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Saturday, April 11, 2020

Breaking Views Update: Week of 5/04/20







Saturday April 11, 2020

News:
Iwi establish more checkpoints to protect communities from Covid-19
At least five more iwi have enforced border controls in the last week in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus by rule-breaking locals, hunters, and tourists.

And while most have respected the checkpoints, some members of the public have questioned whether the checkpoints are legal.

Police say they have been working closely with communities who wish to set up controls at their borders, with some officers attending the checkpoints to help.

"Iwi are taking a strong leadership role and we want to model what it looks like when iwi, police, councils and other agencies work in partnership. Our role is supporting this cultural response to Covid-19.".....
See full article HERE

Drug runners defy lockdown restrictions
Don’t mess with the drug runners.

That’s the advice Hone Harawira is giving his checkpoint workers in the far north.

"Drug runners are still moving. We can stop whānau. We can stop tourists. We can stop locals travelling around too much, but I'm telling people don't try to intercept the fried breads. Wave them on and just take their details,....
See full article HERE

Wise heads prevail at Waipapakauri
Plans to blockade access to 90 Mile Beach at Waipapakauri Ramp on Thursday have been abandoned, for reasons including a potential threat to public safety, but the local iwi, and the community, are making it clear that those who do not live there are not welcome during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Instead, professionally-made signs would be erected, denying access to the beach. Compliance would be monitored by the resident and the iwi. The iwi and police were also planning to patrol the beach on a regular basis,........
See full article HERE

Propaganda:
The demand for equality in the battle against Covid-19

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 April 10, 2020

News:
Independent Maori Statutory Board - We are all in this togetherCouncil needs proactive and practical solutions for Māori. We are greatly concerned that the current approach is far too general and simply replicates what central government and many iwi organisations are already communicating.

We urgently requested that funding be provided to Mana Whenua and Mataawaka entities and that those Marae and the nearby hau kainga on water tank supply be provided this free of charge. Watercare has agreed to the latter.

The Board considers that special provision must be made for Tangihanga in this rohe/region. We have requested that council provide free plots and burials in council-owned cemetaries for those whānau who have not been able to take their beloved member back to their tribal home that is outside the Tāmaki Makaurau rohe.

The Board has also requested that there be an increase to the support Auckland Council is providing to coordinate and promote food banks in highly populated Māori suburbs. Communications need to be tailored to a Māori-specific audience rather than general updates.......
See full article HERE

Ruapehu Iwi Urge Outsiders To Stay Home
Ohakune-based iwi Ngāti Rangi are urging outsiders to not come into the Ruapehu area to self-isolate over the lockdown period particularly over the upcoming Easter break.

“Ruapehu is not open for people to come here to self-isolate. We have enough non-locals here as it is and people need to stay at home” said Te Kāhui o Paerangi Chair Whetu Moataane.....
See full article HERE

Easter weekend rāhui placed on 14 Rotorua lakes
A rāhui is being placed on 14 Te Arawa lakes over Easter weekend in an 'unprecedented move' to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Te Arawa Lakes Trust said it wants to encourage people to stay home and stay safe in response to the Covid-19 lockdown.....
See full article HERE

Thursday April 9, 2020

News:
How to spend the $30m coronavirus health response for MāoriTwo weeks ago, after pressure from Māori health clinicians, service providers and iwi leaders, the government announced a $56.5m package of targeted funding for Māori. That included $30m specifically for health, $15m for Whānau Ora services, $10m for Ministry of Māori Development community outreach and the rest for businesses and iwi.

"I don't think it is enough funding. I think it requires a heck of a lot more," she says. "I've got to say it's better than nothing. This will help."

"But if it [lock down] goes beyond the four weeks I think the government will have to look at further funding."

Executive Director Jordan Williams says taxpayer resources should be based on need, not race.

"Everyone has different needs, but that doesn't mean there should be a bespoke response from government for every demographic and every sector," he says......
See full article HERE

A new board for NorthTec
The new Board members are:

* Ripeka Evans (chair) (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kahu), based in Wellington, she is a consultant specialising in Treaty partnerships and Māori economic development.

* Murray Bain (deputy chair) is a Northland-based company director involved across a range of sectors.

* Nicole Anderson (Ngāpuhi) is a director with a background in accountancy, health and business development. She has primarily worked with organisations advancing Māori,

* Erena Kara, who has a background in community and iwi development,

*Matt Keene, born and raised in Whangārei, worked in the UK and Europe in finance and the telecommunications industry after completing a Bachelor's degree in management studies.

* Bronwyn Yates QSM has long experience of governance and senior executive roles. She sits as governance on the NorthTec Tai Tokerau Wānanga Council and the Māori Education Trust, with roles in both standing and ad hoc government advisory groups and whakaruruhau. She is Te Tumuaki (CEO) of Literacy Aotearoa Charitable Trust,

* Kim Ngārimu (cross-board appointee - NZIST Council, Te Aitanga ā Mate, Ngāti Porou), has been deputy chair of the IST Establishment Board since August last year. Based in Gisborne, Ms Ngārimu is a director of Tāua Limited, a consultancy specialising in public policy and management advice. She is a member of the Medical Council of New Zealand and the Waitangi Tribunal,......
See full article HERE

Who will bury our people?
And while he saluted Prime Minister's decision to initiate a Level 4 lockdown, the priority had been saving lives, with no thought spared for Māori policies or Māori protocols and tangihanga.

"There was no consultation from the government in regards to leaving our homes to support grieving whānau, and, further to my point, no thought was given to the burial of a loved one.

"Have they consulted with our Māori leaders outside of politics? I don't think so."......
See full article HERE

Making learning from home accessible to Māori learners and whānau
Television, the internet and hard copy learning packs are some of the ways whānau and ākonga Māori will be supported when schools and kura return next week while Aotearoa stays the course of Alert Level 4, Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis said today.

“We are committed to making learning from home accessible for tamariki, rangatahi and whānau in kōhanga reo, puna reo, kura tuatahi, and wharekura,” Kelvin Davis said.....
See full article HERE

Māori business leader replaces Sir John Key on AirNZ board
Air New Zealand announced this morning that Dean Bracewell (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāi te Rangi) will join their board of directors.

Mr Bracewell is currently a Director of Tainui Group Holdings,.......
See full article HERE

Mahia holidaymakers to be turned away at checkpoint during Easter weekend
Bach owners heading to Mahia for Easter will be turned away at a community checkpoint being set up on the peninsula's main access road.

A few days into the Covid-19 lockdown last month and locals were describing Mahia Beach as "a ghost town".

But Rongomaiwahine Iwi Trust chief executive Moana Rongo said bach owners had been turning up in droves this week and that prompted the trust to swing into action.

It is managing the Nuhaka-Opoutama Road checkpoint at Black's Beach......
See full article HERE

Māori doctor accuses John Tamihere of telling staff to lie for Covid-19 test
Two Māori doctors have walked off the job at a Covid-19 testing clinic in west Auckland, after claims urban Māori leader John Tamihere allegedly told his staff to lie in order to meet the criteria to get tested.

She said she responded that the clinic would screen the staff members but would not test those who did not meet criteria.

"He told me directly, on the Tuesday before, that he would make his staff lie to be able to meet criteria so that they can be tested," she said......
See full article HERE

Propaganda:
How a plan to fight urban sprawl on tribal lands gave rise to a kiwifruit growing legacy

Wednesday April 8, 2020

News:
Government urged to put Māori at forefront of Covid-19 planningMāori health professionals say the government's response to Covid-19 has serious shortfalls and blindspots for Māori.

The Ministry of Health is expected to announce what will happen with $30 million of targeted Māori health funding this week.

That money is part of the wider $56m announced by Māori ministers just prior to the lockdown to help with the Māori response.

However Te Rōpū Whakakaupapa Urutā, National Māori Pandemic Response Group, which consists of a range of Māori health professionals, maintain Māori are still an after-thought in the government's response......
See full article HERE

Stupidity is what will kill our people not the Police
Stupidity is what will kill our people not the Police says Iwi Pandemic Response Group Chair Mike Smith.

Iwi Chairs have met with Police Deputy Commissioner Police Wally Haumaha to get clarity around roles and powers of police.

He says Maori not adhering to the lockdown rules is what will help spread the virus and Police are seeking ways to better assist Maori checkpoints.......
See full article HERE

Ngāti Manawa set up checkpoints to curb lockdown rule breakers

Ngāti Manawa has become the latest iwi to set up a checkpoint and restrict access to its lands in the central North Island.

Forty volunteers will be overseeing the two checkpoints 24/7, with one set up at the Rangitaiki Bridge across from the Murupara Motor Camp and the other on Troutbeck Road.

"Legally we can't stop them, but we will be trying to educate them as they reach our checkpoints," she said......
See full article HERE

Revitalising Te Reo Māori
The University of Auckland recognises te reo Māori is the foundation of Māori culture and identity, and despite it being one of three official languages in Aotearoa New Zealand it remains endangered.

The University has a role to play in preserving and protecting the language and culture, and is committed to doing so in partnership with iwi Māori and the community.

New buildings will include bilingual signage and symbols of tikanga Māori, such as the Pou adorning the entrance to the new Engineering Building, Te Herenga Mātai Pūkaha......
See full article HERE

Tuesday April 7, 2020

News:
NZIMMR awarded Vision Mātauranga research funding
The New Zealand Institute for Minerals to Materials Research received yesterday approval for its Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund proposal, which is aimed at repurposing pounamu carving waste.

“Green to Gold – Understanding ourselves and our Māori partnerships through a pounamu lens” has had approval for $100,000 of funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and employment.

The research will align whakapapa (ties of kinship), kaitiakitanga (stewardship) and mātauranga (knowledge, wisdom) based on an Ao Māori (Māori world view) perspective......
See full article HERE

Whānau-based business likely to be hit worst by economic fallout
The grim economic picture forming in Aotearoa in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic will hit some Māori hard, with some whānau businesses unlikely to survive.

Gaylene Findlay, principal of accountancy firm BDO Taranaki, said the impact of the nationwide lockdown, which came into force at 11.59pm on March 25, would be felt at the whānau business level most.......
See full article HERE

Advisors no substitute for iwi
The new chair of Te Wai Māori Trust says government agencies need to engage directly with iwi on environmental matters rather than an assortment of Māori advisors.

Lisa Te Heuheu replaces Ken Mair as the head of the trust which is responsible under the Māori Fisheries Settlement for advocating for Māori interests in the protection of freshwater fisheries species and environment.

She says the challenge continues to ensure the Māori voice is heard when agencies would prefer to set up advisory committees which may not reflect the treaty relationship......
See full article HERE

Bubble management for lockdown tangihanga
A member of national Māori pandemic coordinating group Te Rōpu Whakakaupapa Urutā says it’s still pushing for more of a Māori voice in planning.

Dr Rawiri Jansen says one size fits all approaches will fail Māori, so the more influence Māori leadership have in tailoring the response, the better vulnerable communities will be......
See full article HERE

400 South Island Māori families will run out of food before lockdown ends
Running out of food, firewood and power during the coronavirus lockdown are major concerns among South Island Māori, a new survey has found.

About 45 per cent of respondents in the survey by the South Island Whānau Ora commissioning agency Te Pūtahitangi te Waipounamu said they wouldn't have enough kai to last them four weeks.

The agency received $3 million of $15m in funding for Whanau Ora commissioning agencies to support vulnerable whānau affected by coronavirus and the level 4 lockdown.....
See full article HERE

Two University appointments to Waitangi Tribunal

Professor Susy Frankel, Chair of Intellectual Property and International Trade Law in the University’s Faculty of Law, is one of two people associated with the University whose appointment to the Tribunal was announced by Māori Development Minister Hon. Nanaia Mahuta.

The other is Dr Paul Hamer, a historian who is a Research Associate in the University’s Te Kawa a Māui—School of Māori Studies and a Principal Advisor in Māori Strategy and Partnerships at the Department of Corrections.....
See full article HERE

Propaganda:
Māori less likely to call 111 if they know police are armed – survey

Monday April 6, 2020

News:
$25m school property sales
Schools that are deemed surplus to educational purposes are placed in the Crown’s disposal process, as required by the Public Works Act.

The Act requires surplus property to be offered to other government departments, previous property owners and local iwi, before it can be placed on the open market.

Most of the properties were bought by Ngai Tahu Property Ltd, one was bought by a government department and the remaining four were sold on the open market to Morclarke Developments, John and Bruna Oakes, Otakau Health Ltd and the Southland District Council.......
See full article HERE

Maori Graduation (Mt Roskill Intermediate)
Two awards were presented on the evening:
The Trophy for contribution to the wider life of school, showing dedication and commitment was awarded to:

The Te Manawanui Trophy - awarded for commitment, leadership and passion for everything Maori was jointly awarded to:

The tropy for Maori Academic Excellence and Achievement will be presented after final testing at our School Awards ceremony later in the year.....
See full article HERE

From hero to zero – what's the future for tourism?
In Rotorua, Te Puia's Maori cultural centre and geothermal attractions are also shuttered and of the 160 staff, only those tending birds in the kiwi house are allowed on site.

Bad debt is another looming problem with equally stressed travel wholesalers unable to pay their bills, and a further complication is Te Puia's ownership.

A Crown-owned entity, it was on the cusp of becoming iwi-owned as part of a Treaty of Waitangi settlement, but Cossar says legislation to complete the process was withdrawn two weeks ago due to the virus crisis.....
See full article HERE

Most Māori and Pasifika don't feel safe with police Armed Response Teams out and about - survey
"There's a historical distrust from Māori to police and arming an agency that we don't have high trust in that's going to create even more anxiety amongst our people."

Whaipooti says it's more than just about racism in the police system.

"It's about a question of our lives and why are shifting towards the Americanisation of our police - it hurts Māori the most.".....
See full article HERE

Call for better data collection during testing of Māori
John Whaanga says there's been a real drive to increase testing across the country. Collecting accurate ethnicity data for Māori is a key part of this.

"Māori are a priority - particularly those over 65, those with chronic conditions, those with respiratory illnesses for instance."

There have been reports around people being turned away from testing, but Whaanga says the Ministry of Health has made it clear to district health boards and other organisations what requirements are for testing.

"Structural racism, institutional racism is certainly something we're not going to fix overnight.".....
See full article HERE

For the month of March 'Breaking Views updates' recorded 21 articles on race relations published in media across the country, with 16 promoting Maori sovereignty and 5 reflecting an equal rights perspective.

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

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