Waatea News Update

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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Maori voters not getting credit due

A former Labour Cabinet minister says the party doesn't give its Maori voters the credit they deserve.

John Tamihere says the battle for the Maori vote is critical this election.
He says the Maori Party's two tick campaign in the Maori seats is a real threat for Labour.

“The Labour Party often told people the Pacific Island south Auckland vote won them the last election. It did not. The election for Labour is always won and lost with the Maori vote and in fact if you look at 1999 when the Maori vote went back holus bolus to Labour, it tipped Labour back into office,” Mr Tamihere says.

To be a long term player the Maori Party needs to build up its share of the party vote, so it's right to run a two tick campaign.

YOUTH CULTURE LEFT OUT OF PARLIAMENT

Former Green MP Nandor Tancos says youth representation in Parliament will only be improved by a larger turnout of rangatahi voters.

He says the major political parties don't give priority to youth affairs because there is little pay-off at the ballot box.

That means there is often little connection between young people and the politicians charged with representing their interests.

TANE TAKE TO TE ATAARANGI ACROSS TASMAN

A long time advocate for Te Ataarangi says it's increasingly popular with Maori men across the Tasman who want to learn te reo Maori.

Liz Hunken says while women make up the majority of students learning te reo via the rakau method in Aotearoa, a recent Ataarangi hui in Sydney attracted more than 100 men looking to become more proficient in their native tongue.

“They don't want anybody at home here to know they don‘t know the reo, but when you go over to Australia, ‘that’s good, I’m not at home, and I think that if I become stronger to actually learn the reo,’” Ms Hunken says.

Because of the interest in Australia, next year's Te Ataarangi conference will be held across the Tasman.

INDIGENOUS TEAMS SPICE UP LEAGUE WORLD CUP

Organisers of the Rugby League World Cup are starting to appreciate the input from indigenous teams at the tournament in Australia.

Commentator Ken Laban says strong performances by the Australian Aboriginal squad and New Zealand Maori in a curtain raiser, and subsequent showings by Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, highlight the strength of indigenous teams.

He says while Australia remains favourite to take the title, they are adding a distinctive flavour to the tournament.

FUNDING MAKES LANGUAGE LEARNING TOOLS WIDELY AVAILABLE

Funding from the Tertiary Education Commission is enabling a consortium of universities, wananga, polytechs and community education groups to develop and release innovative Maori language learning resources.

The groups are gathered together this week at the Kia Mau ki te Aka Matua Maori Language Symposium at AUT University.

Co organiser Tania Ka'ai says the participants got an update on the activities of Te Ipukarea National Maori Language Institute, as well as hearing from international experts in language revitalisation.

She says the $1.5 million TEC grant is allowing Te Ipukarea to develop digital resources.

“Some of the material like Te Whanake programme, already that material is online, available to anyone in the world at no cost. Some of the material we are developing the website to Te Ipukarea, the projects like He Papa Huia where we have got lectures and a series of repositories being recorded and videoed, will be streamed for free online to the world,” Professor Ka'ai says.

One of the highlights of today's programme will be an address by Katerina Mataira, one of the pioneers of Maori language revitalisation and the co-developer of Te Ataarangi language method.

MAORI PARTY TWO TICK CAMPAIGN TAKING LONG VIEW

Former Labour MP John Tamihere says the Maori party is strategically right to run a two tick campaign.

Labour and the Greens are trying to attract the list vote in the Maori seats, even if the electorate vote goes to the Maori Party candidates.
But Mr Tamihere says the Maori Party needs to take a long term view.

“The Maori support base has to congeal and hang together and only then this election and building to the next election and the election after will it really start to be not just a minority that’s needed but a very strong minority that is locked and loaded and regardless of who is governing, whether it be National of Labour, the Maori Party needs to be dealt with, an that’s the position it needs to get into,” Mr Tamihere says.

He says the Maori vote if far more important to Labour Party electoral success than the south Auckland Pacific Island vote.

SECOND MARATHON WIN PUTS NGAWATI IN LINE FOR AWARD

A Whangarei sports tutor has run her way into contention for a Maori sports award with her Auckland marathon defence.

Ady Ngawati sliced two minutes off last year's winning time to retain her title in the race.

Awards organiser Dick Garrett from Ngai Tuhoe says it could be tough for the judges to pick between her and Taranaki runner Lisa Tamati, who completed the Death Valley ultramarathon earlier this year.

The national Maori sports awards are being held in Rotorua on the 13th of December.

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