Pages

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Breaking Views Update: Week of 22.09.19







Saturday September 28, 2019

News:
Should the Hamilton city council have elected Māori seats?

Yes:
Rudi du Plooy: Very emotive topic. There is great value in getting the Māori perspective on issues. How that fits in with a democratically elected governing body is a different thing altogether. I think it would be foolish not to have the input of Māori. Currently we have to function within the confines of the law.

Melaina Huaki: Yes, once the voting process in its entirety is fair then discussions in regards to ceasing this process can happen. A lot of people believe that it is not fair and that all candidates should earn their seat in the council. I get it, however, the same people also need to do a lot of self-reflection and engage in research to understand the history of our nation. Opinions like the example given above lack substance.

Dave Macpherson: Ultimately, but not immediately; iwi are not supporting that either. I support the current method of ensuring Māori representation on the primary Council committees.

No:
Peter Bos: I support present Māori representation with voting rights at council meetings. I support looking at the option of Māori seats.

Chris Davis: I think that Māori should be encouraged to stand and be voted in via the democratic process. I support full and thorough consultation with Māori as I do with all diverse communities in our city before decisions are made that impact people.

Martin Gallagher: At this time I personally favour continuation of the current model of Maangai Maaori representation on our council committees which has made a very positive contribution to our decision making, in view.

Angela O'Leary: Council has external appointments onto committees with one of these being, Maangai Māori representatives which I support. I do not support separate Māori seats.
See full article HERE

Maori long-term business values provide lessons, says Reserve Bank boss
Governor Adrian Orr praised Maori businesses for their sustainable and innovative approach to business: "the economic practices of your tupuna are well known to have been, and continue to be, long-term and inter-generational.

Your investments aim to be values-based in the interests of your mokopuna and their mokopuna."....
See full article HERE

Articles:
Waikato academic calls Endeavour a 'death ship'

Speaking te reo Māori will boost business, rugby great says

History – it's one thing after another

This Breaking Views Update monitors race relations in the media on a weekly basis. A summary of new material being added is emailed out during the week to subscribe (or unsubscribe) to the mailout, please use the form at the top of the Breaking Views sidebar. If you would like to send Letters to the Editor in response to any of these articles, most media addresses can be found HERE.

Friday September 27, 2019

News:
Ōtamataha Trust supporters stage peaceful protest over Tauranga City Council's 11 Mission St decision
About 60 people gathered at 11 Mission St this afternoon in a peaceful protest against a Tauranga City Council decision.

Supporters of the Ōtamataha Trust were standing against the council's decision not to give the historic land to the trust, which represents the interests of hapu Ngāti Tapu and Ngāi Tamarawaho.

The council on Tuesday revoked an earlier decision to give the land, which neighbours the Elms, to the trust.

It was a decision trust chairman Puhirake Ihaka said would cause a "downward turn" in the relationship between tangata whenua and the council.....
See full article HERE

NZ Land Wars Commemmoration in Taranaki – 28-30 October 2019
With five weeks to go, preparations are in full swing to host a national initiative, Te Ptake o te Riri, He R Maumahara, to commemorate the New Zealand land wars in Taranaki.New Zealand Land Wars Commemoration in Taranaki – 28-30 October 2019 ....
See full article HERE

Ninety Mile Beach spat resolved as harvesters agree not to use heavy machinery
Tensions on Northland's iconic Ninety Mile Beach over commercial mussel spat harvesting have eased after harvesters agreed to do the work by hand instead of taking heavy machinery onto the southern end of the beach.

Discussions between Te Rarawa hapū and the industry are continuing, with hapū pushing for a permanent agreement not to bring machinery south of Waipapakauri.

While commercial spat harvesting is legal and has been happening since the 1970s, the scale of the operation took locals by surprise when a video was posted on social media last month.....
See full article HERE

Waikato Tainui take up election challenge
Waikato-Tainui is encouraging its people to get out and vote for the record number of Māori candidates standing for this year's local body elections.

Te Whakakitenga o Waikato Chair Parekawhia McLean says councils dismissed the idea of Māori wards and insisted Māori back themselves in the elections.....
See full article HERE

Cop shop gun thief jailed for embarrassing Anzac Day burglary in Palmerston North
Ryan also referenced the case of Conrad Gray, who was sentenced in September for the manslaughter of Daniel John Gooch in Whanganui.

The sentencing judge in that case, Justice Francis Cooke, QC, gave Gray a significant discount to his sentence due to evidence showing the intergenerational marginalisation of Māori lead him down a path into crime.

There was evidence Harris suffered in a similar way, Ryan said.

Judge Lance Rowe said a cultural report showed Harris, of Muaūpoko descent, had suffered from the same kind of deprivation as Gray.

"This has caused you a similar amount of grief."

It was likely no-one had talked to Harris about concepts such as manaakitanga before he did his cultural report, the judge said......
See full article HERE

Māori Trustee adds to housing repair pūtea
The Māori Trustee is putting $2 million to boost a Māori Housing Network programme which helps whānau in Te Tai Tokerau and Te Tai Rāwhiti repair houses.

Māori Trustee Dr Charlotte Severne says the partnership signed with new Te Puni Kōkiri head Dave Samuels is the first of many more initiatives......
See full article HERE

FOMA challenges apathy to Māori aspirations
"I think our biggest challenge for FOMA and for Māori right now is apathy, making sure our people are at the table, that government takes us seriously, that industry work alongside us, and that both government and industry provide us with the necessary and adequate resource and support to get things moving," Ms Houpapa says.

She says FOMA members can't solve all the social ills affecting Māori, but they can play a part.....
See full article HERE

Articles:
Ihumātao | No Treaty Settlement opens three-way Solution 

Thursday September 26, 2019

News:
Treaty of Waitangi challenge for euthanasia bill falls overA bid to have the Treaty of Waitangi added to a bill legalising assisted dying has fallen over hours after being announced and before ever being debated by Parliament.

Act leader David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill – which would allow terminally ill adults to request euthanasia - returned to the House on Wednesday, for the fourth in a series of lengthy debates about last-minute changes.

Ahead of Wednesday's vote, a group of National MPs opposing the bill announced they would be lodging two amendments: one adding duties reflecting te Tiriti o Waitangi and another putting in cultural considerations as a requirement of the assisted dying process.

The Treaty amendment laid out a long list of requirements for those allowed to assist in dying, including recognising the responsibilities of whānau, hapū and iwi and for decisions to be made and implemented according to tikanga Māori.......
See full article HERE

Māori book sales in te wiki o te reo Māori suggest Kiwis increasingly eager to learn te reo
Books on and about te reo and te ao Māori are flying off the shelves during te wiki o te reo Māori, with a 615 per cent jump in titles sold during that week over the last five years.

In 2014, Māori books represented 3.2 per cent of all New Zealand published print book sales during te wiki o te reo Māori - or Māori Language Week - with 467 titles sold, according to Nielsen BookScan.

In 2019, it represented 20.8 per cent of sales, with 3343 titles sold.....
See full article HERE

Māori Language Week organisers can't meet demand for te reo merchandise
Māori Language Week organisers have conceded they "stuffed up" after demand for merchandise exceeded supply.

The Māori Language Commission was forced to apologise after hoodies, t-shirts and jute bags proved too popular with the public.

The merchandise, which featured a gold heitiki, was available on the Māori Language Week website but supplied through a third-party clothing and branding company......
See full article HERE

Māori want hands on next census
A member of Te Mana Rauranga, the Māori data sovereignty network, wants to see greater Māori involvement in the next census at both governance and delivery level.

"We definitely need much more engagement with Māori in the entire census process and that will also inform the engagement at the kanohi ki te kanohi level because that's where we can let out our people know that this is actually really important for us. This is what determines what healthcare services happen in our rohe, what roads are built, electoral boundaries, number of Māori seats, all sorts of really important things," Mr Sporle says.....
See full article HERE

Pou to remember Māori soldiers on Picton foreshore
A permanent memorial to "one of the most celebrated and decorated units" in the New Zealand forces during World War II will be erected on Picton's foreshore.

A 6.5-metre pou (post) will be installed as a maumaharatanga (monument) to the 28th Māori Battalion D Company, who served New Zealand between 1939 and 1945.

The work of wood and concrete will stand in the centre of a circular, paved footpath area near the Picton War Memorial, which is also located on Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Trust's tupuna whenua (ancestral land), Waitohi Pa.....
See full article HERE

Māori judge appointed as chief of the District Court
Judge Heemi Taumaunu has been appointed Chief District Court judge today - the first Māori judge to fulfill the role.

Chief Judge Taumaunu, Ngāti Porou and Ngāi Tahu, has been a judge in the District Court since 2004. He has been credited as one of the key leaders in developing the first Rangatahi Court in Gisborne in 2008 and encouraged fellow Judges to set up marae-based youth courts

He currently sits in Rangatahi Courts at Auckland and Waitākere and was appointed Judge of the Court Martial in 2012 and in 2018 was appointed Deputy Judge Advocate-General and Deputy Chief Judge of the Court Martial.....
See full article HERE

Sculptures acknowledge tipuna, voyaging history.
The installation of two sculptures celebrating important figures and voyaging traditions significant in the region’s history will be completed this week.

The sculptures are at Puhi Kai Iti Cook Landing Site National Historic Reserve and the new Ruatanuika lookout site on Titirangi, Kaiti Hill.......
See full article HERE

The Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill opens for submissions
The Māori Affairs Committee is calling for public submissions on the Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana/Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill.

The bill is in response to the criminal conviction of Rua Kēnana. It seeks to restore his character, mana, and reputation, as well as that of his descendants. It also seeks to acknowledge the deep hurt, shame, and stigma suffered as a result of the invasion of Maungapōhatu....
See full article HERE

Ihumātao protest gives strong message to outgoing council
Supporters of the Save Our Unique Landscape movement have staged a brief protest at Auckland Council, demanding support for resolution of the standoff over land at Ihumātao.

​Around 50 supporters carrying banners stood up during the council's final meeting of the term, performing waiata and calling for the support of councillors.

Their protest was heard in silence, and the group left without being asked to and without intervention from security staff.....
See full article HERE

Land law reform falls short
Changes to Māori land law are being welcomed by a leading Māori lawyer, but in some areas the Government needs to go harder.

Willie Te Aho says Te Ture Whenua Amendment Bill picks up some of the issues identified during the previous Government's controversial effort to completely rewrite the law.

Mr Te Aho is also pleased to see new dispute resolution mechanisms that could involve experts in tikanga rather than judges....
See full article HERE

Educating Otago – and over achieving
A long-time educator, and a speaker of te reo Māori, Dr Timms-Dean has brought a bicultural perspective to Otago Museum’s education programming. This has taken Otago Museum’s traditional areas of strength in science and technology, and added a vitally important strand of mātauranga Māori. This perspective can be seen in the Museum’s Tuia250 education project, which is firmly bicultural and shares a Māori understanding of the impacts that Cook’s landing bought to our nation.....
See full article HERE

Ghahraman seeks to strengthen Electoral Amendment Bill
The Green Party’s Electoral Reform Spokesperson, Golriz Ghahraman, has asked the Justice Select Committee today to adopt measures contained in her ‘Strengthening Democracy’ Member’s Bill in the current Electoral Amendment Bill.

The Strengthening Democracy Bill proposes:

· Allowing voters of Māori descent to change roll type at any time between elections

· Overturning the prisoner voting ban

“Together, these wider electoral reforms will strengthen our democracy,” said Golriz Ghahraman.

“Māori should be able to choose which roll they are on at any time. Currently Māori can only change roll during the Māori Electoral Option, which is a short window of time once every 5 years. This restriction is unnecessary and removing it will help Māori participation in our democracy.....
See full article HERE

Articles:
Ihumātao | Auckland Council Fails to Front 

Wednesday September 25, 2019

News:
Ardern: NZ National Statement to UN General Assembly 2019
I greet you in te reo Māori, language of the tangata whenua, or first people, of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Māori concepts like kaitiakitanga. The idea that each of us here today are guardians.

We have wounds from our own history that, 250 years on from the first encounters between Māori and Europeans, we continue to address.....
See full article HERE

Kaiako te reo Māori
Te Kāreti Tamatāne o Te Whanganui a Tara is seeking an energetic and passionate teacher to work with our rangatahi from Y9–13 as a part of our growing te reo Māori department.

Our college is committed to the Treaty partnership with Māori, including our role in developing all students’ understanding of te reo Māori, Tikanga Māori and the bicultural partnership in Aotearoa.....
See full article HERE

MPI publishes findings from review of Walking Access Act
The review revealed strong public support for the Act. The changes proposed by the review aim to help ensure it is fit for the future, and continues to provide a wide range of types of public access to the outdoors.

“The purpose of the Act is to provide free, certain, enduring and practical access to the outdoors for all sorts of activities,” says Charlotte Denny, Director of Land, Water & Climate Policy at MPI.

“These include walking, bike riding, walking dogs, and hunting or four-wheel driving. The Act also established the New Zealand Walking Access Commission.”

The review has made thirty recommendations and proposed six technical legislative changes.

These recommendations include changing the name of the Act and the Commission to reflect its work leading and supporting public access to the outdoors generally, rather than solely walking access. They also include acknowledging the Māori-Crown relationship under the Treaty of Waitangi through a partnership approach between the Commission and Māori....
See full article HERE

Tuesday September 24, 2019

News:
Greater Wellington apologises for incorrect Te Reo Maori translationThroughout the election period Greater Wellington Regional Council has been running an ‘Enrol, Stand, Vote’ campaign to encourage communities to have their say on local politics.

The campaign posters ask ‘Why will you vote?’ and feature a Maori translation which was meant to convey the same message. However, on Greater Wellington’s campaign material the translation is incorrect.

The Te Reo we used was translated by another council who then realised this mistake and amended it before their campaign went live. They were unaware we did not have the correct translation and Greater Wellington takes full responsibility for this error......
See full article HERE

Public consulted about New Zealand's biodiversity strategy
“We were delighted with the number and quality of submissions we received. This was an important opportunity to consider how we safeguard the future of nature in Aotearoa New Zealand over the next 50 years.”

DOC will continue working with its reference groups and our Treaty of Waitangi Partners during this time. A recommendation or is it recommendations will then be made to Ministers in early 2020.....
See full article HERE

Māori up to 16.5 percent of population
Māori now make up 16.5 percent of the New Zealand population, up from 14.9 percent in 2013, or 775,836 people.

That's according to the first dataset released from the 2018 Census.

At almost 3.3 million, people of European descent remain the largest ethnic group, but as a share of the population they have dropped from 74 percent to 70.2 percent.

Asian at 15.1 percent remain the third largest ethnic group, with more than 1 in 5 people who identified with at least one Asian ethnic group being New Zealand-born.........
See full article HERE

Government not rushed by Ihumātao proclamation
The Government is not going to be rushed into action in Ihumātao despite the Māori king's proclamation that mana whenua want the land returned.

Crown Māori Relations Minister Kelvin Davis says the Government has noted the views of Kiingitanga, but the land is privately owned and any negotiation must be with Fletcher.

The fact the land was confiscated in 1863 does not change the situation.

"We could say that for land all across the country, that at some stage left Māori hands and we accept that is part of our history. Ihumātao is like many other areas across the country........
See full article HERE

Finance Minister Grant Robertson tight-lipped about Ihumātao meeting with Fletchers
The Minister of Finance is staying tight-lipped about a meeting with Fletcher Building over the stalemate at Ihumātao.

Grant Robertson on Friday met with representatives from the company, which owns the contested South Auckland site, on Friday at the Beehive.

Robertson has declined to give further details about the meeting - other than saying the developer asked for it - and on Tuesday still wouldn't say what had been said.

"I think, with respect to Fletchers, I'm going to leave that inside the meeting. They were just talking about some of the options they see going forward from here," he said.

"There are going to be ongoing discussions with varying parties involved here. I see the Government's as one where we just play a construction role in helping find a resolution.

Asked whether Fletcher had asked for anything, Robertson said: "No. They're just looking for a way forward."....
See full article HERE

Tauranga City Council revokes decision to give Elms neighbour 11 Mission St to Ōtamataha Trust
Tauranga City Council has revoked its decision to give 11 Mission St to the Ōtamataha Trust.

But once again, the council turned down the opportunity to give the historic land directly to the Elms Foundation.

The council voted to "either gift or lease the land to an entity representing both the Ōtamataha Trust and the Elms Foundation".

No such entity exists so, in effect, this buys time for the next bunch of elected members to sort out the details alongside the foundation and the trust.

It was an acknowledgement the council was too divided on the issue to come down one side or another......
See full article HERE

Maori have no measure of progress after census
The botched census has left Māori in the dark as to whether the Wellbeing Budget will make any difference for them.

Stats NZ has had to use data from other places to fill the gaps caused by an extremely low turnout for Māori for Census 2018 - just 68 percent.

But a Māori data expert said that turnout rate means all data from before 2017 is unusable - leaving Māori without any idea whether government investment is making a difference....
See full article HERE

Cook crimes tarnish commemoration for iwi
The chief executive of far north iwi Ngāti Kahu says Tuia 250 organisers would have saved themselves international embarrassment if they had consulted with mana whenua rather than scheduling the replica of the Endeavour to call in to Mangonui.

Anahera Herbert-Graves says the now vetoed invitation had come from a Pākehā Doubtless Bay promotion group, and it was not cleared with the rūnanga or the three marae who hold mana over the area.........
See full article HERE

Articles:
My Māori Midwife: Breathing new life into traditional Māori customs in childbirth

Monday September 23, 2019

News:
Taranaki Māori Trust Board to be disbanded after years of debate about future
Moves are underway to disestablish a trust board set up to represent the interests of Taranaki Māori almost 90 years ago.

The decision about the Taranaki Māori Trust Board's future is the result of 10 years' worth of discussion, but further hui will be needed to work out how millions worth in assets will be distributed to benefit all eight iwi around the mountain.


On September 4, Minister for Māori Development Nanaia Mahuta was present at a ceremony held at Owae Marae in Waitara, to sign the deed of settlement regarding an annuity buyout package for TMTB worth $20.8m.

First established in 1930, the existence of TMTB had been enshrined in legislation since 1955 and it received yearly annuities from the Government in recognition of historical land confiscation.

The funds were then disbursed to assist in the promotion of health, welfare and education for its beneficiaries.....
See full article HERE

Water safety education in te reo Māori aims to reduce drowning deaths
A group trying to stop the number of people who drown has launched educational water safety videos in te reo Māori.

Māori made up 20 percent of all drowning deaths and that was why there was a need to educate them in te reo Māori, she said.

"Sadly, a large number of drownings are kai gathering, waka and net finishing so we felt the need to educate on water safety on those specific activities," she said.....
See full article HERE

Court of Appeal Decision Will Affect All Our Futures
Saving the ocean’s environment continues tomorrow as Ngati Ruanui Iwi takes on Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) who wish to mine iron sand off the South Taranaki Bight in the Tasman Sea in what has been a five-year battle.

The Seabed mining application originally granted by the Environmental Protection Authority but then declined by the High Court now moves on to the Court of Appeal in Wellington next week as all parties argue key points of law under the EEZ Act (Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012).......
See full article HERE

Manawatu-Wanganui Region spelling corrected
The Manawatu-Wanganui Region will in future be correctly spelt Manawatū-Whanganui Region.

The change also means the regional council will be known as the Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council. Horizons Regional Council is the trading name for the council.

Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage made the final decision to correct the region’s name. The change takes effect from 18 October 2019......
See full article HERE

Māori climate activist takes aim at Amazon fires
A Māori climate change activist wants to take Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and other world political and corporate leaders to court for ecocide and genocide.

Mike Smith, who chairs the iwi Leaders' Forum's climate change group, is at the United Nations in New York consulting with indigenous groups.

He says climate change is having a major impact on indigenous peoples, from the tribes in the Amazon burned out by president Bolsonaro's cattle raising supporters to the Arctic peoples who are losing their environment of ice and snow.

That's why he's preparing a case of climate crime to take to the International Criminal Court.

He has also filed actions in the High Court in New Zealand asking that companies like dairy giant Fonterra, Genesis Energy and New Zealand Steel be required to halve their total net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030........
See full article HERE

NPDC’s proposed District Plan released today
The New Plymouth District is changing and NPDC is preparing for the future with its Proposed District Plan, released for public submissions today.

“The plan encourages a more compact and walkable city, more diversity in our housing and highlights the likely impacts of climate change on our coast and district. It takes a focused approach to our natural and built heritage with a particular emphasis on acknowledging the special role of Māori,” says NPDC Group Manager Strategy Liam Hodgetts.......
See full article HERE

Articles:
It's time for Māori Language Month says Christchurch te reo advocate Anton Matthews

The Detail: Changing names without changing places

Iwi position on $200m Mt Messenger bypass remains unclear

We need those colourful stories to form the basis of our history



This Breaking Views Update monitors race relations in the media on a weekly basis. A summary of new material being added is emailed out during the week - to subscribe (or unsubscribe) to the mailout, please use the form at the top of the Breaking Views sidebar. If you would like to send Letters to the Editor in response to any of these articles, most media addresses can be found HERE

No comments: