Waatea News Update

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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Court clears obstacle to Taranaki settlement

Taranaki iwi Te Atiawa hopes a Court of Appeal decision on leasehold land at Waitara will speed up progress towards settlement of its raupatu claim.

The Court yesterday found against leaseholders, ruling the New Plymouth District Council can sell 146 hectares in Waitara to the Office of Treaty Settlements.

Te Atiawa Iwi Authority member Grant Knuckey says it will go in the land bank for the eventual settlement.

Mr Knuckey says it's what's left in public hands of the Pekapeka Block, which was occupied by the Crown in an incident which sparked the first Taranaki war.

“In terms of this particular block, there’s a bit of wairua that comes with that, so I think it’s quite significant that it’s now available and certainly will give people encouragement to resolve issues and make it happen,” Mr Knuckey says.

He says internal disputes in the iwi have delayed negotiations, and a settlement is three to five years away.

BEHAVIOUR PROGRAMME WORKING WELL

Taranaki's Inglewood Primary School says a programme to improve behaviour is proving particularly effective with it Maori students.

For the past four years Inglewood has been running an American designed programme called Reach, which stands for respect, expect, achieve, communicate and hauora or health.

Associate principal Karen Houghton says teachers develop individual plans for students, and they teaching good behaviour rather than punishing bad.

She says the mentoring aspect of Reach seemed to appeal to Maori pupils.

“You know they like ot take on the role of modeling to the younger ones which a lot of them are used to doing on the marae on different occasions in their families anyway. We’ve got some kids that are the used to putting their siblings to be, whereas some Europeans don’t do all that sort of stuff,” Ms Houghton says.

The Reach programme is now being picked up by other schools.

CARVERS CHIP AWAY AT HOUSE PARTS

It's all hands to the chisel as carvers put the finishing touches to whakairo on the new Unitec marae.

Hane Paniora, a spokesperson for the Auckland polytechnic, says with site work underway, the team under master carver Lionel Grant is putting in long hours to finish the support beams and rafters,

“The carvers, the four of them, are flat tack at the moment, they’re under pressure,. They would still have a few, I think six poupou to do for the whare. I think there’s about 34 of these, and they’re also flat out doing all the heke for the whare,” Mr Paniora says.

POLYFEST PEACE EXPECTED

Organisers of this week's Auckland secondary school's Maori and Pacific Island performing arts competitions are expecting a trouble free event.

Polyfest kicks off with a powhiri at the Manukau Sportsbowl this morning.

Director Craig Seuseu says 9000 pupils from 50 schools will be performing, and more than 90,000 spectators are expected over the four days.

There are separate stages for Maori, Tongan, Samoan, Cook Island and Niuean competitions, with other cultures represented on a non-competition diversity stage.

Mr Seuseu says despite being the largest event of its kind in the world, Polyfest is known as a peace-fest.

“We had zero arrests last year, zero problems, police were telling us that the intelligence they have around the place, because they always keep an ear open for what could happen at the festival, they’re saying that things are quite quiet up there,” Mr Seuseu says.

The theme of the festival will be tributes to the late Te Arikinui Dame Te Ataairangikaahu and late King Taufa'ahou Tupou IV of Tonga.

WHANAU CRIME FIGHTING ROLE SOUGHT

One of the country’s top Maori policemen is challenging Maori families to take more responsibility for whanau members who get in trouble with the law.

Superintendent Viv Rickard, the Waitemata District commander, says the small percentage of Maori involved in crime need their whanau to show them another way.

Mr Rickard says Maori support systems should kick in before it's too late.

“Some people aren’t taking individual responsibility, and it’s everyone else’s fault. Well, I know people have had some bad starts, but as family, Maori, we’re fantastic about getting around people when they die. It’s when they’re alive that I actually want us to get around our young people,” Mr Rickard says.

He says there is little to be gained from blaming the government or the system if relations break the law.

NGATI KUIA SEEKS MUSIC FOR OLD SONGS

Nelson iwi Ngati Kuia is trying to find melodies for the words of its ancestors.

Spokesperson Wayne Hippolite says the iwi's Waitangi claim researchers came across a manuscript in the Alexander Turnbull Library containing waiata and oriori collected from the top of the South Island by anthropologist Percy Smith in the late 19th century.

Mr Hippolite says it was a valuable source of information for Ngati Kuia and neighbouring tribes.

“So it was really important for us to have waiata that belonged to us, and finding those scripts, those kupu, has allowed us to bring back to life some of the korero of the iwi. It’s been awesome,” Mr Hippolite says.

He says the iwi have had to imagine what melodies might have been used in the days the songs were written.

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