Wednesday November 5, 2025
News:
Treaty and schools: Government to remove requirement for boards to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
The Government will remove a requirement for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, but will still make clear they should seek to achieve equitable outcomes for Māori students.
Education Minister Erica Stanford said the current legislated requirement means parents in charge of governance of local schools are expected to “interpret and implement a Treaty obligation that rightfully sits with the Crown”.
“School boards play an important role in raising achievement. But they cannot and should not carry the Crown’s constitutional obligations under the Treaty,” she said.....
See full article HERE
More on the above here > "Didn't make a difference": Education Minister unpacks scrapping of Treaty teaching clause
And more on the above here > Teachers shocked by government decision to remove Treaty of Waitangi requirement in schools
$3m spent on plans to relocate mould-ridden Christchurch school to Diamond Harbour
The Ministry of Education spent more than $3 million on consultants to develop a new, permanent home for a Christchurch Māori immersion school - only to abandon it, opting to permanently fix the earthquake-damaged, leaking, mould-ridden buildings instead.
In the last five years the Ministry has spent $3.06m on “consultancy services for new school development” and $2.8m on Ministry and school-led remediation to the buildings, information provided to The Press by the Ministry shows.....
See full article HERE
Mental health system ‘complex’, ‘patchy’ and ‘hard to navigate’
The mental health system is under intense pressure, a new report highlights, with wait times to access crisis phone lines ticking up sharply and young people and Māori disproportionately impacted.
For Māori and young people, a higher proportion of calls are urgent compared with non-Māori and those aged over 24 years.
“Māori represent a higher proportion of people accessing services across all specialist mental health and addiction services and this is also the case for crisis services, highlighting significant inequities,” read the report.
“We heard that, when Kaupapa Māori services are well resourced and connected to the community, they can deliver agile and holistic wrap-around support that better meets the needs of tāngata whaiora and whānau.”....
See full article HERE
PM Declares ‘No One Owns Water’ as Māori Landowners Sue Crown Over Broken Freshwater Commitments
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told media on Monday that no one owns water, and that many stakeholders, not just Māori, have interests in it.
“We’ve had a long-standing view that certainly no one in this country owns water. There’s rights and interests that many folk have across the country, but no one owns the water. It’s a difficult issue. It’s a complex issue. As we go through our RMA reforms, we’ll have more to say about that in due course,” says Luxon.
The High Court action was instigated by Kingi Smiler from Wairarapa Moana and the Wai Manawa Whenua Coalition.
The claim is supported by the Federation of Māori Authorities (FOMA), the largest Māori agri-business collective.....
See full article HERE
“School boards play an important role in raising achievement. But they cannot and should not carry the Crown’s constitutional obligations under the Treaty,” she said.....
See full article HERE
More on the above here > "Didn't make a difference": Education Minister unpacks scrapping of Treaty teaching clause
And more on the above here > Teachers shocked by government decision to remove Treaty of Waitangi requirement in schools
$3m spent on plans to relocate mould-ridden Christchurch school to Diamond Harbour
The Ministry of Education spent more than $3 million on consultants to develop a new, permanent home for a Christchurch Māori immersion school - only to abandon it, opting to permanently fix the earthquake-damaged, leaking, mould-ridden buildings instead.
In the last five years the Ministry has spent $3.06m on “consultancy services for new school development” and $2.8m on Ministry and school-led remediation to the buildings, information provided to The Press by the Ministry shows.....
See full article HERE
Mental health system ‘complex’, ‘patchy’ and ‘hard to navigate’
The mental health system is under intense pressure, a new report highlights, with wait times to access crisis phone lines ticking up sharply and young people and Māori disproportionately impacted.
For Māori and young people, a higher proportion of calls are urgent compared with non-Māori and those aged over 24 years.
“Māori represent a higher proportion of people accessing services across all specialist mental health and addiction services and this is also the case for crisis services, highlighting significant inequities,” read the report.
“We heard that, when Kaupapa Māori services are well resourced and connected to the community, they can deliver agile and holistic wrap-around support that better meets the needs of tāngata whaiora and whānau.”....
See full article HERE
PM Declares ‘No One Owns Water’ as Māori Landowners Sue Crown Over Broken Freshwater Commitments
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told media on Monday that no one owns water, and that many stakeholders, not just Māori, have interests in it.
“We’ve had a long-standing view that certainly no one in this country owns water. There’s rights and interests that many folk have across the country, but no one owns the water. It’s a difficult issue. It’s a complex issue. As we go through our RMA reforms, we’ll have more to say about that in due course,” says Luxon.
The High Court action was instigated by Kingi Smiler from Wairarapa Moana and the Wai Manawa Whenua Coalition.
The claim is supported by the Federation of Māori Authorities (FOMA), the largest Māori agri-business collective.....
See full article HERE
Government Plans Boost for Māori Land Through Carbon Forestry and Geothermal Investment
A new government focus is bringing hope for economic development on Māori land, with upcoming policies set to boost carbon forestry and geothermal investment.
Resources Minister Shane Jones says the new strategies will empower rural Māori communities and recognise the importance of partnership.
“We’re about to release in the next six to eight weeks, the geothermal strategy, and that will have a very strong accent on Māori. We are spending $60 million on supercritical geothermal energy, and that is on Māori land associated with the Tauhara Trust,” says Jones.
In parallel, Māori land will be uniquely exempt from new carbon forestry restrictions, a move Jones says will unlock prosperity for owners of ancestral whenua.....
See full article HERE
Jacob Lawes | valued at $3.7 billion are Māori horticultural assets key?
Māori horticultural assets have grown significantly, now valued at $3.7 billion, with 5,715 hectares of Māori-owned land producing fruit and vegetables-a 470% increase over 20 years....
See full article HERE
Invercargill council votes to retain mana whenua reps
Mana whenua representative roles have been given the green light at Invercargill City Council following a vote at the inaugural meeting.
Introduced in 2021, the arrangement allows one representative from each of the city’s two rūnaka to be internally selected and put forward to council.
Mayor Tom Campbell said the proposal this time around was for the representatives to sit on every council committee which was a “fairly significant increase in their involvement”, but one which mirrored councillors'.....
See full article HERE
Articles:
Centrist: Michael Laws slams ‘Māori issue industry,’ says iwi using ‘cultural veto’ to shake down businesses
Geoff Parker: Water Rights Should Belong To All New Zealanders — Not A Select Few
Steven Gaskell: A Cure for Everything – As Long as It’s “Inclusive”
Mike's Minute: The Waitangi Tribunal is Running Roughshod
Propaganda:
Te Akatea Demands Halt To “Regressive” Curriculum Rewrite That Undermines Te Tiriti O Waitangi
School curriculum ‘will perpetuate racism and ongoing inequity in our schools’
Labour’s Chris Hipkins says Government removing school board Treaty of Waitangi clause ‘victory for Hobson’s Pledge’
A new government focus is bringing hope for economic development on Māori land, with upcoming policies set to boost carbon forestry and geothermal investment.
Resources Minister Shane Jones says the new strategies will empower rural Māori communities and recognise the importance of partnership.
“We’re about to release in the next six to eight weeks, the geothermal strategy, and that will have a very strong accent on Māori. We are spending $60 million on supercritical geothermal energy, and that is on Māori land associated with the Tauhara Trust,” says Jones.
In parallel, Māori land will be uniquely exempt from new carbon forestry restrictions, a move Jones says will unlock prosperity for owners of ancestral whenua.....
See full article HERE
Jacob Lawes | valued at $3.7 billion are Māori horticultural assets key?
Māori horticultural assets have grown significantly, now valued at $3.7 billion, with 5,715 hectares of Māori-owned land producing fruit and vegetables-a 470% increase over 20 years....
See full article HERE
Invercargill council votes to retain mana whenua reps
Mana whenua representative roles have been given the green light at Invercargill City Council following a vote at the inaugural meeting.
Introduced in 2021, the arrangement allows one representative from each of the city’s two rūnaka to be internally selected and put forward to council.
Mayor Tom Campbell said the proposal this time around was for the representatives to sit on every council committee which was a “fairly significant increase in their involvement”, but one which mirrored councillors'.....
See full article HERE
Articles:
Centrist: Michael Laws slams ‘Māori issue industry,’ says iwi using ‘cultural veto’ to shake down businesses
Geoff Parker: Water Rights Should Belong To All New Zealanders — Not A Select Few
Steven Gaskell: A Cure for Everything – As Long as It’s “Inclusive”
Mike's Minute: The Waitangi Tribunal is Running Roughshod
Propaganda:
Te Akatea Demands Halt To “Regressive” Curriculum Rewrite That Undermines Te Tiriti O Waitangi
School curriculum ‘will perpetuate racism and ongoing inequity in our schools’
Labour’s Chris Hipkins says Government removing school board Treaty of Waitangi clause ‘victory for Hobson’s Pledge’
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.
Tuesday November 4, 2025
News:
Māori group takes freshwater rights fight to court in landmark case against Crown
In a landmark case, a group representing Māori landowners and hapū across the country is fighting the Government in court over freshwater rights.
The case centres on assurances given by former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Bill English in 2012 that Māori had rights and interests in freshwater and geothermal resources.
The case centres on assurances given by former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Bill English in 2012 that Māori had rights and interests in freshwater and geothermal resources.
The group says successive governments have failed to act on English’s “solemn promise”, instead pushing Māori out of the freshwater allocation process while the country’s waterways, rivers and lakes become increasingly polluted.....
See full article HERE
More on the above here > ‘Kaitiaki are enduring’ Landmark freshwater rights case underway in the High Court
Foreshore and seabed: South Island group sent back to court after customary rights win
A South Island whānau group that was recently awarded customary marine rights in the High Court will be one of the first to have at least part of their case reheard after Government changes to foreshore and seabed legislation.
Ruapuke Island Group reside across a series of islands between Bluff and Stewart Island in Foveaux Strait. In August, their seven-year court case for customary marine rights around those islands was granted.
Their case is one of seven that will need to be reheard after legislative amendments led by Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith.....
See full article HERE
$82,800 for a broom? 2023 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Awards
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage confirmed in an OIA response that it gave $82,800 to support the Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Awards 2023 — a competition for Māori artists aged 35 and under.
One of the runner-up works, shown above, features a broom. While art is subjective, most taxpayers would be surprised to learn their money is going toward funding competitions that hand out large sums for entries like this.....
See full article HERE
Waitangi Tribunal Calls for Māori Citizenship Reform
The Waitangi Tribunal has ruled that the children of a Māori man should be granted New Zealand citizenship, exposing major flaws in immigration law.
The case, brought by John Ruddock (Ngāpuhi), found that citizenship by descent only applies to one overseas-born generation – leaving many Māori whānau excluded despite their whakapapa.
The Tribunal says the 1977 Citizenship Act fails to recognise Māori as tangata whenua or uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi....
See full article HERE
Articles:
Peter Williams: Citizenship, Whakapapa and Equality Before the Law
Bob Edlin: High Court ruling in quarry case calls for consenting panels to apply “a Treaty lens”....
Propaganda:
School curriculum 'will perpetuate racism and ongoing inequity in our schools'
John Tamihere challenges rogue MPs to split from Te Pāti Māori
Te Pāti Māori electorate branch calls for party president John Tamihere’s resignation
New climate resilience institute guided by tikanga, mātauranga, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Luxon Wraps APEC Summit, Eyes Trade Growth for Māori Businesses
East Auckland kindy receives special carving
More on the above here > ‘Kaitiaki are enduring’ Landmark freshwater rights case underway in the High Court
Foreshore and seabed: South Island group sent back to court after customary rights win
A South Island whānau group that was recently awarded customary marine rights in the High Court will be one of the first to have at least part of their case reheard after Government changes to foreshore and seabed legislation.
Ruapuke Island Group reside across a series of islands between Bluff and Stewart Island in Foveaux Strait. In August, their seven-year court case for customary marine rights around those islands was granted.
Their case is one of seven that will need to be reheard after legislative amendments led by Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith.....
See full article HERE
$82,800 for a broom? 2023 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Awards
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage confirmed in an OIA response that it gave $82,800 to support the Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Awards 2023 — a competition for Māori artists aged 35 and under.
One of the runner-up works, shown above, features a broom. While art is subjective, most taxpayers would be surprised to learn their money is going toward funding competitions that hand out large sums for entries like this.....
See full article HERE
Waitangi Tribunal Calls for Māori Citizenship Reform
The Waitangi Tribunal has ruled that the children of a Māori man should be granted New Zealand citizenship, exposing major flaws in immigration law.
The case, brought by John Ruddock (Ngāpuhi), found that citizenship by descent only applies to one overseas-born generation – leaving many Māori whānau excluded despite their whakapapa.
The Tribunal says the 1977 Citizenship Act fails to recognise Māori as tangata whenua or uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi....
See full article HERE
Articles:
Peter Williams: Citizenship, Whakapapa and Equality Before the Law
Bob Edlin: High Court ruling in quarry case calls for consenting panels to apply “a Treaty lens”....
Propaganda:
School curriculum 'will perpetuate racism and ongoing inequity in our schools'
John Tamihere challenges rogue MPs to split from Te Pāti Māori
Te Pāti Māori electorate branch calls for party president John Tamihere’s resignation
New climate resilience institute guided by tikanga, mātauranga, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Luxon Wraps APEC Summit, Eyes Trade Growth for Māori Businesses
East Auckland kindy receives special carving
Monday November 3, 2025
News:
Te Ara Mangawhero Takes Huge Step Forward As New Project Funding Announced
Ngāti Rangi is ecstatic with today’s joint ministerial announcement confirming funding of $10.8m allocated for the respective iwi to lead the remaining developments of the cycle trails in the Ruapehu region.
This morning Minister Upston confirmed the Government will fund the completion of Te Ara Mangawhero (Ngāti Rangi) and progress Te Hangāruru (Te Korowai o Wainuiārua) as part of a ‘regional resilience’ approach.....
See full article HERE
Ngāti Kahungunu celebrates High Court ruling
Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga and Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated has welcomed the High Court’s decision in Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga v Environmental Protection Agency Expert Consenting Panel. The ruling affirms the legal requirement for expert consenting panels to meaningfully apply Treaty of Waitangi principles under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020.
The case concerned the approval of a large-scale aggregate quarry at Maraekākaho within the rohe of Heretaunga and the former bed of the Ngaruroro River prior to its deliberate restriction. The High Court found that the Panel failed to adequately evaluate cultural effects and Treaty principles, despite the detailed Cultural Assessment and Aspirations Report (CAAR) submitted by Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga.
Marei Apatu, speaking on behalf of Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, said: “This decision is a significant affirmation of our mana and the enduring relevance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in environmental decision-making. The Court has made clear that statutory bodies must do more than gesture toward Treaty principles-they must apply them rigorously and transparently.”....
See full article HERE
Occupation as Ngati Paoa Bill returns to Parliament
As the The Ngati Paoa Claims Settlement Bill is scheduled for its third reading in Parliament on Wednesday, 5th November 2025, concerns are being raised by claimants saying in a statement that “Importantly, the Treaty settlement Claims Bill should not be used as a mechanism to privately dissolve a land trust that holds Māori freehold land for its registered beneficial owners prior to settlement.
This has led to a response by Beneficial owners which includes occupation:
“This transfer of ownership is implemented through legislative redress, which is described as a “governance reorganisation” but in practice constitutes a significant change in ownership and control.
In protest against the Claims Bill dissolution of the Waiheke Station Trust, the current beneficial owners have begun occupying their land.....
See full article HERE
Articles:
Graham Adams: Maorification Is National’s Achilles heel
Bob Edlin: Waitangi Tribunal on citizenship rights....
Propaganda:
Emma Dunlop-Bennett: Investing in others
Why the system will never truly serve us
On the face of it, discriminating against tā moko is illegal
My season of renewal
Ngāti Kahungunu celebrates High Court ruling
Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga and Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated has welcomed the High Court’s decision in Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga v Environmental Protection Agency Expert Consenting Panel. The ruling affirms the legal requirement for expert consenting panels to meaningfully apply Treaty of Waitangi principles under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020.
The case concerned the approval of a large-scale aggregate quarry at Maraekākaho within the rohe of Heretaunga and the former bed of the Ngaruroro River prior to its deliberate restriction. The High Court found that the Panel failed to adequately evaluate cultural effects and Treaty principles, despite the detailed Cultural Assessment and Aspirations Report (CAAR) submitted by Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga.
Marei Apatu, speaking on behalf of Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, said: “This decision is a significant affirmation of our mana and the enduring relevance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in environmental decision-making. The Court has made clear that statutory bodies must do more than gesture toward Treaty principles-they must apply them rigorously and transparently.”....
See full article HERE
Occupation as Ngati Paoa Bill returns to Parliament
As the The Ngati Paoa Claims Settlement Bill is scheduled for its third reading in Parliament on Wednesday, 5th November 2025, concerns are being raised by claimants saying in a statement that “Importantly, the Treaty settlement Claims Bill should not be used as a mechanism to privately dissolve a land trust that holds Māori freehold land for its registered beneficial owners prior to settlement.
This has led to a response by Beneficial owners which includes occupation:
“This transfer of ownership is implemented through legislative redress, which is described as a “governance reorganisation” but in practice constitutes a significant change in ownership and control.
In protest against the Claims Bill dissolution of the Waiheke Station Trust, the current beneficial owners have begun occupying their land.....
See full article HERE
Articles:
Graham Adams: Maorification Is National’s Achilles heel
Bob Edlin: Waitangi Tribunal on citizenship rights....
Propaganda:
Emma Dunlop-Bennett: Investing in others
Why the system will never truly serve us
On the face of it, discriminating against tā moko is illegal
My season of renewal
Sunday November 2, 2025
News:
Landmark case over water rights
On Monday a landmark case will begin in the High Court in Wellington over fresh water.
A coalition, Te Wai Manawa Whenua is representing Māori landowners, hapu and iwi.
A coalition, Te Wai Manawa Whenua is representing Māori landowners, hapu and iwi.
The coalition says it is responding to decades of broken promises, including the Crown's assurance to the Supreme Court in 2012, to address the first-in, first-served freshwater allocation practice, they say ignores Māori authority and guardianship.....
See full article HERE
First hui of board representing interests of mountain’s legal personhood held
The inaugural meeting of the board which acts as the human face and voice of Taranaki Maunga and its peaks was held on Friday.
Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi, which is made up of four Crown appointments and four representatives of the eight iwi of Taranaki, was set up following the completion of the Treaty of Waitangi settlement related to the maunga.....
See full article HERE
Ōtāhuhu students carve history with new wharenui
Ōtāhuhu College has opened its new wharenui, Te Tāhuhu, a haven carved by staff and students to reflect the school’s commitment to embrace and uphold te ao Māori.
Last Monday marked the dawn opening of Te Tāhuhu, which took seven months to build and carve. Mason has worked toward its creation for the past six years.
While not the first marae built on school grounds, Mason says it was important to build a new whare and to place it at the front of the school, where it rightfully belongs.....
See full article HERE
Articles:
Steven Gaskell: The Great Treaty “Principles” Mirage
Geoff Parker: It's Time To Enforce The Law - Equally
Matua Kahurangi: David Seymour exposes the fraud of the anti-colonial crusade
Propaganda:
Time 100 Next Award: Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke recognised in New York for influential leadership
First hui of board representing interests of mountain’s legal personhood held
The inaugural meeting of the board which acts as the human face and voice of Taranaki Maunga and its peaks was held on Friday.
Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi, which is made up of four Crown appointments and four representatives of the eight iwi of Taranaki, was set up following the completion of the Treaty of Waitangi settlement related to the maunga.....
See full article HERE
Ōtāhuhu students carve history with new wharenui
Ōtāhuhu College has opened its new wharenui, Te Tāhuhu, a haven carved by staff and students to reflect the school’s commitment to embrace and uphold te ao Māori.
Last Monday marked the dawn opening of Te Tāhuhu, which took seven months to build and carve. Mason has worked toward its creation for the past six years.
While not the first marae built on school grounds, Mason says it was important to build a new whare and to place it at the front of the school, where it rightfully belongs.....
See full article HERE
Articles:
Steven Gaskell: The Great Treaty “Principles” Mirage
Geoff Parker: It's Time To Enforce The Law - Equally
Matua Kahurangi: David Seymour exposes the fraud of the anti-colonial crusade
Propaganda:
Time 100 Next Award: Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke recognised in New York for influential leadership
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.
3 comments:
Sadly the alert persons who made submissions on the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Deed of Acknowledgeent failed to input on the Taranaki Maunga Board. So whereas the former with 5 coordinated maori to 6 others has a tiny chance of avoiding effective maori control, the Taranaki Board at 50/50 and the power of veto is doomed.
Presumably the Kiingi award broom sported a a prominent tongue. 3 fingered hands and aroused genitalia. Otherwise some insignificant mere other culture.
Treaty and schools. Here’s a take on some media coverage (and stuff were no exception)
Joseph Los’e, Kaupapa Māori Editor at the NZ Herald, delivers another story designed not to inform, but to inflame. The Government removes a Treaty clause from the Education Act — returning constitutional responsibilities to the Crown, not parent-volunteers — and Los’e’s piece promptly assembles a parade of outrage: principals, unions, iwi figures. Every voice condemns the move. Not one asks a basic question: did this clause ever improve learning?
The language is boilerplate moral panic — “blatant dismantling,” “extreme,” “out of step,” “disrespect.” Missing entirely: attendance data, literacy data, truancy rates, or any evidence that symbolic Treaty wording lifts student achievement. The implication is bleak: Māori education apparently hinges not on teaching children to read, but on preserving bureaucratic phrasing. In doing so, the piece inadvertently patronises Māori students, painting them as dependent on symbolism rather than skill-building.
The Guardian takes it global
Then the Guardian’s Eva Corlett turbo-charges the script for an international audience. New Zealand is cast as sliding into cultural regression; the Government’s policy becomes a threat to “social cohesion”; global shame looms. Again, experts are quoted, dissent erased, panic implied. Parents wanting their kids to read before high school? Barely acknowledged. The minister’s reasoning? One line, promptly dismissed.
It’s grievance-theatre — dramatic, moralising, data-free.
This isn’t about Treaty clauses. It’s about a media culture where outrage is evidence and identity is argument. New Zealand’s education system is failing thousands of children — Māori most of all — yet the press corps is busy staging morality plays instead of asking what works.
Philip Crump’s new editorial standards board at NZME was meant to champion accuracy, independence, balance. Some might say lose’s piece shows just how steep that climb will be.
Right now, too many newsrooms are fighting culture wars.
Parents just want their kids to read.
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