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Saturday, May 11, 2024

Breaking Views Update: Week of 5.5.24







Saturday May 11, 2024 

News:
Iwi bid for National Park name change referred to Land Information Minister

An iwi bid to change the name of central North Island village National Park has been referred to the Land Information Minister to make the decision.

If the Geographic Board does not agree with objecting submissions, it can ask the minister to make the final decision.

After considering 2088 submissions on changing the unofficial recorded place name National Park to the official place name Waimarino, the board has referred the proposal to Land Information Minister Chris Penk for a decision......
See full article HERE

Huhana Lyndon’s bill aims to stop Māori land confiscation; welcomed by northern hapū
The Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment bill is a private member’s bill to stop Māori land confiscations.

This week the Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment bill was drawn from Parliament’s ballot.

Introducing the bill, Green MP Huhana Lyndon said not one more acre of Māori land should be taken by the Crown. The bill aims to address a part of the Public Works Act 1981, which allows Māori freehold land and customary land to be taken without the consent of Māori communities.....
See full article HERE

Mike McRoberts calls new job ‘an opportunity to shape the narrative’
McRoberts will join NBR as Te Ao Māori Editor, in which the service said he would “spearhead the development of content that dives deep into the dynamics of the Māori economy and the vibrant stories of Māori communities”.

McRoberts said the new role was “an opportunity to shape the narrative around key developments within the Māori economy and to ensure these stories receive the national attention they deserve.”....
See full article HERE

Māori lawyers back tikanga study
The Māori Law Society Hunga Roia Māori – the Māori Law Society is defending the introduction of compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students.

Mr Ahu says Maori had their own laws or tīkanga long before pākeha arrived in Aotearoa – and they should be a compulsory part of modern New Zealand law studies.....
See full article HERE

Manaaki promise for Indigenous education hui
Auckland University of Technology has been named the venue for next year’s World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference for Education – and an organiser is promising Māori will present a conference like no other.

Aroha Te Kanawa says the conference will give Māori educators and knowledge keepers a chance to learn from the experiences of other Indigenous whanau around the world.....
See full article HERE

Opposition to signalled changes for Māori seats on council
Northland Regional Council has formally agreed it will oppose signalled changes from Government that would restore the ability for communities to hold binding referendums on whether to introduce Māori wards.  

The changes would affect all councils that have introduced Māori seats — including all four councils in Te Taitokerau — since the previous government amended the Local Electoral Act to remove the requirement for binding referendums.    

On 24 April, NRC formally agreed to oppose the changes to the Local Electoral Act signalled by government, and will work in partnership with TTMAC to make a submission when the Bill is introduced......
See full article HERE

Referendum ‘will end’ Māori ward - Masterton DC
Masterton will probably lose its Māori ward councillor when it’s put to a referendum, according to the district’s Māori ward councillor, Marama Tuuta.

The prospect is sad and it’s a backwards step to force local councils to hold referenda on the ward councillors, she said.....
See full article HERE


This Breaking Views Update monitors race relations in the media on a weekly basis. New material is added regularly. 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 May 10, 2024 

News:
Hutt City Council Celebrates Te Herenga Kairangi, Its First Rautaki Māori
Hutt City Council has approved Te Herenga Kairangi, a rautaki (strategy) consolidating all council work aimed at improving outcomes for Māori.

After consultation with Mana Whenua and hapori Māori (Māori communities), three key outcomes are set out in the strategy.

* Council and hapori Māori have strong and trusting relationship

* Māori are healthy, culturally accepted, sheltered and economically secure.

* Te Kaunihera o Te Awa Kairangi is a Te Ao Māori capable organisation.....
See full article HERE

South Taranaki iwi meet with Government over reopening of oil and gas exploration
South Taranaki iwi Ngāti Ruanui has met with Government ministers about plans to remove the ban on new oil and gas exploration and changes to the Crown Minerals Act.

Ngāti Ruanui Trust taiao officer Graham Young said the online hui, which included iwi leaders around the motu and senior Māori Government ministers Shane Jones and Tama Potaka, outlined the Government’s intention to lift the offshore mining ban and to open up mining across the rest of the country.

“I think it’s a pity that we are particularly opening up offshore oil and gas prospecting; I think that has a higher degree of risk,” Young said.

But he said Minister for Resources Jones made it clear that this was the Government’s position for the future.....
See full article HERE

Waitangi Tribunal hears arguments on Treaty Principles Bill
The Government's controversial Treaty Principles Bill is once again in the spotlight as the Waitangi Tribunal's urgent inquiry into the policy gets underway in Wellington.

It follows widespread opposition to the Bill, which seeks to redefine the Treaty principles using ACT's interpretation of the three articles......
See full article HERE

Propaganda:
Councils at crossroads? What the future of Māori wards looks like

Kura Kaupapa Māori, where Rangatira are made  

Thursday May 9, 2024 

News:
Māori keen on rehabilitation role
Labour Ikaroa Rawhiti MP Cushla Tangaere-Manuel says iwi and hapu want to be involved at the design stage of any new prison rehabilitation project.

Corrections Minister Mark Michell has announced a $1.9 billion boost for Corrections in this month’s Budget, including $78 million for rehabilitation, with poisoners on remand able to access services for the first time.

He says the Government is committed to Māori rehabilitation programmes.

Ms Tangaere-Manuel says she’s keen to see the details.

“Iwi, hapu, whanau want to be involved from design to delivery. So whatever the Government’s plans are, which we’re still not clear of, I think that’s important to include,” she says......
See full article HERE

Fourth urgent inquiry by the Waitangi Tribunal, this time on Māori wards
The Waitangi Tribunal is conducting another urgent inquiry into plans to require councils to hold a binding referendum on Māori wards.

It adds to a growing list of urgent Tribunal inquiries into government policies, taking the number to four since the government took office.

In April, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown announced the move, saying it would reverse the previous government's "divisive changes that denied local communities the ability to determine" if Māori wards were set up.....
See full article HERE

Ngāti Toa hikoi: Hundreds march to oppose fast-track bill
Hundreds have marched on Parliament in a hīkoi to oppose the Government's fast-track consenting bill, which Ngāti Toa Rangatira has described as "short-sighted".

Marchers gathered at Wellington Railway Station for the hīkoi, making their way to the Beehive at about 1pm earlier this afternoon.

At Parliament grounds, the hīkoi was greeted by Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka and RMA Minister Chris Bishop — who is in charge of the fast-track legislation....
See full article HERE

Councillors Unanimously Back Maaori Wards
Waikato District Council has declared its strong opposition to any legislation that has the potential to remove Maori Wards from its governance model.

Council currently has 11 General Ward Councillors and 2 Maaori Ward Councillors, elected in 2022.

Waikato District Council resolved to incorporate Maaori Wards within its 2021 Representation Review, once the previous legislation to hold a binding poll was removed, and to recognise the long-standing partnership that they hold with Waikato-Tainui and other iwi....
See full article HERE

Propaganda:
Traditional Māori gardens tackling food costs and health

Te Reo Māori blooming despite recent government's shifts

Ngāti Toa Draws The Line Against The Proposed Fast-Track Bill

Oranga Tamariki job cuts silence Māori voices  

Wednesday May 8, 2024 

News:
Hone Harawira challenges rangatahi to lead protest movement
Speaking to The Hui, Harawira threw out a challenge to the younger generation: If you want Māori to protest, you organise it.

And he gave them a warning: "Don't wait til next Christmas and then say 'Oh I should have'," he said.

"If it's going to happen, all of you out there, get it done."....
See full article HERE

Microsoft enters 'groundbreaking' Maori data sovereignty deal that could have global implications
Te Tumu Paeroa (TTP), the office of the Māori Trustee, will serve as anchor tenants for Microsoft’s forthcoming data centres in Aotearoa New Zealand, a deal which could have global implications for indigenous data sovereignty.

Described as “groundbreaking”, the deal is based on TTP’s Māori data sovereignty framework, an ongoing development, into which the organisation has already invested three years of mahi.....
See full article HERE

Government’s English name edict runs into trouble at Whaikaha
The Government’s English names edict has run into further trouble, with staff at Whaikaha pushing back against requests to rename their ministry.

Whaikaha is the Ministry of Disabled People, and it also has an official NZ Sign Language name.

In her first meeting with Whaikaha’s leadership in November, then disabilities minister Penny Simmonds brought up the Government’s directive to give English names prominence.

But the Whaikaha name continues as staff have rallied to protect it, while chief executive Paula Tesoriero has stressed the “unique whakapapa” of the name.....
See full article HERE

National and Labour say Te Pāti Māori MP went too far saying Government planned 'to exterminate Māori'
MPs from both major parties are calling for political debate to cool, after a Te Pāti Māori MP said the Government's changes to Oranga Tamariki showed a "mission to exterminate Māori".

The MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mairiameno Kapa-Kingi, made the comments during Wednesday's general debate. Speaking about the removal of Treaty principles from the Oranga Tamariki Act, she said this showed the Government wanted to remove Māori children from their whānau, iwi and hapū.

"This Government will not waver in its mission to exterminate Māori," she said....
See full article HERE

Hamilton Māori ward councillor Melaina Huaki resigns triggering byelection
Hamilton Kirikiriroa Māori ward councillor Melaina Huaki has resigned from her position effective immediately.

She said she made the decision because of health reasons.

Hamilton City Council said a byelection would be held soon, and the timing would be confirmed at an upcoming council meeting.....
See full article HERE

Members Bill Will Prevent Māori Land Confiscations
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land.

This Members Bill, which was drawn from the ballot today and will be debated in Parliament, aims to address a flaw in the Public Works Act 1981 whereby Māori freehold and customary land can be acquired by a Minister or local authority for public works, without the consent of affected Māori communities.

“The Waitangi Tribunal found that the Crown must actively protect Māori interests, and this is what my Bill seeks to do, by protecting the small amount of Māori land left from compulsory acquisition - thus giving primacy to Article Two of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

An earlier iteration of this Member’s Bill was tabled by former Green MP Catherine Delahunty in 2016 but was voted down by the previous National Party-led government. However, Lyndon says Parliament now has a chance to make amends....
See full article HERE

King’s Counsel Gary Judd files complaint over tikanga Māori requirement for law students, Winston Peters agrees
A senior King’s Counsel has filed a complaint to the Government’s Regulations Review Committee over incoming compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students.

Gary Judd KC told the Herald he did so because up until now the curriculum for lawyers has been made up of what he described as “proper law subjects”, such as criminal law and the law of torts.

“Tikanga is a system of beliefs, a system which indicates the way the Māori people who subscribe to tikanga consider is the right way of doing things. So it is quite different,” Judd said.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters also weighed into the debate by supporting Judd’s complaint in a statement and social media post.

“Tikanga is not law. It is cultural indoctrination,” Peters said.....
See full article HERE

Dinosaur rears up in tikanga battle
Senior King’s Counsel Gary Judd KC has got into a social media fight with AUT Law School dean Khylee Quince over his call for parliament to veto the introduction of tikanga as a compulsory subject for law students.

Mr Judd says new regulations starting next year will compel law students to be taught a system which does not confirm with the rule of law.

Dean Quince said Mr Judd was an old racist dinosaur making a pathetic squeal in an attempt to preserve the status quo.

Mr Judd says that was stooping to gutter level, and law students should not be force fed woke indoctrination from some culture warrior’s slanted version of what tikanga means
See full article HERE

Prison plan substitute for housing fix - Willie Jackson
Former Māori affairs minister Willie Jackson says the Government’s $1.9 billion boost for Corrections shows it seems to think increasing prison beds is the solution to the Māori housing crisis.

“It’s typical them trying to look tough. It’s not about balance or rehabilitation, it’s just about locking up more Māori. We know that’s their strategy and they don’t seem to have any idea on the numbers – maybe this is their Māori housing programme, who knows?” he says.

The government is also allocating $78 million into funding rehabilitation programmed for remand prisoners, which the previous Government committed to....
See full article HERE

Amorangi: Leading Māori Governance Summit Returns
Amorangi: National Māori in Governance Summit is a biennial event hosted by Tapuwae Roa which aims to grow and inspire the next generation of tikanga-led, future-focused Māori governors. The summit is proudly a by Māori, for Māori, kaupapa, presenting a vast selection of kōrero and whakaaro from across the Māori governance sector....
See full article HERE

Articles:
Laws, representation, and treating everyone equally

Gary Judd KC: A law school to be avoided  

Tuesday May 7, 2024 

News:
Shane Jones doesn’t want Māori caught up in ‘green gullibility’ over changes to Crown Minerals
Act
Senior Māori Government ministers Shane Jones and Tama Potaka say Māori will have plenty of opportunities to voice their views on the proposed changes to the Crown Minerals Act.

The pair have organised a Zoom hui with iwi leaders tomorrow to outline plans for the removal of the ban on new oil and gas exploration and other proposed changes to the Crown Minerals regime.

Jones said not all Māori are against gas and oil exploration....
See full article HERE

Drop the attitude iwi leader tells ministers
Ngāti Kahungunu chair Bayden Barber says he’s getting hoha with ministers coming to the Iwi Chairs Forum as though they are doing Māori a favour.

“I’m getting a bit hoha with these MPs coming in kind of like we’re subservient to them. No way! No, no,no. I think we need to change that. Soon as we cut those apron strings and actually start on our own journey, it’ll be the better for us. And like I say, it might be painful, but that’s where we need to get to,” Mr Barber says.....
See full article HERE

Propaganda:
Rotorua real estate agent offers te reo signs in bid to encourage Māori homeowners

Ria Hall brings inclusive vision to Tauranga mayoral race  

Monday May 6, 2024  

News:
Real estate agent Janet Dickson back at work before court review over Māori values course
A real estate agent facing a five-year ban after refusing to complete a compulsory short course on Māori culture and tikanga - a move she says led to her being fired - is back at work.

Janet Dickson is again working for Harcourts Landed Howick after her lawyers successfully asked for an interim court order maintaining her practising licence until the outcome of a judicial review into the Real Estate Authority’s continuing education rules.

The authority supported the request, given Dickson’s licence would’ve been cancelled on March 31 and the earliest a judicial review could be heard in the High Court was June, Dickson’s lawyer Brigitte Morten said....
See full article HERE

'Māori Seabed, For Shore!' - Two decades on from the largest hīkoi in a generation
Twenty years have passed since the historic hīkoi against the controversial Foreshore and Seabed Act reached Parliament.

The hīkoi - the largest in a generation - began in Te Hiku-o-te-Ika, the Far North, and by the time it reached Pōneke numbers had grown to at least 15,000.

During the last leg of the journey - from Te Papa to the Beehive - marchers chanted 'Hīkoi ki pāremata,' waving Tino Rangatiratanga flags. One banner read 'Māori Seabed, For Shore!'

Prime Minister Helen Clark and her government were heavily criticised for the legislation. But she did not hold back airing her frustrations with those who opposed it.

"What it is, is the same old faces - the Ken Mairs, the Harawira families, the Annette Sykes - the haters and wreckers," said Helen Clark.

In a speech to the Human Rights Commission Speakers Forum, then Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen also justified the bill.

"The bill provides general rights of public access in, on, over and across the public foreshore and seabed and general rights of navigation.".....
See full article HERE

More than half of New Zealand workers are reporting severe burnout – worse than at the height of the pandemic.
A survey in April by the wellbeing@work project at Massey Business School found 57 per cent of employees fell into the "high risk" category for burnout, more than double the rate in December – which was 25 per cent.

Pākehā workers were the most burned out at 65.1 per cent, followed by Māori at 43.3 per cent and Asian at 17.6 per cent.....
See full article HERE

Articles:
Gary Judd KC: Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students

Propaganda:
After Anzac Day: Has Auckland Museum gone woke?

‘I give thanks for being Māori every day’

Rātana’s London mission

Tikanga Māori and the rights and obligations of free speech

Ngāhuia Murphy: The mana and mātauranga of wāhine Māori  

This Breaking Views Update monitors race relations in the media on a weekly basis. New material is added regularly. If you would like to send Letters to the Editor in response to any of these articles, most media addresses can be found HERE

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I recently watched an amazing doco from 1957 called The New Zealanders. It is on youtube and is from the nz archieves. Of course the comments have been switched off. It shows the real history of how nz was founded and how happy maori were with society as well. We were all new zealanders. There was no division. It explains how maori were also immigrants who came from the pacific islands. There is zero propaganda in this documentary, only fact. Why can't school kids be shown this in high schools and be taught the real history?

Anonymous said...

Senior Māori Government ministers Shane Jones and Tama Potaka say Māori will have plenty of opportunities to voice their views on the proposed changes to the Crown Minerals Act.

And the MAJORITY won't, Shane? That's very APARTHEID of you both.

Robert Arthur said...

re the 8th"This is how we feel-we will will not be told how to feel". Imagine if all groups announced their innermost views so blatantly. The country would collapse into instant mayhem. The ungrateful woman and her party are a disgrace to the modern world.

Robert Arthur said...

If the Waikato Council ward vote had been confidential I wonder if the outcome would have been the same. In the face of cancellation it is a bold and foolish councillor who is seen to oppose. Hence the apparent wide support.

Anonymous said...

Hutt Council I have no respect for your maori proposals - blatantly devisive and racist. I do not believe in the competence of the parties involved. I am way past caring about anything that is so called Maori culture and the like. What a complete abuse of voters and rate payers funds.

Robert Arthur said...

The Hutt Council proposals seem very debatable except that no one will brave cancellation to do so. Reads like a lot of paid time has been expended contriving the schemes and devising the plausible wording. It is a major effort to mentally translate into blunt immediately fathomable English. Hopefully it is the persons wasting time on these exercises who are and will be going from staffs. Once this favouritism of maori contractors and employees is established it becomes very difficult to apply colonist based standards of performance nd/or to make any changes without triggering accusations of maori bashing.

Robert arthur said...

Re 11th.One can understand the maori law socitey, in the spirit of the legal profession, favouring incorporation of tikanga for its endless make work potential. But I am astonished maori have the gall to suggest incorporation of pre European tikanga. This opens scope for all manner of barbarous acts. I have always presumed the tikamga developed for marae protocol post christian colonistiaon/civilisation influence was intended. But I suppose the wider the scope, the greater the make work oppotunity. I presume lagal aid will extend to tiknga based disputes.

Robert Arthur said...

I am sure the NBR readers will be looking forward to pro maori articles with very tepid enthusiam, amny having largely shunned the msm to avoid same.