Sat, 19/05/2012 - 12:23
“There seems to be little recognition of the Maori blood, sweat and tears” that made Affco into a successful business. These words, from Waikato-Tainui executive board chair Tom Roa, formed part of the heavyweight’s first public move in the standoff between the Meat Workers Union and owners of the Affco empire, the Talley family. In a statement released yesterday, Mr Roa called on the Talley family and management to recognise the increasing potential for the three-month lockout to have a devastating impact on the social fabric of Ngaruawahia. “We have seen that the Talley family recognise and accept the responsibilities they have within their local community, in Motueka,” Mr Roa said. “What I’m asking of Talley’s and Affco is that...
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Sat, 19/05/2012 - 12:12
The biggest donor to the Act Party says he gave the money to Don Brash and John Banks so they could stop special treatment for Maori who were “either in jail or on welfare”. In an extraordinary interview with the Weekend Herald, Louis Crimp said he believed he had the support of Brash, Banks and other “white New Zealanders”. Mr Crimp made the largest financial contribution to the Act Party for the 2011 election with a $125,520 donation. His comments have appalled Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples. But the Act Party last night affirmed Mr Crimp’s right to have his say - and welcomed future donations if he was inclined to make them. Mr Crimp, a multimillionaire businessman, said he...
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Fri, 18/05/2012 - 11:55
Wellington-based Maori have launched legal action against a rival tribe’s multimillion-dollar Treaty settlement bid. Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust representatives are trying to stop expensive downtown commercial properties in their Wellington patch being offered as financial redress to lower North Island-based iwi Ngati Toa. The $27 million Wellington central police station is caught up in the $120m Ngati Toa deal. The other disputed properties involved have not been identified. The Waitangi Tribunal has found there are questions to be answered relating to the Crown’s actions and has granted the trust an urgent hearing next month. Papers filed to the tribunal on behalf of trust representatives and chairman Sir Ngatata Love claim Crown negotiators misled trust officials over property arrangements and...
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Fri, 18/05/2012 - 11:52
Maori graduates have celebrated with whanau and friends at a ceremony to honour their achievements. Fifty-six Maori graduates attended the special ceremony in Palmerston North yesterday, which was also the last in the city for Professor Sir Mason Durie, in his role as Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Maori and Pasifika). A teacher, trustee and former head girl of Manawatu College were among the Massey University graduates who attended. As Natasha Simpson (Ngati Tukorehe), Naomi Tracey Robinson (Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Tuwharetoa, Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Kauwhata), and Laura Shingleton (Ngai Tahu), crossed the stage, their whanau, friends and students and staff from the school performed waiata tauotoko (songs of support) and haka. Mrs Simpson has taught at the school for ten years and on...
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Fri, 18/05/2012 - 11:50
The Maori Council says it’s filling in gaps that tribal trusts can’t cover, by helping Maori who are living outside their district boundary. Former Maori Party MP Rahui Katene has recently helped revive the Maori Council in Porirua, which had been out of action for about 20 years. Ms Katene says the organisation is important because it can assist tangata whenua with issues such as housing when they’re away from their home area. She says there are a lot of people living outside their iwi boundaries who are not being catered for by their own iwi. Ms Katene says that, as hard as mana whenua try, they are caught up with their own iwi and are unable to help Maori...
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Fri, 18/05/2012 - 11:48
The Maori Trustee wants to use his accumulated profits to get more value out of Maori land. Jamie Tuuta has told the Maori Science and Innovation Forum that so far what’s known as the general fund has been invested fairly passively in the financial markets. He says land administered by the trustee is not achieving its potential returns, and he favours a new approach of collaborating with landowners. “It’s going to require capital. Investing money in the capital markets is not going to unlock the potential or raise the productivity potential of the lands that we currently administer and manage and provide benefit back to owners so it’s really about having some focus on how we might utilise that fund...
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Thu, 17/05/2012 - 20:06
The call’s going out for budding Maori authors to join an intensive writing scheme. The Maori Literature Trust wants people to enter the Te Papa Tupu Writers Programme, where works can be developed - and possibly published. Writers need to first submit a story in te reo Maori or English of between 5000 and 50,000 words. The categories are: novel, short story, non-fiction, children’s chapter book, and children’s picture book. Those selected will be given a basic living allowance for the six-month programme. The trust says it’s looking for people from all walks of life that have a drive and passion to write. Copyright © 2012, Radio New Zealand
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Thu, 17/05/2012 - 20:04
An expedition by two waka hourua, double hulled sailing canoes to Rapanui or Easter Island in August is being officially launched in Rotorua on Thursday. The 10,000 nautical mile return trip will use traditional methods of navigation. The two waka hourua, Te Aurere and Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti were built by Hekenukumai Busby, who at the age of 80 will travel on the voyage which retraces the ancestors’ voyages to Aotearoa. Te Aurere has visited parts of the Pacific before including Hawaii. A crew member, Jack Thatcher, says while the vessels will have modern technology as a backup, the voyage will be attempted using the stars, the moon and ocean currents. He says trainee navigators will guide the two waka, with...
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Wed, 16/05/2012 - 19:16
Wairoa Voters are reminded they only have until Saturday to have their say in a poll to determine whether or not Wairoa District Council will have dedicated Maori Seats. So far only 39.5 percent of electors have returned their voting documents, which should have arrived in the post boxes of those on the electoral roll several weeks ago. WDC Administration Manager/Electoral Officer James Baty said it was important that everyone returned their documents on time, as no votes would be counted once the polling booth closed. “This is a legally binding poll being conducted under the strictest of regulations. Those who want to have a say need to do so promptly,” he said. Polling is scheduled to close at 12...
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Wed, 16/05/2012 - 19:16
A Maori woman living in Sydney says she believes officialdom is scared to consider returning a piece of land to Maori and the local Aboriginal people or even discuss it, because they feel it could open a flood-gate of similar claims in Australia. Jennifer Holt-Alexander is heading a campaign asking the Parramata City Council to return a piece of land she says was gifted to Maori by the Reverend Samuel Marsden 200-years ago. The Rangihou Reserve is owned by the council which wants to sell it for $25 million. Ms Holt-Alexander says every time she approaches the council or members of parliament, she just gets stone-walled. She says this means they are running scared. Copyright © 2012, Radio New Zealand
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Wed, 16/05/2012 - 18:42
If you didn’t catch Native Affairs on Monday night, drop what you’re doing and view it here. Native Affairs sets the standard for current affairs in New Zealand and on Monday night the show raised the standard – again. In an unorthodox move, well unorthodox for the MSM, Native Affairs dedicated an entire hour to the Urewera ‘terror’…
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Mon, 14/05/2012 - 11:11
Whakatane was a sea of gowns Friday as Te Wananga o Awanuiarangi capped its graduates – including the first PhD graduates from a Maori university. More than 1000 of the 2000 students graduating took part in the town and gown parade to the Whakatane War Memorial hall after attending a powhiri on the wananga’s new marae, Te Manuka Tutahi. Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples joined in what was also a celebration of the institution’s 20th anniversary, and said Awanuiarangi’s School of Indigenous Graduate Studies is a great achievement. The graduation was also attended by a group of First Nations Chiefs from Ontario, Canada, two Saami scholars from northern Scandinavia, and a delegation from Hawaii.
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Sun, 13/05/2012 - 12:09
The Government will not delay the passage of the bill allowing share floats of state-owned enterprises until after the Waitangi Tribunal has held its urgent hearings on the matter. Ministers are insisting such sales would not affect the rights and interests of iwi and will not set aside any shares for future settlement. But SOE Minister Tony Ryall says the Government could be prepared at a later stage to “stand in the market” and buy shares for some iwi as part of Treaty of Waitangi settlements. The Government’s refusal to budge on its timetable means the tribunal will be under pressure to hold its hearings before the law is passed. Submissions must be in by June, the hearing will be...
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Sun, 13/05/2012 - 11:52
By Matt McCarten. The state finally threw in the towel this week on continuing with the case against the so-called Urewera Four. After spending millions of public dollars in trying to get us to believe Tame Iti was heading the New Zealand franchise of al Qaeda, they want us to pretend it never happened. Most of us do want to move on, but it is important in a civil society to not let the state misuse its immense power, then sweep it under the carpet when it becomes a mess. The fact is the people we pay to keep us safe abused our trust by terrifying a small community unnecessarily. Our protectors hysterically overreacted by branding a group of people...
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Thu, 10/05/2012 - 17:55
A meeting between Police Commissioner Peter Marshall and Tuhoe leaders is being hailed as providing an opportunity to talk about the future rather than the past. Police face mounting pressure to apologise over so-called terror raids following the announcement the “Urewera Four” will not be retried over accusations of belonging to a criminal group which organised military-style training camps. A crown application for a stay of proceedings was granted in the High Court at Auckland on Wednesday. Tuhoe spokesman, Tamati Kruger, says a meeting in Rotorua on Wednesday had been a good initial step towards the future for police and Tuhoe tribe relations. Details of the conversation remain private. Specific issues relating to the police raids or the court case...
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Thu, 10/05/2012 - 17:53
Government Minister Tariana Turia says there is no evidence that Whanau Ora money is involved in a case with links to the Mongrel Mob. Dunedin police this week arrested 10 people across the country, seized nearly $100,000 worth of cannabis and uncovered the alleged misuse of $20,000 from a government-funded charitable trust. It was reported today the…
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Wed, 09/05/2012 - 17:44
Maori groups are claiming customary rights to whitebait in South Taranaki waterways and to a large part of the foreshore. Multiple claims were made by several Maori groups on the Waihi Creek to the Ngaere Stream, including the mouth of the Waingongoro River near Hawera, and for the Waingongoro River to Wahamoko Stream, and the area between the Taungatara and Waihi Rivers as well as other parts of Taranaki. The claims are just some of the 24 lodged for title to 21 beaches around New Zealand, including the New Plymouth foreshore. Applications for the customary rights to whitebait in the Waihi Creek to the Ngaere Stream, including the mouth of the Waingongoro River were made by representatives of Okahu Inuawai...
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Wed, 09/05/2012 - 09:33
A defence lawyer involved in the Urewera Four trial says the police had become obsessed with spying and wanted to test out a new unit rather than front and up deal with people on the scene. Auckland lawyer Russell Fairbrother, acting for activist Tame Iti, was commenting following news that the Crown will not seek a retrial on the charges when the case returns to court today. Iti, Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara, Urs Signer and Emily Bailey were found guilty of firearms charges in March after a lengthy trial. The High Court jury was hung on the most serious charge, of whether the accused had participated in a criminal group. The Crown case against the four contended that they were the...
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Wed, 09/05/2012 - 09:31
Prime Minister John Key says he has no objection to an Electoral Commission proposal to allow Maori voters to switch between the Maori roll and the general roll between elections, rather than only at the five-yearly Maori Electoral Option. The Electoral Commission made the recommendation in its report on the general election, saying one of the main complaints from Maori voters was that they could not switch rolls other than during the five-yearly electoral option, the last of which was in 2006. It proposed allowing Maori voters to switch once in each three year electoral cycle instead. Although National has advocated scrapping the Maori seats, Mr Key said he would not have a problem with allowing voters to switch more...
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