Important day for Ratana faithful

The politicians have gone from Ratana Pa back to Wellington, but for church members the most important day of the annual hui is today.

The 25th of January is the birthday of movement founder Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana, and it's the day the morehu remind themselves of who they are and how they got there.

Waatea News correspondent Ruia Aperahama says highlights of today include the unveiling of the headstone for the late Te Reo Hura, TW Ratana's daughter and the fifth tumuaki or church leader.

There will also be the launch of the church's plans to build a Bible college and treaty university.

Mr Aperahama says there will be an emphasis on family and relationships.

“The overriding theme is whanaungatanga, whakawhanaungatanga whether that’s of denomination, church or tribe or organisation, there’s always been a willingness to try and see things in common,” Mr Aperahama says.

TUREI FIGHTING TREATY DISMISSAL

Green Party Maori Affairs spokesperson Metitia Turei says she wants to see the Treaty of Waitangi put back into the school curriculum.

Ms Turei says this is the year to fight back against a trend to remove the treaty from public life.

She says the departure of Don Brash from National's leadership should encourage a better climate for debate, but there was a lot of damage done over the past few years, such as the decision to exclude any reference to the treaty in the document which sets what is taught in the nation's schools.

“They said it was because they were putting out a Maori curriculum this year, but also because I think there’s a tendency now post Brash and Orewa and foreshore to just avoid specifically referencing the treaty. That’s a real problem because it’s done secretly, it’s not legislation, it's not really obvious,” Ms Turei says.

Metiria Turei says every child going through the New Zealand schools should learn about the treaty, not just Maori immersion students.

KING TO OPEN DARGAVILLE WHAREKAI

King Tuheitia will be fullfilling the wishes of his late mother, when he opens a new wharekai near Dargaville next month.

Rex Nathan from Oturei marae on the the Poutu Peninsula, says Dame Te Atairangikaahu was a guest at the marae, twice in the 1990's.

He says the invitation to open the dining hall came about because one of the marae's kaumatua was on the board of the National Kohanga Reo Trust with the late queen.

“Manuera Tohu a year ago asked Te Atairangikaahu if she could come up and open the wharekai, and she said she was not very well at the time, but she would certainly make sure there would be a representative from Tainui to fulfil that role, so that’s really our connection with King Tuheitia,” Mr Nathan says.

The new wharekai will be known as Atarangi Te Reo Aroha O Te Whanau.

ARAWA STANDING BACK FROM TRUST CASE

The head of the body negotiating the Te Arawa land claim settlement says a court challenge by the Maori Council and the Federation of Maori Authorities is unlikely to derail the settlement.

Eru George says Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa will stand back while the two bodies battle it out with the Crown.

The issue is over whether the Government is able to take ownership of part of the Kaingaroa Forest from the Crown Forest Rental Trust to on-sell to Te Pumautanga.

Mr George says it's up to the Crown to assemble the settlement package.

“We've agreed to the deed of settlement, a deferred process and of course the cultural redress along with the quantum. By singing that as a deed of settlement we’ve accepted what the Crown has offered and the process will continue from there,” Mr George says.

MAORI POLICY KEY TO GOVERNING

Former Tamaki Makaurau MP John Tamihere says any party which wants to govern New Zealand over the next decade needs to develop policies which include rather than exclude Maori.

Mr Tamihere says John Key's first appearance at Ratana Pa yesterday shows the new National Party leader has grasped that point.

Mr Key told the hui that statistics on Maori health, education, crime and welfare showed there was no room for complacency, and much still needed to be done.

Mr Tamihere says Mr Key is displaying a grasp of political reality which eluded his predecessor Don Brash.

“As a consequence he’s had lunch with Peter Sharples, he’s had good conversations with Tariana Turia, so he’s on the road to mending fences and building bridges. And I think that ups the Maori leverage capacity in the country to do business in it, as long as we know what we are doing and how we are going about doing that,” Mr Tamihere says.

He says policies need to be focused on the whole Maori community, not just the emerging Maori middle class.

BOYS BENEFIT FROM FISH CAMP

Renowned Maori fisherman Bill Hohepa says the latest format for his quarterly fishing camps is finding favour with Maori boys and their dads.

Camp Hohepa at Akitio beach on the coast east of Daneverke wrapped up yesterday.

Mr Hohepa says two thirds of the participants were Maori, and he has always had a lot of Maori support for his activities.

The camps used to include girls, but Mr Hohepa says changes in occupation safety and health regulations meant his latest camps are for boys and their fathers or caregivers.

“It's the fathers’ responsibility for the day to day behaviour of the children and it’s my responsibility to teach them the basics of fishing. So it has the benefit iof a relationship between father and son, and when we dish out the prizes, you can just see how proud the father is of his son who’s going up to win a new fishing rod for his achievements,” Mr Hohepa says.

The next two camps are planned for Hastings, and Motuhi Island in the Hauraki Gulf.