Waatea News Update

News from Waatea 603 AM, Urban Maori radio, first with Maori news

My Photo
Name:
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Reserves confiscation of traditional fisheries

The head of New Zealand's largest tribe says the current marine protection regime amounts to confiscation of customary fishing grounds.

Tomorrow's Budget will include $2 million for the implementaiton of the Marine Protected Areas Stategy, under which all the country's waters are to be assessed as to what level of protection they need.

Ngapuhi Runanga chairman Sonny Tau says rather than try to lock off large areas of the coast, the government should support mechanisms like Mataitai and Taiapure, which give tangata whenua a say in local fisheries management.

IN: The marine protection areas in our view are another way of confiscating a lot of traditional maori fishing gorunds, and before we can implement the tools, they are going out and putting in these marine protection areas and confiscating the best customary fisheries positions.

Sonny Tau says all the reserves do is concentrate catch effort elsewhere, which drives up ternsion between customary, recrational and commercial fishers.

--


Indigenous communities in the Pacific are watching New Zealand's restorative justice initiatives, and particularly their impact on Maori offending.

Temuranga June Jackson, the longest serving member of the Parole Board, spoke with the chief justices of Fiji and Papua New Guinea at an international parole conference in Australia last week.

Mrs Jackson says they are looking at ways to improve their own parole systems, and wanted to learn more about how to bring a cultural focus to such programmes.

She says marae based restorative justice programmes, where offenders front up to their victims to apologise for their actions, are proving successful at addressing reoffending, and she was surprised similar schemes haven't been used elsewhere in the region.

The organiser of a conference on prison reform says of all the high profile experts who attended, it was a group of gang members who stole the show.

Kim Workman from Prison Fellowship New Zealand says the 250 delegates heard how important whanau were to breaking patterns of offending.


"The standout for me was the 20 guys from the Notorious Mongrel Mob chapter from Otara to talk about their journey over the past nine years and out of the 37 of them, only two have ended up in prison, and they wanted to change their lives because they didn't want their children to end up in prison like they did," Workman said.

Kim Workman says the gang members felt there was too much research into why Maori are offending, rather than trying to learn from success stories like theirs.

--


The likely settlement of Tainui's claim to the Waikato River has sparked heated debate in Tainui circles.

Prime Minister Helen Clarke is expected to announce an agreement in principle when she goes to Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia next Monday to attend celebrations marking the 40th anniversary celebrations of the coronation of the Maori Queen.

Tainui and Crown negotiators are in Wellington this week trying to hammer out the agreement.

Mamae Takarei, a spokeswoman for Port Waikato Maori, says indications are only the riverbed bed will come back, and that's an insult to the mana of the Waikato people.

But academic James Ritchie, who has a long association with Tainui and Kingitanga, say mana will be foremost in the negotiators minds.

"With some kind of acknowledgement of the ownership of the river, the banks and the bed but not the waters, this is a restoration to Tainui of what their mana has always represented and required. It doesn't require money, though monmey is always useful," Ritchie said.

More than 3000 people passed through the marae today for the start of the Koroneihana. The first day traditionally is the Tainui kawe mate, when Tainui and affiliated tribes remember those who have died through the year.


--

The general manager of Maori, Pacific and Ethnic Affairs for the New Zealand Police, says recruiting staff from those cultures will be a priority, as they look to fill one thousand new positions.

As part of a post election deal with New Zealand First, the government is adding 1000 frontline police.

Piere Munroe says understanding how different communities operate will benefit to both the community and the police.


--


Outspoken Aboriginal league star turned boxer Antony Mundine faces off against Western Australian, Danny Green, for the Australian Supermiddleweight title tonight.

Mundine has surprised many Maori with his understanding of Maori history and its parallels with the injustices suffered by his own people, and he has many friends here.

One of them is comedian Mike King, who will be among the 30 thousand fight fans at Aussie Stadium in Sydney..

King says Mundine's outspoken views, especially his critism of the United States, have put him offside with many Australians, so he needs all the support he can get.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home