Waatea News Update

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

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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Turia confident of seven seat sweep

Maori party co-leader Tariana Turia is confident that the Maori party will win all seven Maori seats.

She says what she is hearing during campaigning supports poll results which are showing strong support for the Maori party which makes her confident of getting all the Maori seats.

“If I judge it by on the on the ground discussions. People are very keen to have a significant and much stronger Maori voice and they know the get that they need to have the Maori Party, the seven seats in the house,” Mrs Turia says.

She says getting such support in parliament is very important for the Maori party to protect Maori interests in parliament.

MAORI PARTY COURTING OF NATIONAL RISKY POLITICS

However Political commentator Chris Trotter believes the Maori party is playing a risky game refusing to indicate who it may go with post-election.

Chris Trotter says National and ACT are being increasing clear in their naked desire to do a deal with the Maori party and this could have a real consequences for the party.

“I wonder whether the Maori Party isn’t playing a rather risky game. If it enters the heads of enough Maori voters, voters on the Maori roll, that this deal with National is all but done and dusted, then there’s a chance that some will drift back to the Labour Party and that clean sweep they are seeking may not eventuate,” Mr Trotter says.

It is appearing ever more likely that the Maori party could hold the balance of power on election night and this brings real pressure to bear on them as far as what they may do post election.

UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS SHOULD LEAD TO LAWMAKING CHANGE

A Maori law lecturer says forming Maori and Pakeha partnerships at a university level will influence law making policy.

Waikato University lecturer Huia Woods says biculturalism is the founding principle of Te Wahanga Ture Law School at the university and influences teachings at the school.

“I'm not saying it’s a fairytale and everyone lives happily ever after and it’s equal, but there’s the potential there to have a real partnership within a law school, which is pretty fundamental whey you look at how the law has traditionally been used as an instrument of oppression against Maori and even as recently as the Foreshore and Seabed Act which was infamous in its discrimination, that you can still recognise that there is that potential there for an actual real partnership,” Ms Woods says.

Space needs to be made for people to express themselves and move away from traditional white male paradigm.

NO WELFARE FOR BANKS SAYS TURIA

Maori party co leader Turiana Turia has come out strongly against measures to bail out the banks and get people to borrow more as solutions to the economic crisis.

Turiana Turia says she has no confidence that the politicians behind the current economic crisis have solutions to solve it.

“This crisis we are in has not happened because of actions of the poor, This crisis we’re in is because people have borrowed way beyond their means from banks, so highly unlikely to be our lot, borrowed from banks. The banks have borrowed from overseas and now overseas is saying ‘you’re not getting any more’. And so the government wants to work out how to give the banks more money basically to keep the situation going that we’ve found ourselves in right now, and we should be stopping that,” Mrs Turia says.

The Maori party is telling Maori people to work together and start supporting one another because to beat the crisis they are going to have to.

FITNESS FOCUS FOR HEALTHWORKER HUI

Maori nutrition and physical activity are in focus this week as 140 Maori healthworkers gather for a hui in Manukau City.

Craig Heta from Te Hotu Manawa Maori, who are co-ordinating the event, says it is an important opportunity to share ideas and discuss programmes that are having a positive impact on Maori health.

Mr Heta says the hui at Manurewa Marae will discuss why successful programmes need to be shared.

“If we can find best practice or things that are working really well, share them with other rohe, it’s much more beneficial doing things that way that trying to reinvent the wheel. We need these programmes to try and build momentum, show people that taking small steps is achievable to reach that long term goal of getting of getting Maori health statistics in line if not better than our European counterparts,” Mr Heta says.

The three hui starting today will focus on the positive aspects of what Maori health workers are doing for Maori, rather than concentrating on the negative statistics on Maori health.

PAO PAO PAO DRAWING THE CROWDS AGAIN

The Wellington Aoteatoa Hip Hop community are getting involved in the Maori Music festival.

Kaupapa Maori Music week started yesterday and will feature events throughout the week including Puoro Unplugged featuring guitarist Billy T K Senior and jazz maestro Steve Rangihuna.

The introduction of the Hip Hop event has enabled Maori talents such as the Infinite Rensta and DJ Kinetic of West Auckland and Wellington-based Tyna Keelan to get involved.

Event Organiser Ngahiwi Apanui says it is well supported.

“The great thing about that particular show is that the hip hop community in Wellington has got right behind it and what that really does too is open up taha Maori to the rest of the hip hop community here so it’s kind of a two-way exchange going on here,” Mr Apanui says.

The week is completed by PAO PAO PAO which will feature Whirimako Black, Brannigan Kaa and Ruia Aperahama.

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