Breaking Views: Mole News Archive 3

31 January 2016

From the NZCPR archives by Michael Bassett:
The Waitangi Industry

There are few futuristic ideas that have lost their sheen as quickly as the notion that settlements of Maori grievances would improve New Zealand’s race relations. Our ancestors were sceptical. There were inquiries into grievances in 1921 and 1927, and Prime Minister Peter Fraser told Maori in the 1940s that he would settle the eleven sets of identifiable grievance that Maori had against the Crown. Several “full and final settlements” were made between 1943 and 1947. But most of the money paid to Maori trust boards was wasted.

Instead of learning from this experience, liberally-inclined politicians gradually convinced themselves that the complaints of those who had missed out on the 1940s settlements ought to be thoroughly investigated. Norman Kirk’s Minister of Maori Affairs, Matiu Rata, was opposed; the Waitangi Tribunal erected in 1975 was to look at the Treaty of Waitangi and to ensure that its “principles” were applied to future public policy. No provision was made for delving into past history. Young, vocal Maori radicals protested. Eventually they convinced a later Labour deputy leader, Geoffrey Palmer, and a Maori Affairs spokesperson, Koro Wetere, to promise to introduce a mechanism for examining historical grievances.

These had expanded in number since the first settlements. The Lange Labour government in which I was a minister was sceptical about whether the exercise would do anything useful for Maori, but in 1985 we allowed the Waitangi Tribunal to be expanded. As in 1975, no effort was made to determine what the so-called “principles” of the Treaty were that should guide the investigation process. In 1987 this omission enabled the Court of Appeal to produce a highly coloured version of what the Treaty meant, and before long several Maori radicals sought to drive a horse and cart through government policy. They succeeded, because neither Labour nor National has been prepared to define in legislation what the Treaty meant……

Continue reading Michael Bassett's article HERE
April 19, 2008

Ancestor burial belief not enough to hold up oil company's project in Taranaki

A Taranaki hapu's belief that a Te Atiawa ancestor is buried near a proposed well site is not enough to stop its construction, a court has ruled.

Following a hearing in September, Environment Court Judge Brian Dwyer released his finding on Friday in favour of Greymouth Petroleum's appeal against a Heritage New Zealand decision to decline an authority, which would have allowed the oil company to begin earthworks at its Kowhai D site near Tikorangi.

As part of the project,Greymouth wanted to establish a well site, access way and an underground pipeline in the area but Heritage New Zealand said the land involved was of cultural significance to Maori and required protection.

Part of this claim related to information Otaraua hapu member Rawiri Doorbar had provided to the agency about Te Atiawa ancestor Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitaake being buried near the well site. Te Rangitaake was a renowned Te Atiawa chief who peacefully opposed land sales. He was also a signatory to the Treaty of Waitangi.

While the grave itself was not going to be disturbed, the wider cultural values of tangata whenua would have been affected by the project, the agency claimed…..

See full article HERE

‘Put Iwi First’ Advisor Tells Failing Charter School

New Zealand First is astonished the Education Minister’s advisor told failed Whangaruru charter school to “put iwi first” and hold on to a taxpayer-funded farm that cost nearly a million dollars, says New Zealand First Education Spokesperson Tracey Martin.

“The incompetence of Education Minister Hekia Parata is astonishing – she even signed the original contract basically ‘gifting’ the farm to the trust running the school.

“We have previously pointed out that the Minister’s lack of business nous led to a failure in the contract to require the school to return taxpayer purchased assets in the event of the school shutting down, as it has.

“Official Information Act documents obtained by New Zealand First show that as the Minister was trying to rescue this failed experiment she recommended an advisor to the school’s Nga Parirau Matauranga Trust board. The advisor told them to keep the land for part of a Ngati Wai treaty settlement.

“The 81 hectares in Northland was purchased out of the original $1.6 million establishment funding. Total funding for the school reached $4.9 million.

“In 2013 in Parliament New Zealand First questioned the ‘gifting’ of the farm to the trust. It was obvious that the Minister had given away millions of dollars of land and assets to a private trust….

See full article HERE

National must listen to Maori TPPA concerns

The National Government must listen to the widespread opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) if it is to retain credibility with Māori, says Labour’s Maori Development spokesperson Kelvin Davis.

“The Iwi Leaders Forum met face to face with Trade Minister Todd McClay and added their voice to the chorus of opposition against the TPPA.

“The Iwi Leaders Forum have sent a loud and clear message to the Government: say ‘No’ to the TPPA until you can provide assurances that Treaty of Waitangi obligations, our environment and the rights of hapū, iwi and Māori will be protected under this deal.

“Māori opposition to the TPPA is growing by the day. Māori leaders, academics, clinicians, the CTU Runanga and the Maori Women’s Welfare League are firmly against the deal. Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Te Ata and Ngāti Whanaunga each confirmed they would not perform the pōwhiri for the signing of the TPPA.

“If this Government was to honour its relationship and obligations to Māori it would consult properly and in good faith with iwi before even considering signing….

See full article HERE

Maori Party threatens to 'walk away' from RMA

The Māori Party is warning it will withdraw its support for proposed changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) if the government backtracks on its promises.

Last year, the party agreed to support the government's bill if Māori were given more say over how resources were managed.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said on Tuesday the government's concessions to the Māori Party were racist and should be thrown out.

Mr Peters argued the bill in its current form would take the country down a separatism track.

He singled out a clause in the bill that would require councils to hold discussions and form agreements with local iwi on the management of natural resources, including in freshwater management plans.

He said he would move amendments to remove that clause, and any references to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, from the final legislation.

When asked if he would consider that, Prime Minister John Key did not rule it out......
See full article HERE

Winston Peters wants Treaty principles scrapped from RMA

Winston Peters has called for the scrapping of Treaty references in the RMA. The leader of NZ First said last night in his State of the Nation speech, that the laws encourage separatism, but the Māori Party says Peters comments are a joke.

Winston Peters is at it again. He says, "Māori are a part of the community not separate from the community, and when you make that mistake you're segmenting people off on the basis of race."….

See full article HERE

Trans-Pacific Partnership: Ngati Whatua won't take part in powhiri

Ngati Whatua says it will refuse to take part in any powhiri for international trade ministers when they visit New Zealand to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership on February 4 because it opposes the agreement……

See full article HERE

28 January 2016

Resource Management Act changes will take NZ down path of separatism

Changes to the Resource Management Act are the result of the Maori Party "brownmailing" National and will take New Zealand down the path of separatism, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says.

The NZ First leader said that under the new RMA bill, every council would be required by law to invite local iwi to participate in the formulation of policy plans, including water management plans.

"This is just the starting point," Mr Peters told the audience. "Iwi really want much, much more."

He said the Freshwater Iwi Leaders Group had stated goals including ownership of all Crown-owned river and lake beds and the water column.

"The proposed changes to the RMA are a signal flare to the entire country that the two parties are taking us down the track of separatism. We are no longer one people. We are moving towards two separate groups with separate rights."….

See full article HERE

Business, Property And Planning Groups Should Support Peters on Rma Reform

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on business, property and planning industry groups to support Winston Peters’ proposed way forward for Resource Management Act reform. Reacting to Mr Peters’ state of the nation speech delivered last night, Jordan Williams, Executive Director of the Taxpayers’ Union, says:

“In our report on the Auckland Council’s mana whenua provisions, we exposed the extent to which Auckland Council now require costly iwi consultation on matters entirely of Maori spiritual or make-believe factors. It appears that Mr Peters wants to curtail the Maori Party’s radical proposals for separate iwi consenting bodies which would spread similar requirements throughout the country.”

“If there is anyone that can stand up to the trend toward race-based rights under the RMA it is Mr Peters. Groups who have been pushing for sensible reform of the RMA should welcome Mr Peters’ comments and be relieved that John Key now appears to have a sensible way forward without the Maori Party’s rent-seeking concessions.”…

See full article HERE

Prime Minister John Key opens door to deal with Winston Peters over RMA

Prime Minister John Key has opened the door to a deal with NZ First leader Winston Peters over reform of the Resource Management Act - even if it means winding back concessions to the Maori Party.

Last year, the Government backed off planned changes to the RMA that would have altered its key definitions, giving the economy greater weight alongside environmental issues.

But it made several concessions to the Maori Party to gain its support - although only to the select committee stage.

Peters said NZ First would move amendments to cut red tape and bring common sense to the RMA.

"We will do so on one condition, that National will drop all provisions in the bill that provide separate rights based on race," he said.

Key said National had always been searching for partners to pass its RMA changes and there was no guarantee that the reforms would get out of the select committee.

Asked if he would be prepared to wind back the concessions to the Maori Party to get that support, Key responded by saying, "what we need is 61-plus votes to get that out of select committee. We are happy to work with any political party to make that happen."…

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 and HERE.

27 January 2016

Ngāpuhi to decide on Govt ban from Waitangi

Divided Ngāpuhi leaders will gather next week to decide if the Government will be blocked from going on to Te Tii Marae on Waitangi Day.

Last week, iwi kaumatua Kingi Taurua threatened to block the Government from Waitangi's only marae if it signed the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

But Mr Taurua says not everyone agrees with his stance.

"The idea is we need to talk to the tribe, bring the tribe together, and see if we can come to some common agreement," he says. "There are some who think the Prime Minister should come on and there are some who say no. The whole idea of the hui is I want to get a consensus."

Mr Taurua says he won't be changing his mind, despite opposition from some iwi leaders.

"I will be there and I will be on the other side if they want the Prime Minister to come on," he says. "There's a possibility that I will be with the protest group who will try and stop them from coming on. I am not going to change my stance…..

See full article HERE

Otago Polytechnic establishes Māori Centre

Māori students at Otago Polytechnic will soon have their own place where they can “work and learn as Māori” following the announcement of the establishment of a Māori Centre in the Forth Street campus and the appointment of its Tumuaki (Manager) Rebecca Williams.

Some of the services to be offered at the Māori Centre include:

• Pastoral care for Māori students
• Māori research centre
• Teaching space for Māori electives
• Workspace for Māori staff to access as and when needed
• Support for Māori staff

“Our aim is to go beyond simply a support centre for Māori students and rather to create a holistic environment where a range of activities can take place – from teaching, to support, to research.”…

See full article HERE

Māori economy in 'strong' position

The Māori economy is doing well. It's estimated to have a shared wealth of $40 billion, with the biggest investments in the fishing, forestry and farming industries.

"Overall it's pretty good news," said Mr Barry. "Six of the seven iwi are doing really well in terms of their financial investments performance. Ngai Tahu and Ngati Whatua ki Orakei stand out in the last couple of years, but generally it's been a good solid performance."

Ngati Whātua ki Ōrākei - which settled with the government just four years ago for $18 million - now has an asset base worth $767m, after earlier having $500 million in land assets.

Waikato-Tainui, which settled with the Crown in 1995 for $170m, now has an asset base of $1.1bn. Mr Barry said the tribe had traditional investments along with commercial ones such as Hamilton's The Base - New Zealand's largest shopping centre.

According to the Office of Treaty Settlements website, more than 50 groups or iwi have settled their grievances with the Crown. About 14 more have signed a deed and another 15 are in negotiations. The remainder have yet to begin the process….

See full article HERE

Rights to fresh water get clouded

Maori leaders have laughed off Northland Regional Council claims that the way water is managed in the region is working well, amid councillor fears iwi will soon be granted special rights to fresh water.

Northland Regional Council held an emergency meeting on Friday, establishing its stance against Maori fresh water rights, in what one councillor termed "the next foreshore and seabed debate".

Councillor John Bain said the worst-case scenario was the "commercialisation of water by any special interest group".

NRC chairman Bill Shepherd said a paper put to Cabinet early last year indicated the Government's position was that no one owned fresh water….

See full article HERE

Petition To Stop Māori Land “Confiscations” – Green Party

The Green Party has launched a petition to stop the taking of Māori land under the Public Works Act.

“This is a real opportunity to stop any more unfair confiscations of what is left of whenua Māori,” Green Party Co-leader James Shaw says.

The Bill would amend the Public Works Act and put a stop to Māori land being acquired by a minister or local authority for public works.

The Bill would amend the Public Works Act to specifically protect Māori freehold and Māori customary land from being acquired. This would mean that no Māori land can be taken without consent…..

See full article HERE

Massey signs sponsorship deal for Ngapuhi Festival

Massey University has signaled its commitment to the North, signing up as a major sponsor of the NgÄpuhi Festival this weekend. The new deal will see the University sponsoring the main performance stage at the biennial festival…..

See full article HERE

Secret decision riles former councillor

A former Western Bay District councillor is demanding answers on why a key decision on the proposal to transfer ownership of Matakana Island's Panepane Point back to Maori was taken in secret.

"Why was the discussion not held in the open meeting so the ideologies of the mayor and councillors could be fully understood by ratepayers," Mike Lally said.

He was referring to the December 17 council meeting which unanimously supported commencing work on a Local Act of Parliament to provide for the transfer of the 200ha block at the southern tip of Matakana back to the island's five hapu…..

See full article HERE

Offenders on bracelets to return to prison if no cellphone coverage

Labour MP Kelvin Davis is concerned offenders with electronic bracelets who live outside cellphone coverage areas will be sent to prison. The Department of Corrections says, if an offender proposes an address where there is no cell phone coverage, it will be deemed as unsuitable.

MP Tai Tokerau Kelvin Davis says, "We will see more Māori going to jail due to these types of laws. I think it needs to be reversed to accommodate for those who only have landlines."

In a statement to Kelvin Davis, Corrections said there remains some areas of the country (such as the far north) where the lack of cell phone coverage continues to be an issue. In these locations it is unable to operate a home detention scheme.

Corrections says it has always been their practice to encourage staff to work with offenders to come up with alternative addresses…..

See full article HERE

Maori Party co-leaders support call for justice system review

The Law Society says the cost of legal representation is a primary reason for the rise in self-representation.

The MÄori Party says a review would also be an opportunity to consider incorporating tikanga MÄori into the way our legal structure operates.

It believes a more restorative process across the justice system, particularly in the family court, is needed. The plan is to introduce WhÄnau Facilitators who will work closely with hapÅ« and iwi, and will support families throughout the family court system…..

See full article HERE

Iwi leaders hui

Freshwater, conservation and Te Ture Whenua Maori will be the topics reported on by members of the Iwi Leaders Group at a hui in Tikitiki on Tuesday.

The meeting at Rahui Marae is one of a series around the country.

The freshwater committee will present an update on its engagement with the Crown on addressing iwi hapu rights and 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 and HERE.

23 January 2016

Clarity Needed on Freshwater Responsibilities; NRC

The Northland Regional Council is calling on central government to reveal more about its plans for any future freshwater reform, including how it proposes to tackle Maori rights and interests.

Chairman Bill Shepherd says a paper put to Cabinet early last year indicated the Government’s position at that time was that no-one owned freshwater, no generic share of freshwater resources would be provided to iwi and there would be no national settlement of iwi/hapu claims to freshwater resources.

However, he says the government’s current position on addressing iwi/hapu rights and interests in the context of any freshwater reform – including any deviation from that outlined to Cabinet last year – is unclear, frustrating his fellow councillors.

Councillor Shepherd says the council’s collective position at today’s meeting was that it wished to see the Crown continue to act as kaitiaki of the nation’s freshwater on behalf of all New Zealanders.

Similarly, councillors reaffirmed their support for the regional council sector’s continued role of managing freshwater under the current statutory processes, which include involving community participation…..

See full article HERE

Plan to return island block to Maori

An historic agreement has been reached for the Western Bay of Plenty District Council to begin the process of returning Panepane Point to Matakana Island's five hapu.

It follows years of requests because of the cultural and heritage significance to Maori of the 200-hectare block at the southern tip of the forested part of the island.

If successful, it would mean that both sides of the city entrance to Tauranga Harbour were owned by Maori. The Crown relinquished ownership of the landmark of Mauao in 2008 to Tauranga Moana's three iwi……

See full article HERE

Government says TPPA deal won't undermine Treaty of Waitangi rights for Maori

The Government has rebuffed claims the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement will undermine the rights of Maori under the Treaty of Waitangi, saying it has secured protections in the controversial deal.

Trade Minister Todd McClay announced the release of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) fact sheet about the TPPA and the Treaty, following suggestions the deal breached the Crown's obligations to Maori.

The document says the TPPA agreement includes a specific provision "preserving the pre-eminence of the Treaty of Waitangi".

See full article HERE

Te Whaioranga - Māori responsiveness strategies

As a Government agency, PHARMAC has a commitment to upholding the articles and the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. PHARMAC’s Māori Responsiveness Strategy provides a framework for ensuring that PHARMAC responds to the particular need of Māori in relation to medicines.

See the yearly schedules HERE

Ngapuhi considers Waitangi day protest if TPP signed

A Ngapuhi elder is threatening to block the Government from Te Tii Marae on Waitangi Day if the Trans Pacific Partnership is signed, saying the signing is a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be reportedly signed in New Zealand on February 4. Andres Rebolledo, director general of Chile's International Economic Relations Bureau, reportedly confirmed the date in a meeting with the country's National Human Rights Institute, before officials were ready for the announcement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed an event will be held in Auckland in early February. Prime Minister John Key was unavailable to comment on Mr Taurua's threat at edition time yesterday.

Kingi Taurua, Ngapuhi kaumatua, said, if the document was signed it would be wrong if the Government turned up to Waitangi Day a few days later, and is considering blocking them from Te Tii Marae……

See full article HERE

Contact Energy switches on Maori world

Former Taupo Primary School teacher Awhina Eru has swapped the classroom for the capital, taking up a position at Contact Energy's head office in Wellington

Since November, Eru, of Ngati Tahu descent, has been teaching staff at the head office about marae protocol and "te ao Maori" – the Maori world.

"I'm getting them to understand, when they have a hui with tangata whenua, some of the protocols and processes of how Maori operate."….

See full article HERE

Māori lawyer warns belittling of Māori women not on

A Māori lawyer has taken offence after being cursed at by a representative of the Iwi Leaders' Group.

Annette Sykes says Willie Te Aho swore at her while running a consultation meeting with the group last night in Rotorua.

She says, "Willie swore at me, but after he thought about it, he knew it was wrong."

"We were debating, but a word of warning not to discriminate women," she says.

Last week the Iwi Leaders' Group began a series of consultation meetings throughout the country regarding Te Ture Whenua reform and water rights. Sykes says Māori rights are being tested.

"Don't belittle Māori women. We have our thoughts and views on issues. Māori men shouldn't criticise us just because they don't agree with our views," says Sykes…..

See full article HERE

Wanganui iwi expect the title of Pakaitore/Moutoa Gardens to come back to them,

Mariana Waitai told a group yesterday.

She expected the title of the land to come back to the tribe, and for it to be managed by the new Nga Tangata Tiaki Trust.

"We are still looking at shutting the road down so that this whole area can be a walking space and show the connection across the road to the river."

The concrete strip in the grass at the gardens was used to check the length of chain measures used to survey land before it was sold.

Ms Waitai said the measure was "the worst symbol of oppression" that she knew.

"The only ones that benefited were tauiwi (non-Maori)."

The "stolen" land destroyed the tribe's infrastructure and its people lost their economic base, creating generations of mamae (pain), she said……

See full article HERE

TPPA casts shadow over Waitangi

Labour’s Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis says the Government has set the scene for a showdown with Ngapuhi at Waitangi over the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement.

Mr Davis says it has failed to inform Maori about the implications of the deal.

“In true Ngapuhi style Kingi Taurua is using the political platform that Waitangi provides to highlight Maori discontent about the Government’s lack of consultation and information…..

See full article HERE

Beachfront restaurant forced to close after Maori bones discovered

Plans for a beachfront restaurant at one of Auckland's most scenic spots have been abandoned indefinitely, following the discovery of Maori bones and artefacts.

After a more than two-year saga the popular restaurant at Long Bay Regional Park north of the city will now not be rebuilt.

The decision to halt all work follows two discoveries of koiwi or pre-European bones and another of bone awls (tools) and shell beads, all of which delayed the planned refurbishment.

Auckland Council, local iwi, Heritage New Zealand and the existing restaurant licensee have reached the agreement out of respect for the cultural significance of the site….

See full article HERE

Work already underway to block Mt Eden's summit road to cars before ban in place

Road works at the base of the popular tourist destination were blocking the one-way road to the summit on Saturday morning.

Vehicles will be banned from the top of Mt Eden from January 20, but roadworks cut access four days early.

The ban from the tihi, or summit, applies to all motor vehicles, including motorbikes and scooters.

Heavy vehicles including buses were banned from the summit of Maungawhau/Mt Eden in 2011 over concerns they were damaging the cone's archaeological heritage.

Paul Majurey, chair of the Tupuna Maunga o Tamaki Makaurau Authority which looks after Auckland's volcanic cones, said the ban respected the spiritual and cultural significance of the summit to Mana Whenua, as well as the community's aspirations.

"Motor vehicle restriction on the tihi of Maungawhau was signalled many years ago as a key measure to protect this taonga, and to reflect the Mana Whenua and community aspirations of their living connections with this taonga. It is very pleasing to have reached this point."…..

See full article HERE

Maori women viewed as 'inferior' by settlers

The way early settlers documented Māori women is disturbing and has had a damaging impact on how wahine are viewed today, an emerging health researcher says.

Ngahuia Murphy has received $110,000 from the Health Research Council to complete her PhD studies into Māori beliefs of the womb or whare tangata.

"I am looking at some of the pre-colonial ceremonies and ritual knowledge traditions around the whare tangata and I'm going to be tracing those ceremonial practices into the context of today."

"What is really disturbing is what they wrote 150 years ago has been reproduced across history up until contemporary times, creating these really oppressive, really powerful narratives about the inferiority of Māori women in our culture."

A total of $1.8 million was given to 21 emerging Māori health researchers in the Māori Career Development Awards last year.

Over 40 applications for funding were made, which is the largest number received in one year.

Health Research Council project co-ordinator Lady Pokai said there were a lot of research areas that weren't being tapped into especially when it came to Māori.

"It will build more understanding around why things are happening and helping our whanau Māori to overcome what is happening."

Ms Murphy said the council's support affirms the importance of reclaiming Māori women's sacred knowledge…..

See full article HERE

Course will look at environmental issues for hapu

A NEW marae-based course gives students the opportunity to learn about environmental issues relevant to their hapu.

More than half of the 40 spaces have been filled for the free course led by Te Wananga o Aotearoa teacher Tina Ngata.

Areas within the Waiapu catchment will be studied and she hopes students can help Ngati Porou and Gisborne District Council address issues on the land and waterways…..

See full article HERE

Ngapuhi "crying wolf" over Marae Ban

Threats by self-appointed Waitangi Marae caretaker and cleaner Kingi Taurua to ban politicians from the marae on Waitangi Day are empty and a case of Mr Taurua "crying wolf" says Ngapuhi kaumatua David Rankin.

"Mr Taurua has a long history of hating. This time, he has turned his attention to the TPPA, and without understanding the benefits it will bring to our people, is trying to organise a ban of politicians at the Te Tii Marae at Waitangi," says Mr Rankin.

Mr Rankin, who is a descendant of the famous Ngapuhi chief Hone Heke, says that Taurua criticising the TPPA "because it has become fashionable for left-wing types to do this." He challenges Mr Taurua to identify how Maori interests will be harmed by the agreement.

"All I see," says Mr Rankin, "are opportunities for us to benefit through greater employment education, and intellectual property opportunities. This is what the TPPS will bring to Maori. It's just that a few people don't want us to prosper because they will have less to complain about."

Mr Rankin has praised Mr Taurua for his work as a caretaker and cleaner at Te Tii Marae, but says that does not qualify him as an expert on international trade agreements.

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 and HERE.

20 January 2016

Iwi want access to waterways on Maori land

A group representing many iwi around the country say Māori must be given the right to freely use the water on their land.

Te Tumu Paeroa chief executive Jamie Tuuta said in the 1970's, rural water schemes in Taranaki were funded by the government and local council rate payers.

He said in the past five years, the government has given the rights of two of those rural water schemes to the occupiers of Māori land, which includes lease land that Parininihi Ki Waitotara owns and other Maori trustee land.

"Those water rights have basically been handed for nothing to the occupier, the tenant, the leasee, and they [the rights] have now been separated from the particular parcel of land."

Rongowhakaata iwi lead negotiator Willie Te Aho said the Crown needed to prioritise tribes concerns.

"We got back a farm outside Manutuke and we didn't get the water that goes with that farm. We just got the farm. The leasee owns the water that services that farm….
See full article HERE

Scholarship for womb studies

University of Waikato PhD student Ngahuia Murphy has been awarded a $109,700 PhD Scholarship from the Health Research Council of New Zealand.

Ngahuia is one of 21 emerging Māori health researchers to receive an HRC Māori Career Development Award in 2015 with a combined total of $1.8 million awarded.

Her PhD is entitled Investigating customary Māori philosophies regarding the whare tangata (womb) and examines censored and marginalised ceremonial traditions related to Māori women through a mana wahine theoretical framework. Theories of mana wahine are concerned with the way Māori women’s knowledge, ceremonies, roles, status, and stories have been corrupted and re-defined through the Victorian interpretative lens of many of the colonial ethnographers…..

See full article HERE

Kotahitanga study gets history grant

A project to write a history of the Maori Parliament that met in the late 19th century has got a $12,000 boost from this year’s New Zealand History Trust Fund Awards administered by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

Basil Keane worked previously as the director of the ministry’s Maori digital projects and as a senior in-house historian, he is now at the New Zealand Council for Educational Research…..

See full article HERE

Objections to Marine Protected Areas Act changes continue to mount

Objections regarding the proposed changes to the Marine Protected Areas Act continue to mount. The Government has identified two areas it hopes to set aside for recreational fishing only.

One is in the Hauraki Gulf. The other is in the Marlborough Sounds.

Local iwi say if the Government's plan goes ahead, they're worried about job cuts and losses to commercial fishing revenue that supports iwi services.

The Govt says it has set aside $20mil to compensate the commercial sector which will be affected. Te Ātiawa says the social impact on the entire iwi must be remembered, given the revenue from its commercial fishing helps support iwi services…..

See full article HERE

Maori rights ditched for Auckland boaties

Environment Minister Nick Smith’s plan to turn the inner Hauraki Gulf into a recreational fishing park has been slammed as an attack on the Maori fisheries settlement.

It will directly establish large “recreational fishing parks” in the Hauraki Gulf and the Marlborough Sounds.

Mr Tuuta says that will prevent adjacent iwi from exercising customary commercial fishing rights, agreed under the 1992 Deed of Settlement between Māori and the Crown.

He says if ministers want to provide greater levels of protection, they should do so in a manner that is aligned with their duties to actively protect treaty settlements. …….

See full article HERE

Most kids in CYFS care are Maori

Maori youth and children make up 88 per cent of the 317 kids in state care in Northland, and Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis says it's because parents are not doing their job.

The Northern Advocate asked Child Youth and Family for the number of children and youth in CYF care in the region, After a four-month wait, our enquiry revealed, of the 317 in CYF care, a whopping 279 identified as Maori - a number that did not shock Maori leaders.

"It's parents not doing their part," said Mr Davis "They are failing in their roles and there needs to be an intensive intervention in the kids' lives."…

See full article HERE

Climbers told to carry 'poo pots' on New Zealand's famous Mount Taranaki after using its sacred summit as a toilet

Climbers are being encouraged to carry ‘poo pots’ when they scale one of New Zealand’s famous peaks after officials grew tired of its trails and sacred summit being used as toilets.

Human waste has become such a problem on Mount Taranaki that the Department of Conservation and Maori people want a law that forces visitors to bag their own waste and carry it down with them.

Mount Taranaki has cultural significance for Maori people, who regard it as a living ancestor and consider its summit to be sacred, 3News reported. ….

See full article HERE

Group takes a stand against land sale

Iwi members upset at their trust's plans to sell its Wellington waterfront property to developers have occupied the land and plan to spend the night there.

Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust bought the land for $13 million in 2008 after a treaty settlement, but trustees say it has been a drain on the iwi ever since and they want to sell it.

Trust member Andrew Mepham said only 19 percent of the trust's 18,000 members have had the chance to vote and he is angry with the lack of democracy.

The group erected pouwhenua, or wooden posts, on the land today, which symbolised land, democracy and guardianship…..

See full article HERE

South African king forging ties with Maori

An indigenous South African king learning about Maori culture made his first trip to Northland where he was "taken aback" by the region's history.

Basil Coetzee, a king of the Khoisan tribe in South Africa, was invited to New Zealand by a South African music group - The Auckland City Dukes - and has been in the country since November.

On Thursday, Mr Coetzee ended up in Whangarei at Pehiaweri Marae after kaumatua Bill Tangariki invited the king and other indigenous South Africans to Northland.…

See full article HERE

Iwi give input on road move

The New Zealand Transport Agency has begun engaging local iwi while work pending redesignation of Mangakahia Rd as a state highway is under way.

A powhiri will be held at the Poroti Marae today for NZTA officials and other stakeholders before a meeting to discuss the redesignation, including an open discussion….

See full article HERE

Iwi hold hui on freshwater and land interests

Iwi interests in freshwater and Maori land will be highlighted in a series of meetings over the next fortnight.

The first of seventeen consultation hui is being held in Wellington today.

Members of the Iwi Leaders Group will report on their work around freshwater, the Resource Management Act (RMA) and Maori land laws.

The hui aim to update iwi and hapu on ways to have their rights recognised in these areas.

A special presentation about Marine Protected Areas will be delivered at nine of the hui…

See full article HERE

Government trades Māori Treaty rights for Auckland votes

The National-led Government’s first major announcement of 2016 is to trade Māori Treaty rights for Auckland votes in its bid to progress a recreational fishing park say the iwi of Tikapa Moana / Hauraki Gulf.

The Auckland fishing park is planned to be established through a fast track process piggy-backing on a fundamental revamp of the marine reserves legislation.

Hauraki Māori Trust Board chairman David Taipari, Ngāti Whātua Rūnanga chairman Russell Kemp and Ngātiwai Trust Board chairman Haydn Edmonds have jointly expressed opposition by all the iwi to the Crown’s proposed forced taking of Treaty rights which were in turn small compensation for the actual losses suffered under Treaty breaches by former Governments….

See full article HERE

Old names return to official maps

If you’re driving from Wellington over the hill to the Wairarapa this summer, mind your E.

The unnamed pass that separates the Rimutaka and Tararua Ranges is now officially called Remutaka Pass, in keeping with the heritage and place-naming traditions of local iwi.

Names and spellings have also changed in Marlborough under the terms of the region’s historic treaty settlements…..

See full article HERE

Scattering human ashes on Mt Taranaki a no-no without consent

People wanting to scatter their loved one's ashes on Mt Taranaki must consult with the Department of Conservation or local iwi before doing so.

Poutu said there were strong guidelines in DOC's management plan about engaging with tangata whenua before scattering any ashes.

"The scattering of ashes conflicts with our cultural values on the mountain.

"For Maori when someone passes away there's a level of tapu placed over them….

See full article HERE

RMA: Nothing to fear, Smith says

LAWS on the use of freshwater will be strengthened this year with the Government signalling tighter controls and iwi promised greater oversight on its management.

Proposed changes to the Resource Management Act would give iwi a greater say on resource consent applications and water quality, but Environment Minister Nick Smith also announced the Government would release a discussion document on freshwater management in the first half of this year.

Smith said the document would outline “further steps to improve the environmental management and economic opportunities” of freshwater resources…..

See full article HERE

Cultural taboos on Mt Taranaki often ignored

Standing on the mountain's highest point in order to fully conquer it appears to be a frequent occurence among climbers

The act is deeply offensive to Maori, who regard the mountain as a living ancestor, said Department of Conservation senior ranger Dave Rogers.

Rogers said New Zealanders were breaking the rules more frequently than foreigners, despite knowing what was and was not appropriate…..

See full article HERE

Proposed Law Threatens Māori Fishing Rights

Proposed legislation for establishing marine protected areas in territorial waters will undermine Māori fishing rights under the Treaty of Waitangi and erode the value of the Māori Fisheries Settlement.

The Government’s consultation document released yesterday says the proposed legislation will provide a framework for the creation of recreational fishing parks, as well as marine and seabed reserves and species-specific sanctuaries.

“The Māori Fisheries Settlement agreed ongoing access to and participation in all fisheries for iwi and Māori. The Government’s announcement rides roughshod over that agreement by proposing to take away iwi fishing rights and take back the recognition of Māori rights that were made a quarter of a century ago,” Mr Tuuta said….

See full article HERE

A further link HERE

Funding secured to help restore Lake Tūtira, Hawke's Bay

Maungaharuru-Tangitu Trust (MTT) in Hawke's Bay has secured a total of $600,000 in funding to help restore the quality of one of its most treasured tāonga, Lake Tūtira, a lake that is full of dying fish and eels.

Lake Tūtira is a sacred lake to the hapū under the Maungaharuru-Tangitū Trust, but it's sick.

Shayne Walker says, "It's extremely concerning with the mate of our tuna and the trout and we're really keen to understand more of why that is occurring and working closely with regional council to understand that."…

See full article HERE

Marlborough's rivers, mountains, bays change to Maori names

The names of nearly 30 natural geographical features in Marlborough have been changed to their Maori name.

As part of the Treaty of Waitangi Settlement, iwi in Marlborough sought cultural redress to areas of special significance.

Blenheim historian John Orchard said natural features including mountains, peaks, valleys, rivers and lakes had their names changed under the treaty settlement. Some would have dual names, using both European and Maori.

"Maori attitude is the last tribe to win a territory have the first right to name a place. The British, German and French behaved the same way when they won a battle."

See full article HERE

Final Part of Waitangi Tribunal’s Te Urewera Report Released

The shocking poverty experienced by Te Urewera Māori was in large part caused by the Crown’s many breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, the Waitangi Tribunal has found in the sixth and final volume of its Te Urewera district inquiry report.

In the environmental chapter, the Tribunal concluded that the Crown’s Treaty promise to protect Māori forests included all the forest flora and fauna. They found that it failed in this duty, in particular by allowing the bird life of Te Urewera to be ravaged by introduced species. The Crown also failed to recognise the tino rangatiratanga of Te Urewera hapu in relation to conservation management, and failed to adequately protect the wahi tapu (sacred places) in the Whirinaki Forest…...

See full article HERE

The full report can be downloaded HERE:

Mana whenua disputes Matakana island treaty claims

Ngāi Te Rangi is disputing a treaty claim by Hauraki iwi which includes Matakana island.

Hauata Palmer of Ngāi Te Rangi says they are the mana whenua of the island and Hauraki iwi have no right to claim any part of it.

He says, “They say that their region extends from Matakana to Matakana, but to me that is not right, it's rubbish, so this Matakana is not region.”

However, the Hauraki.iwi.nz website clearly states, Mai Matakana ki Matakana. From Matakana in the south to Matakana in the north...…

See full article HERE

'Auspicious start' for new beach board

The new Te Oneroa a Tohe (90 Mile Beach) Board got off to what Te Rarawa representative Haami Piripi described as an auspicious start on Tuesday morning, with a special gathering and karakia on the beach at Ahipara.

Mr Piripi said the application of tikanga Maori alongside the statutory functions of the local councils would provide a new approach to understanding the beach in an authentic way, while incorporating Maori history and knowledge into practical environmental management..…

See full article HERE

Top Energy to pay $105k

More Maori landowners in Northland will receive compensation for the use of their land by a lines company.

The Maori Land Court in June ordered lines operator Top Energy to pay $105,000 for easement on four blocks of multiple-owned Maori land over 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.

Top Energy applied to the court for easements over the blocks, known as Whakataha Z1C, Paparimurimu B, Paparimurimu A3 and Part Tapapanui B4D2.

Last week, the court ordered a further $30,000 be paid for capital works on just over 31 hectares of land known as Taheke 2 situated on Peria Rd, east of Kaitaia. The land is owned by multiple owners…..

See full article HERE

Maori Party backs call to change 'racist' law

The 1962 Māori Community Development Act makes it an offence to serve alcohol at a gathering of Māori people, and also gives Māori wardens the right to confiscate car keys or throw Māori out of bars.

Wellington-based lawyer Graeme Edgeler said the provisions were racist and should not exist at all.

"I was particularly concerned that there were criminal offences still in New Zealand that only applied to Maori."

Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell agreed the legislation was outdated…..

See full article HERE

Maori trust brings in Chinese partners

Waituhi Kuratau Trust, the Turangi-based Maori land trust, has teamed up with Chinese interests to develop its sheep-milking interests as part of a plan to sell into the world's most-populous nation.

The trust sold a leasehold interest in 490 hectares of land in Kuratau to Maui Milk for $1.2 million, which has been slated for development into a sheep dairy farm, according to the Overseas Investment Office summary approving the transaction.

The trust owns 40 percent of Maui Milk, with the remainder held by four Chinese nationals…..

See full article HERE

Exploring our joint intellectual heritage

A new grant will assist a team of researchers to shine light on the interweaving of Maori and European ideas, institutions and technologies, and how that changed the country.

GISBORNE-raised Professor Dame Anne Salmond will receive funding of $685,000 over the next three years from the Marsden Fund to explore the intellectual history of Maori from 1900 to 1950.

Professor Salmond, of the University of Auckland, will lead a team of researchers who will investigate how the interweaving of Maori and European ideas, institutions and technologies generated ground-breaking programmes in the arts, sciences, law and economy….

See full article HERE

Scrap Maori wardens' powers over drunken Maori but keep the wardens themselves

It's easy to laugh at a law that allows Maori wardens to order "quarrelsome" Maori to leave a pub. It seems even dafter that the same law allows wardens to order bars to stop serving "drunk or quarrelsome" Maori, and even permits them to confiscate car keys.

Lawyer Graeme Edgeler says this is the country's "most racist law" and has drafted a law change. The changes are supported by politicians from Labour, the Maori Party and the Greens, and on the face of it reform is a no-brainer.

In fact, this issue is a bit more complex than it looks. The objectionable part of the law has long since fallen out of use, but the wardens perform many valuable services for Maori. It's important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater…..

See full article HERE

Lack of research into high rates of Māori drownings sparks a new study

A new study will investigate why Māori are over-represented in the national drowning statistics despite having a strong cultural connection to the water.

Physical education graduate Chanel Phillips (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine) from the University of Otago says that although Māori make up about 15 per cent of New Zealand’s population, they account for 22 per cent of our national drowning statistics. She plans to get to the bottom of this anomaly with the support of a Health Research Council of New Zealand Māori PhD Scholarship worth $120,000.

One of the few reports on this topic suggests that the high number of Māori drowning fatalities may be because Māori no longer have access to traditional knowledge and tikanga associated with water safety. Another suggests it may reflect the greater exposure of Māori to lakes, rivers and seas, particularly as revered sources of food.

Health Research Council Chief Executive Professor Kath McPherson says Miss Phillips is one of 21 emerging Māori health researchers to receive an HRC Māori career development award this year, with a combined total of $1.8 million awarded.

“Our sustained investment in Māori health researchers over the past 25 years means that New Zealand now leads the world in indigenous health research. It’s only by supporting high-quality research, which uses and advances Māori knowledge, resources and people, that we can significantly improve Māori health outcomes,” says Professor McPherson....

See full article HERE

Crown–Māori engagement and statistical information needs

This chapter considers what we might do as a result of learning more about how government agencies are engaging with Māori, and the nature of the Māori entities and organisations they are engaging with.....

See full article HERE

* * * CHRISTMAS MESSAGE * * *

The Mole thanks all for their support and following during the year it has been a busy year with notably New Zealand's Freshwater hijack and unelected Maori appointments onto local governments being the big issues.

The Mole will now be taking a break until around mid January 2016 and would like to wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and happy and prosperous New Year - take care.

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 and HERE.

22 December 2015

Dispute over access to Parimahu

Today the hapū of Ngāti Kere in Porangahau Central Hawke's Bay, has taken action to regain access to their customary food source. Access that has been cut off by one Porangahau farmer who has tried to keep them locked out for the last 20 years.

A concrete blockade put here by farmer Frank Gordon stopping Ngāti Kere from going through his farm to Parimahu (Blackhead Point).

According to local resident Don Huata “ Ngāti Kere's stance today is to achieve what we always want and that is to gain access to Parimahu, an ancient site of our ancestors, and also reinforce the efforts and grief of those passed on.

After many years of trying to find a resolution but to no avail, the hapū began building the original paper road through his farm, a road that takes them directly to Parimahu.

“We've had several attempts to broker an arrangement whereby the farmer will give us access through a road, in exchange the council would give him the paper road” says Jim Hitcheson, chairman for the Parimahu Access Group.

However, it's a difficult task ahead with the hapū building a pontoon as a temporary way to cross the Waikaraka Stream before a permanent bridge is signed off by council.

Mr Houkamau told Te Kāea, all the materials will be donated by hapū members from around the country, there is a bill for the council to build it at $300,000 but they don't need it.

Today marks a historic day for Ngāti Kere as they take back the customary food rights as mana whenua that their ancestors had accessed for hundreds of years....

See full article HERE

Science academy to open for Maori students

A science academy focusing on Maori secondary school students is set to launch next year.....

See full article HERE

Iwi remain firm over Rena wreck removal

Ngai Te Rangi have always held the position that the RENA wreck must be removed from Otaiti. But Ngai Te Rangi Chairman, Charlie Tawhiao warns the BOP Regional Council may not rule in their favour.

He says, “It looks as though they will agree to leave it there, that's because some Iwi have also agreed to that.”

“If they agree to leave it there Ngai Te Rangi will have to meet to discuss the way forward.”

A decision from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council is expected on the 26th of February next year.....

See full article HERE

Rotorua council deal a model for others

Waiariki MP and Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell hopes other centres will emulate the partnership agreement signed between Rotorua Lakes Council and Te Arawa.

In the New Year the newly elected Te Arawa partnership board, Te Tatau o Te Arawa, will appoint two iwi representatives to two of the main council committees.

Mr Flavell says the debate over the agreement has been heated, but it sets the scene for tangata whenua to have more of a say in the region.

He says it’s in contrast to places like New Plymouth, Tauranga and Whangarei, which have resisted Maori involvement in forming policy....

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 and HERE.

21 December 2015

From the NZCPR archives by Dr Muriel Newman

Will the claims ever end?

Revelations that the Maori Council has lodged a new Waitangi Tribunal claim for the ownership of the country’s fresh water supplies has been greeted with widespread concern. At a time when no new historic Treaty grievances are meant to be able to be lodged, the public are asking whether such claims will ever stop.

The answer of course is “no” – not unless our politicians find the intestinal fortitude to end the sort of blatant opportunism that this demand for water represents. In other words, radical demands for public wealth and resources will keep on coming as long as tribal leaders are allowed to get their way. It is only when the government takes a stand and stops the rorts that things will change and Maori leaders will realise that their future is what they make of it, not what they can fleece off a gullible public.

Even a cursory glance at our history reveals that Maori sovereignty activists have been offered a treasure chest of benefits over the years by politicians eager to avoid conflict. The benefits they have received far outweigh the legitimacy of any claims they might have had, since historic grievances emerging from settler times had been properly dealt with before 1950. In fact, in some cases these claims had been dealt with numerous times even back then. But the settling of claims has not stopped Maori activists from campaigning for more. Nor has it stopped politicians from bending over backwards to give them what they have wanted.

The main reason we are facing such claims goes back to 1975 when the Kirk Labour Government passed the Treaty of Waitangi Act to establish the Waitangi Tribunal as a permanent commission of inquiry into modern-day Treaty grievances against the Crown. This was not enough for Maori sovereignty activists at the time – they wanted the Tribunal to cover historic claims as well, and so in 1985 the Lange Labour Government extended the Tribunal’s mandate back to 1840.

During the Parliamentary debates on these Bills, the Right Hon Sir Robert Muldoon raised concerns about the divisive nature of the 1975 Bill, “It must be emphasised that we are in fact one people and the question can be asked whether special legislation of this type makes us one people or two peoples”. And the MP for Tarawera, Ian McLean raised the alarm over the 1985 Bill, calling it “dangerous” – it had “the potential to trigger disastrous tensions between Maori and Pakeha” – and warning that the future of Maori would not be assisted by “looking backwards rather than forwards; they should be looking forward to their future and to the future of their children”.

Their foreboding proved prophetic.......

Continue reading Dr Muriel Newman's article HERE

February 12, 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 and HERE.

19 December 2015

Auckland housing changes need iwi's nod

If you are in Auckland and thinking of buying a house, you will want to watch this story or if you are somewhere else in New Zealand and like to indulge in a bit of schadenfreude in regards to the Auckland housing market, you will also want to know this.

New rules mean thousands of houses in Auckland City will need permission from an iwi to make big changes.

One house for sale with four bedrooms, three bathrooms and two garages would have to consult up to thirteen different iwi.

Anything which requires a resource consent would have to go through the council and then to iwi.

This is because the house next door is culturally significant and may include a burial site.

Due to this burial site, any house within 100m needs iwi approval for structural changes which affects around 40 properties.

Story went to investigate these new rules which may affect more than 13,000 properties around the city.

Watch the video for the full Story report by Heather du Plessis-Allan HERE

Charter school experiment costing Maori in mainstream

New Zealand First’s education spokesperson says Maori and Pasifika children are missing out because charter schools are being held up as the sole solution to educational under-achievement.

Tracey Martin says the decision to close Te Pumanawa o te Wairua at Whangaruru was entirely predictable, as the minister was advised in 2013 it wasn’t ready and it should never have opened.

She says it means a vulnerable group of students have had their education disrupted for two years....

See full article HERE

Council approves Te Arawa partnership agreement

Councillors have approved a partnership agreement between Rotorua Lakes Council and Te Arawa.

The agreement is expected to be signed tomorrow [Friday 18 December] at the inauguration of the recently elected Te Arawa partnership board - Te Tatau o Te Arawa.

Approved at today’s [Thursday 17 December] full Council meeting, it will be signed on behalf of Rotorua Lakes Council by Mayor Steve Chadwick and Councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait....

See full article HERE

'Remutaka Pass' now official

The unnamed pass that separates the Rimutaka and Tararua Ranges will today be officially named 'Remutaka Pass', in keeping with the heritage and place-naming traditions of local iwi......

See full article HERE

Move to ban powerboats from Kai Iwi Lakes

A ban on powerboats on all of the Taharoa Domain lakes by 2018 has been mooted in recommendations for the area's draft reserve management plan.

Other recommendations by the Taharoa Domain governance committee include ceasing to restock the lakes with trout, closing Promenade Point to campers, increasing pest and weed control and including Northland Regional Council on the governance committee.

The introduced rainbow trout are not native to the lake and the protection of wahi tapu is cited as the reason for closing the campground at Promenade Point.

The Taharoa Domain is legally held as Crown land with its administration vested to Kaipara District Council. The exception is Lake Kai Iwi which has been returned to Te Roroa as part of the iwi's treaty settlement.

A popular recreation destination, these "outstanding" lakes are home to some nationally rare ecosystems and also hold cultural values.....

See full article HERE

President looks to Maori Party’s ‘energised leap’ in 2016

For the Maori Party, 2015 has been a year of careful consolidation, in preparation for an “energised leap” in 2016, says President Rangimarie Naida Glavish. “I am delighted with the new spirit of kotahitanga and the renewed resolve to re-establish our party as the one, true political voice for te iwi Maori, as well as our contribution to maintaining stable, progressive government of Aotearoa.”

Ms Glavish said her focus as President in 2016 will include:

- More effective communication to both Maori and non-Maori to greatly improve our Party List vote.

- Supporting the position taken by our MPs to ensure that environmental protections are not overshadowed by economic development imperatives in the RMA Amendment Bill.

- Assisting Marama Fox MP’s focus, and indeed the Party’s focus, to reducing poverty and putting ora back into whanau, starting in Ikaroa Rawhiti.

- And out reach through social media platforms to rangatahi Maori and young people across the country.....

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 and HERE.

18 December 2015

Don’t We All Own The Rivers?

the future of fishing in our country in the light of impending handover of rivers to Iwi.

It is handing over exclusive rights to public assets in the form of the nation’s coasts to a new nobility – a race-based hierarchy that serves only its own narrow interests.

This is not the end of it.

There are now moves to hand over freshwater to Maori. Already, Gisborne Council has signed a formal agreement with Ngati Porou which will ultimately give them control of water and the catchment of the Waiapu.

Iwi are very powerful in Maori society

Though we have all, Maori and European, lived together on this land for more than 200 years, many New Zealanders do not seem to realise that Maori society is intensely hierarchical

There are the Iwi elders with their affiliates – the Maori nobility, and the rest. Of the whole massive transfer of wealth from treaty settlements to Maori, there has been little or no trickle down to the Maori masses of South Auckland, Northland, the East Coast and elsewhere. We are giving our nation’s wealth and commons to a racially-selected nobility.

By Bill Benfield, Co-Chair, Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations of New Zealand

See full article HERE

Youthful Tainui population looking for economic leg up

Parekawhia McLean is also deputy chair of Waikato Means Business, a steering group of business, education, community and civic leaders that is looking at ways to increase living standards across the region.

The group has put $30,000 into exploring Maori development options.

Ms McLean says there is more than $6 billion in Maori assets in the region, which stretches from Taupo to Port Waikato and across the Hauraki.

"Our population, we're about 22 percent of the Waikato region and of that population almost 60 percent here are under of the age of 30 so it's certainly in the interests of the region to support the initiatives that are happening," she says....

See full article HERE

Extensive work needed to achieve health equity for Māori

Action must be taken to address the factors contributing to an unhealthy Māori population, the NZ College of Public Health Medicine (NZCPHM) urges Government.

The NZCPHM have just released their Māori Health Policy, which states the health inequities between Māori and non-Māori New Zealanders are large, pervasive, and persist across the lifespan and over time.

“We recognise that Māori have lesser access to the vital resources that support health and wellbeing, and that this occurs because of how these resources are distributed in the first place.”

Dr King also says professional development programmes in the health system must have a focus on cultural competence and health literacy.

“This is about people receiving high quality healthcare no matter what their culture,” she says.

Health professionals must be responsive to the health needs and aspirations of their patients. This requires understanding and knowledge about their patients, their culture and about the things that matter to them....

See full article HERE

Funding for Maori current affairs show

A new current affairs show on TV3 billing itself as a "bold voice in Maori current affairs" has received funding from NZ on Air.

The producers have promised "current affairs investigations, arts and culture stories seen through an indigenous lens". ....

See full article HERE

Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti calls for regional approach

Following the introduction of a new contestable funding structure for Regional Sports Trusts, Sport NZ announced it would provide $1.62 million to this region’s RST over a four-year period.

Sport NZ will provide $405,000 a year in funding, $30,000 of which will be used for initiatives that specifically target Maori participation in sport.

“This includes specific investment in coaching, talent development, targeted Auckland initiatives and Maori participation.”.....

See full article HERE

Landcorp inks agreement with iwi for Sweetwater farm in Northland

Landcorp Farming, New Zealand's largest corporate farmer, will continue to be involved in the management of Northland farm Sweetwater after iwi take ownership of the property under a Treaty of Waitangi settlement.

Northland iwi Te Rarawa and Ngai Takoto will take ownership of the 2,480 hectare property near Kaitaia tomorrow, as part of a 2010 settlement. Landcorp, which has been managing Sweetwater in consultation with the iwi, will continue to provide farm management expertise, livestock and technology under a new joint-management and profit-sharing arrangement, the Wellington-based state-owned enterprise said in a statement.

“This agreement deepens what has already been an excellent relationship between Landcorp and both iwi," said Landcorp chair Traci Houpapa. "Through it, we’ve created some very well-performing dairy farms and created more training and employment opportunities for Maori."

"It’s a model for a successful business partnership and we’re actively exploring more of these sorts of productive partnerships with iwi.".....

See full article HERE

Compliance to the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi for BFCI

The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi for protection, partnership and participation must be included in a Breastfeeding Policy offered by an accredited Baby Friendly Community Initiative (BFCI) health service. How these principles are incorporated should be clearly identifiable.

Level 3 Workers in the service must complete the module Breastfeeding for Maori Women, as stipulated in Point Two of The Seven Point Plan and this education should incorporate the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Access to a Maori health worker, kaumatua support or culturally appropriate support (if required) must be provided by a service worker or client of the service to create an environment that is supportive and culturally appropriate.

The Breastfeeding Policy (or an abridged version) must be available in Maori, and the Maori translation of the abridged Policy must be on display in all areas accessible by pregnant women, mothers and their whanau......

'Ground-breaking' resource to offer support to Takatāpui

The Mental Health Foundation has released what they are calling a 'ground-breaking' resource that will offer information about suicide prevention, identity and well-being for takatāpui.

Takatāpui: Part of the Whānau is a collaboration between the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand and Wellington based organisation, Tīwhanawhana. It is written by Trust Chair, Elizabeth Kerekere and funded through the Waka Hourua Fund.

Kerekere says, “Takatāpui is a traditional Māori word meaning ‘intimate companion of the same sex.’ It has been adapted to embrace all Māori with diverse genders and sexualities. Claiming takatāpui shows our pride in being Māori; connects us to our whakapapa and culture; and to our rainbow counterparts.”

The resource aims to reduce the myths about takatāpui and prevent their experience of discrimination through increased understanding.....

See full article HERE

Public satisfaction with Police remains high

“We also acknowledge that trust and confidence in Māori is lower than we would like it to be.

However, it is interesting to note that Māori in general trust the police and health system more than other institutions according to Statistics New Zealand research.....

See full article HERE

Sharples to advise ATEED on Maori strategy

Former Maori Affairs Minister Sir Pita Sharples joined Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development to advise the board on strategies for economic transformation.

ATEED chair David McConnell says the organization is stepping up its response to the unique needs of Tamaki Makaurau mana whenua and mataawaka - including programmes which address youth employment issues, and encourage innovation and Maori business ventures....

See full article HERE

IHC's potential state housing deal sparks protest

A group opposing the sale of state houses in Tauranga says iwi should stay away from purchasing the government stock.

“They are planning on buying around 1000 state houses in Tauranga so that’s almost the entire stock in Tauranga, we are saying that we don't want them to collude in Nationals policies, there's a national housing crisis at the moment,” said Paretutanganui-Tamati.

Paretutanganui-Tamati says, “Aren't we the best people though to take care of our own people? Well yes and that’s why the government should go into partnership with Iwi to build more houses.” ..

See full article HERE

River buy sweetens profit for Tuwharetoa trust

At its annual meeting in Taupo on the weekend, the trust reported a net after tax profit of $11.6 million to June 30, $10 million up on the previous year.

Rakeipoho Taiaroa says the highlight was buying the last of the deferred settlement properties, including the 8500 hectare Hautu Rangipo block with the Rangipo prison and forest on it.

"Tuwharetoa Settlement Trust didn't have the cash to purchase everything so through advice, through good management and collaboration with other Tuwharetoa economic authorities we were able to get the major milestone over the line and not only the prison land which is historically our property, we were also able to return 8km of the Tongariro River, one of the most iconic rivers in Aotearoa," he says.....

See full article HERE

Maori voice weakened in RMA reforms

When the Maori Party struck a deal allowing the Government to introduce the RMA amendment bill, it claimed it would not damage the rights of iwi and hapu and should enhance them.

But Mr Henare says the detail indicates otherwise.

"How do iwi facilitate the opportunity to speak out on things to protect significant waahi tapu or places of significance when actually, what the council and RMA will do too is to lessen the number of sites of significance and that's a concern for me," says Mr Henare.....

See full article HERE

Waitangi Tribunal asked to review Auckland SHA

An application for an urgent inquiry into the Special Housing Area (SHA) at Ihumātao, Māngere and into the Special Housing Area Act itself was filed with the Waitangi Tribunal week.

SOUL’s Counsel Cameron Hockly advised today that the Tribunal have registered the claim as Wai 2547 and the Crown now has until 11 January 2016 to respond.....

See full article HERE

A further link on the above HERE

Marae plans move forward

Residents trying to secure land for a marae say the suburb they love is missing one thing – a place to be Maori.

Attempts over 50 years by Beach Haven Maori to have a marae have reached a stalemate, which means tangihanga (funerals) have to be held in their own homes.

With a newly formed marae committee, Uruamo Maranga Ake, their mission is more organised.

Uruamo Maranga Ake say they speak for "the whanau in Beach Haven" – 50 of which huddled into the Kaipatiki Local Board community forum meeting in Glenfield on November 25.

Members Frances Waaka and Murray Painting presented their marae dreams and location for the first time at the forum

Shepherds Park is the desired site, which houses the Beach Haven Bowling Club, Birkenhead United AFC and the Beach Haven Tennis Club.

"We want this to start the normalisation of Maori. ...

See full article HERE

Iwi ready to move forward with Crown after 150 years

But the tribe is now ready to move forward and settle its Treaty of Waitangi claims, having signed an Agreement in Principal with the Crown on Saturday.

Dubbed bush warfare, in 1867 Crown forces pursued Ngati Hinerangi descendants through the Kaimai Ranges, and iwi negotiator Morehu McDonald said it has had lasting effects.

"Our people were subjected to the scorched earth tactics of being chased through our whenua and expelled from our lands at the barrell of the gun."

He said villages and crops were destroyed along with the tribes means to support itself.

"It had a devastating effect on our people and our psyche which has taken all this time, 150 odd years, to recover from," he said.....

See full article HERE

14 December 2015

Maori TV boss spends $40,000 refurbishing office

Maori Television chief executive Paora Maxwell spent $40,000 this year refurbishing his office, according to documents received under the Official Information Act.

Labour's Maori Broadcasting spokesman Peeni Henare labelled the cost of the renovation "bloody ridiculous and obscene".

"There was nothing wrong with the office the way it was."

Henare, who worked at the station before becoming an MP, put in eight Official Information Act requests about different aspects of the public broadcaster's finances but received just one response back. It said Maxwell had spent $40,000 on an office refurbishment but gave no details on how the money had been spent.....

See full article HERE

Crown agrees in principle to settle Treaty claim

The Crown has agreed to settle its historical Treaty of Waitangi claims with a Tainui iwi, in principle.

The Ngaati Hinerangi's interests extend from Matamata to the Western Bay of Plenty.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said the agreement included the transfer of sites in the Kaimai Range, as well as an apology from the Crown.

He said the public would continue to have access to all sites being transferred, bar one of high cultural significance to the iwi......

See full article HERE

Petty crime offenders get to front Maori panel and potentially avoid conviction

Small-time offenders are dodging the courtroom in favour of being judged by a panel of Maori elders at a South Auckland marae.

And, if the offenders do what they're told they avoid conviction.

The process so far has a 90 per cent success rate, and Maori are keen to have it rolled out across the country.

The community justice panel sits twice a month at Te Whare Waatea Marae in Mangere and gives offenders a chance to address the panel about what has happened.

The aim is to reach an agreement which is then sent to authorities for the charge to be removed from the national database.

About 150 people have faced the panel in the past 18 months and only one person has been referred back to the courts.....

See full article HERE

13 December 2015

Misunderstanding leads to $100,000 being paid out in compensation

A misunderstanding between the Maori Trustee and a court led to a Whangarei law firm being directed to hold more than $100,000 in compensation payment by Top Energy to landowners in the Far North.

Wānanga cry foul over lack of level playing field

Māori tertiary education providers are frustrated their performance is measured in the same way as universities and polytechs.

The wānanga say that the system does not take into account the fact they teach a completely different group of people.

A new Ministry of Education report shows wānanga students are mostly female and Māori, are middle aged, have families, study part-time and live in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods.

Between TWOR and TWOA, 8000 students are studying, mostly part-time. As many as 32,000 students are enrolled with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

"Unless some solutions are found for the poor situation educationally that Maori have found themselves in for some time and that gap that's been talked about for some time...then the future for our general populace as it browns up should be a big worry to us." ...

See full article HERE

Christchurch council considers greater Maori representation

Hot on the heels of a call for Auckland Council's Maori Advisory Board to be scrapped, Christchurch City Council is considering setting up a committee to boost Maori representation.

Christchurch City Council will today vote on whether to set up its own committee, made up of the chairs of six local rununga, the mayor and the chairs of five council committees.

Council director of community and democracy services Mary Richardson said the purpose of the committee was to strengthen the council's relationship with local Maori.

Ms Richardson said matters such as whether runanga representatives on the Christchurch City Council committee would have voting rights or whether they would be paid had yet to be decided.....

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 and HERE.

10 December 2015

Te Kuiti kura gets $6m rebuild, Te Awamutu's seeks new site

The Government has announced funding for a revamp of Te Wharekura o Maniapoto, near Te Kuiti, which will take it from 1920s buildings and prefabs to the latest designs.

It has about 100 students but hoped to get up to 150 after the rebuild, Te Rire said.

The major change would be a two-storey building replacing the wharekura's current buildings, she said in a statement.

"A new multipurpose space, containing specialist learning spaces and a covered, all-weather outdoor playing area will also be built," she said.

"There will also be an improved site layout, with an upgraded car park and drop-off area, paved play areas and improved drainage and playing fields."....

See full article HERE

Strong iwi support for Partnership Schools expansion

Today Sir Toby Curtis reiterated the Iwi Chairs Forum’s support for the continued expansion of the Partnership Schools | Kura Hourua policy.

“Sir Toby confirmed to me, the Minister of Education, and the Minister of Finance this morning that iwi leaders continue to support Partnership Schools,” Under-Secretary to the Minister of Education David Seymour says.....

See full artice HERE

Programme cut-back latest blow for Māori Television

News that beleaguered current affairs programme, Native Affairs, will only get a half hour slot next year is another slap in the face for the staff at Māori Television, says Labour’s Māori Broadcasting spokesperson, Peeni Henare.

“It sad to see the unravelling of such an important taonga, and it is time the Minster responsible for the broadcaster, Te Ururoa Flavell, began doing just that - taking some responsibility for protecting our language and people,” says Peeni Henare. .....

See full article HERE

Federated Farmers: Fresh water proposal has alarm bells ringing

Federated Farmers also have reservations relating to iwi rights and interests - not that they were included but how they might be interpreted by local councils.

The draft report suggests potential options around this but would rather they were not interpreted as giving specific direction to the Government.

There is concern that some local regions may 'pre-empt negotiations' between iwi and central government by unreasonably locking up water creating a gridlock on its management.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of councils nationwide have or will be embarking upon water management plans.....

See full article HERE

Government record "worst ever" - Davis

Labour's new Maori Development spokesperson says the Government has failed to deliver for Maori where it counts.

On Radio Waatea this morning, host and former National MP Claudette Hauiti told Kelvin Davis he would struggle to find ways to attack Minister Te Ururoa Flavell, given the Government's progress in settling treaty claims and the continued growth of the Maori economy.

But Mr Davis says he has plenty to work on.

"Well let's start with Maori unemployment, it's the worst it has ever been. Let's start with Maori housing, it's the worst it has ever been. Let's start with Maori education, that's pretty poor. Maori health, that's pretty poor. Claudette, you can sit there and say this Government has done more than any Government for Maori, I'm saying it's the opposite. The things that really matter, are still as bad and in fact have got worse under this Government," he says......

See full article HERE

Power boat ban on Lake Ngatu

Banning power boats from the water and vehicles from the margins are two immediate steps that have been taken in a bid to save the best known of the very Far North's dune lakes.

The first step would be to ban power boats and install bollards at current public access points, and in areas where people had created their own access to keep vehicles away from the margins.

Mr Marsden said elimination of motorised craft would reduce prop wash, which would stir up the nutrients locked into the thick layer of sediment on the bottom of a very shallow lake, with disastrous results. With the expected strong El Nino summer further reducing the currently low water levels, those nutrients would feed algae, potentially causing a bloom.

Te Runanga o Ngai Takoto had convened a meeting with representatives from the Department of Conservation, the Far North District and Northland Regional councils, seeking support for the immediate measures while the longer-term strategy was rolled out in two more planned stages.

The vesting of the lake bed in Ngai Takoto as part of the cultural redress within the iwi's Treaty settlement process now gave it the ability to lead and participate with others in determining the future welfare of the lake, as opposed to the lesser role it had played in the past, effectively "watching from the sidelines."...

See full article HERE

Waipareira Trust board elections show enthusiam for future

Both Harawira and Rocky Tahuri have been re-elected back onto the board for another three year term.

Tahuri has sat on the board for the past two terms and has been treasurer for five years.

She is particularly excited for the future of the Wai-Research programmes and what she describes as "us looking at us" .

"It allows us, as Maori, to research our own – about Maori, for Maori, by Maori."

The risk of a pakeha lens to research is minimised through this approach, she says.

"We are a million dollar organisation," Harawira says. ....

The site of the controversial proposed Thurston Place College in Bucklands Beach has passed into Maori ownership, but plans for its future use are still unknown.

It was offered to Whenua Haumi Roroa o Tamaki Makaurau Limited Partnership earlier this year under the Right of First Refusal (RFR) provisions of the Nga Mana Whenua o Tamaki Makaurau Collective Redress Act 2014, he says. The partnership purchased the property last August 26.

Moving the second reading of the redress bill, Chris Finlayson, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, said it differed from other Treaty bills, in that it did not settle historical claims or provide financial redress.

“Rather it takes an innovative approach by providing to the iwi and the hapu in the Tamaki region collective redress that recognises their complex interconnected interests.”...

See full article HERE

Not one more Maori college must be allowed to close

“There should be no need for political or iwi intervention into what is essentially, and should continue to be, korero between a church and its followers, but if it comes to a need for action to support those of our Maori people who wish for their children to attend Maori boarding schools, then we cannot and will not stand aside, said Ms Glavish.....

See full article HERE

Collins wants 'monster' Maori board dumped

National Party MP Judith Collins has called the Auckland Council's Maori advisory board an "unaccountable monster" that thinks it's "outside the law".

Ms Collins made the remarks in a speech to the ACT Party's Auckland South annual regional conference on Saturday afternoon.

In her address as guest speaker at the conference, the Papakura MP said the Independent Maori Statutory Board (IMSB) was neither elected nor accountable, and should be dumped.

"The Maori statutory board is an unaccountable monster. It believes it is outside the law," she said in her speech.

"I recall my experience trying to get some basic information about its members. The IMSB ignored the request and ultimately I had to get the Office of the Ombudsman involved."

Even under instruction from the Ombudsman, the board still refused to comply, she said.....

See full article HERE

Maori TV receptionists to file grievances after being laid off for not speaking Maori

Two Maori TV receptionists sacked for not speaking te reo have been asked to stay on until their replacements are found.

Both women have since sought legal advice and are expected to file employment grievances. They are expected to argue the publicly-funded broadcaster has double standards, and that up to half of Maori Television's executive team do not speak Maori.

Maori Television chief executive Paora Maxwell said the new requirement for receptionists to be bi-lingual was part of a structural change in the organisation

But it is understood neither of the women's employment contracts specified a requirement to speak te reo.

Henare said only three of the network's six executives spoke te reo themselves which made the situation more outrageous. "They're a bunch of bloody hypocrites." ....

See full article HERE

Maori show mooted for TV3

Taxpayers would provide all the funding for a "unique" new Maori current affairs programme to screen on TV3.

TV3 confirmed that, subject to NZ On Air's decision, the show would be 100 per cent taxpayer funded.

Attached to the project are two former leading lights from the Maori TV programme Native Affairs: Annabelle Lee and presenter Mihi Forbes, who is now with Radio New Zealand....

See full article HERE

New Rangatahi Court for Taupō

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams has welcomed the launch of New Zealand’s fourteenth Rangatahi Court in Taupō today.

Te Kooti Rangatahi ki Tūwharetoa was launched at Rauhoto Marae, Taupō.

Ms Adams says the Rangatahi Courts are focused on addressing offending by young Māori by involving communities in the youth justice process and encouraging strong cultural links.

“The courts do this by taking the cases away from the adversarial environment of the traditional court setting, and creates one where, with the support of whānau, kuia and kaumātua, a young person can take ownership of their offending.”.....

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 and HERE.

5 December 2015

Another Flip Flop by a National Minister – Smith Bows to ‘Brownmail’’

Environment Minister Nick Smith has bowed to “brownmail” over council planning decisions under the RMA.

“In 2004 Dr Smith warned that giving iwi greater powers under the RMA was ‘a revolutionary constitutional change’,” says New Zealand First Leader and Member of Parliament for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters.

He warned that Maori were holding the country to ransom and effectively asking for ‘brownmail’ (his term) in order for projects to proceed, says Mr Peters.

“Now, in a desperate bid to get RMA changes through, Dr Smith has conveniently changed his tune.

“He has bowed to the demands of the government’s partner, the Maori Party, in giving Maori privileges in planning decisions denied to everyone else.

“This is not what most New Zealanders want but the government is too focused on token progress in the ‘reform’ of the RMA to care.

“Instead of reforming the RMA the government has now saddled councils and communities with a future of acrimonious planning decisions.”...

See full article HERE

Māori heavily concerned about climate change

Protests and encouragement to reduce the effects of climate change is being heavily urged by Māori.

Teanau Tuiono says, "If we don't sort out climate change, our coastal communities and our island communities, they are going to be under water."....

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 and HERE.

4 December 2015

Green Party Bill to stop Māori land confiscations under the Public Works Act

Parliament will get the opportunity to make the Treaty of Waitangi a stronger part of our nation’s laws with a Members’ Bill drawn today, the Green Party said today.

“This is a real opportunity to stop any more unfair confiscations of what is left of whenua Māori,” Green Party Te Tiriti o Waitangi spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said.

“Compulsory acquisition in the Public Works Act has cut across Article Two of the Treaty of Waitangi, which guarantees rangatiratanga.....

See full article HERE

Māori Party looks forward to ongoing negotiations on RMA reforms

“We’re happy with progress we’ve made to date including the provisions for better engagement between iwi and all local councils,” she says.

“As manawhenua and kaitiaki of natural resources in their local regions, hapū and iwi have a vital role to play in keeping the balance between the protection and development of the environment.”

The Bill will require all local authorities around the country to enter into iwi partnership agreements.

“These new provisions will have iwi involved at the front-end of the planning process rather than reacting at the end. They will not override existing arrangements as outline in Treaty settlements or iwi management plans,” says Mrs Fox....

See full article HERE

ACT will not support National-Maori RMA tinkering

ACT will not be voting for National’s weakened RMA reform legislation.

“New Zealanders were promised RMA reform. What National has worked out with the Maori Party is tinkering,” says ACT Leader David Seymour....

See full article HERE

Little aims to build Labour Party relationship with Rātana

Andrew Little is hoping his party can grow stronger ties to the followers of Rātana.....

See full article HERE

Government fails to address high rates of Maori SUDI

“The good news is that over the last five years there has been a 30 percent reduction in New Zealand’s SUDI rates, and the reduction has been almost entirely amongst Maori infants,” Dr Tipene-Leach says.

“This recently released Ministry of Health report shows that a whopping 40 percent of Maori newborns are not seen by health professionals within the first few weeks of birth – and this is something they are entitled to. Whanau Maori are also least likely of any group to be briefed about safe sleep practices.”

“Maori SUDI rates are still very concerning. Research is showing that the safe sleep devices are in fact safe, that families use them appropriately and there is obvious support from DHBs. With increased national and regional support to implement safe sleep programmes we should see an even greater reduction in Maori SUDI rates.

“I am concerned, however, that there is no guarantee that the provision of safe sleep devices will continue under current funding regimes.”...

See full article HERE

Nelson Street Cycleway opened to the public for first time

Auckland’s newest and highly anticipated piece of cycling infrastructure, the Nelson Street Cycleway, is now open to the public for the first time after a ribbon cutting ceremony earlier this morning.

The project team worked with Maori artist Katz Maihi and Iwi throughout the urban design stages to include Maori designs and ensure the path has a distinctly New Zealand identity. The design includes a large koru pattern. Following a recommendation from iwi the section of the cycleway which incorporates the Canada Street Bridge as well as the old Nelson Street motorway off-ramp will be called “Te Ara I Whiti”, which translates as the Lightpath.....

See full article HERE

Maori Santa comes by waka, not sleigh

In Northern Europe he arrives on a sleigh drawn by reindeer.

But in Northland snow, reindeer and sleighs are in short supply, so Hana Koko - that's Santa Claus in Maori - has come up with a present distribution system better suited to local conditions.

That's why he arrived at Ti Beach in Waitangi yesterday in a waka paddled by young kaihoe (paddlers) amid cries of Meri Kirihimete! (Merry Christmas!) and Ho Ho Ho! (that's the same in Maori and te reo Pakeha).....

See full article HERE

Māori newspaper Māngai Nui moves to digital platform

Launched late last year, the Te Arawa based Māori newspaper, Māngai Nui- Voices of Te Arawa has now made the move to a fully digital platform.

The monthly newspaper, which was a part of the Rotorua Daily Post, aimed to give whānau, hapū and iwi the opportunity to tell their stories.

Recently, it was announced that the newspaper has now developed into a brand new website, which will enable Te Arawa kaupapa to reach out even further to descendants living in Aotearoa and abroad....

See full article HERE

More new Māori doctors graduating

The number of Māori doctors entering the workforce is continuing to grow.

Otago University said results were starting show from Ministry of Health initiatives, started in 2008, to get more Māori studying medicine.

On Saturday, 25 Māori students will graduate from the Dunedin Medical School.

That alone is a huge increase since the early 1990s when between four and eight new Māori doctors entered the workforce each year.

The class of 2016 is expecting 45 Māori to graduate.

Dunedin Medical School says its goal is for at least one in five of its new doctors to be Māori.....

See full article HERE

Maori trust million dollar legal blow out

Labour is calling for an immediate review of the trustee appointment process at the Crown Forestry Rental Trust, says Labour’s Maori Development spokesperson Kelvin Davis.

“The recently released Court of Appeal judgement shows CFRT has reimbursed more than $2 million of legal costs to both the New Zealand Maori Council and the Federation of Maori Authorities who are embroiled in a legal battle that’s festered for more than five years.

“The Minister of Maori Development needs to review this situation as questions must be asked about the trustee appointment process and the ongoing costs which could be more than $5 million.

“CFRT funds are supposed to support claims processes rather than legal costs so a review must happen as soon as possible.....

See full article HERE

Raukawa buy half stake in major farming operation

South Waikato based Iwi, Raukawa have purchased a 47.5 per cent stake in 2,500ha Ranginui Station.

Ranginui Station is a major farming operation made up of three dairy farms, forestry and dry stock located on Ranginui Rd in the Otorohanga District, around 15kms West of Mangakino...

See full article HERE

NZ Wars petition ready for delivery

Students from Otorohanga College hope to present a petition to parliament next week calling for a national day to remember those who lost their lives in the New Zealand Wars of the 19th Century.

The petition was sparked by a school trip to battle sites at Orakau and Rangiaowhia, where some of the students' tupuna fought and died.

The petition now has more than 10,000 signatures.....

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 and HERE.

2 December 2015

From the NZCPR archives (By Dr Muriel Newman)

Are we one or two?

If we look ahead, judging by the present tribal protest action over exploration rights for minerals, and oil and gas, corporate iwi are no doubt readying themselves for new claims. This time it will be for the ownership of all of New Zealand’s minerals, along with another attempt to gain control of the country’s reserves of oil and gas.

And let’s not forget what could be regarded as one of the tribal elite’s greatest victories – the Maori Party’s success in persuading John Key’s government that secretly signing New Zealand up to the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to potentially give self-defined “indigenous” groups special governance powers and rights above those of every other citizen, was in the best interest of New Zealand. To her credit, then Prime Minister Helen Clark stood her ground and rejected all such advances a few years earlier. She could see the inevitable consequences.

It is not beyond the bounds of comprehension that there will be a claim for the ownership of the air we all breathe, and perhaps there will even be a proposed levy on all citizens who cannot claim Maori heritage – for the privilege of living in “their” country.

Are such things as claims for the air we breathe fanciful? Not if politicians continue to put the interests of an ill-defined racial group ahead of the rights of all New Zealanders. The fact is that if the wider public continues to sheepishly accept these outrageous race-based deals by the ruling party, then our rights as New Zealand citizens will continue to be trampled by self-serving deal-making politicians.

It appears that the New Zealand public has been somewhat conditioned into acquiescence by the tactics of the iwi elite. Firstly they use the publicly funded and outrageously biased Waitangi Tribunal to deliver favourable decisions based on their fabricated versions of history – complete, as we are now hearing, with evidence based on taniwhas and other forms of pagan spiritualty. If the government refuses to accept the Tribunal’s resolutions – which, fortunately, are not binding – the demands are then transferred into the court system using legal aid to fight any opposition to the highest level. In doing this they rely on eventually striking activist Judges who support the elevation of Maori rights. Going by past history, there now seems to be no lack of such advocates.

The public of course, find such tactics bewildering. It is difficult to understand some judicial decisions, let alone have the confidence to criticise them. Those that do speak out against Maori rights arguments are usually accused of racism. As a result, the public has been increasingly cowed into silence and opposition to outrageous developments is now muted.....

Read Dr Muriel Newman's full article HERE

July 23, 2012

Pure sparkling fresh water – turn on the tap and there it is. It's our God given right, the lifeblood, the new oil it seems, even here in New Zealand.

But who owns the water, and are the government about to surrender control of the nation's fresh water to Maori?

But David Round of the NZCPR says we should be concerned, very concerned.

“Maori, who at other times go on about how no-one can own the water, would accept privatisation if they knew the private hands into which it was going to fall, were theirs.”

But David insists Maori will want water for themselves. “If they are involved in managing water, they will make decisions that are going to favour them,” he says.

“If it involves granting water rights to other people, it will involve Maori clipping the ticket.

“Pardon my cynicism, but it seems to be a very real possibility.”

David says at present, water is not owned by anyone and is administered by democratically-elected councils responsible to the public and administered for the public benefit.

“But what is being proposed here, inevitably, is that Maori are going to have a greater share in the administration of water than their population and interests entitles them to.”....

See full article HERE

Little rings in changes for Labour

Labour MP Kelvin Davis is set to replace Nanaia Mahuta as Labour's Maori Affairs spokesperson and move up the rankings in Labour leader Andrew Little's reshuffle......

See full article HERE

Giving Te Reo the social media kick it needs

Maori youth are not speaking in Te Reo Maori because it lacks the "cool" factor and expressions for social media, a Massey University study has found.....

See full article HERE

A second Northland treaty authority challenged

An urgent Waitangi Tribunal Claim has been lodged, challenging yet another Northland mandated treaty authority and calling for a halt in negotiations.

Hot on the heels of the Tūhoronuku mandate woes, yet another Northland iwi is facing a similar challenge.

A family claimant group, Ngā Uri o Whangaruru, has taken an urgent claim challenging the Ngātiwai mandate.

Ngā Uri o Whangaruru spokesperson Huhana Seve is asking for the process to be halted immediately.....

See full article HERE

Trust gets marae cash bonus

A wise investment made by a Rotorua Maori trust is having huge spinoffs for local marae that will soon enjoy significant cash injections.

Te Kotahitanga o Ngati Whakaue Assets Trust has made $3.2 million in just four years on a single investment. The trust recently cashed out of the investment and will now pay each of its six marae a bonus payment of $100,000.....

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 and HERE.

30 November 2015

With National, Maori Party defining iwi participation

Bill English gave an important speech at Parliament this week about Maori, the state and self-determination.

But he should know because while Prime Minister John Key is the figurehead, Mr English manages it through its various strands, be it social service delivery through Whanau Ora, constitutional aspirations, parameters of Treaty of Waitangi settlements or Maori participation in freshwater management.

One of the reasons Mr English has been willing to embrace managed extensions of rangatiratanga is because he sees the alternative as being worse - a sense of victimhood and reliance on the state.

The Maori Party, which sees itself as the representative of the Treaty partner in Parliament, has been working closely with the Iwi Leaders Group on the Bill and made a joint submission to National on what it wanted.....

See full article HERE

Govt told to stamp out police racism

The Government's being told to stamp out racism in the Police force, following an admission of bias against Maori.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush has admitted some Maori have faced discrimination at the hands of Police.

Labour Police spokesman Kelvin Davis said it's something many Maori have known for years.

He's calling for the the Waitangi Tribunal to consider Police bias in its investigation of Maori offending rates.....

See full article HERE

Separatism Raises Its Head in RMA Cave In

“However, it is blatantly apparent that they are taking a giant step towards separatist government by caving in to the Maori Party, which has minimal support, even in the Maori world.

“It is clear that behind closed doors they are negotiating away fundamental rights that should be the same for all New Zealanders.

“National’s separatist approach will do nothing for Maori, and even less for the country.

“It’s a tragedy how far John Key has taken public policy in that direction in seven years...

See full article HERE

Water is not for profit

That makes putting water into Iwi hands just another step towards selling off New Zealand's assets. Iwi would be able to sell our water to the highest, foreign bidder and, under the TPPA, the Government would be unable to intervene.

We cannot allow water to become a tradeable commodity. There are countless horrific stories of exploitation where countries have privatised water. When Bolivia privatised their water, the corporate owners fined residents who collected rain water. Water prices became exorbitantly high. Access to water was no longer within the reach of many. And many died in the struggle to renationalise their water.

Government is best placed to steward our water, because government is where all New Zealanders have a say. And it is certainly time for us to have a say, now and again in the next election, against the privatisation of water. It's time for a government that understands stewardship.

New Zealand First understands that water is our most precious resource. Water is a common good that cannot be owned.

Priorities for granting water rights must place public benefits before private benefits.

And while the Treaty of Waitangi does not confer rights to fresh water upon Māori which are greater or lesser than the rights of any other New Zealander,.....

See full article HERE

Fourth Report on Water Management

“We strongly urge the Government to implement all of our recommendations without delay. Consensus will hold only if what is recommended is substantially put in place.

“The resolution of iwi rights and interests in fresh water is essential to an enduring system of freshwater management in New Zealand,” Mr Bisley added.

“The responsibility for resolving iwi rights resides with the Crown and iwi as Treaty partners. In this report, we have suggested some ways in which this could be done. We have also been clear that the Crown should protect existing rights and ensure costs are not to be transferred to other parties.....

See full article HERE

Strategy to get Aucklanders speaking three languages launched

A ratepayer-funded agency wants all Aucklanders to speak both English and Maori, plus one other language.

This is the ambitious aim of education think-tank COMET, as it launches the Auckland Languages Strategy.

COMET gets two-thirds of its funding from Auckland Council – around $580,000 a year – and has been instrumental in developing the strategy, which is being presented at a languages conference in Auckland on Friday.

COMET's position was that all Kiwis should speak the two national languages, English and Te Reo Maori, Warren said.

Speaking Te Reo would give New Zealanders a better picture of the relationship between Maori and non-Maori under the Treaty, Warren said.

"Te Reo is actually our language and our heritage, and we can't truly know ourselves as Kiwis until we know the language."....

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 and HERE.

27 November 2015

Govt reaches agreement on RMA overhaul

The Government will introduce significant changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) following "intensive" negotiations with the Maori Party.

The Bill will be introduced for its first reading next Thursday and has the numbers to pass following an agreement reached with the Maori Party, who had been against the proposals.

The Maori Party had also wanted to ensure early involvement of iwi in council planning development so they can come to an agreement on how they can be included.

Co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell says it was important to keep the environmental protection in the RMA.

"Kaitiakitanga or the protection and enhancement of our environment must remain central to the RMA. We will remain vigilant during the progress of this Bill to ensure it remains so."

Co-leader Marama Fox says while the party was staunchly opposed to changes, it had worked with the Government for nine months on the issue.

"The Bill is a compromise," Dr Smith says.....

See full article HERE

Muttonbird islands 'essential' to Maori life, High Court told

One of Southland's most respected Maori leaders has described the importance of the muttonbird islands and the water around them at a High Court hearing.

Jane Davis, a descendant of Rakiura Maori, has been a muttonbirder all her life, involved with the Waitangi Tribunal, a member of the Ngai Tahu Maori Trust board, a member of the Southland Conservation board, is a kaumatua for Oraka Aparima Runanga, and advocated for the return of crown muttonbird islands to Rakiura Maori.

Davis gave evidence during the third day of the hearing for Denis Tipene's application for a coastal marine title to cover an area near two muttonbird islands on behalf of Rakiura Maori, before Justice Jillian Mallon in the High Court at Invercargill on Wednesday.

The title would apply to a 200-metre area around a rock between Tamaitemioka and Pohowaitai islands, and includes the landing area for the islands...

See full article HERE

New Waitara roads to take colonial names

Waitara's newest streets will be named after a developer's family instead of Maori heritage.

The streets which are part of developer Richard Dreaver's subdivision in Waitara, will be named after his relatives who died in World War I.

However, last month local hapu made a recommendation that the street names should reflect the area's Maori history....

See full article HERE

Full Environment Canterbury democracy 'a step backwards' - Ngai Tahu

Restoring full democratic elections would be a "step backwards" for Canterbury, Ngai Tahu says.

Eight MPs heard public submissions on the Environment Canterbury (Transitional Governance Arrangements) Bill, which would introduce a mixture of elected councillors and government appointed commissioners from 2016.

The proposed bill provides for, but does not guarantee, a return to full democratic elections in 2019 – six years later than originally expected.

"The proposal to return to a fully democratically elected model does not provide sufficient recognition towards the Treaty partnership," its submission says....

See full article HERE

Maori girls school to close after 110 years

A secondary school for Maori girls will be closed after 110 years because of concerns about its debt and governance.

Education Minister Hekia Parata confirmed this morning that Turakina Maori Girls College in Marton, 40km north-west of Palmerston North, would close in January.

Ms Parata said there was "a great deal of goodwill" towards the Decile 3, state-integrated Presbyterian boarding school and she was saddened to have to close it down.

"However, the financial information provided ... doesn't give me confidence that the proprietor is able to clear its debt and become financially viable," she said....

See full article HERE

$3m fish factory major Chatham investment

A brand new fish factory in the Chatham Islands is easing local frustrations about a lack of investment in the remote community.

The islands' largest employer, Māori-owned Aotearoa Fisheries, is putting the final touches on its new $3 million factory in the main centre of Waitangi.....

See full article HERE

Freshwater Iwi Leaders Group welcomes introduction of Bill

The Freshwater Iwi Leaders Group (ILG) today welcomes the introduction of the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill.

“The introduction of the Bill is a positive first step in advancing our objectives of better environmental outcomes and improving Māori participation in resource management processes,” said Freshwater ILG spokesperson, Rahui Papa.

The Freshwater ILG has been engaged with the Crown since 2009 on the issue of freshwater reforms and these RMA amendments have an important relationship with that wider reform process. The ILG has also worked closely with the Māori Party over the last two years to progress the issue of iwi and hapū rights and interests in this area. Throughout these discussions, the ILG has made it clear that the role of iwi and hapū as kaitiaki and also as responsible developers of our land, waters and other resources is of the utmost importance.....

See full article HERE

Northland trio found guilty of not paying tax

Three Northlanders have been found guilty by a jury of failing to pay more than $800,000 in taxes.

All five traded under the name Nga Uri o Tupoto which, according to the Inland Revenue Department, received just over $3.6 million in its bank account during the period they did not pay taxes.

IRD investigator Ian McLisky told the court the defendants did not pay one cent in tax and his checks with the Maori Land Court and other government departments revealed the society was not registered.

Karl mentioned the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty of Waitangi and said they simply followed the rules and regulations of the society....

See full article HERE

Call to bring back Maori soldiers buried in Malaysia

Ms Glavish said that failure to heed calls for repatriation were deeply disappointing to whanau of fallen Maori servicemen. “It may be difficult for non-Maori to understand and appreciate, but for our people there is a keen and intense spiritual connection between the tupapaku (remains) of our dead and those of us who are left behind. It is why we invariably return our dead for burial in their home urupa (cemeteries) and why we place so much emphasis on the ceremony of unveiling headstones on the first anniversary of burial.

“Maori attachment to our land, and particularly our personal turangawaewae, is surely well known, and is something that endures beyond this life. We take not just comfort, but inspiration and strength from having our dead close to us. For us to be able to stand at their graves gives us a deep feeling of connectedness with their spirits from whom we still hear messages of encouragement and advice.

“We don’t expect non-Maori to share this wairua of ours, but we would hope that they would appreciate its significance to us. It is in that spirit that I make this personal appeal to the Prime Minister and his government to reconsider the heartfelt calls from whanau for the repatriation of the remains of those of our Maori men who fell in wars South East Asia after January 1948....

See full article HERE

Forget the Christmas straw man, Dame Susan Devoy. Tackle a real problem

It would be great to see Human Rights Commissioner Susan Devoy take on a real problem, instead of wasting time on hoary old sillinesses like dropping the word Christmas from our summer vocabulary.

I began by suggesting Dame Susan take on a real problem. Here's one I've raised in the past, one that her predecessors and politicians alike have studiously ignored.

It's the weird Christian custom of "karakia at dawn" that has been adopted by Auckland Council - and government departments - to precede the opening or launch of just about anything. Books, art galleries, wharf extensions, nothing is safe.

A couple of months ago, council worthies were traipsing around Wynyard Quarter development sites at 6am, while Maori kaumatua intoned Christian blessings for an hour and a half.

We live in a secular society, proudly supporting the right for everyone to follow their own religion - or have none. At the last census, the majority religion was "No Religion". But instead of standing up for our secularism, government officials are busy thrusting religion down our throats.

They wrap it in a Maori cloak, and if anyone complains, they mutter biculturalism and Treaty of Waitangi. Yet in reality, they're just imposing one religion on the rest of us by stealth. Forget the Christmas straw man, Dame Susan, and tackle a real problem...

Full opinion piece by Brian Rudman HERE

Share sales boost Te Huarahi Trust result

The auditors of the Maori spectrum trust say Te Huarahi Tika is only a going concern if its sells more of its shares in third mobile operator Two Degrees.

The trust held its annual meeting in Wellington yesterday, reporting an increase in capital from $6 million to $9.5 million.

But it was not able to say when it expected it investment to make a profit.

The deal was done after more than 70 Maori entities turned down an offer to buy in.

The debt was taken on in an effort to stop the Maori stake being diluted while the company was expanding its capital to build its network.....

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 and HERE.

25 November 2015

Lincoln University crucial to meeting Māori aspirations

Newly appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) Māori and Communities, Dr Charlotte Severne, says Lincoln has a crucial role in meeting Māori development aspirations.

Her role at Lincoln involves overall responsibility for advancing the Māori development interests of the University, and optimising outputs for Māori achievement and success.

She will also seek opportunities to further grow and develop Lincoln, through partnering with Iwi and Māori on commercial and research opportunities.

She sees one of her priorities as being to operationalise the Whenua Strategy, the University’s overall Māori strategy informing Lincoln’s internal and external strategies for education, research and relationships with Māori communities.

Dr Severne has also authored a number of reports dealing with the impact on iwi and cultural values of environmental projects, as well as looking at Māori research strategies....

See full article HERE

More Maori in tech a $30m priority

Maori involved in information and communications technology are looking for ways to bring more Maori into the sector.

That was the main priority emerging from a series of hui over the past week about how a new $30 million ICT development fund should be spent.

The fund was set aside almost three years ago as a sweetener after Communications Minister Amy Adams refused to set aside for Maori any of the spectrum freed up by the shift to digital television....

See full article HERE

Water rights a breach of Treaty: think tank

The Centre for Political Research says the move to place water usage rights with local government hands the ownership of water over to iwi.

The group has placed an emotive ad in major newspapers opposing the move.

Spokesman Don Brash, says there's clear evidence the Government's been in discussions with The Fresh Water Iwi Leaders Group, and he says if the plan goes ahead, it'll be a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi.

He says the Treaty doesn't give any racial priority to any group and this move would depart from that.

Listen to Leighton Smith's full interview with Dr Don Brash HERE

Muttonbird island application hearing begins in High Court at Invercargill

An application to protect paua fishing beds near two muttonbird islands is being heard at the High Court in Invercargill.

Denis Wiremu Tipene, of Christchurch, has applied for a customary marine title on behalf of Rakiura Maori.

The hearing for his application before Justice Jillian Mallon began Monday and is expected to continue for most of the week.

The title would apply to a 200-metre area around a rock near Tamaitemioka and Pohowaitai Islands, which covers the landing area for the islands.

A customary marine title recognises property rights of indigenous people that have continued since or before acquisition of Crown sovereignty to the present day....

See full article HERE

Kura to be built in area of low Maori population

The construction of the kura kaupapa planned for Havelock North may start as early as next year.

The kura has received its official "wharekura status" from the Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, which means the kura can expand from a primary school to a high school.

Some believe that with such a small Maori population, Havelock North is not a suitable location.

Statistically the village has a far less diverse population than other areas of the Bay.

A whopping 84.2 per cent of Havelock North's population are European.

Just 3.5 per cent of Havelock North residents are Maori....

See full article HERE

Iwi and councils work towards settlement

Four councils are looking to formalise their relationship in preparation for Treaty negotiations between the Crown and Ngati Whatua which will have a strong impact on the Kaipara Harbour.

The Kaipara Harbour and its catchments are currently part of a Ngati Whatua Treaty settlement. While most of the iwi's historical claims have been settled, the remaining claims and redress over Kaipara Moana are yet to be finalised.

The MOU has not yet been signed by the council but Mr Ramsey said it was likely the Northland Regional Council would sign it. The MOU would include establishing a Kaipara Moana Negotiations Working Party comprising at least one elected representative from each council.....

See full article HERE

'Who runs the council?'

THE latest development in Gisborne District Council’s handling of the resource consent for the large Hawaiki Turanga sculpture proposed for near the Waikanae Stream mouth is “a disgrace and unprofessional” says Harbourview body corporate chairman Ian Graham.

The Gisborne Herald reported in 2013 the estimated cost of the sculpture was $355,000 and the council would contribute $100,000.....

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 and HERE.

21 November 2015

Sanford leaves partnership with Iwi collective

New Zealand's largest fishing quota holder, Sanford, has split from a cooperation which saw it fishing quota belonging to companies owned by Iwi peoples.

In its recent annual report it revealed that the Iwi Collective Partnership (ICP), representing 14 tribes and 16,000 metric tons of catch annually, had walked away from the deal after five years of working together.

"The Iwi Collective Partnership was an important relationship for Sanford," the company wrote. "For the last five years we fished their deepwater catching rights while supporting them to grow industry capability and capacity."...

See full article HERE

Fast track tribunals threat to iwi interests

Tamaki Makaurau MP says the interests of Maori and the public in Auckland in protecting their physical and cultural landscape are threatened by legislation rammed through under urgency this week.

Amendments to the supercity legislation include dropping the number of commissioners on environmental hearings from three to two.

Mr Henare says the intention is to speed up development consents, and it’s at the expense of local input....

See full article HERE

Tuhoe social plan gets Fox backing

Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox says Tuhoe would have the party’s support if it pursues a bid to take over government services for its people within its rohe.

"I have no doubt they could do a better job. Our people have always said we would rather be the determinants of our own destiny, the managers of our people, that by Maori for Maori has been the call for a long time including health organisations, I applaud Tuhoe for taking that initiative," she says....

See full article HERE

Kruger speaks out on Tūhoe's dependency on Govt policies

Tūhoe negotiator Tamati Kruger predicts that by 2045, Tūhoe will no longer be dependent on government policies. This is part of the 40-year plan promised in the Tūhoe Settlement.

Around 5000 Tūhoe who live in their region engage in services of government agencies.

It's a statistic that Kruger hopes to change. He says, “It's an enormous task but we believe we will see the fruits in 40 years.”

Tūhoe wants control of their welfare, schools, health care and housing within Te Urewera which covers Ruatoki, Waimana, Waiohau, Ruatāhuna and Waikaremoana.

Kruger says, “There may be some Tūhoe who don't believe we can achieve this. There may also be a generation who has grown up and doesn't know their tribe and that the hapū have the power.”

Kruger says it's the start of the decolonisation of his people. “We can grow a generation who knows the strength of their tribe that is now taking ownership of the well-being of its people, taking it away from the Crown and the government,” explains Kruger....

See full article HERE

Call for national day to mark land wars

Māori leaders are calling for a national day to commemorate New Zealand's land wars - and say if it's good enough to pause for Anzac Day, those killed during wars in New Zealand should be paid the same respect.

At the peak of the wars in the late 1800s, British troops - outnumbered but heavily-armed - battled Māori including women and children, who were often just defending their pā sites.

Waikato-Tainui spokesman Tukoroirangi Morgan said his iwi lived with the earlier settlers quite comfortably.

"In the Waikato itself, we had thousands of acres of produce which our people grew, we had our own trading ships - in fact we had 27 sailing ships that supplied the waters between here Australia, Asia and the Americas selling produce, flax and flour," he said.

"The commemorative day is about changing the narrative, our understanding as a nation of our earliest history when our people were murdered by the colonials and our lands were taken."

"We need to start embracing our New Zealand history as a whole, warts and all. It will be a great opportunity to bring people together and I'd love to lead that in Parliament," she said.

Mr Morgan said Māori leaders would push ahead with the idea, and try and find a date of significance for all Māori....

See full article HERE

Defendant in tax case collapses outside court

The trial of three Northlanders charged with failing to pay more than $800,000 in taxes had to be adjourned yet again after one of the defendants collapsed outside the courtroom.

All five traded under the name Nga Uri o Tupoto which, according to the Inland Revenue Department, received just over $3.6 million in its bank account during the period they allegedly did not pay their taxes. The five had, in earlier court appearances, challenged the district court's jurisdiction to hear their case and claimed they have been acquitted of wrongdoing by the Ngai Tupoto Native Council in Hokianga. The council's mana superseded that of a court of law.....

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 and HERE.

19 November 2015

Tuhoe: Let us run schools, healthcare, welfare, housing

One of New Zealand's most famous Maori tribes, Tuhoe, is negotiating to take over social services for its people in an ambitious bid to end welfare "dependency".

The iwi wants to take over welfare payments, schools, healthcare and housing within its Urewera tribal area from Whakatane south to Lake Waikaremoana.

Mr Kruger said Tuhoe had put a proposition to the Government to make better use of the $55 million a year that taxpayers spend on welfare benefits for 4934 Maori beneficiaries around the Tuhoe tribal area.

At the last Census, the tribe had 35,000 members.

Consultants have told the Government that Maori who received benefits in Tuhoe's area in 2012-13 would cost it $735.4 million in their lifetimes under current policies.

The tribe employs 36 of the 40 Conservation Department staff who formerly worked in the old Urewera National Park.

The iwi has set up its own doctors' clinic in Taneatua, without state funding. More than 500 of its 884 enrolled patients were not previously enrolled at any clinic in the Bay of Plenty.

Tuhoe is now negotiating with the Education Ministry to share control of the 15 schools in its area and use them as hubs to develop health services, skills training and jobs.

A spokeswoman for Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said officials were "working with Tuhoe representatives on the practical implementation of these aspirations ... Research has been undertaken to assist in the development of potential initiatives.".....

See full article HERE

A further article > Tuhoe takes its own path

Treaty settlement refreshes Auckland place names

In the bill's first reading, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Christopher Finlayson acknowledged mana whenua and the importance of Maori place names.

"The historical place names that are still shared in traditional Maori schools of learning are finally coming to the light of public knowledge," Finlayson said.

Changes also include the addition of the Maori name Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe to Ninepin Rock at the mouth of the Manukau Harbour.

Te Atatu MP Phil Twyford confirmed the name changes in Parliament as many affected geographical points in his electorate.In the bill's first reading, Twyford called the Maori names "an important daily reminder of Te Kawerau a Maki's mana whenua and as guardians of our place", New or changed geographic names:

Karangahape Peninsula - previously unnamed

Te Ihu-a-Mataoho Beach - previously unnamed

Te Onekiritea Point - previously unnamed

Kauri Point Birkenhead / Te Mata-rae-o-Mana - previous Kauri Point

Manutewhau Creek - previously Lawsons Creek and Manutewhau Stream

Motumanawa / Pollen Island - previously Pollen Island

Ngongetepara Creek - previously Ngongetepara Stream

Paratahi Island - previously Panatahi Island

Tahingamanu Bay - previously Bomb Bay

Tahoro / Union Bay - previously Union Bay

Te Ka-a-Maki / Jackie Hill - previously Jackie Hill

Te Rau-o-te-Huia / Mount Donald McLean - previously Mount Donald McLean

Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock - previous Ninepin Rock

Te Unuhanga-a-Rangitoto / Mercer Bay - previously Mercer Bay

Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek - previously Henderson Creek

Wai-o-Parekura Stream - previously Te Aute Stream

Watchman Island / Te Kakawhakaara - previously Watchman Island

See full article HERE

Mayor unhappy with committee confusion

Auckland Mayor Len Brown sees a council committee’s recommendation on Maori heritage sites as a step backwards, and he wants the full council to make a better show of the question.

The Auckland Development Committee last week attempted to shrink a list of 3600 places of value to tangata whenua on private land where a cultural assessment is needed before any development.

Mr Brown says the debate was untidy, and he has since asked councilors to reflect on the city’s history and their obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi.

"The history of Tamaki Makaurau goes back 900 years. It is critical for us to embrace all tat history, the archaeology of the land, the cultural and historical significance of some of those old residential sites and to embrace those as strongly as we do some of those sites that are 100 years old in Auckland," he 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 and HERE.

18 November 2015

Ngaruahine settlement legislation heads to select committee

Another to lodge its opposition is Democracy Action, a not-for-profit group which advocates for equal citizenship.

Founder Lee Short said it had particular concerns about the clause in the legislation which would see Ngaruahine, along with representatives from two other iwi groups Te Atiawa and Taranaki, given representation on Taranaki Regional Council committees.

Short said this intention bypassed the rights of ratepayers to choose the people they want to represent them, as the iwi representatives would not be elected but appointed instead....

See full article HERE

Ngati Whatua transforms loss to profit

Ngati Whatua Orakei Whai Rawa turned around from a loss last year of $304,773 to $2.2 million profit in the latest period.

Accounts out for the year to June 30 show that although revenue was relatively static, pre-tax pre-revaluation profit dropped from $5.5 million last year to $2.7 million this year but total net assets rose from $390 million to $458 million....

See full article HERE

Three partnership schools proposed for Hamilton

Te reo Maori is a focus for three groups who want to set up partnership schools in the Waikato.

Te Kohao Health and Whakawatea Kaporeihana are making their third bids, while Kia Ata Mai Educational Trust is trying for the first time.....

See full article HERE

Māori doctors want answers over TPP

It is not too late to take a stand against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Māori doctors say.

The government had said Māori rights would be protected under the TPP signed in September, but many Māori doctors and medical students were not convinced.

He said the other main concern was bigger than health but encompassed health - and that was the Treaty of Waitangi.

"To be able to keep the Treaty of Waitangi to the fore of documents like this."....

See full article HERE

Māori war veterans still seeking justice

Eric Albert says, "In Matauri Bay, 27 Māori from that area went to war. One got a returned serviceman’s farm and then conscientious objectors tauiwi got the returned serviceman’s farms and it’s those anomalies that I'm disappointed with the government and with successive governments."

It’s alleged that Government made serious transgressions against the Treaty rights of Māori in the armed forces while they were in action overseas.

Pita Tipene says, "The soldiers knew they were fighting for King and Country, but while in action overseas their own lands at home were being swindled."

"Some returned from war to find their lands had be sold or given to non-Māori soldiers while in comparison Māori soldiers received next to nothing, so we're probing these issues," Tipene added....

See full article HERE

‘H’ to be added to Wanganui District name

The spelling of Wanganui District will be corrected to ‘Whanganui District’ – reflecting the views of the Wanganui District Council (WDC), local iwi and public submitters, Land Information Minister Louise Upston said today.

“Having reviewed the WDC’s proposal, all public submissions and other materials I’ve agreed that the spelling of the local authority district name should be corrected,” Ms Upston says.

“The Governor-General has now made an Order in Council to change the local authority name under the Local Government Act 2002 so that the change to the district name can occur.”

The move to amend the district name is supported by local and neighbouring iwi, and the Minister’s decision confirms the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa’s recommendation.

“This decision recognises that ‘Wanganui’ has no meaning in te reo Māori, and that ‘Whanganui’ has a number of traditions in Māori oral history. It will also ensure the district name is consistent with the official names of the river and town.....

See full article HERE

Concerns of community to be heard at Fletchers AGM

SOUL members will make their presence felt outside the entry to the Sky City Convention Centre, where Fletcher Building is holding its AGM from 10:00 am this Tuesday 17 November.

The peaceful and highly-visible presence of SOUL outside the Fletcher Building AGM has only one purpose: to encourage Fletchers not to build 500 houses on one of New Zealand’s most significant landscapes and to protect Ihumātao and the Ōtuataua Stonefields for future generations.

The local iwi have also been treated unfairly with regards to the proposed development land. It was confiscated in 1863 in the land wars and shortly afterwards gifted by The Crown to its current owners.

SOUL insists that the spiritual and heritage values of this particular land at Ihumātao, which includes wāhi tapu burial caves and the sacred maunga Te Puketaapapatanga a Hape/Pukeiti, need not be destroyed to meet the city’s housing shortfall....

See full article HERE

Tribunal to be told of veterans' pain

Maori war veterans and their whanau were called to Northland to talk about mistreatment they faced when they came home from war in preparation for a Waitangi Tribunal hearing.

Some veterans were not allowed into the RSA and some returned to find their family land had been taken, said Northland war veteran Hirini Henare.

Mr Henare said Maori who went to war also had to deal with returning home to find their land had been taken by the Government.

"When I came back it was all gone," he said. Mr Henare said yesterday's hui was open to both Maori and non-Maori veterans and their families, as they fought together in war and both suffered returning home.....

See full article HERE

Leading Maori join Superdiversity Council

Ngai Tahu elder Sir Tipene O’Regan, Waikato Tainui chief executive Parekawhia McLean and Atihau Whanganui Incorporation chair Mavis Mullins are among the high flyers on the board of the new Superdiversity Leadership Council.

Superdiversity Centre chair Mai Chen says the 12 members embody the future face of business leadership in ethnically superdiverse New Zealand.

The council is expected to guide the work of the Superdiversity Centre and serve as a forum through which members can provide leadership on ethnic superdiversity issues.

Other members include real estate innovator Mike Pero, insurance industry veteran Naomi Ballantyne, professional directors Mark Tume and Graeme Wong, New Zealand Superannuation Fund chief executive Adrian Orr, China Travel Service cief executive Lisa Li, Bank of India founding director Tarun Kanji, technology entrepreneur Mitchell Pham, and Pacifica national president Caren Rangi....

See full article HERE

From the NZCPR archives (By Dr Muriel Newman)

Corporate iwi get rich at your expense

....In other words, corporate iwi, with their traditional focus on privatising public property under the guise of putting right Treaty wrongs – and their new focus on claiming the indigenous rights promised by the government’s newly signed United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – are driving the agenda of the Maori Party and the National Party. That means that all public property is under attack from these powerful iwi corporations – and the government is opening the gate to their advances.

A number of Iwi Leaders Groups operate under the auspices of the Iwi Chairs Forum with well organised and resourced strategies aimed at extending iwi power and control. A prime target is the ownership and control of freshwater, with claims on behalf of several iwi having already been lodged with the Waitangi Tribunal. In addition, special iwi rights and privileges are being pushed at a series of Freshwater Forums that are presently being held to develop a national freshwater strategy. In addition, advances have been made regarding Public Private Partnerships, where plans to build schools and bid on State Owned Enterprises are already in the pipeline. Whnau Ora is expected to provide a wide range of lucrative opportunities for iwi to contract out service provision in social areas including Housing and Corrections....

Read Dr Muriel Newman's full article HERE

March 14, 2011

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 and HERE.

16 November 2015

Spring to be returned to iwi

After almost 60 years of local authority ownership Taniwha Springs will be returned to Te Arawa hapu Ngati Rangiwewehi.

The springs were taken without negotiation under the Public Works Act in 1966 for public water purposes and were vested in the then Rotorua County Council. In August this year Rotorua councillors voted unanimously to return ownership of Taniwha Springs to hapu.

The springs feeding the Awahou Stream are considered by Ngati Rangiwewehi to be a life source and are the home of the taniwha Pekehaua, stories of whom are central to the iwi's traditions and identity.

The return of the springs is subject to an easement which will allow council to continue taking water until the current resource consent expires in 2018.

The council and Ngati Rangiwewehi – who earlier this year signed a Memorandum of Understanding setting out a protocol for collaboration – are now working together to assess the possibility of continuing to use the springs as a water supply, in a way that aligns with cultural and spiritual values and the aspirations of the iwi. Alternative water supply options are also being explored.....

See full article HERE

Waahi tapu list whittled down

Tamaki Makaurau MP Peeni Henare says yesterday’s Auckland Council decision to drop several hundred sites off a register of sites of significance to mana whenua iwi and hapu is a step backwards.

Officials suggested the proposed unitary plan drop almost 1400 of the 3600 sites where a cultural assessment was needed before development.

The Development Committee yesterday passed a recommendation to remove the sites and places of value overlay on private land until all sites and places have been accurately identified and mapped.

That includes 552 sites that did not have a confirmed location and 73 sites which were non-Maori or duplicates, as well as 10 sites where there was uncertainty whether the object of value was a natural or archaeological feature.

Mr Henare says the council should avoid a monocultural approach to history.....

See full article HERE

Deed of settlement signed

The Crown has signed a deed of settlement with Rangitane o Manawatu settling the iwi's outstanding historical Treaty of Waitangi claims, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Christopher Finlayson announced today.

Rangitane o Manawatu receives financial redress of $13.5 million as well as the transfer of and right of first refusal over specified Crown properties and land. Cultural redress includes the vesting of 11 Crown-owned sites, statutory acknowledgements and protocols with Crown agencies....

See full article HERE

No Treaty for Ak Pride yet, but it's coming

Although the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi have yet to be re-introduced into the Auckland Pride Festival Inc. constitution as signaled in June the matter will be addressed when the forthcoming 2016 Festival is over.

"The Treaty will go back into the constitution as part of our determination to reach out and support minorities more," she said, describing its disappearance as being "lost in translation" between the two organisations....

See full article HERE

Pipeline hui at Matapihi

Matapihi land owners are meeting with city council staff over the weekend to discuss resuming the construction of the Southern Pipeline project across Maori land.

Garry denies the accusation made to SunLive the council is going to be negotiating by chequebook.

“No. We don't need to take a cheque book. We need to sort out where the pipes are going and what is the impact of the pipes, and talk to the adjoining property owners, etcetera,” says Garry.

Maori land owners locked their orchard gates against the $102 million project in July, after learning the council intended cutting 12 avocado trees from the easement of the disputed paper road....

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 and HERE.

15 November 2015

$75 mil for Western Springs College redevelopment

Western Springs College based in Auckland has received the biggest cash injection given by the government to a secondary school. The school's principal believes this will allow them to shape their building facilities to their academic needs.

Paraone Tai Tin, (Head of Te Reo Māori Department, Ngā Puna o Waiorea Immersion Unit) says, “It will have many benefits. The announcement will enable us to create better Māori spaces and facilities.”

$75mil will be used to redevelop Western Springs College's building facilities which stand on a former land fill area. The Māori immersion unit, Ngā Puna o Waiōrea based at the Ngā Oho meeting house will also be revamped.

What is unique about the school is that it operates in accordance with the Treaty of Waitangi.....

See full article HERE

Stats show Maori unfairly treated

Ministry of Health statistics show Maori are almost three times as likely as non-Maori to have experienced unfair treatment on the basis of ethnicity.

The Ministry of Health has released its 2015 Maori Health Chartbook, Tatau Kahukura, which shows 12.4 per cent of Maori reported unfair treatment in the areas of health care, housing or work between 2011 and 2012, compared to 4.2 per cent of non-Maori.

The Chartbook used data from the Ministry of Health's 2011/12 New Zealand Health Survey.....

See full article HERE

New bill lets oath-takers affirm belief in Treaty of Waitangi

Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox has had her first bill drawn from the ballot, and she rates its chances.

The Oaths and Declarations (Endorsing the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi) Amendment bill gives people taking official oaths - MPs, lawyers, police, new citizens, and others - the option to add a statement affirming their commitment to the principles of the Treaty of the Waitangi.

"People are already required as parts of different government roles to acknowledge different parts of the Treaty - this is just an extension of what is already there," Fox said.

"It also provides a place for new New Zealanders who would like to recognise the treaty as fundamental to the foundations of this country the opportunity to uphold that."

The affirmant would be entirely optional, and would consist of the phrase "I will perform my duties in accordance with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi" or "E ai ki nga matapono o Te Tiriti o Waitangi ka whakatutuki ahau i oku mahi." ......

See full article HERE

Staff rally around sacked Māori TV receptionists

More than 100 people have gathered to show their support for two Māori Television receptionists who are being sacked because they can't speak fluent Te Reo Māori.

Staff members have held a karakia at the station's reception area, standing alongside their two colleagues, who are both still answering the phones there.

"These are kuia who have been part of a generation of New Zealanders and Māori who had their language stolen from them so they're been unfairly prejudiced against, something that has happened to all Māori," said Ms Fox....

See full article HERE

Performing arts college ordered to repay $2.6 million taxpayer funding

Less than two years after an NZQA review praised it for achieving "excellent educational outcomes" and "consistently exceeding expectations", a Rotorua-based performing arts college has been stripped of its registration and ordered to repay $2.6 million in taxpayer funding it wasn't entitled to.

Manaakitanga Aotearoa Charitable Trust (MACT) - a private training establishment that offers courses in Maori performing arts - delivered less than half of the teaching hours for which it was funded in 2013/14 and significantly over-reported student achievement, investigations by forensic accountants Deloitte and NZQA found....

See full article HERE

Shotover Jet golden investment for iwi

A Shotover Jet executive says ownership by Ngai Tahu has been a win for both the company and the iwi.

The iconic tourism company is celebrating 50 years since brothers Harold and Alan Melhop and Herm Palmer first started taking commercial sightseers up Queenstown's Shotover River in a Hamilton Jet 30 boat.

"Over that time the tribe has owned Shotover Jet, it's been the linchpin to their whole tourism portfolio and it's a really good brand to bring out wherever you are in the world it ignites. You can open a lot of doors with the Shotover Jet to let all your other products go through," he says...

See full article HERE

Ancient settlement uncovered at overpass roadworks in Normanby

A major road project has once again uncovered an archaeological site in Taranaki.

A pa or marae have been found during earthworks on the Normanby overpass realignment project north of Hawera.

The find has not stopped work on the whole realignment project but no construction is taking place around the archaeological site.

"All parties are working through the processes required for that to happen," she said. "This can be a little time consuming."...

See full article HERE

Council removes fewer Mana Whenua sites than planned

Auckland Council has removed around 600 sites from its long list of places of value to Maori, but has fallen short of removing the 1300 originally proposed.

The list of 3600 locations around the region registered as holding value for Mana Whenua has been controversial, with landowners forced to apply for resource consent to do anything within 50 metres of the sites.

Officials advised the council that it should remove 1373 sites from Auckland's proposed unitary plan, because they were either duplicates, not of Maori origin, not of value to mana whenua or without an accurate location.

Even Maori groups had said the current mana whenua process was too heavy-handed.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust said the process of Cultural Impact Assessments needed to be made clear for property owners and iwi. In some cases up to 15 iwi had to be consulted before work could be carried out near Mana Whenua sites.

"This is not right, in both a planning and tikanga Māori sense. The relevant iwi to be consulted in each part of Tāmaki Makaurau needs to be clearly identified," a Trust spokesman said.

Democracy Action Group chairman Lee Short said the group was calling for all of the 3600 sites to be removed until they had been verified.

Tthe way the council went about verifying sites was not up to par, he said.

"I think that the council has shown incompetence in this area."...

See full article HERE

Māori TV in Breach of Treaty Over Firing Receptionists

Māori Television’s decision to fire two receptionists for not speaking te reo is a violation of the Treaty of Waitangi, says New Zealand First.

“To be fired for not speaking te reo fluently when no other staff face the same language requirements is unequal treatment and a clear abuse of the principles of the Treaty,” says Spokesperson for Māori Affairs and Treaty of Waitangi Issues Pita Paraone,

“Encouraging all staff to be bilingual is an admirable goal but not at the expense of the rights of all New Zealanders to equal treatment - no matter their te reo fluency.....

See full article HERE

Taniwha tax an essential protection

Tamaki Makaurau MP Peeni Henare is concerned at any moves by the Auckland council to reduce protection of Maori heritage sites.

The council is moving to purge a list of 3600 sites where a cultural assessment is needed from iwi before development is approved.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown says it’s being done after consultation with iwi, and is tidying up lists inherited from the previous councils.

Mr Henare says he hopes the council is not influenced by critics who call the protection mechanism a taniwha tax.

"It’s not just about taniwha or deity, it's about the impact on the environment which many of our iwi and hapu are kaitiaki for, and it's important they get the cultural buy in and the cultural agreement when they do these developments and I think it's really flagging the intention of not only this Government but local government in just forcing through housing developments and I don't think that's a good move," he says.....

See full article HERE

A claim alleging the Crown has failed to do enough to reduce the number of Maori in prison will be heard next year by the Waitangi Tribunal.

The Waitangi Tribunal will hear with urgency a claim alleging the Crown has failed to do enough to reduce the number of Maori in prison and slash high reoffending rates.

Retired probation officer Tom Hemopo is taking the claim on behalf of himself and his iwi.

"I asked the tribunal to consider this claim urgently because too many Maori are suffering right now while the Crown ignores its failure to reduce the numbers of Maori in prison and reoffending on release.....

See full article HERE

Hui tomorrow on Maori digital

The hui is a result of a Budget 2014 announcement that the Government would allocate $30 million to support Maori economic development by encouraging Maori participation in the ICT sector and accessing Maori language and culture through ICT and digital literacy initiatives.

Gisborne has now become one of four places nationwide to shape how the Government will spend its $30 million Maori ICT Development Fund....

See full article HERE

Funding for Lake Horowhenua clean-up

The Government is to provide $980,000 in funding from the Te Mana o Te Wai Fund to restore the health of Lake Horowhenua, Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith and Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox announced today.

“The Government is committed to turning around the poor water quality of Lake Horowhenua. This funding will go towards a $1.2 million project that will involve a scientific assessment of the lakebed sedimentation and native fish populations, community planting days, an education programme, development of a plant nursery, completion of stormwater treatment upgrades and the repairing of fish barriers,” Dr Smith says.

“The balance of the funding for the project will come from Horizons Regional Council and Horowhenua District Council, with support from the Department of Conservation and the Lake Domain Board. This joint commitment to restoring the health of Lake Horowhenua will complement the Lake Accord restoration work currently underway.”

“The Government believes iwi and hapū have an important role to play as active partners in improving our country’s freshwater, and that partnership and collaboration is key in ensuring positive and lasting gains,” Dr Smith says...

See full article HERE

Former National MP Tau Henare has picked up a new job at Housing NZ

Former National MP Tau Henare has picked up a Government-appointed job at Housing New Zealand.

The former Maori Affairs Minister would join the corporation's board of directors, it was confirmed this morning.

Housing New Zealand Minister Bill English said Mr Henare would bring a community-based perspective to the board.

"His understanding of iwi, hapu, and whanau dynamics will be of particular value," Mr English said....

See full article HERE

Sonny Tau pleads guilty to hunting protected bird

Ngapuhi elder Sonny Tau has pleaded guilty to a charge of hunting a protected bird.

It comes after he had earlier admitted possession of five Kereru.

He was today convicted in the Auckland District Court on both charges.

A new charge, of conspiring to perverting the course of justice, was also brought by the police....

See full article HERE

Onehunga foreshore set to open

The Onehunga foreshore is set to open on Saturday morning after years of work on the $30 million development.

The reserve will be opened by the local board, Auckland Mayor Len Brown and the New Zealand Transport Agency at 11am with a ceremony from Mana Whenua.

Mana Whenua, who have had an ongoing interest in the governance and management of the park, will reveal a new name for the foreshore, and Māori artworks such as carving and bridge panelling....

See full article HERE

New fellowship awarded to top Maori health researchers: Dr Leonie Pihama Dr Mihi Ratima

Two of New Zealand’s leading Māori health researchers have been awarded the inaugural Ngā Pou Senior Fellowship worth $300,000 each from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC).

Fellowship recipients Dr Leonie Pihama (Te Ātiawa, Ngā Māhanga a Tairi, Ngāti Māhanga), Director of the Te Kotahi Research Institute at the University of Waikato, and Dr Mihi Ratima (Whakatōhea, Ngāti Awa) from Te Pou Tiringa Incorporated in New Plymouth, both have 20-plus years’ experience in Māori health research.

“Indigenous research highlights emotional well-being as essential to well-being and healthy relationships. As high levels of family violence are experienced within our communities, research on cultural expressions of emotions provides much needed baseline knowledge for those working to transform those experiences,” says Dr Pihama.

“Both researchers have clearly demonstrated a commitment to kaupapa Māori and its important contribution to the health and well-being of whānau, hapū, and iwi. Their programmes will build a knowledge base that will have a significant influence on health and social service delivery to Māori,” says Ms Wehipeihana....

See full article HERE

Cultural sites could lose their protection

Auckland Council is moving to cut red tape around developments near culturally protected areas, but local Maori warn there could be repercussions.

There are 3600 Sites of Value to Mana Whenua in the unitary plan, and the council wants to get rid of 1373 of them.

Work within 50m of the sites needs resource consent, and potentially consultation with local iwi.

The council said cutting the number of sites was urgently needed to ease the burden of resource consent on landowners and developers.

Independent Maori Statutory Board chair David Taipari said it could cause future planning problems instead.

In making the recommendation, the council said its own audit had found the 1373 sites were duplicates, at an unconfirmed location or had not been assigned value by Mana Whenua......

See full article HERE

150 years of the Māori Land Court recognised

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell and Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams have marked 150 years of Te Kooti Whenua Māori, the Māori Land Court.

Established in 1865 as the Native Land Court, the name was later changed in 1947 under the Māori Purposes Act 1947. It was set up to translate customary Māori land claims into legal land titles recognisable under English Law.

Minister Adams says "The Māori Land Court is New Zealand’s oldest and longest established specialist court. It holds a special place in New Zealand and is one of a few courts of its kind in the world so it’s important we recognise this significant milestone."

She adds that the Māori Land Court has played an important role in New Zealand's justice system.

“Around five per cent of all land in New Zealand is Maori freehold land which is about 1.42 million hectares – thirteen times the size of Auckland. On average, the Court processes around 3000 ownership applications a year which is a significant amount of work.”.....

See full article HERE

Speaking out against dodgy Auckland Council and their Maori pandering

David Rankin speaks out against the council’s mana whenua sites policies:

Aucklander and Ngapuhi cultural expert, David Rankin, who will be standing for the Auckland Council in 2016 election, has lashed out at the latest Council moves affecting ‘sites of cultural value’ in the city.

Mr Rankin says that the Council’s recent decision to remove 1373 locations from the list of supposedly culturally significant sites shows that the process has been what he describes as “a farce from the outset”.....

See full article HERE

Big boost for Māori exports

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell has announced New Zealand Trade and Enterprise is committing an extra $1.6 million to support Māori businesses wanting to grow internationally.

As a result of NZTE’s increased commitment, five new positions dedicated to Māori business will be created across the NZTE network over the next 6-12 months, increasing the number of New Zealand based customer managers from three to five and creating a new Business Development Manager in China focused on growing Māori businesses.

“Māori economic development is a key theme of the Government’s Growth Agenda which will help boost the Māori economy that is valued at over $40 billion,” he says....

See full article HERE

Hirschfeld challenged on Maori bulletin cuts

Radio New Zealand’s head of content has rejected any suggestion the public broadcaster is cutting down on reporting of Maori issues.

Carol Hirschfeld went head to head today on Radio Waatea’s Paakiwaha programme with host Willie Jackson, who chairs Maori radio umbrella group Whakaruruhau.

Mr Jackson said Radio New Zealand traditionally has not reflected the Maori perspective well.

Ms Hirschfeld said she is also looking at ways to make Maori content more accessible on the Radio New Zealand website, and to create more opportunities for Maori staff......

See full article HERE

Too little to avoid liability, but enough to delay Court action?

We have advised a public spirited group called Democracy Action on the unlawfulness of Auckland Council’s ‘Mana Whenua’ provisions.

We have lately been investigating the prospects for a class action against the Council. In our opinion there are strong grounds for liability, but so far there may not have been enough evidence of realised loss to justify the costs of action. Today’s Herald reports that the Council will shortly vote on a proposal to remove 1,373 of the 3,600 ‘sites of significance’:

That removal could delay the time when it would be economic to launch a class action.....

See full article HERE

Union leader calls for AFFCO boycott

The Vice-President Māori of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (CTU) is asking iwi farming corporations and other Māori farmers to consider withholding stock from AFFCO meat processing plants until the company returns to bargaining and settles a collective agreement with the Meat Workers’ Union.

“The lockout is causing immense hardship for many Māori, their whānau and their communities. People have the right to earn enough to cover the rent, pay the power bill and put food on the table.”

“As an act of solidarity and manaakitanga I’m asking iwi farming corporations and all other Māori farmers to consider withholding stock from AFFCO plants until the company agrees to treat the workers with dignity and respect and returns to the bargaining table,” says Keepa....

See full article HERE

Maori TV making staff who don't speak Te Reo redundant - report

Maori Television is reportedly making two staff members redundant after changing the scope of their roles to include Te Reo fluency.

According to reports, the move was one based on a "structural change in the organisation".

"The Finance and Administration team are undergoing some structural changes," said Simmons-Donaldson. "Part of this change will see a requirement for the two receptionist roles, which are one of our most important public-facing positions, to be fluent in both te reo Maori and English."

When asked if further staff changes were to be expected, Simmons-Donaldson said the current changes underway were "a reflection of Māori Television's commitment to increasing the status and visibility of te reo Maori"....

See full article HERE

Iwi eyes council freeloaders

The Auckland Council is in the sights of Ngai Tai ki Tamaki now the iwi has settled its historic claims with the crown.

The deed of settlement signed by Treaty Negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson at Umupuia Marae on Saturday gives the iwi 16 sites of cultural redress, including reserves on several Hauraki Gulf Islands and Hunua Falls, as well as almost $13 million in commercial redress.

Negotiator James Brown says it was a long fight for the iwi to achieve recognition, and the battle continues.

The former Auckland Independent Maori Statutory Board member says the council can’t prove it owns Hunua.

"Now those sites today are the home and the economies of the ilk of folk like Watercare. So Saturday was to reconcile our issues we have with the crown but effective as of business this morning we are now after Len Brown and his mates about the stolen property that they continue to live on and profit from" says James Brown from Ngai Tai ki Tamaki....

See article HERE

Council to reduce iwi approval rules

Auckland Council looks set to reduce the number of sites requiring owners to seek iwi approval for work on their land.

Councillors will vote on Thursday to remove 1373 of the 3600 sites of value from the proposed Unitary Plan, or new planning rulebook for the Super City.

The requirement to obtain a "cultural impact assessment" has been controversial, with an organisation, Democracy Action, formed last year to oppose the new rule.

Property magnate Sir Bob Jones slammed the rule after his company had to contact 13 iwi before it could remove an 11m concrete block wall and a window and replace it with a glass frontage for a ground-floor restaurant.

One iwi, Ngai Tai Ki Tamaki, said permission was not required for the work, but asked Robt Jones Holdings to consider it because their ancestors, centuries ago, gathered in the vicinity in the area, Sir Bob said.

A report for Thursday's Auckland development committee said a desktop archaeology data audit and an assessment by mana whenua found that 1373 sites of value had insufficient information to support their retention.

The report said there was some urgency on council's part to consider removing the sites from the proposed Unitary Plan given the rules came into effect in September 2013.

Democracy Action spokesman Lee Short said the 3600 sites of value had not gone through a rigid process, nor did they have the support of the Archaeological Association.

He welcomed the recommendation by officers to remove 1373 sites, but said more work was needed to assess the remaining 2227 sites....

See article HERE

Maori returning to collective land management

More and more whanau are trying to fix the inequities of Maori land ownership by creating collectives to manage it, Waitangi Tribunal claimant Piripi Moore says.

The Tribunal has heard that Ngapuhi women who held land were sidelined in favour of their husbands when the Crown first issued titles to Maori land in the 1860s.

It's the first time the issue has been raised in the Tribunal's long-running inquiry into the historic grievances of Ngapuhi and other northern iwi.

Mr Moore, a Hokianga claimant, said junior branches of whanau and people who did not make it to the land court hearings also missed out on being named as shareholders.

However, he said court archives contained a lot information about those people, making it possible to include their descendants in new structures that would reflect the original customary interests.

The Crown system of creating individual shares in Maori land had made the process dysfunctional for generations, but Mr Moore said the proposed review of Te Ture Whenua Act might make it easier.....

See full article HERE

Significant changes made to draft Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell says changes made to the draft Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill are a result of extensive consultation with Māori land owners and affected stakeholders.

Cabinet signed off on a number of changes to the draft Bill today which will make it easier for Māori land owners to better utilise their land while protecting the retention of Māori land in Māori ownership

The key changes to the draft Bill are:

* The managing kaiwhakarite proposal has been removed;

* The purpose and principles sections have been revised to more clearly reflect features of the preamble of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993;

* Whānau will have the option for individuals to obtain succession to land instead of having to form a whānau trust on intestate succession;

* The Māori Land Court will be given greater discretion when considering applications to remove the status of Māori freehold land...

See full article HERE

Maori workforce boosting conservation effort

It’s also the 25th anniversary of Nga Whenua Rahui, a scheme to help Maori owners protect land with high conservation values and keep it pest free.

Joe Harawira, DOC’s kaihautu or manager of strategic partnerships, says the value of the work can be seen in places like Motatau Forest in Northland, which is now largely predator free because of a collaboration with its Ngati Hine owners.

He says about 15 percent of DOC’s workforce is now Maori, and there are also opportunities in Nga Whenua Rahui

"The Nga Whenua Rahui kaupapa have their own set of Maori rangers that they are training up in all fields of biodiversity and conservation, they're the ringa raupa, I suppose that go out onto the Maori land rather than the DOC administered land to support those Maori land owners," says Joe Harawira....

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 and HERE.

9 November 2015

Iwi to receive nearly $13m in Treaty settlement

An Auckland iwi will receive close to $13 million from the Crown as part of a Treaty settlement.

The Crown has signed a deed of settlement with Ngai Tai ki Tamaki at Umupuia Marae today.

Mr Finlayson said Ngai Tai ki Tamaki was being given a Crown apology, financial redress of $12.7 million and cultural redress of $50,000 together with the vesting of 16 properties of cultural and historical significance.

He said the iwi would also get two commercial properties and joint ownership of another.

See full article HERE

Principal helps kura get back its mana

Minister of Education Hekia Parata said kuras were whanau-focused and were an important part of Maori education.

''It is clear to me that when children and young people are in an environment that helps them be confident in their identity, language and culture, they have a much better chance of success. For many Maori [children], that environment is a kura.''...

See full article HERE

'Ghost' drives students out of private girls' school

Two boarders at the troubled Turakina Maori Girls' College have left the school saying they have been threatened by a resident ghost.

Parents of the girls are angry that the Rangitikei school - which faces closure by Education Minister Hekia Parata - has accused them of exaggerating or fabricating the ghost story.

The ghost, or kehua, is said to take the shape of a man in a black cape and hat and has been seen in the boarders' hostel.

"The site needs to be blessed and it also needs consistent follow-up to ensure the girls are kept spiritually safe."

Asked about the kehua, Parata said: "Students' cultural values are important. How schools acknowledge them is a matter for schools and parents." ....

See full article HERE

Council and runanganui sign historic agreement

THE signing of a historic Joint Management Agreement (JMA) between Gisborne District Council and Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou took place at Tikapa Marae today.

“Ngati Porou have always sought an active role in the management of natural resources within their rohe,” said Mr Foon.

“With this agreement and effective implementation of it, that’s a reality now.”

The JMA is the first of its kind in New Zealand. It is the first use of section 36B of the Resource Management Act 1991, giving regional councils the ability to jointly manage natural resources with an iwi authority.

The JMA includes all land and water resources within or affecting the Waiapu catchment.

“We are privileged to now be able to jointly share the functions, powers and duties under the RMA with Ngati Porou as kaitiaki of the Waiapu,” the Mayor said.

A Waiapu catchment plan for managing freshwater will be co-developed under this agreement. A copy of the signed Joint Management Agreement will be available on the council’s website from Wednesday.....

See full article HERE

Ministry of Education rejects zone redraft

Another concern around suitability came from the ERO reports of the three alternate schools and the strong emphasis on te reo Maori, which they said may not be a good fit for non-Maori children.

“Tikanga Maori is great, we need that in a community like Gisborne,” said a parent.

“It is not that I do not want that for my child. Exposure is good. But in terms of it being in context for my children’s overall educational needs, I have to do what is right for my family.”....

See full article HERE

Maori economy 'big driver'

The Maori economy will be a big driver of work changes and must be in a strong position to reap the benefits of new opportunities, says Labour's Chair of the Future of Work Commission Grant Robertson.

Grant and Maori Development spokesperson Nanaia Mahuta today released three papers written by independent experts on the Maori Economy, Waikato-Tainui's skill development partnerships and a South Auckland case study, as part of the Future of Work programme.

“The Maori economy is now worth $39 billion. It has a young workforce and a long-term inter-generational approach. Access to Treaty settlements capital puts Maori in an excellent position to benefit from the changes to the workforce over coming years,” says Grant....

See full article HERE

Mark Parihaka Day not Guy Fawkes, say Maori Party

The Maori Party has renewed its call for 5 November to be recognised as Parihaka Day to commemorate the sacking of the pacifist settlement in Taranaki by government troops and militia in 1881.

Caritas, the Catholic Church's agency for justice, peace and development has also been exploring the idea of Parihaka Day with the settlement.

"We know that plenty of people in our community will be remembering the invasion of Parihaka on the fifth of November. We support the commemoration of this day as an example of a Maori community that led the way in non-violent resistance and continues to represent efforts at reconciliation between Maori and pakeha."....

See full article HERE

New Zealand's Maori fishery firms seeking China partners

New Zealand's Maori-owned seafood companies are looking for more collaboration with Chinese partners to enter the Chinese market, Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell said Wednesday.....

See full article HERE

Maori Party Silent on Māori Broadcasting Issues

The Māori Party as a partner in government is doing nothing to protect Māori broadcasting and they are failing the Māori language, says New Zealand First.

“The Māori Party boasts about being at the table of government yet funding for Māori broadcasting has been frozen for seven years, working conditions for Māori in the broadcasting industry have worsened significantly, and last month Radio New Zealand announced it was getting rid of dedicated Māori content.

“With the number of speakers of te reo continuing to decline it is time for Māori to ask some hard questions about who in Parliament really supports Māori language,” 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 and HERE.

5 November 2015

Council Maori advisory wrangle costs Auckland ratepayers $110k

Legal action over the selection of Maori advisers to Auckland Council has cost the city's ratepayers $110,000.

The wrangle over how representatives to Auckland's Independent Maori Statutory Board (IMSB) are appointed went to the High Court and then the Court of Appeal, racking up a legal bill of $93,000 plus costs.

Mayor Len Brown said Aucklanders had no choice but to fund the court action, as the council was legally obliged to meet the cost of selecting IMSB members.

The IMSB was set up in 2010 to advise the newly merged Auckland Council on issues affecting Maori after the government rejected the idea of separate Maori seats.

The nine-member board is appointed by a selection panel chosen by iwi groups.

The costs would have been higher but law firm Buddle Findlay represented the selection body at the High Court on a pro bono (free) basis.....

See full article HERE

Future for reo in core government funding

The new chief executive of the Maori Language Commission wants to see te reo Maori made a core subject in primary school.

"Should Maori be a core subject in primary schools? If I had the opportunity to promote that I believe it could have a bigger impact on te reo Maori than any other thing we could do with the $7.3 million we have for community funding," Mr Apanui says.

He’s also looking to build partnerships with the private sector to promote Maori language initiatives....

See full article HERE

Iwi board make-up revealed

The son of late Te Arawa leader Mauriora Kingi has been voted onto the Te Arawa Partnership Board, which will work alongside the Rotorua Lakes Council.

The results of the election were announced yesterday, revealing the 14 people who will make up the board......

See full article HERE

$1 million marae upgrade programme for Te Matatini launched in Hastings

More than $1million will be spent upgrading 16 marae in Hastings to ensure they are ready for when the region hosts the 2017 Te Matatini kapa haka festival in 18 months' time.

Funding for the project has come from marae ($244,000 collectively), Hastings District Council ($325,000) and the Hawke’s Bay Funders’ Forum, ($591,000). Members of the funders' forum are Eastern & Central Community Trust, Lottery Grants Board, Flaxmere Licensing Trust, Endeavour Community Foundation, Hastings District Council, and Hawke’s Bay Foundation....

See full article HERE

Auckland a priority for reo efforts

The new chief executive of Te Taura Whiri would like to see more resources for Maori language regeneration going into Auckland.

Ngahiwi Apanui says a lot of the funds for community projects have gone to iwi around the regions.

Auckland, which is the largest centre of Maori population, seems to have missed out.....

See full article HERE

Trust wants Waipiro Bay school returned

WAIPIRO Bay Whanau Charitable Trust and Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou are working together to have the land and four classes of their former school returned to the community.

The trust believes the land was given to the Government for educational purposes and now wants the property returned at no charge.....

See full article HERE

Ngati Whatua assets up 22 percent in year

Galloping Auckland property values have boosted the wealth of the city’s mana whenua iwi, with Ngati Whatua Orakei Trust reporting a 22 percent increase in the value of its assets to $767 million.....

Maori community board 'not possible' - Judd

Calls for a Maori community board to be set up have been quashed as legally impossible by New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd.

Ratepayers have taken the New Plymouth District Council's representation review on Wednesday as a chance to question what the council is doing to represent Maori.

You can have a working group or committee, which is what we had with komiti Maori, but it was rejected, in a sense, from Maori as not being serious.

"You can have representation on our standing committees. That's with voting rights and this was rejected by our councillors.

"Or the only other option is Maori wards, which of course was rejected by the community." ...

See full article HERE

Cash injection helps Maori school stay afloat

One of the few remaining Maori boarding schools, Te Aute College in Hawkes' Bay, is making plans for a multi-million dollar cash injection by the local iwi.

Mr Hiha said he and some Board of Trustees members wanted the Ministry of Education and the Anglican Church to also invest $5m each, to grow the funding pool....

See full article HERE

New Green MP welcomed to Parliament

The Green Party has sworn in its newest MP, Marama Davidson, who will take on the Māori development portfolio and sit as the fourth member of the party's Māori caucus.

Ms Davidson, who worked for the Human Rights Commission for 10 years, is known as a progressive voice for Māori aspirations.

Ms Davidson is from Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa and Ngāti Porou and her arrival in Parliament means at least 25 of Parliament's 121 MPs are Māori. (nearly 21%).....

See full article HERE

Australia officials accused of targeting Maori

The Maori Party says border control officers in Australia are victimising Maori people and deporting them on flimsy reasons.

People who looked like they were Maori were being picked out by border control officers in Australia, she said.

"Border control forces [are] currently standing on the street corners in Melbourne and they are targeting brown looking people, people with ta moko, Kiwis, they are taking them off for questioning.

"If they consider you to have questionable character, you can be deported - you don't even have to have committed a crime."....

See full article HERE

Tribunal rejects gag on judges

The Waitangi Tribunal has rejected the Crown’s attempt to suppress the Maori Land Court judges’ submission on a new Maori land law, and it’s ordered it to hand over the 163 page document by noon.

The tribunal will hold a hearing next week on claims some of the proposed reforms could breach the principles of the treaty of Waitangi.

Crown Law argued the release of the submission on the so called exposure draft of te Ture Whenua Maori Bill would breach constitutional conventions about relations between the judiciary and the executive.

Tribunal panel chair Ron Crosby says the submission was made at the request of the Ministerial Advisory Group overseeing the rewrite of the bill, which was set up to be independent of the executive....

See full article HERE

From the NZCPR Breaking Views archives by Gerry Eckhoff

Maori Claim to Water

The claim by some Maori for ownership of freshwater cannot stand – regardless of any Waitangi tribunal ruling in their favour. Maori especially understand the principle of communal ownership and that nobody owns an un-alienated public resource that is shared “in common”. Even feral pigs or deer on private or public land are not “owned” until the hunter actually bags the animal. Ownership then applies to the resource (pig/deer/water) but not unless or until the point of “capture”.

Water is a prime example of an un-owned, uncontrolled public asset, held “in common” until the point of “capture” whether by a dam, diversion race, water pipe or some other device that denotes possession.

Maori claimants appear to base their claim to all fresh water based on the age old method of establishing a property right – namely – “first possession”. The ancients believed that those things which belong to no one became the property of the first taker. Indeed “first possession” has been widely applied in both common and statute law.

The expression - first come, first served - is accepted as being a fair basis of allocation of a particular (unclaimed) resource. The same principle applies to a “first on last off” basis to employment and to other facets of our society. That simple distribution of an unallocated (property) right to any public resource has existed and worked well for years where competing interests don’t exist.

With the advent of a commercial value soon to be placed on fresh water, the claims to actual ownership of water for rent seeking purposes as distinct from payment for commercial use has given rise to the Maori and Green parties seeking to apply a commercial value to water -something that until very recently they thought was offensive. The incentive to apply financial and political values to manage rivers for a shorter term private, financial and political reasons versus the longer term wider public good - is obvious.

The reason why the Maori claimants have no basis to demand ownership of water is that for the first possession rationale to stand they must have first demonstrated possession, continuing use and control. Possession is vital to any claim of ownership. This has simply not occurred. An association with water -

Maori have failed to show any on going relationship beyond that of expressing their respect and understanding of the life giving qualities of water. That particular belief is far from being unique to any race of people let alone Maori. There will be no net gain to society from any redistribution of ownership of water (other than a political gain) should a decision be made by the Key Government to acquiesce to this demand. Maori claimants to fresh water are not correct in their assertion that they have historically owned fresh water. They have not shown activity that has been consistent with continuous ownership from the time of “first possession.” Nor have they demonstrated defense / enforcement or intent to the claim to water. The occasional visit or use is no different from any other association any natural person can exercise with impunity.

The courts must recognize “first possession” rights of the Crown on behalf of all New Zealanders. Only the Crown has fully exercised defense of fresh water by a delegated system of permitted use rights. It is those permitted use rights that has allowed the fixed assets associated with water such as dams, intake races, bores etc to be developed for both private and public benefit.

Are Maori claimants seeking to acquire these assets as well or is it merely the rental capacity that is sought under this claim? The claimants would be able to extract any price from the electricity generating plants on the rivers as well as seeking a rental from all other users including town water supply where applicable.

We now have a rather perverse situation where Maori claimants want to privatize (rent seeking) fresh water but are totally opposed to the Crown selling / privatizing assets. Maori claimants must explain what they intend to do with (their) flood waters which inundate private property. Currently floods are referred to as an act of God so that no public agency can be assigned responsibility for damage done by this public resource. That cannot be the case when rent is achieved by the “owner” from the beneficial use of water but is exonerated of all responsibility during a flood event.

The ownership of fresh water is an issue that will define the John Key Government. Mr Key has yet to learn how to say - no - in unequivocal terms. Key’s choice is to decide whether to write to a sentinel page in our history or be assigned to the foot notes of expediency.

http://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/gerry-eckhoff-maori-claim-to-water.html

July 22, 2012

Matariki Court defers chase driver's sentencing

Sentencing of a Whangarei man who led police on a 54km high-speed chase has been put off while he completes a detox programme and "addresses his demons".

He was charged with dangerous driving, failing to stop and driving while forbidden. He also faces two charges of male assaults female relating to a domestic incident last December.

Kopa earlier pleaded guilty to all charges and had been due to be sentenced in the Matariki Court at Kaikohe earlier this month.

Kopa was sentenced to five years' jail for aggravated robbery in 2008 - and sending him back to jail would do little to help him, his family or society in the long term.

"We are better off as a society with you addressing the drivers of your behaviour and addressing your demons ... We've chucked you in jail every other time you've got in trouble and it hasn't worked," Judge Davis said.....

See full article HERE

Iwi given mandate for claim

After three years dedicated to preparing for treaty settlement, Ngatiwai are finally on track after their mandate was given the thumbs-up from the Crown.

Sacred lands and forest blocks are just some things Ngatiwai Trust Board chairman Haydn Edmonds says will hopefully be returned to iwi upon settlement....

See full article HERE

Iwi hits out at Treaty minister

Ngati Kahu are pointing fingers at the Minister of Treaty Negotiations, saying he is the reason the iwi have not yet settled Treaty claims.

The comments come after minister Chris Finlayson told media Ngati Kahu needed to take a look at their current leadership if they wanted to progress their claims.

Timoti Flavell, head claimant for Ngati Kahu, was doubtful the iwi would receive a fair settlement.

"Ngati Kahu will never receive a fair offer to settle claims under the current Government and not with the current minister for Treaty negotiations."....

Decline in fluent speakers could impact Māori Language Strategy

The Minister for Māori Development warns that if the number of Māori language users continues to decline he will be making key changes to the current Māori Language Strategy.

According to Te Te Ururoa Flavell, “If the statistics relating to language speakers are declining, I plan to look into the Māori Language Strategy for the next coming years as well as all operational language sectors.”

Labour Party Spokesperson for Te Reo Māori, Peeni Henare says, “We will soon be reviewing and analysing aspects of the bill. I think that's just a waste of time and money.”

“In my capacity as a minister I don't want to be of no use if the statistics of language users continue to decline,” added Flavell.

While the Māori Language Commission is facing a $7mil cut in funding that will go to Te Mātāwai, Flavell insists he will still make key changes if need be....

See full article HERE

Hui Ngapuhi sends sturdy message of condemnation to government

Rihari Dargaville of the Kahui Taumata o Waitangi, says that yesterday’s 28th Oct 2015 hui of 750-800 Ngapuhi held at Te Tii Waitangi to Commemorate the 180th year of the signing of the He Whakaputanga / Declaration of Independence 1835, were unanimous in their condemnation of the Crown and their imposed policies on Ngapuhi, the biggest nation of subtribes in New Zealand 126,000 as at the 2013 census.

It is without doubt that this is the biggest ever turnout of Ngapuhi and other tribes affiliated to He Whakaputanga 1835 in recent years. The spirit of unity was imminently obvious.

Many sceptics would have expected this to be an internal brawl of words. The key resolution towards the end of the day was:

THAT the mana of Ngapuhi would not bend to the will of the Crown.

The whole whare stood in support of this resolution.

This clears the way for Ngapuhi to acknowledge the findings of the Tribunal Report November 2014, stating:

THAT Ngapuhi did not cede sovereignty.

No longer can the Minister make statements like government is sovereign, especially when dealing with Ngapuhi.

Rihari Dargaville says it is obvious that the direct Negotiations model with the Crown, is not working in the best interests of the Crown, therefore the Government will inject more funding to get the model it is seeking, over the line.

Until such time as this question of rangatiratanga is addressed between the Government and Ngapuhi there will be no enduring settlement....

See full article HERE

Northland hapū seek mandate to settle their own treaty claims

A group of hapū from Northland are hoping to get the mandate to undertake their own treaty claims. Te Kotahitanga o Ngā Hapū o Ngāpuhi met with the Minister of Treaty Negotiations, Chris Finlayson to move forward in having their claims settled....

See full article HERE

Finding a solution for mortuary water

GISBORNE District Council has started work on the culturally sensitive problem of disposing of mortuary water, and is exploring a land-based system as a possible solution.

There are two drivers for this work. The iwi view is that it is culturally insensitive for mortuary water to be disposed into the bay because bodily parts are viewed as tapu.

In 2009 the independent commissioners granted the resource consents to continue discharging wastewater into the bay, making it clear that the effects of the system on tangata whenua had been a paramount consideration. It was made clear at all times that the continued discharge violated Maori tikanga and had a major effect on the cultural and spiritual sensitivities of tangata whenua....

Maori making grab for water and Nick Smith & Bill English appear to be helping them

Maori are going to go after water as the next grievance claim….and it appears that Bill English and Nick Smith are entertaining their claims and negotiating with them instead of telling them to piss off.

"Maori leaders have mounted a bid for effective ownership of a share of the country’s freshwater.

This would allow them, and other with water rights, to onsell it to those who need water for irrigation, hydropower and other commercial uses.

Talks between the powerful Iwi Leaders Group and the Government, fronted by Deputy Prime Minister Bill English and Environment Minister Nick Smith, are at a critical stage after ministers rejected a nationwide ‘Waterlords’ settlement along the lines of the Sealords deal over Maori commercial fishing claims.

The Government is adamant it will not hand over rights in perpetuity to Maori – but it may compromise by allowing regional councils to do local deals with Maori.

Farmers are worried that there will not be enough water to go around if significant quantities of freshwater are set aside for Maori.

In a Cabinet paper, Smith points to possible “catchment by catchment” deals at a regional government level. The Crown has acknowledged Maori interests and rights in freshwater but their extent and nature is at issue. The Government may set criteria by which local iwi can get preferential access to water, catchment by catchment, Smith says.

Ministers and iwi leaders held a summit at Waitangi during the February 6 commemorations, in a swift response to an iwi- commissioned report proposing radical ways to deal with freshwater and Maori claims. The report, by research group Sapere, proposed a nationwide settlement, an end to 35-year renewals of water consents. and a move to permanent rights and a market in tradable water rights.

It argued the regime would not only be a boon for Maori but would add $2 billion to the value of power-generating assets, $5.5b to the primary sector and boost the overall economy, while helping reduce the effects of drought through more efficient use of water. It would also open the way for the Government to levy resource taxes on income from using the water."

If National wants to lose more than just Northland they will keep on going with this process under the control of Bill English and Nick Smith.

At least one National MP is against this though…Judith Collins used her column in the Sunday Star-Times to vociferously oppose the plans.

"I think all New Zealanders would agree with me when I say our abundant supply of freshwater is the lifeblood of our nation. It is a critical resource underpinning our economy, our environment and our way of life.

That’s why I was extremely concerned to read a report by Sapere Research Group, commissioned by the powerful Iwi Leaders Group, suggesting a dramatic change to the way our freshwater resources are managed.

The report provides an economic rationale for changing our current resource consent system to a rights-based regime. Granting permanent (in perpetuity) rights to freshwater, the report argues, would put a commercial value on this freely given natural resource, creating a market for water to be transferred and traded among rights owners. The rules of supply and demand would ensure water is accurately priced and most efficiently used at its highest value.

The report goes on to say the costs of resolving conflicts around water rights – that’s the part called democracy where we get to have a say about how water is managed in our local areas – would dramatically reduce. Really.

Commoditising our freshwater supply is a grave concern for several reasons. Freshwater is a freely given resource belonging to us all. We all have a stake in ensuring our freshwater supply is healthy and sustainable."

The Iwi Leaders Group should have been told to sling their hooks, that National would make this an election issue and take it tot he people instead of a stupid flag referendum.

"Although the report claims a rights-based regime will be better in times of drought it is hard to imagine this being so, especially for drought-hit farmers and consumers.

The Californian electricity crisis in 2000 and 2001 gives us a shocking example of what can happen when profit is put before people. A combination of increased demand due to drought and electricity market manipulation led to rolling blackouts, bankrupted supply companies and consumers ultimately paying the price. Nearly 15 years on, consumers there are still paying 30-40 percent more for their power.

The report gives our fisheries Quota Management System as an example of where a commercial value has been successfully placed on a natural resource. It doesn’t mention the fundamental difference between freshwater and fish. We can all choose if we want to buy fish or go catch some ourselves. We cannot choose to be without water.

We cannot live without it. No one owns it and no one should."

Spot on, and the more Judith Collins says this the more traction she will get.

"The report relies heavily on a 2012 Waitangi Tribunal report finding that Maori had “…Treaty rights of a residual proprietary nature” in freshwater. I say everyone has a residual right to fresh water.

It is disappointing to see iwi leaders attempting to use this non-binding finding like a Trojan horse for their real goal to create a massive profit generating market at the expense of New Zealanders.

The report shows the cost of commoditisation would be huge for consumers – over $110million to establish and $30million annually – and those who have these rights would use them to make money off the rest of us.

The Ministry for the Environment estimates the total value of water to New Zealand to be $34.85 billion per year. With numbers like this floating around it is plain to see the motive for those involved in this cash-grab.

Managing our life giving freshwater resource is a privilege we hold in trust for future generations, it is not a right. It is utterly irresponsible to use it for short-term gain."

Take note Bill English and Nick Smith, your usual tactics of negotiating in secret and then presenting cabinet and caucus with a fait accompli won’t work this time.

This is a massive issue and one that will see anyone pushing this naked grab for cash getting run over politically.

If National was squeamish over the snapper debacle wait until the public wakes up to this one.

http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2015/04/maori-making-grab-for-water-and-nick-smith-bill-english-appear-to-be-helping-them/

By Cameron Slater - April 12, 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 and HERE.

29 October 2015

Govt funding to resolve Ngapuhi settlement

The government has offered funding to hapu opposed to the Tuhoronuku mandate in a bid to resolve conflict over the Ngapuhi Treaty of Waitangi settlement.

A number of substantial hapu have long disputed the right of the board, known as Tuhoronuku to negotiate on their behalf, and their objections were recently endorsed by the Waitangi Tribunal.

Hapu alliance Te Kotahitanga has suggested to Minister for Treaty Negotiations Chris Finlayson that they hold a series of intensive hui over the next two months with Tuhoronuku and the Crown, with the aim of sorting out their differences by next Waitangi Day.

Mr Finlayson said in a letter to the hapu alliance the hapu approach was helpful and constructive, and the Crown was willing to make $106,000 available to fund the engagement work....

See full article HERE

Te Kotahitanga 'overjoyed' at Crown offer

Mr Finlayson has praised the offer as helpful and constructive, and offered the group $106,000 to fund the work - small kumara compared to the several million it has pumped into Tūhoronuku.

But a Ngāti Hine leader, Willow-Jean Prime, said it was a good start.

She said the minister was also open to the tribunal's suggestion there could be several settlements within Ngāpuhi rather than one for the whole iwi......

See full article HERE

Cost counted of failed claim negotiations

A Ngati Kahu elder says the far north tribe’s runanga should get back to the negotiating table or step aside and give the job to someone else in the iwi.

But Haititaimarangai Marae kaumatua Atihana Johns, who has been involved with the claim since it was lodged 30 years ago, says the runanga has shown it is just not good at negotiating.

He says Professor Mutu’s demand for a $200 million plus settlement is totally unrealistic, and she should have stayed with the other Muriwhenua iwi to secure a settlement covering the whole region.....

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 and HERE.

28 October 2015

Ngatiwai keen to have say on coastal management

The relationship between Ngatiwai and the sea will loom large as the Norhtland iwi enters negotiations on its historic claims.

The crown on Friday recognised the mandate of the Ngatiwai Trust Board to move straight to negotiations, bypassing a Waitangi Tribunal inquiry.

He says the mana of Ngatiwai comes from the sea, which sustains its marae from Rakaumangamanga Cape Brett in the north to Tawharanui Peninsula and out to Aotea Great Barrier.

"Our hapu are looking for autonomy to act and to make responsible choices in their tribal base. We have a long coastline. It has not been left by our people so that continuous ownership of the coast is something we feel is an opportunity for us to settle with the crown," Mr Edmonds says....

See full article HERE

Petition to oppose dredging

A petition has been launched opposing the Port of Tauranga's $150 million-plan to position the port for a new generation of mega container ships.

The online petition, which has gained more than 400 signatures, was started three weeks ago by Tauranga man Drew Tata, who said the "impact on the tangata whenua [people of the land] and residents of Tauranga will be detrimental not only to our customary rights to gather food, but the displacement of our pipi, paddle crabs, paua, mussel, cockle and ika (fish)".

Justice Priestley said the Environment Court had carefully and correctly weighed the adverse cultural effects and balanced them against the national and regional significance of the Port of Tauranga...

See full article HERE

Marae link important to Māori in advanced age

Māori in advanced age living in areas of higher socio-economic deprivation were significantly more likely to attend a marae, according to new research from the University of Auckland.

This research looked at participation in Māori society in advanced age including attendance at marae and understanding tikanga (correct procedure or protocol within a Māori cultural context).....

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 and HERE.

27 October 2015

Maori Land Court rules it has no jurisdiction over RMA

An application for injunction on Lake Horowhenua consents has been dismissed due to the Maori Land Court not holding jurisdiction over the Resource Management Act.

A resource consent hearing on the lake is due to be held on Tuesday, October 27, in Levin.

Horizons Regional Council and Horowhenua District Council have applied for three consents for the lake to do with a sediment trap, fish pass and weed harvester.

Hokio A Land trustee Eugene Henare filed an application with the Maori Land Court for an interlocking injunction on the councils.

Henare has also filed a submission opposing the consent applications.

However, the Maori Land Court ruled it does not have jurisdiction to prevent local authorities undertaking due process.

In his ruling Judge Michael Doogan found the court's jurisdiction did not extend "so far as to prevent a local authority undertaking due process pursuant to the RMA, or acting pursuant to a consent lawfully obtained".

Doogan said the RMA covered regulation on "all land within New Zealand whether or not it has status as Maori land"....

See full article HERE

Bullets Fired At Disputed Lake Horowhenua Rowing Club

Bullets have been fired at a Lake Horowhenua building less than 24 hours after several police officers were forced to restrain a rowing club member who was threatening to kill a Lake owner and female supporter. One of the bullets penetrated a heavy-gauge roller door.

Members of the Horowhenua Rowing Club were yesterday given seven days to remove their equipment from the northern Domain building they neither own nor lease.

The club has continued to occupy this building despite being given notice to vacate the building by the Lake Domain Board Chairman in 2012. That year, the Court of Appeal established that the Domain Board had no power to effectively roll over a lease that had expired in 2007. The following year, the Supreme Court agreed the club does not have any legal right to occupy the building.

Since taking over the empty southern building last month, these owners have been subjected to death threats and vandalism.

Philip Taueki, an owner who lives at the lake was forced to barricade himself in his home when a rower and two accomplices were outside threatening to kill him. The offenders have not yet been arrested......

See full article HERE

'Stark inequality' seen in Maori health

Hawke's Bay Maori are more than two and a half times more likely than non-Maori to die of treatable illnesses, according to a comprehensive new report.

"So you might have one person in the house who is very sick but it [household] has a history.

"Therefore treating the individual doesn't actually address the issue, you have got to treat the wider family.

"And the system isn't set up to deal with the dad, the grandchildren ... we have got a very individualistic approach to healthcare.".....

26 October 2015

From the NZCPR archives By Dr Muriel Newman

Time to face the truth

Ironically it has taken the South African Rugby Union (SARU) to expose the fact that racism exists in New Zealand. Sadly, in these politically correct times, anyone who dares to comment on this dark national secret risks being attacked as a racist. With successive governments entrenching racism under the guise of cultural sensitivity and bogus Treaty partnerships, it is indeed a tragic indictment of our society that it has been left to South Africa to expose the truth.

This issue has arisen because the New Zealand Rugby Union has requested that SARU agree to a visit by the New Zealand Maori team. While the request is presently being considered, it presents SARU with a major problem. Given South Africa’s history of apartheid, the South African President’s Council has a long-established ruling which forbids SARU from allowing South African national teams to play against opponents that have been selected along racial lines.[1]

The issue has sparked a heated debate about whether or not the nationally selected New Zealand Maori rugby squad is a racist team. With a key selection criteria being whether or not players identify as Maori, there is no doubt that this is a racist team. Players who do not identify as Maori are not eligible for selection – in other words non-Maori are not eligible.

Those who have been asked whether limiting selection to a particular race is racial have replied that such selections are not racial but are based on “ethnicity and diversity”. This is the argument being advanced by the Race Relations Commissioner, who in a letter to SARU acknowledges that while racial discrimination in sport existed in South Africa under apartheid, “there is no such discrimination in New Zealand: people of all ethnic backgrounds are eligible to play in New Zealand’s national, regional and local representative teams, and alongside that, consistent with the principle of freedom of association, people are free to play together in any other combination”.[2]

Joris de Bres goes on to state, “As Race Relations Commissioner, I have no problem with the concept of a Maori rugby team, or a European rugby team, or a Chinese rugby team, as long as our national, regional and local representative teams are open to people of all ethnicities. This is ethnic diversity, not racial discrimination”.

The Minister of Maori Affairs puts it this way, “The New Zealand Maori team does not claim to be a national team representing people who have been excluded on the basis of race. They represent New Zealand Maori as a matter of indigenous identity and pride”.[3]

These weasel words are designed to confuse in order to conceal a big lie: New Zealand is a country where race has increasingly become the basis of civil, political and democratic rights.......
Continue reading HERE

February 22, 2009

Kiwis given all clear for throat-slitting haka

New Zealand have received permission from Maori elders to perform the controversial throat-slitting gesture during the haka on their tour of Britain, according to co-captain Issac Luke.

The Kiwis unveiled the haka before a 34-16 win over Leeds at Headingley in which co-captain Adam Blair (calf) and centre Jordan Kahu (groin) were injured and new halves Peta Hiku and Tui Lolohea opened their tenures tentatively.

The thumb-to-the throat gesture at the end of the haka was abandoned by the All Blacks in recent years after attracting international criticism.

"That's the All Blacks, that's different from us," Luke told NRL.com.

"The elders got into it (then) but we were able to explain it to them. And too right, they have every right (to have a say).

"You have to run a lot of things by them, especially being able to explain people's ethnicities. We had someone come across and we sat down and explained it.....

See full article HERE

Treaty of Waitangi and new organisms

In 2002, the Government amended the HSNO Act to better reflect the Treaty relationship following a recommendation of the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification. A Māori Reference Group was set up to assist with this.

The HSNO Act provides for a Māori Advisory Committee, Nga Kaihautu Taiao, to advise the Environmental Protection Authority on decisions about new organisms. Māori are also represented on the Institutional Biological Safety Committees. The Environmental Protection Authority delegates decisions on applications involving certain low-risk GMOs in containment to these committees....

See full article HERE

Spelling correction sought for Otago rivers

The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) wants to hear people’s views on proposals to correct the spelling of three unofficial recorded geographic names in South Otago.

The correction would see the features named ‘Tokomairiro’ revert back to the original, and correctly spelled, ‘Tokomairaro’ – ‘Tokomairaro River’, ‘Tokomairaro River East Branch’, and ‘Tokomairaro River West Branch’.

“While both spellings were used from the mid-1800s, the NZGB accepts that ‘Tokomairaro’ is correct and describes the method of pushing waka (canoes) or mōkihi (rafts) along the river with a pole,” says NZGB Secretary Wendy Shaw.

“The NZGB made the proposal after investigation by its Māori Names Committee. Through the proposal NZGB aims to fulfil its role to correct spelling, and collect and encourage the use, of original Māori place names.”....

See full article HERE

Native plant near extinction to be returned to iwi

A native plant brought back from the brink of extinction at Scion is being returned to iwi at an official ceremony today in Rotorua.

A rare white-flowered version of the usually red ngutukākā was last seen growing in the wild in the 1950s at Tiniroto cliffs near Wairoa on the East Coast of the North Island and was considered extinct.

General Manager Forest Science, Scion, Brian Richardson, says, “A chance discovery of a bag of seeds stored in a member of the public’s garden shed, has led to the recovery of the native plant.

Karen Te Kani who led the project says “The white ngutuk ākā is considered precious taonga to East Coast iwi. About one hundred plants are being gifted back to Ngati Kohatu and Ngati Hinehika iwi to be planted back on their ancestral land......

See full article HERE

Offensive place names could soon be replaced

Proposals being considered by the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa could mean three offensive names in North Canterbury may soon be replaced.

Public views are being sought on these proposals to replace the current unofficial recorded names 'Nigger Hill' and 'Nigger Stream'.

NZGB Secretary Wendy Shaw says, “The proposals – from a member of the public – are based on these names being in poor taste, offensive, discriminatory and derogatory,”

“Under the proposals, ‘Niggerhead’ and ‘Nigger Hill’ would become ‘Tawhai Hill’ and ‘Kānuka Hills’ respectively – named after native trees – and ‘Nigger Stream’ would become ‘Steelhead Stream’ after the local trout species."....

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 and HERE.

23 October 2015

Cabinet approves Maori Language Bill amendments

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell says today, "Cabinet has approved amendments be made to the Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill."

"I am pleased that Cabinet has agreed to the landmark decision to enact the Bill in dual languages and that will mean the reo Māori text will prevail in law", he says.

The key proposals approved by Cabinet include:

- giving legislative status to two Māori Language Strategies, one the responsibility of the Crown, which will focus on national-level issues and the other strategy the responsibility of tāngata whenua that will focus on matters at an iwi and community level;

- that the primary responsibilities of Te Mātāwai is to support whānau, hapū, iwi and communities, but also enabling it to influence central government efforts.

- adjusting the membership of Te Mātāwai to ensure representation for Urban Māori and providing for Te Puni Kōkiri to facilitate the selection process;

- maintaining Te Taura Whiri and Te Māngai Pāho as Crown Entities and;

- establishing two governance and engagement forums between Te Mātāwai and the Crown

"These Cabinet decisions will be incorporated into the departmental report for consideration by the Māori Affairs Committee. These proposals further support the goal of strengthening a strong Crown and Māori partnership for coordinating efforts to revitalise te reo Māori," says Minister Flavell.....

See full article HERE

Minister can't manipulate me - Mutu

Ngati Kahu chair Margaret Mutu has hit back at the Treaty Negotiations Minister ‘s questioning of her runanga’s mandate to settle treaty claims.

Christopher Finlayson says the far north iwi needs to look at changing its leadership so fresh eyes can be brought to its stalled negotiations.

Professor Mutu has chaired the runanga since 2001.

She says Minister Finlayson thinks wrongly that she is the problem, but she is just doing what she is told to by whanau, hapu and marae.

"What Chris Finlayson hates is that he cannot manipulate me in order to dictate to Ngati Kahu what Finlayson wants, in other words he cannot coopt me into being a crown servant or a crown lackey, he has found it impossible and he wants to get rid of me so he can to find a crown lackey who will do what he wants in Ngati Kahu," Professor Mutu says.....

See full article HERE

Māori Broadcaster calls for iwi radio to air on RNZ

Veteran Māori broadcaster Willie Jackson says Iwi radio stations should be considered to air Māori programming at Radio New Zealand.

Jackson made the call after changes to Māori programming at Radio NZ were announced.

He says, “We’ve spoken to them in the past about the possibility of iwi radio stations broadcasting on Radio NZ, but they didn’t agree.”

Jackson is also the chairman of Te Whakaruruhau o ngā Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa, and suggests the government step in to question Radio NZ.

“This is a big issue for Māori. $36 million dollars of taxpayer’s money goes towards Radio NZ, so the government should step in and see what they’re doing.”.....

See full article HERE

The Waitangi Tribunal has called for a Treaty settlement with Whanganui iwi which makes the H compulsory and returns the national park to local Maori.

Whanganui Maori want the area's name to be spelt exclusively with an H, among calls for Treaty settlements made in a damning report into the Crown's history with local iwi.

A Waitangi Tribunal report released on Thursday into the area's 83 Treaty claims has found Whanganui Maori historically suffered from lack of input into politics and were still held back by a lack of control over their own affairs.....

See full article HERE

Iwi due redress for Crown abuse: Tribunal report

A damning report today has addressed the Crown's mistreatment of Whanganui Maori since the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Waitangi Tribunal report explains the Crown has caused local Maori substantial harm.

It points to extensive land purchases where the Crown deliberately deceived Tangata Whenua over how much land it was purchasing.

The report also refers to current issues, with the tribunal stating local Maori continue to live in a deprived state, have little control over issues that matter them, and that Maori should have a more appropriate role in local government.....

See full article HERE

Students get second chance at education

An alternative education centre is giving troubled youth another chance at education. Its students have been affected by all types of social issues, but director Shane Coleman says his students are resilient.

Despite those concerning factors, 3 out of 4 students received their levels 1 and 2 NCEA last year. Coleman believes the Māori aspect of learning plays a big part.

“We use whare tapawhā as a model, even though it's a health model it fits very nicely into education and its actually good for all kids, the majority of our kids are Pākeha,” said Coleman....

See full article HERE

Researcher says cancer inequalities in Māori must be addressed

Dr Lis Ellison-Loschmann, from Massey University's Centre for Public Health Research says underlying factors that drive cancer inequalities in Māori, such as poverty, must be addressed immediately.

An international study highlights the gap in cancer incidence between Māori and other New Zealanders is a lot higher than for other indigenous populations.

Key findings from the study:

- Lung cancer rates were four times higher among Māori woman and 2.5 times higher among Māori men

- Stomach and liver cancer rates were more than double among Māori

- Smoking was the biggest determinant of lung cancer

- Smoking rates among Māori women were the highest in the study

- Overall Māori die eight years earlier than non- Māori

- Childhood poverty increased the likelihood of cancer in adult Māori....

See full article HERE

Shopkeeper living in fear

A group of teenagers have struck fear into a 23-year-old shopkeeper after a targeted attack on his shop.

Gaurav Dewitt was set upon by the youths late on Tuesday evening at his takeaway shop, Taste of the Island.

The three offenders abused the shopkeeper, tried to provoke him into a fight and finally threw a bike at him.

"It was closing time so I was just mopping the floors. I tried to scare them off with the mop but they kept wanting to fight me," Mr Dewitt said.

He managed to shield himself with the mop and was uninjured during the altercation.

Maraenui ward councillor Maxine Boag said she agreed there is a youth problem in the suburb.

She said there was a high population of Maori and Pacific Island youth who were not in employment, education or training.

"It's an indictment of the central government's ability to support our youth.

"This latest incident is typical of a systemic problem across New Zealand."

The councillor will facilitate a meeting today between Mr Dewitt and the local Maori warden to ensure he feels safe in his shop.....

See full article HERE

Museum denied chance to display Treaty of Waitangi

Maori in Northland are threatening to protest after Archives New Zealand refused to allow the Waitangi Museum to display the original copy of the Treaty of Waitangi on February 6 next year.

"I am going to bring this up as a Waitangi issue and if they don't listen I'm going to close – I'm going to do my best to close the Waitangi doors to the Crown," Kingi Taurua, a local chief for Waitangi's lower marae Te Tii told the radio station.

Chairman of the Waitangi National Trust Pita Paraone said Archives New Zealand had refused the request because of how fragile the document was....

See full article HERE

Churches, government fight over funding

The churches said they wanted to have a meeting with the government to discuss the schools' future.

Ministry of Education's deputy secretary for education system performance Andrea Schollman said state-integrated schools received funding that closely matched that received by state schools, and most state-integrated schools managed well on their budgets.

She said Te Aute and Turakina College's financial difficulties were due to the small number of students each school had.

"Both schools are appropriately funded. In the case of Te Aute and Turakina college, in 2014 the schools were funded at a rate of approximately $18,000 per student.

"In comparison, the average across across all state and state integrated secondary schools for operational funding and payment of teacher salaries was $7,600 per student.

"The key difference in the funding arrangements is that the Proprietors of integrated schools are responsible for the provision of school property and own the property."....

See full article HERE

Hawke's Bay Airport pushes ahead with name change despite council dissent

Malcolm Dixon was one of two Hastings councillors to criticise the board's decision at Tuesday's meeting, saying it went against the wishes of a shareholder.

Simon Nixon went further, calling the planned name "inappropriate" and describing it as "pandering" to Mana Ahuriri......

See full article HERE

Former AB pushes for more sports academies for tamariki Māori

Former All Black forward Billy Bush has come out saying that iwi in general should invest in establishing an institution for Māori children in all sports.

Bush says, “I think a lot of iwi have been paid out their settlement so I think it’s up to the iwi to start academies. Not only in rugby but right across the board."....

See full article HERE

Our stories add depth to learning

Last week, I visited Lakeview Kindergarten at Waipukurau to listen to and talk to 20 or so kindergarten teachers about the history of the area and the telling of our stories.

The three stories told about ancient ancestors, their works of manaaki, of hunting and gathering, of fishing, of preservation, of jealousy, of combat and of murder.

Told through a pre-5-year-old lens, in simple language, the stories were riveting, even to my trained ear, having been brought up on such stories.

So although some communities are trying to keep Maori teaching and learning mediums out of communities, other communities, such as Lakeview Kindergarten and its sister kindergartens, are actively encouraging and promoting Maori history, Maori language and Maori thinking as part of their everyday mahi. Congratulations to those groups. The iwi will support this drive wherever there is an appetite. ....

See full article HERE

Support service warns Māori education under threat if it's closed

A whānau support group at Victoria University says it's under threat.

The mentoring programme, Te Rōpū Āwhina, started in 1999 and aims to raise academic achievement of Māori and Pasifika students studying science, engineering, architecture and design.....

See full article HERE

Candidate for mayor takes aim at Queen

Rotorua voters now have four possible candidates for mayor with 2013 mayoral challenger RangiMarie Bosma-Robson announcing she intends to stand in next year's council elections.

Ms Bosma-Robson joins incumbent mayor Steve Chadwick, Dr Reynold Macpherson and district councillor Rob Kent as candidates for Rotorua mayor.

Ms Bosma-Robson told the Rotorua Daily Post she intended to replace Queen Elizabeth II as New Zealand's official head of state and set up a local Maori tribal council in Rotorua to replace the Rotorua Lakes Council.

She said she wanted to see a true democracy for New Zealand, and to encourage more people to vote, wanted to see the voting age lowered to include children from the age of 5....

See full article HERE

Iwi groups combine for social housing bid

Three Tauranga iwi authorities are coming together to bid for the transfer of social housing in the Tauranga area.

A formal Heads of Agreement was signed today between the Tauranga Moana and Te Puke Housing Consortium and the Masterton Trust House Community Enterprise.

The Tauranga Consortium is made of three Bay of Plenty Treaty settlement tribes - Nga Potiki a Tamapahore Trust, Tapuika Iwi Authority and Nga Hapu o Ngati Ranginui Settlement Trust - established to bid for the transfer of social housing in the Tauranga area.....

See full article HERE

Willie Jackson successfully challenged Maori board selection

Broadcaster Willie Jackson has successfully challenged the selection process of an Auckland Maori board he sought to join - alongside his old talkback radio partner.

Mr Jackson mounted legal action in 2013 when he was not chosen as one of the Auckland Independent Maori Statutory Board's two mataawaka (urban) representatives....

See full article HERE

Further link on the above article HERE

Urban Maori want to pick own reps

The chair of the National Urban Maori Authority, Willie Jackson says a Court of Appeal decision on appointments to Auckland's Independent Maori Statutory Board is a victory for urban Maori.

The court upheld a High Court decision the Papakura Marae chief executive Tony Kake could not stay on the board because the appointment panel failed to properly consider all applications, including that of Mr Jackson.

He says the case wasn't a personal attack on Mr Kake.

Rather it was a challenge to a system where representatives of Auckland iwi, who make up just 11 percent of Maori in the super city, get to choose who will represent mataawaka or Maori from iwi outside Auckland....

See full article HERE

The region's airport will be officially renamed Ahuriri Airport Hawke’s Bay by 2017.

The Hawke's Bay Airport company board says it is looking forward to "embracing" the name change, requested by Treaty of Waitangi claimant group Mana Ahuriri, which represents seven hapu.

This year the group has successfully applied to have prominent landmark Napier Hill renamed Mataruahou under a Treaty of Waitangi claim nearing completion, but failed to have Perfume Point in Napier renamed Te Karaka, after a Maori chief.....

See full article HERE

Deal aims to break Ngapuhi deadlock

There's hope the country's biggest Treaty deal can move ahead quickly now a three-way settlement is being proposed to break the Ngapuhi deadlock.

The Waitangi Tribunal recommended the Crown should stop negotiations amid concerns about mandate holders Tuhoronuku.

Tuhoronuku have been shaken by questions about their finances and a Waitangi Tribunal finding about how the mandate was given.

Many hapu claimed they had been left out of the process and formed a rival group, Kotahitanga.

Co-chair Rudy Taylor has met Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson and says if they work hard, things can move forward.

"I think now this minister is really taking in what we've been saying. It's a three-way engagement, and he's the first to look at that in a positive way.".....

See full article HERE

Power station's extension appealed

A Maori trust is appealing against plans to expand Ngawha power station.

Far North power company Top Energy was last month granted a raft of consents allowing it to build two more geothermal power plants near Ngawha Springs, east of Kaikohe, boosting the power station's total output from 25 to 75MW. That would be enough to turn the Far North into an exporter of electricity.

The Parahirahi C1 Trust, however, has since lodged an appeal in the Environment Court against the Northland Regional and Far North District council consents.

The trust is the kaitiaki (guardian) of the nearby Waiariki hot springs and manages a hot pool complex on trust-owned land and Crown land the Waitangi Tribunal has recommended be returned to Maori.

During the hearings in Kerikeri in August, trustee Amokura Kawharu said the expansion could threaten hot springs which had been used for their curative powers, cooking and heating since the 16th century. No natural resource had greater significance to Ngapuhi, she said.

If the consents were granted the trust wanted full membership of the peer review panel overseeing the project and a five-year gap between the expansion's two stages to allow monitoring of any effects on the springs. The trust also wanted "material cultural benefits" to balance the negative effects of exploiting the geothermal field, suggesting Top Energy pay for a $2.5 million upgrade of the Waiariki hot pools.....

See full article HERE

Maori party's stance on party merges

The idea of whether the party could merge with another has been floated today at its Annual General Meeting in Huntly, and at a hui at Ohaaki marae.

Māori Party President Naida Glavish states that they have made their decision.

Ms Glavish has said the Maori party is willing to work with any political movement, but will not be merging with any other party.....

See full article HERE

Schism within Presbyterian church over funding of school

The Presbyterian Church's Māori division has rounded on its General Assembly, accusing it of walking away from its partnership to fund and support Turakina Māori Girls' College.

A schism has formed in the church with the Reverend Wayne Te Kaawa saying that since appealing to the church for more funds the silence has been deafening.

"The Pākehā side of the church sort of became quiet... silent, non-involved and we were basically left holding the can, and so we've done the best we can knowing that in the Māori part of the church we simply do not have the funds."

The school's Board of Trustees is also challenging the Presbyterian Church and said it could not help wonder how it was that the church held approximately $180 million in the Presbyterian Investment Fund and yet had allowed the school to deteriorate.....

See full article HERE

Youth Court no 'Kumbaya-singing, milo-drinking affair,' says judge

And thirdly, while Maori offending is dropping, crucially, it’s not dropping at nearly the same rate as non-Maori youth offending. So the disproportionality of Maori in the Youth Court has gone from about 45% to 65%. In about 20 courts, more than 75% of those appearing are Maori. So that’s the caution in the otherwise very good news that we never hear in the media.....

Rena salvage hearings conclude

The hearing of an application for the wreck of box ship Rena to be left on New Zealand's Astrolabe Reef off the port of Tauranga concluded on 9 October, with lawyers for the Crown and shipowner at odds.

The New Zealand Government has opposed the application by the Astrolabe Community Trust, representing Daina Shipping and its insurer, to leave the bulk of the 47,000-tonne container vessel, which ran aground, split in two, and sank in 2011, on the reef.

The Crown, however, has argued for Rena's bow, which lies just over a metre below the surface, to be removed and insists that no wreckage above 30 m remains. It also wants more rigorous monitoring measures and the removal of contaminants at debris hot spots.

Compensation to local Maori communities and residents amounted to NZD3 million, and a contribution of NZD440,000 to the surf lifesaving clubs within the Bay of Plenty area whose members helped with the oil spill clean-up. ....

See full article HERE

Maori Party AGM to focus on rebuilding

The Maori Party will hold its annual conference on Saturday in a time Maori Party President Naida Glavish says it is crucial for it to rebuild after its poorest polling result ever.

The party will also consider standing candidates in local body elections and a remit to make Maori representation on local councils a bottom line for any future coalition arrangements....

See full article HERE

Māori Party looking at standing in council elections

The Maori Party is pushing forward former co-leader, Sir Pita Sharples, as a possible candidate for the Auckland Mayoralty.

Members of the party met at Te Ohāki Marae in Huntly for their Annual General Meeting.

Māori Party President Naida Glavish has said she would back the former party co-leader if he decided to run....

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 and HERE.

17 October 2015

More post-graduate qualifications for teachers

For the first time trainee teachers are to be offered the opportunity to earn post-graduate qualifications in Māori medium and Early Childhood Education (ECE) teaching, Education Minister Hekia Parata announced today.

From next year up to 85 post-graduate positions will be available for Māori medium teachers and 90 positions for ECE teachers in initial teacher education programmes.

The post-graduate diplomas and master’s degrees will be for teachers intending to work in Māori medium schooling, or in early learning in either English, English/Māori medium or full immersion Maori medium settings.

“These new qualifications will have a positive impact on the quality of new teachers entering the workforce and will raise achievement for our children and young people in early learning and Māori medium settings,” says Ms Parata.....

See full article HERE

Anglican church rejects school funding criticism

The Anglican Church said it is doing enough to ensure the survival of the kura it runs, contrary to criticisms made by the Minister of Maori Development, Te Ururoa Flavell.

Mr Flavell said that the churches running Māori boarding schools were not fulfilling their obligations by upgrading them and making a bigger financial contribution.

But the Anglican church's Te Aute Trust Board chairperson Stephen Jacobi said while there have been problems in the past, those had now been resolved.

"Over the last two years the Anglican church through the Te Aute Trust Board and the St John's College Trust Board, has put in considerable resources coming close to $15 million to secure the future of Te Aute and Hukarere, the two iconic Māori Anglican boarding schools in the Hawke's Bay, and thanks to the investment and involvement by the church the future of those schools has been secured," he said.

Chair of the Presbyterian Church's Māori Synod and the school's Board of Proprietors is Reverend Wayne Te Kaawa.

He agrees with both her and Mr Flavell, but he said the Pākehā side of the church has not been supportive enough.

"In the case of Turakina two of the partners walked away over the last couple of years and left the Māori side of the church holding the school and of course we simply just don't have the funds."...

See full article HERE

Stats show Maori still facing discrimination

Ministry of Health statistics show Māori are almost three times as likely as non-Māori to have experienced unfair treatment on the basis of ethnicity.

The Race Relations Commissioner says statistics revealing Māori are almost three times as likely as non-Māori to have experienced unfair treatment on the basis of ethnicity show agencies need to do more to respond to racial discrimination.

"Sometimes it's not even done intentionally, you know the care and treatment that's offered to Māori is different to non-Māori.

Statistics in the Chartbook also showed that Māori were more than 1.5 times more likely to have ever experienced ethnically motivated physical or verbal attacks, with more than a quarter of Māori men, or 26.9 percent, having experienced such attacks.

Dame Susan said she congratulated Māori who had reported discrimination and urged more people to come forward as the Human Rights Commission could not take action if people did not complain.....

See full article HERE

Churches blamed for demise of Māori boarding schools

The Minister of Māori Development has come out swinging at the churches that run Māori boarding schools, following the Minister of Education's interim decision to close Turakina Māori Girls' College.

Ms Parata's announcement prompted Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell to accuse the churches of not fulfilling their obligations to the kura.

"They have not supported and fulfilled their obligation to those schools by not upgrading the facilities that are sorely needed and created a good, positive working environment with the board of trustees," Mr Flavell said.

Mr Flavell said, if the churches wanted the schools to flourish, they had to make more of a financial contribution - and the best case scenario was that the churches would get far more heavily involved.

"If they really want those schools to flourish they've got to kick in with some financial contribution, can't leave it to the state because the state is actually providing the resource to allow the teaching of education to happen.....

See full article HERE

Higher rates of Maori deaths on NZ roads

Māori make up just under 15 percent of the population, yet accounted for about half the number of road fatalities in the past 10 years where alcohol or speed were involved.

About 840 Māori were killed in crashes between 2004 and 2014, where alcohol or speed were a factor. In that same period 1673 non-Māori died.

The authority's chairman Willie Jackson said the statistics came at no surprise to him, and the government should take action.

"It almost goes into the too hard basket for the government and governments are getting more and more nervous about providing specialised funding, or having specific targeting around Māori for fear of being called racist and separatists," he said.

"The reality is that too many of our people are dying on the roads. We've known this now for over a decade. What's the government response to that?"

He acknowledged the socio-economic conditions may also play a part in the statistics. "The reality is that the majority of those poor are Māori."

"I've seen, particularly in South Auckland, literally hundreds of Māori drivers who won't go and get their licence because its always too expensive," he said.

Mr Jackson said to address the Māori road toll, the government must roll out consistent education messages targeting Māori.

National road policing operations manager Peter McKennie said the factors contributing to serious crashes were common to all people in society.

The Transport Agency has no official Māori road toll, and the statistics available were based on police assumptions on race.....

See full article HERE

Māori men four times more likely to die from violence

The rate of hospitalisation as a result of assault or attempted homicide was nearly six times higher for Māori women than non-Māori women over the past three years.

Hospitalisation rates for Māori men as a result of assault or attempted homicide were nearly three times higher than non-Māori men between 2012 and 2014.

Death rates from assault or homicide, meanwhile, were nearly four times as high for Māori men as non-Māori men between 2010 and 2012, while death rates from assault or homicide for Māori women were 1.6 times higher than non-Māori women.

National Network of Stopping Violence kaiarahi Trevor Wilson said the figures should be seen in the context of a lack of access to housing, income, education, and a fair and just legal system.

"However when you look at the response from government agencies in regards to that, it tells a much bigger story about the needs of Māori not being met."....

See full article HERE

Members appointed to Maori ICT Advisory Group

Communications Minister Amy Adams and MÄori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell have announced eight appointees to the MÄori ICT Development Fund Expert Advisory Group.

In Budget 2014, the Government allocated $30 million for a MÄori ICT Development Fund to support MÄori economic development and support access to MÄori language and culture through digital literacy initiatives.

The group will provide advice about how the fund will work including its objectives and the design of an operational framework. It will also make recommendations to the Ministers’ about how the grant should be spent.....

The five MÄori ICT and Business members are:

- Antony Royal (Chair)

- George Reedy

- Vanessa Clark

- Ian Taylor

- Warren Williams

Three ex-officio members are:

- Di Grennell - Te Puni KÅkiri

- Paul Alexander - Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

- Georgina Whata - Callaghan Innovation...

See full article HERE

Crown tries to silence Maori judges

The crown doesn’t want the Waitangi Tribunal to read what Maori Land Court judges have to say about a major rewrite of Maori land law.

The tribunal asked to formally see the judges’ 163-page demolition of the draft Te Ture Whenua Maori Bill after a copy posted on the Waatenews.com website was discussed at pre-hearing conference.

As part of the preparations for next month’s urgent hearing of a claim against the reform process, Crown Law has given the tribunal copies of the other submissions on the so called exposure draft.

But it wants more time to argue against the judges’ submission becoming part of the official record.

It says there are issues conflict of interest and bias, in that the tribunal panel would need to weight the evidence of judges who would preside over other inquiries that members are part of.

It also claims it could be inappropriate for claimant lawyers to cross-examine judges....

See full article HERE

Call from Ngāpuhi matriarch for Māori to fight current issues that affect Māori rights

Cyril Chapman carried the flag from Te Hapua. He believes Māori today face bigger challenges.

Chapman says, "Is it truly the words of our ancestors who said not one more acre. You know, where are we now? I know that thousands of acres of land have been lost since then through legislation and through rates and lots of other means so it's a time to reflect and time to think about, okay, what are our strategies ahead?"

This renowned elder says the government continues to trample on the Treaty of Waitangi.

Titewhai says, "Now they gone away and signed the TPPA another agreement that's not only going to do away with our Treaty rights, it's going to do away with us as Māori. We need to wake up and stand up and get back on the road and make our feelings heard and seen to be heard."

She says Māori should continue to fight for their rights....

See full article HERE

'Kids round here have nothing to do' - Iwi leader hits out after boy, 12, tried to rob dairy with gun

An iwi leader says the armed robbery of a Kaitaia dairy on Sunday by two teenagers was a direct result of the "limited windows of opportunity" young people have in the Far North.

North Road Dairy owner Dipika Patel was in the store when an armed 12-year-old boy, who police believe was on methamphetamine, entered demanding money at 8.35pm on Sunday.

But Te Rarawa iwi leader Haami Piripi told Newstalk ZB, while the images were "shocking", people shouldn't be too quick to demonise the teenagers.

He said it was an "economic phenomenon" that was being seen around the world and stemmed from a lack of basic needs such as healthcare, education and housing....

See full article HERE

Language key to health approach

A leading Auckland nursing educator says the language used in healthcare needs to change if there are to be improvement in Maori health.

Auckland University school of nursing Barbara Docherty says mainstream health professionals tend not to listen to their patients, especially Maori, so don’t have the conversations needed to work out what is the most important to them.

"Participation, partnership, protection. If we just kept those three principles in our mind in general practice primary healthcare, we would be doing the right thing by everybody. Not participation inviting Maori to a meeting and saying ‘We are here to help you.’ Allowing them to tell us what they want. Partnership, working together, but Maori telling us how we can assist them rather than us putting it on them. And then protection, they need protection from us," she says.....

See full article HERE

Consultation key to Huntly expressway project

The route of the expressway will see a 60 metre deep pass through the Taupiri Range and will require more than 1 million cubic metres of soil to be moved.

NZ Transport Agency contractors Fulton Hogan HEB can use the soil as fill along other parts of the section but are not allowed to truck the material away from the project site.

Raymond (Moko) Kumar, Waikato Tainui project manager, said the consent condition was common for any site identified as waahi tapu.

A waahi tapu site is identified by iwi/hapu as a place that is spiritually and culturally important.

Taupiri urupa (cemetery) is located on Taupiri Mountain at the southern end of the range.

"In any waahi tapu site where the landscape of that particular site is destined to be changed forever, one of the key practices that iwi like developers to follow as part of their work is that the soil is retained in that area for cultural reasons," Kumar said.

"Taupiri urupa is Waikato Tainui's most significant landmark, it defines who we are as a tribe."....

See full article HERE

Waipareira Trust wins major research grant

An Urban Maori Authority has won a major research grant that will allow it to talk directly with whānau to find out what has helped them improve their health.

Te Whānau O Waipareira Trust says it wants to look backwards and talk to kuia and kaumatua and find out what's worked for them and use that information to improve its health services to the community.

The funding from the Health Research Council provides the trust's research arm, Wai-Research, with $200,000.....

See full article HERE

Wakatu Maori to argue for property rights

Wakatu Maori are heading to the Supreme Court to argue they have the same property rights as other New Zealanders and should not be prevented from protecting them in the courts.

The Nelson-based group of five hapu became an incorporated family in 1977, and for the past 30 years it has unsuccessfully sought compensation for alienation from its land.

Chairman Paul Morgan said it would cite an 1841 agreement in which Pakeha settlers promised to put 10 percent of Nelson lands aside for local Maori...

See full article HERE

League ready to yell louder

The Maori Women’s Welfare League has agreed it needs to get more vocal about advocating for Maori women and whanau.

President Prue Kapua says a new open forum at the league’s annual conference in Whangarei went well, with the wahine expressing a strong desire to be involved in issues such as the reform of Child, Youth and Family.

She says for some it meant getting over a fear of looking political, as most political decisions will affect whanau Maori.....

See full article HERE

Federation of Maori Affairs to discuss diversification of $9 billion in assets

Maori authorities are gathering in Wellington to discuss their investments, with diversifying beyond primary industries high on the agenda.

Leaders from throughout the country will meet on Saturday at the Federation Of Maori Affairs (FOMA) conference to discuss their collective asset base of $9 billion - the majority of the overall $12b Maori asset base.

FOMA chairwoman Traci Houpapa said its 150 members held assets in commercial property, energy, and tourism but many were heavily invested in commodity driven primary industries, and were looking to diversify.....

See full article HERE

Tuhoronuku on notice from Crown

The Minister of Treaty Negotiations has warned the troubled body negotiating Ngapuhi's treaty settlement that it might lose its authority to talk to the Crown.

In a letter obtained under the Official Information Act the Minister Chris Finlayson told Tuhoronuku's new chairman, Hone Sadler his board must gain the support of hapu who have rejected his organisation's authority.

Unless that is done the Crown could decide not to recognise the board's authority....

See full article HERE

Cultural exchange between Saudis and Māori

A contingent of dignitaries and diplomats representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were welcomed on to a Waikato marae this weekend, in the hopes of creating ties between the Māori and Saudi people.

The home people of Paaraawera Marae in Te Awamutu were treated to a display of sword dancing and fine cotton dress in a cultural exchange that began on Saturday.

The NZ-based group of Saudi were welcomed by famous sea voyager Hoturoa Kerr, who said the similarities between the two cultures were remarkable, “They picked up the hongi easily because it's a custom of their own and so is standing to do a whai kōrero, singing, socialising, it's was second nature to them.”....

See full article HERE

Māori encouraged into the digital world to benefit Maōri economy

The digital world is changing the traditional business landscape, but now it's enticing Māori innovators. "DigMyIdea" is a contest that encourages Māori entrepreneur to share their digital ideas to benefit Māori....

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 and HERE.

11 October 2015

Ngati Porou welcome council’s agreement

This JMA will provide a model for the recognition of iwi rights and interests in freshwater, as well as provide a practical ‘collaboration vehicle’ to enable effective, inclusive and robust management of freshwater and land resources within the Waiapu catchment.

“To quote Councillor Wilson, ‘true democracy isn’t just about 14 people sitting around a table making decisions, true democracy is when you involve the people that are directly affected by those decisions in the decision-making process’,” Mr Parata said....

See full article HERE

Whanau Ora fails Maori

Whanau Ora isn’t working and nor is it saving lives judging by tragic statistics released today by the Ministry of Health, says Labour’s Maori Development spokesperson Nanaia Mahuta.

“Whanau Ora is the Maori Party’s flagship health programme, yet these newly released statics show Maori are still suffering the most in almost every health category.

“It’s time for the Maori Party to admit Whanau Ora isn’t anchored on solid foundations and has failed to bring fresh health opportunities for Maori,” says Nanaia Mahuta.....

See full article HERE

Napier Hill to be renamed Mataruahou under Mana Ahuriri treaty settlement

Prominent Hawke's Bay landmark Napier Hill will be officially renamed Mataruahou under a Treaty of Waitangi claim that is nearing completion.

Mataruahou is the historic Maori name for the hill, one of Napier's higher-value residential areas, which sits between the city's port and CBD shopping district.

It was named Scinde Island by European settlers and was mostly surrounded by water before the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake raised additional land on Napier's shoreline.

The planned official geographic name change is included in a deed of settlement agreed between the Crown and Mana Ahuriri, a claimant group representing seven Napier hapu.....

See full article HERE

Nod for joint agreement

THE historic joint management agreement for the Waiapu River catchment between Gisborne District Council and Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou won clear support when it came before Gisborne District Council yesterday.

The recommendation that the council sign the agreement was carried by 11 votes to one with the only vocal opponent, Roger Haisman, recording a vote against the motion when a division was called.

Votes in favour were recorded by Meredith Akuhata-Brown, Bill Burdett, Andy Cranston, Amber Dunn, Alan Davidson, Mayor Meng Foon, Larry Foster, Brian Wilson, Pat Seymour, Rehette Stoltz and Josh Wharehinga. Graeme Thomson abstained and Craig Bauld was not present....

See full article HERE

Ngati Porou welcome council’s agreement

The council’s decision is historic in that this JMA is a first for the country.

The Ngati Porou - Gisborne District Council JMA differs from other JMAs, in that it applies to all the freshwater and land within the Waiapu catchment.

This JMA will provide a model for the recognition of iwi rights and interests in freshwater, as well as provide a practical ‘collaboration vehicle’ to enable effective, inclusive and robust management of freshwater and land resources within the Waiapu catchment.

“To quote Councillor Wilson, ‘true democracy isn’t just about 14 people sitting around a table making decisions, true democracy is when you involve the people that are directly affected by those decisions in the decision-making process’,” Mr Parata said....

See full article HERE

Rowing club vows to stay put

A rowing club in Levin is refusing to be "bullied" out of its building next to Lake Horowhenua by local Māori who want the club to leave.

The rowing club building is padlocked up, its windows covered with corrugated iron.

"When we come down here, especially when we have the kids around, we've been getting abused and threatened. Several members of our club have been assaulted," he said.

But Mr Bealing said even though its lease had ended the council had not told the club to leave.

"We were paying lease up till a couple of years ago. We've paid everything that we've been invoiced, as such. Everything has been up in the air the last couple of years so nothing has come through. But we're paying rates on the building. We're paying the upkeep."

Another building next to the lake, belonging to the old sailing club, was claimed by local Māori a month ago. Most of its windows are smashed and one garage door has a huge dent in it...

See full article HERE

From the NZCPR Breaking Views archives (By Mike Butler)

Gunpoint treaty threat and other lies

Hawke's Bay elder Jerry Hapuku spoke to the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper for a Waitangi Day story this year. Maybe the excitement of being interviewed blurred the line between fact and fiction so he told a story about his ancestor, chief Te Hapuku, being forced to sign the Treaty of Waitangi at gunpoint.

That’s news to me I thought when I saw the headline, having read a lot of regional history, so I checked historian Angela Ballara’s description Te Hapuku and the treaty in her biography of him in the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ballara is a current member of the Waitangi Tribunal and her writings are very pro-Maori.

Ballara’s account shows that because Te Hapuku had signed the 1835 Declaration of the Independence in the Bay of Islands on September 25, 1838, Major Thomas Bunbury deemed it important to obtain his agreement to the treaty so visited him at the Tukituki River in Hawke's Bay.

"At first Te Hapuku refused to sign, saying that Nga Puhi were now slaves through the treaty, but Bunbury convinced him that his assent to the treaty could only increase his mana; he gave it on 24 June 1840”, Ballara wrote.

No gunpoint threat there! Ballara did write that Te Hapuku was threatened by British Resident James Busby at some time in the 1830s with a visit by a warship to stop him bullying whalers at Mahia.

“Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies”, the chorus of the old Fleetwood Mac song, could be the chorus of every Waitangi Day, as such imaginative accounts like that of Hawke's Bay elder Jerry Hapuku.

These little lies fill newspapers in early February every year, along with the turgid prose of academic treaty troughers telling us that we should keep shovelling cash to tribes despite grievances being settled. These lies include:

1. That Ngapuhi never ceded sovereignty, another lie trotted out this year, this time with the backing of a report from the hopelessly conflicted Waitangi Tribunal. Claimant logic is simple: The Waitangi Tribunal said so; the Waitangi Tribunal is official; therefore it must be true.

But the claim is a bare-faced lie: Article 1 of the treaty says the chiefs cede to the Queen of England for ever the entire Sovereignty of their country. Missionary William Colenso records the debate that shows the chiefs understood what ceding sovereignty meant. Chiefs at Kohimarama 20 years later reaffirmed their commitment to this deal.

2. “The wicked white coloniser” stole 25.2 million hectares of Maori land. This lie was incorporated into a stunt by Nga Tamatoa protesters at the 1971 Waitangi Day event.

New Zealand has 26.8-million hectares of land. Around 1.2-million hectares were confiscated during the 1860s wars (much of which was returned at the time). There is approximately 1.47 million hectares of Maori land. Everything else, being 24.13-million hectares, was sold.

Chiefs sold the land. They did not lose the land.

3. South Island tribe Ngai Tahu lost 12 billion dollars worth of assets and generously accepted as compensation $170-million.

A closer look at the facts shows that fewer than 2000 people occupied the 15 million hectare South Island in 1840, so few that the British thought it was uninhabited. Nevertheless, a handful of Ngai Tahu chiefs sold most of the South Island in 10 deals over 20 years from 1844 for a total of ₤14,750.

Between 1868 and 1995, Ngai Tahu had received five settlements of what started out as a single complaint. What is more, Ngai Tahu, like Waikato-Tainui, negotiated a top-up relativity clause, which means their latest settlement just keeps on giving. Moreover, Ngai Tahu had sold much of the South Island before the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, and the treaty commitment to investigate pre-1840 sales enabled chiefs to sell the land all over again while keeping the proceeds of the earlier sales.

4. General Cameron rode into Rangioawhia, near Te Awamutu, on February 24, 1864, rounded up all the Maori, locked them into the church, set fire to it, and anybody that tried to escape was shot, and 144 Maori were burnt to death.

The truth is that for many years afterwards all the churches in the village were still standing! One wooden church had bullet holes in it from the troops' fire at armed rebels firing from within it. Other rebels were firing from inside a rush whare that caught fire - whether from their own guns or those of the troops is not known.

Figures for the rebels inside vary from five to 12. In any case their bodies were recovered afterwards along with that of Sergeant McHale who had been killed by a bullet and his body dragged inside. Colonel Nixon was also killed when leading his troops.

Total casualties on both sides did not exceed about 20, thus achieving Cameron's objective of minimizing casualties by a surprise attack before dawn. The myth-makers give him no credit for that.

5. That Kereopa Te Rau, who swallowed the eyes of missionary Carl Volkner at Opotiki on March 2, 1865, was totally innocent of his murder.

Te Rau was found guilty by a properly constituted court of law and hanged the usual penalty for murder in those days. There is ample evidence in the nature of his involvement in this killing. (See Mary Tagg: "The Martyr's Crown"") Nevertheless, in June 2014, Te Rau received a statutory pardon from a craven government.

6. That there was no cannibalism of crew members of the "Harriet" wrecked near Cape Egmont, Taranaki, in 1834..

This was declared in video at the falsehood-ridden exhibition by the New Plymouth museum, exhibited in Nelson, 2013. Evidence from eyewitnesses Jackie and Betty Guard, the latter being captured, including the names of most of those slaughtered and eaten is incontrovertible.

The list could go on.

As for the tales you hear about Maori getting the strap for speaking Maori in school, as repeated by Education Minister Hekia Parata this week, what you are not told is that ALL kids were either strapped or caned when a rule was broken.

You are also not told that in the 1870s, a newly elected Maori Member of Parliament, Takamoana, sought legislation to ensure that Maori children were taught only in English.

A petition to parliament in 1877, by Wi Te Hakiro and 336 others, called for an amendment to the 1867 Native Schools Act which would require the teachers of a Native School to be ignorant of the Maori language and not permit the Maori language to be spoken at the school.

If it was merely a matter of “Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies”, as the chorus of the old Fleetwood Mac song tells us, there would be not issue other than academic debates over history.

The lies are dressed up as "oral history" the Waitangi Tribunal gives precedence to such oral history which is not cross-examined, over substantial written proof - legal documents and written eye-witness accounts.

But these lies form the basis of a grievance industry that has already transferred more than $2-billion to tribal entities that largely pay no tax. These lies help claimants within universities and the government push for this transfer of wealth to continue long after all land grievances have been settled.
http://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.co.nz/2015/02/mike-butler-treaty-gunpoint-threat-and.html
February 8, 2015

Crown accused of sidelining Māori in TPP

The announcement of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) shows a complete lack of understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi's principles, a lawyer says.

The Waitangi Tribunal has granted a group of claimants challenging the deal an urgent hearing, which is expected to take place in January.

The claimants had asked the Crown not to take any steps that would undermine the claim before it could be heard by the tribunal but it declined, without giving any reasons.

The Federation of Māori Authorities has praised the agreement. But the lawyer representing the claimants, Kathy Ertell, said it was regrettable that the Crown had gone ahead without the support of its treaty partner.

"It shows a complete lack of understanding of what the principles of the treaty are, which are about the development of a relationship going into the future together between the Crown and Māori - not the Crown just rushing off and doing whatever it wants when it comes to making agreements which may compromise the sovereignty of New Zealand.

"It becomes even more important that the Crown takes its treaty partner into its confidence."...

See full article HERE

Lack of consultation over marine reserve - Ngāti Porou

The Ngāti Porou tribal board and its seafood company are disappointed with the decision to create a marine reserve around the Kermedec Islands because of a lack of consultation.

Chairman Selwyn Parata said the way the Crown had acted was inconsistent with its obligations to Iwi under the Treaty of Waitangi and its 1992 settlement between the Iwi and the Crown.

He said although conservation measures added value and were important, so too were Treaty rights....

See full article HERE

Work begins on $3.7m Greta Point housing development

A $3.7 million housing development is underway in Wellington for descendants of Te Aro Pa iwi - more than 140 years after their ancestors were forced off the land.

Te Aro Pa Trust, which represents about 1000 people who traced their lineage to the original pa inhabitants, began work on a housing development in June at Greta Point in Evans Bay. The 1.6-hectare site was previously occupied by the Sheepskin Warehouse.

The apartments will include a shared garden and communal courtyards and have been designed to support affordable living for local Maori on low and modest incomes.

The development is being funded with a mix of bank funding and grants from the newly-established Maori Housing Network....

See full article HERE

League wants to hold governments to account

The president of the Maori Women’s Welfare League says she’s looking forward to its annual conference starting in Whangarei today to debate issues like the review of Child, Youth and Family.

Prue Kapua says there have been changes to the usual format so members have more time to discuss kaupapa and develop a league position.

She says getting its views out in public and being seen to be effective will be the way to draw in younger members and keep the organisation relevant to whanau Maori.

"We have to start making governments accountable, to the issues that affect us. We have to start doing and saying the things that are really important that we're doing not just because one or two of us are saying it but because we've actually got the processes in place to be able to get the views of all of our members" she says.....

See full article HERE

Call for $10m boost for Māori boys' college

The principal of Te Aute Māori boys' college near Napier wants the Ministry of Education and the Anglican Church to follow the lead of iwi to move the school into the future.

The boarding school will receive $5 million from the Heretaunga-Tamatea treaty settlement, which was signed last month.

Mr Hiha wants to see the Ministry and Church both contribute $5m so there is a $15m fund for the school's sustainability....

See full article HERE

Auckland woman alleges workplace bullying against her 'European values system'

A woman sacked from her teaching position at a South Auckland school has alleged she was racially bullied for her "European values system".

Marx has complained to the Employment Relations Authority that she was discriminated against on racial grounds "unlike Maori and Pacifica ... and one Indian" colleagues.

"She was treated differently (on unidentified grounds) by ... not getting use of a working computer for her studies, and being criticised for not attending a powhiri for a new [staff member].

"And ... [the fact she was] 'a woman with European values system of freedom and democracy' was 'held against' her by the two Board [of Trustees] members who investigated the disciplinary matters that led to her dismissal."

She was fired for what was deemed "serious misconduct"....

See full article HERE

MWWL says Māori women play central role in addressing whānau needs

The Māori Women's Welfare League says Māori women must play a central role in helping address the needs of Māori children and their families.

Any solution for Māori families and children must include Māori women at its centre. The League has always reached into our communities in a way that departments and other organisations can never do.”

Kapua adds “Of the 5000 children in state care, almost 3,000 are mokopuna Māori. It is time now for the Government to listen to the solutions we can offer as League women involved in our communities and passionate about better outcomes for our whanau."....

See full article HERE

Maori-led housing initiative launches

A network to support Maori-led house building projects has been launched at the opening of a housing development by a Ngaruawahia whanau.

The network has been set up under government agency Te Puni Kokiri to support Maori-led housing initiatives and develop greater Maori capability in the sector

In the last four years Maori-led projects have funded the building of 95 new homes and infrastructure has also been put in place to new and existing homes.

The Ranga-Bidois whanau developed a plan with Whanau Ora support, and successfully applied for funding from Te Puni Kokiri to help develop the project.

They then got funding for infrastructure and to build the homes from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as part of the wider housing investments by the government through the Social Housing Fund.

Papakainga is a form of housing development which occurs on multiply-owned Maori or ancestral land....

See full article HERE

China business boosts Ngai Tahu profit

Ngai Tahu has made a net profit for the year ended June of $109 million.

That’s 25 percent down from last year’s record $145 million, which was boosted by insurance payments for earthquake damage.

Revenue was up at $346 million, and the iwi also picked up $11 million from the Aquaculture Settlement and $17 million from the relativity clause in its land settlement.

It paid out $26 million in tribal, runanga and whanau distributions.....

See full article HERE

Crown concedes it failed to protect Lake Horowhenua from pollution

The Crown has conceded it failed to protect Lake Horowhenua from pollution, breached the Treaty of Waitangi on multiple occassions and left the Muaupoko iwi virtually landless.

The Waitangi Tribunal hearing opened at the Horowhenua Events Centre in Levin on Monday, with 22 claims looking at Lake Horowhenua, Hokio Stream and the Horowhenua land block.

"We believe this will be one of the most profound hearings we will have in this district," Judge Caren Fox said on the opening morning of the tribunal.

In its written submission, released before the hearing, the Crown acknowledged that the Muaupoko iwi had "well-founded grievances".

It breached the Treaty of Waitangi and this allowed Lake Horowhenua to become polluted.....

See full article HERE

Process miffs iwi over sanctuary

A Far North iwi is welcoming plans for a Kermadec Island sanctuary, but says a phone call about the plan ahead of it being announced is not consultation as claimed by the Government.

Te Aupouri says the first time it heard about plans for a sanctuary was during a phone call from Environment Minister Nick Smith the night before the announcement.

Mr Stevens said he was not sure how Dr Smith came to the conclusion the iwi strongly supported the sanctuary, saying proper consultation would have required the two parties sitting down to discuss sanctuary.

"There's a difference between supporting the sanctuary and opposing the way it was put in place. We're saying we disagree with the processes," he said.

The Kermadec Islands have had a marine reserve around them since 1990, but this decision will extend it from 12 nautical miles to the 200 nautical miles. The protected area will be twice the size of New Zealand's land mass and 50 times the size of the country's largest national park....

See full article HERE

Only Maori can save their kids

Mr Peters said the government's response as New Zealand's social circumstances worsened as a result of the current economy was to privatise welfare and to sell state houses.

"Nowhere in the waffle pouring out of the Beehive has there been any reference to the core issues that are creating social breakdown and the reasons behind children ending up in state care," he said.

"Unless we in the Maori world accept that there is an unacceptable level of parental irresponsibility that only we can fix we will go on wasting taxpayers' money.....

See full article HERE

From the NZCPR archives (By Dr Muriel Newman)

Two flags, two peoples, a divided nation

Incredibly the National Party has advanced the Maori sovereignty agenda much more than the socialist Labour Party did. That will prove disastrous for the future of New Zealand and I’m sure will be a huge disappointment to many of those who voted for National at the last election.

At a political level, the actions of the National Party have re-opened the door to the return of Winston Peters – who has consistently argued against racial division and the prevailing partnership myth of the Treaty of Waitangi. It also re-exposes National’s right flank to gains by the ACT Party, should ACT choose to pursue this issue and wrestle away votes that would otherwise go to New Zealand First.

The racism debate needs to be discussed openly and honestly, and without fear or favour. We need to ask which of two paths New Zealand wants to go down. The first is the path of the Maori sovereignty movement that looks to a future shaped by indigenous rights. We know from the experiences of Zimbabwe and South Africa where that path leads.

The alternative path – desired by most New Zealanders – respects indigenous culture but rejects tribalism and privilege for our so-called indigenous population.

Most people want the grievance gravy train to stop. Most people know the train has become a billion dollar industry that has gone beyond righting the wrongs of the past, and most can see that the motivations are now largely selfish.

What is particularly disturbing in all of this is that John Key and his National Party either don’t see it, or are prepared to turn a blind eye because it suits them to do so.....
Read Dr Muriel Newman's full article HERE

Kermadec sanctuary breaches rights - Maori Fisheries Trust

Plans to set up one of the largest ocean sanctuaries in the world breach Treaty of Waitangi obligations and extremely late-notice consultation was cynical, the Maori Fisheries Trust says.

The strong criticism comes after Labour said the Government's "care free" approach to establishing the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary could lead to legal challenges from iwi.

"Iwi rights go beyond other participants in the fisheries sector and include quota share interests in fisheries based on QMA10 - the Kermadec zone. The nature of those rights means all iwi have a commercial interest in this area."

Asked if legal action was on the cards, a spokesman for TOK said: "it might be something that iwi consider if the Government continues to shirk its responsibilities and obligations".....

See full article HERE

No safety net for Maori in Oz

A specialist in Maori and legal systems says Maori are disproportionately likely to be affected by Australia's harsh new visa laws.

Ms Stephens says the new rules affect New Zealanders more than migrants from other countries because the so called special relationship with Australia means they are less likely to take out citizenship.

"Thirty seven percent of New Zealanders have taken out Australian citizenship compared to other ethnicities and Maori again are even less likely to take up citizenship. Now because we do not have that tendency to have that safety net of citizenship, Maori are disproportionately more likely to be on the hard end of this kind of policy," she says.....

See full article HERE

New Zealand Maori leaders embrace charter schools (Opinion)

Charter schools are an attack on the educational rights and unity of the entire working class. For the Maori nationalists, the charter system is to be used to secure public funds to set up what are, in effect, racially segregated Maori-only schools, on the model that already exists with “language nests” at pre-school and primary levels.

The push for charter schools by the Maori elite exposes all the purveyors of racial identity politics and the program of “Tino Rangatiratanga,” or Maori self-determination. According to this agenda, Maori should be in charge of running their “own” affairs within the framework of the profit system. There is nothing progressive in this. Maori are not “one people,” but are divided by class.

“Self-determination” is the perspective of a small privileged layer that has been created through the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process on the basis of multi-million dollar payouts to tribal businesses. Deeply hostile to the working class, they have moved far to the right in defence of capitalism and are now openly imposing austerity measures on working people of all races.....

See full article HERE

Government invites developers to build houses on Crown land in Auckland

Under the Treaty of Waitangi, iwi group Nga Mana Whenua o Tamaki Makaurau had to be offered the first opportunity to develop vacant or underutilised Crown land in Auckland, and would be able to select an approved developer should it decide to take up its opportunity to develop any of the sites, Smith said in a statement.....

See full article HERE

'You want to get a job, don't bowl up speaking Maori,' says Mike Williams

Former Labour Party president Mike Williams has suggested there is no need for Te Reo in prisons because it does not help inmates get a job once they are released.

Mr Williams was speaking for the New Zealand Howard League in an official capacity when he made the comments at a public discussion about prisons this week.

Māori make up more than half the country's prison population.

Mr Williams was asked by an audience member if there should be encouragement for more Māori culture and Te Reo use in New Zealand jails.

"My response is that New Zealand runs on English - and that's the reality of it - we speak English," Mr Williams replied.

"[If] you want to go and get a job, don't bowl up speaking Māori.

"This is the reality we have to deal with... I can speak French and German but I don't try to buy a bus ticket with either of those languages."....

See full article HERE

Naked greed of all Auckland land claim laughable (Opinion)

Maori king Tuheitia has been ill-advised, I believe. We can all see that the man behind - and in front of - the scenes is Tuku Morgan, apparently the king's closest counsel. I think this is a mistake - and one Tuheitia keeps making.....

Ngai Tahu has built its $170 million settlement to a similar billion-dollar asset.

Good on both of them. The only rider is, as charitable entities they have a business advantage over their competitors in paying no tax. Still, their efforts are to be admired....

Not so the lack of interest in flax-roots Maori from some Maori leaders. Leaders who make but rare statements on education, with apparently no ideas on how to improve the lot of Maori, who seem equally bereft of suggestions on how to fix Maoridom's many social ills, and who have not put a single plan into action that can be seen to be addressing Maori problems, in my opinion. It seems all we hear from them is another claim. Twenty-plus years ago, I predicted the claims would never stop. It's Champagne that comes from that tap, so why would they walk away? ....

Many of our Maori leaders have to invest in this potential and step away from the Champagne tap.....

See full article HERE

Tribunal to hear Maori land law challenge

The Waitangi Tribunal has agreed to hear an urgent claim against the proposed repeal of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act and its replacement with a radically different framework for Maori land law.

The reform is being championed by Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell as a much-needed response to under-development of Maori land.

That's challenged by claimants including Marise Lant and the New Zealand Maori Council, who says the bill's purpose of optimum utilisation of Maori land degrades the treaty guarantee that Maori have tino rangatiratanga to use their lands in whatever manner they see fit....

See full article HERE

Maori groups wanted more Kermadec consultation

Chief executive Peter Douglas said they are not angry they weren't consulted, but they hope they will be in future.

"We'd like to establish ourselves as worthwhile contributing to the design of aspects of the fisheries, including sanctuaries."

Fisheries spokesman Rino Tirikatene said some iwi hold quota rights in the area, and both iwi and fisheries companies should have had more of a say.

"In particular, Maori especially, because they have a Treaty settlement which is enshrined in legislation."...

See full article HERE

$240k to assess needs of isolated marae

Two Taranaki organisations have been granted funding for community projects in New Plymouth

Tu Tama Wahine O Taranaki and Taranaki Iwi Trust will receive $80,000 in funding, for the next three years, a total of $240,000 each, as part of the government's Community Development Scheme 2015.

Taranaki Iwi Trust has seven marae/pa that are rurally isolated and whanau struggle to access necessary services. Initial work will be done to assess their needs.....

See full article HERE

Maori women support tour by Chris Brown

Maori dames have spoken out in favour of Chris Brown's visit to New Zealand in spite of his assault convictions.

Dame June Mariu, Dame June Jackson, Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi, Lady Tureiti-Moxon, and former New Zealand's Woman's Refuge chief executive Merepeka Raukawa-Tait said it was important Brown was allowed to perform in New Zealand.

The leaders were supported by other women who work in domestic violence and Whanau ora.

NUMA, the National Urban Maori Authority, has gone as far as inviting the R&B singer to its south Auckland marae to meet some of the youth in the community and share his experiences.....

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 and HERE.

1 October 2015

Kermadec plans could see legal action - Labour

Plans to set up one of the largest ocean sanctuaries in the world could be open to legal challenges from iwi, Labour says.

"Te Ohu Kaimoana [the Maori Fisheries Trust] hold significant quota for Maori in an area affected by the sanctuary and yet they weren't consulted. This is a breach of Treaty of Waitangi obligations...

See full article HERE

What it takes to reinstate a traditional name

After two years of consultation, Miranda Hot Springs on the shores of Tikapa Moana (the Firth of Thames) is reverting to its original Māori name.

As part of Ngāti Pāoa's treaty settlement, the New Zealand Geographic Board is changing the name of the hot springs and the locality to Pukorokoro-Miranda Hot Springs.....

See full article HERE

Goal to improve heart health

A Tauranga doctor has been awarded $150,000 from the Heart Foundation for a revolutionary research programme aimed at preventing heart disease in Maori.

Anna Rolleston, based at The Cardiac Clinic in 3rd Ave, will head the 12-week exercise and lifestyle management programme with a kaupapa Maori philosophy....

See full article HERE

Maori activists storm Auckland office, force employees out

A group of Maori activists stormed the office of the owners of Auckland's City Works Depot, dragging staff out and barricading themselves inside, according to witnesses.

Senior Sergeant Rees of Auckland Central police said police were working to resolve the problem.

"There was an occupation of a group of aggrieved Maori who believe there was a grievance with the land," he said.....

See full article HERE

Native Affairs – State of care - Part 1

On Thursday last week the latest review into Child, Youth and Family revealed more damning statistics on the state of our kids in care, and a lack of consistent capability to work successfully with Māori to improve their lives.

Around 57 per cent of children seen by CYF by the time they are aged five are Māori.

But only 3 out of 10 caregivers are Māori, compared with 5 out of every 10 being Pākehā....

See full article HERE

Anne Tolley : Hands off Te Whare Tangata

In 1988 the groundbreaking report, PUAO-TE-ATA-TU, into the Institutional racism of the the Social welfare Department noted “ At the heart of the issue is a profound misunderstanding or ignorance of the place of the child in Maori society and its relationship with whanau, hapu, iwi structures.” This was in response to the deprivation that Maori whanau face and the mass removal of our children from whanau into the ‘care of the state’. (1)

This is offensive and racist social engineering. 35 % of all children taken into the ‘care of the state are Maori. Maori are easy to be forgotten as the rubbish of structural adjustment. Maori still haven’t recovered from the extremist economic “reforms” of the eighties when an entire generation of Maori & Pacific Island children and youth has suffered under those reforms, and to this very day remain stigmatised, marginalised and brutalised by harsh economic conditions.

Māori culture aligns women with the land, because the land gives birth to humankind just as women do. As the world was born from Papatūānuku, so humankind is born from women. A woman’s womb, called te whare tangata (the house of humanity), is seen as the same as the womb of the earth.

Maori women's place in their whanau, culture and society shows the impact of colonisation, assimilation and urbanisation which had resulted in the loss of Maori culture and the low socio-economic position of many of the women and their whanau find themselves in today.....

See full article HERE

Parts of rangitahi court 'should be used for adults'

An academic in youth justice and criminal law says while the rangatahi court system is a positive development, elements of it need to be rolled out to accommodate adults as well.

The rangatahi courts are an alternative to the youth court, with family group conferences held on marae to decide what will happen to the young person.

The conferences adhere to Māori protocols or tikanga.

Khylee Quince, a lawyer and lecturer in youth justice and criminal law at the University of Auckland, said that element of the rangatahi courts should be extended to the adult court system....

See full article HERE

Iwi collective keen to expand housing

A collective of 13 Auckland iwi that is building 300 houses at Waimahia Inlet in south Auckland, is keen to play a big part in the development of the region's affordable housing.

But the Waimahia Inlet development shows how affordable community housing can be provided.

Situated in suburban Weymouth, half an hour's drive from downtown Auckland, Waimahia will be home for nearly 300 lower income households, tenants and first time buyers.

The former Crown land is now owned by the Tamaki Collective, with the not-for-profit Housing Foundation as the developer.

Some of the nearly 300 houses are for sale on the open market, others are restricted to first-home buyers....

See full article HERE

College students petition for a national holiday to recognise Land Wars

More than 10,000 signatures on a petition show New Zealand is ready to set aside a day to remember the Land Wars.

Otorohanga College students have collected the signatures in support of a national holiday to commemorate the 19th-century battles.

They will march on Parliament in early December to present their request, supported by Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta, iwi leaders and fellow students.

Mahuta said she would take the petition to Parliament and would like to see it tabled before the Maori Affairs Select Committee.

She said a national day of recognition would ensure people "continue to tell the story of ancestors who went to war to fight for their land, rather than have it taken by colonial government"....

See full article HERE

Work begins on removing ancient bones from Auckland building

Work is to start on removing human bones from a restaurant building site at Auckland's Long Bay Regional Park.

Discovery of the ancient bones has twice stopped the rebuild of the formerly popular restaurant on the beachfront, the latest in November 2014.

The site has been sealed while Auckland Council sought approval from Heritage New Zealand, with the support of iwi and hapu, to clear the whole site.

wi and hapu representatives will be on site to provide cultural monitoring of the excavations.

The restaurant was closed in May 2013 after 12 years for refurbishment.....

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 and HERE.

27 September 2015

Deal with iwi criticised

District councillor Roger Haisman has launched a strong attack on the proposed joint management agreement with Ngati Porou for the Waiapu Catchment — saying the goal of the iwi is to control everything in their rohe and claiming iwi on the Poverty Bay Flats will follow suit.

Ngati Porou had made it plain at the previous meeting with the council that they wanted control over all of their whole claimed area. They said at this stage they were not ready to do that and would settle for the area of the Waiapu Catchment.

“They made it quite clear at that meeting that was what they were aiming at.

“Do you realise the implications of that?”

If the council went ahead with this agreement, did they think that the iwi on the west of the Waimata River would not want similar agreements?

“I don’t think you realise where this is heading.

“It will mean the iwi will have a major say on what happens all over our district, particularly over the Poverty Bay Flats and the western area where there are large areas of land that is not in iwi ownership.

“We are handing a major say in what happens to a bunch of unelected people.....

See full article HERE

Maori trust manager relieved after call

The manager of a Maori trust trying to get people into their first homes is feeling more hopeful of success, after a phone call from Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett.

He Korowai Trust was advised this week it could lose its charitable status, if it sells state houses it has renovated, to needy families.

The Charities Commission has had to review the status of many social housing providers after a court found a Queenstown scheme was not charitable because it conferred private benefit on the homeowners, rather than the community.

Mr Houghton said Ms Bennett assured him she and the government support He Korowai's housing project, and officials were working hard to resolve the question of charitable status.....

See full article HERE

Govt announces funding boost to Te Haerenga tours

The government has announced a funding boost of $124,000 to Te Haerenga, a guided journey service on Rangitoto and neighbouring Motutapu island.

It will give Iwi the opportunity to share with visitors the traditional and contemporary stories linked with the islands.

Iwi are also working to train young Māori, and staff, involved with the venture, giving them skills they can take out into the wider workplace....

See full article HERE

From the NZCPR Breaking Views archives (By Gerry Eckhoff)

Maori Claim to Water

http://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/gerry-eckhoff-maori-claim-to-water.html

July 22, 2012

If privatizing our freshwater to iwi is a concern to you then please sign the petition HERE

Ngāpuhi request clarify on sovereignty

Māori claimants from the North have asked the Waitangi Tribunal to spell out its position on sovereignty - and who holds it now.

The tribunal found last year that Ngāpuhi chiefs had not ceded sovereignty to the British Crown, when they signed Te Tiriti in 1840.

But it left open the question of whether the Crown had since acquired it.

A lawyer acting for claimant groups, Darrell Naden, said comments by a tribunal member at a recent hearing implied it had accepted the Crown now holds sovereignty.

And he said, if that is the case, claimants need to know.

"Our clients are presenting evidence that since 1840 sovereignty had not been ceded," he said.

"And, if the tribunal is however of the position that sovereignty has been ceded since 1840 then that affects the kind of evidence that they will present that affects the kinds of arguments that they will want to raise, and there's that kind of significance."....

See full article HERE

Medical Council wants partnerships with Māori doctors

The Medical Council is calling on non-Māori and Māori doctors to work together to address issues of inequality tāngata whenua face in the health system.

It has been 10 years since the council published its standards on cultural competency - however, a decade on, Māori still have poorer health statistics compared to non-Māori.

The council's chair, Andrew Connolly, said one significant way the profession could help improve equality was by supporting Māori doctors in their advocacy and leadership roles within the profession and in their tribal communities....

See full article HERE

Call for holistic approach to Maori in legal system

Courts could see fewer tāngata whenua in prison and re-offendending if a more holistic model was used, say Māori working in the justice system.

"A therapeutic approach is much more team focused. So all of the personnel that would be helpful to address whatever the cause of offending is, literally sit at the same table and address the case, and help engage that person."

"Pou Oranga which brings a tikanga Māori, kaupapa Māori focus, and peer support which brings a lived, experience approach."

Mr Pene said he hoped the therapeutic principles applied in the AODTC would become normalised in the mainstream justice system....

See full article HERE

Interislander ferry Kaiarahi arrives in Wellington Harbour to Maori blessing

The newest addition to Interislander's ferry fleet has arrived in Wellington Harbour after a 13-day journey from Singapore.

The Kaiarahi was formally welcomed at a dawn ceremony with a Maori blessing on Thursday....

See full article HERE

Govt not doing enough for poverty, Maori

The New Zealand government is not doing enough for people in poverty a large majority of Maori believe.

Four out of five Maori believe the New Zealand government is not doing enough to combat poverty in the community.

Around 17 per cent of New Zealand's population, or 622,000 people, are assessed to be in poverty with Maori and Pacific Islanders considered to be some of the highest risk groups.

Motu Economic and Public Policy research revealed that 82 per cent of Maori surveyed believe the government is not adequately addressing the issue.

It compares with 51 per cent of non-Maori.

Maori tend to have more "leftist" beliefs than non-Maori, the report released on Wednesday says, with the majority of responses believing that many live in need because society is unfair.....

See full article HERE

Maori burial dispute hits court

A dispute over the burial place of Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitaake, who led Maori in the Taranaki Land Wars in the 1860s, is being played out in the Environment Court in New Plymouth.

Greymouth Petroleum wants to overturn a Heritage New Zealand decision denying it permission to begin evacuations for its proposed Kowhai D wellsite in the Waitara Valley.

The application was declined after the Otaraua hapu told Heritage New Zealand a "significant ancestor" was buried in the vicinity of the proposed well.

Greymouth's expert witness historian Buddy Mikaere today disputed whether the grave, whose precise location has not been revealed, was actually near the proposed well site.

Mr Mikaere said there was little evidence King's body had been moved from Kaingaru after his death....

See full article HERE

Northland hapū call for treaty negotiation halt

The Northland group that took a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal over Ngāpuhi's flawed mandate is calling on Treaty Minister Chris Finlayson to halt all negotiations.

The movement, which represents 15-20 hapū and met yesterday at Mangamuka, said the tribunal's report supported its primary position - that all hapū have a right to exercise rangatiratanga when deciding how and by whom they will be represented in the tribe's treaty negotiations....

See full article HERE

Northland group sacks Regional Council

A Northland group is issuing Māori passports, permits, consents and qualifications, saying it no longer recognises the authority of the Regional Council

The group, whose letterhead displays the flag of the Declaration of Independence, recently sent a letter to the Northland Regional Council sacking it, thanking it for its efforts and saying it had done a miserable job.

Ngā Uri ā Hakiputatōmuri Native Council is an active movement and local regional council Māori Advisory Chairman Dover Samuels fears it has growing support.

Mr Samuels said, "They don't recognise the council juristication, they think the council is tauiwi - it has no powers over them - and they have no responsiblities to respond to any requests by the Northland Regional Council and, I would expect, other authorities."

He said they were distributing their own passports, driving licences and motor vehicle registrations.

Mr Samuels said a Waitangi Tribunal report which looked into the meaning of the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty of Waitangi had strengthened Ngā Uri ā Hakiputatōmuri's position.

The report found Ngāpuhi Chiefs did not cede sovereignty to Britain.

Mr Samuels said some groups were using the finding as a means to justify their position that existing laws do not apply to them.

He said the Prime Minister needed to clearly state that the sovereign powers of the nation rested with Parliament and that the Waitangi Tribunal report was null and void....

See full article HERE

Minister announces investigators of indebted iwi

The government has hired two key people to carry out an investigation and to temporarily manage a Far North iwi.

A ministerial investigation is taking place after the Aupōuri Māori Trust Board advised the minister that it was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt....

See full article HERE

Ngāti Awa call for Rena to be removed completely

The Rena should be removed from Astrolabe Reef. That's the view Te Patuwai and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa presented to the panel overseeing the Rena resource consent hearings.

This is a different call from other representatives of the subtribe....

See full article HERE

Iwi tax status mess for charity sector

The Government’s mishandling of tax status for charitable community housing providers is jeopardising projects to house some of New Zealand’s most vulnerable families, Labour’s Associate Housing and Community and Voluntary sector spokesperson Poto Williams says.

“National has allowed this confusion to continue for almost two years. Their latest move, rules that mean Far North Iwi He Korowai Trust will lose its charitable status if it allows families to pay off their homes, is simply nuts.....

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 and HERE.

22 September 2015

College ponders name change to broaden appeal

Turakina Maori Girls College is looking to attract more pakeha students and may take the name "Maori" out of its title to increase enrolments.

The 110-year-old Marton school is in danger of closing after Education Minister Hekia Parata announced a consultation process last month.

Iwi and Maori trust sponsorship, more day pupils, whanau living in Australia, students under CYF care, marketing to other ethnic groups and appealing to pakeha families who want their girls to have knowledge of Te Ao Maori are listed as strategies in a report prepared by the school's board of trustees in response to the closure threat.

The report says if the college is to appeal to a broader group, it may need to promote Turakina as "Turakina Girls College."....

See full article HERE

Leave Rena wreckage as is, says iwi elder

Astrolabe Reef has suffered enough and the Rena wreck should be left as it is, Motiti resident Nepia Ranapia says.

Mr Ranapia is a senior member of Korowai Kahui o Nga Pakeke o Te Patuwai, an umbrella group of elders that sits within a traditional tribal committee.

"We say that Otaiti [Astrolabe Reef] has suffered enough and that the conditions of the consent proposed by the applicant will be sufficient to ensure that the mauri [life force] of the reef is respected. The elders say that removal of the final remains of the Rena is unnecessary and could cause more spiritual harm than good." .....

See full article HERE

Ngati Whatua Orakei mark key historical Akld moment

A special ceremony was held by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust in a central Auckland city reserve to mark the 175th anniversary of its signing over of land to the Crown.

On September 18, 1840, Ngāti Whātua chiefs signed a provisional Deed with the Crown and 3500 acres of land was later handed over to become Auckland....

See full article HERE

From the NZCPR archives (By Dr Don Brash)

Why I disagree with Gareth Morgan

In recent weeks, Gareth Morgan has written several articles for the “New Zealand Herald” promoting his book on the implications of the Treaty of Waitangi for modern New Zealand. Then a couple of days before Waitangi Day I had a call from David Fisher of the “Herald” telling me that Dr Morgan would be going to the Orewa Rotary Club to give a speech criticising what he called “ignorant Brash-think” about the Treaty.

I made some comments suggesting that I disagreed quite fundamentally with his views and they appeared in the “Herald” the following day. Later that day, I got a phone call from one of Dr Morgan’s staff (Gareth must have been too busy to call me himself) inviting me to attend the speech and make some comments in reply. After giving the matter some thought, I accepted the invitation and have no regrets that I did so.

It was obvious that Dr Morgan had chosen the venue for maximum media impact, with my attendance also designed to increase the media appeal. And there were certainly plenty of media in attendance – arguably as many media people as other audience members. It turned out that, while we spoke at the premises used by the Orewa Rotary Club, this was not a meeting of the Orewa Rotary Club, which no doubt explains why the audience was so tiny.

Because the “debate” – really a speech by Dr Morgan and a relatively brief reply by me, followed by a small number of questions from the audience – attracted some media attention, I accepted Muriel’s invitation to write a brief piece on why I disagree with Dr Morgan.

Let me first acknowledge that Dr Morgan and I agree on some issues. He is opposed to separate Maori electorates, Maori wards in local government (and by implication the Maori Statutory Board in Auckland) and quotas for Maori in educational institutions. Granting any group special rights is contrary to Article 3 of the Treaty he believes, and I totally agree with that.

Having these special rights is also patronising, and implies that Maori aren’t quite competent enough to have their voices heard in the political arena, or get into some university courses, without a special leg up. Of course that is nonsense: when I was in Parliament, there were 21 Maori in Parliament – roughly the same percentage of Maori Members of Parliament as Maori are in the wider population – only seven of them elected in the Maori electorates. The other 14 were elected in general constituencies or were placed in a winnable position on a party’s list. (Ironically, the person who chaired our debate in Orewa personified that fact – she was Georgina Beyer, herself Maori, who won the rural electorate of Wairarapa for the Labour Party in competition with Paul Henry.)

Similarly in Auckland: the first election of councillors after the super-city was established in 2010 saw three people of Maori descent elected – not in Maori wards but on their own merit – and again three Maori out of a total of 20 councillors meant that Maori on the Council were in roughly the same proportion as Maori in the general population.

But as explained in his recent Ngapuhi speech, Dr Morgan’s basic position seems to be that –

“.. the Treaty is whatever a reasonable person’s view of the following four taken together leads them to – not any one taken in isolation, but all taken together:

1)      Treaty of Waitangi
2)      Te Tiriti O Waitangi
3)      Principles of the Treaty
4)      Post-1975 Consensus on the Treaty.”

And I think that that is nonsense. The so-called principles of the Treaty have often been referred to, frequently in legislation, but have never to my knowledge been fully explained, let alone agreed. And to refer to a “post-1975 consensus on the Treaty” is again a meaningless concept – I know of no such consensus, and the whole reason for the ongoing debate is that there is no consensus about what the Treaty means, or should mean.

In one of his “Herald” articles Dr Morgan talked about Maori having a partnership with the Crown, making us, in his words, “one nation, two peoples”. I also think this is nonsense, Lord Cooke notwithstanding. The idea that Governor Hobson envisaged the British Crown – the representation of the most advanced country in the world at the time – forming a partnership with a disparate group of Maori chiefs who were, at that time, scarcely out of the Stone Age, is ludicrous. Moreover, to speak of New Zealand in 2015 being “two peoples” is equally silly: the overwhelming majority of people who identify as Maori also have some non-Maori ancestors, frequently a non-Maori parent, while “non-Maori” are no longer exclusively European but embrace a very wide range of ethnicities.

So I disagree with Dr Morgan’s starting point, and as a result I disagree with many of his conclusions.

I think making the teaching of te reo compulsory in primary school, as he advocates, would be a complete waste of valuable teaching time for most New Zealand children, many of whom can’t even read and write well in English – which is not just the dominant language of New Zealand but is also the dominant language of the whole world. Being able to read and write in English is of fundamental importance to all New Zealanders, whatever their ancestry. And yes, there may be merits in terms of brain development in learning a second language at an early age, but if a second language is to be learnt it should be one which would be of benefit in the wider world, such as Mandarin or Spanish. (Interestingly, I took part in a Maori TV programme a few years ago, on a panel of six people discussing whether te reo should be a compulsory subject in primary school. Even though I was the only non-Maori on the panel, the panel voted by clear majority against making the teaching of te reo compulsory.) Of course if resources were infinite – so that we could teach te reo without crowding out anything else in the school curriculum – then why not learn a whole bunch of languages? But as an economist Dr Morgan should know better than most that resources are not infinite: teaching te reo would have an opportunity cost – something else would have to drop out of the curriculum.

The idea of having an Upper House with 50% of its members being Maori, which Dr Morgan also advocates, strikes me as utterly absurd, and totally at odds with any concept of democracy.

Many of our problems today stem from the way in which Te Tiriti O Waitangi – the real Treaty, which Maori chiefs signed – has been reinterpreted to suit the desires of modern-day revisionists. But its meaning is totally unambiguous.

The first clause involved Maori chiefs ceding sovereignty to the British Crown, completely and forever. And there can be not the slightest doubt about that. That Maori chiefs understood that at the time is abundantly clear from the speeches made by the chiefs themselves, both those in favour of signing and those opposed to it. This was further confirmed by a large number of chiefs at the Kohimarama Conference in 1860, and confirmed again by Sir Apirana Ngata in 1920.

The third article of the Treaty provided that all Maori – “tangata Maori, katoa o Nu Tirani” – should receive full citizenship rights – and this included the many slaves of other Maori, most being held in abject conditions and often the victims of cannibal feasts. Today, we tend to see this clause as no big deal but in 1840 it was an extraordinary thing for the Queen’s representatives to offer – nothing similar happened for the Australian aborigines, or the American Indians. All Maori, no matter their status, were offered the “rights and privileges of British subjects”, putting them on a par with every other British subject – not, it may be noted, ahead of other British subjects but on a par with them.

The second clause is what has caused so much angst. Actually, the clause is redundant since all it does is guarantee the right of citizens to own private property, and British subjects have this right anyway. But note that the guarantee was made to all the people of New Zealand – “tangata katoa o Nu Tirani” – in clear distinction to the third article which specifically applied only to Maori – and “all” means “all”. In other words, rights of ownership were guaranteed to all New Zealanders, not just to those with one or more Maori ancestors.

There is ongoing debate about what “tino rangatiratanga” meant at the time but it is impossible to believe it meant what modern-day revisionists try to take it to mean. Why on earth would Hobson have asked Maori chiefs to sign a Treaty involving the complete cession of sovereignty in the first clause if the second clause contradicted that first clause?

Let me say that I have always supported the payment of compensation by the Crown to any New Zealander, Maori or non-Maori, who can establish with a reasonable degree of certainty that their property has been illegally confiscated by the Crown. There are clearly suspicions that some of the claims which have been settled in recent times have in fact been settled on several previous occasions, and that brings the settlement process into disrepute. But in principle nobody can object to the Crown paying compensation to any New Zealander whose property has been illegally confiscated.

So in summary, I like the Treaty: it is a very simple document recording the cession of sovereignty by the Maori chiefs who signed it; extending to them in return the full rights of British subjects; and guaranteeing to all New Zealanders the right to own property.

But it does not require us all to learn te reo; it does not provide for separate Maori electorates or Maori wards; it does not give Maori a power to veto RMA resource consents; it does not give Maori any preferential rights over natural resources; and it certainly provides no basis for an Upper House with half its members being Maori.

http://www.nzcpr.com/why-i-disagree-with-gareth-morgan/

February 8, 2015

Iwi accused of inconsistent approach to significance of sinkings at prime sites

It is "inconsistent" to claim the mauri of Astrolabe Reef/Otaiti is harmed by the Rena when iwi have accepted intentional sinkings near significant sites, says a Te Arawa witness.

Ms Bennett said she did not support anything foreign in the moana but after her dive last week, she was happy with the way the reef was recovering.

This had made her question the evidence of those who said mauri could not exist where a ship was.

She raised the intentional sinking of the Seafire in 2008 off the shore of Whakatane with the acceptance of local iwi Ngati Awa.....

See full article HERE

Maori sites blessed on Clutha trail

Two sites of significance to Maori on the Clutha Gold Trail were blessed this week ''to let the past be comfortable with us coming through''....

See full article HERE

A good article re Maori blessings by Brian Rudman 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 and HERE.

18 September 2015

Freshwater management 'at crucial point'

Water experts have been told ensuring that the governance and management of freshwater recognises Māori interests is a critical challenge for New Zealand

Rahui Papa, the chair of Waikato-Tainui's executive board Te Arataura, made the comment at the Water New Zealand conference currently being held in Hamilton.

An iwi leaders' forum has been in discussion with the government to make sure iwi, hapū and whānau rights and interests in freshwater are not ignored.

Julian Williams, who works for Waikato-Tainui's environment unit, said the move from local to national decision-making on freshwater recognised iwi as a full partner with the Crown.

Mr Williams said, for Waikato-Tainui, the definition of ownership and control of the Waikato River was clear.

"The way we describe it is that, as a responsibility, she is ours, she is mine to look after, she is mine to care for - and she owns us, so ownership, in that sense to us, means that she is ours and we are hers.....

See full article HERE

Enter Maori world with confidence

A Northland cultural tutor is offering classes to Northland business people who wish to improve their understanding of Maori culture with a view to doing better business with tangata whenua.

Ellis Bryers, originally from Opononi but now living in Tauranga, said he regularly got requests from non-Maori businesses about how to do work with iwi.

"For Pakeha, it's about approaching business with Maori with the values of a friendship.

"For Maori, it's about forgiveness ... forgiving the sins of the ancestors of the people standing in front of you.....

See full article HERE

Approval given for geothermal plant on Māori land

A green light has been given for the construction of a geothermal power plant on Māori land near Kawerau in the Bay of Plenty.

Eastland Group is in partnership with landowners Kawerau A8D Ahu Whenua Trust to build a plant 2.3 kilometres northeast of the township.

In the past, Ngati Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau has raised concerns about the site being the birthplace of their ancestor - Tuwharetoa.....

See full article HERE

Toby Curtis: Charter schools the key for Maori

At a recent Iwi Chairs Forum hosted by Waikato Tainui at Hopuhopu, iwi leaders resolved to actively support the establishment of partnership schools (kura hourua) in their rohe. We also resolved to advocate that the Government expand this initiative and to advocate the concept publicly, in particular the importance of high-quality teaching, high educational achievement and strong supportive partnerships with iwi, communities and other organisations.....

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 and HERE.

17 September 2015

Auckland ratepayers have no choice over funding Maori appeal

Auckland ratepayers have no choice but to fund a legal appeal over the way Maori advisers to the council are selected, Mayor Len Brown says.

An appeal by the Independent Maori Statutory Board (IMSB) over the way it selects its members was heard by the Court of Appeal on Tuesday.

The IMSB was set up in 2010 to advise the newly merged Auckland Council on issues affecting Maori, after the Government rejected the idea of separate Maori seats.

Broadcaster Willie Jackson successfully took the IMSB's selection panel to the High Court, with the judge ruling its selection process was flawed.

"We can have all sorts of feelings about the rights and wrongs of the case but we're obliged to follow the law," he said.

"The law has been interpreted to say that until such time as the matter is finally determined in court the panel continues to sit.

"And while the panel continues to sit we are obliged under our statute to pay any costs that they incur, including court costs."

The Auditor-General has turned down a request by a group of councillors for an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the appeal funding vote.....

See full article HERE

Call for more recognition of Tino Rangatiratanga flag

Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox says the Maori sovereignty flag doesn't need to be included in the referendum, but should be flown alongside whichever design wins.

Fox wants to see the Tino Rangatiratanga flag flying from places like Parliament.....

See full article HERE

Council set to right century-old land grievance

Rotorua Lakes Council has today moved to remedy a long-standing iwi grievance over confiscated land on the eastern shore of Lake Rotoiti. The strip of land is part of a parcel of land taken from Ngāti Tamateatutahi by the Crown 118 years ago.......

See full article HERE

Māori world view leads to greater life satisfaction

New research from Massey University has compared work/life balance and life satisfaction levels across seven cultures – and found that New Zealand Māori scored the highest on both fronts.

Sixty-seven per cent of Māori respondents rated their work/life balance as above average, while only 58 per cent of Pākehā felt the same way. When it came to life satisfaction, the gap was even wider – 81 per cent of Māori rated their life satisfaction as above average, compared to only 59 per cent of Pākehā.

“If your world view is not all about your own personal wellbeing, you are more likely to feel content with your work/life balance, even if it doesn’t mean you’re actually working less hours.” ....

See full article HERE

Justice calls for places dedicated to Te Reo

High Court Justice Joe Williams is calling for the creation of places or districts dedicated to speaking Te Reo Maori.

Justice Williams, who served as Chief Judge of the Maori Land Court, and as Chairman of the Waitangi Tribunal, said the focus should shift to Maori language "places".

"They could be places throughout New Zealand where the Maori language is seen as a regular part of community intercourse, community discourse and discussion, so that bilingual signs would be expected, families would be supported to speak in Maori in their homes, and the language would be valued in the districts."

He said if there was such a place, he would move to it and live there.....

See full article HERE

Maori access super before 65? Russel Norman's replacement says it's worth a look

New Green MP Marama Davidson wants to improve party’s connection with Maori, saying it traditionally hasn’t had a strong presence in Maori communities.

Asked if Maori should be able to access NZ Super before the age of 65 (the current age of eligibility for all New Zealanders), she replies: “Both of my own grandparents didn't make it past 65, and so we need to look at how to make things more equal for those discriminations.” ...

See full article HERE

Matakana settlement dragging on

Descendants of the owners of Panepane Point on Matakana Island are being called to a hui on their ancestral land on September 20 to discuss its fate.

The land, some 400 acres, was taken from Maori ownership in 1922 for port purposes, and never returned.

The land was taken in two parts involving a dozen original owners, who by now would have ‘quite a lot' of descendants, says Taiawa.

“This is the issue – the terms and conditions that the western bay are deciding they are putting on the land before they return it to us,” adds Taiawa. “We will decide what is going to be on there and agree it from there.”....

See full article HERE

Riverhead Forest treaty settlement closer

The Waitangi Treaty settlement will see land at Te Onekiritea Pt (Hobsonville Pt) vested to the iwi to establish a marae, the Crown also contributing $300,000 towards it as well as Bethells beach reserve land as a cemetery and the Kawarau Pa site on Tiritiri Matangi Island.

The settlement, valued at $6.5 million plus interest, includes a Crown apology, the vesting of nine sites totalling 31 hectares, including over 80 per cent of Riverhead Forest, and their accumulated rentals.

For two years after settlement they will also have first option to buy the land of four local schools to be leased back to the Crown.

They will have first right of refusal over Clarke House and Te Onekiritea Pt at Hobsonville, and non-exclusive right of refusal for 173 years for "surplus" Crown owned properties around the Mahurangi coast.

Paremoremo Prison falls in the agreement area with a 170 year non-exclusive right of first refusal, along with non-exclusive deferred selection right to purchase the Paremoremo housing block land.....

See full article HERE

Protesters Occupy Former Lake Horowhenua Sailing Club

On his way back from terminating the Maori occupation of Kaitaia Airport, Police Superintendent Wallace Haumaha was diverted to Lake Horowhenua to deal with another Maori occupation.

Last Sunday, more than twenty Mua-Upoko owners took possession of the former Sailing Club building overlooking this privately-owned lake.

Superintendent Haumaha warned these owners he could arrest them and lock them all up in jail, but was prepared to let the status quo remain while he conducted some investigations.

However, former Horowhenua District Councillor Anne Hunt was on hand to show Superintendent Haumaha copies of various court judgements including one from the Supreme Court confirming that the clubs were unlawfully occupying buildings that belong to Mua-Upoko.

She also pointed out that the Crimes Act justifies owners entering their own buildings during the daytime for the purpose of taking possession thereof.....

See full article HERE

Report supports Whānau Ora

The chair of the North Island Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency commented today on the Productivity Commission’s report on more effective social services.

“The report clearly demonstrates the value and efficacy of Whānau Ora and our commissioning for outcomes approach,” said Merepeka Raukawa-Tait.

Te Pou Matakana (TPM) was launched in July 2014 as part of the government’s decision to move the funding and funding decisions for Whānau Ora closer to the community.

“The inquiry confirms that the Whānau Ora approach is working. But more support from government agencies will be required for Whānau Ora to have the impact that is needed for families to achieve their goals and aspirations,” said Ms Raukawa-Tait.....

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 and HERE.

15 September 2015

From the NZCPR archives (By Dr Muriel Newman)

Intimidation and Fear in Coastal Communities

Maori protest action has created a pall over the Far North community of Taipa. It’s the one that is in the news at the moment, but everywhere Maori activists have been allowed by the authorities to take the law into their own hands, the community has been forced to suffer the consequences. Invariably, the protesters bully and intimidate local residents, making their lives a misery. Fuelled by the government’s proposed foreshore and seabed law, which would see Maori gain ownership of vast tracts of New Zealand’s coastline, such radical protest action may well become commonplace. If it is not nipped in the bud, locals will be denied the right to the peaceful enjoyment of their community through constant harassment and threats from Maori sovereignty activists, and local businesses will bear the financial cost.

In situations of protest action, it’s unacceptable for officialdom to turn a blind eye. In a country that upholds the rule of law, bullies must not be allowed to take the law into their own hands – even if it is in the name of the Treaty of Waitangi. As Neville Chamberlain with his plan for “peace in our time” found out to the cost of Britain and much of the rest of the world, appeasement policies never work!

In New Zealand the principle of one law for all is a fundamental tenet of public order, necessary to protect law-abiding citizens from the illegal actions of thugs and bullies. That means the enforcement arms of government must be colour blind and treat all citizens who break the law equally.

If you or I tried to create a public nuisance by setting up camp on a public access-way, we would expect to be moved off immediately. Similarly if, as a show of open defiance, we tried to build a temporary dwelling to act as a headquarters for our protest, we should expect to be issued with a removal order from the local council almost before we had started!

In other words, the authorities would threaten prosecution and move us on almost before we had got ourselves settled. Why should it be any different for Maori?

In any on-going protest action there are areas that should be of huge concern to the authorities. Firstly, there is the fact that protesters are trespassing on land that doesn’t belong to them, camping illegally, and building structures without consents. Secondly, they are blocking access, intimidating locals and generally creating a public nuisance. Thirdly, they may be driving vehicles that are unwarranted or unregistered, and they might have dogs to guard their camp that might be unregistered. If they are unemployed, the serious question arises of how can they be possibly be protesting full time when they are meant to be out looking for work? If they have school-aged children with them, there are questions about their schooling, since it is illegal to keep children out of school. And then, there is the whole issue of the reason for their action – if they are protesting over the foreshore and seabed or Treaty of Waitangi settlements, then central government should accept responsibility, since it is their laws that have lead to the action – local communities should not be expected to pay the price.

And a significant price it can be.

In Papa Aroha, a small coastal community located on the Coromandel Peninsula, a protest went on for four long months before the authorities finally stepped in to end the occupation and give locals back their community. Maori protestors were claiming the foreshore and seabed as well as the surrounding lands. They blocked access to a public road and boat ramp, threatened to charge anyone using the area, and declared surrounding reserves “wahi tapu” in an effort to further block public access.

According to the court documents, the Maori protesters took possession of the Papa Aroha Beach Access Road in July – a public road owned by the Thames-Coromandel District Council.[1] Claiming the foreshore and seabed belonged to them, they proceeded to blockade the road and establish a camp with tents, caravans and illegal buildings. They placed warning signs across the road including “Trespassers will be Prosecuted”, “Private Property, No Access, Keep Out”, “Wahi Tapu – Keep Out”, and “Foreshore and Seabed – Unextinguished Native Title”.

For months, members of the public were denied access to the boat ramp, the beachfront, the adjacent stream, and Department of Conservation Reserves. In addition, protesters were abusive and violent towards anyone wanting to use the area, including those in the camping ground next door who had to put up with months of aggression and law-breaking........

Continue reading HERE

November 21, 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 and HERE.

13 September 2015

Squatters with alleged gang connections have Waitara beach community residents living in fear

Fear and intimidation rule at Waitara's East Beach. The Taranaki Daily News investigates claims a group of squatters took over the neighbourhood and left residents scared for their life to complain about it.

Residents of a quiet seaside community say they are living in fear behind locked doors after a group of squatters they claim have gang connections illegally moved into their neighbourhood.

Locals at East Beach, a small community in the town of Waitara near New Plymouth, claim the squatters on the piece of land known as the Rohotu Block, are dealing drugs, building illegally and threatening and intimidating people walking their dogs along the beach.

Some say they have had confrontations with the group but have been too afraid to make complaints to authorities for fear of violent retribution.

Attempts to approach the site this week to talk with the squatters were met with verbal abuse and threats of violence.

The site the alleged squatters are occupying is Maori freehold land managed by the Rohotu Block Trust and their legal advisers, under Te Ture Whenua Maori Land Act 1993.

Trust chairman Vincent Brown declined to comment about the alleged squatters or answer questions about the legality of their occupation, though it is understood the trust does not necessarily want them on their land.

In April police were asked to accompany members of the trust, to ensure peace was maintained, while they spoke to the group about stopping earthworks at the site.

"At the time the people occupying the land claimed rights to occupy as Tangata Whenua," Sergeant Phil Quinn said......

See full article HERE

The Tindall Foundation hosts Iwi leaders hui

Earlier this week The Tindall Foundation was honoured to welcome nine Maori Iwi leaders from around New Zealand to a special hui hosted at our offices in Takapuna. The purpose was to share ideas about how The Tindall Foundation can most effectively support Maori now and in the future. Our Trustees and staff are aware of how important it is to have a sound understanding of current issues and opportunities for Maori so the group came together to discuss ways in which we can work collaboratively to support Maori, help tackle some of the issues people face and work out possible solutions that could lead to better outcomes in the future.

It was a very productive and inspiring hui. We were delighted to host the following representatives, Sir Mark Solomon, Ngai Tahu; Dr Pita Sharples, Ngati Kahungunu; Papa Rahui and Parekawhia McLean, Tainui; Martin Wikaira, Ngati Tuwharetoa; Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Ngati Ruanui; Helen Leahy, Ngai Tahu; Kevin Prime, Ngati Hine and Blair Ngarimu, Ngati Whatua.

John McCarthy, Manager of The Tindall Foundation says, “The Foundation was honoured and privileged to be able to host such a distinguished group of Maori leaders at our hui. We hope this will be the start of an on-going relationship which will help guide our work with Maori into the future”.....

See full article HERE

Demand growing for Māori corporate law

Māori lawyers are considering what new skills they will need to develop as the historic claim settlement process winds down.

More than 180 Māori lawyers and 130 law students attended the annual hui of the Māori lawyer’s association in Waitangi over the weekend.

Te Huinga Roia Māori co-chair Rachel Mullins says they are facing new challenges as settlements start to flow.

"Our people are now needing our lawyers to have commerical legal skills to become property lawyers, to have facts law skills so that they can progress to the next stage and they can be the advisors for the iwi and moving forward to grow the asset base."....

Power Play: The Maori Party's Whanau Ora problem

Whanau Ora is the Maori Party's flagship policy, but five years on, even the Government support partner finds it difficult to explain exactly what the programme does, and where the money for the various contracts comes from.

The latest report card on Whanau Ora has been released and it was light on any hard data.

It surveyed hundreds of whanau and concluded many have found the initiative useful, but it did not go into details about how it was funded, particularly the controversial Whanau Innovation and Integration Fund.

This reflects the public relations surrounding the programme since it was launched in 2010.

While many agree in principle it sounds like a good idea, few can explain exactly how it works, or whether it works.....

See full article HERE

Put a blowtorch to this bad dream (Opinion)

Councillors cave in to ‘vote our way or be sued’ threat from Maori selection panel ... and ratepayers must pay.

We have John Key and Rodney Hide to thank for the scandal erupting over Maori representation on the Auckland Council.

In designing the super city, they were so busy appeasing their allies and supporters that they forgot to consider the bigger democratic picture. To satisfy his Maori Party allies, the Prime Minister was forced to incorporate some form of separate Maori representation into the governance structure. But Mr Key and the then-Minister of Local Government, Mr Hide, regarded elected "Maori" seats as a step too far.

The compromise is the existing mess of unelected appointees, voting alongside elected councillors and answerable to no one but a mysterious selection panel that like some exotic insect, is supposed to die once its reproductive task is done.....

But what's really needed is to take a blowtorch to this whole un-elected bad dream, and permit Auckland to return to its democratic roots.....
See full article HERE

Maori learners 'will get lift' from today's announcement

The Minister of Education’s announcement to fund a full time coordinator and provide ongoing funding to support an initiative for lifting Maori children’s learning was met with enthusiastic applause at the Te Akatea Maori Principals’ conference today.

The initiative, the Maori Achievement Collaboratives, are the result of school principals from both Te Akatea and NZPF working together with Ministry officials to find a better way to approach learning for Maori.

‘The answer lies in creating a school culture that equally respects a Maori and Pakeha world view,’ said Robert Clark, President of Te Akatea. ‘That means reaching out to iwi and to whanau and making the school a place where our Maori parents belong and are welcome to contribute rather than school being a foreign place where they feel no sense of ownership,’ he said.

‘The problem we faced as leaders of schools was in fully appreciating the Maori world view,’ said Denise Torrey, President of NZPF. ‘Most Maori children are in mainstream schools and most have Pakeha principals who struggle to understand how to create truly bicultural school environments’, she said. ‘What our principals needed was the opportunity to understand the elements of biculturalism they were lacking and this requires collaborative groups working together with a facilitator who has the knowledge and skills to bring that understanding to the group,’ she said.

‘The Minister’s commitment to funding this initiative now means that principals across the country will have the opportunity to address learning for Maori children in a way that is meaningful for their particular context, so that tamariki everywhere can truly enjoy success as Maori,’ said Clark.....

See full article HERE

East Coast iwi 'not opposed' to protesting oil, gas plans

East Coast Maori are prepared to protest plans to explore for oil and gas off the coast of Gisborne.

Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges has opened consultation on four proposed exploration blocks.

One of them stretches from East Cape in the north to the lower South Island - a total of 68,661 square kilometres....

See full article HERE

Back incarcerated Maori Waitangi claim, says iwi

A Hawke's Bay iwi is urging other tribes to step up and back an urgent claim submitted to the Waitangi Tribunal alleging the Crown is responsible for the high number of Māori in prison.

Retired probation officer Tom Hemopo has made an application to the Tribunal claiming the Crown had done little to address the high rate of Maori imprisonment and reoffending.

Statistics New Zealand figures show the percentage of Māori convicted of offences was at its worst in 2014; for the first time since 1980, Māori made up a greater percentage of all convictions than Europeans, with 38.7 percent Māori compared to 38.3 percent European.....

See full article HERE

Russel Norman quits Greens and Parliament to head Greenpeace NZ

Former Green Party co-leader Russel Norman will resign as an MP and from the Green Party to head Greenpeace New Zealand.

Dr Norman's resignation will see Marama Davidson become the party's 14th MP.

Ms Davidson, from Manurewa, Auckland, is a political commentator who has worked at the Human Rights Commission for ten years.

"With every close there is a new opening, and we are incredibly excited about Marama Davidson becoming an MP," Ms Turei said.

"Marama is a modern, progressive voice for Maori political aspiration and will also be a very welcome fourth member of the party's Maori caucus."....

See full article HERE

Crown given a telling off over its treaty talks with Ngapuhi

The Waitangi Tribunal has ruled that the Crown made a number of breaches in its negotiations with Ngapuhi.

The Crown appointed Tuhoronuku Independent Mandate Authority to represent Ngapuhi during treaty settlement negotiations.

But hapu including Ngati Hine have argued the group doesn’t have the mandate to oversee the negotiations and in December last year The Waitangi Tribunal held an urgent hearing over the concerns.

Today the tribunal released its report concluding the Crown had failed to protect the ability of hapu to exercise their rangatiratanga in deciding how and by whom they would be represented in settlement negotiations.

It went on to say that the structure and processes of Tuhoronuku deny hapu any effective means of withdrawing from it or exerting control over how it represents them.....

See full article HERE

A further article here Tuhoronuku 'notfit' to settle claim - Tribunal

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 and HERE.

11 September 2015

Most Muriwhenua iwi settle with Crown

Legislation giving Far North iwi a strong say over 90 Mile Beach and affecting the largest return of land to Maori has been passed by Parliament.

As part of the deal, the iwi will co-manage conservation land in the region, and 90 Mile Beach, known by Maori as Te Oneroa-a-Tohe.

A board for beach management will be created which will include 50 percent iwi and will be chaired by iwi.

Mr Piripi said swimmers and fishermen would not be disadvantaged....

See full article HERE

More Support Needed for Maori Boarding Schools

New Zealand First is concerned Māori are being shut out of government support for education, leading to the closure of Māori boarding schools.

“The Minister of Education has said Turakina Māori Girls’ College will have to close if it doesn’t get more students,” says New Zealand First Māori Affairs Spokesperson Pita Paraone.

“First Hato Petera, now Turakina are fighting for their existence. Changing the Aspire Scholarship criteria is the least the government can do to support Māori boarding schools and give Māori education a much needed boost,” says Mr Paraone....

See full article HERE

Iwi and DOC unite to ensure Kāpiti Island treasures are protected

“While the island is managed as Nature Reserve under the Reserves Act 1977, it is important that Ngāti Toa is able to exercise their kaitiakitanga over the island” says DOC Partnerships Manager Paul McArthur....

See full article HERE

School students perform protest haka at Parliament

Past pupils sheltered from the rain and wiped away tears as a rousing haka was performed outside of Parliament in an effort to save Turakina Maori Girls' College.

About 150 people, including past and present students of the boarding school, braved steady rain to protest the potential closure of the school, which has been open for 110 years.

The delegation presented a petition to Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox, who told them she was proud they had braved the rain, although it was a disgrace that they had not been allowed into Parliament.

"They don't know the strength that we have, that we have built over years, over centuries, and we will show them our strength today. And you have come, and you have shown them your strength.....

See full article HERE

Three new appointees to Waitangi Tribunal

Māori Development Minister, Te Ururoa Flavell, has announced the appointments of three new members to the Waitangi Tribunal.

Dr Hauata Palmer, Derek Lardelli and Bill Wilson QC will join the Tribunal along with 13 other members who have also been reappointed.

New appointments to the Waitangi Tribunal are:

Dr Hauata Palmer is a well-respected kaumātua from Ngāi Te Rangi and he holds a honourary Doctorate in Philosophy. He worked for the Department of Māori Affairs for several years before returning home to work for his hapū and iwi in the Tauranga region.

Derek Lardelli (Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata) is an expert in moko, kapa haka, tribal history and whaikōrero. He has been a cultural advisor for numerous groups including the All Blacks and New Zealand’s Olympic team. He lives in Gisborne and is an Associate Professor at Toihoukura, School of Māori Arts at the EIT Tairāwhiti campus.

Bill Wilson QC has extensive experience in public and private law. He was a Queen’s Council from 1996 to 2007, a Court of Appeal Judge from 2007 before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 2008. He resigned in 2010 to practise as an arbitrator, mediator and legal adviser. He has previously served on the Waitangi Tribunal from 1986 to 1995.

Reappointments to the Waitangi Tribunal are:

Wilson Isaac

Dr Aroha Harris

Basil Morrison

Dr Monty Soutar

Tania Simpson

Tureiti Moxon

Miriama Evans

Professor Rawinia Higgins

Professor Pou Temara

Ronald Crosby

Dr Angela Ballara

David Cochrane

Sir Hirini Moko Mead

See full article HERE

Kaitaia Airport protesters trespassed, six arrested

Ngati Kahu occupiers have left Kaitaia Airport.

Six of the occupiers have been arrested and the rest issued with trespass notices, Far North District Council Mayor John Carter said.

"I can confirm the occupation is over," he said.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson slammed the "oafish behaviour" of Ngati Kahu iwi members who had occupied the airport.

Finlayson said the airport was being occupied by "a few miscreants" who did not represent Ngati Kahu.

The occupiers had no right to interfere with members of the local community carrying out their lawful activities, he said.

But Mutu said the activists had the full backing of the wider Ngati Kahu iwi . She said Finlayson's comments were "totally unproductive".

Most of the occupiers were members of the Patukoraha and Ngai Tohianga hapu repossessing land that was taken from them by the government in the 1940s, she said.

"They're not protesting, they've repossessed their land."

She said the occupiers did not want to keep the airport closed.

"They just want Finlayson to say, 'Yes, we know it's Ngati Kahu land'," she said....

See full article HERE

Bonfires VIDEO

Maori get $3.6 million from Rena

The owners and insurers of the Rena are planning to give $3.6 million to Bay of Plenty Maori interests to help mitigate adverse cultural effects of the wreck of the containership on Astrolabe Reef.

The claimants include Te Runanga o Ngati Whakaue ki Maketu Inc (now sought to be represented through Mr Hemi Bennett), Ngati Whakahemo (Maria Horne), Te Runanga o Ngai Te Rangi Trust, Te Whanau o Tauwhao and Te Runanga O Ngati Awa.

The amounts claimed for the infringement of customary rights, damage to mana, loss of kaitiaki and infringement of cultural rights and interests, ranging from $450,000 to $2.2 million

Several groups who represent a section of Motiti Island interests acknowledged that it would be appropriate to address the adverse effects on the Island as a whole, including people and communities, by making worthwhile provision for projects on the Island.

This is in addition to the approximate $300,000 already paid to benefit the Island community from the $1 million fund established by MSC as a goodwill gesture after the ship ran aground, says Matthew.

As a result of those discussions, the amount was increased by $500,000 to $1.5 million. This is intended as mitigation for the “whole of Island” – including non-Maori - and not for any particular group.

See full article HERE

Call to educate migrants about Māori

A new report has identified a need for more education for migrants about Māori, the Treaty of Waitangi and biculturalism.

Multicultural New Zealand executive director Tayo Agunlejika said there was widespread acknowledgement of the need to respect and understand the Treaty of Waitangi, but also concern multiculturalism could erode its position.

Mr Agunlejika said there was a feeling there is a lack of education for migrants about the role they should play in the relationship between the Crown and Māori....

See full article HERE

Westgate town square gets Maori name

The centre of the new Westgate Town Centre development will be called Te Pumanawa Square, named by the Henderson-Massey Local Board.

he board carried out historical research of the area and consultation with Hetaraka Tobin, kaumatua and representative of Ngati Whatua o Kaipara, in order to come up with an appropriate name.

Henderson-Massey Local Board chairwoman Vanessa Neeson says the board was honoured to choose the significant name....

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 and HERE.

9 September 2015

Protest at Kaitaia Airport

Activists have moved onto land at Kaitaia Airport today.

Leader Wi Popata, of Ngati Kahu, said the occupation was a protest against a $100 million Treaty of Waitangi settlement, due to be ratified tomorrow.

The Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill is due for its third and final reading in Parliament on Wednesday and includes the settlements of four of five Muriwhenua iwi - Te Aupouri, Ngai Takoto, Te Rarawa and Ngati Kuri. Ngati Kahu is the only Te Hiku iwi to not yet settle.

About 40 people gathered at the Oturu Marae earlier this morning, before walking to the occupation site with fence posts and corrugated iron to begin constructing a new marae.
The protesters went to the front desk of the airport and informed staff there that they an occupation was taking place.

One of the occupation organisers Hone Popata said they would be occupying land beside the airport terminal, and all operations at the airport would be closed.

"We are in charge now," he said....

See full article HERE

'100 pages of self-justification'

A new report into Whānau Ora is 100 pages of self-justification, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says.

Mr Peters, a long-time critic of the social policy initiative, said the review still did not explain how the $140 million programme was performing and how the money had been spent.

Mr Peters said there had been numerous complaints about Whānau Ora's spending and the report did not touch on that.

"Instead it's just pages of self-justification, with no serious examination of how it is performing."...

See full article HERE

Month-long hearing for Rena owners to have wreck left on Tauranga reef

The battlelines have been drawn between owners of the cargo ship Rena and local iwi, over plans to allow the wreck to remain off Tauranga's Otaiti (Astrolabe) Reef.

Rena owners Daina Shipping have applied for resource consent which will allow the wreck to stay off the reef while local iwi want it removed.

The Bay of Plenty Regional council received 153 submissions for the month-long hearing which will begin in Mount Maunganui on Monday.

Ngai Te Hapu Incorporated Society spokesman Buddy Mikaere said the hearing will be more of a "David versus Goliath" battle.

"Clearly the resources that the applicant has brought is something which we haven't got a hope of matching. So it's very much David versus Goliath."

Mikaere said the society will be emphasising the cultural aspects of the case.

"Dumping a wreck on a taonga reef in no way enhances our relationship with that reef and if the particular cultural provisions in the [Resource Management Act] have any teeth, then this will be a real test of that," he said.....

See full article HERE

Marae could get $1m after Treaty settlement

Looking towards the post Treaty phase, Dr Tipene Leach said Heretaunga-Tamatea wanted to diversify its asset holdings structure.

"We're talking about very large amounts of money going from the settlement to the marae, whereby they'll be able to set up for their future. That future we're hoping will involve business opportunity and investment."

Dr Tipene Leach said the plan was to put $50 million in a central governance body, about $25 million to its marae, of which there are about 23, and the rest would go to a model targeted at regional development.....

See full article HERE

$100m Te Hiku Treaty deal near

An imminent $100million Treaty of Waitangi settlement will help four Northland iwi move forward and meet the aspirations of their people, leaders say.

Ngati Kahu is the only Te Hiku iwi to not yet settle......

See full article HERE

Historic apology planned for Parihaka

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson says a planned Crown apology to Parihaka will be a history-making occasion.

Mr Finlayson said previous attempts to apologise for the 1881 sacking of the Taranaki settlement had failed, but he hoped the recommendations of a group headed by Dame Tariana Turia would be acceptable to all parties.

At the signing of the Taranaki iwi's $70 million Treaty settlement yesterday, Mr Finlayson said a deal was being worked out for Parihaka.

Parihaka was the centre of passive resistance to the Crown in the mid-1800s, and after it was attacked and ransacked its leaders were illegally jailed in the South Island and on the Chatham Islands.

Mr Finlayson said he was hopeful of signing an agreement this year and working towards a reconciliation ceremony by the end of 2016.....

See full article HERE

NZ Parliament shuts its doors on Māori Girl’s school

The Speaker of the House is refusing to allow a delegation of 150 supporters of Turakina Māori Girls College to attend a parliamentary lunch hosted by Māori Party MP, Marama Fox.

The luncheon event aimed to showcase the schools’ successes over its 110 year history and featured a cultural performance by current students.

Despite repeated attempts to challenge the speaker’s decision, the Turakina delegation of current and former students, staff and Presbyterian Church members have been told their trip to Parliament is “too political.”

“We haven’t even been able to secure seating in the Speaker’s Gallery of the debating chamber so that our current students can watch question time,” says organiser Mrs Eichstaedt...

See full article HERE

Delays to $30m Maori ICT Development Fund cause frustration

A $30 million Maori ICT development fund has been delayed amid claims of a governance botch and disagreements over how the funds should be spent.

Maori Internet Society chairman Karaitiana Taiuru said the delay meant money was sitting in a bank account when it could be helping the community.

The fund, which is the joint responsibility of Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell and Communications Minister Amy Adams, was approved by the Government last year.

That was as a consolation prize after the Government rejected a Waitangi Tribunal claim to $270m of radio spectrum that was freed up by the closure of analogue television in 2013.....

See full article HERE

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

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