Waatea News Update

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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Husband a taonga Tonga

A Maori-Tongan woman has asked the Waitangi Tribunal to rule her Tongan husband is a taonga who should not be deported.

Rosina Hauiti claims the Immigration Service is trying to remove her husband, Mofuike Fonua, on the grounds it was not a genuine marriage.

Immigration consultant Tuariki Delamere, who is acting for Ms Hauiti, says officials have never met the couple.

He says what's at stake is the right of a Maori to enjoy the right to retain and be with their taonga.

“We consider taonga are trees and fish and other such things. Well as far as I am concerned, a husband, a wife and a child are taonga, much more so than a tree or a fish, and while this may well be a new area of jurisprudence, I would hope the tribunal would recognise our immediate family are taonga. I would say tane comes before Tanemahuta,” Mr Delamere says.

Ms Hauti wants the hearing at her family marae in Tauranga Moana.

Waitangi Tribunal Judge Carrie Wainwright has asked for more information before she accepts the claim for hearing.

MAORI PUSHING INTO AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY

Aquaculture New Zealand wants to speed up the expansion of Maori into the fish farming industry.

Mike Burrell, the chief executive of the Nelson-based organisation, says a new Maori development manager will promote Maori participation at board level and liaise with Maori already in the industry, or who want to be.

Riki Ellison from Ngai Tahu, who is currently a senior manager at the Environment Ministry, has been hired for the job.

Mr Burrell says it's a change in strategy.

“Rather than us taking a reactive approach, reacting to different approaches from Maori organisations and Maori businesses who might be interested in aquaculture, this is about actually taking a proactive approach and going out and saying here’s the opportunities for Maoridom in terms of aquaculture, here’s hw you might go about participating in the industry,” Mr Burrell says.

Under the commercial aquaculture claims settlement, iwi will get 20 percent of all new aquaculture space, on top of the considerable investments Maori have already made in the sector.

TAONGA RETRIEVED FROM GOLDEN BAY

Golden Bay Maori have opened their doors for people who have found taonga in the area's riverbanks and beaches.

Two dozen residents bought almost 150 items to Onetahua Marae in Pohara over the weekend, including adzes, fish hooks and pendants.

Chris Hill from Manawhenua ki Mohua says after the manuhiri were welcomed on by kaumatua from Te Atiawa, Ngati Tama and Ngati Koata, the items were measured and catalogued by four archaeologists.
She says some people left the taonga with the iwi collective, which is a registered collector under the Antiquities Act.

“We haven't got a hunger to have these sorts of things. We’re not trying to grasp them. But quite a few folks said it was just wonderful to have a hui provided that was very open for people to be able to come, and for people as well for people that want to take their things home and keep them, but they were willing to show us, because we often wonder what’s out there. We know that people are finding things all the time along our coastline,” Ms Hill says.

The taonga help reveal Golden Bay's cultural heritage.

BONES AT CENTRE OF PROTEST PIGS OR SHEEP

Bones which sparked the occupation of a Taupo development have been found to be not human.
Taupo police say bones handed to the police by protesters occupying land at Acacia Bay have been examined by archaeologists from the Historic Places trust ... who believe they came from either a sheep or a pig.
Andrew Kusabs, the secretary of landowners the Hiruharama Ponui Incorporation, says the find casts doubt on the credibility of the protesters, and of the so called kaumatua who supported them by placing a rahui on the land.
Hiruharama Ponui leased the land to Symphony Group for a residential development.

Mr Kusabs says the protesters have no support from the rest of the owners - as was proved at last weekend's annual meeting, when he and fellow trustee James Alexander were reelected with almost 90 percent of the voting shares cast.

PARKING SYSTEM GOES GLOBAL

A Maori owned company was won a deal to sell its revolutionary car parking system into India, the Gulf States and North Africa.

Phil Jones from Ahu Development says the manufacturing deal with a Mumbai company is worth more than $60 million over the next three years.

Mr Jones, who's from Tokoroa, came up with the U-Parkit car stacking system after watching the way timber was stacked.

He says the idea has taken off, and the best way to manage growth seems to be to sell distribution rights.

“In Tokoroa we believe we can provide up to 3000 cells a year around the world, and by the looks of it, 3000 cells a year will go into New Zealand and Australia, so we’ve got huge demand in other places so we’ve had to think about manufacturing in closer proximity to the demand. Hence the need to form manufacturing partnerships in places like India,” Mr Jones says.

U-Parkit stacks cars eight high - meaning it uses less land than conventional car parking systems.

BOOK HELPED FUEL WEAVING REVIVAL

The editor of an updated book on traditional Maori weaving says the art is growing.

Ata Te Kanawa says Weaving a Kakahu by her mother, Diggeress Te Kanawa, has been a valuable resource for people learning raranga since it was first published in 1992.

The book shows the process of making a cloak from selecting the flax and preparing the fibre, dyeing, weaving, shaping and adorning the final garment.

She says the reprint reflects the modernisation of the artform and its increased visibility.

“It's had a growing popularity in contemporary fashion. Like with the plethora of fashion shows connected with Matariki events. There’s at least a dozen of them all over the country,” Ms Te Kanawa says.

The popularity of raranga can be guaged by the unprecedented demand for places at the Maori Weavers National Hui at Maraenui Marae in the eastern Bay of Plenty over Labour Weekend.

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