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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Maori caucus fires shot across bows

The chair of Labour's Maori caucus says quota can't be taken off commercial fishers without compensation.

Shane Jones says the Maori caucus is encouraging iwi and hapu to make submissions on the Fisheries Ministry's shared fisheries plans, which would give amateur fishers a priority allocation in some species like snapper, blue cod, kahawai, rock lobster and gamefish.

Mr Jones says some changes are needed to take into account the growth of charter fishing since the quota management system was introduced 20 years ago.

“When you're debating how much fish ought to be in the ocean for commercial purposes, and recreational purposes, chartered vessels may be taking people out on a recreational experience, but they are businesses, and any quota that is taken from the Maori iwi and the Maori hapu without compensation, will lead I believe to a new level of treaty based strife,” Mr Jones says.

He says the Maori Caucus had a good hearing from Fisheries Ministry Jim Anderton on its concerns.

TREATY FREE CURRICULUM SHORT CHANGES STUDENTS

An Auckland University education lecturer says the draft new curriculum will shortchange the education of all New Zealanders.

The time for feedback on the curriculum has expired, and Education Ministry officials are now working on its final shape.

Vicki Carpenter says the curriculum is like other curriculums around the world, and is not strongly New Zealand.

She says with no reference to the Treaty of Waitangi and very little mention of Maori, children will miss out unless their individual school has a strong commitment to biculturalism.

“The education of Maori children is of real concern, and the draft should be far more inclusive of Maori children and of Maori tikanga and te reo fore everyone, not just Maori, because we all need to learn and understand,” Dr Carpenter says.

She says despite the submission deadline being closed, parents should still tell the Education Ministry what they want to be in a curriculum.

WRITE IN SUPPORT FOR CANAL PLAN DISHONEST

Manukau City Council will today consider changing its district plan to allow a 300-section canal development near Clevedon, south-east of Auckland.

The plan is drawing fierce opposition from tanaga whenua and neighbouring residents.

James Brown from Ngai Tai Umupuia Te Waka Totara Trust says it will wreck the fragile environment of the Wairoa river estuary and destroy wahi tapu or sacred sites.

He says the developer gathered signatures from people with no connection to the Clevedon area, to make it look like there is more support for the proposal than there is.

“What's happened is in that thrust that the developer’s dobne, it’s balanced out the opposers and the supporters. On the surface they’re promoting it as even, but it’s nowhere near even and I welcome all those idiots who signed that form to come to Clevedon some day so we can meet them kanohi ki te kanohi and explain to them why not,” Mr Brown says.

HANNAH COTTER LAID TO REST

A link with some of the pioneers of Maori development will be laid to rest today.

Hundreds of people have been through Korongata Marae in Bridge Pa over the past two days to farewell Hana Cotter, who died aged 92.

Former Maori Affairs deputy secretary Neville Baker says Mrs Cotter was was a class act, whose activities spanned the wool business, horticulture, the performing arts and education.

Mr Baker says she was a leader in the Kahungunu and Hawkes Bay communities, and also participated on a national level in many Maori activities.

“She was around when Apiranga Ngata and Turi Carroll and others were helping to put strategies in place for development of farm trusts and stuff like that. She was certainly a very strong influence,” Mr Baker says.

He says Hana Cotter took a particular interest in the welfare of young people.

The funeral will be held at Korongata Marae at 11am.

TURIA WANTING CHANGES TO PROTECT RONGOA

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia is hopeful a bill creating a trans Tasman agency to regulate therapeutic remedies can be modified to take into account Maori concerns.

The Maori Party along with the Greens opposed the introduction of the bill, because of its effect on Maori working in the field of rongoa, using traditional remedies such as kawakawa and korimako.

Mrs Turia says she took heart from the hearing she got from the MP sponsoring the bill, former Minister of Health Annette King.

“Thirty of the rongoa practitioners came to see me and I raised their concerns and she immediately rang my office to offer to work through those issues with us and to make sure the legislation addresses the issues people had raised, That was great because we don’t get that very often,” Mrs Turia says.

WAHO WANTS BILINGUAL TEACHERS COUNCIL

Newly-appointed Teachers Council member Tony Waho says he intends pushing the registration and standards body down the path of bilingualism.

Mr Waho, who is principal at Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Mana Tamariki in Palmerston North, says when he was approached to take up the role, he indicated he wanted to take a particular interest in Maori immersion teaching.

Mr Waho says to earn credibility with Maori teachers, the council needs to champion the language.

“In my world where I work, engaging in the Maori language 100 percent of the time is really important, so having the forms that teachers apply to the council to become a registered teacher for example being made in Maori, having an impact on the website, those are the sort of things I would be very interested in raising and having a discussion with,” Mr Waho says.

Tony Waho says he will also look at what is appropriate for Kohanga Reo teachers and the revitalisation of Te Reo Maori.

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