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Thursday, January 01, 2009

December 19 Afternoon bulletins

Community welcome in Shelly Bay planning

Maori who will take over the prime Wellington waterfront site of Shelly Bay as part of a Waitangi Treaty settlement have given an assurance that the community will have access to the former 4.5 hectare Defence Force base.

Dr Ngatata Love who chairs the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust says while there are no definitive plans at present for the land valued at more than $10 million it has to be sustainable economically.

“There’s no shortage of ideas about this land, but we want to talk to the community about it, talk to the associations out there, both the progressive associations and the business community and the mayor and others so we don’t see it as something we lock up in our thinking, but open it up to everyone,” Dr Love says.

He says the trust has a good history of working with private sector developers on a joint venture basis and will control what is done with any development.

NOT ENOUGH TEACHERS FOR KOHANGA REO

Maori language advocates have been challenged to recreate the momentum that led to the establishment of kohanga reo.

The call comes from Tawhirimatea Williams, who heads Te Wananga Takiura, a specialist Maori language tertiary provider based in Auckland.

He agrees with Dr Graeme Smith from Te Whare Wananga O Awanuiarangi that the kohanga movement is going through an understandable drop off in numbers, as those who sparked the Maori language renaissance move on or die.

Mr Williams says Maori have been caught unprepared.

“I'm a little scared of what I see out there because many of our kohanga reo are now teaching in English because people haven’t realized that things have caught up with us, that we were not replacing as fast as people were leaving us, so we’ve got a big job ahead of us to create that renaissance again, but before we do that we’ve got to create the personnel,” Mr Williams says.
MAORI RUGBY LOW PRIORITY

Maori broadcaster Willie Jackson says no one should be surprised by the New Zealand Rugby Union's decision not to hold any games for the Maori All Blacks next year

Willie Jackson who has previously toured as a broadcaster with Maori All Black teams says Maori have not been a priority for the Rugby Union for a number of years.

He says the Rugby Union should be politically forced to recognise the Maori All Blacks as the priority team in New Zealand after the All Blacks and ahead of the New Zealand Juniors and divisional teams.

WELLINGTON SETTLEMENT ASSET CONFIRMED

Joy at the settlement of a long standing Treaty claim with Maori taking over the former Shelly Bay defence force base on Wellington's Miramar peninsula is tinged with sadness for those behind the claim.

Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust is buying the 4.5 hectare waterfront site, which is valued at more than $10 million.

Chairperson Ngatata Love says it holds huge potential for development, and gives Taranaki Whanui back the mana they have not always felt when the city has taken over all of their traditional sites.

Dr Love says the former minister for treaty settlements, Michael Cullen, did a great job in moving the settlement process forward and he has great faith that Prime Minister John Key will see that the process continues.

RESOURCE ACT REVIEW UNSETTLING

The Maori Party is keeping a close eye on the review of the Resource Management Act.

Pita Sharples says they spent the last parliament arguing to keep the Treaty provision in the RMA legislation... and they've managed to get Maori lawyer Paul Majury on the RMA review panel this time around.

The Maori Party co-leader argues Maori need to have a say about what happens in their rohe.

“We have to be very careful that we don’t keep the treaty in there but lose some of the actual treaty processes if you like so we are very much so keeping an eye on that,” Dr Sharples says.

HARAWIRA CALLS FOR AUSSIE-MAORI TEST

MP and keen rugby follower Hone Harawira is proposing Maori offer to play the Wallabies in warm up games to the Tri- Nations following the New Zealand Rugby Union's snub of not scheduling any games for the Maori All Blacks next year.

Hone Harawira says he has a suggestion to answer the kick in the teeth to Maori – a game between Maori and Australia before next year’s Tri-Nations series.

Hone Harawira says games between the Maori and the Wallabies would be highly popular.

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