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Saturday, June 6, 2020

Breaking Views Update: Week of 31.05.20







Saturday June 6, 2020

News:
Govt needs to 'trust Māoridom' to fix worrying justice, policing issues - Race Relations Commissioner

The Government needs to invest and trust in Māoridom to improve the overrepresentation of Māori in the justice system and their treatment by police, Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon says.

"The current system obviously isn't working so we must try another system. The only other system is by Māori for Māori," he told Breakfast today.

"We must have a systems change, we must have the Government trust Māori to do it and give them resources."

"Be brave, bold and trust Māoridom to do better for Māori by Māori."......
See full article HERE

Inquiry lead 'appalled' at minister's lack of action over Oranga Tamariki baby uplift attempt
The lead of the Māori inquiry into Oranga Tamariki says she is appalled the children's minister claimed she was never asked to do anything with the inquiry's report.

The inquiry released in February was investigating the agency after it tried to take a newborn baby from a Hawke's Bay mother last year.

At the Social Services and Community select committee yesterday, Children's Minister Tracey Martin said she was told by Dame Naida Glavish she was not required to respond to the inquiry in any way.

Glavish said she was appalled by that remark.....
See full article HERE

Māori tell MPs no to armed police
Tāmaki Makaurau MP Peeni Henare says Labour’s Māori MPs are united in their opposition to any revival of police armed response teams.

Peeni Henare says he still hears too often from whānau members and friends about unfair treatment from police that seems to be connected to being Māori......
See full article HERE

Revised Concept Plan For The Whangamata Boardwalk Extension Project Out Now
"Throughout the project we have been working with iwi will continue this relationship," says Mr Ashby."There are opportunities for iwi to tell their stories and include cultural references and values where possible.".....
See full article HERE

May 2020 Māori Law Review
While the absence of adequate consideration of Te Tiriti is not good enough, the Commission has noted that "economic recovery efforts provide opportunities to embed Te Tiriti and human rights into government responses and to work in partnership with iwi and Māori." Responses in alert level 3 and beyond provide opportunities for the Crown to properly consider Te Tiriti and begin embedding Te Tiriti in a substantive and more meaningful way. ......
See full article HERE

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 June 5, 2020

News:
Special hui for iwi to vote on $200m Mt Messenger bypass deal
A special general meeting has been called by a north Taranaki iwi so the wider membership can vote on whether to back a deal negotiated over a $200 million roading project.
Previously, rūnanga trustees unanimously agreed to accept a compensation and mitigation package negotiated on its behalf with NZTA, which includes a $7.7m payment to compensate for cultural impacts and a land swap involving a 120 hectare property in Urenui, which NZTA previously purchased for $1.2m.

In what is understood as an extremely rare move, NZTA ruled out compulsorily acquiring the iwi land under the Public Works Act.

This decision highlights how key the iwi are to the future of the entire project, as NZTA previously said without the support of Ngāti Tama, the bypass plan could not proceed.....
See full article HERE

Endeavour backtrack
But since speaking with iwi yesterday, she had changed her mind.

“I have spoken to councillors and called a meeting with councillors on Thursday so that we can discuss how we can get our community involved in this because I do recognise that this is a significant matter for our community, and that the decision was made without offering the community to chance to express their views more fully.”

Ngati Oneone spokesperson Nick Tupara said the council already knew how divided the community was about monuments marking Cook's arrival, and consulting with them should have been obvious.....
See full article HERE
More on the above: Gisborne council officially revokes decision to install Endeavour replicas

High number of Māori in justice system have 'been failed by society' – Police Association President
Meanwhile back home, the most recent Tactical Operations Report by the police was released in November.

It found Māori people made up more than half of all of those events, such as call outs where police use Tasers and police dogs.

It's more than all the other ethnicities combined, the report says.

Mr Cahill says it's a "shocking statistic, but it's a shocking statistic for New Zealand".

"Because by the time the police are having to deal with these people, many other parts of the society have failed them," he says......
See full article HERE

CEAC – “Kiwi Rail If You Don’t Restore Gisborne Rail Give It Back”
Kiwi Rail CEO Greg Miller said he will not re-open the Gisborne rail service for freight and passenger services for the region, after eight years of closure even now after a yearlong PGF $600.000 study confirmed to the Government that the rail service needs to be re-opened.

CEAC is regarding Kiwi Rail as ‘acting cavalier’ towards the iwi’s of these regions of HB/Gisborne who were the Tangata whenua “Tribal Land Owners” of the land in the area that was agreed by them and the Government as others also were made to allow the rail to be built across their tribal land for a promise that the rail service “would be of great advantage to their people” in a letter signed by the Government minister for “Native affairs” John Bryce was given by Government surveyors to the Kaumatua at meetings at the time of the planning of rail services around all NZ.

History cannot be erased Kiwi Rail CEO Greg Miller, and now CEAC is in support the calls being made “that if you are not prepared to continue to “provide a rail service to the people that would be of great advantage to them” as promised in the Government letter from John Bryce then give it back to the owners of the agreement made then and pay reparations for lost services.....
See full article HERE

Applications now open for $1.5m Māori research grant
We're partnering with Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) to invest $1.5 million in research that focusses on equitable health outcomes for ageing Māori. The health research will also help us strengthen our injury prevention initiatives.

Māori have told us they face barriers to accessing our services. The research can help us identify and address some of those barriers, as well as offer insights into rehabilitation that works for ageing Māori.....
See full article HERE

Questions raised over Taupō lakshore rahui
A rahui at the Taupō lakeshore settlement of Waitahanui looks set to continue until alert level 1,raising concern among some that is harming race relations.

Both the Police and Department of Conservation are advising outsiders to respect the rahui, instituted by Ngati Tutemohuta, and fish elsewhere....
See full article HERE

Road repairs backed at occupied Kaikōura site but protest continues
An iwi representing Kaikōura whānau says protesters occupying a coastal road through sacred sites are hindering progress towards a common goal.

About eight protesters were at Kiwa Rd, north of Kaikōura, on Wednesday morning, as trucks prepared to repair and seal a section which runs over historic urupā (burial grounds).
See full article HERE

Waitangi Treaty Grounds offering virtual tours for schools
The education team at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds has developed new "virtual visits" for schools not able to visit in person, with the options of Early Contact, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Treaty of Waitangi, and the New Zealand Wars.

The Early Contact virtual visit offers an understanding of the issues surrounding the European presence in New Zealand leading up to the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840; Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Treaty of Waitangi explores the English and te reo Māori versions of the documents, the differences between them, and how they are relevant to Aotearoa New Zealand today; and the New Zealand Wars visit covers what happened after the Treaty signing and explores why the Treaty did not end the conflict between Māori and the British, but actually led to wars.....
See full article HERE

Te reo Māori use by under-fours widespread - research
A new study has found te reo Māori is flourishing among pre-schoolers, with nearly three quarters of New Zealand four-year-olds using at least some of the language.

The research, led by Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, analysed information from Growing up in New Zealand, the country's largest study of child development.

It found 10 percent of children could speak or understand simple sentences in te reo Māori at age four - and about 20 percent of those were non-Māori.....
See full article HERE

Taupō water monitoring deal points way to future
Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board chair John Bishara hopes a transfer of authority over will be taken up more widely.

"If we can do the very best with the regional council and the regional council can do the very best with us, it's a platform for others to progress their journey," he says.......
See full article HERE

Thursday June 4, 2020

News:
Iwi asks to close Thames coastlines to protect shellfish from summer 'onslaught'
In order to protect a diminishing marine life from an upcoming summer "onslaught", a Hauraki iwi have asked to close two coastlines to harvesting.
Ngāti Tamaterā Treaty Settlement Trust, on behalf of Ngāti Tamaterā, has put forward their request for a two-year closure to MPI.

The proposal focuses on the Te Mātā and Waipatukahu (Tapu) coasts, north of the Thames township.

According to the request, the area has been the subject of a temporary closure before, in 1998, as part of a wider Thames Coast closure......
See full article HERE

Funding for R&D in New Zealand – Expert reaction
The fund includes $150 million for an R&D loan scheme, $196 million for Crown Research Institutes, and $33 million for Māori research and development opportunities, among others.....
See full article HERE

Gallery pulls artwork after complaints of cultural appropriation
A Christchurch art gallery has apologised and pulled down controversial art after complaints the works appropriated Māori culture.

Windsor Gallery has removed Rhonye McIlroy's art, which included a painting of a white woman with a moko kauae, bare breasted, wearing bondage.

Ara Institute of Canterbury Māori liaison Atama Moa, who wears a mataora - a facial moko - said the art was offensive and inappropriate.....
See full article HERE

Pandemic Strengthens Iwi Resolve For 2020 Settlement
Covid-19 has not stopped a North Island Iwi from continuing to ready itself for a vote this year, that if ratified will be one of the largest Treaty settlement to date.

Whakatōhea is located in the eastern Bay of Plenty region centred around Ōpōtiki, with their rohe extending eastwards from Ohiwa Harbour to Opape along the coastline, and inland to Matawai.

Only seven Settlements have been more than $100 million and Whakatōhea has the highest per person ratio, in that all of the others have had significantly higher populations.....
See full article HERE

Mega Research Project Is Improving New Zealand’s Ocean Knowledge
New Zealand’s leading marine scientists involved in the $11.5 million Moana Project have gathered virtually over two days [27-28 May] to review their progress in the five-year research project to revolutionise our understanding of Aotearoa’s oceans and our ability to forecast ocean behaviour.

Learning from iwi about their oceanographic knowledge honed over centuries of ocean voyaging, kaimoana gathering and the observed changes to our oceans. Māori are the first oceanographers and this project combines mātauranga Māori and science to enhance future marine management. Eastern Bay of Plenty iwi Whakatōhea are partners in the Moana Project and their coastal rohe and aquaculture mussel farm will be a key case study throughout the project.....
See full article HERE

Response group criticises Covid-19 law failures to recognise Māori
The Māori Pandemic Response group has criticised the emergency Covid-19 legislation for its failure to reference Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Te Rōpū Whakakaupapa Urutā co-leader Teresa Wall told MPs the legislation fell short in respect of marae.

"The Act fails to recognise the cultural significance and importance of marae, instead placing marae in the same category as any other building."

Wall also condemned the failure to include reference to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi - protection, partnership and participation.

"That's one of the important things about having a Treaty statement in any legislation is that it reminds people - officials, and government - that it's important to engage with Māori."......
See full article HERE

Propaganda:
Māori over-represented in lockdown police proceedings

Wednesday June 3, 2020

News:
First-of-kind proposal to transfer water functions to Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board
The Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board could be the first iwi authority to have functions transferred from a council, under a new proposal just announced.
The Waikato Regional Council is proposing to transfer monitoring of summer bathing beaches, regional rivers, rainfall and groundwater quality within the Lake Taupō catchment to the board.

Lake Taupō holds special value for Ngāti Tūwharetoa, the iwi of Taupō......
See full article HERE

SKP Say Māori Cultural Values Are Important As Marina Battle Goes To High Court
SKP Inc (Save Kennedy Point) are in the High Court seeking to overturn a resource consent for a mammoth marina development at Kennedy Point, Waiheke Island.

The question at the centre of the appeal rests upon a premise that will be important for decision making throughout Aotearoa New Zealand in that SKP is asking the High Court to determine ‘if it is important for the Environment Court to hear from the correct Māori entity when hearing and determining cultural effects evidence.’

SKP hopes that the High Court agrees with it, and will say ‘yes’ that it is of course important that the Courts hear from the correct Māori and mana whenua entity on cultural effects......
See full article HERE

Drug law change matter of justice
A Māori cannabis reform advocate says getting September’s cannabis referendum passed is a matter of justice for Māori.

He says that should resolve many of the public health problems around the drug, and allows society to approach it in a more reasoned way.

It will also take away the criminal stigma.

“The effects of a criminal record we know as Māori are huge, whether that’s on your job prospects of the ability to travel or get loans. Although the Bill isn’t perfect we should support it because this is a once in a generation opportunity to stop the criminalisation of Māori for drug use,” Mr McDonald says.....
See full article HERE

Ngāi Tahu honours the past with names of two property developments
Maori property developer Ngāi Tahu Property has remembered two local chiefs whose land claims were rejected with the names of two of its new land developments.

Tawhiri, a new 32 hectare industrial block within Rolleston's industrial zone, and Kairua, in Hornby, were recently gifted their names with the approval of local mana whenua......
See full article HERE

Far North Iwi team up with police to fight family violence
Far North leaders are teaming up with police to fight family violence. Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa chair Haami Piripi says this new approach was created because the old ways weren't working.

It’s a new response to the issue of violence in the family.....
See full article HERE

Labour switches up strategy for Māori seats
Labour's Māori electorate MPs are returning to the party list this year after a bold play in 2017 saw them sweep all seven seats.

Last election's decision to stay off the list was designed to wipe out the Māori Party and make room on the Labour list for greater Māori representation.

Labour's Maori caucus co-chair Meka Whaitiri said the strategy worked with 13 Labour Māori MPs in government and the Māori Party gone......
See full article HERE

Consultation Begins For Seafloor Name Proposals
The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) is inviting submissions on proposals to alter three undersea feature names:

The proposal to change Poverty Canyon to Māhia Canyon means the name would align with the nearby Mahia Peninusla. The Whareama Valley proposal drops ‘Sea’ and identifies the feature accurately as a single valley, and the Matakaoa Re-entrant proposal corrects the spelling from Matakoa.

The NZGB says these Māori names help preserve and strengthen their land-based names. Māhia recalls the name that Ruawharo gave when recalling the murmurings from home, Whareama meaning the house with carved posts, and Matakaoa describes the surface of the tide as it churns over a reef.....
See full article HERE

Council refuses Aotea iwi dredge challenge
An objection by Protect Aotea and Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea opposing the dredging of the Rangitoto shipping channel and downtown Auckland Port area has been struck out.

This means the iwi will be denied a right to be heard on an activity that is likely to have adverse effects on taonga species and could introduce invasive non-indigenous pests into the tupuna moana.

She says it highlights the council’s absence of mātauranga Māori and its lack of engagement with iwi.....
See full article HERE

No doubt racism exists in New Zealand Police - Māori law expert
There is no doubt racism exists within the New Zealand police, Māori associate professor of law Khylee Quince says.

Police minister Stuart Nash said New Zealand's police had no issues with systemic racism and the organisation was addressing unconcious bias.

She said there was a strong presence of Māori, Pasifika and migrant populations at marches across the country because they resonated with poor treatment by police.....
See full article HERE

Articles:
Maori can’t be found on Muller’s front-bench list but they are getting priority treatment on a revised surgery list

Monday June 1, 2020

News:
Information for iwi/Māori (Freshwater)
Freshwater is precious and limited, a taonga of huge significance, and is of particular importance to Māori.

The Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the underlying foundation of the Crown–iwi/ hapū relationship with regard to freshwater resources. Addressing tangata whenua values and interests across all of the wellbeings and including the involvement of iwi and hapū in the overall management of freshwater are key to giving effect to the Treaty of Waitangi.

The new requirements in the NPS-FM and NES are about strengthening Te Mana o te Wai and improving ecosystem health and water quality to provide further protection for freshwater taonga. Achieving this requires a balance between setting policies and rules nationally and providing flexibility locally. 

The new NPS-FM and NES require and encourage further engagement between tangata whenua and councils and require further protection of Māori values. These policies may further contribute to upholding the intrinsic values and objectives of existing Treaty settlement commitments......
See full article HERE 


NPM Tauira Tautoko – 2020 Completion And Intern Scholarships
Part of NPM’s Tautoko strategy given COVID-19 impact is to support 40 tauira (students) to complete their theses and degree requirements. A suite of new NPM completion scholarships are now open for Māori students across Aotearoa New Zealand. These scholarships provide opportunities and support for Honours, Masters and Doctoral students to complete their studies in 2020......
See full article HERE

Fishing groups rally over lost rights
The reaction to three ‘no take’ fishing zones near Motiti Island has been significant to say the least.

In the five weeks following the Environment Court’s final decision on April 24, Facebook group Stop the Lockout NZ gained more than 1140 members.

A National Party petition against the decision, started by BOP MP Todd Muller, has more than 2300 signatures.

Commercial and recreational fisherman Russ Hawkins, who’s fished the area for 50 years, has written to the Human Rights Commission. Several others plan to take legal action.

The Weekend Sun has talked to a significant number of clubs, fishermen, Motiti residents and Te Patuwai Iwi over the last two weeks. The same question continues to present itself: how was this allowed to happen?......
See full article HERE

Intellectual property laws require update to protect Māori cultural practices
There has been a major outcry and backlash from the Māori community regarding the constant misuse of Māori taonga on objects such as beer bottles, paintings and prints by the hands of non-Māori. However, what is intellectual property and how can Māori regain theirs?

"They give you legal rights to enforce against other parties, our intellectual property laws don't take into account tikanga."

The process to regain authority of culture and tikanga is easier said than done.......
See full article HERE

Articles:
Self-determination not government reliance is the path for Māori

Propaganda:
Nature is key to NZ’s post-Covid future

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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