Category: Te Ao Māori

Source: Radio New Zealand

A sudden law change means the only legal obligation for schools to teach te reo Māori is if parents ask for it.

The government is removing a requirement for schools to give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi that included “taking all reasonable steps to make instruction available in tikanga Māori and te reo Māori”.

Government ministers said they were making the change because treaty obligations were the Crown’s responsibility and teaching Māori would still be protected by law.

Asked what regulation or legislation would require schools to use te reo, the Education Ministry said under the amended legislation schools would “be required under s127 of the Act to provide Māori language education on request of a parent or caregiver”.

“This is the same requirement in relation to te reo Māori that was in place between 1989 and 2020,” it said.

“The proposed amendment will also require a school board to seek to achieve equitable outcomes for Māori students. It must take reasonable steps to ensure that the policies and practices for the school reflect New Zealand’s cultural diversity.”

Some teacher and principal groups reacted angrily to this week’s change which took them by surprise.

The move followed the publication last week of draft curriculum documents that teachers said contained fewer Māori words and meaningful references to the treaty.

However, the revised primary school English curriculum included guidance for teaching children to read Māori words in English texts during their second and third years of schooling – something the government had previously flagged as a new development.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

One of the biggest names in New Zealand film-making has died.

Lee Tamahori from Ngāti Porou, made his directorial film debut with the ground-breaking Once Were Warriors.

Born in Tawa, in Wellington he started Flying Fish, one of the country’s most successful advertising production companies.

His first short film, Thunderbox, was developed during the Te Manuka series with Don Selwyn and Larry Parr.

He went on to forge a remarkable international career, directing Hollywood and independent films such as Mulholland Falls, The Devil’s Double, and the James Bond film Die Another Day.

In a statement his family said Tamahori died peacefully at home surrounded by his long-time love Justine, his beloved children Sam, Max, Meka, and Tané, his daughter-in-laws Casey (who is expecting) and Meri, his darling mokopuna Cora Lee, and whānau.

“His legacy endures with his whānau, his mokopuna, every filmmaker he inspired, every boundary he broke, and every story he told with his genius eye and honest heart. A charismatic leader and fierce creative spirit, Lee championed Māori talent both on and off screen.

“He ultimately returned home to tell stories grounded in whakapapa and identity, with Mahana and his latest film The Convert, reaffirming his deep connection to Aotearoa. We’ve lost an immense creative spirit.

Moe mai rā e te rangatira.

Haere rā e hika koutou ko ō mātua,

Unuhia i te rito o te harakeke,

Ka tū i te aroākapa,

Aku nui, aku rahi e,

Aku whakatamarahi ki te rangi.

Waiho te iwi e,

Māna e māe noa.

Farewell, beloved Lee, go to your elders,

Plucked from the heart of the flax bush.

You stand now before the ranks of ancestors

My great ones, my esteemed,

My towering figures who reach to the heavens.

Leave us, your people,

To bear the ache of your absence.”

Friends and colleagues are invited to pay their respects on Sunday, 9 November, at Te Mahurehure Marae, in Point Chevalier in Auckland.

More to come…

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Crown has apologised to Auckland and Hauraki iwi Ngāti Paoa for its actions which led to the iwi becoming “virtually landless.”

Around 500 iwi members travelled to Parliament to witness the third reading of the Ngāti Pāoa Claims Settlement Bill.

The rohe, or region, of Ngāti Pāoa extends through Hauraki and parts of the Coromandel Peninsula to Auckland and includes islands in the Hauraki Gulf.

For Rangitahi Pompey, it’s the end of a long road, as her father was one of the many people who carried the baton for Ngāti Pāoa through the long years to settle their historical grievances with the Crown.

“I often speak of him and talk of how he ate, drunk, slept and died, Ngāti Pāoa. Everything about him was for the people and that was at the calling of his father to come home.”

It was just over 40 years ago, in March 1985, that Ngāti Pāoa leader Hariata Gordon lodged the tenth claim to the Waitangi Tribunal – Wai 10, the Waiheke Island Claim. That claim was heard and reported on by the Tribunal in 1987.

Many of the Ngāti Pāoa claims were lodged with the Waitangi Tribunal and heard during the Hauraki Inquiry in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Pompey told RNZ it’s been a long journey and although the settlement has passed, it’s not over for the iwi.

“So even though we are where we are, we have still got things to do. We still have things to achieve and today, I guess we step into a new space where we can start to realise those dreams. Realise and bring to fruition the dreams of many people.”

It will be the mokopuna, the children and grandchildren who will carry the iwi into the future, she said.

Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Paul Goldsmith said in the settlement the Crown acknowledged the effect of its actions including raupatu (confiscation), the impact of the Native Land Courts and Crown purchasing which left Ngāti Pāoa virtually landless.

“The crown also acknowledged it breached the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles when it invaded the Waikato, attacking Ngāti Pāoa and shelled the unfortified village of Pūkorokoro in 1863 causing the death of iwi members.”

Goldsmith said no settlement can fully compensate Ngāti Pāoa for what they lost.

The settlement included $23.5 million in financial reddress, the opportunity to purchase seven commercial properties and the return of 12 cultural sites of significance including sites for a marae and papakāinga development in the suburb of Point England, he said.

The settlement consolidates the Waiheke Station Trust into the Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust so that all settlement assets are held by one organisation.

“This consolidation was strongly supported by iwi members during the ratification process” said Goldsmith

Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust chair Herearoha Skipper said this was a time to remember the Ngāti Pāoa leaders who, over decades, had sought justice from the Crown.

“In particular, we acknowledge the work of the Ngāti Pāoa Negotiators, Morehu Wilson and Hauauru Rawiri. Sadly, Morehu passed in 2022, and it is with aroha that we have his whānau join us on this momentous occasion.”

Skipper said there are other aspects of the Ngāti Pāoa settlement package that will need to be finalised.

“The Pare Hauraki Collective Redress Bill was introduced to Parliament in December 2022, but has not yet had a first reading. The Marutūāhu Iwi Collective Redress Deed needs to be signed by the Crown, on the basis of what was offered and without change. Without these, the Crown will not have fully delivered the Ngāti Paoa settlement package.”

“The Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust is confident that these matters can be resolved before the next general election.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Te Pāti Māori’s leadership is willing to meet with estranged MPs Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris, the National Iwi Chairs Forum says.

Ngāti Kahungunu chairman Bayden Barber sat down with the party’s president and two co-leaders at Parliament this afternoon.

“It was a great meeting and we’re looking forward to bringing the factions of the party together to have a hui on a marae here in Pōneke.

“We just got agreement from this side so that’s a great start. Need to talk to Mariameno and Tākuta, but from Rawiri and Deb they were supportive.”

The National Iwi Chairs Forum would be reaching out to Kapa-Kingi and Ferris this evening to put the same hui request to them, Barber said.

“The sooner the better, we want it to happen ASAP.

“We’re keen to try and find a resolution this month because we know that as it gets beyond this year, there’s a very low chance of having success in the election. So yeah, there’s time pressure to get this sorted.”

After what he had heard today, Barber said he still believed things could be patched up.

“[The leadership] laid it all out, timelined the whole thing and that was helpful to understand the context but at the end of the day, the question goes back to, is this surmountable?

“We think it is, as iwi chairs, and hence why we’ve called a hui and they’ve agreed to attend. We look forward to having similar conversations with Mariameno and Tākuta shortly.”

Using the waka-jumping legislation to boot Kapa-Kingi and Ferris out of Parliament had not come up today, Barber said.

“We’re looking for a solution to maintain unity within the Māori Party. That’s what we’re focused on because that’s going to get us the most chance of success at the next election.

“If it comes down to that outcome, that’ll be something for them sort out.”

‘Nothing that would preclude’ waka-jumping in party’s constitution

Te Pāti Māori’s co-leaders were asked if they would waka-jump the rogue MPs this afternoon.

“We haven’t considered that particular option at this time,” Rawiri Waititi said.

“We’re allowing our national council to work through the constitution and we need to be able to allow them to do that without having to deal with that through the media.”

Political scientist Dr Lara Greaves has had a look at the constitution and said it did not prohibit the party from using the legislation.

“There’s nothing that would preclude any kind of enactment of the party hopping legislation. There’s nothing explicit in there.”

She said the Māori Party’s constitution was an “interesting” political document that gave the party’s president a lot of power, relative to other positions in the party.

“The president has a key role in dispute resolution.”

She added timing was also a key consideration for any party invoking the waka-jumping rules.

“If it’s six months before the election, that’s when there’s no by-election.

“So we’re starting to run into this really strange period where we have potential by election, or by elections, running close to the election or the cut off stage.”

Greaves said it would be easiest for for Kapa-Kingi and Ferris to meet with the party’s leadership and stick it out, over going solo and setting up their own party.

“Starting up a political party is incredibly hard with incredibly long hours. You’ve got to find money, you’ve got to find resources. We’re a year out from a general election.

“You’re going to split the Māori vote, potentially the Māori Party vote, allow Labour to come through the middle.

“They’re ultimately in quite a stressful situation where it might be a case that they bow out quietly or resign or retire at the election instead of going through that whole rigmarole of starting up a political party.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Te Pāti Māori’s co-leaders and their offside MPs are set to meet on Thursday to try to find headway in their open conflict.

The party is in crisis, with party president John Tamihere calling on Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris to “do the honourable thing” and step down while Tamihere said there was “a process in play” for the two MPs to be expelled from the party.

That’s after a petition saying Tamihere should be the one standing down.

As well, there are allegations of intimidation and financial mismanagement

Iwi leaders are hopeful they can bring Te Pāti Māori MPs back together and make the party a credible force leading into next year’s election.

National Iwi Chairs Forum chairperson Bayden Barber believes outstanding issues can be patched up.

At a hui he led yesterday, party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer agreed to meet with the estranged MPs.

Barber said after the meeting at Parliament the factions of the party would be brought together for a hui on a marae in Pōneke.

He told Morning Report the first priority he stressed at the meeting was the need for “a ceasefire” on all social media barbs which hadn’t been helpful.

He also wanted to see a hui to thrash out the issues in the hope of a resolution so that Te Pāti Māori could go on to play a part in the next government.

While the problems among the party’s caucus were serious they weren’t “insurmountable”.

“Our view would be let’s get to a hui and face to face between the parties and go from there.”

He wanted a a pause on any “consitutional stuff” such as moves to expel the two disaffected MPs.

While there was talk of a coup and expulsion, the two factions weren’t talking to each other.

Barber said the crisis appeared to have begun when Kapa-Kingi objected to the loss of the whip role within the party, however, he was a little unsure on the core problem.

“It’s headed south since.”

Ferris had agreed to a meeting this week, while Barber was still trying to contact Kapa-Kingi.

“We’ll sit down, put those issues on the table … let’s get to a hui face to face on the marae in Pōneke and let’s work things out.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand