers on South Auckland streets, after last month's leaked document stated that Maori drivers without a license were to be given the chance to avoid a ticket for driving lessons.

The official wording of the amended guideline now reads that Maori drivers are to be "considered for" driver training, wording which police said clearly reflects that any driver who mets the criteria can be offered those options, regardless of race....
See full article HERE

Urgent TPPA hearing critical to honouring Treaty
It is critical that the Waitangi Tribunal agrees to an urgent hearing into allegations the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) breaches the Treaty of Waitangi, says Council of Trade Unions Vice-President Māori Syd Keepa.

“Instead the Crown has said it is too late in the TPPA negotiation process for a Waitangi Tribunal hearing. This puts a trade treaty ahead of our founding Treaty.”

“The government cannot be allowed to sign away our tino rangatiratanga,” says Keepa....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


23 July 2015

Kereru ban violates Treaty rights: academic
Professor Paul Moon believes the native wood pigeon were regarded as a delicacy and eaten at formal occasions - such as feasts hosting visitors and tangi.

"Ironically, before the legislation came in to protect the bird, Maori communities by and large protected those birds anyway through their own cultural processes," Moon said.

"In a sense they've always had some protected status, they've never been a bird that anyone can hunt at any time for any purpose."

Moon believes Dame Tariana's view is widely held and very fair - as the birds have great cultural importance.

"To turn the tap off completely say 'No these can't be touched at all' seems a bit unfair. It also potentially is a violation of article two of the Treaty which guarantees hapu and iwi the full, exclusive, and undisturbed possession of their assets.".......
See full article HERE

Teachers need to pronounce students' names correctly - Hekia Parata
Questions have been raised over why maths and science teachers need to be competent in Te Reo Maori and whether it's closing the door to quality overseas teachers.

According to the Ministry of Education all teachers were expected to have an "understanding of the bi-cultural heritage of New Zealand", but National MP Judith Collins was baffled it extended to maths and science teachers working in English-speaking schools.

Her National party colleague Melissa Lee was equally concerned that overseas teachers were expected to be competent in Te Reo Maori.

Overseas teachers coming to work in New Zealand schools should have the same grasp of Maori culture that Kiwi teachers are expected to, said NZ First education spokeswoman Tracey Martin.

Labour education spokesman Chris Hipkins said asking all teachers to be aware of Maori culture was "perfectly reasonable".

"It's a legitimate debate to be having and we need to ensure all teachers in the classroom have a good understanding of Maori."

Delahunty and Martin initiated the ministry report on Te Reo Maori to find out how much resourcing and support was provided to English-medium schools to meet Te Reo Maori requirements....
See full article HERE

Even MPs can't get Maori place names right - Flavell
The Maori Affairs Minister is calling for extra recognition of Te Reo ahead of Maori Language Week.

Te Ururoa Flavell says while it's good to see public figures make an effort, it should be a year-round commitment, not just an annual event.

He wants to see all young people in New Zealand learning the language at school.

"A move to compulsory Maori in schools would be a great move towards ensuring its survival forever."...
See full article HERE

Police: Data shows no race-based ticketing policy
Most unlicensed south Auckland drivers who initially had their tickets waived in a controversial policy which appeared to favour Maori eventually had to pay the fine, police say.

Police today released the latest annual figures for the number of drivers who had their $400 tickets waived in exchange for completing a compliance programme.

In 2014-15 the national figure was 12 percent and in Counties Manukau it was 7.3 percent.

The figures cannot not be broken down by race, says district commander Superintendent John Tims.

"Police do not offer compliance based on race... but what it does indicate is that given the small proportion of people put through compliance overall, police officers are generally using their discretion appropriately when offering compliance to those who meet the criteria.....
See full article HERE

Down dairy cycle an opportunity for booming Waikato-Tainui iwi
The dairy downturn may have opened the door for tribal giant Waikato-Tainui to broaden their investment portfolio and continue to build their empire.

They announced their annual result today, reporting a $123 million increase in the last financial year to $1.2 billion at a time when dairy struggled.

Tainui Group Holdings chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden said it was a "solid result" and any opportunity in the dairy sector would be looked at.

"When it comes to the agricultural sector today, we think that we're in a cycle, so what it does for us is actually create opportunity," said van der Heyden....
See full article HERE

Playcentre making Te Reo Maori part of everyday life
Playcentres across the Wellington region are challenging themselves to create an environment rich in the use of te reo Māori as part of everyday life. Whānau tupu ngātahi – families learning together – is the Playcentre kaupapa, and that means growing our reo together too.....
See full article HERE

Lack of Māori staff at Mt Eden Prison
A former prisoner who has run tikanga programmes for offenders said there's a lack of Māori staff at Mt Eden Prison.

The privately-run prison has been in the spotlight since footage of inmates fighting, smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol was shared on social media.

"Staff who have no real connection to the people in there. I hope this doesn't come across as in anyway racial but there's very few Māori staff in there and most of the inmates are Māori.

"So, you know, the lack of connection and valuing of what those people value, the way that families are treated when they visit, this all adds to the stress."

Mr White said the Corrections budget was huge and more resources should go to Māori organisations to run programmes for Māori offenders.

"There's a huge chance to intervene but the majority of programmes that are run in jail take a clinical Western approach, even though some of them have Māori names."...
See full article HERE

Dunne defends $3m Treaty display project spend
Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne has defended the $3 million spent discussing where the original Treaty of Waitangi documents should be displayed.

The Government announced four years ago it was moving the country's founding document from its current home in the National Archive to a new space in the National Library just 200 metres up the road.

"It's not just some documents. It's the Treaty of Waitangi. It's the 1835 declaration. It's some documents that are critical to the history of New Zealand."

But New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said it was outrageous Internal Affairs had spent four years and $3 million doing effectively nothing......
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


22 July 2015

Ministers served kererū at iwi leaders' hui
The kererū is considered a food of the chiefs, and it was served and consumed by chiefs at an iwi leaders' hui in the central North Island two years ago.

Sitting alongside the iwi leaders were Crown ministers Amy Adams, Nathan Guy and Tariana Turia.

A spokesperson for the marae in Ohakune said between three and five birds had been handed to them by the Department of Conservation.

Marae spokesperson Che Wilson said the feathers were used for weaving, while the bodies were saved for a special occasion.

He said the kererū were mixed with chicken and miromiro berries and served as part of the hakari (feast).

Ngāti Maniapoto leader Tom Roa said he gladly took part in eating the kererū and said he did it knowing that his relations at the marae would also be cognisant of their responsibilities regarding the sustainability of the resource...
See full article HERE

Treaty bid to halt flag change
Northland Maori have asked the Waitangi Tribunal to hold an urgent hearing to stop the flag change process, claiming iwi have not been properly consulted over the contentious issue.

The claimants say they are suffering, and will continue to suffer, significant and irreversible prejudice by the Crown's failure to appropriately engage with Maori when deciding to initiate the flag change process.

In their application, they say the Crown has failed to recognise their mana, tino rangatiratanga and the Aotearoa/New Zealand flag as their taonga; failed to actively protect their taonga, namely their tino rangatiratanga and the Aotearoa/New Zealand flag; failed to uphold the principles of good-faith partnership when initiating the flag change process that could eventuate in a change of the Aotearoa/New Zealand flag; and failed to appropriately engage with Maori, including them, in the decision to initiate the flag change process in relation to the Aotearoa/New Zealand flag.

They submit that, given their legal status as tangata whenua and partner of the British Crown, any flag of New Zealand is a taonga, as found in Article 2 of the Maori version of the Treaty.....
See full article HERE

Council supports bid to name Lake Ferry
At a council meeting on Wednesday, councillors unanimously agreed Lake Ferry township should be formally recognised but conversation was sparked over what the official name should actually be.

He said a lot of people mistook the lake itself for being called Lake Ferry instead of its correct name, Lake Onoke, and that the naming of the town should differentiate the two.

"But that needs to be made quite clear that Lake Ferry settlement or township, or what ever it gets called ... that Lake Onoke doesn't lose its identity.

"The point I want to get across is that Lake Onoke is not the Maori name for Lake Ferry like many people think is the case.

"The local iwi are keen to make that distinction between the two."
Mayor Adrienne Staples said council supported Mr Cameron's proposal and would refer it to the Maori Standing Committee.

Mr Cameron said that Lake Wairarapa and Lake Onoke were also not officially-recognised names and, as he understood it, local iwi were in consultations addressing this....
See full article HERE

Scary monster fear in Paritai zoning
The chair of Auckland’s Independent Maori Statutory Authority says owners of properties on exclusive Paritai Drive don’t need to fear the recognition being proposed for a pa site under their land.

Some of the residents have hired lawyers to oppose the Onepu Whakatakataka site at the city end of the ridge getting a cultural heritage overlay in the Unitary Plan.

David Taipari says it’s one of 2800 sites around the city where some level of heritage protection will be sought.

David Taipari says the row show the massive gap in understanding between Maori values and the rest of society....
See full article HERE

Elders should be allowed kereru - Turia
Kaumatua should be allowed to to eat small amounts of kereru at special occasions, says former Maori Party co-leader Dame Tariana Turia.

The Department of Conservation is looking into how the protected wood pigeon came to be served at a hui of iwi leaders and government ministers.

Dame Tariana was one of three ministers who attended the hui at an Ohakune marae in 2013 where the bird was served though she was not at the dinner itself.

She told Morning Report that while she believes depleted resources such as kereru should be left alone, she was not opposed to allowing elders access to certain foods that were traditionally part of their diet.

"The fact that it's now become a depleted resource is not the fault of tangata whenua, it is the fact that most of our resources have been destroyed.....
See full article HERE

Jury issues in North worry lawyers
Insufficient number of potential jurors and the failure by Northland courts to punish those who fail to show for jury service has come to a point where significant injustice could occur, a leading criminal lawyer has warned.

Mr Blaikie said many people in the Far North were not registered on the electoral roll from which the jury pool is selected. Another problem, he said, was the difficulty in getting information from the Justice Ministry on how jury panels were allocated in both Maori and general rolls which resulted in a significant lack of Maori jurors.....
See full article HERE

More Māori at high decile schools
A study of inequality in education has found the percentage of Māori children attending higher decile schools has increased as the socio-economic status of Māori has improved.

It found the percentage of Māori students attending decile six to 10 schools has gone up from 21 to 34 percent during that time.

Ms Gordon said the movement of Māori into high decile schools could signal the start of a change away from segregation that will open up opportunities for a more bicultural society....
See full article HERE

No Justification for Whānau Ora Spend
The decision to give $50 million worth of extra funding to Whānau Ora navigators in Budget 2015 was made by the Government without the Minister of Whānau Ora, Te Ururoa Flavell, having any information to justify the extra spending, says New Zealand First.

“Without documentation outlining a shortage of navigators, how did Minister Flavell justify the extra $50 million spend on navigators?

“It appears that at a time when all other departments are stretched to breaking, the government remains content on squandering taxpayer money on the Māori Party’s vanity project without necessity or reason,” says Mr Paraone....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


20 July 2015

Iwi ask for input about water
Sir Mark Solomon wants iwi representatives to have input when decisions are made about water.

Sir Mark, a leader of Ngai Tahu, says iwi want "equitable access" to water. Iwi are not talking about tradeable property rights for water, though others are, he says.

Allocation is a right to use water and is not permanent ownership.

"We are not asking for a permanent ownership, but we are asking for a permanent input into the governance, the management and the monitoring of the water systems."

Ngai Tahu will also look at buying state houses the government is planning to sell, Sir Mark Solomon says.

The government wants to sell as many as 8000 state houses to community housing providers in the coming years for ongoing use as social housing.

Te Runanga o Te Rarawa chairman Haami Piripi says iwi groups want the state houses "at no cost" but Finance Minister Bill English has ruled this out and says there's interest from Australia.

Sir Mark said some state houses have not been maintained well and they're not insulated.

"I think some of them would be an economic millstone around your neck if you bought them. But we will do a full due diligence on what is on offer, and if it stacks up and if our people wish to go into it, maybe," he said...
See full article HERE

Council cops flak for dumping waste company
An iwi in Northland is warning that a council decision to dump its contract with a waste management company will have dire consequences for the rohe.

The Far North District Council has terminated its contract with Cleanstream in favour of a cheaper service provider.

Cleanstream is jointly owned by iwi organisation Te Rūnanga O Te Rārawa and the Community Business and Environment Centre.....
See full article HERE

National govt outed on secret water negotiations - Peters
The National Government has been outed with Environment Minister, Nick Smith, confirming negotiations with many Iwi on demands for water ownership. This of course has been in the past denied by National.

"Sir Mark Soloman on The Nation this morning also admitted as much without saying it outright," Mr Peters said.

"This explains Ngai Tahu lodging an appeal last year over its inability to convert 7000 hectares of Hurunui forest into dairy farms. For those with existing water consents and rights, it is clear National has a new policy of ‘last in, best dressed.’

"Nothing National does should surprise anyone anymore. Kiwi not Iwi has been reversed. In Parliament, National’s Dr Shane Reti expressed concern over the lack of spending on "Maori spiritual health," meanwhile, Minister Nick Smith is clearly looking after big Iwi’s "financial health" by catering for new water demands.

"In addition, new unelected Maori representation is being negotiated on to water control authorities all over the country. The issue is why has the National Party not got the honesty to admit that?....
See full article HERE

Crown says no to delaying TPPA
On Tuesday lawyers for the claimants seeking an urgent inquiry into the Crown’s actions in negotiating the TPPA by the Waitangi Tribunal asked the Crown for an undertaking that no action would be taken towards making final commitments on behalf of New Zealand in negotiations until the claims have been resolved.

Today the Crown responded, declining to give the undertaking sought.....
See full article HERE

Iwi leaders want to share control of water - Sir Mark Solomon
Solomon says iwi leaders want to share control of New Zealand water with regional councils, deciding who gets to use freshwater

Freshwater Iwi Leaders’ Group co-chair says Maori have the right to co-govern water and will "keep pushing the issue"....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


19 July 2015
Paritai Drive residents fighting Maori heritage designation moves
Neighbours in Auckland's most prestigious street are fighting moves to tag their properties with a Maori heritage designation.

The Auckland Council supports a bid by Ngati Whatua Orakei to extend a "mana whenua cultural heritage overlay" over about 25 properties at the city end of Paritai Drive in the Auckland unitary plan.

Under current rules, property owners within a 200m "buffer zone" of these sites may need to obtain a cultural impact assessment from iwi for additions or redevelopment.

Ngati Whatua say the properties have a cultural and spiritual association with a former pa, Onepu Whakatakataka.

The site is one of nearly 3000 across Auckland earmarked for scheduling in the unitary plan as "sites of value to mana whenua".

Information provided by Ngati Whatua was insufficient to justify the designation, Mr Nolan argued. The cultural overlay "would impose costs, possible loss of value and significant constraints on the owners".
The headland pa was recorded as "destroyed" more than half a century ago but iwi argue that "intangible" cultural and spiritual values should be recognised when development occurs near valued or sacred ancestral sites......
See full article HERE

Paritai Drive: Cultural collision
Efforts to accommodate Maori spiritual and cultural values in planning decisions have residents of Auckland’s most moneyed street manning the barricades.

The form letter posted to numbers "68 to 110a Paritai Drive" was not well-received by Gilda Kirkpatrick at No. 90, nor most of her well-heeled neighbours.

The April 9 letter from Ngati Whatua Orakei advised some of Auckland's most envied property owners they were sitting on a "Site of Significance to Mana Whenua", to be listed in the unitary plan. The plan "requires consultation with affected iwi to ensure any development respects the cultural values and associations with that site". What rankled Kirkpatrick, and others, was that they'd missed the opportunity to lodge opposing submissions - that deadline had passed 14 months earlier. Any neighbours (or their lawyers) who'd studied the daunting draft of the unitary plan had not recognised the name: Onepu Whakatakataka. No maps pinpointed the site.

Around 3600 sites, from Kawau Island to Papakura, were on the initial list when the plan was notified in September 2013, sparking an outcry. The proposed sites of value were preliminary and affected properties within a 200m "buffer zone", pending further assessment by the 17 iwi who claim mana whenua (customary authority) status over parts of Auckland.

Under latest proposals, earthworks fitting certain categories of resource consent will trigger consultation with iwi and, depending on the issues, a cultural impact assessment.

The proposed list has been whittled down to 2900 sites after iwi input and, following developer submissions, the council has proposed reducing the buffer zone to a 50m radius. Though some sites have been deleted, many more are expected to be added in future. The council has budgeted $7.7 million over 10 years to further investigate sites - some may be upgraded to "sites of significance", requiring consultation for most types of development. Other iwi who want sites added to the schedules include Ngati Paoa and the Tamaki collective, representing 13 mana whenua groups.

Such reaction, says Independent Maori Statutory Board chairman David Taipari, exposes the gulf in understanding that still exists between "western" and Maori concepts of planning and property development issues.

"Archaeological values are not a substitute for cultural values. Mana whenua values and relationships with ancestral lands, waters, sites, wahi tapu and taonga include both tangible and intangible values ... that need to be assessed and provided for.

"The importance and value to mana whenua is not focused on the 'archaeological remnants' themselves but is manifest in the place and locality as wahi tupuna [ancestral places such as maunga], wahi tapu [restricted/sacred sites] or wahi whakahirahira [prized areas]."

"It is the effects on the mana, tapu and mauri [life-force] of physical resources that are important.

Only 61 mana whenua sites were identified as "sites of significance" (the highest protection level) in the notified unitary plan, most rolled over from pre-amalgamation plans. Then in September 2013, when 3600 "sites of value to mana whenua" appeared as purple-shaded circles on the unitary plan maps - with an associated consultation regime - reaction from Kawau Island to Papakura ranged from blatant racism to genuine developer frustration over added costs and delays. The rules could require applicants for certain resource consents within the 200m-wide circles to consult with iwi and, in some cases, obtain a cultural impact assessment (CIA).

Horror stories ensued of drawn-out negotiations with multiple iwi, some following different protocols and processes. Developers and homeowners complained of muddled processes and long delays and charges ranging from "less than $1000 to $20,000".

Developers remain sceptical. Todd Properties, currently building at Long Bay, Mt Wellington and Ormiston, says it has enjoyed constructive engagement with iwi over the years but since the plan was notified "less positive relations have increased." ....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


18 July 2015

Treaty trap
When John Key was Leader of the Opposition, he said that when he became Prime Minister, all historic Treaty of Waitangi claims would be settled by 2014. When 2014 came and went, that became an "aspirational goal" and the date was pushed back to 2017.

Nowadays, Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson doesn't talk about settling all claims by 2017, but is "keen" to have all deeds of mandate and terms of negotiation signed by then.

It may seem a cheap shot to criticise the pace of settlements considering the progress that has been made - including the Tuhoe deal, which many thought would be impossible to resolve - but the slippage does illustrate the danger of setting deadlines.....
See full article HERE

Maori face housing discrimination, MPs say
Maori face discrimination when they want to rent or buy a home, the Maori Party says.

Its co-leaders Te Ururoa Flavell and Marama Fox say the row over Chinese buying homes in Auckland highlights what's been happening to their people for decades.

"In Rotorua alone, I've seen racism towards Maori," Mr Flavell said.

Ms Fox says she has research which suggests there's bias and "widespread institutional racism" in the housing market.....
See full article HERE

Māori IT experts critical of digital divide
The Government is spending $2 billion on improving broadband internet access throughout New Zealand, but some tāngata whenua have said rolling out cables is not enough.

During an internet conference, NetHui, last week in Auckland, experts - including members of Māori internet working group Ngā Pū Waea - said making broadband infrastructure available was just the start.

Ms Te Hau said an affordability study carried out on behalf of Ngā Pū Waea last year showed some households were willing to pool resources to help their local marae connect - if they were offered the right package deal.

"They would be prepared to bundle all their connections together, and the products and services that are offered around their connections, to support the local marae.

"The marae is the same - similar - to a school. It's a place of engagement, it's a place where we gather, it's a place for learning and local knowledge."....
See full article HERE

Excluded Māori veterans consider legal action
Some Māori military veterans and their whānau are being excluded from the first Waitangi Tribunal kaupapa inquiry because their iwi's treaty claims have already been settled.

Lawyers for some claimants say they may seek a judicial review of the tribunal's decision, which they received on Wednesday.

He said the only realistic option for excluded claimants was to seek a judicial review...
See full article HERE

Treaty of Waitangi
Waitemata DHB supports the government policy of reducing inequalities. Working in partnership with Māori at all levels and in all parts of the district health sector helps Waitemata DHB ensure participation occurs, resulting in better health outcomes for Māori people who experience inequitable outcomes.

Waitemata DHB’s partnership programme is consistent with the Treaty of Waitangi and adheres to the framework outlined by the NZPHD Act 2000.....
See full article HERE 

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


17 July 2015 

Prepare Māori for leadership or 'society in trouble
Educationalists are warning that the current education system must change so that Māori students are more stimulated in the classroom, which could inspire them to enrol in tertiary courses.

At the recent annual Māori education hui, speakers warned that in future Māori will outnumber Pākehā, and new strategies must be used to inspire them to become leaders in their chosen field.

"Preparing for 2050, the demographics of our country will change and 52 percent of the population will include Māori, Pacific Island and Asians," Mr Apanui said.

"So Pākehā will be in the minority by that time, but they will also be largely old people. We as Māori tertiary educators need to start looking to see if we're developing leaders, how do we develop them and what sort of resources do we need to put behind them."

"Māori and others will soon be in the majority and that raises important questions because the 'white' population is aging, and will be more dependent on the - what is now the minority population - to support them.

"And so unless we do something different to prepare Māori and others for leadership roles, through good education, the society is in trouble, the future is in trouble."

Dr Noguera said in order for children to achieve at school there must be support for their parents as well....
See full article HERE

Tertiary partners to merge
Bay of Plenty could have a new tertiary institution as soon as next year with Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and Waiariki Institute of Technology agreeing to a full merger, subject to consultation.

By partnering more effectively with iwi, and providing greater access for dispersed communities, the proposed new institution could help to ensure better education and employment outcomes for young Maori....
See full article HERE

Waitangi Tribunal to consider TPP inquiry
The Waitangi Tribunal has asked to hear further argument on whether it should hold an urgent inquiry into the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).

It has five claims this month from a range of prominent Māori individuals, and organisations, who say the trade deal could breach their treaty rights.
The tribunal said the claims raised matters of importance not just to Māori, but to New Zealand as a whole.

He has also asked the Crown for more information - including whether the TPP would include a clause protecting Māori rights under the Treaty of Waitangi...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


16 July 2015 
Consents a sore point for Northland Māori
Māori from around Te Taitokerau have told the Northland Regional Council it must find better ways to involve tāngata whenua in vetting resource consents.

The council's consents manager, Colin Dall, briefed the new Regional Māori Advisory Committee about the consenting process last week.

Mr Dall said the council provided marae and iwi with a copy of almost all applications for resource consents in their rohe - and the council must process them within 20 days.

The committee seized the chance to offer feedback with one member telling Mr Dall to get the language right - the Resource Management Act says councils must consult Māori, not iwi - and in the north, hapū are the go-to groups....
See full article HERE

Rocket company in talks with iwi
A space company is in talks with South Island iwi over its plans to build a launch site for rockets.

Rocket Lab has applied for resource consents to build a site on Kaitōrete Spit in Canterbury.

The organisation has been in contact with three iwi groups, including Ngāi Tahu, about the proposal.

The Kaitōrete Spit is considered a site of cultural importance to Māori and was once a crucial thoroughfare for those travelling from Horomaka to settlements such as Kaiapoi and Kaikōura....
See full article HERE

Council to inform Maori over oil spills
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council says it has "cleaned up its act" after a lack of communication with Māori following an oil spill in April earlier this year.

The regional council said it had introduced policies to ensure local iwi would be properly informed and consulted.

Local iwi say they had to rely on second-hand reports to find out about the 1500 litres of oil that poured into Tauranga Harbour in April.

Tāngata whenua were angry when they were alerted via the media instead of being the council's 'first responder'.

The regional council and oil giant Mobil have both apologised to the Tauranga Moana Iwi Chairs Forum, the group representing the three iwi in the rohe.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


15 July 2015 
Sonny Tau and the kereru affair
What's the difference between a mistake and a brazen, calculated crime? Ask Ngapuhi leader Sonny Tau. A slip-up, a blooper, a blunder, a gaffe is how Mr Tau has characterised his attempt to smuggle on to a plane five dead kereru stuffed up his jumper.

To designate such a morally dissolute act as a "mistake" (he apparently declared that he deeply regretted his miscalculation) makes one immediately think that he was simply sorry he got caught and should have hidden them in his suitcase. Bugger!

To add to the moral duplicity of the whole sordid affair, the chairman of the Northland-based iwi said it was important to note that no charges against Mr  Tau had been laid.  What is being implied by such a statement? Is it being suggested that no crime has been committed? Actually, since then, charges have been laid. We do not need in this country one rule for some and a different one for others.....
See full article HERE

Te Mako vs Walter Nash in spat over new name for Taita centre
Tempers flared at a Hutt City Council meeting as politicians struggled to agree on a name for the $12 million Taita Sports and Community Centre.

The city council has considered a number of names, including Te Mako and Walter Nash Te Mako, for the building which includes a revamped Walter Nash Stadium.

The Northern Ward Committee, which appeared to have the delegated authority to make the decision, favoured Walter Nash Te Mako.

Sir Walter Nash was one of New Zealand's most prominent politicians. He lived in Lower Hutt and was a significant figure in the history of the Labour Party and the development of the welfare state.

Te Mako was the name of a pa in Naenae with links to Wi Tako Ngatata Te Taitai, after whom Taita was named.

City development chair David Bassett said it was a very important issue but getting everyone to agree will be impossible.

The best way forward would be to poll the public, he said

Cr Tui Lewis said the "sad" reality  is that the education system ignores the contribution made by Maori to New Zealand.

Maori will be outnumbered in a public vote and the result would be meaningless, she said.

Asking the public what they think is the right approach to take and he was not interested in the personal views of council officers, Shierlaw said....
See full article HERE

Māori left in limbo after Labour claims high number of foreign homebuyer trends in Auckland
Although many houses up for sale in Auckland say "Sold", who are they being sold to?

The Labour Party claims that about 40% of houses on the Auckland market have been sold to buyers with Chinese surnames.

Labour’s Peeni Henare who is also the Member of Parliament for Tamaki Makaurau, says that it is not a new thing that Māori are not largely involved in buying homes.

Henare says, “The main concern for me is that there needs to be more clarity around how iwi and the Government work towards making that option available to Māori.”....
See full article HERE

Call for wider use of te reo Maori
Te reo Maori is the most popular second language among Wanganui secondary school students but a local advocate wants everyone to become more familiar with the language, culture and history.
Awhina Twomey, who works at the Whanganui Regional Museum as kaitiaki taonga Maori, said the Maori language was a taonga (treasure).
It was encouraging to know students were studying Maori but she questioned teachers' level of ability in te reo. She wants adults at schools to learn the language, so they can converse in it and show it is normal.....
See full article HERE

Māori, Aboriginal businesses look to team up
Australia's Māori Business Network is looking at the idea of partnering up with different Aboriginal enterprises.

Māori Business Network co-ordinator Brent Reihana said Māori organisations were keen to work with indigenous enterprises because there were a lot of cultural similarities.

"For Supply Nation, they need to have 51 percent Aboriginal ownership and what I was looking at was how Māori could partner up with those Aboriginal businesses," Mr Reihana said.

"The reason why those Aboriginal [businesses] are also keen to collaborate with Māori is because they have the same work mentality, and they'd rather work alongside other indigenous groups....
See full article HERE

NZ Maori Council joins TPPA claim
The New Zealand Maori Council has joined the attempt to have New Zealand’s participation in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement reviewed by the Waitangi Tribunal.

The tribunal is considering whether to grant an urgent hearing to a claim by a group of prominent Maori including Dr Papaarangi Reid, Moana Maniapoto and Hone Harawira who say the multilateral trade and services deal would compromise the Crown’s ability to protect Maori interests under the Treaty of Waitangi...
See full article HERE

Iwi front and centre in ports review
Auckland mayor Len Brown is meeting with Tamaki Makaurau iwi today to discuss the review of the city’s port.

He says it’s important iwi have input into the Future Port Study, which will run over the next year and look at environmental effects of further development, the costs and benefits of expanding the port or leaving it at its present size, and what alternatives the city has.

"A key part of that is to put the port company in a better space in terms of how it relates to its community and to iwi, get a much better rapport and trust, and I think that will be the big work over the next year and so iwi will sit front and centre in that process," he says....
See full article HERE

Accountants ponder culture and cashbooks
Maori accountants are looking for ways to bridge the financial needs and economic concerns of Maori people while working in a corporate environment.

Speakers include New Zealand Superannuation Fund chief executive Adrian Orr, ASB senior economist Jane Turner and motivational speaker Ngahihi Bidois, who will talk about using ancient Maori wisdom for modern day solutions.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


13 July 2015

From the NZCPR BreakingViews archives - By David Round
The Conservation Estate Belongs to Us All – not just Maori
It may surprise you to know that the Conservation Act 1987, which governs the Department of Conservation and the public conservation estate, contains a section ~ section 4 ~ which says that ‘[t]his statute shall so be interpreted and administered as to give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi’. Why is this provision here? The public conservation estate is the property of us all, not just of Maori, and conservation is, or should be, a matter of universal public interest.

Moreover, given that the policy of the Conservation Act is, hardly surprisingly, in favour of conservation, it would not be surprising if attention to Treaty principles meant in practice a diversion or redirection away from that policy. After all, if certain actions or policies are promoting conservation the Department may well be pursuing them anyway. Attention to Treaty principles is not going to help conservation. It is far likelier to be diverting the Department away from purely conservation matters towards the promotion of the interests of one racially defined part of the human race.

The Conservation Act dates from 1987, and so we have the Douglas-Lange-Palmer to thank for this. It was that same government that inserted the Treaty section, section 9, into the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986. It is clear that section 9 was inserted as a meaningless piece of pious lip-service; Richard Prebble has written of the consternation in the Beehive, reaching even to a certain well-known constitutional expert, when the New Zealand Maori Council took Parliament at its word and brought its now famous legal action against the Crown. (As I have explained in a previous column, however, section 9 still did not justify the disgraceful political decision reached by Sir Robin Cooke and his band of meddling activist colleagues.) I imagine that the Labour government’s attitude to section 4 of the Conservation Act was much the same. Conservation was not important ~ here was a good opportunity to curry favour with Maori by trying to appear as though the government cared about the Treaty; and if it did affect conservation, who cared? The government was probably also held the common condescending and indeed racist belief that Maori somehow were natural conservationists, possessing strange links and sympathies with the land and its plants and animals beyond the knowing of the white man. I do not dispute for a second that some Maori do indeed have such strong links; I do object, though, to the suggestion that these links have anything to do with race. European New Zealanders may have them also; and not all Maori do. There is no gene for conservation.

There is no doubt that by the time of European settlement Maori had acquired a considerable degree of harmony with the natural world which is often held up to us as an example to be imitated. These environmental practices did not arise, however, out of any inherent racial superiority. There is abundant evidence that before European settlement Maori were responsible for the destruction of somewhere between a third and a half of New Zealand’s original forest cover. Considerably more bird species ~ somewhere about thirty, perhaps even more ~ became extinct in Maori times, compared with a dozen or so in European times, and some of the European extinctions ~ of the huia, for example ~ were made much easier because the birds’ range had been enormously reduced by pre-European Maori hunting. The reason that early European sealers killed seals only in the enormous colonies of the remote south was not because those places were the seals’ only natural habitat, but because Maori had hunted them to extinction everywhere else. Some archaeologists believe that Maori fishing for snapper was at unsustainable levels. If you wish to read more on this subject you could dip into Kerry-Jayne Wilson’s The Flight of the Huia, Barney Brewster’s Te Moa, Jared Diamond’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee (especially the chapter The Golden Age That Never Was) or Dr Tim Flannery’s The Future Eaters. Dr Flannery, indeed, suggests that by the time of European discovery of New Zealand a resource crisis was in full swing, and had it not been for the arrival of European food ~ pork and potatoes especially ~ there would have soon been a catastrophic collapse of the Maori population. It was that crisis which had caused the peaceful Maori of earlier centuries to develop a far more warlike culture. (This point we might well ponder as we approach a resource crisis of our own. But I digress.)

Maori environmental practices, then, were not the result of any inherent superiority, but were forced upon Maori by their circumstances. I do not say this to blacken the reputation of Maori. Europeans have not been any better. It is unedifying and ultimately pointless, these arguments as to whose ancestors were worse. Maori and European pioneers were all men and women of their own time, all strangers in a strange land, inevitably making mistakes as they slowly learnt of the nature and limitations of its resources.

Now, of course, knowing as much as we do, there is far less excuse for us to persist in bad practices. Yet we do. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.

It is important to realise that environmental soundness is not the prerogative of any particular race or culture. If we misdiagnose environmental destruction as caused by Europeans and their culture and attitudes, then we are likely to prescribe a remedy ~ taking conservation out of Europeans and putting it into Maori hands ~ which simply will not succeed.

I have a lot to tell you about the ways in which section 4 has been implemented in practice, which must wait for another column. It is regularly suggested, for example, that it gives Maori rights to take protected species; this was even proposed by the New Zealand Conservation Authority itself in not one but two papers of 1994 and 1997 proposing Maori rights of ‘cultural harvest’ of protected species such as the native wood pigeon, the kereru or kukupa. The aim of the papers was never conservation, but a racial and political policy, to which conservation was merely a side issue to be considered on the way. (You can read more about this, if you please, in the chapter The Natural World in my book Truth or Treaty?) We condemn Norwegians for killing pigeons, and rightly so, but the Conservation Authority and Maori lobbyists saw no problems with Maori doing so.

Maori, indeed, often attempt to have their cake and eat it too. They claim special understanding and links with the natural world; they are also, now, fairly represented in the ranks of the exploiters. There has been shameful Maori logging in the SILNA forests (those awarded to certain Maori under the South Island Landless Natives Act 1906), which enjoyed a special exemption from the Forests Amendment Act 1993 which required that all other private owners of native forest log their forests sustainably. Pigeon poaching has been rife in Northland ~ I am not sure how many are left there ~ and Dr Margaret Mutu, a prominent activist and ~ fortunately briefly ~ a member of the Conservation Authority ~ has stated that pigeon was among the traditional foods which she expected to see offered on a marae by way of proper hospitality. A Treaty Fisheries Commission analyst has urged that Maori should be able to trade in whalemeat. Ngai Tahu spokesmen have at various times suggested culls of whales and seals. Ngai Tahu have recently been prominent in seeking more Canterbury water for their dairy farms developments. Most recently, the Deputy Chair of the Hauraki Maori Trust Board, Harry Mikaere, has said that his personal opinion ~ his Board had not yet discussed it ~ was that mining of the conservation estate, in the Coromandel, for example ~ ‘could be one of the best things that’s ever happened to this country’. Maori being involved in all aspects of mining ~ including receiving royalties ~ was not an ‘off the planet’ idea.

Royalties, eh?

I could offer more examples. Might we observe also that membership of the conservation movement, which has served us so well in fighting for public lands, national parks and wild New Zealand, is chiefly of non-Maori New Zealanders?

It might well be argued to be sensible and reasonable that Maori be pragmatic and, just like European New Zealanders, often take a hard-headed business–like approach in looking for opportunities to use the natural world. Very well. But such an approach is completely incompatible with any claim to have greater spiritual, cultural or environmental sensitivity, and is a clear indication that we can expect Maori to be no less prone to commercialisation and exploitation of nature than anyone else. Nor is it any argument that environmental destructiveness is forced upon Maori by economic circumstances. That can be said of anyone. Anyone can be environmentally sensitive when nothing forces them to behave in any other way.

At various times the prospect of ‘co-management’ of the conservation estate has raised its ugly head. In particular, the famous or notorious Crown ’fiscal envelope’ proposals of 1994 included the giving of conservation land to Maori ‘where the overall management of conservation values will be maintained or enhanced as a result of their use in settlement’ (i.e. to hell with conservation values, use conservation land as a cheap option) or the ‘transfer of a significant management role to Maori’. I mention the matter here because it seems not impossible that the end of the foreshore and seabed debate may be some similar arrangement. It may be instructive to consider the issues that arose in the past.

(The saintly lamented Jeanette Fizsimmons once told me at a public meeting that I was racist because I objected to handing over the entire conservation estate to be managed jointly by the Greens’ proposed national Maori and non-Maori Parliament and Maori and non-Maori regional assemblies. Pots, kettles….)

Co-management was unsatisfactory because it would mean that land was no longer fully public land. It would be managed, at least in part, for one favoured race. It would have meant a greatly increased administrative workload for the Department. The non-Maori public would still be significantly excluded from management. Any accountability of the Maori party to the public would of course be highly unlikely. The Crown’s ability to act would be severely limited. If DoC were actually to stand up for conservation against its co-manager and ‘Treaty partner’ there would be very unpleasant fights and hell to pay politically. Political correctness, rife in the Department as elsewhere, would make it likely that DoC would often merely accept de facto total management by Maori. It would certainly be difficult to imagine that DoC would ever revoke any co-management privileges. Political pressure or the threat of running to the Waitangi Tribunal would put paid to that. Already the sorry saga of Mt Hikurangi has shown how unwilling or incapable the Crown is of enforcing the simplest and most basic conditions. How could any effective action be taken against inadequate or uncooperative co-managers?

Moreover, it is inevitable that any special rights which Maori obtain over the conservation estate (or foreshore and seabed) will be regarded by them not as a final settlement but just as a foot in the door.

Maori, like all other New Zealanders, have full access to conservation land now. Indeed, they already enjoy racial privileges over it. Totara and other trees may in certain circumstances be taken for canoes and traditional buildings. Plants may be taken for cultural purposes. There are feather recovery programmes for dead native birds and exclusive rights to dead whales washed ashore. There are Maori representatives as of right on the Conservation Authority and certain conservation boards.

Since the reorganisation of government departments in the 1980s, the conservation estate is the only remaining substantial area of Crown land. But it is unthinkable that these lands should be used in Treaty settlements. They are now specially dedicated to an excellent purpose. Moreover, most of our conservation lands remain in their wild state precisely because they are remote or useless for farming or any other productive purpose. Mountain and higher altitude country are over-represented in the conservation estate, as many biologists have lamented. Existing conservation lands were seldom centres of Maori population. Most, in fact, would be economic liabilities if used in settlements and managed as at present. They are not ’productive’. Even if they continued to be dedicated to conservation ~ which any private owner or co-manager would not unsurprisingly object to ~ they would make money only if there were significant changes to management ~ entry charges, at least, and perhaps much more.

Our wild lands, the bush and mountains, clean rivers ~ with water in them ~ and empty beaches, are an important part of our culture and our idea of what it means to be a New Zealander. As our society becomes more racially, culturally and socially diverse, the principle of equality of entitlement is becoming more, not less, important. To grant special rights to some New Zealanders is, to that extent, to turn all other New Zealanders into trespassers in the land of their birth.

Our conservation lands, our public patrimony, must remain just that ~ our lands. Indeed, if anyone is the true tangata whenua of most of them, it would be trampers and mountaineers. Our splendid conservation record is based on Crown ~ public ~ ownership ~ public involvement, and the accountability of the land’s public managers to us all. Nothing else will work. Chief Te Heuheu Tukino may well have realised this when he gave the Tongariro peaks to the Crown, and the Taranaki tribes when they gave Mt Egmont.
April 4, 2010

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


12 July 2015

Landowner warns over thousands of dollars in bills for local homeowners
Pollok's Gary Smith says anyone doing any building work on the Awhitu Peninsula could find themselves open to thousands of dollars in costs and threatened with prosecution over the impact of a new law relating to historical finds.

Mr Smith purchased the property some years ago, and, intending to put a house on it, commenced excavations to remove the topsoil last month. He says he invited George and Karl Flavell from local iwi Ngati Te Ata to the site to observe the work, thinking that if they found something of interest to the iwi they would document or remove the items at their expense.

Instead, he says, "the site was shut down when two food storage pits, two fire remains and a garbage pit with some shells was discovered." Mr Smith says Auckland Council told him he had to stop work, then told to get in touch with Heritage New Zealand who, he says, threatened prosecution for 'damaging a historical site'.

The site has now been shut down for the next two months, and Mr Smith says he has had to pay $2800 for an archeological report, and been told his site now has to be put under the authority of Heritage New Zealand. He adds he faces a further $6000 in fees for the site to be examined, and has been told he has to pay $145 per hour for someone to monitor any work he does on the site. On top of this, Mr Smith says if anything else is found, the whole process (and costs) start all over again. "It's like giving them your bank account and telling them to help themselves," he says.

Of additional concern is that he has been told his neighbour's property, where some of the diggings were tipped by arrangement, should now also be put under the authority of Heritage New Zealand. Mr Smith says the problem is that Heritage New Zealand is taking the approach that any site at all on the Awhitu Peninsula is deemed likely to have some form of 'historic' site. This means that any disturbance of that site opens the landowner up to prosecution, on the basis that they should have expected to find something, and should have notified Heritage New Zealand prior to doing any work.

"This is all possible through the new Act that was passed late 2014," Mr Smith says. "Be prepared for huge expenses should you decide to uncover your topsoil." Mr Smith says, if governing bodies are going to maintain this approach, any landowner on the Awhitu Peninsula could face the same issue.

Hawke's Bay iwi initials its deed of settlement
A Hawke's Bay iwi is one step away from signing its full and final Treaty of Waitangi settlement with the Crown.

Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga-Tamatea suffered significant and widespread loss of land under the Crown, and will eventually receive $100 million in compensation.

Some of the areas the money will be spent on include setting up a restoration fund for waterways and investing in marae as well as education programmes for tribal members.

Mr Finlayson said the package would also include a special lease agreement of Te Aute College.

"To do something with Te Aute College through this settlement is tremendous and it's not the be-all-and-end-all because we've got further matters we need to talk about there, but I'm very interested in the issue and very keen to help you.

"As I've said, we're looking at things like Glasgow leases and the like in the future," said Mr Finlayson.

A member of the mandated iwi negotiating group, He Toa Takitini, spoke about the relationship Ngāti Kahungunu has with the Crown and its ambition to move forward.

"We have always respected the Crown and we have always seen ourselves as equals. That position has not changed and that journey now resumes. Strategic and politically astute - that is Heretaunga-Tamatea."

The iwi and hapū will be given powers to appoint two members to the Hawke's Bay regional planning committee.

Bids will be made for the original Māori place names to be recognised: Waipureku for Clive and Heretaunga for Hastings.

The deed will now be taken back to Hawke's Bay for iwi members to approve over the next few weeks, before a full and final settlement takes place before the end of the year....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


10 July 2015

Te Awarua-o-Porirua Whaitua Committee looks forward to working with iwi
The recently-formed Te Awarua-o-Porirua Whaitua Committee has appointed community conservationist and ecological engineer Stu Farrant as chair.

The purpose of Te Awarua o Porirua Whaitua Committee is to facilitate community and stakeholder engagement in the development of a Whaitua Implementation Programme (WIP).  They operate in partnership with tangata whenua and develop recommendations.

Farrant is looking forward to working with the community to develop a set of rules around how we manage land and water in Te Awarua-o-Porirua catchment.....
See full article HERE

Cycle trails could bring cash to marae
Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell is encouraging rural marae to think of ways they can benefit from the network of cycle trails being built around the country.
Mr Flavell says tourism is important to the Maori economy, but Maori operators need to think beyond poi and haka.
"Those cycle trails are really starting to get some momentum, bringing people here who need accommodations. Especially some of those rural marae out in the countryside that might want an income stream off some of those cycleways, they’ve got to start thinking about that because other people are cashing in, like some of these little bed and breakfast places," he says.
Mr Flavell says there could be debate about whether tourist accommodation is an appropriate use for marae, but the bills have to be paid....
See full article HERE

Past claims undone by TPPA
One of the people behind a claim against New Zealand signing up the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement says the so called trade deal will undo any progress Maori hope to make from the WAI 262 flor and fauna and intellectual property claim.

"The arguments raised in the WAI 262 claim about the need for Maori to be kaitiaki of our taonga and so on was necessarily subject to an earlier agreement, the TRIPS or Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement, and that is being included in the TPPA, so that will render any protections our people hope for under WAI 262 to be null and void," Mr Jackson says.

The Waitangi Tribunal is still considering whether to give the claim an urgent hearng....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


9 July 2015

Parihaka set aside for Taranaki settlement
Taranaki Tuturu has this morning initialled a deed of settlement for its raupatu treaty claim after splitting out issues relating to the 1882 sacking of Parihaka.

Taranaki Iwi Trust chair Tokatumoana Walden says the iwi is happy with the $70 million deal, which includes a large cash element, 28 properties including a number of historic pa sites, waahi tapu and some commercial opportunities.

He says a separate group has been set up including former prime minister Jim Bolger, Dame Tariana Turia, and Parihaka representatives Mahara Okeroa, Ruakere Hond and Amokura Panoho to make recommendations to the Crown on the redress for the Parihaka claim.

"They’re looking for a whole of government approach to Parihaka, what happened at Parihaka, but also looking at a fund to help build the capacity for Parihaka as well so we are very confident that (Treaty Negotiations Minister) Chris Finlayson and the team will provide meaningful redress back to Parihaka, hence us moving forward with our initialling," Mr Walden says.....
See full article HERE

Waahi tapu give iwi place on landscape
The return of significant customary sites will give Taranaki iwi a presence back on the landscape under the terms of a settlement initialled in New Plymouth today.

The $70 million deal includes 29 sites of cultural significance, including joint ownership of Nga Motu/ Sugar Loaf Islands with Te Atiawa, and a two-year deferred right of selection over 29 commercial properties.
Taranki Iwi Trust chair Toka Tu Moana Kevin Walden says there is not much crown land in the rohe, which runs around the western side of the mountain from New Plymouth to Opunake.
That makes getting back reserves from the Department of Conservation so important.

What we are wanting to do is to reinstate our mana back onto the landscape and we are wanting the title of those lands back under Taranaki iwi," says Tokatumoana Walden....
See full article HERE

ACT slant on maunga plan fails truth test
But Mr Majurey says the traffic ban was canvassed in 2007 process to develop a management plan for Maungawhau, and it has wide public support.

He says the authority, which is a co-governance arrangement between mana whenua and Auckland Council, is also required to take into account the connections iwi and local communities have with the mountains.

"We know with these important ancestral places that there is a spiritual and cultural connection, a metaphysical if you like. And thats an equally important and valid part of the world view that go with these ancestral taonga" he says....
See full article HERE

Finlayson's patience running out on Treaty settlement
Ngapuhi's Treaty of Waitangi settlement has cost taxpayers more than $3 million so far, and the Government is losing patience.

Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Chris Finlayson says that's more than twice the normal spend, and it's largely because of a spat between two groups within the iwi.

Mandate holders Tuhoronuku are at odds with a group of hapu based in Hokianga, and Mr Finlayson says the money could be spent to help their people.

"It's a lot of money. People need to get off their high horses, get personalities to one side and act in the interests of the iwi for once."

Mr Finlayson says Ngapuhi's negotiators need to keep communicating with the whole iwi, and if they don't, their mandate could be taken away.

"If I'm sounding frustrated, it's because I'm thinking of the people of Ngapuhi and what they're missing out on by not having a settlement."

Mr Finlayson says neither the budget, nor his patience, are limitless....
See full article HERE

Crown fights TPPA Maori hearing
The crown has told the Waitangi Tribunal there is no point holding an urgent inquiry into claims against the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement.

The tribunal is considering what it should do with a claim by Papaarangi Reid, Moana Jackson and others that signing up the massive trade deal would compromise the crown’s ability to uphold the Treaty of Waitangi.

Claimants have not demonstrated that significant and irreversible prejudice will be caused, and New Zealand has insisted that a robust Treay of Waitangi exceptions clause be included in the document.

Crown Law says many of the concerns of claimants are unfounded, as can be seen by the successful implementation of existing free trade agreements with no prejudice to Maori, and the fact that New Zealand has not yet needed to invoke the Treaty of Waitangi exceptions provision....
See full article HERE

NZTA accused of forest breaches
The Waipoua Forest Trust (WFT) has accused New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) of putting kauri and other species under threat due to the mismanagement of the roadside on State Highway 12.
NZTA has admitted some maintenance practices along the road corridor have not been up to scratch.

WFT member Stephen King monitored roadside work until a year ago when NZTA switched the contract to an iwi body. Mr King said one native orchid, the tutukiwi, had since been "wiped out". It was one of several naturalised orchids on that stretch of SH12.

While rare native plants were being sprayed with weedkiller, invasive and noxious plants were not being targeted, WFT claimed.....
See full article HERE 

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


8 July 2015 

Marine reserves may go begging under Sea Change
People want more marine reserves in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park under proposed marine spatial planning, but are unlikely to get them.

That's the view of marine reserve expert and biodiversity and biosecurity round table member Dr Roger Grace.

Forum members Christine Fletcher and Mike Lee said the steering committee, wouldn't put the park first. Democracy Action group spokesman Lee Short said Auckland's 1.5 million residents would be under represented with the high number of unelected Maori members.

There is widespread unhappiness among Maori with the Marine Reserves Act, which they say locks them out of certain areas and interferes with customary gathering rights.

"The Marine Reserves Act has the power to extinguish the rights of mana whenua in their customary practices, and effectively confiscate resources that have been traditionally, and successfully, managed by iwi and hapu for many generations," Maori Party MP for Waiariki Te Ururoa Flavell said in 2013 when opposing the establishment of a marine reserve at Akaroa Harbour.

Local iwi have also opposed creating marine reserves, including in the Bay of Islands, Great Barrier Island, and Wellington.

Northland Ngati Wai opposed National's proposed recreational fishing park in the Hauraki Gulf, saying it would affect Maori fishing rights under the Treaty of Waitangi, ......
See full article HERE

Date set for iwi's land rights claim
A judicial review of the government's plan to use surplus land for housing will be heard in the High Court at Auckland on October 12....
See full article HERE

Taranaki to do initial $70m treaty deal with Crown
Taranaki Iwi Trust's $70 million treaty deal will be formally initialled during a ceremony in New Plymouth on Tuesday morning.

From 10am, Trust and iwi members will gather at Puke Ariki Museum to prepare for the arrival of Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Chris Finlayson and other government officials who are due to attend the formalities.....
See full article HERE

Another iwi joins fishing collective
Another iwi has joined the largest Māori-owned lobster processing business in the country, further expanding its quota.

Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, based at the top of the South Island, is the latest tribe to sign an agreement to lease its crayfish quota to Port Nicholson Fisheries.

The move means an additional 400 tonnes of crayfish will be sent overseas by the collective....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


7 July 2015

From the files of Alf Grumble
Hold your hat on, Dover – those kauri logs (carved or otherwise) are nice little earners for the economy

Alf is a bit bemused about this kauri carry-on.

Here’s how he sees it: enterprising people are doing Northland a favour by ridding its swamps of kauri.

But Dover Samuels, one of the region’s prominent citizens, is hollering for a halt to the clean-up, which – for good measure – is earning good export dollars.

These logs have been lying in the swamps for many, many years.

Now that someone is making a buck from them, Dover recognises them as a treasure and the export of them as “plunder”.

Obviously he disapproves of this treasure being turned into cash (although maybe he would be tempted to change his mind if he was given a slice of the action).

Radio NZ reported his complaint here:
A Northland Maori leader is calling for a moratorium on the mining of swamp kauri and a review of the laws that regulate it.

Dover Samuels said iwi from Te Hapua to Kaipara were fed up with what they saw as the plundering of a national treasure.

The one-time Minister of Maori Affairs, now head of Northland Regional Council’s Maori Advisory Committee, said it was time to halt the trade while a rethink of the whole industry was carried out.

This committee is one of those advisory arrangements set up to enable indigenous persons to flex their political muscle without having to stand for election.

It is a comparatively recent example of the co-governance genre being adopted by councils around the country with a strong impulse to weaken their democratic structures in favour of race-based alternatives.

After the first meeting Dover said the committee’s formation is part of the regional council’s wish to promote Maori (whanau, hapu and iwi) participation and engagement in its processes and decision-making.
Councillor Samuels says initially it had been proposed the committee’s membership would comprise two representatives from each of the invited iwi/hapu, himself and three of his regional council colleagues; council chairman Bill Shepherd, Dennis Bowman and Paul Dimery.
It’s still very much early days, but I’m personally really pleased to see the level of interest expressed already.”

Maoridom is poised to become an increasingly major contributor to the Northland economy as a result of treaty settlement processes and council wishes to work with Maori to advance the economic aspirations of whanau and hapu.”

Alf is wondering if a commitment to advance the economic aspirations of whanau and hapu means it does not promote the economic aspirations of others in the region.

Surely not, although Dover plainly wants to nobble whoever is making a bob from clearing the swamps of their kauri.

According to the Radio NZ report:
Mr Samuels said the advisory Committee had been consulting iwi in recent months about policy affecting their interests and the consistent message was that they wanted the industry controlled, in part because of the damage it’s doing to wetlands and lakes.

Many of the whanau and hapu where these taonga lie are very concerned about the exploitation of what they say, and what they see as a New Zealand taonga, said Mr Samuels. “Not just Maori, but New Zealand, taonga.”

Alf is pleased to report that his good mate Nathan Guy, our Minister for Primary Industries, has defended the regulation of the swamp kauri industry, saying his ministry staff have kept a close watch on what is going out of the country.

The ministry website says swamp kauri can be exported as manufactured or finished products, but not as logs.
But some companies have exported logs legally by carving the surface and exporting them as finished products, with MPI approval.

Mr Guy said the trade was good for the country.

They are finished products,” he said.

I have seen some photos where some fantastic-looking swamp logs have been carved and they’re going to be an amazing feature for our country in an international country that they’re destined for.

We manage it very, very closely.”

Alas, some sourpuss people are grumping about what constitutes a carving.
Fiona Furrell, who heads the Northland Environmental Protection Society, scoffs at the idea that the carvings represent New Zealand.

The first one we saw an MPI photo of, we call it the Casper log, because it looks more like Casper the friendly ghost than any sort of Maori or authentic carving.

It’s just this big log with weird markings and paint all over it and what looks like a big smiley face. “

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, and what’s wrong with a smiley face?

It would be bureaucratic nonsense to have some officials determine that this bit of art can be exported but this one can’t.

What can be exported surely should be decided by the importer at the other end of the deal.

Fair to say, Dover disagrees.
Mr Samuels said tangata whenua were not impressed with MPI’s rationale for sanctioning the logs as carvings.

I mean, how naive can you be when you say you’ve applied some sort of artificial tiki to the log, or an artificial carving to the log, and say that passes the requirements of the legislation? I mean, that’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Oh – but let’s not forget another grouch:
Ms Furrell said if Mr Guy thought the swamp kauri trade was good for the country he should head north and inspect environmental damage caused by the mining.

Drained lakes, drained wetlands, completely destroyed natural environment that is protected.”

She will appreciate we have done her a favour when climate change has lifted the temperature enough to provide a nice habitat for mosquitoes carrying nasty diseases.

Without those mucky swamps to settle in, they will have to settle elsewhere.

The health of Northlanders will have been done a service.
June 17th, 2015 

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


6 July 2015
 
Iwi offered airport share
The claimant group that lobbied for the region's airport to be renamed Ahuriri Airport Hawke's Bay could become a half-owner of the facility through its treaty settlement.

Mana Ahuriri Incorporated has been offered "right of first refusal" for the government's 50 per cent shareholding in Hawke's Bay Airport Limited as part of its ongoing $20 million-plus Treaty of Waitangi claim settlement negotiations with the Crown.

Asked if the group was interested in taking up the airport share offer, Mana Ahuriri deputy chairman Piri Prentice said yesterday it was too early to say because negotiations were continuing....
See full article HERE

Māori commercial aquaculture claims settlement
The Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004 provides for a full and final settlement of Māori commercial aquaculture claims since 21 September 1992. The Act delivers this settlement through providing settlement assets to Te Ohu Kaimoana Trustee Limited (the Trustee) for distribution to Iwi Aquaculture Organisations. The settlement assets must be representative of 20% of aquaculture space, where that space is generally either: ....
See full article HERE

Iwi agrees to participate in Auckland council's Special Housing Area initiative
At the Glenbook site in Franklin, the development company Kahawai Point Ltd, which includes Ngāti Te Ata iwi members, hopes to make 80 housing sites available specifically for Ngāti Te Ata.....
See full article HERE

Trees dispute stalls pipeline work
Construction has stalled on Tauranga's $102 million Southern Pipeline because of a dispute over 12 avocado trees.
A Matapihi Maori land trust locked the orchard access gates about three weeks ago - preventing contractor HEB Construction from laying the sewer main down an unformed road on the last leg of the pipeline's route along the peninsula.

The trees on the edge of the orchard owned by the trust could end up being felled if the city council can prove they intrude on the unformed (paper) road.

Work on the Bayfair end of the pipeline stopped when the Ohuki 1 G2 Trust closed the orchard access gates near Matapihi Rd. The gates also straddle the paper road.

"The council wasn't talking compensation, only cutting them down."

He said the trust was waiting to see what compensation would be offered by the council for the loss of the mature trees.....
See full article HERE

Proposed Newstead cemetery lounge cut from draft plan
Peter Forman, a consultant and former cemeteries manager, said the proposed facility did not comply with the Burial and Cremation Act and was contrary to Maori custom.

The preparation and consumption of food within the confines of the cemetery grounds went against Maori custom.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


5 July 2015 

From NZCPR Breaking Views archives - By David Round
The Enemy of Nationhood
There was a poem which my mother had learnt off by heart as a girl and portions of which she could long remember and recite to us.  It was, I later discovered, Whittier's Barbara Frietchie, and it tells of a true episode in the American Civil War when Confederate forces, occupying a town in the north, decreed on pain of death that all Union flags in the town should be taken down. Heroic old Barbara refused, and
Shoot if you must this old grey head
But spare your country’s flag’ she said.
The officer was moved.
Who touches a hair of yon grey head
Dies like a dog! March on!’ he said.

A nation’s flag is a precious thing. It arises out of a long history; it grows with a people and tells their story. The New Zealand flag is no exception. On the blue of the Pacific Ocean shines the Southern Cross, the great guiding constellation of our skies, and in one corner the crosses of St George, St Andrew and St Patrick ~ England, Scotland and Ireland ~ tell of our British ancestors ~ the explorers and pioneers who found New Zealand a barbarous, albeit beautiful, wilderness of warring tribes, and created by their patient heroic labours the land of peace and comparative prosperity we have inherited.

Certainly, there is nothing specifically Maori here, and it might be nice if there were, although Maori crossed the blue Pacific guided by the stars, and all Maori, after all, have British ancestry, even if they prefer to ignore or deny the fact; but this is our flag. It is a pretty accurate reflection of our nation and of the traditions and ideals which have shaped and made us and, until recently anyway, inspired us. We shall need those ideals again in future.  It is perhaps a bit of an accident of history, but then so are many things. 

We have never been a great flag-waving nation; we are an undemonstrative, laconic people; but all the same, this is what we are. Our ancestors, Maori and British, have fought and sometimes died for it. A flag is not just a pretty piece of cloth. It is not just a corporate logo, to be updated or perhaps completely changed the next time the business is redefining itself or repositioning itself in the global marketplace. It is not just ‘a symbol’, as three gold balls, say, symbolise a pawnbroker, or a blindfolded woman with scales and sword signify justice. It is more than that; and that is why the Prime Minister’s decision that the Maori sovereignty flag will fly from Parliament, Premier House, government buildings and the Auckland Harbour Bridge next Waitangi Day is so foolish and ominous a sign.

The word ‘nation’ comes ultimately from the Latin verb
 nascor, nasci, natus sum, meaning to be born.  A nation was all those people born of a common ancestor. It was, then, a giant family. Apart from total conquest and absorption, other peoples could become part of ones nation only by adoption, an arrangement far commoner in the ancient world than it is now. By adoption the incoming people became the descendants of the same ancestor; they could therefore participate in the state religion, which usually involved the worship of the deified ancestor or of the god or gods who had entered into a solemn covenant with the ancestor, and who were the guardians of the state.

No-one would suggest that our citizenship ceremonies go quite so far. But there is a profound truth underlying these arrangements. A nation is not just a group of people who happen to live on the same piece of land. We could not call the inhabitants of
 China , say, or the former Yugoslavia a nation. A nation is made up of people who have a great deal in common. There are always differences and interests, of course, but the members of a nation believe that more unites them than divides them. They therefore are prepared ~ not without grumbling, certainly, from time to time ~ to put the common good before the interests of their particular tribe.

One of the common unthinking slogans of those who a couple of years ago were agitating for a new national flag was that we needed one which would ‘reflect our diversity as a nation’ This is complete nonsense. Diversity is difference. The more diversity there is in anything, the less there is in common. That is what diversity means. It is impossible to have a flag (which epitomises who and what we are ~ what we have in common) which reflects the fact that we are ‘diverse’ and have nothing in common.

Tribalism is the enemy of nationhood. The flying of a Maori sovereignty flag on our national day may be looked upon as a meaningless gesture by those for whom nothing is sacred, and who see our own flag only as a meaningless bit of cloth. They ‘know the price of everything and the value of nothing’. But Maori sovereignty enthusiasts do not see it as an empty gesture, and neither should anyone else. It is an insult to those who serve and love our nation’s flag, for no other flag can be as good, and Maori sovereignty and division is the enemy of the one new Zealand nation of our very own flag. There may be arguments as to what ‘exactly’ Maori sovereignty means. One radical will claim it is one thing, another another. But this at least is perfectly clear ~ that it means that those who fly it do not want to be part of the same nation the rest of us are in. They will continue to want the funding of course. But for the rest, they consider those outside the tribe to be ~ what were Hone Harawira’s words again? ~ just people to be used, exploited and at the same time hated. We have to be grateful to Hone ~ which is more than he is to us, of course, for the manifold blessings of European civilisation ~ in that at least he reminds us of what we are up against. He is the true voice of the Maori party. No other voice is possible.

Dr Brash was absolutely right when he made his wonderful Orewa speech, and Phil Goff was absolutely right when he recently similarly warned of the dangers of racial division. It is a depressing indication of the madness now an unquestioned part of our national life that those calling for racial equality and respect for the rights of all, including the foreshore and seabed as our common heritage, are automatically condemned as racist. New Zealand is indeed a deeply racist country. But the racism lies in a race-based political party, racially-selected Parliamentary seats and members, a special racial electoral roll, race based sports teams, schools and units within schools, television stations, government departments, trusts and financial assistance galore, legal recognition of racial privilege, treaty indoctrination on every conceivable occasion. Universities now have special Maori graduations. No public ceremony in our secular country is complete without Maori elders and  karakia. Every new appointee in the public service is welcomed with a powhiri…..None of this is diminishing. It is growing. We are not working towards becoming one nation. We are walking in completely the opposite direction.

And not only is this racial distinction growing, it is absolutely clearly not working in its alleged aim of producing a happier tomorrow and relieving poverty and distress. A small tribal elite benefits. But how many of the benefits trickle down to the increasingly desperate alienated Maori underclass? They are vastly over-represented in all the wrong statistics ~ poverty, crime, prison population, truancy and illiteracy, unemployment, alcoholism and drug dependency, domestic violence and child abuse. If New Zealand were to extract the Maori (and, to a lesser extent, Pacific Islander) figures for these social ills from our statistics, we would appear as one of the happiest and best countries in the world. But instead, we are marred by this sad and growing underclass. The social welfare system subsidises its breeding, and so we are willingly creating the most dreadful social problem for the future. No government seems interested in stopping this vicious circle. Maori in Australia , where many of energy and enterprise have gone to live, are just as prosperous as anyone else. But here so many are mired in a system that seems designed to trap them in hopelessness. Liberals love to talk about this racism, as revealing our own wickedness and selfishness, while ignoring the racism of Maori privilege. What we must realise is that these two racisms are the two sides of the same coin. 

It may be that for as variety of reasons Phil Goff is unlikely to become Prime Minister, although you never know. Look at that unexciting John Major. But the National Party would do well to remember the effect of Don Brash’s Orewa speech.  At the time it was given the National Party was in serious, perhaps even terminal decline. Despite the almost universal disapproval of media commentators ~ practically everyone announced loftily that New Zealanders would not fall for this shameful obvious playing of ‘the race card’ ~ the speech’s sentiments struck a chord with ordinary people who recognised its truth. Those New Zealanders have not gone away, and they have not changed their opinions. How will they vote next time?

And what will happen in the near future when the money runs out? When the world’s lenders refuse, or are simply unable, to support any longer a lazy nation, too cowardly to confront its own problems, and which has been living beyond its means for the last generation? When the world economy collapses, the price of oil starts to soar (and our whole economy and civilisation rests on oil ~ without it tourism and agriculture, for a start, as they are currently practised, are unthinkable) and climate change brings woe? Then, even more pressingly than now, we will not be inclined to spend our last precious pennies on support for the underclass, or for anyone except ourselves. Without the anaesthetic of social welfare, however, ugly voices will be raised. And not just voices. Bella, horrida bella et Thybrim multo spumantem sanguine cerno. Hone Harawira’s recent outburst is only a taste of things to come. Dreadful changes are coming. We all of us urgently need to realise that we have to look after ourselves far more, and that unity in the face of hardship and peril is vitally necessary. Yet Maori sovereignty perpetuates the hateful myth that everything is the white man’s fault, that Maori have nothing in common with him and would be better off on their own. But with the funding, of course. To fly the flag of a movement dedicated to the dismantling of our country shows how foolish and blind we have become. The Maori sovereignty flag is the enemy of the flag it will be flying next to.
February 5, 2012 (first published December 2009)

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


4 July 2015

Iwi leader charged over kereru
Ngapuhi runanga chairman Sonny Tau has been charged with killing and possessing native wood pigeons after he was allegedly caught with five kereru in his possession at Invercargill Airport last week.

The Department of Conservation today laid charges in the Invercargill District Court against a 61-year-old Northland man for the alleged hunting/killing and possession of a protected species under the Wildlife Act.

Raniera Teitinga (Sonny) Tau has been summoned to appear in the Invercargill District Court on July 24, DoC said in a release....
See full article HERE

New Māori alphabet app launched to help all ages
A new digital app which focuses on the Māori alphabet has been launched today.

Kapohia Ltd has released their app, "Arapū", as Māori Language Week approaches and with school holidays just around the corner.

Originally produced for Māori-medium schools, Maraea Hunia says the app is free for everyone to download....
See full article HERE

Practising Māori law
Working at the Ngāi Tahu Māori Law Centre isn’t just a job for Haines Ellison, it’s a way to help others.

Tikanga is important at the Ngāi Tahu Māori Law Centre and as well as applying the right legal principles, Māori customs are always considered when dealing with a case and a client.

“We are a community law centre specialising in Māori freehold land matters. We also offer assistance in kaupapa Māori matters and thirdly we have a kaupapa Māori mediation service. We are qualified mediators and our service is very much in the infant stages but when we have to mediate, we do it in a kaupapa Māori setting where we can acknowledge tikanga.”....
See full article HERE

Federated Farmers National Conference 2015
Peter Douglas, CEO Te Ohu Kaimoana, predicted that Maori hold the key to the primary sector’s future resilience.

Mr Douglas said Maori were younger, energetic and achieving better grades while staying healthier than previous generations. Above all, in the last 40 years, the Maori population had doubled and a future agricultural workforce would be reliant on this demographic....
See full article HERE

More time over Rena sought
Bay of Plenty iwi and hapu have lodged a request for more time to gather evidence in opposition to leaving Rena on Astrolabe Reef, citing a lack of funding and notice.

Motiti Rohe Moana Trust, Nga Potiki a Tamapahore Trust, Te Runanga i Ngati Awa, and Te Patuwai Tribal submitted a joint memorandum to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council on Wednesday for an extension to the lodgement of evidence.

Tama Hovell, counsel for Nga Potiki a Tamapahore Trust, said the key point for the request was that resourcing for the iwi submission had only just been confirmed....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


2 July 2015

Maori taking steps to stop the TPPA
Urgency Applications to the Waitangi Tribunal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

On 23 June 2015, two Waitangi Tribunal claims were filed alleging that the Crown’s negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement were in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Our lawyers have asked that both claims be heard urgently, before events take place that overtake the necessity of the claims.

Once the Tribunal has received the Crown’s response the Judge will set us a deadline to reply.

The Tribunal will then make a decision on whether to hold a fixture to hear the claims urgently....
See full article HERE

Ninety Mile Beach bill through to next stage
A bill that would give control of Ninety Mile Beach in the Far North to iwi has moved a step closer to becoming law.

Parliament sat under extended hours this morning for MPs to consider the Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill.

The legislation would ratify a long-awaited Treaty settlement between four far North iwi and the Crown.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson told the House the bill would see one of the largest returns of land to Maori ownership..
See full article HERE

Maori centre gets funding for stage one
Whangarei mayor Sheryl Mai says a new Maori cultural centre planned for the city will be a major asset.

The council has granted $500,000 to the Hihiaua Cultural Centre Trust to launch the first stage of its project at the Town Basin precinct.

Ms Mai said with the Hundertwasser Wairau Maori arts centre at one end and the cultural centre at the other, the area will be a magnet for visitors and locals.

The council grant will go towards a carving centre and waka shelter beside Whangarei harbour and enable the trust to apply to major charities to advance the project....
See full article HERE

Tuhoronuku confirm Tau stood down
Ngapuhi claim settlement negotiating body Tuhoronuku has confirmed it has rolled its chair Sonny Tau.

The board called an extraordinary meeting last night to discuss Mr Tau's admission he had been questioned by Department of Conservation officers after being found with five dead kereru at Invercargill airport.

In what seems indicative of confusion in the organisation, it took until mid-afternoon for a media release to emerge confirming Mr Tau's deputy Sam Napia had been appointed acting chair, with lawyer Moana Tuwhare taking the number two spot....
See full article HERE

Fostering Maori contribution to the decision-making process
We acknowledge Māori as people with whom there is a special relationship. We are committed to giving effect to the principles and intent of the Treaty of Waitangi, and to engaging in genuine and appropriate consultation with Māori.

We have in place protocols for ensuring Tangata Whenua are consulted in regard to decisions made under the Resource Management Act 1991, Local Government Act 2002, and in 2012 received and adopted a Memorandum of Understanding with Te Runanga o Moeraki to guide the ongoing relationship between Council and the Runanga. We also have a Relationship Agreement with Waitaha Taiwhenua O Waitaki
Trust Board...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


1 July 2015

More Maori appointed to conservation boards
More Maori have been appointed to conservation boards in an effort to better represent iwi and hapū.

The role of the boards is to advise the Department of Conservation on local issues and act as a point of contact for the community.

In 2013, a Government report found they were not diverse enough.

The report found "boards should actively enhance their relationships with iwi and manawhenua through joint meetings and identification of projects of common interest".

The associate conservation minister, Nicky Wagner, said 42 percent of the boards' 135 members would now be Māori, up from 36 percent last year.....
See full article HERE

Govt urged to take action on climate change
The New Zealand Climate and Health Council is urging the Government to take urgent action against climate change to improve the health of Māori.

Council co-convenor Rhys Jones said Māori suffered the most in Aotearoa from its effects.

Dr Jones said doing more to tackle the problem, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting walking and cycling instead of driving, would go a long way to reduce diseases such as cancer, heart and lung diseases.

The University of Auckland Te Kupenga Hauora Maori senior lecturer said people's attitudes towards the issue needed to change, and climate change needed to be viewed as something that affected not just the environment but people's health as well.

"Māori in particular stand to suffer most from the effects of climate change. That's partly because they tend to live in poorer areas and have worse infrastructure, so are more vulnerable to some of the effects of climate change," he said.....
See full article HERE

Ngati Tuwharetoa deal to be finalised
Ngati Tuwharetoa will today finalise the purchase of 8500 hectares of Crown land in the central North Island.

The Tuwharetoa Settlement Trust and five other Tuwharetoa groups will buy the land in a buy-to-lease deal.

Hautu-Rangipo Whenua Limited will buy the Tongariro-Rangipo Corrections Facility, including the Hautu prison farm near Turangi, and about 4000 hectares of timber plantations.

The package is costing about $20 million and is part of the Deferred Settlement Process, which was agreed with the Crown in the 2008 Central North Island Treaty Settlement.....
See full article HERE

Natural Resources Plan Provides Certainty for Resource Use
Greater Wellington Regional Council today approved a ground-breaking new Proposed Natural Resources Plan that sets out rules and guidelines for protecting and sustainably using natural resources in the region.

GWRC Chair Fran Wilde says the plan sets limits for natural resource use and quality while ensuring an environment for economic growth.

Ms Wilde says the plan is the result of five years of collaboration with iwi, business and the community, starting with an award winning partnership with the region’s six mana whenua iwi.

Iwi representatives were invited to join GWRC’s Natural Resources Committee Te Upoko Taiao, which oversaw the consultation process and the drafting of the plan.

This partnership was recognised when GWRC and Te Ara Tahi – the council’s iwi leadership forum – co-won the 2012 IPANZ Gen-I Public Sector Excellence Award for Crown-Maori Relationships for Te Upoko Taiao.

“This partnership has been the envy of councils around New Zealand,” Ms Wilde says. “It’s exciting that Wellington has once more led the way and in this case on something that is so important to the people of the region – the use of our natural resources.....
See full article HERE

Māori of the Wellington Region
GWRC has a partnership arrangement with six mana whenua authorities of the region who continue to maintain kaitiaki roles over their ancestral lands.

Mana whenua also have recognised overlapping interests with their iwi neighbours of the region.

Greater Wellington is home for mana whenua and taura here/matāwaka (non-mana whenua who call Wellington their home) Māori residents.

Maori residents comprise a rich mixture of tribal backgrounds. This ranges from the pre-colonial mana whenua who continue to maintain kaitiaki responsibilities over their ancestral lands, to the East Coast tribes encouraged to work and settle here by people such as Sir Apirana Ngata and Sir James Carroll...
See full article HERE

July is Māori Language Month at Massey University
The revitalisation of the Māori language is so important that Massey University is extending Māori Language Week to include a whole month of activities.

Te Marama o Te Reo Māori kicks off on Wednesday with events like Māori movies, waiata sessions, guest speakers and giant Māori scrabble games on all campuses...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


30 June 2015

Iwi want guidelines for swamp kauri exporters
Some Northland Maori want involvement in the swamp kauri industry but one iwi is rejecting the notion as the trade does not bring benefits to its people.

The Forests Act 1949 bans the export of swamp kauri logs unless they are made into finished timber products. But claims have been made that exporters are skirting the ban by labelling kauri slabs as table tops, or superficially carving the logs and calling them artworks.

Northland iwi and hapu members said there should be more involvement from Maori.

Northland Regional Councillor and former MP Dover Samuels has accused the Ministry of Primary Industries of "pointing the finger" and trying to shift responsibility. The Ministry has said the Northland Regional Council, not MPI, was responsible for overseeing the extraction of swamp kauri.

Through the Resource Management Act, the regional council (NRC) was responsible only when extraction could damage protected species or wetlands.

Mr Samuels said he had no problem with swamp kauri being exploited, if it was done without environmental harm and if it was processed in New Zealand.

He said swamp kauri should enjoy similar protection to pounamu in the South Island, where Ngai Tahu controlled its exploitation.....
See full article HERE

Call for more equality in top jobs
New research on equality in the workplace shows the playing-field is still tilted towards Pakeha men.

The Human Rights Commission says on every measure women, Maori, Pasifika, people with disabilities and young people get much less of a fair go at work.

It is calling for employers to bring in special measures to get underrepresented groups into top jobs.

The research showed the unemployment rate for Maori and Pasifika aged between 25 and 44 is three times that of their European counterparts.....
See full article HERE

Brazilians ask for Maori input
A Northland sports club has been invited to represent New Zealand at the 'Olympics of indigenous games'.

The first World Indigenous Games will be held in Palmas, Brazil, in late October. They are being organised by Brazil's Indigenous Tribal Council and Ministry of Sport, with 24 Brazilian ethnic groups and people from 22 countries expected to take part.

Events will include archery, spear toss, tug-of-war, traditional canoeing, a 100m 'rustic race', wrestling and a native American ball game, xikunahati.

The organisers invited Bay of Islands man Harko Brown to help them shape the games' content, format and rules at a gathering in Brasilia which ends this weekend.

Mr Brown, an expert in traditional Maori games, founded the sports club Ki-o-rahi Akotanga Iho, which in 2010, along with All Black legend Buck Shelford, embarked on the world's first international tour with tests and demonstration games in the UK, France and Italy.

Before his departure for Brasilia Mr Brown said he had been asked to advise on how traditional Maori games were run in New Zealand. A crucial part of the preparation was the tatu, whereby competing tribes met beforehand to come up with an agreed set of rules.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


29 June 2015

From the NZCPR Breaking Views archives - By Mike Butler
Flaky Ngati Whatua report fisked
Sometimes, light-weight bleeding-heart commentary needs to be taken to task. Today, Brian Rudman of the New Zealand Herald is in the gun for his article “Joe Hawke gains victory”. A “fisking”, according to the Urban Dictionary, is where a commentator is beaten through his words, often interspersing criticisms with the original article's text. The term is named after Robert Fisk, a reporter known for anti-western writings.

Rudman: Yesterday in Parliament, the long struggle for justice, reignited by Joe Hawke and his fellow squatters in the 1970s, finally came to an end with an apology from the Crown, and ritual compensation by way of cash and land.
As I recall, the dispute around the 507-day occupation of Bastion Point, 5.3 ha of land that was taken under the Public Works Act in 1886 for military use, was settled in 1988, when the land was returned with compensation and an apology. Another dispute detailed in the Wai 9 claim lodged in 1986 by Joe Hawke and others that focussed on grievances around the 700 acres known as the Orakei Block, was enshrined in the Orakei Act 1991 in which nearly 65 hectares were returned to Ngati Whatua o Orakei . The current settlement is Ngati Whatua’s third bite of the cherry.

Rudman: The Ngati Whatua "had gained rights," according to the circumspect language of the "agreed historical account", in what is now the Super City boundaries by 1740, by right of conquest and occupation. Inter-tribal conflicts in the 1820s made them "temporarily relocate" to Waitakere and then Waikato, but from 1835 they'd started to reoccupy the Tamaki isthmus.
The fact is that Ngati Whatua had only occupied the Auckland area from the mid-18th century until 1822, probably about the same length of time that many of the residents at a public meeting at the Navy Gym earlier this year over including Navy land in the Ngati Whatua settlement, have lived in Devonport. Ngati Whatua did not occupy Auckland for very long before driven out by a Nga Puhi war expedition led by Hongi, Rewa and Patuone in November 1822. Ngati Whatua were happy to SELL large parcels of land to incoming settlers because they were too frightened to live there without a settler presence. This “temporary relocation” is claimant-speak in a bid to convey the idea that they really were in an area even though they were not there.

Rudman: To protect themselves from Ngapuhi muskets, Ngati Whatua exchanged the 1214ha triangle of today's central Auckland, stretching along the coast from Cox's Bay to Hobson Bay and south to Mt Eden - all of present day Herne Bay, Ponsonby, Newmarket, Parnell and the city centre - for 50, 20 pairs of trousers, 20 shirts, 10 waistcoats, 10 caps, four casks of tobacco, one box of pipes, 91m of gown pieces, 10 iron pots, one bag of sugar, one bag of flour and 20 hatchets.
Yes, Ngati Whatua SOLD the land, and for more than the collection of items Rudman listed. A quick check on the Office of Treaty Settlements summary of the Ngati Whatua settlement reveals that the tribe initially sold around 3500 acres of land (the central city area of Auckland) to government officials in September 1840 for £50 in coin and goods amounting to approximately £215. Over the next two years the tribe sold a further 29,000 acres to the Crown for around £640 plus other goods.

The land area of Auckland is 489,400ha. It is recorded that by the end of 1842 Government agents had purchased from chiefs land totalling 92,000ha (227,200 acres) the price being £4,196 25, or just a little over 4d (four pence – as in 240 pennies in ₤1) per acre. From 1862 to 2012, that amount would have inflated, according to the Reserve Bank inflation calculator, to $461,579.71. Remember, the government bought unimproved land, the value of which grew as the area was developed.

Ngati Whatua repeat the fiction that they "lost" the land, blaming the government. The tribe did not "lose" the land; their ancestors SOLD the land.

The fact that the land was sold by willing sellers to willing buyers was confirmed in a 1975 Court hearing presided over by Justice Speight and endorsed by Ngati Whatua elders.

Rudman: But no one reading the history could deny that Ngati Whatua were royally shafted by the servants of Queen Victoria sent out to protect their interests.
Bearing in mind that the public works taking in the Bastion Point row, and the alleged forced sales by 13 owners who allegedly should have held the Orakei block in trust, are both outside the scope of this latest settlement, the main aspect of Ngati Whatua’s third settlement is a big sense of sellers’ remorse among the vendor chiefs, a grievance that has been nursed over the decades as mothers suckled their infant sons and daughters. Sellers developed this remorse when they saw the colonial government, which had the monopoly right to buy land from chiefs and on-sell it to settlers, using the profit to fund administration, sold this land attaining a profit of £68,865. Between 1844 and 1845, the Crown allowed chiefs to sell more land directly to settlers, enacting regulations to protect Maori. Claimants argued that the Crown did not apply these regulations correctly.

Rudman: It was the servants of the Crown who proved to be the worst diddlers of all, locking Maori into derisory sale prices, supposedly to protect the simple natives from the speculators.
The Deed of Settlement details how Ngati Whatua o Orakei hosted the month-long Kohimarama Conference in July of 1860, where the bulk of 200 chiefs attending gave emphatic support to the colonial government and the Treaty of Waitangi. It would appear that Ngati Whatua were happy with the situation at that time, which was after the bulk of the land had been sold. Why did they become unhappy? Most likely, the prestige of being able to sell such large tracts of land had faded, and the sales proceeds had been spent.

Rudman: In Ngati Whatua's case, the Crown was supposed to set aside land for Maori in perpetuity and use the land sales profits to build schools and hospitals for the locals. Little or none of this happened.
Er, excuse me. Auckland Hospital, Middlemore, schools as far as the eye can see, universities, roads, water reticulation, sewage, electricity. Does this not count? Or does Rudman believe the government should have provided a school and hospital for every kaianga?

Rudman: Yesterday's agreement doesn't erase old wrongs, or fully compensate for them.
This is what claimants always say when the settlement windfall lands. Let me see. British settlement enabled Ngati Whatua to return to Auckland, sell undeveloped land, benefit from settlement, and get paid for it all over again. How wonderful are the ways of the wicked white coloniser.

Rudman: I was on the phone to Ngati Whatua firebrand Joe Hawke hoping for a story. He didn't disappoint.
Joe Hawke and the Hawke family never disappoint when it comes to a news story. Joe has the esteemed reputation of having lodged Wai 1, in October 1976, when Joe Hawke, Henry Matthews, Te Witi McMath, and Rua Paul became the first claimants to the Waitangi Tribunal with a claim relating to fishing rights in the Waitemata Harbour. Specifically, the claim concerned the matter of prosecutions brought by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries pursuant to regulations 106K(2) and 106KA(3) of the Fisheries (General) Regulations 1950. Does not Joe Hawke's Wai 1 claim sound like the numerous fishing situations in which the treaty is invoked?
Source > Joe Hawke gains victory, NZ Herald, November 16, 2012,http://www.nzherald.co.nz/maori/news/article.cfm?c_id=252&objectid=10847713

18 November 2012

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


28 June 2015 

Ngāti Whātua Files Statement of Claim in Auckland High Court
Ngāti Whātua has today filed a statement of claim in the High Court at Auckland to seek a ruling to fast-­track the resolution of the difference of opinion over the extent of Ngāti Whātua’s Right of First Refusal (RFR) to surplus Crown land in Tamaki Makaurau.

This will be done by way of a judicial review of recent decisions and announcements around the Auckland Crown Land Programme, and in particular a property in Moire Rd in Massey.

“Ngāti Whātua is working closely with the government to get more houses built,” Ngāti Whātua’s Ngarimu Blair said today.

“At the same time, achieving clarity over the extent of our 172-­year RFR is a fundamental point of principle and economically important.

The relationship between Māori and the Crown was harmed for many generations by lack of agreement about the meaning of the articles of the Treaty of Waitangi and we are determined similar differences of opinion will not spoil the post-­settlement relationship.....
See full article HERE

Hastings leaves airport up in the air
A proposed name change for Hawke's Bay's airport remains up in the air after Hastings District Council yesterday failed to either support or oppose a move to rename it Ahuriri Airport Hawke's Bay.

Instead the council, which owns 24 per cent of the airport, voted narrowly in favour of a motion to support a similar but different name change - to Hawke's Bay Airport Ahuriri.

But following yesterday's Hastings District Council decision, airport company chairman Tony Porter said his board was not left with a clear mandate and would need to discuss what to do next.....
See full article HERE

Review committee challenge rules
The change of direction in progress at the Waste Water Management Review Committee is being passed up the chain to the next stage.

The committee's appointed Maori members are in the process of challenging the rules under which the committee operates.

The WWMRC has been created out of the resource consent process that allows the city council to operate its Te Maunga wastewater ponds and outfalls. The consent requires the Tauranga City Council to have a joint council/Maori committee to administer a court ordered fund of ‘not less than' $250,000 and distribute it to the local affected iwi and hapu.

The council paid into the fund at $50,000 a year for five years before any distribution was made. There have been only two successful applicants securing funding to a total of $160,000. The committee's reason for existence is to distribute the fund, which it has failed to do.

There is $92,400 left. The council is 10 years into the consent. The Maori members also want the council to approve in the Long Term Plan, an additional $50,000 a year for five years, which will bring the cost of the coastal discharge consent up to $1.5 million....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


26 June 2015 

Iwi leader probed over kereru
The Department of Conservation is investigating allegations that Ngapuhi chairman Sonny Tau tried to smuggle native birds on a flight up the length of the country under his jacket.

Last night 3News reported DoC were investigating the iwi leader, who was allegedly caught with five kereru - native wood pigeon - under his jacket as he boarded a flight from Invercargill to Northland.

3News said Mr Tau was caught with up to five kereru. It is thought he was taking the birds as a gift to his local kaumatua.

The birds were reportedly shot during a hunting trip, but it was unclear whether Mr Tau was responsible for killing them. It has been illegal to shoot kereru since 1864. Kereru have been totally protected since 1921....
See full article HERE

Some Maori want to eat kereru, minister says
Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell said eating Kereru was a practice that some groups still advocated for.

 NZ First leader Winston Peters said he never knowingly ate native wood pigeon but one time at a marae in Hokianga suspected he might have been served some.

"I was too polite to ask".

Kereru were once a traditional source of food for Maori, but hunting them has been banned for nearly a century.

Ngapuhi leader David Rankin said there was nothing wrong with catching kereru.

"Article two of the Treaty of Waitangi guarantees Maori the full, exclusive and undisturbed possession of our fauna and flora.  Basically, the problem is that the law hasn't caught up with the Treaty.".....
See full article HERE

Minister: Iwi have withdrawn legal action
Two iwi are no longer taking court action over the sale of public land for housing in Auckland, the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations says.

Ngāti Whātua and Tainui have previously said they were going to the High Court to clarify whether they should have been offered the right of first refusal to purchase the land.

But Christopher Finlayson said there were no court proceedings underway and, after speaking with Tainui this morning, that was unlikely to change.

He maintained the Government had acted in good faith with the iwi throughout the process.

Mr Finlayson said iwi were interested in moving forward and it was better for everyone involved if court action was avoided.

Ngāti Whātua and Tainui have not yet responded to a request by Te Manu Korihi for comment...
See full article HERE

Iwi says 'time to forgive' Rena owner
A Bay of Plenty iwi has decided not to oppose a plan to leave the wreck of container ship Rena on Otaiti - the Astrolabe Reef - just off the coast from Tauranga.

Ngāti Ranginui chair Tawharangi Nuku said the agreement signals a decision to acknowledge the grounding and its impact on Tauranga moana, but heralds a significant decision to move on.

Mr Nuku said Ngati Ranginui respected the right of other iwi to make their own decisions and do what was right for them.

Te Arawa has made a similar agreement with the Rena's owner....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


25 June 2015

TAIHOA to TPPA - application for urgent Treaty hearing
A group of esteemed Māori leaders and academics, including Dr Papaarangi Reid, Moana Jackson, Rikirangi Gage, Angeline Greensill, Hone Harawira and Moana Maniapoto have filed a claim and application for urgent hearing today in the Waitangi Tribunal.

The claim alleges that the government’s actions in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPPA) are a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles.

The claimants say that the TPPA procedurally and substantively prejudices them and undermines the guarantees to Māori under the Treaty to the exercise of their tino rangatiratanga in governance decisions that affect them.....
See full article HERE

State house 'going to waste' amidst housing shortage
An empty Housing New Zealand house on an overgrown property in Wakapuaka near Nelson is going to waste, say surrounding property owners.

But the property needed to go through a First Right of Refusal process with local iwi first and foremost. 

"This means it must first be offered to local iwi before it can be considered for sale on the open market," he said. 

Housing New Zealand had started the process with iwi, but Conway said discussions were still in early stages with those iwi.....
See full article HERE

Iwi Leaders applaud the PCE report into Freshwater
The Freshwater Iwi Leaders Group has welcomed the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s report into freshwater.

“The recommendations, particularly concerning water quality, support the key messages the Freshwater Iwi Leaders group has been advocating for on behalf of all iwi. Te Mana o te Wai – improved water quality – is one of our key objectives in ‘Ngā Mātāpono ki te Wai’, our framework model,” said the Freshwater Iwi Advisors chair, Roku Mihinui.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment recommended six improvements to the Freshwater National Policy Statement. Those recommendations are:....
See full article HERE

Paul James appointed New Zealand’s new culture ministry chief
Before his time at the DIA, James worked as director of the Ministry of Justice’s Office of Treaty Settlements, which is tasked with negotiating settlements due to historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi – an agreement between representatives of the British Crown and various Māori tribe chiefs from the North island of New Zealand first signed in 1840.

In this post, he oversaw a significant increase in the rate of settlements achieved.

He has also worked in policy roles in the Treasury, Accident Compensation Corporation, and Te Puni Kokiri – as the government’s principal adviser on its relationship with the iwi, hapu and Maori tribes.....
See full article HERE

Ngāi Tahu market garden gets boost
A Ngāi Tahu market garden is getting a funding boost from the South Island Whānau Ora agency.
The garden would act as a catalyst for hapū-led food farming ventures.
The garden at Koukourārata, or Port Levy, on Banks Peninsula, is the original site where the iwi cultivated food to sell to colonists in the 1880s.
It would be used for education and research opportunities.....
See full article HERE

Social Value Aotearoa launched
The head of an urban Māori authority is calling for the Government to introduce measures showing whether the funding it provides is actually producing results.

Te Whānau O Waipareira Trust and the North Island Whānau Ora Commissioning agency, Te Pou Matakana, have launched 'Social Value Aotearoa'.

The network aims to get organisations, including those in the public sector, to think about more than just the costs of providing a service.

It wanted an assessment model to be introduced which analysed whether there were actually any tangible benefits for those the funding was meant to help.

Trust chief executive John Tamihere said the Government's current approach was not working and it needed to adopt a different one.....
See full article HERE

Disabled Maori more disadvantaged - survey
The lives of disabled Māori have come under the spotlight with He haua Maori - Findings from the 2013 Disability Survey.

It found one in four Māori are disabled.

The Statistics New Zealand survey showed that while many disabled Māori enjoyed good levels of material well-being and quality of life, overall they tended to fare worse that non-disabled Māori.

Just over half of those disabled were working, but their incomes were lower than for others, with two-thirds having an annual income of $30,000 or less.

A quarter said their income was not sufficient to meet everyday needs.....
See full article HERE

What on earth is going on at Maori TV?
The latest allegations of direct interference with Maori TV editorial content by Te Ururoa Flavell demands a serious investigation because it simply does not pass the scratch and sniff test of independent journalism.

Emails show Te Ururoa Flavell complaining to Maori TV chief executive Paora Maxwell about including Winston Peters in a debate about Whanau Ora, Flavell then met with Maxwell and less than two hours later, the debate was cancelled....
See full article HERE

Beach plans 'open huge can of worms'
A governance board made up of iwi and council representatives will "open up a huge can of worms" when it takes over management of Ninety Mile Beach, a district councillor says.

Currently, no single body manages Ninety Mile Beach. Various parts are controlled by the district council, regional council, DoC and iwi.

Council policy and planning manager Kathryn Ross said the board was part of settlement legislation for four of the five Te Hiku iwi. It was going through Parliament and would soon become law.

Far North-based Northland Regional councillors Dover Samuels and Monty Knight have been appointed as that council's representatives on the new Te Oneroa-a-Tohe Board. The board's first task will be to develop a management plan for the beach. The council's role on the board will be to articulate the concerns of residents and ratepayers.

The Crown will give the NRC $150,000 for the board's initial operating costs and $250,000 for developing the management plan.

No funding has been provided for the Far North District Council's costs....
See full article HERE

North Shore Maori left in cold for tangi
Whanau on Auckland’s North Shore want Auckland Council to help them build a marae so they don’t have to use garages and tents to host tangihanga.

Te Aniwa Tutara says there is no suitable marae to service the large Maori community in Beach Haven, Birkdale and Northcote.

She says Beach Haven has more than a dozen church, school and community halls, and now the Kaipatiki Local Board wants to build another one without considering the needs of Maori...
See full article HERE

Nick Smith may get his houses yet
One of the problems may have been that both the Crown the iwi appear to have been arguing at cross purposes.

It seems unlikely that the iwi actually want to develop the land.  

What they are seeking is a pro forma recognition of what they consider their Treaty Right to be offered the land even if it is only for them to turn it down.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


24 June 2015 

Rena stance upsets iwi
Bay of Plenty iwi are upset coastal Te Arawa has broken ranks and struck a deal with the owners and insurers of the Rena to drop opposition to leaving what’s left of the stricken cargo ship on Otaiti-Astrolabe reef.

Te Arawa Coastal iwi spokesperson Raewyn Bennett says after getting expert advice her iwi were convinced that option is better for the environment.

They have negotiated conditions they want in any resource consent, and they also intend setting up a marine education centre.

But Buddy Mikaere, who has links to hapu on Motiti Island most directly affected by the wreck, says other iwi feel betrayed.

He told Radio Waatea host Willie Jackson the $750,000 offered to each iwi to drop their objections falls well short of a reasonable price.

"We’ll only sign up if they give us about $500 million because we understand that will be the cost of getting the wreck off the reef" he says.

Buddy Mikaere says because of the power of the Rena’s Swedish insurer in the industry, it is hard to find salvage experts willing to testify against the plan...
See full article HERE

Hato Petera 'not for sale'
Bishop Pat Dunn returned from a fortnight in Tokelau to clarify that the diocese never intended to sell the Northcote property.

"He has become annoyed at the constantly repeated comments in the media that the diocese is going to sell the land. This has not come from us. We cannot, because it is a Crown grant for educational purposes," he said via a spokeswoman.

He also spurned a Treaty of Waitangi claim by college old boys who want 152ha of land, including the college and AUT's Northcote campus.

"He finds the Treaty ... claim is spurious, based on false information. The Crown grant was to the bishops of Auckland for the education of children from both races and from the islands of the Pacific. They seem to have the idea that it was left for Maori education, which it was not.....
See full article HERE

Samuels, Knight appointed to Te Oneroa-a-Tohe Board
Far North-based regional councillors Dover Samuels and Monty Knight have been appointed as the council’s representatives on the new Te Oneroa-a-Tohe Board.

The beach board – which will jointly manage Ninety Mile Beach as part of a looming Treaty of Waitangi settlement – is expected to become operative later this year and be made up of eight to 10 members;

Councillor Samuels, who also chairs the regional council’s Te Tai Tokerau Maori Advisory Committee, says the looming establishment of the beach board is a significant milestone.

“It will mark the beginning of a long-awaited new relationship between Te Hiku iwi, our council and the FNDC.”

Councillor Samuels says the board’s purpose is to co-develop a management plan for iconic Ninety Mile Beach and the “eyes of the nation” both Maori and non-Maori will be watching with keen interest to see what is ultimately proposed....
See full article HERE

Iwi talks "constructive" but staying private
The Building and Housing Minister is keeping his cards close to his chest over the state of play with Auckland iwi over the Government's housing plans.

Nick Smith says talks remain ongoing as iwi have raised concerns their Treaty settlement rights are being breached by the Government's proposal to set aside Crown land for residential development by private interests.

He won't say anything about whether the Crown will take part in a joint court case to determine the plan's legal status.

"No I'm not going to be public. I'm going to have discussions directly with Iwi.

"All I'm saying is that those discussions have been constructive and ongoing."...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


23 June 2015

Children of prisoners need more help - advocate
Rethinking Crime and Punishment spokesperson Kim Workman said Māori tamariki were more vulnerable, and research was needed into the positive effects of support groups for children with parents in prison.

"When you get conditions and systems that put people at disadvantage, that puts Māori at increased disadvantage because there are more of them and so the effect is quite traumatic on families, so this is a target group that really needs the attention of policy."...
See full article HERE

From the files of Alf Grumble
Iwi bounce back from defeat at the ballot box to demand council voting rights without being elected

You’ve got to give Peter Moeahu full marks for gall.

His undemocratic cause was lost when the good citizens of New Plymouth went to the polls to decide if it was a good idea for their district council to have a separatist ward reserved for indigenous persons.

An overwhelming majority of those who bothered getting off their chuffs to vote made plain it was a bad idea.
But this Peter Moeahu feller sees this as a chance to push an even more provocative idea.

He is calling for New Plymouth’s council to reconsider appointing iwi representatives to influential standing committees.

This means they would get to influence council decisions without having to go through the bother of getting elected, even in a separatist ward.

This is the tribal way of trying to get good governance, Alf imagines, although it is seriously contradictory to his own strongly held ideas of how democratic government should operate.

Here’s what’s happening according to Stuff (although what is happening behind the scenes would be even more fascinating).
In the wake of an overwhelming referendum result against a Maori ward seat, Te Atiawa iwi representative Peter Moeahu asked the council to revisit a proposal it voted down in April last year.

However, Mayor Andrew Judd has said there are no immediate plans to revisit the idea and the council needs to process the results of the referendum first.

Last year’s proposal, which if passed would have seen two iwi members appointed to each of the monitoring, policy and regulatory committees, was voted down seven votes to five.

This week Moeahu told councillors he wanted to congratulate them for having the courage to propose a Maori ward, even though it failed.

Now I’m back again to ask that this council consider the appointment of iwi representatives on council standing committees, not on the council itself.”

Moeahu seems thoroughly disdainful of the thrust of the recent vote.

He also said his proposal could not be classed as “special treatment”, because it was just part of doing business in Taranaki.

Really?

Oh, and he raises some teasing ideas about constitutional matters.

He said under the Treaty of Waitangi iwi had developed their own runanga, or governing system.

Alf has peered at the document and failed to recognise the bit that gives rise to this governing system, although he accepts it may well be in the Maori-language bit.

In short, he wonders if the good people of New Plymouth are being tossed a load of treaty horseshit but he is always willing to stand to be corrected.

Here’s what Moeahu said to make Alf curious:
Councils of course get their authority from the Crown, by way of legislation, and we get our authority from the Treaty. Like council, we also have electoral constituents, so we have democracy in place. We elect our representatives, just like council does.

We’ve been evolving over the years and we now make appointments to various bodies. It is not unusual and it is not special.”

He said iwi representatives regularly engaged with government ministers.

Agreed, this is not special. Anybody can engage with government ministers, if they can get past the gatekeepers.

But then he said iwi representatives were appointed, with voting rights, to the Taranaki District Health Board.

This seems to suggest they can influence health board decisions without being elected. The rest of us can’t – not to sit at the board table, anyway.

So far as Alf can see, this is a race-based privilege, and this means the arrangement is “special”.

It is one of several precedents set by craven non-Maori decision-makers to avoid being accused of racism.

There are more to come, thanks to the highly undemocratic decisions being made by mandarins in Wellington.

And so Moeahu can rightly say:
And you’ll be aware that the regional council have agreed to add iwi representation appointments to its standing committees as well.

Our desire is to share that with this council. I would ask that council considers putting this matter back on its agenda again. I think it deserves to be revisited.”

When questioned about whether iwi expected voting rights on council standing committees, Morehu pointed out the privilege that indigenous persons in Taranaki already have been given – they have voting rights on the Taranaki District Health Board.
But our main purpose is to provide our perspective to council’s deliberations,” he said.

Would this be the sort of perspective that has resulted in Auckland people having to consult umpteen iwi representatives and cough up big sums of money to ensure cultural offence is not given or treasures endangered when they dig their gardens and so on?

Moeahu’s expectations are further explained:
Our iwi would be appointing the best people that we have to assist council. To provide the best people we have and for them to not have a vote, it would be disappointing.”

Political parties put up their best people too at elections.

But it’s what the voters want and their idea of the best person that matters. Or should.

This is the obstacle Moeahu would rather circumvent by playing the treaty card – which looks suspiciously like a race card, by the way.
https://alfgrumblemp.wordpress.com/2015/05/22/iwi-bounce-back-from-defeat-at-the-ballot-box-to-demand-council-voting-rights-without-being-elected/#more-21289
May 22nd, 2015 

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


21 June 2015
 
Human rights complaints over Maori driver amnesty
Complaints have been made to the Human Rights Commission over a move by police to spare Maori drivers from being ticketed if they're caught without a licence.

The police now admit the driver's licence amnesty in South Auckland, in which Maori drivers were not fined, should never have happened

The instruction to Counties Manukau police, which had been in place for 18 months, said all Maori drivers caught without a licence or in breach of licence conditions should be given two months to fix the problem before they're fined.

The Human Rights Commission said it had now received complaints about the police instructions, which were being dealt with by its complaints resolution team......
See full article HERE

Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa confirm land sold by Māori Education Trust will be returned
Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa iwi are rejoicing over the news that land originally gifted and sold by the Māori Education Trust is now destined to be returned.

The Māori Education Trust was originally gifted the farm by a Pākehā farmer, Ned Holmes in the 60's for the benefit of local Iwi.

But just this year, the Māori Education Trust sold it to private ownership to pay off debt.

Hone Oneroa says, “The Crown did wrong in the first place leaving out Te Wairarapa whānau within Hinewaka, today it was announced and understood that the Crown is now a way to return the land back to the whānau.”

Crown representatives will meet with the owners next week in Taranaki to talk about the buy back options....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


20 June 2015 

Old boys from Hato Petera lodge Treaty claim for land
Old boys of troubled Auckland Catholic co-ed boarding school Hato Petera have lodged a Treaty of Waitangi claim on the property and surrounding land, including AUT's Northcote campus.

Past pupils of the college in Northcote referred to the land's history and how the Church got it 165 years ago when lodging their Treaty claim, known as Wai 1385....
See full article HERE

Racial bias in mortgage lending exposed
Researchers say they are shocked to find an apparent racial bias by mortgage lenders against Maori people who "look Maori" - but real estate entrepreneur Mike Pero is not surprised.

The Auckland University research has found that a Maori person who rates 5.55 out of 7 on a scale of Maori-like personal appearance is twice as likely not to own their own home as a European-looking Maori rating only 1 on the scale, after allowing for all other factors including income and age.

The effect of personal appearance on home ownership was roughly as strong as the effect of income - a result that shocked the researchers.

However Dr Eric Crampton of the NZ Initiative think-tank said there could be many other explanations for this besides racial bias. For example, people who looked more Maori might have parents who did not have freehold properties to use as collateral for loans, a factor that was not surveyed.

"Banks would be throwing money away if they decided to not lend to somebody simply based on looks," he said.

Mortgage brokers Bruce Patten in Auckland and Karen Essex-Mooney in Blenheim both said they had never seen a mortgage application turned down because the borrowers were Maori. They said many borrowers now applied online and never actually met the lenders.

New Zealand Bankers' Association chief executive Kirk Hope said racial stereotyping was not in the banks' or their customers interests especially within such a competitive part of the banking sector.

"Banks consider a range of factors when making a lending decision," he said. "The customer's ability to repay the loan is among the most important things banks take into account.

"They'll also look at your equity in the property and any possible changes in your future circumstances."..
See full article HERE

Maori Party won't attend Mana Movement hui
Māori Party President, Naida Glavish has confirmed that the recent notice by Mana Movement issued on 14 June incorrectly states that the hui to be held in Tamaki Makaurau on Sunday 21 June will include the Māori Party.

"No representatives of the Māori Party will be in attendance. Should any of our membership attend they will be doing so in a personal capacity," advised Ms Glavish.

"Any future meeting between our parties will need to be endorsed by our National Council and Executive and to date that hasn’t happened. If an opportunity arises in the future we will give it due consideration."...
See full article HERE

Principal Māori academic appointed
Lincoln University – New Zealand’s specialist land-based University – today announced the appointment of Professor Hirini Matunga (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mamoe, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Paerangi (Atiu, Cook Islands)) as the University’s Professor of Māori & Indigenous Development.

“This is the University’s principal Māori academic position and I am delighted that we have been able to bring this top academic back into a teaching and research position,” says Dr Stefanie Rixecker, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Scholarship and Research.

“Professor Matunga has been part of the senior leadership team at Lincoln for many years and has been instrumental in developing relationships with Iwi all around New Zealand, and in the formation of our Whenua Strategy – the strategy that drives the University’s engagement with Māori in the land-based sectors in a way that gives rise to meaningful and enduring partnerships. His contribution in this has indeed been valuable, but his passion lies in the academic world and I am pleased that Professor Matunga will be taking up this senior professorial position.”....
See full article HERE

Maori authorities boost asset base
Maori authorities now manage an asset base of more than $12.5 billion.

In the latest snapshot from its Tatauranga Umanga Maori project to define and identify the role of Maori businesses in the Maori and New Zealand economies, Statistics New Zealand says Maori authorities have evolved beyond traditional land-based industries and are reaching into areas like financial and insurance services.

It says 89 percent of Maori authorities are in the North Island, with 27 percent in the Bay of Plenty and 21 percent in Waikato.

Most filled jobs in the authorities were in agriculture, forestry and fishing, education and training, and health care and social assistance.

The asset base in the sector grew 9.1 percent from 2012 to 2012 to reach $12.5 billion.

Total income increased 18 percent to reach $2.9 billion in 2013.

Maori authorities exported goods worth 526 million in 2014, with seafood the top export commodity.

China took 44 percent of the Maori exports.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


19 June 2015

Smith goes to ground after iwi meeting
Housing Minister Nick Smith has gone to ground after a tense meeting with two iwi.

Smith met with Ngati Whatua and Tainui yesterday, to try dissuade them from taking High Court action over the release of Crown land in Auckland for housing.

The meeting went until late in the evening, but the Minister is refusing to talk to media about how the negotiations went.

A spokesperson says Smith will only comment on the issue when he feels it is appropriate to do so...
See full article HERE

Race-based police policy to be changed
"I received an assurance from him that that was not the intent of the policy and that the policy will be amended to make that clear."

Mr Woodhouse said he did not condone any policy that had the effect or appearance of treating one group of people differently from another.

Mr Bush said tonight at Superintendent John Tims of Counties Manukau was looking into how the policy guidelines had been followed in his district.

He said the wording of the policy was inappropriate and would be changed....
See full article HERE

New head of UC School of Māori and Indigenous Studies
University of Canterbury has appointed Sacha McMeeking (Ngāi Tahu) as the new Head of School of Aotahi: Māori and Indigenous Studies. Ms McMeeking will join the College of Arts at the end of June as a Senior Lecturer and as Head of School.

Ms McMeeking has been at the forefront of Iwi, Māori and indigenous development in a career that has spanned more than 16 years, being based both locally and internationally. Domestically, she has led substantive commercial and policy reforms, particularly focussed within a Post Treaty Settlement environment. Formerly, she was the General Manager of Strategy and Influence at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu where she was responsible for significant inter-Iwi initiatives, including commercial partnerships as well as landmark policy outcomes that reflect post-Settlement Treaty partnership...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


18 June 2015

Finlayson might join iwi in court
Minister looks at backing Maori effort to clarify right of refusal for housing land but says challenge ‘a surprise’

Attorney-General Chris Finlayson has not ruled out joining iwi in court to resolve a dispute on the sale of surplus land in Auckland to private developers.

But Mr Finlayson appears to be fuming about Ngati Whatua and Tainui-Waikato's legal challenge over the right of first refusal, which he said came as a complete surprise.

"But look, that's the way things go and I deal with my Treaty partners in the same positive way they deal with me."

Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell urged the Government to clarify the issue in court.

He said that the issue had "huge connotations" for iwi around the country, who had told him that they were watching the case very closely.....
See full article HERE

Police told not to ticket unlicenced Maori drivers in South Auckland
Unlicensed Maori drivers caught behind the wheel in South Auckland are getting the chance to avoid a $400 fine.

Police are defending the move, saying it's part of their goal to reduce Maori offending and that it's crucial and it's working.

Documents leaked to ONE News show the "guidelines"police in South Auckland say they've been enforcing since last year.

The paperwork spells out that all Maori drivers caught without a licence or in breach of their conditions are to be referred for training and not given a ticket.....
See full article HERE

Hapū grill Hawke's Bay Regional Council over water bottling plants
Iwi, hapū and members of the community met with the Hawke's Bay Regional Council last night to have their questions answered over why non-notified consent had been granted to allow water to be extracted from the Heretaunga Aquifer.

One Pure International has been given permission to  extract more than 405,000 cubic metres of water a year and ship it overseas. The water will be extracted from an Awatoto bottling plant currently being constructed.

Hawke's Bay Regional councillor Ian MacDonald said there is no discrimination when people are applying for water uptake. The council will look at it's intended use and whether the limit will be enough and what affect it will have on the environment before granting it.....
See full article HERE

Māori Board: Auckland Council progress 'disappointing'
The Independent Māori Statutory Board says Auckland Council needs to work much harder to address the needs of mana whenua in the wake of a performance audit.

The board's chair, David Taipari, said progress was too slow and the council was yet to fulfil its Treaty obligations.

The board was set up after the formation of the "supercity" to promote issues important to Māori in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Its role is to ensure the council takes those issues into account when making decisions.

"The general capacity of council is an issue and how they deal with things Māori. So I think those are key fundamental areas," he said.

"I think they're still grasping with understanding their legal obligations,....
See full article HERE

Kohanga Reo board debate reaches impasse
The debate about the Kohanga Reo board has come to a impasse, with Labour calling for the education minister Hekia Parata to demand resignations, but the minister saying it's not her place.

Maori Television's Native Affairs revealed last night that a review by Internal Affairs had said there was "gross mismanagement" at the trust's subsidiary, Te Pataka Ohanga, including $110,000 in director's payments to the Maori king when he was not a director.....
See full article HERE

Ihaka takes up Senior Communications Advisor role
Putting Māori Members of Parliament (MPs) at the forefront of important New Zealand politics is Jodi Ihaka's plan, as she was recently appointed the Labour Party's new Senior Communications Advisor (Māori).

"I'm really excited to use my communication skills in such an important Māori advisory capacity.  I have loved my time at Whakaata Māori (Māori Television) and have nothing but respect for the Māori journalists on Te Kāea and Native Affairs," says Ihaka.

The position sees Ihaka take on a key advisory role to Labour leader, Andrew Little as well as Māori MPs including Kelvin Davis, Peeni Henare, Louisa Wall, Meka Whaitiri, Nanaia Mahuta and Adrian Rurawhe...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


17 June 2015

Concern over the future of beach access for all
The Far North District Council has voted to appoint Mayor John Carter and Cr David Collard as its representatives to Te Oneroa a Tohe (90 Mile Beach) Governance Board, which will be formed as part of the Treaty settlements for four Te Hiku iwi, against strong opposition from Te Hiku Ward councillor Mate Radich.

His concerns included that effectively giving responsibility for management of the beach to iwi would likely see public access restricted, and not only on 90 Mile Beach.

"East Beach has to be a worry now," he said.

"There are people at Kaimaumau who are waiting to see what happens, and I wouldn't be surprised if public access to that beach came under threat too. Remember the road from the village to the harbour has never been legalised."

There were already problems, he added. A 'No Parking' sign had been erected at the Bluff - "That didn't come from the district council, the regional council or DOC" - and Ngati Kuri was benefiting financially from tour buses using Te Paki Stream to get on to and off the beach.

"What about the other tribes? Will Ngai Takoto start charging at Waipapakauri Ramp and Te Rarawa at Shipwreck Bay?" he asked.

"If access is restricted or charged for in one place, it will soon be restricted or charged for everywhere.

"Once the tribes have control, what do you think is going to happen? Will the mussel spat harvesters have to pay a levy? What about the crayfishermen at Ahipara?....
See full article HERE

No apology from Auditor-General over Whanau Ora
The Auditor-General says she will not be apologising for criticism she has made about Whānau Ora.

In a report tabled in Parliament on 5 May, Lyn Provost said Whānau Ora's administration was cumbersome and unusual.

The report found nearly $42.3 million of the programme's $137 million funding had gone to administration.

Iwi Chairs Forum spokesperson Sonny Tau said the comments were unfortunate and he believed the Auditor-General was set to talk to an iwi leaders meeting to apologise personally.

However, while Ms Provost confirmed she had accepted an invitation to an Iwi Chairs Forum meeting, she said she would not apologise.

In her report, she outlined her hope that the criticism be taken on board....
See full article HERE

Iwi want representation on New Plymouth District Council
Taranaki iwi leaders have pleaded with the council to reconsider how Maori can have a voice in local politics. 

This week about 30 iwi members came together to talk at a public forum about the future make-up of the New Plymouth District Council. 

All 14 councillors were invited to the meeting. The only ones in attendance where Harry Duynhoven, Richard Handley, Richard Jordan, Craig McFarlane, Howie Tamati, and mayor Andrew Judd.....
See full article HERE

Call for better exploration consultation
A Far North hapū is demanding the mining, oil and gas exploration industries engage more with Māori when they want to drill in their rohe.

It said the area was spiritually significant and one of the most sacred places in Aotearoa.

Te Ahipara Kōmiti Takutaimoana spokesperson Catherine Murupaenga-Aken said the Government was too hands-off in its approach and that more needs to be done to engage with Māori during the permit application process.

"We know there's a declaration of rights and independence, we know there's a Tiriti o Waitangi, we know there's legislation and such, but what's on paper and what happens in practice is like two different universes. The reality is they aren't implementing what their obligations are," she said.

Te Ahipara Kōmiti Takutaimoana has filed a claim accusing the Government of breaching the Treaty of Waitangi.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


16 June 2015

Iwi land row heads to court
Ngati Whatua and Waikato-Tainui have decided to go to court to challenge the Government's interpretation of "right of first refusal" in light of Budget moves to free up surplus land in Auckland for private housing developments.

But in a bid to avoid souring their relationship with the Government, the tribes are inviting the Crown to join them in seeking clarification of the law.

The tribes have asked the law firm Russell McVeagh to seek an urgent meeting with the Solicitor-General Mike Heron to discuss the possibility of a joint approach to the courts.

The announcement of the joint action follows a meeting yesterday between 13 iwi with interests in and around Auckland and Housing Minister Nick Smith and Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson.....
See full article HERE

Transfers of power
Iwi can be granted the power to make resource consent decisions (or other powers) by councils under the RMA. Section 33 allows councils to transfer any of their functions, powers or duties to another public authority, including iwi authorities.

The iwi authority has to make an application for this, and both parties must agree that:
  • they want the transfer to take place
  • the iwi authority is the appropriate group able to deliver the duties, functions or powers efficiently
  • the iwi authority has the expertise to exercise the powers....
See full article HERE

Connection to land vital for Whanau Ora
The close relationship between whānau and whenua (the land) provides the foundation for the new model of whānau health and the South Island Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency, Te Putahitanga o te Wai Pounamu are showing their support by investing $237,000 in the first stage of the initiative.

The market garden, utilising a site originally used to sell food to early colonists as far back as the 1880s, will become the catalyst for hapū-led food farming ventures, education and research opportunities, and Te Putahitanga Chair Norm Dewes is enthusiastic about the potential of the project....
See full article HERE

Ugly attitudes towards Maori language
It's no secret that the Maori language is in a vulnerable state. And according to research by Kahurangi Maxwell, so are parents who wish to bring their children up speaking Maori in NewZealand.

"Significant are the pervasive and negative attitudes towards a reo Maori lifestyle that are founded in a belief that English must remain predominant and might be threatened," Kahurangi said....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


15 June 2015

From the archives of Alf Grumble
Bugger trying to woo local voters – the smart way to power is through Treaty settlements
Forget about all this democracy stuff.
There are short-cuts to getting a place at the local authority decision-making table – or close enough – without having to go through all that messy stuff about winning support from voters.

Nah, nuts to all that. If you are an indigenous person with tribal inclinations you can count on non-Maori decision-makers – if you approach the right ones – being only too anxious to let you in.

That’s how Taranaki’s indigenous persons will soon be flexing their iwi muscle with the Taranaki Regional Council.

The good people of Taranaki – who have shown a distinct preference for making their indigenous big-wigs earn their council posts the hard way – accordingly have been gazumped.

Alf senses the craven aiding and abetting of Christopher Finlayson may be found in there somewhere.

But let’s go back to this Radio NZ news item in April last year. 

We were told then:
A northern Taranaki iwi, Te Atiawa, is optimistic that there will be dedicated Maori seats on the New Plymouth District Council.

On 15 April the council voted down the proposal to install six tribal representatives on standing committees with full voting rights, saying it would be undemocratic to have un-elected Maori spokespeople.

The tribe’s Treaty claims negotiator, Peter Moeahu, is appealing to the local Te Tai Hauauru MP, Tariana Turia, and the Chief Crown Treaty negotiator to intervene.

He says it is just a matter of time and iwi will be sitting at council table and doesn’t see any reason why they shouldn’t be…

It’s just a matter of time if you know how to short-circuit the electoral process.

Or if local authorities do the short-circuiting.

At that time Moeahu was illuminating:
The Te Atiawa man says Taranaki Regional Council has proposed to include iwi at the decision making table which they have accepted, but it won’t happen until all Taranaki tribes have settled their Treaty of Waitangi claims with the Crown.

He says Taranaki iwi intend to have representatives at both the local district council and regional council levels.

Mr Moeahu says democracy will still be retained because tribal representatives on standing committees will make recommendations for the full council to determine whether or not to accept them.

He says if two iwi chairs can persuade the other nine councillors to their point of view, he expects the council could be more open to iwi suggestions.

Things are moving on quite nicely for the iwi.

Maori are likely to have permanent representation on two of theTaranaki Regional Council’s powerful standing committee by the end of the year.

A mechanism giving iwi three representatives on the Policy and Planning and Regulatory committees is included in the Treaty settlements of Te Atiawa, Taranaki and Ngaruahine.

The kaitumuaki of Te Korowai o Ngaruahine Trust Cassandra Crowley said the mechanism would be triggered for all Taranaki iwi who wanted to be involved when the first settlement was approved by legislation. That was expected to be Ngaruahine’s, and within the next three months.

The extraordinary thing is that Ms Crowley said a regional council had similar responsibilities to the te ao Maori concept of a kaitiaki and iwi were looking forward to working with it to protect the Taranaki environment.

Not really,

Regional councils are democratically elected forms of local government.

In Alf’s experience your iwi aren’t too keen on the voting bit of that arrangement.

That was all too clear when Moeahu was talking to Radio NZ last year and said northern Taranaki tribes intended to put their best people forward to sit on local councils.
He says they may not necessarily be elected representatives of the iwi.

Instead, they may be people who are skilled in local government, who are knowledgeable about the law and who can debate and influence the outcome of decisions.

And then were given another extraordinary example of iwi thinking on how a modern government should be made accountable to the public:
Mr Moeahu says in his view they will not be political appointments, but people who can do the best for both Maori and general communities.

Not political appointments?

That’s like saying The Pope doesn’t have a religious job.

Never mind the clear evidence that the people of New Plymouth and the Taranaki district would rather they got their seats the hard way, like anybody else in their comunities.

That’s  clear from this Stuff report: 
While New Plymouth is voting on the establishment of Maori wards the regional council and iwi of Taranaki are forging ahead with their own representation arrangement.

As part of their treaty settlements Te Atiawa, Taranaki and Ngaruahine negotiated provisions ensuring iwi representatives had a place on Taranaki Regional Council standing committees.

Three individuals will be appointed to the policy and planning committee and three to the consents and regulatory committee, Te Korowai o Ngaruahine Trust general manager Cassandra Crowley said.

While the representation arrangement has been talked about since the middle of last year it took a step closer on Monday when the Ngaruahine Claims Settlement Bill went before Cabinet for consideration.

It could take months for Cabinet to enact the legislation but once that process was complete it would allow the TRC to make the appointments.

“We’re one step closer. It will be within a year,” Crowley said.

It’s a measure of the way our indigenous persons prefer to do things that Crowley said it could take months for Cabinet to enact the legislation.

That would get around all that crap about having bills go through a Parliamentary process.

Just how the indigenous appointments will be made in Taranaki, by the way, is a mystery.
Exactly how the representatives will be selected has not been revealed but a draft plan was submitted to TRC chief executive Basil Chamberlain last week.

A final note: We are reminded by Stuff that last year the New Plymouth District Council voted in favour of establishing a ward – which would see one Maori seat at the council table – but a petition against the decision saw the issue go to a binding referendum and vote which closes on Friday (15th May).
May 12th, 2015

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


14 June 2015
 
Calls for Māori flag to have equal status
A sovereignty group is calling for the Māori flag to be given the same status as the New Zealand flag.

Te Ata Tino Toa presented the policy at a flag consultation workshop in Wellington on Thursday.
The group's chair said at the moment the Tino Rangatiratanga flag can only be flown by the Government on certain days, such as Waitangi Day, but that needs to change.

Te Ao Pritchard said the organisation's policy was based on the partnership principles in the Treaty of Waitangi and would make both flags equal all of the time.

"So the new flag that will be chosen by the New Zealand people can fly alongside the Māori flag as well," she said.

Ms Pritchard said that would give the Māori flag more mana and the recognition it deserved.....
See full article HERE

Government fast-tracks 1000 more homes
The Government has fast-tracked the building of a further 1000 houses and apartments at Hobsonville Pt and about 300 of those will cost less than $550,000 - a higher proportion of "affordable" homes than the rest of the 3000-house development.

In the Budget, he also unveiled plans to use more crown land in Auckland for housing. He and Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson are to meet with Tamaki Collective iwi to discuss the bypassing of the iwi rights of first refusal on the land....
See full article HERE

Iwi expects apology from Auditor General
Maori leader Sonny Tau says the Auditor General is to apologise for comments she made criticising the amount of Whanau Ora funding spent on administration.

Auditor General Lynn Provost told a select committee last month Whanau Ora's administration was cumbersome and unusual.

She told MPs out of the $137 million in funding the scheme has had, 20 percent had gone on administration.

He said that 20 percent spent on administration was not a big fee....
See full article HERE

Cross removed from Puketāpapa-Mt Roskill
The new Māori authority that looks after Auckland's volcanic cones is working with church leaders and a local board after a cross that once stood at the summit of Puketāpapa-Mount Roskill was removed.

"The Maunga Authority has agreed to receive an application to erect the cross for future events and consider this next month."

The cross on Puketāpapa-Mt Roskill is usually put up during Christmas and Easter, but due to an oversight, it remained in place without authorisation...
See full article HERE

Whiff of racism seen in 'H' debate
The decision by the Wanganui District Council to ask the New Zealand Geographic Board to insert the dreaded "H" in the name of the district has had the unfortunate - though predictable - effect of pitching Maori against non-Maori.

Some reactions have had a whiff of racism about them, though the R-word remains largely taboo in polite conversation.

But perhaps it is something we should be a little more open about. Most of us - whatever our hue - have been guilty of racism at some point ... that's life. Usually it is born out of ignorance and it often dissipates as that ignorance dissipates.

The issue threatened to raise its head when the Wanganui council considered spending $150,000 a year for the next 10 years on iwi relations.

But hard information about just where the money would go and what exactly it would be spent on was in short supply.

Rather the expenditure was wrapped up in woolly platitudes. That does no one any favours - especially iwi....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


13 June 2015

Trout deal with iwi 'just isn't on'
A treaty settlement allowing a central North Island iwi to rear and harvest trout for consumption is "disturbing", says Fish and Game.

The Crown and Ngati Tuwharetoa have signed an agreement in principle which proposes including trout as part of a Treaty of Waitangi claim settlement.

"The Crown has little to do with trout and it is politically inflammatory to use them to settle its Treaty obligations.

"Anglers brought trout to this country, not the government, and generations of anglers have protected, managed and nurtured sports fish, paying for them from their own pockets."

He called the proposal a "slap in the face", and said courts had already determined Maori have no Treaty-based statutory relationship with trout....
See full article HERE

Caution needed on Te Ture Whenua review
Caution is needed around the Te Ture Whenua Review, to prevent further injustice and the loss of Māori land rights, says Meka Whaitiri, Labour MP for Ikaroa Rāwhiti.

“The possibility the Te Ture Whenua Review could weaken judicial protections and see people lose meaningful interests in fractionally owned Māori land is concerning.

“Māori should be able to control their own destiny in respect of their land. There can be difficult issues around fractionally owned Māori land, particularly where a large number of people hold small interests....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


12 June 2015

DoC letter sparks trout farming fears
Crown’s proposed deal with Ngati Tuwharetoa has anglers on alert after including harvesting of fish option.

According to the DoC letter, these include "arrangements for Ngati Tuwharetoa to use a raceway and any other existing facilities not required by DoC and the ability to construct new facilities ... for the purposes of raising trout to harvest for important occasions".

A spokesman for the office said: "The agreement in principle does not allow for commercial trout farming. The use of the raceway is to raise trout for cultural purposes only. We believe this arrangement will enhance the educational and cultural role of the Tongariro Trout Centre."

Mr Orman said it was incongruous that DoC was proposing "a form of trout farming" when DoC received anglers' licence money for Taupo to represent the interests of recreational licence holders.

Bryce Johnson, chief executive of Fish & Game New Zealand, also questions the constitutional basis for an inclusion in a historical Treaty of Waitangi claim when trout were not introduced to New Zealand until the late 1800s, long after the Treaty was signed.

"Successive court cases have explicitly confirmed that trout, as an introduced species for sports fishing, are not a consideration under the Treaty, so where is the legal basis for this proposal?" Mr Johnson asked.

Allan Simmons, a Taupo-Tongariro fishing guide for nearly 30 years and president and outdoors spokesman for United Future, said: "This current proposal looks like a devious attempt to bring in trout farming under the guise of Treaty settlements and utilise facilities that have been funded by anglers' licences."....
See full article HERE

Whanaungatanga important in life satisfaction for Māori
A new report from Statistics New Zealand shows that 4 out of 5 Māori are highly satisfied with their lives and that health, relationships, and income are the most important factors contributing to their life satisfaction.

Connection to culture also has a small but significant association with higher life satisfaction: the more important Māori feel it is to be involved with Māori culture, the higher their levels of life satisfaction....
See full article HERE

Fish & Game Demands Answers Over Taupo Trout Deal
Fish & Game is meeting the Office of Treaty Settlements to get answers over a controversial proposal to allow Ngati Tuwharetoa to raise trout in Taupo’s existing trout hatchery facilities.

The Office of Treaty Settlements has confirmed the Crown and the Tuwharetoa Hapu Forum on behalf of Ngati Tuwharetoa have signed an agreement in principle to include trout as part of the settlement of Tuwharetoa’s outstanding Treaty of Waitangi claims.

The agreement in principle allows Tuwharetoa to use the Tongariro National Trout Centre to raise and harvest trout for consumption for “cultural purposes”. Tuwharetoa would also be allowed to train iwi members in trout rearing.

Fish & Game chief executive Bryce Johnson says the proposals are disturbing and come as a complete surprise.

Fish & Game is the primary manager and guardian of trout in New Zealand and yet we knew nothing of this proposal.....
See full article HERE

Indigenous research conference registrations open
The conference pōwhiri will be at the University of Waikato, Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts on Sunday, 28 June from 10.30am-1pm, followed by a range of indigenous performances and a poetry slam. In the week before the conference, there will be pre-conference community workshops with the keynote speakers.

The keynote speakers at the conference include Professor Pou Temara, Associate Professor Leonie Pihama, Professor Karina Walters, Moe Milne, Dr Jamee Māhealani Miller, Dr Ruakere Hond, Dr Bonnie Duran, Professor Graham Hingangaroa Smith, Professor Bob Morgan, Dr Sarah-Jane Tiakiwai, Mereana Pitman and Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith.

Several hundred people are expected to attend the conference, with visitors from Hawaii, Australia, Canada and America mixing with a broad range of academics, researchers, students, iwi and community representatives from around New Zealand.

The conference title and theme, He Manawa Whenua, is the Māori term for a subterranean aquifer or an underground spring. It is from this source that the most pure, clear and refreshing water is obtained, being naturally filtered through the land before emerging at the surface. Water is life, and because a Manawa Whenua originates deep within the earth, Māori believe it is a most precious resource, vital for the well-being of the people.  The statement “he manawa whenua e kore e mimiti”, considers that the flow of the underground spring is everlasting, therefore its benefits are unlimited.

This conference views mātauranga Māori as a Manawa Whenua, or a pool of knowledge, that is situated within the heart of the people. Like the water, this knowledge has been filtered throughout time by the community as well as the environment to become central to the life and well-being of Māori.  This Māori centred knowledge also has the potential to deliver unlimited benefits for Māori, both now and into the future....
See full article HERE

Ngai Tahu to expand into Auckland market, led by Eden Park boss
Ngāi Tahu Property, the property investor of the dominant South Island iwi, is entering the Auckland market and has snagged Eden Park Trust boss David Kennedy to lead the expansion.

"After appropriate investigation and analysis, Ngāi Tahu Property has decided to expand the business to include the Auckland market," said Tony Sewell, chief executive of Ngāi Tahu Property.....
See full articleHERE

Māori at risk in unsafe mines, quarries
A union representing mine and quarry workers says Māori are among those most at risk following delays to health and safety laws.

Its national president Syd Keepa said Māori were over-represented in workplace accident statistics and are in high-risk jobs which were made even riskier when run by unqualified people....
See full article HERE

Lobster business partnership announced
Port Nicholson Fisheries and Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd have decided to partner to form the largest Maori-owned lobster processing business in New Zealand.

From 1 April 2016 Aotearoa Fisheries’ lobster division will join together with Port Nicholson Fisheries to process and export their live lobster to the world. The new partnership will process 650 tonnes of lobster quota.

This represents approximately 44 per cent of the North Island and Chathams TACC and 23 per cent of New Zealand’s total live lobster exports.

The coming together of Aotearoa Fisheries and Port Nicholson fisheries is a significant milestone for Maori business and the New Zealand seafood industry,” Port Nicholson Fisheries Chairman Dion Tuuta says.

The partnership brings together like-minded Maori lobster businesses with a common shareholder base, aligned values and a shared vision for the future,” Tuuta adds....
See full article HERE

Pa Kids a 'stepping stone' to Maori school in Marlborough
A new pilot programme at Omaka Marae is a "stepping stone" to setting up a Maori school in Marlborough, say marae leaders.

Pa Kids is a weekly programme at Omaka Marae, near Blenheim, that teaches children about Maori language and culture.....
See full article HERE

Pukekura Reserves Co-Management Trust Board
Launched in March 2013, the Plan covers reserves at Pukekura vested in the DCC, the Ngāi Tahu Ancillary Claims Trust and in the Crown (administered by DoC). It is intended to provide a consistent management and policy framework for all of the Pukekura Reserves while promoting kaitiakitanga, or stewardship, of the land. The Plan identifies the Pukekura values as (in order of significance), ecological, cultural, historic, public appreciation, and tourism and commercial.

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull says, “Formation of the Trust Board is a major step in a process that has involved many years of discussion and work, achieving a collaborative vision and kaitiakitanga for the Pukekura Reserves...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


10 June 2015

Iwi planning to claim foreshore and seabed around Ohope / Whakatane
"Notice of an Application for an order recognizing protected customary rights and /or customary marine title under the Marine and Coastal Area Act 2011 " on behalf of Whakatohea Maori relating to Whakatane /Ohope/Te Rangi coastal areas." ....
See full article HERE

Housing Minister to meet tribes after Ngati Whatua denied right of first refusal on Crown property.
The Government is seeking a "workable solution" with Ngati Whatua over plans to develop huge tracts of land in Auckland, after two more iwi spoke out against the Crown's treatment of the Auckland tribe.

Ngati Whatua o Orakei is expected to decide this week whether it will take the Government to court over the decision not to grant it right of first refusal on up to 500ha of Crown land earmarked for housing. Two other large iwi, Waikato-Tainui and Ngai Tahu, have echoed Ngati Whatua's concerns.

Yesterday, Prime Minister John Key reiterated the Government's position that right-of-first-refusal rules were only triggered when the state no longer had a need for the land.

But he said Housing Minister Nick Smith planned to meet the Tamaki Collective - which includes Ngati Whatua - to discuss the issue. A hui had been scheduled for Sunday and all 13 iwi from the collective had been invited.

Mr Key said: "Who knows what might come out the other end but there might be a workable solution that benefits everybody."

Asked whether some of the Auckland land would be offered to Ngati Whatua, he said: "Not necessarily that. But there might be another way through the issue."....
See full article HERE

Land Based Taxes and Māori
While it can be argued that the “full and final” settlements have resolved this issue, the imposition of a tax on land is a shift in the underlying foundations on which the Iwi settlements have been based.

In effect, the imposition of a capital gains tax or a land value tax would amount to a further attempt by the Crown to profit from the breach of Māori rights to their ancestral whenua.  Māori rights to their whenua should be, and must be, taken into account in the formulation of any land based taxed and, therefore, a portion of the income raised (50%) should be returned to the traditional owners of the land as on-going compensation for the breach of their rights.  At the heart of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi is the notion of a partnership between the Crown and Māori.  It is not a partnership of equals while one party continues to profit from the harm it has caused the other....
See full article HERE

Settlements bring hope and optimism
There is much optimism and hope amongst Maori communities that the pending treaty settlements will add value to culture and communities.

The combined estimated value of around $400m will be 99.9 per cent invested in the Kahungunu region, including Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa. Marae redevelopment and small business renaissance has triggered bubbling energy amongst our people.

After 20 years of the settlement of Ngai Tahu and Waikato claims of $170m and $140m respectively, they have both just tipped over the $1b mark.

The true original settlement quantum was valued at only 2 per cent of the real losses suffered by those iwi and the Ngti Kahungunu settlements are at the same ratio.

Again there is great hope amongst Maori communities that things are looking up and that there's greater cohesion in our region.

However, the latest rants and raves in the news media about Maori repatriation of place names and protection of the environment from pakeha commentators demonstrates there's a lot of white anger which seems to border on hostility at times for Maori positive projects and proposals.

The hue and cry over the restoration of Ahuriri to the name Hawke's Bay Airport is an example. Also the iwi assertion of rights over water and other natural resources has been met with howls of derision by commentators who believe that only pakeha have exclusive rights to freshwater.

The repatriation of the Maori language, Maori art, Maori social structures and actions alongside Maori economic investment will boost the regional economy and the regional texture to levels never seen before.

The hand brake to this happening is white anger.

White anger is holding this region back against a backdrop of Maori hope and ambition for everyone.

It is fortunate that the huge bulk of Hawke's Bay community are fair-minded and willing to support and develop across all creeds and colours and we are willing to work closely too....
See full article HERE

New lookout for Whangarei's Mt Parihaka summit
Local hapū have worked with the council to design a new lookout for Mount Parihaka to better reflect the cultural significance and importance of the area.

A new lookout is being built at the summit of Parihaka for visitors to enjoy the view, which includes a new ramp with palisade-like edges and a special kohatu (rock).  It seems the old lookout didn't properly reflect the place's importance.

“This is an important place, but the old lookout hasn’t reflected that in a way that respects its mana.  By working with the district’s hapū, we have achieved a design that will include a special kohatu, which will inspire a sense of gravity and significance to the lookout,” said Senior Landscape Architect Bruno Gilmour....
See full article HERE

Te Mana o Ngati Rangitihi mandate recognised
Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Trust (Te Mana) has today announced that the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and Minister for Maori Development have recognised its mandate.

The iwi will now begin the process of direct negotiations with the Crown relating to the comprehensive settlement of all its historical Treaty of Waitangi grievances.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


9 June 2015

Iwi disappointed at Maui gas field decision
South Taranaki iwi Ngaruahine is disappointed that a 35-year extension has been granted for the extraction of natural gas from the Maui gas field.

In its submissions to the authority, Ngaruahine said it would support the consents if they were granted for no longer than 15 years.

Ms Crowley said the iwi was keen for a reduced term and wanted more recognition of the cumulative impact of the gas extraction.

"We also wanted more understanding of the Māori view point and it is really refreshing to see the acknowledgement of that in the decision."

The decision also said Shell Todd had to consult iwi at least annually.

Ms Crowley said it was something both the iwi and Taranaki whānui would work together on to make sure it was a meaningful engagement....
See full article HERE

Tainui calls Housing Minister Nick Smith to clarify right of first refusal position
Housing minister Nick Smith's interpretation on right of first refusal law in treaty settlements has disappointment Waikato iwi, who want an explanation.

The latest move, which came just days after Waikato-Tainui commemorated their historic treaty agreement with the Crown over the land confiscations of the 1800s, has put the relationship on shaky ground.

Smith's proposal to skirt around the right of first refusal (RFR) mechanism in Treaty of Waitangi settlements to sell 500 hectares of Auckland land for development was at odds with settlements, said Waikato Tainui executive chairman Rahui Papa....
See full article HERE

Marlborough iwi leader takes on Whanau Ora role
A top of the South iwi leader has been appointed to the board of a Maori development organisation. 

Te Runanga o Ngati Kuia vice chair Gena Moses-Te Kani has taken up a position with the board of Te Putahitanga o Te Waipounamu, the South Island Whanau Ora commissioning agency. 

Moses-Te Kani, who lives in Hamilton but regularly travels back to Blenheim, said the role of the agency was to invest money from Te Puni Kokiri in whanau development. 

"There's a range of ways that we support whanau self-determination," she said. "People say I've got this awesome idea and we have a coach work with them to develop that idea.....
See full article HERE

Treaty advice for school trustees
Help is at hand for schools looking to improve relations with Maori employees.

The School Trustees Association and Post Primary Teachers Association have collaborated to revise the publication Guidelines to Assist Boards of Trustees to Meet their Good Employer Obligations to Maori.
There are some things Pakeha people and organisations tend to handle differently from Maori which can create misunderstanding and tension....
See full article HERE

Kohanga keen to restart funding talks
A spokesperson for Te Kohanga Reo National Trust says the appointment of Kararaina Cribb as chief executive should pave the way from resumption of negotiations with the crown.

"Government was found to have been under-funding Kohanga, that this was detrimental to the kohanga reo and really it's time for the crown to stop mucking around and get back to the negotiating table. They are saying things like 'We want you to change your governance processes.' Well that is underway and anyway, how the trust governs itself it is really the trust's business," Mr Fox says. ...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


8 June 2015

Submissions are now being called for by the New Zealand Geographical board - Wanganui or Whanganui. All Kiwis are urged to take part in this submission process.Online submissions close at 5pm on Friday 28 August 2015.

ANYONE in New Zealand can make a submission the online form is here >
http://www.linz.govt.nz/regulatory/place-names/place-name-consultation/13067

PLEASE fill out the form (
only takes a minute) and then send the above link to your contacts or 'share' on social internet sites.
From the archives of NZCPR (By Mike Butler)
Where not to drop your aitches
“H” or no “H”, what is the problem? The councillors of Wanganui/Whanganui all good and true on Friday voted 10 to 2 to support the name of their town having the “H”. A referendum in 2006 found that fewer than 3 per cent of residents wanted to change the spelling. Is this a case of yet another council being out of step with its constituents?

A quick look at history shows that settlers asked for the name "Wanganui" to replace the New Zealand Company name of Petre in a petition dated May 3, 1844, noting that the name “Petre” was “universally disliked”. (1)

The name Petre derived from Henry William Petre who first came to New Zealand in 1840 as director of the New Zealand Company of which his father, William Henry Francis Petre, the 11th Baron Petre, had been chairman.

The 1844 petition spelled the name “Wanganui”, although I did notice that my great grandfather who was a court interpreter in Wanganui at that time used both spellings on his letters, although he mostly omitted the “H”.

The word “wanganui/whanganui” means “great harbour". Before the wicked white coloniser came along renaming everything, Port Nicholson at Wellington was known as Te Wanganui/Whanganui a Tara, or The Great Harbour of Tara”.

In a nation less ad hoc than New Zealand, matters of language and culture are decided in a less partisan fashion. For instance France has L’Academie Francaise, a pre-eminent French learned body that rules on matters pertaining to the French language.

New Zealand appears not to take matters pertaining to the English language seriously.

The language is not even legally recognised as official even though it is the defacto language of government and business. Even Prime Minister John Key in his self-deprecating manner has joked that he would benefit from elocution lessons.

The “Wanganui/Whanganui” problem started in May of 2008 with an application by the blandly named Te Runanga O Tupoho, an iwi committee, to the New Zealand Geographic Board for the "H" to be added. (2)

As the national place naming authority, the New Zealand Geographic Board is required by law to consider proposals to assign, alter, approve or discontinue names for geographic features and places, including cities.

But Ken Mair was the spokesman for Te Runanga O Tupoho. Mair was one of the organisers of the 79-day occupation of Moutoa Gardens in Wanganui in 1995 in protest over a Treaty of Waitangi claim, an action which split the town and the nation and garnered significant attention from police.

District Mayor Michael Laws vehemently opposed the move and the “Wanganui/Whanganui” battle lines were drawn.

The New Zealand Geographic Board deliberated for 14 months. A district-wide referendum in May 2009, with more than 19,000 Wanganui residents voting, overwhelmingly rejected adding the H. (3)

After considering 180 submissions in September 2009 New Zealand Geographic Board decided that Wanganui should have an "H" added to its name.

The board opined that “Wanganui, the name given to the town to reflect its position near the mouth of the Whanganui River, was spelt incorrectly and has never been formally gazetted by this board or its predecessors. It is therefore not currently an official New Zealand place name.” (4)

However, a paper by historian Diana Beaglehole, commissioned by the Wanganui District Council, had concluded that Wanganui was the correct version. (5)

In the paper, Beaglehole found that Wanganui first began appearing in written form in the late 1830s. "The Wanganui spelling was a direct consequence of the way the initial sound in the name was pronounced by local iwi," Beaglehole said.

No early diaries or journals had any references to the Whanganui version of the name, she said.

“H” proponents parrot stirrer Mair's line that it was important the spelling be changed to "Whanganui" because "if people continue to spell your name wrong, you would want to rectify the situation". But the increasingly forced change has brought a costly headache for every organisation that must change signs and stationery and created windfall business for sign writers and printers.

It has also brought bizarre pronunciation. If the “H” is included, “Whanganui” needs to be pronounced with an aspirated “wh” as in the word “where” or “why”. What we have is attempts at correctness resulting in “Whanganui” being pronounced “Fonganui”.

An amendment to the Geographic Board Act 2008 passed in December 2012 enabled either “Wanganui” or “Whanganui” to be used in official documentation, no longer both names.

The latest squabble over the “H” coincided with Wanganui/Whanganui being referred to as a zombie town, falling behind the rest of the country in economic factors, and possibly nearing its end.(6)

Stirrer Mair could be rubbing his hands with glee at the mayhem he has caused. Suggestions from him to benefit his town would be more helpful.

One question: If the New Zealand Geographic Board can call for submissions and change the name of a town could it also change the name of New Zealand to "Aotearoa New Zealand" or just "Aotearoa"? Apparently not! A question to the board revealed members were unsure how the name of New Zealand could be changed.

Sources
1. Petre, Wanganui, or Whanganui, http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/18927/petre-wanganui-or-whanganui
2. Laws digs in over putting 'h' in Wanganui, http://www.stuff.co.nz/archived-stuff-sections/archived-national-sections/korero/418362
3. Wanganui to become Whanganui, September 17, 2009. http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/wanganui-become-whanganui-2995794
4. New Zealand Geographic Board to publicly consult on ‘h’ in Wanganui, March 30, 2009. - http://www.linz.govt.nz/news/2009-03/new-zealand-geographic-board-publicly-consult-%E2%80%98h%E2%80%99-wanganui
5. Wanganui to become Whanganui, September 17, 2009. http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/wanganui-become-whanganui-2995794
6. Talk of zombie towns rejected, July 19, 2014. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503426&objectid=11295919

December 20, 2014

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


6 June 2015

Ngāi Tahu says their right of first refusal too has been breached many times
According to Ngāi Tahu, one of the country's first iwi to settle its Treaty claim, they've been wedged out of their right of first refusal (RFR) by the government a number of times.

Ngāi Tahu chairman, Sir Mark Solomon has also criticised Bill English's assertion that RFR needs to be further defined.

English explains the Budget and suggesting there be more explanation around rights of first refusal.

Ngāi Tahu says their right of first refusal have been breached many times by the Government.  Solomon says that's not due to legal confusion on the part of iwi.....
See full article HERE

Norway's biggest oil giant heeds Māori advice
The leader of a Far North delegation opposing oil exploration in Te Reinga Basin says some shareholders in Norway's biggest oil giant are backing its campaign to stop looking for oil in New Zealand waters...
See full article HERE

Maori social service provider shut down
A Maori social service provider has shut its doors permanently, just days after the Ministry of Social Development launched an investigation into its affairs and issued it with a 60-day suspension notice.

The axe fell on Raukura Waikato Social Services - a registered charitable trust with offices in Hamilton, Huntly and Morrinsville - after a meeting with staff.

Raukura was an approved provider for the ministry but were told to stop work last Monday while police were brought in to investigate.

It had contracts to provide whanau support programmes, non-violence programmes, youth justice services and budgeting advice.

In the 2014/15 year, it was awarded $1.17 million worth of services in its Child Youth and Family section....
See full article HERE

Collaboration promotes Treaty partnership in schools
Employer-union collaboration promotes Treaty partnership in schools

An updated publication, Guidelines to Assist Boards of Trustees to Meet their Good Employer Obligations to Māori is a great example of a collaborative approach paying dividends in the education sector, says NZSTA President Lorraine Kerr.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


5 June 2015

City Maori prepare to fight for $20m fund
Willie Jackson says iwi leaders want to take control of money set aside for urban interests.

Urban Maori leaders are threatening legal action over what they say is an outrageous attempt by their iwi counterparts to take control of a $20 million fund set aside to serve the interests of Maori who have migrated from their ancestral lands and no longer have strong tribal links.

National Urban Maori Authority (Numa) chairman Willie Jackson has vowed to halt what he calls an "iwi cash grab" of the urban Maori fisheries fund (Te Puea Whakatupa).

Mr Jackson said he was appalled at a recommendation by a subcommittee of Te Ohu Kai Moana (TOKM) - the Maori Fisheries Trust - that iwi effectively take control of a fund set aside for urban Maori through the 2004 Maori Fisheries Act.....
See full article HERE

Māori employees feel 'used' for cultural knowledge
A survey on Māori in the workforce has revealed that some feel they are exploited for their cultural knowledge and undervalued.

Raiha Hooker, a Masters student at Massey University, conducted an online survey and found many who responded had even been refused tangihanga, or bereavement leave.

The Ngāruahine woman wanted to find out how culturally responsive the working environments of Māori employees are and how well they acknowledged Māori values....
See full article HERE

Rongoa Maori provides holistic approach
A new Maori health service is about more than just treating physical illnesses.

It's also a way to address spiritual ailments and connect urban Maori back to their roots, Te Whiu Isaac says.

But the service isn't exclusive to Maori, everyone is welcome.

Isaac, who lives in the Auckland suburb of Orakei, is one of two practitioners of Rongoa Maori (traditional Maori healing) to start operating at the Glen Innes Health Centre in East Auckland.

"Most Maori have been brought up in the city," Isaac says.

"Rongoa Maori helps them remember where they come from.

"Most of their sicknesses didn't start today, they go way back."

In Maori culture spiritual health comes first, he says. Then mental, physical and family health, followed by an awareness of how the other aspects of health relate to each other.

It's a holistic approach to health and is designed to compliment general medicine, Isaac says....
See full article HERE

Good faith so far between Iwi and government
A lawyer has said the government is committed to a consultation process with Ngati Whatua to keep them in the loop about plans to develop crown land in Auckland.

The Iwi solicited legal advice when it looked like the housing minister might try and cut them out of the process by using a loophole in the treaty agreement that he said meant the crown didn't have to offer Iwi first right of refusal on the land if it was to be used for housing. 

But Nga Manu Whenua o Tamaki Makaurau member and lawyer Paul Majurey points out there are also circumstances where this wouldn't be the case.

He reports there are some conditions under the Treaty Settlement Act that would give Ngati Whatua the right of first refusal to this land.

"This is all about the Crown honouring its settlement."

Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Chris Finlayson isn't sure if there is an obligation under the Treaty, but said iwi have done a good job in the past.

He added that there is a clear need for social housing in Auckland....
See full article HERE

$100,000 CNZ Fellowship awarded to Areta Wilkinson
Creative New Zealand’s $100,000 Craft/Object Fellowship has been awarded to Canterbury artist/jeweller Dr Areta Wilkinson (Ngai Tahu) for 2015.

Having recently completed a doctoral thesis examining concepts of taonga relevant to her own contemporary practice, Dr Wilkinson says the fellowship will enable her to “realise a body of work that synthesises the doctoral research.” Her project titled Hine-Āhua: Absences and Presences will use gold sourced from Te Tai Poutini (the West Coast) and Ōtakou (Otago) regions.

“Through a Maori lens, gold from Papatuanuku and Te Waipounamu has a mauri (a life essence) and I am interested to investigate how the precious metal and new forms will be further enhanced by Ngai Tahu narratives about gold,” Dr Wilkinson says....
See full article HERE

Maori Television journalist Mihingarangi Forbes quits
Experienced Maori TV journalist Mihingarangi Forbes has announced her resignation.

In 2013 Native Affairs won a court battle allowing it to air its investigation, led by Forbes, into the Te Kohanga Reo Trust Board - a body of seven, life-term, board-appointed members - which runs the network of full-language-immersion early childhood education centres.

Native Affairs obtained credit card transaction details of board member Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi and her daughter-in-law Lynda Tawhiwhirangi, the general manager of the trust's charity-status subsidiary Te Pataka Ohanga.

The investigation led to Forbes being heavily criticised by some in the Maori community.

It is understood Forbes' resignation comes after Maori Television executives took exception to a new two-piece investigation following on from the Te Kohanga Reo story and which was due to begin on Monday.

Staff were told by chief executive Paora Maxwell that the investigation would not be running....
See full article HERE

Te Ohu Kaimoana to be restructured as iwi takes control of AFL shares
Iwi have voted to keep Te Ohu Kaimoana, the Maori Fisheries Commission, while taking full control of Aotearoa Fisheries voting and income shares in a move which will see oversight of its $543 million in fishery assets restructured

Iwi have rejected dismantling the fisheries governing body while unanimously voting in favour of transferring all Aotearoa Fisheries voting and income shares to iwi control. Under the Maori Fisheries Act in 2004, TOKM was set up to manage the fishing quota awarded to Maori in the 1992 fisheries settlement....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


4 June 2015

Kāpiti coast iwi and council to co-manage water project
Te Ātiawa and the Kāpiti District Council have signed an agreement to work in partnership on water and its management in the rohe.

The Te Āti Awa ki Whakarongotai Water Working Group will now work with the council to explore how to manage water in a culturally appropriate way within the Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Raumati catchment.

The iwi and the council recently launched the 'River Recharge Scheme', which uses traditional Māori scientific knowledge to oxygenate the river with tuna, or eels.

The chair of the working group, Bill Carter, said it confirmed the important role iwi played as kaitiaki of natural resources.

"We saw there was a position as Treaty partners for the three [local iwi] of us having a joint responsibility," Mr Carter said....
See full article HERE

Plan to raise Maori literacy, numeracy
A Māori educationalist says Māori without basic literacy and numeracy skills have nothing to be ashamed of, but must seek help which is readily available.

50 percent of Māori adults are below the world minimum standard.

Keith Ikin from the New Zealand Council for Educational Research is working on a national plan to raise their literacy and numeracy standards by 20 percent in five years.

He said it was not just holding tāngata whenua adults back, but damaging whānau and the country's economic future.

Mr Ikin described it as a devastating cycle, and said that within the next 15 years Māori will make up almost 20 percent of the workforce...
See full article HERE

Iwi calls urgent meeting over Crown land sell-off
The Government and Auckland Maori are headed for a legal clash over plans to sell public land to developers to help ease the housing crisis.

Ngati Whatua has called in lawyers because it thought it would be given first rights to buy the land under its treaty settlement, but the Government is using a workaround, meaning it can sell the land straight to developers.

"We're taking legal advice to see if our Treaty settlement has been circumvented," says Ngati Whatua deputy chairman Ngarimu Blair.

The iwi has now asked for an urgent meeting with the Government for them to explain the situation.....
See full article HERE

Government's Auckland housing plan could be in jeopardy over iwi legal skirmish
The Government's latest plan to increase housing supply in Auckland is facing a legal challenge  from iwi who say they should be offered Crown land before it is sold to developers.

Ngāti Whātua thought it would be given first right of refusal to Crown land up for grabs in Auckland. The Government announced as part of the Budget that 500 hectares of public land would be sold.

Labour's housing spokesman Phil Twyford questioned why Housing Minister Nick Smith was going to such great lengths to cut out iwi, who were being "circumvented" on right of first refusal.

"Ngati Whatua simply want to build affordable houses for the people of Auckland, so why is he trying to cut them out of the deal?"

However Smith told the Social Services select committee there was no right of first refusal for Ngāti Whātua under its Treaty settlement agreement, but there was one for the Tamaki Collective, which Ngāti Whātua is an active and prominent member of....
See full article HERE

Māori Party backs Ngāti Whātua
The Māori Party is calling on the Government to honour its Treaty of Waitangi settlement with local iwi, Ngāti Whātua
.
The iwi has sought legal advice after learning that the Government has no intention of dealing with Ngāti Whātua first over the sale of government owned land in Auckland.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


3 June 2015

Mayor believes it is time for a change of name
Mayor Annette Main believes the time is right to add the "H" to Wanganui.

Following the announcement last week that the New Zealand Geographic Board had opened consultation on a name change for the district, Ms Main said the "Whanganui" spelling had become much more common in recent times.

The Geographic Board's public consultation will last three months from May 28.

After an initial rejection by Wanganui District Council of a name change, the council finally proposed changing the name of the district to Whanganui by a vote of 10-3 in December.

It then conducted its own consultation and received close to 2000 submissions.

Ms Main said the Geographic Board consultation was "an opportunity for our community, as well as people throughout New Zealand, to have their say.

The Geographic Board has said it is interested in reasons provided with submissions, not necessarily submission numbers; the process is not a vote. Following consultation, submissions will be analysed and considered when the board meets on September 23.

Ms Main said the outcome would "provide certainty" to iwi and Wanganui residents. The council proposal followed a request from the Tupoho Working Party to consider changing the spelling....
See full article HERE

Possible Mana Maori unification
With the recent uncertainty of the Kaitoko Whānau contracts the Mana Movement and Maori Party membership cooperated to advocate for their contracts. These events lead to historical hui between members of each organisation who decided to sit down to a cup of tea and macaroon biscuits...
See full article HERE

Maori challenge permits
A Northland roopu have filed a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal saying the Government should have sought consent of local iwi and hapu before issuing deep sea oil drilling permits in the Te Reinga Basin.

Te Ahipara Komiti Takutaimoana, who are the marae and hapu mandated group from Te Rarawa managing marine environment issues, filed the claim on May 22.

The claim alleged the Government breached the Treaty of Waitangi by not consulting Maori rights holders before permits to oil drill in the Te Reinga Basin were issued.

Ms Murupaenga-Ikenn said it was vital the claim be lodged to protect the ocean.

"This whole beach is sacred. It's a pathway of spirits. I hate the words 'Maori myths and legends' because this is what I truly believe, that one day my spirit will travel along there and I will look back."...
See full article HERE

Younger generation losing te reo Māori
Fewer young Māori are speaking te reo – fuelling fears for the language’s survival.

The number of te reo Māori speakers in the generation vital to keeping the language alive has fallen in the seven years between Census counts.

According to Statistics NZ the December 2013 Census, revealed 23.3 percent of Māori aged 15 to 29 can hold a conversation in te reo Māori.

This is an 8.2 percent decrease from the 2006 Census.....
See full article HERE

No free state houses for iwi - English
The Government says while it welcomes the interest of iwi in social housing, it won't be giving them state houses for free as one group wants.

Mr English dismissed the proposal for transferring the houses for free, but said some properties might have little value anyway.

"No, we'll go through a proper process. There may be some which have no value – if you're in a small town with a house that's been a P lab, it might be a wee bit hard to get rid of.

The Government does not want to sell the houses below market value...
See full articleHERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


2 June 2015

Treaty involvement brings satisfaction
John Wood's negotiating skills, honed as New Zealand's ambassador to the United States, Iran and Turkey, have since been put to use as chief Crown negotiator in several outstanding Treaty of Waitangi claims.

He was first appointed chief Crown negotiator for the Whanganui River claim in 2009, then in the Te Urewera claim with Tuhoe and is involved in a claim involving Tongariro National Park and a smaller one with Ngati Rangi which has a bearing on the former.

Wood, who has no Maori background or previous involvement, garnered considerable international experience as a trade and economic negotiator during his time in the diplomatic service. He looks on his treaty experience with satisfaction, particularly that involving Tuhoe.

"It had been tried so many times in the past, to effect reconciliation between the Crown and Tuhoe, and failed. This time we achieved it, and that by any measure is nationally significant," he said....
See full article HERE

Water waste of time and money
But watch. There's a consent to be obtained. This will take years and cost millions. The usual suspects will object. There will be cultural values affected and to be compensated for. There might even be a taniwha or two lurking about who needs soothing.....
See full article HERE

Co-Leader James Shaw voices priorities
New Green Party co-leader James Shaw spoke for the first time at the Green Party AGM in Auckland today.

He spoke about climate change and his wish to have more Māori candidates in the party.

Mr Shaw says, “So one of the things we need to do more of is to ensure that we have more Māori candidates especially in places like South Auckland and in the Māori seats to get really good coverage.”...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


1 June 2015

From the NZCPR archives (By Reuben P Chapple)
Partnership? What Partnership
In 1922, Sir Apirana Ngata summarised the effect of the Treaty of Waitangi in these terms: “Article I of the Treaty transfers all chiefly authority to the Queen forever, and the embodiment of that authority is now the New Zealand Parliament. For that reason, all demands for absolute Maori authorities are nothing more than wishful thinking.”

There can be no possibility that the Treaty of Waitangi formed a sovereignty partnership. Having signed the Treaty, the chiefs became not partners, but subjects of the Crown, as did all other Maori. As subjects of the Crown – that is, New Zealand citizens – all those descended in part from the tangata whenua are today entitled to the same rights as non-Maori citizens: no less, and certainly no more.

In a free society all citizens enjoy equality in citizenship. This is so regardless of whether some of a citizen’s ancestors arrived in a waka in 1350, a sailing vessel in 1850, a steamship in 1950, or more recently by airliner. Even someone who put his hand up 30 seconds ago at a swearing-in ceremony is entitled to all the rights of citizenship. Prior arrival or ancestral longevity in the land is no basis for special privilege.

Group rights, whereby one group enjoys separate, different, or superior rights on the basis of group membership, are an anathema to a free society. They require a broker in the form of an activist government to forcibly take rights from one group in order to bestow them upon another.

As Richard Prebble reminds us: “One group’s positive discrimination is another group’s negative discrimination.”

If New Zealander don’t want a civil war anytime soon, now might be a good time to reject the divisive, Marxist-spawned, racist nonsense of state-sponsored identity politics.....
See full blog HERE
April 5, 2013

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


31 May 2015

'State housing should be transferred to iwi for free'
A representative of the Iwi Chairs Forum said this morning that iwi should have state houses transferred to them for free.

Te Runanga o Te Rarawa chairman Haami Piripi made the comments on TV3's The Nation this morning.

Many of the houses were "at the very low end of the spectrum in terms of the Government housing portfolio," he said.

He said social housing was part of "post-modern capitalism" and he had concerns that if the market crashed and the value of houses went down, iwi would make a "significant loss".

"Our starting point is they have no value," he said, as there would be an ongoing obligation to support the families who lived in them...
See full article HERE

Iwi relations spending fires council debate
Lack of clarity around what the funding will be used for is why four Wanganui District councillors tried to vote down extra spending on iwi relations.

The quartet made their points clear when the council debated its 2015-25 10-Year Plan last week but did not get the support of their colleagues.

The vote approved spending $150,000 a year for the next decade on iwi relations with the dissenters including councillors Philippa Baker-Hogan, Charlie Anderson, Rob Vinsen and Ray Stevens.

The potential for business partnerships with local iwi is a prime motive behind the increase.

Mr Stevens said the increasing money for liaison could easily reach $2.6 million over the next decade by his reckoning.

"We've just voted to add $150,000 a year for the next 10 years for iwi relations so there's $1.5 million. We're already budgeting $60,000 a year for iwi liaison.

"There's another $600,000. And we have to consider officer time during this period which I believe could conservatively total another $500,000," he said.

Mr Anderson said he believed the amount was too much and unnecessary.

"There's been nothing specific to say what the money's being used for.

"It seems we only have to pay when we liaise with iwi. To anybody else we do this for free," he said...
See full article HERE

Golf course in hands of iwi trust
Hamurana Springs Golf Club has come under the governance of a Ngati Rangiwewehi trust.
Te Tahuhu o Tawakeheimoa Trust will take over the running and maintenance of the club, which has a membership of nearly 200 people - many of whom are descendants of the iwi, club president Colin Watkins says.

Hamurana Springs was returned to Ngati Rangiwewehi as part of a multi-million-dollar Treaty of Waitangi settlement last year. The iwi-led changes have included international tour groups being charged $10 a head to visit the springs....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


30 May 2015

Grounds for an appeal granted to iwi
A Bay of Plenty iwi has been given leave to go to the Supreme Court in its bid to stop the sale of farmland by Landcorp.

The Crown-owned company wants to sell Wharere Farms near Pukehina. Ngāti Whakahemo has opposed the sale for some time and went to the High Court.

The court granted an interim injunction, but this was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

The Supreme Court put the sale on hold while it decided if it wanted to hear an appeal.

It has now given the green light, and will allow an appeal based on the iwi's claim of bad faith shown by Landcorp.....
See full article HERE

More support needed for Maori workers, says CTU
A leading Māori trade unionist wants Māori-owned companies to support the lower paid more, because those workers are predominantly Māori.

Syd Keepa, who is Vice-President Māori of the Council of Trade Unions, said successful Māori-owned commercial enterprises, both private and iwi-lead, have economic clout, and they can do something to assist lower paid Māori....
See full article HERE

Crown researchers reach out to Maori
Crown research institutes are looking for better ways to engage with leading figures in the Maori economy.

The seven CRIs and Callaghan Innovation are coming together for a two day symposium in Rotorua next month, Te Ara Putaiao.

Organising committee chair Marino Tahi says Maori have a strong and active presence in New Zealand’s primary industries....
See full article HERE

NGO's under attack
A Maori manager at Relationships Aotearoa says non-government providers are under attack, especially those who work with the most vulnerable in society.

The government has refused to give further funding to the organisation, which had contacts from the Ministry of Social Development, Justice and the Probation Service to deal with issues like domestic and sexual violence and drug and alcohol abuse...
See full article HERE

AFFCO demands an attack on Maori
The Council of Trade Unions runanga is describing the Talley Group’s demands for its AFFCO meatworks as kick in the face for Maori workers and their communities.

CTU vice president Maori Syd Keepa says the 2012 lock-out was only settled after the intervention of iwi leaders, and now Talley’s is back to its union-busting tactics...
See full article HERE

175 years on – Treaty of Waitangi now and in future?
The re-emergence of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1970s at a tumultuous period in New Zealand’s history – and its subsequent impact on New Zealand society – is the theme of an upcoming conference.

Scholars, policy makers and iwi leaders will mark the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty by sharing their views on its role in shaping the last half century and its place in the future, at a major conference organised by Massey University and Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Titled The Treaty on the Ground: Dialogue and Difference. Crisis and Response, the three-day conference at Auckland Museum and Massey’s Auckland campus in July will focus on how evolving interpretations of the Treaty have influenced New Zealand policy-making, institutions and communities....

Margaret Kawharu (Ngāti Whātua), senior Māori advisor at Massey University and one of the presenters, says she is interested in the effect of “Treaty fatigue or complacency.”

“The risk is that once settlements are completed, everything returns to ‘normal’, without any real paradigm shift, and grievances are just as likely to continue. This is due in part to settlement negotiations being often behind closed doors and the general public don’t get to hear the rich tapestry of narratives from both Māori claimants and the Crown representatives.”

Roy Clare, Director of Auckland War Memorial Museum says the Treaty “has been a feature of work at Auckland Museum since our founding in 1852, but for a large part of that history the interactions did not properly respect the partnership....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


29 May 2015

Māori name proposed for Wellington lagoon
The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) is calling on New Zealanders – particularly Wellingtonians – to have their say on a new proposal to assign a Māori name to Wellington’s popular inner-city lagoon.

The Wellington City Council (WCC) and Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust (PNBST) joint proposal seeks to assign the name ‘Whairepo Lagoon’ to what is commonly called ‘Frank Kitts Lagoon’, ‘Frank Kitts Park Lagoon’ and ‘The Lagoon’.

Public consultation will be open for three months, from 28 May-28 August. Anyone can make a submission either in support of, or objecting to, these proposals.

Submissions can be made in writing to the Secretary for the New Zealand Geographic Board, via the online forms, or to nzgbsubmissions@linz.govt.nz.
See full article HERE

NZTA selling 31 state houses
The homes are also being offered to iwi under the Tamaki Collective settlement. Ngati Whatua Whai Rawa chief executive Rob Hutchison said his iwi had not bought any yet but was interested in any state properties that came up for sale in Auckland. It was negotiating to buy one property from the Transport Agency in Phyllis St in Mt Albert, which was in private ownership before being taken for the motorway.

"They don't give them to us. They are valued, so what happens is an offer is made at a price and then there are a number of different iwi across three different roopu [tribal territories] so we each have a turn in a carousel system," Mr Hutchison said....
See full article HERE

Iwi partnership applauded
Rotorua Lakes Council's decision to adopt a modified version of the Te Arawa Partnership Proposal has been applauded by the Race Relations Commissioner and the mayor of New Plymouth, and has appeased the chairwoman of the Rotorua Pro-Democracy Society.

New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd said the decision would affect local government all over the country.

"Firstly, I congratulate Steve [Chadwick] and her council, they have picked up the baton and lead the country.

"This question will now ripple through the country. Others will follow, the conversation is just beginning."

Rotorua Pro-Democracy Society chairwoman and councillor Glenys Searancke said she was pleased with Tuesday's result.

"I wasn't surprised at the vote, we didn't think for one moment that the vote would change. We'll just wait and see. It could work."

She said the society had been misconstrued as being racist.

"I think that some of the debate was a bit vicious because this has never been a racism thing, it's the democratic process we stand for.

"It's the appointment that has always been our concern."
Mrs Searancke said the society was "taking a breath" and confirmed legal action could be on the cards.

"I think it's something that has concerned the community more than I've known before in all my time with council, so I don't think it's finished for one minute," she said....
See full article HERE

NZ Māori Tourism Confirms Two New Board Members
The Board of New Zealand Māori Tourism confirmed two new Board Members at its quarterly meeting today, says New Zealand Māori Tourism Chief Executive Pania Tyson-Nathan.

Verity Webber and Glen Katu were both successfully voted into the two vacant positions by the NZ Māori Tourism membership. The vacancies became available through the term expiry on 30 June 2015 of Glen Katu (who was nominated for re-election) and Amokura Panoho. NZ Māori Tourism was delighted with the very high calibre of candidates vying for the positions....
See full article HERE

New kura aims for 180-kid capacity
A new Maori education centre planned for the site of Havelock North's Arataki Motor Camp will cater for up to 180 students, the Ministry of Education says.

The kura kaupapa will be open to students from Year 1 through to Year 13 if an application from an existing Hastings primary school to expand into secondary education is approved.

Plans for the Arataki site, which the ministry has owned for several years, have been the subject of speculation and political debate since a government announcement last month that a new kura was planned for Hastings....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


28 May 2015

HRC welcomes Rotorua partnership model decision
Race Relations Commissioner Susan Devoy has welcomed news that Rotorua District Council has agreed to a modified version of the Te Arawa Partnership model.

"Relationships are about working with one another through the good times as well as the tough times, the Te Arawa Partnership model formalises our relationship in Rotorua."

Dame Susan says the Treaty of Waitangi is something all New Zealanders should be grateful for.

"175 years ago our ancestors agreed that all New Zealanders had rights and in 1840 that was a pretty revolutionary concept," said Dame Susan.

"The Treaty is our own, uniquely Kiwi human rights document and we should all be pretty proud that this is what our nation is founded on."...
See full article HERE

Consultation hui on Maori land law announced
Changes that make it easier for Maori land owners to use and develop their whenua will be the focus of discussions at 23 regional consultation hui announced today by Maori Development Minister, Hon Te Ururoa Flavell.

The review of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 is part of a Maori land reform programme which also includes offering practical support for Maori land owners. A new $12.8 million Te Ture Whenua Maori Network was announced in the Budget last week. This network will support targeted initiatives to improve the productivity of Maori land over the next four years...
See full article HERE

More work needed on Te Arawa model
Rotorua Lakes Council has asked the Te Arawa working party to continue working with it and the iwi on new partnership arrangements.

The council yesterday voted 8-5 to allow Te Arawa representatives on two key committees with voting rights.

The council will spend up to $250,000 a year supporting the independent Te Arawa Board that will make the appointments.

She says the community has come of age, and what is good for Te Arawa is good for Maori and for all the citizens of Rotorua......
See full article HERE

Māori to discuss interaction with oil industry
Nga Pae o te Maramatanga lead researcher Andrew Erueti will be presenting at a seminar today looking at the complex issue of Māori interaction with the extractive and mining sector.

The research centre will be holding its third 'Horizons of Insight' seminar for 2015 at Waipapa Marae, University of Auckland.

The government is strongly supportive of investment in this sector, however, there have been high profile demonstrations against exploration and mining by environmental and iwi/hapū groups who are deeply opposed to these companies mining within their lands and rohe.  It is also clear that some iwi have been trying to work with the industry, and in some cases have sought a treaty interest in the resource...
See full article HERE

Land sell off sign of panic
Labour leader Andrew Little says the Government's plan to sell surplus land in Auckland for housing is a panicked response to the crisis.

Labour claims that much of the 430 hectares promised in the budget already contains facilities such as electricity substations and pylons, or is landbanked for schools or motorways.

Mr Little says there are also rights of first refusal under Treaty of Waitangi settlements that will need to be factored in to any sell-off...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


27 May 2015

Maori Party Labels One Man, One Vote Supporters as Racist
The Maori Party’s approach of bullying and intimidation against those who have stood up for one person, one vote, in Rotorua, is a dishonourable act by Members of Parliament that should know better. Democracy Action, a pressure group which champions democratic values is calling-out Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell for his intimidatory comments regarding the Rotorua District Council vote to accept unelected members onto Council committees.

Democracy Action Chairman Lee Short says:

“We all accept that reasonable people can have differing views on race-based appointments onto local councils, but for a Government Minister to label those who stand for democracy as ‘racist’ is frankly outrageous.”

“We call on Mr Flavell to withdraw his offensive remarks. Bullying and intimidation have no place in democratic debate."

“The Rotorua Council should have conducted a referendum on this issue. For a constitutional change such as this, the consent of all the citizens needs to be sought."...
See full article HERE

Rotorua District Council leads the way on Māori representation
Racism has been defeated by fairness, justice and reason today,” said Māori Party co-leader and Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell in response to Te Arawa winning their battle for better local government representation.

The Rotorua District Council has voted to accept a modified version of the Te Arawa Partnership Model today after receiving more than 1800 submissions on the issue. This will ensure that a Te Arawa representative will be on all standing committees. 

“The leadership shown by Te Arawa and the Rotorua District Council today is an example of what can be achieved if justice is at the forefront of our decisions. Let me be clear – the option agreed today is an alternative to the unjust legislation that makes it almost impossible for Māori wards to be established,” says Māori Party Co-leader Marama Fox...
See full article HERE

 Te Arawa partnership plan passed
Rotorua Lakes Council has voted 8-5 to adopt a partnership model proposed by Te Arawa.
See full article HERE

Māori Education Trust back in hot water
The Māori Education Trust has landed itself in hot water again with iwi after selling off another block of gifted land to clear its debt, this time with South Waikato iwi, Ngāti Maniapoto.

Since Native Affairs revealed in a story last month that a prime dairy farm in the Wairarapa was being sold off by the trust for similar purposes, locals of Ngāti Maniapoto have spoken out. 

Ouruwhero is a multi-million dollar dairy farm in South Waikato.  A 120ha block which was gifted to the Māori Education Trust by local kuia Mihikiteao Thomson in her will to "train young Māori farmers".

But that dream is no longer after the Trust got into financial difficulties forcing them to sell the farm.  They called in Māori farm specialist, Te Tumu Paeroa to revive it, and after they did that, they brought it for $5mil...
See full article HERE

'Stronger whanau' should be focus to alleviate poverty
The head of a Maori health provider says the Government needs to place more emphasis on building stronger families.

Tureiti Moxon, from Te Kohao Health at Kirikiriroa Marae in Hamilton, said that while initiatives in last week's budget were a good start to alleviate poverty, much more needed to be done.

She said whānau was the corner-stone of Māori society and it needed more support.

Ms Moxon said while sending people out to work was the ideal, babies needed their parents to look after them....
See full article HERE

Commemorations 'help nations grow'
Last year during the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Ōrākau, Otorohanga High School launched a petition calling for the Government to establish a commemorative day for the country to remember local civil battles.
Waikato-Tainui leader Tukoroirangi Morgan supported them.

Māori historian Awanuiarangi Black said Aotearoa needed to acknowledge what had happened on its own soil and mark its battles.

The Prime Minister's office said John Key had not ruled out the possibility of a holiday to mark the New Zealand Wars, but it was not under active consideration.

Last year Mr Key said if National was still in Government after the September elections, his party would consider it.....
See full article HERE

Parliament workload 'lightest for 20 years'
He said Treaty of Waitangi Settlement bills were now passing through the House much more "expeditiously" than in the past, because they did not face long committee stages.
 
"That's taken a terrific amount of work out of what any order paper might look like."
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


26 May 2015

Waikato-Tainui support Te Arawa's call for Māori wards
Waikato-Tainui gathered at Tāheke Marae in Rotorua for the annual Te Arawa poukai celebration. For over 22 years, Te Arawa has been pushing for a Māori voice at local government level.  

Mauriora Kingi says, “Te Arawa Standing Committee was established in 1993 to discuss and manage issues pertaining to Te Arawa. 20 years has passed and the standing committee hasn't made much inroads.”

Over the weekend the topic of Maori representation in local government re-emerged with strong support by some Waikato-Tainui leaders, according to Tipa Mahuta, “Rotorua is known worldwide as a face for Māoridom but says the community of Rotorua need to work with the Māori of Rotorua first.”

The Te Arawa Partnership was proposed to establish an independent Te Arawa Board sitting outside of the council, to represent iwi interests, with board members elected by the Te Arawa community....
See full article HERE

Progress too slow - 2015 Treaty Audit of Auckland Council
A major finding of the second Te Tiriti o Waitangi audit on the wider Auckland Council group shows only a few of the 42 audited recommendations are completed. The audit findings were presented to the Mayor and Councillors during an Auckland Council Finance and Performance committee meeting yesterday.

The Board’s follow-up Te Tiriti o Waitangi audit on Auckland Council, Local Boards and Council-controlled organisations has been completed by global service providers, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The audit reassesses the wider council’s performance against high priority legislative requirements relating to Māori and provides insight into progress made against the 2012 baseline audit....
See full article HERE

Hapu group will continue opposition
A Northland group which opposes an agreement between the Crown and Ngāpuhi says it will continue its stand until the bitter end.

The Tūhoronuku Independent Mandated Authority, which represents Ngāpuhi and its numerous hapū, has signed terms of negotiation with the Crown, meaning the parties can begin work on the iwi's Treaty claims and start full negotiations.

Pita Tipene, co-chair of Te Kōtahitanga o ngā hapū o Ngāpuhi, said there were still outstanding issues involving the Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into the Crown's decision to recognise Tūhoronuku's mandate....
See full article HERE

Judd and Fox presenting at Māori Governance Hui
New Plymouth Mayor Andrew Judd and Māori Party Co-leader Marama Fox are the latest to join an exciting line up of speakers and presenters attending this weekend’s Te Tatau Pounamu Maori Governance and Representation Conference in Palmerston North.

New Plymouth has been in the headlines recently for the overwhelming vote against Maori Wards in the region.  Mayor Andrew Judd has also made known his own principled stand to lay a complaint with the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for an issue he believes is fundamentally unfair.

This weekend’s speakers include: Joris De Bres (Former Human Rights Commissioner), Doug Leeder (Chair of the Eastern Bay of Plenty Council)  Moana Jackson (Indigenous Rights Advocate and Lawyer), Tipa Mahuta, (Councillor Waikato Regional Council), Teanau Tuiono (Activist and Entrepreneur), Dr Whatarangi Winiata, Te Rangikaheke Bidois (Te Arawa Councillor), Melanie Shadbolt (Lincoln University Researcher and Te Waipounamu District Maori Council Chair) Veronica Tawhai (Massey University Lecturer), Mike Reid (Local Government NZ) Tame Te Rangi (Ngati Whatua and Tuhoronuku Representative) Haami  Piripi.(Te Runanga o Te Rarawa Chairman)....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


25 May 2015

Waitangi Tribunal legal action aims to stop Statoil
A new Waitangi Tribunal claim is alleging breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi due to the New Zealand Government’s failure to actively seek the prior and informed consent of Maori tribes in relation to the issuing of deep sea oil drilling permits.

Filed today, the legal action is being taken by Te Ahipara Komiti Takutaimoana, who are the marae and hapū mandated tribal organisation that manage all issues concerning the marine environment for Te Rarawa.

Te Rarawa is one of the Far North iwi that strongly opposes the current deep sea oil exploration in Te Reinga Basin by Statoil, Norway's biggest company.

The claim also alleges breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi by the New Zealand Government due to failing in the duty of the correct consultation process with Maori rights holders....
See full article HERE

$500k boost for new centre
Te Kaika spokesman Prof Peter Crampton - also dean of the Otago Medical School - said the new initiative was being driven by local iwi Kati Huirapa Runaka ki Puketeraki and Te Runaka o Otakou.
''It is iwi-owned and has a focus on Maori health but it is much broader than that, so Pacific families and, well, anybody [is covered]. ...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


24 May 2015

Iwi positions mooted for New Plymouth District Council committees
A Maori leader is calling for New Plymouth's council to reconsider appointing iwi representatives to influential standing committees.

In the wake of an overwhelming referendum result against a Maori ward seat, Te Atiawa iwi representative Peter Moeahu asked the council to revisit a proposal it voted down in April last year.

However, Mayor Andrew Judd has said there are no immediate plans to revisit the idea and the council needs to process the results of the referendum first.

"Now I'm (Moeahu) back again to ask that this council consider the appointment of iwi representatives on council standing committees, not on the council itself."

Judd said the idea of having iwi representatives appointed to standing committees had already been voted down by the council, but he could not rule out revisiting it....
See full article HERE

Iwi eyes Budget housing opportunity
Ngati Whatua o Orakei is keen to talk to the government about its plan to free up 430 hectares of Auckland land for housing development.

News of the plan leaked out on the eve of today's Budget when the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment posted tender documents on its web site.

Ngatu Whatua deputy chair Ngarimu Blair says the hapu was aware at a high level the plan was coming, but it doesn't know which particular blocks are involved.

Ngati Whatua and other Tamaki Makaurau iwi have rights of first refusal covering specified crown agencies.

"Certain ones like New Zealand Transport Authority surplus land, surplus education, district health board and defence land, we would be keen to discuss with the Crown any ideas it has about declaring that surplus and how we will be a part of those negotiations," Mr Blair says.....
See full article HERE

Waikato-Tainui signing 20 years on
Today marks 20 years since Waikato-Tainui signed the first major settlement of historical land confiscation (raupatu) with the Crown.

Signed by then-Prime Minister Jim Bolger and the late Maori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu, Waikato-Tainui's confiscation claims were settled with a package worth $170 million, in a mixture of cash and Crown-owned land.

That package is now worth over $1 billion and the iwi is an economic powerhouse in the region....
See full article HERE

Only Maori to represent Maori says Fox
The Maori Party is upset its former chief of staff is being held up by Social Development Minister Anne Tolley as representing Maori on a panel reviewing Child, Youth and Family.

Co-leader Marama Fox says she's pleased Helen Leahy, who now works as an advisor for Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu, was selected for the group.

But she has told Mrs Tolley the panel also needs Maori and social work expertise...
See full article HERE

Māori Health & Social Services Delegation travels to the US
Te Arawa Whānau Ora Chief Executive Officer, Ngaroma Grant was part of a high level Māori delegation that traveled to the US to gain first hand knowledge of how developing technologies in the Health and Social Service sectors might benefit whānau.

The group headed to California, Nevada, Arizona and Washington state in April to both share innovative and transformative practices and tools being used in Aotearoa and to learn about what is happening within indigenous communities in the US.

As a result relationships were built with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Services, the City of Los Angeles and a number of community leaders.

In addition the delegation received a briefing with Microsoft executives in Redmond, Washington and made a presentation at the Self-Governance Tribal Annual Consultation Conference in Reno, Nevada.

Also part of the delegation were Waipareira CEO, Hon John Tamihere,Te Pou Matakana Chair, Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, New Zealander of the Year Dr Lance O’Sullivan as well as Lady Tureiti Moxon in a 20 strong Māori Health and Social Services delegation to the US.....
See full article HERE

Terms of Negotiation signed with Ngāpuhi
The Crown and the country's largest iwi are just one step away from settling its Treaty of Waitangi claims.

The Tūhoronuku Independent Mandated Authority, which represents Ngāpuhi and its numerous hapū, have signed the terms of negotiation with the Crown.

Tūhoronuku described it as a celebratory moment for the iwi as it was eight years ago when tribal elders directed the iwi to 'get on with the settlement'.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


23 May 2015

Budget 2015
$35.3m invested to improve Māori housing
Māori Development Minister, Te Ururoa Flavell says Budget 2015 provides operating funding of $35.3 million over the next four years to improve housing outcomes for whānau Māori. 

This will provide practical assistance to whānau and Māori housing projects and will be coordinated through the establishment of a Māori Housing Network.

$5.7 million a year is set aside for the Māori Housing Network. This will fund regional housing development facilities that will provide practical assistance and expertise at a local level. The funding will also be used to address housing deprivation among whānau Māori.....
See full article HERE

$2.1m for rangatahi Māori suicide prevention
The Budget provides $2.1 million of new operating funding for rangatahi Māori suicide prevention, Māori Development Minister Hon Te Ururoa Flavell says.

“It recognises the need within Māori communities to address the high rate of suicide among our rangatahi and to reduce its tragic consequences,” he says.

“The causes of youth suicide are complex and varied. This fund will contribute towards taking a Whānau Ora approach to reducing youth suicide.”....
See full article HERE

$12.8m for new Te Ture Whenua Māori Network
The new Te Ture Whenua Māori Network, which will help Māori land owners improve the productivity of their land, will be supported by $12.8 million in the Budget, Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell says.

The network complements the current reform of the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act.

“Significant tracts of Māori land remain under-utilised and improving its performance and productivity will provide benefits to its owners and the wider New Zealand economy,” Mr Flavell says....
See full article HERE

Whānau Ora navigators to receive $49.8m boost
Whānau Ora Minister Te Ururoa Flavell says new operating funding of $49.8 million over the next four years will further support Whānau Ora navigators to work with families.

The new funding will allow the continuation of Whānau Ora navigators, who play a critical role in Whānau Ora.  Flavell says, "They act as brokers for the whānau and support them to achieve their goals...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


22 May 2015

Supercity needs to include tribal rohe
A Wellington mana whenua leader says tribal boundaries have not been adequately considered in the proposal for a supercity council.

The Local Government Commission's plan to create one single authority that amalgamates nine councils in the greater Wellington region has divided the Māori community, with leaders in support, but rank and file Māori opposing it.

As the plans for a Wellington supercity council get underway, the mana whenua of Te Whanganui-ā-Tara, Te Ātiawa, are cautiously considering the benefits before they endorse them.

The chair of the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust said the first thing that the Local Government Commission should think about is the importance of tribal rohe.....
See full article HERE

$244 million funding boost includes establishment of 3 new kura kaupapa
Three new kura kaupapa are on the cards under the announcement of $244 million in funding that will go towards new schools, additional classrooms and expansions to existing schools.

The kura kaupapa will be established in Whakatane, Gisborne and Hastings.

Education Minister, Hekia Parata says, “funding spread over four years, demonstrates the government’s commitment to ensuring all kids can do their very best at school. It will be used to build seven new schools, expand four existing schools and add another 241 classrooms across the country.”

However Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis wants confirmation from Government that kura kaupapa will receive the same funding as mainstream schools in this year's budget....
See full article HERE

Dismay at lack of Maori on CYF review panel
The Government is excluding Māori from an expert panel set up to review Child, Youth and Family, the Whānau Ora iwi leaders group chair says.

There are six iwi representatives in the group as well as ministerial staff.

Chairperson Raniera (Sonny) Tau said he had written to Social Development Minister Anne Tolley to express the group's 'extreme concern' at the panel's make-up which appears to contain no Māori.

Iwi representatives in the group as well as Mr Tau are: Naida Glavish, Rahui Papa, Sir Mark Solomon, Dr Hope Tupara and Richard Steedman.

Mr Tau said he was appalled by the lack of Māori representation.....
See full article HERE

Maori students' development plan underway at Witt in Taranaki
The Taranaki polytechnic has identified cultural barriers that may have prevented Maori learners from achieving and the institute is now working towards implementing a better support system for its students.

In 2014, Witt was found to have graduated students from two Maori performing arts courses which they probably did not attend and was forced to repay the Crown $3.7m as a result.

The Maori performing arts programmes are no longer offered....
See full article HERE

Name change at airport wins council support
The Napier City Council has voted to support a request to rename the region's airport as Ahuriri Airport Hawke's Bay - with one councillor voicing his opposition to the proposal.

The airport company was approached with the name change request by Treaty of Waitangi claimant group Mana Ahuriri.

Richard McGrath was the only Napier City Council member to speak against the proposal at yesterday's meeting, saying there was "little to no public support" for the change....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


21 May 2015

Publication gives Maori voice
Hawke's Bay Today and Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated (NKII) have joined forces to produce a new monthly publication called Tihei Kahungunu.

Tihei Kahungunu will be a monthly insert in Hawke's Bay Today and aims to give Ngati Kahungunu and Maoridom in the region a voice.

Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana said that with 25 per cent of the Maori population identifying with Ngati Kahungunu, there was a great demand for such a publication....
See full article HERE

Davis demands answers over new Kura Kaupapa
Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis wants confirmation from Government that kura kaupapa will receive the same funding as mainstream schools in this year's budget.

Education Minister Hekia Parata announced three new kura kaupapa to be built over four years in Gisborne, Whakatāne and Hastings, but Davis says the quality of those schools could be compromised.

He has extensive experience in the Education sector and Kelvin Davis wants answers.

"My question is, will Māori immersion schools be treated the same as mainstream schools?  How much resources will be given them?".....
See full article HERE

Lack of Maori Representation Concerns Iwi Chairs
Raniera T (Sonny) Tau; the Chairperson of Whānau Ora Iwi Leaders Group, has written to Hon Anne Tolley, expressing the concern of Iwi Chairs about the lack of Maori representation in the expert panel set up to review CYFS.

“At our recent hui at Whangaehu Marae (6 May) concerns were raised that it appeared Maori representation had been excluded from the Minister’s Expert Panel” said Mr Tau.

“And yet there is a disproportionately high number of Maori children who have been referred to youth justice facilities; to care and protection residences, or to the care of CYFS”.

“Maori have been saying for decades now, let us be the designer of our own solutions. It is somewhat confusing that a Government which has been bold enough to invest in Whānau Ora is unprepared to show that same test of faith in the care of our tamariki mokopuna”.....
See full article HERE

'Corporate welfare at its very worst': Govt grant to iwi slammed by Taxpayers' Union
The Taxpayers' Union has slammed a $350,000 grant to a Rotorua iwi to build a spa complex as "corporate welfare at its very worst".

Prime Minister John Key today announced the grant to Pukeroa Lakefront Holdings Ltd, a commercial arm of Ngati Whakaue.

"This is taxpayer money going to build a spa in Rotorua. That's not innovation, it's corporate welfare at its very worst," says Jordan Williams, Executive Director of the Taxpayers' Union.

"The problem with these sorts of grants, is it allocates taxpayer money to the industries and regions favoured by politicians."....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


20 May 2015

New Māori business masters unveiled
A new Māori business masters programme is being planned for universities around the country.

University of Auckland Business School senior lecturer Chellie Spiller said consultation was underway to get the programme ready for launch, which will see universities co-deliver the programme titled the Masters of Māori and Indigenous business.

She said courses taught would focus on core areas of business but be infused with a kaupapa Māori focus....
See full article HERE

Funding boost for Maunga Authority
Auckland's Maunga Authority says iwi are making progress in protecting their taonga - the city's tihi (summit) - after receiving a large funding boost.

The authority was established eight months ago, and its kaupapa is to protect the 14 Tūpuna Maunga affiliated with the 13 iwi in the rohe.

Auckland Council has allocated nearly $80 million to the Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau Authority for the next 10 years.

The authority's chair Paul Majurey said its first project was to ban vehicles at Maungawhau-Mount Eden's summit, other than those used by the disabled. It hopes to have the ban in place by the end of the year.....
See full article HERE

Crown purchases significant battle site
The Crown has purchased one of the most significant battle sites of the New Zealand Wars, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Christopher Finlayson announced today.
“We are pleased we could purchase this very significant site which is of great historical and cultural importance to the iwi who fought at the Battle of Ōrākau,” Mr Finlayson said.
The Ōrākau property near Kihikihi, Te Awamutu, was likely the site of a major battle between Māori and the Crown in 1864. Māori sustained many casualties and the site is recorded as a wāhi tapu area....
See full article HERE

Māori worldview key to success for whānau parenting
Today Superu is releasing What Works: Parenting programmes effective with whānau, a summary of the key findings from a Superu research report on effective parenting programmes published in April 2014.

In New Zealand, parenting programmes that have emerged from the Māori worldview are called kaupapa Māori programmes. Additionally there are Māori culturally adapted parenting programmes.

What Works: Parenting programmes effective with whānau finds that kaupapa Māori and culturally adapted parenting programmes are effective with whānau because they validate Māori knowledge, values, and practices. Both of these types of programmes support whānau through strengthening cultural identity and growing knowledge of traditional parenting practices. It is important that the culturally adapted programmes be validated by Māori.....
See full article HERE

All-Pakeha CYFS review flawed
Manurewa MP Louisa Wall says a review of Child Youth and Family is fundamentally flawed because it does not include any Maori.

The review is chaired by former Commerce Commission head and includes police commissioner Mike Bush, the Social Development Ministry's chief science advisor Ritchie Poulton, former maori party chief of staff Helen Leahy and Duncan Dunlop, who heads a children's advocacy charity in Scotland.

Ms Wall says more than 2000 Maori children are in CYFS care, or 56 percent of the total.

That means an independent Maori perspective is critical to any reform....
See full article HERE

Growing the Maori economy crucial
The recently released Bay of Plenty Regional Growth Strategy stresses the importance of growing the Maori economy and the contribution Maori can make to overall regional growth.

"We can bring assets and expertise to bear," said Te Ururoa Flavell, the Minister for Maori Development and Associate Minister for Economic Development, at the strategy's launch.

"There's a desire by Maori to move into new areas of commerce. I think the community has to recognise that we are big players - we don't want to just be sitting at the side."...
See full article HERE

New Plymouth District councillors in dark over mayor Andrew Judd's UN complaint
New Plymouth councillors were kept in the dark about their mayor's plans to lay a formal complaint against the Government.

Mayor Andrew Judd's plan to lodge the formal complaint with the United Nations about the Government's "unfair" legislation for Maori wards was unknown by his peers until Saturday, when it was reported in the Taranaki Daily News.

Former mayor and current councillor Harry Duynhoven said Judd's move appeared to be a unilateral action and he was not aware of it until he read it in the paper on Saturday.

"I am sure that the council will wish to discuss this with the mayor and vice versa," he said.

However, many councillors said Judd had made it clear his complaint was not in his capacity as the mayor.....
See full article HERE

Law change needed for local seats
Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell is considering a private members bill to stop people using binding referendums to block Maori representation in local government.

Mr Flavell says the situation in New Plymouth, where 83 percent voted against the council’s plans to introduce a Maori ward, showed how unfair the current system is.

An attempt to give Te Arawa more say in the Rotorua Lakes Council is also having a rough ride.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


19 May 2015

Mayor cries racism over referendum
New Plymouth Mayor Andrew Judd says a law which allowed his council’s decision on Maori wards to be overturned shows the government is not serious about giving Maori a voice in local government.

In a referendum, New Plymouth residents voted more than four to one against the move.

It's the only action a council takes that can be challenged through a publicly-initiated binding referendum.

"That to me says the government or the crown has never been serious about the option because at the very end, the majority can decide for the minority. That is racist and biased and just infuriates me so I am not letting that aspect lie," Mr Judd says.

He’s disappointed with the Prime Minister’s off-hand dismissal of the issue, and he is looking at raising a complaint with the United Nations about New Zealand’s compliance with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.......
See full article HERE

NZ Maori Council pushing governance strategy
The New Zealand Maori Council wants to find ways for Maori to become more involved in governing their communities.

It has called a national conference in Palmerston North at the end of the month to look at strategies for Maori participation and representation at all levels of government in Aoteoaroa.

The hui will also consider the council’s relevance today and how it can work better not just with Maori committees but with urban and iwi authorities.

Meanwhile the revitalisation of the council continues, with a district Maori council covering Te Tau Ihu, the top of the South Island, holding its annual meeting over the weekend.

Having properly constituted Maori committees and district councils helps the national body as it pushes to resume oversight of the Maori wardens and to act as an advocate for Maori on issues that might fall outside the responsibilities of individual iwi.....
See full article HERE

Treaty tutoring for migrant jobseekers
Facing questions about the Treaty of Waitangi at job interviews is driving new migrants to attend workshops on New Zealand's founding document.

Auckland Regional Migrant Services has been running Treaty workshops at its Three Kings premises since 2007, but has moved them to the central city because of the growing number of new migrants living in the CBD.

One of the primary reasons people wanted to learn about the history and meaning of the 1840 document was because they got asked about it when they applied for jobs, Migrant Services communications manager Chinwe Akomah said.

The seminars included role playing on how to handle such questions, she said.

She faced the situation herself at a job interview not long after she migrated from the UK.

"They just asked me, 'what is the Treaty of Waitangi?' I didn't really know how to respond....
See full article HERE

Local iwi called upon to bless vandalised site at Papakura cemetery
Local iwi were called upon this morning to Papakura South Cemetery following the desecration of a number of children's graves over the weekend.

Manurewa kaumātua carried out a karakia at the site, where headstones and crosses have been removed and strewn all over the lawn when Auckland Council staff had made their discovery yesterday.

Auckland Cemeteries Manager Catherine Moore confirmed that karakia was held this morning for those on site but says there are plans to have another blessing ceremony later in the week...
See full article HERE

Spotlight on human rights in NZ
The UN Committee Against Torture is calling on the Government to do more to uphold and protect the human rights of all people.

In a new report, the committee has welcomed some new measures taken in this country, such as the introduction of police safety orders and the Vulnerable Children Act.


But it has expressed concern at the over-representation of Maori in prisons, and the use of solitary confinement for mental health patients.....
See full article HERE

Taranaki principals keen to change outcomes for Maori students
Taranaki schools are lining up to be a part of a collective championing Maori student achievement.

More than 60 principals from throughout New Zealand gathered at Owae Marae this week for the Te Arahou Maori Achievement CollaborativesNational Hui.

Maori Achievement Collaboratives (MACs), supported by the Ministry of Education, focus on working with principals to better meet the needs and improve achievement outcomes for Maori students.

The hui ran from Wednesday afternoon through to Friday and had a range of speakers discussing issues facing Maori students and how to better understand their different learning needs.....
See full article HERE

Looking Māori means you are less likely to own your own home
A study on home ownership rates among Māori shows that looking stereotypically Māori means you are less likely to own your own home.

A study on home ownership rates among Māori shows that looking stereotypically Māori means you are less likely to own your own home.

The research, by Dr Carla Houkamau, a senior lecturer in Management and International Business at the University of Auckland Business School, and Associate Professor Chris Sibley of the University’s School of Psychology, is part of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Survey (NZAVS).....
See full article HERE

Court says taihoa on Landcorp farm sale
The Supreme Court has issued a injunction stopping Landcorp selling a Bay of Plenty farm until it has decided whether it will hear an appeal.

Ngati Whakahemo challenged the sale of the Wharere Farm near Te Puke because it had a treaty claim over the land and wanted the chance to make an offer for it.

The Court of Appeal last week overturned a High Court judgment in its favour, because it said Landcorp’s actions were not reviewable.

The state owned enterprise wanted to complete the sale to a third party by May 30.

The Supreme Court has given Ngati Whakahemo chair Mita Ririnui until tomorrow to file submissions, and if necessary there will be a hearing next week to determine whether the appeal can go ahead.....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


18 May 2015

From the files of Alf Grumble
Don’t tell the Whips, but here’s one Nat who has a sneaking inclination to go AWOL on Whanau Ora
Alf is desperately looking forward to getting out of here today – the damned debating chamber – to take refuge in the Pickwick’s Bar.

For the past hour or so MPs have been banging away about the pros and cons of Whanau Ora.

Alas a highly discomforted Alf finds himself on the side of the defenders of the programme, notwithstanding the report on it from the Office of the Auditor-General.

He has had to smile approvingly while our MPs laud the role of “navigators” in our social welfare system.
Navigators?

Dunno which misguided plonker took these creatures out of the transport industry and introduced them to the Whanau Ora scheme.

The navigators perhaps should be called on to explain why so much money has – dare Alf say it – failed to reach its intended goal?

It is one of the Government’s flagship programmes and cost $137 million in its first four years – but the country’s top spending watchdog admits it is difficult to work out what Whanau Ora has achieved.

Auditor General Lyn Provost also found that $40 million of the money for the scheme – which is earmarked for vulnerable families and children – was swallowed up in administration.

And after an audit of its first four years, Provost admitted: “It was not easy to describe what it is or what it has achieved.

Don’t forget that the driving force behind Whanau Ora was the former Maori Party co-leader, Tariana Turia.

She had a real bee in her bonnet about this and could countenance no criticism.

Alf had misgivings…
But National threw its weight behind the scheme, which is seen as a model for the delivery of some other services.

The Government has been forced on the defensive, however, by revelations about a lack of checks on money handed out under the scheme, including $20,000 used by Dunedin gang members to buy cannabis.

NZ First leader Winston Peters has also criticised “whanau integration” grants of up to $20,000 which he claimed had been used for family reunions.

The money was part of a fund used to prepare “whanau plans”.

Provost – in her report – has described Whanau Ora as an example of innovation and new thinking which provided an opportunity for health and social service providers to work directly with families.

Whanau Ora has been a success for many families who now have a plan to improve their lives. For example, some whanau are working towards getting their young people living and working on their ancestral land. The government spending to achieve this has been small, but the importance for the whanau is significant.”

Whanau plans also had benefits such as reconnecting family members and identifying where skills and expertise lie within the whanau, the report says.

But after setting out to inform Parliament and the public “what Whanau Ora is, where the funding has gone, and what Whānau Ora has achieved after four years”, Provost said it was “not easy to describe what it is or what it has achieved”.

We could not get a consistent explanation of the aims of the initiatives in Whanau Ora from the joint agencies or other people that we spoke to. So far, the situation has been unclear and confusing to many of the public entities and whanau.”

During the first four years, total spending on Whanau Ora was $137.6 million. Delays in spending meant that some of the funds originally intended for whanau and providers did not reach them. Nearly a third of the total spending was on administration.”

Let’s roll out Finance Minister Bill English for an explanation.

He said it was clear to the Government when the programme was set up that a lot was being spent on administration.

It was a pretty radical kind of programme to start with and in some respects the high admin costs…[reflected] a good deal of concern that in a new programme the money was used appropriately,” he said.

Now let’s hear from Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell.

He said the report acknowledged the potential of the programme.

Yes, we’d accept that something could have been done better. That’s a part of the development of a new project but I’m comfortable with where we sit,” he said.

According to another report from Stuff, however, Labour is calling for an investigation into Whanau Ora, claiming its performance “must now be of the highest priority for the Government”.

Opposition leader Andrew Little is quoted as saying:

The auditor-general is critical of the process of funding families under Whanau Ora. These organisations are where much of the $42 million-plus in administration costs has gone. This process is described as a burden in the report, and it’s a financial burden on taxpayers.”

The investigation needed to cover “how much money is being spent on whanau” as the funding was not meant to be used for operational costs such as service delivery, salaries and rent.

A significant overhaul of Whanau Ora’s governance model was announced less than two years ago and was said to include senior ministers, iwi leaders and experts. The Government knew about the issues then and yet the Auditor General confirms that problems remain,” Little said.

This is another example of wasteful spending by this Government when it is desperately needed by some of our most vulnerable people. Labour supports Whanau Ora as a delivery framework, but there is not enough good governance and oversight by those charged with making it work.”

Alf is not allowed to say so publicly, but he shares Little’s concern to have a hard look at the scheme.
May 6th, 2015

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


17 May 2015

Steps towards Treaty claim settlement
Ngāti Mutunga on the Chathams Islands has moved a step further to settling its Treaty of Waitangi claims.

After seeking the mandate from iwi members, it now has a Settlement Governance Group in place that has been recognised by the Crown.

Last year, the Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri Iwi Trust held wānanga to listen to kōrero around grievances and settlement expectations, and to get an idea of a timeframe to achieve its goal of reaching a mandate....
See full article HERE

Water rights shipped overseas
An advisor to the Freshwater Iwi Leadership Group says it’s critical Maori interests in water are defined before they are lost.

The group is working with officials on a new management framework, and it has been consulting with iwi on what Maori rights and interests could look like within that.

Willie Te Aho says existing systems haven’t worked for Maori, with other groups getting priority access.

He says in the case of groups like the owners of Poroti Springs near Whangarei, a decision from the Native Land Court that they owned not only the land but the spring itself has been ignored in favour of the local council, irrigators and a private water bottling company.....
See full article HERE

Unjust requirements on Māori wards
The Māori Party is disappointed but not surprised by the outcome of the referendum on the establishment of Māori wards for the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC).

An overwhelming number of voters said “no” to the establishment of one Māori ward for the northern Taranaki council.

Mrs Fox who participated in a debate on the establishment of a Māori ward for NPDC last year says the decision “shows the tyranny of the majority”.

“Where is the Treaty of Waitangi relationship reflected in local and central government? The provision for a Māori ward isn’t a perfect solution but at least it would guarantee an independent Māori voice at the table.”...
See full article HERE

GP Clinic launches traditional Māori healing service
A first for a Ngāti Whatua Health Clinic who now provide traditional Māori healing alongside mainstream medicines for the community of Glenn Innes.

The cultural context in which Māori deal with ill health and its impacts are addressed through Rākau Rongoā (native floral herbal preparations) Mirimiri (massage) and Karakia (prayer).

While in the next room, there will be mainstream GP clinical services, including Tamariki Ora (Children's services), Smoking Cessation and AgeCare services.

The aim of this partnership between Ngāti Whatua Ōrākei Health Services and the Ministry of Health is to deliver positive health outcomes to all whānau in the Glenn Innes and surrounding community....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


16 May 2015

New Plymouth voters reject Maori ward
New Plymouth voters have overwhelmingly rejected the introduction of a Maori ward in the district.

In a citizens-initiated referendum on the issue, 83 percent of those who voted were against the proposal.

A total of 56,250 people were eligible to vote with 45 percent doing so.

Mayor Andrew Judd, who championed a Maori Ward, said he was personally disappointed with the result and the poor turnout.

He said the council must now reconsider how to engage with Maori and enable their participation in decision-making, as it was required to do by law.

Hugh Johnson, who sponsored the petition forcing a referendum, said he was satisfied with the result which was more clear-cut than he expected.

"I think it's very good, we beat Northland, Northland was only 66 percent.

"So the voters are feeling like I do [in thinking] that people should only be elected to council on their own merit."...
See full article HERE

Board rejects proposal for Maori engagement
An offer of Maori input in local board decision-making has been turned down, leaving one board member "stunned" by the decision.

The Papakura Local Board has refused the help offered by a steering group designed to improve Maori engagement at the community level.

The group is made up of iwi representatives and intended to help the local board on Maori issues through a "collaborative approach".

Papakura Local Board chairman Bill McEntee says the Maori steering group's proposal was declined because it wasn't local enough.

But the board rejected the $8000 proposal which has already been accepted by Mangere-Otahuhu, Otara-Papatoetoe and Manurewa local boards.

She says the group is set up to provide "meaningful engagement" on a range of issues between local boards and mana whenua, including such things as environmental decisions, street names and even turning the soil at the start of new projects.....
See full article HERE

EIT Appoints First Emeritus Professor
A leading Māori educator and an academic of international standing, Dr Roger Maaka has been appointed EIT’s first emeritus professor.

The honour recognises Professor Maaka’s distinguished service as a research professor and former dean of EIT’s faculty of Māori studies, Te Ūranga Waka
.
Of Ngāti Kahungunu descent from Takapau, he attended Central Hawke’s Bay College before launching into a 20-year career in the New Zealand Army, which included tours of duty in Borneo, South Vietnam and Singapore.

Combining study with running a business he established in Christchurch, he gained a PhD in political science with a study of the tribe in 20th century Māori society.

Professor Maaka has published on treaty relationships, urban and tribal, social and economic development of Maori and other indigenous peoples and he is an authority on indigeneity as a global social movement....
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.


15 May 2015

Ngati Whakahemo to appeal Landcorp case
Bay of Plenty iwi Ngati Whakahemo is appealing a decision dismissing its challenge to the way Landcorp sold a dairy farm at Wharere.

The Court of Appeal this week ruled that High Court Justice Joe Williams had no basis to review Landcorp's decision to sell the farm, because neither the Minister for Treaty Settlements nor the shareholding Ministers in Landcorp had the power to intervene in the company's decision.

That's despite the Office of Treaty Settlements making a mistake when it advised Landcorp that Ngati Whakahemo's claims had been settled, so the farm was not needed for any future treaty settlement.

Costs were awarded against the iwi.

Ngati Whakahemo chair Mita Ririnui says the decision is disappointing, but is consistent with a trend where the Court of Appeal leaves the hard calls on treaty-related cases to the Supreme Court.

What is not consistent is the way the iwi was treated by the crown....
See full article HERE

Māori representatives against oil exploration meet with Saami Parliament
Members of the Indigenous Saami Parliament have met with a group of Māori representatives from Northland carrying with them a message against oil-exploration at Te Reinga Basin.

A member of the Executive Council of Saami Parliament, Henrik Olsen and Political Adviser Runar Myrnes Balto were among the Saami representatives who met with the delegation earlier this week.
Hinekaa Mako says, “The meeting went really well, as the indigenous peoples of Norway the Sámi understand our concerns, they are considering ways to support us in the future.”...
See full article HERE

Mole News is published on a regular basis to expose the on-going build up of race-based privilege in New Zealand. The Mole welcomes tips - please send to mole@nzcpr.com. Older news items can be found HERE.