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Saturday, November 6, 2021

Breaking Views Update: Week of 31.10.21







Saturday November 6, 2021 

News:
Kura School traffic signs consultation

The exact text for most traffic signs is set out in the TCD Rule. Except in specific circumstances, these words are in English. Some signs show names in te reo Māori like Whakatāne or Marae.

The proposed Rule would amend the TCD rule to specify changes to a number of school signs and create a new permanent school speed sign that uses the words kura and school to make the signs bilingual.

Having both English and te reo Māori together on traffic signs is not a new idea, signs have been on our roads for over 20 years but there are very few of them. Currently Te reo Māori is only found on signs used to describe a place or feature (eg Aoraki Mount Cook).

There is an opportunity to introduce bilingual school signs......
See full article HERE

Māori-owned supermarket plans unveiled
Edwards says he and a consortium of iwi are looking at the feasibility of a new Māori-owned chain that would offer cheaper prices for cash-strapped whānau, and keep grocery chains in Kiwi hands.

"Supermarkets fit well with our values and a focus on health outcomes for Māori," he said reading a statement from the group......
See full article HERE

High Court claim by Māori iwi calls for judicial review of te reo Māori use in courts
A joint claim filed by Northland iwi Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia, Te Poari o Ngātiwai, Te Rūnanga a Iwi o Ngāpuhi and Te Reo Ngāti Hine calls for the Auckland High Court to conduct a judicial review into the use of te reo Māori in New Zealand’s courts.

Even though the Māori Language Act passed in 2016 allows parties to communicate in te reo Māori during legal proceedings, the iwi say the native language plays second fiddle to English in courts across the country. They submitted that current legal rules, procedures and processes in place are not in line with the legislation and with te Tiriti o Waitangi, the NZ Herald reported.....
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

Thursday November 4, 2021 

News: 
Abuse inquiry Māori hearing set for March
The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry is to hold a public hearing at Auckland’s Ōrākei Marae next March for Māori abuse survivors to share their experiences.

Inquiry commissioner and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei leader Julia Steenson says Māori have been and continue to be overrepresented in State and faith-based care.

The commission’s interim findings show Māori in care have been abused more than all other groups, which has affected generations of Māori whānau in all aspects of their wellbeing, including cultural, social and economic aspects.....
See full article HERE

Green light for reo traffic signs
Today Waka Kotahi, the NZ Transport Agency legally approved the signs at a hui in Tauranga, and topped it off by taking Dave and his wife Mel to lunch.

Waka Kotahi will now register the signs as a legal device in the Code of Practice for Temporary Traffic Management.

"It was an absolutely wonderful result for Māori, just to get our Māori signage off the ground ... hopefully, one day we'll have Māori signage throughout our motu," Taui says.....
See full article HERE

Checkpoints Set Up Following Alert Level Change For Upper Northland Area
Northland Police have currently established three checkpoints in response to the upper part of the Northland region moving into Alert Level 3 overnight.

Police are working alongside our Iwi partners and Te Tai Tokerau Border Control who are assisting Police on our checkpoints......
See full article HERE 

Wednesday November 3, 2021 

News: 
New Ministry for Disabled People needs a relevant Māori lens, advocates say 
The absence of a te reo Māori sign language interpreter at Friday’s announcement of the new Ministry for Disabled People spoke volumes for long-time Māori disabilities advocate Tania Kingi.

“What happened there was a failure to recognise inclusion. They haven't yet included concepts of disability from a Māori worldview,” Kingi said.

“But it can’t be a tokenistic role,” Baker said.

“It has to have power and influence. They must understand the complexity of te ao Māori.”....
See full article HERE

$23m To Support Community-led Māori Vaccination Campaigns
The Government has approved $23.3 million for eight Māori organisations and iwi aimed at boosting Māori vaccination rates, through the new $120 million Māori Communities COVID-19 Fund.

Today’s funding announcement is part of the first phase $60 million focused on vaccination rates and a further $60 million will support Māori and iwi-led initiatives to protect their communities against COVID-19.....
See full article HERE

More on the above here > The 90% project: Government gives $2.2m for Ngāti Kahungunu-led vaccination strategy

And here > Māori Covid-19 funding approved for eight groups to boost vaccinations

Māori Privacy Rights Breached By Judgement
“The effect of a High Court judgement that Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency should have access to Māori data to try to lift vaccination rates is that Māori have a different and lesser right to privacy due to the Treaty of Waitangi,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“The judgement relies on the Ministry of Health’s own commitment to upholding the Treaty in its COVID response, but the result is that if you are Māori – your privacy is eroded.....
See full article HERE

Articles:
Maori Ministers announce $23.5m of vaccine spending – and RNZ raises questions about the causes of disparities 

Tuesday November 2, 2021 

News: 
The $1 billion plan to lift Māori and Pasifika prosperity in Auckland's south and west 
An ambitious plan to boost Māori and Pasifika prosperity in Auckland’s south and west is hoped to attract $1 billion of investment if the Government approves a $60 million pitch in next years’ budget.

What’s thought to be the country’s biggest single business development project is aimed at boosting the creation of Māori and Pasifika-owned businesses, focussed on recycling......
See full article HERE

Tauranga surplus land available for tangata whenua
Tauranga City Council is looking at its property holdings to see what may be covered by a new policy to offer mana whenua a right of first refusal over surplus land.

Chief commissioner Anne Tolley says it was a policy the previous council debated for several years without reaching agreement, which the commissioners picked up and talked through with a representative group of iwi and hapū.....
See full article HERE

'Get in line or get out of the way': Māori climate activist's rousing speech in Glasgow
Logan-Riley, who introduced themselves on stage in Glasgow in te reo Māori, has told G-20 leaders, in no uncertain terms, that it is imperative that they listen to young indigenous peoples and support their fight for a better future.

The activist says climate change issues are rooted in colonialism and we must move away from modern-day forms of it.

They demand that world leaders listen to indigenous peoples, who have been fighting against resource exploitation and corporate greed and have offered real solution to climate issues.

Condemning colonialism, Logan-Riley pointed out they come from a place where land "was stolen by the British crown"......
See full article HERE 

Monday November 1, 2021 

News: 
Te Rito - a new bid to boost diversity in our newsrooms 
We’ve had too few journalists of Māori, Pasifika and Asian origin in our newsrooms for decades - and now there’s a new publicly funded push to turn that round. Four established outlets are backing the Te Rito Journalism project.

It is a new collaboration between four media companies - NZME, Newshub, Māori Television and the Pacific Media Network - actively seeking trainees to boost the diversity of New Zealand newsrooms - and eventually, the news itself.

These are paid positions and the public is paying: $2.4 million to “identify, train, develop and hire 25 cadet journalists”.......
See full article HERE

Blue whale harvested, buried in traditional Māori way after washing up on South Taranaki beach
A blue whale that washed ashore in South Taranaki was given a traditional Māori ceremony before being harvested and buried by iwi members......
See full article HERE

Boycott Pak'nSave, New World - National Māori Authority
The National Māori Authority is calling for a boycott of New World and Pak'nSave after a decision to dump Māori-owned Seafood provider Sealord's products in favour of overseas substitutes.

Jobs at Sealord are on the line after New World and Pak'nSave parent company Foodstuffs (North Island) decided to "delete" products which make up between 50-80 per cent of the Iwi-owned fishing company's sales, following a review into its freezer line-up. Māori Authority Chair Matthew Tukaki says the decision is two-faced and reeks of profiteering.

“What I find incredible is they [Foodstuffs] talk about supporting local industry. Let’s be really clear here – this large supermarket chain is going to do what? Import low and substandard products in stark opposition to products that are sourced sustainably in New Zealand, by a largely Māori owned business?”....
See full article HERE

Articles:
John Porter: Who Is Really the Prime Minister of New Zealand? 

Sunday October 31, 2021 

News: 
Government to consider buying back Taipa Point Reserve in the Far North 
The government will consider whether it will purchase the culturally significant Taipa Point Reserve in the Far North, being occupied by mana whenua, Ngāti Kahu for the past ten days.

Currently in private ownership, the popular 7879 square metre coastal site was initially up for auction, but since Ngāti Kahu members moved onto the land, it’s changed to a sale by tender at an estimated value of $1.4m.

“Of course nothing is easy in the bureaucratic world. Our option is that we are hoping to buy the land back and landbank it for Ngāti Kahu,” said Davis......
See full article HERE

NZ GG staying true to Maori roots, values
She also pledged to support New Zealanders to reckon with their past and further embrace the country's Maori origins - inclusive of the bloody wars between indigenous and settlers, and the land confiscation that followed.

"I've been gratified to see New Zealand's increasing desire to engage fully and honestly with our history, notably through annual commemorations to mark the New Zealand Wars," she said.

"It's a joy to see so many New Zealanders eager to learn the language, as it is by far the best portal to an understanding of te ao Maori (the Maori world) and I will continue to be its champion."

In an interview with AAP, Dame Cindy said she would unapologetically pursue a greater understanding and acceptance of Maori values among all Kiwis.

"We have to reconcile ourselves to the fact that we have a history. We are Maori. We are Tangata Whenua (people of the land). And in order to move forward we have to have a respectful relationship with the treaty," she said........
See full article HERE

Don’t come back message for anti-vax hui hoppers
Taitokerau checkpoint coordinator Hone Harawira says the anti-vaxers who swamped the annual He Whakaputanga commemoration at Te Tii Marae yesterday aren’t welcome back.

“Don’t you ever dare come back into our territory like that again......
See full article HERE

The Govt’s next big experiment
A review of the research, science and innovation sector might not be something many New Zealanders have been waiting for, but its importance for the future of the country puts it right up there with some of the Government’s other, more visible, big-ticket reforms now under way.

The Future Pathways programme would study ways to build a modern sector with better funding systems, that was more inclusive of Maori and Te Tiriti, and give better support for career scientists.......
See full article HERE

Students thrive without streaming so why haven't all schools stopped?
Schools have been told by the Government to stop streaming students, a practice which disproportionately disadvantages Māori and Pasifika, but it's an open secret that many still do.

The Ministry of Education wants streaming to stop, saying: "There is clear and consistent evidence that streaming contributes to inequitable outcomes, especially for Māori learners, Pacific learners, and learners with disabilities."

"That a disproportionate number of our Māori and Pasifika girls featured in the lower bands tells us that that's racist."......
See full article HERE

$15m in extra funding to help students get through 'tumultuous time'
The government is investing nearly $15 million in helping Auckland students get back on track after weeks of disruption.

$6m in targeted support through providers to meet the immediate needs of Māori and Pacific students within their whānau so they can re-engage in learning, either back at school, online or with another education provider......
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
 

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