Foreshore talks ’staying secret for now’

Posted by karere under Maori News

Negotiations on legislation to replace the Foreshore and Seabed Act won’t move into the public arena until agreement is reached with Maori, Prime Minister John Key says. The Government said last year it would repeal the act but not until an alternative had been worked out. Labour has accused it of working in secret with Maori groups and says it should reveal what it is talking about. But Mr Key said yesterday that progress was being made and it wasn’t the right time to go public with details. “There’s not much point in me having public discussions if it’s not going to progress with the support of Maori,” he said.

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Nga Puhi have Waitangi Day talks in city

Posted by karere under Maori News

Nga Puhi members in Southland are hoping a meeting this year with the Crown might garner more funds in the future for the tribe. Two main events were held in Southland to mark Waitangi Day on Saturday: a gathering at the Te Tomairangi Marae in Invercargill, and a concert at the Riverton Soundshell. Waitangi Day marae organiser Sheryl Henare said about 90 people celebrated the day at the Eye St marae. The main discussion on the day was centred around the commemoration of the 170th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, she said. Key points raised, included the important relationship between Maori and the Crown, she said. Nga Puhi iwi hope to send a kaumatua from Southland to Waitangi in March to represent them during treaty talks between the Crown and Nga Puhi. Nga Puhi want to focus on education, health and employment and after the talks they hope to be apply to the Crown for funding, she said.

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From pillar to post … Waitangi Day marked

Posted by karere under Maori News

From the Far North to the deep south, Waitangi Day this year was a harmonious affair. At Saturday’s dawn service at the Treaty Grounds meeting house at Waitangi, about 500 people, including Prime Minister John Key and Labour leader Phil Goff, marked the 170th anniversary of Waitangi Day. Key thanked those who signed the treaty for their “wisdom in that decision and in the bravery in taking that bold step”. He also recognised those who 35 years ago signed legislation that led to the Treaty of Waitangi claims process. Goff lauded those who helped found a nation “where largely we live together in harmony and mutual respect and tolerance”. Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias honoured the man who helped produce the 1975 treaty legislation, then Maori Affairs Minister Matiu Rata, and former Maori leader Sir James Henare.

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Put foreshore under Maori control – Harawira

Posted by karere under Maori News

Maori Party MP Hone Hawawira says the solution to the Foreshore and Seabed Act would be to put the foreshore and seabed under Maori control but make it inalienable and guarantee access for all. “Make it inalienable so it can never be sold – not just to Maori and Pakeha, but overseas people who are buying up big chunks,” he said, addressing a hikoi of around 200 people at the flagstaff below Te Whare Runanga.

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High hopes for Maungakiekie

Posted by karere under Maori News

A grove of young native trees on the stark summit of One Tree Hill could mark the push to finalise Treaty claims by 2014.

Yesterday at Waitangi, Key vowed to settle all the nation’s Treaty claims, focusing this year on the one-fifth of them within the Auckland region.

And the first sign the ambitious task is on schedule will be replanting on One Tree Hill – left bare since 2001.

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Michele Hewitson Interview: George Henare

Posted by karere under Maori News

The last time I saw George Henare, in 1998, he was playing, and playing at being, Caesar. He gave me a private performance while perched on a velvet chair in a hotel lobby.

He was, I remind him, hamming it up rather grandly then. “Was I? As was my station in life, at that time. Soon to be deposed. Now I’m being … What am I being? I’m being a very entrepreneurial Maori elder in the south of New Zealand who is always on the phone chatting in Japanese, Chinese, German … Sell, sell, sell. ‘You want a ceremony? Oh, that will cost you. You want a waiata, a song? A karakia, a prayer? It’s going to cost you. Koha, of…

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Flags side by side on Harbour Bridge

Posted by karere under Maori News

The Tino Rangatiratanga flag was raised alongside the New Zealand national flag on the Auckland Harbour Bridge early today. Prime Minister John Key decided last year to agree to a request to fly the flag next to the national ensign on Waitangi Day.

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PM looks for Foreshore and Seabed solutions

Posted by karere under Maori News

Prime Minister John Key says only one or two iwi stand between a breakthrough on the Foreshore and Seabed issue and has indicated the government is looking at setting up a process to allow iwi to test their claims to the seabed and foreshore.

Mr Key said this morning he was hopeful a resolution will be reached this year after he met with the Iwi Leaders’ Forum yesterday and discussed the government’s proposal for a replacement to the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Mr Key has already strongly indicated the law passed in 2004 will be repealed and the government has been trying to find an alternative which had more widespread support.

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Waitangi Greetings from Paris

Posted by karere under Maori News

Maori in Paris joined others around the globe to celebrate Tino Rangatiratanga and Waitangi Day. “Maori have a long tradition of struggle and resistance against colonisation the flag represents that struggle and Waitangi Day is the day that we remember” said Teanau Tuiono Te Ata Tino  Toa organiser now resident in France.

“There are many different meanings for Tino Rangatiratanga and the concept itself is part of a rich and ongoing debate in Maori society. The word ‘tino’ is an intensifier and the word ‘rangatiratanga’ broadly speaking relates to the exercise of ‘chieftainship’. Its closest english translation is self-determination -although many also refer to it as ‘absolute sovereignty’ or Maori independence. Such a concept embraces the spiritual link Maori have with ‘Papatuanuku’
(Earthmother) and is a part of the international drive by indigenous peoples for self determination..”

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Maori v Pakeha in Stewart Island game

Posted by karere under Maori News

Waitangi Day celebrations have a history of upset and controversy, but things are done differently on Stewart Island. Past gatherings at the Waitangi Treaty House have seen activists jostle Prime Minister John Key and hurl eggs and other objects at visiting dignitaries. However, since 1991 Stewart Islanders have marked Waitangi Day with a “Maori v Pakeha” rugby game, followed by a hangi. John “Pihi” Neave was one of the original players. Now living in Balclutha, he had not decided whether he would make it to the island for tomorrow’s game, but his parents would be cheering on the sidelines. He said the idea of a “black v white” game might sound controversial, but it had been bringing the community together for almost two decades. “It’s as politically incorrect as hell, but it’s all a bit of fun,” he said. The captain of the Maori team, Paul Sooalo, said the day was less about protocol and more about community bonding.

“We’re the unfittest bunch of guys you’ll ever see,” he said. “But it’s beautiful because we’re all mates and once a year it’s Maori v Pakeha. “We can go on to the field, give each other a bit of a knock-around, then we can go to the pub and have a laugh at the hits we’ve taken. “It’s an excuse for us to all to get together and celebrate the island. This couldn’t happen anywhere else.”

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Key’s Waitangi security boosted

Posted by karere under Maori News

Prime Minister John Key will be shadowed by bolstered security at Waitangi today as organisers predict that sparks will fly over the new Maori flag. Officials confirmed yesterday that the tino rangatiratanga flag will fly at eight official locations on New Zealand’s national day – but not at the Waitangi Treaty grounds. Some Maori and political leaders said the flag was too divisive and a new poll revealed a bare majority in support of it.

“I think it probably is looming as a possible flashpoint,” Waitangi National Trust board chairman Pita Paraone said yesterday. “Not necessarily by the more mature members, but probably by the younger generation who have been responsible for much of the protest over recent years.” The flag will fly at Premier House, Government House, Te Papa, the Wellington offices of the Defence Force, the Customs Service, Internal Affairs, the Transport Ministry and Auckland Harbour Bridge. NZ Post is arranging for the flag to fly alongside the New Zealand one at its headquarters in Wellington next year.

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Waka paddler returns 70 years on

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When the waka Ngatokimatawhaorua celebrates its 70th birthday tomorrow, one of its original paddlers will quietly remember the maiden voyage. Te Aupouri’s Glass Murray, 86, from Te Kao, is believed to be the last living member of the original 1940 crew who paddled at the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Relashed last year, the 37m waka still hasn’t lost its edge, he says. “Ngatoki’s a big waka but she’s quite fast. On choppy days, she can cut through the water – she moves beautifully.”

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Angry Delamere to challenge PM at Waitangi

Posted by karere under Maori News

Former Immigration Minister Tuariki Delamere plans to stand and challenge the Prime Minister when he goes on to Waitangi’s Te Tii Marae this morning. Mr Delamere is angry about immigration policies he says affect Maori children with a parent who is an overstayer. He said sending parents out of the country not only directly affected their children but also caused “collateral damage” to wider society. “Who picks up the bill if a parent is booted back to China or India or the Pacific Islands? The taxpayer does.” Mr Delamere said he had 101 New Zealand families on his books where one parent is a citizen and their spouse is an overstayer. He said one of his Maori female clients who has a partner who is an overstayer was planning to speak on the marae, an act which defies protocol.

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Support strong for separate Maori flag

Posted by karere under Maori News

A poll of Maori has found more than half believe tangata whenua should have a separate flag. In TVNZ’s Te Karere-DigiPoll survey of about 1000 Maori voters, 53 per cent said yes when asked if Maori should have a separate flag. The Tino Rangatiratanga flag has been chosen to fly from public places including the Harbour Bridge, Government House and the Prime Minister’s official residence, Premier House in Wellington, on Waitangi Day. Support for that flag was fairly high – 58 per cent said they recognised it as “the Maori flag”.

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Rawiri Taonui: Partnership gives reason for hope

Posted by karere under Maori News

In recent weeks the descendants of the Maori prophet Wiremu Tahupotiki Ratana gave their blessing to the one-year-old National-Maori Party partnership. Prime Minister John Key’s no-baggage, no-nonsense, straight-talking “let’s work together” style is a race relations revelation. He knows what matters and what doesn’t (flying two flags is not a drama), and where the boundaries lie – “let the Maori Party deal with Hone Harawira, he is their member”.

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Harawira’s family aimed to cash in on flag – report

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Maori Party MP Hone Harawira’s family planned to make money from the Government’s decision to allow the tino rangitiritanga flag to be flown on government buildings on Waitangi Day, it was reported tonight. The flag has become popular since the decision to give it official status and TV One News reported Mr Harawira’s wife Hilda intended copyrighting it along with a woman who is its only living designer. The plan was for a trust to be set up to gather royalties from sales of the flag, the report said.

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Auckland landmarks offered to iwi in Treaty deal

Posted by karere under Maori News

Ownership of landmark volcanic cones in Auckland has been offered to iwi as part of a new Treaty deal aimed at breaking the settlement paralysis in the region. Tribes met yesterday to discuss the Crown offer and after years of tension sources say the Government is confident the proposal looks likely to be accepted.  Under the terms the Crown will transfer ownership to a new collective body representing iwi called Nga Mana Whenua o Tamaki Makaurau, which will hold titles in trust for all Aucklanders. The maunga will then be co-governed by a statutory board with equal membership from the Auckland Council and Tamaki collective, with the council retaining financial control. Similar to other recent settlement offers a right of first refusal to buy Crown land will apply for 170 years, reflecting the Treaty of Waitangi…

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More Maori support Labour

Posted by karere under Maori News

Maori Party support has plunged and Labour’s has jumped among Maori voters, according to a new DigiPoll survey for TVNZ’s Te Karere. The two parties are even on 38 per cent. Only three months ago in a comparable poll, the Maori Party polled 48.1 per cent and Labour 26.1 per cent in party vote support. In yesterday’s poll National is 17 per cent (down from 19.8 per cent) and the Greens are unchanged on 3 per cent. Many headlines after the last poll were dominated by Maori Party MP Hone Harawira and his comments about “white m***** f***ers”, after a side trip to Paris while on a taxpayer-funded visit to Brussels, and the Maori Party deal to pass the emissions trading scheme (ETS).

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Widespread interest in Waitangi Day commemorations

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A Waitangi kaumatua is expecting record attendances at this year’s treaty commemorations in the Bay of Islands. The programme includes a major waka regatta as well as the usual sports, cultural and political events. Kingi Taurua says there is interest not only from New Zealand but overseas, with groups coming from Switzerland, Australia and throughout the Pacific which has never happened before. He says it’s important visitors realise Maori own Waitangi Day, not the government. Mana whenua expect to be stretch looking after all the manuhiri, but everything is in place for a successful celebration.

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Chris Finlayson: We’re all on same page with Treaty settlements

Posted by karere under Maori News

Exciting opportunities exist to secure just and durable Treaty settlements across the Auckland region, says Chris Finlayson. An important election commitment made by the National Party in 2008 was to set a goal of concluding just and durable Treaty settlements by 2014. The reasons were simple – by healing the grievances of the past, all New Zealanders could move forward. It was not an option to forget the past and the legitimate claims of iwi, but nor did we want to be stuck there. Settlements ultimately benefit everyone. Shortly after I became minister, I had an extensive tour throughout New Zealand to talk to iwi. I found that iwi, too, are very keen to conclude settlements with the Crown.

They see the experience of others who settled in the late 1990s and how much they have achieved in the intervening period. They do not want to spend time and money on litigation and negotiation. They all want to cut to the chase, achieve good settlements and move on. It should be borne in mind when National became the Government in 2008, there were about 60 settlements outstanding. Fully 20 per cent of these are claims in the Auckland region.

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Tainui row puts heat on Morgan

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Waikato-Tainui’s chairman Tukoroirangi Morgan is under fire from one of the tribe’s most respected leaders over claims he failed to deliver on promises made at a meeting of the tribe’s representatives.

The meeting of the tribe’s parliament, Te Kauhanganui, took place at Hopuhopu last weekend and was attended by more than 300 people.

A large contingent from the sub-tribe Ngati Wairere were at the meeting to support Sonny Wilson because they were not happy he had been dumped from the tribe’s executive board, Te Arataura.

Mr Wilson had been accused by the board’s chairman, Tuku Morgan, of leaking information to the media.

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‘Thrown-together uniforms disrespect Maori’

Posted by karere under Maori News

Air New Zealand’s new uniforms are disrespectful to traditional Maori symbols, a Maori academic says. Canterbury University Maori and Indigenous School head Rawiri Taonui said Maori symbols such as the koru on the Trelise Cooper-designed uniforms did not treat the cultural symbols with respect. “It’s way too busy and inelegant,” he said. “It’s obviously been drawn by someone who doesn’t appreciate the culture or understand the deeper symbolism.” Taonui said the Maori symbols on the uniforms each had different meanings and should not be randomly mixed together. “When you look at traditional Maori sculpture … each symbol is quite distinct,” he said. “With [the uniform], they’re sort of thrown together in seemingly no pattern.” He was happy for koru and other symbols to be used on clothing, provided it was done “with elegance”. The Air New Zealand uniforms did not do that.

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Maori seek their cut of spectrum cash

Posted by karere under Maori News

Maori are insisting on a share of the money raised from the switchover from analogue to digital television. The changeover is expected to raise more than $350 million in the next three to five years. The Ministry of Economic Development and politicians tried to rush through a Cabinet shake-up of radio frequency policy before Christmas. But Maori complained there had been no chance for them to present their views and arguments for their place in the digital future.

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Minimum wage rise sets Government at odds

Posted by karere under Maori News

The Maori Party is on a collision course with National over the minimum wage. Co-leader Tariana Turia is disappointed at the government’s decision to raise the minimum hourly wage by only 25 cents to $12.75. The Maori party has been pushing for $15. “Obviously the people who make these decisions don’t give any consideration for the working poor and we‘re very disappointed because we believe that many of the social ills that we confront today can be sheeted immediately back to low income,” Mrs Turia says. She says the low wages earned by a disproportionate number of Maori lead to lower educational, health and social performance.

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Maori statutory board on supercity not solution

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Government plans to establish an independent Maori statutory board to advise the Auckland supercity council has been met with a cool reception in west Auckland. A consultation meeting organised by Te Puni Kokiri was held in Hen-derson last week and was attended by representatives from Ngati Whatua and the Waitakere City Council. Te Puni Kokiri facilitator Derek Fox helped explain the functions and make-up of the board at the event. “It’s not the solution that was originally sought by Maori,” Mr Fox says. “But it has potential for greater Maori involvement in the wider Auckland region. “It’s not just an advisory committee that can be disestablished by the council when it wishes.” Under the government proposal the board will be made up of seven iwi representatives and two non-iwi members. They will be appointed every three years by a selection panel made up of mana whenua representatives. The board will negotiate an annual funding agreement with the council and representatives will be reimbursed for their expenses relating to their work.

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Treaty’s status needs review – commission

Posted by karere under Maori News

The Human Rights Commission is renewing calls to consider entrenching the Treaty of Waitangi as part of a wider review aimed at improving the human rights of Maori. The recommendation is part of a proposed five-year action plan to 2015 that the commission is seeking submissions on. Entrenching the Treaty was last debated in the lead-up to the passage of the 1990 Bill of Rights Act, but Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres said two decades on, it was time to re-examine constitutional arrangements.

Discussion didn’t need to be based around fear either, he said. “There’s always been this kind of fear if the Treaty is included in our constitution that it will enshrine some kind of inequality or special treatment for Maori. The Treaty needs more understanding that it’s not just about Maori, it’s for everybody – it guarantees equality and government.”

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Jones sets sights on driving Maori Party out of House

Posted by karere under Maori News

Labour MP Shane Jones has begun the year vowing to drive the Maori Party out of Parliament, saying they had betrayed their own people and lured the Government into funding their policies of “buying favours by giving money to a favoured few”. The criticism following Labour’s first caucus of the year yesterday was a clear sign that the gentle approach Labour has thus far taken to the smaller party is over. It had pulled its punches for much of last year, aware it may need the Maori Party for support in the future and reluctant in case criticism resulted in accusations of racism. Mr Jones said he did not believe Labour should have to stay silent when it saw wrong, just because it was the Maori Party. “The Maori Party is what we are going to tackle. I certainly am not going to tolerate any longer their betrayal of Maori voters and the fact we’re not meant to criticise them because they wear the cloak of Maoridom.

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Timely Ngapuhi festival

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The Ngapuhi Festival, which starts today, will set the stage for an important year in which the country’s largest iwi will go before the Waitangi Tribunal to have its first claim heard. Te Runanga a Iwi o Ngapuhi chairman Sonny Tau said the event in Kaikohe was a celebration of Ngapuhi culture to draw people back to their tribal home. The festival includes an art exhibition featuring the likes of Shane Cotton and Manos Nathon and Te Tai Tokerau Sports Awards. Free entertainment on Saturday and Sunday includes bands Katchafire, 1814, Anika Moa, Ruia Aperahama, Sweet and Irie, and Sons of Zion – and a focus on Ngapuhi reo, waiata and history.

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Stomach-stapled MPs put weight behind Turia

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More MPs – including Education Minister Anne Tolley – have admitted getting their stomachs stapled. Mrs Tolley and Maori Party MP Rahui Katene both confirmed they had undergone the operation, which shrinks the stomach and dulls the appetite. They joined Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia and National Party MP Chester Borrows, who said earlier this week that gastric-bypass surgery had improved their lives and should be available to more New Zealanders. Ms Katene, who lost 11 kilograms, believed greater subsidies for the surgery would stop Kiwis putting themselves at risk through cheap surgery overseas.

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Praise for Laws traced to his own firm

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Anonymous internet comments praising Whanganui’s “celebrity” mayor Michael Laws have been traced back to his own publishing company. A person using the pseudonym “Wangas” has praised Mr Laws on a variety of issues, including the “H” debate and television presenter Paul Henry’s use of the word “retarded” on air. At least two of the comments were sent using an email address that can be linked to Mr Laws’ publishing company, Darius Press. Mr Laws is the sole shareholder.

The email address regularly features on emails sent from Mr Laws’ mayoral office, including one sent to media last week. When approached by The Dominion Post, Mr Laws said he did not write the internet comments himself – but they could have been made by people close to him. “I don’t make anonymous comments, it’s not in my nature,” he said.

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