Waatea News Update

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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Violence programmes need shake-up: Refuge

New Zealand Womens Refuge is backing a call for domestic violence programmes to be redesigned to better address male Maori offenders.

Principal Family Court Judge Peter Boshier told an anti-violence hui this week that a one size fits all approach to domestic violence programmes is not working.

Women's Refuge chief executive Heather Henare agrees.

“Maori need to be meeting the needs of Maori and they need to be doing that in the best way they can to ensure full participation so whether it’s marae-based programmes or whether it’s Maori service providers or iwi providers that I think there needs to be recognition it’s not a one stop shop. One size doesn’t need to fit everyone so we need to be thinking who our target audience is and what is available for them,” Ms Henare says.

She says such an approach would help change the situation where a Ministry of Justice survey in 2007 found that only 58 percent of offenders had completed their programmes.

MATATINI PERFORMERS RESPECFUL OF COPYRIGHT

Performers at this weekend's national kapa haka festival, Te Matatini, will have to obtain copyright permission if they want to use modern tunes in their performances.

This is being supported by a long time supporter of Te Matatini, Trevor Maxwell, who will be returning to the festival after boycotting it for five years because of things like its emphasis on hip hop.

“Many of our composers get offended if they are not acknowledged or permission is not sought and so it’s only right and proper when any of our groups do any tunes that belong to someone else, get permission, simple,” he says.

Mr Maxwell, who led two-time Te Arawa champion group Ngati Rangiwewehi, says they are returning to the festival expected to attract more than 30,000 competitors to Tauranga this weekend because this year it is getting back to basic cultural values.

TREATY HISTORIAN TURNS WORK INTO TE ARAWA BOOK

A book to be launched at the end of the month will provide an in-depth look into the history of one of Aotearoa's largest iwi Te Arawa.

Historian Vincent O'Malley's says his book, The Beating Heart, outlines the cultural resilience of Te Arawa people and its history steeped in commercial success.

“Tourism for example where Te Arawa go from being owners an controllers of tourism industry to losing control because of Crown actions in the 1870s and 1880s and more recently coming back to that in a major way through the Tamaki Brothers and other thriving Maori owned and run tourism industries in Rotorua,” he says.

Dr O'Malley plans to write more books on iwi from around the motu.

DISCIPLINE SMALL PART OF BOOT CAMP PROCESS

An expert in addressing youth offending believes the heavy disciple aspect of boot camps should not be over-emphasised.

The co-founder and CEO of the Foundation for Youth Development Joanne Wilkinson says with many young offenders being Maori such things developing cultural awareness and mentoring are equally if not more important.

“We know as everyone understands boot camps, they actually don’t work. It needs to be working with the young people, setting parameters for them so they understand their actions have consequences, but it’s also not about ‘do as I say, or else.’ It’s more about working alongside the young person to get them into a space where they see they can make a shift in the way they have been acting,” Ms Wilkinson says.

She says boot camps are only the first part of programmes the Government is supporting in legislation being introduced to parliament this week to fight youth offending.

VETERANS URGED TO CLAIM WHAT IS DUE

The head of Veteran Affairs is calling on veterans not to be shy in claiming war pensions due to them.

This week a veteran with the 28th Maori Battalion Tini Glover said he believed many Maori in particular were not claiming the up to $182 war disability pension they were entitled to due to embarrassment about coming forward.

The general manager of Veteran Affairs Rick Ottaway says veterans should not be shy about getting what they are entitled to.

“They've given their time and energies in the service of their country and that’s something they don’t necessarily need to be humble about and I know in all the areas the 28 Maori Battalion Association are active, there are people who will assist those people and we are aware of the hesitancy not only Maori veterans have, this is a common characteristic of people of that generation irrespective of whether they are Maori or Pakeha,” Mr Ottaway says.

As well as the 28th Battalion Association welfare advisors who are very familiar with entitlements and processes for getting benefits the RSA also has dedicated advisors.

TUKUTUKU SPARKING INTEREST OF YOUNG

A Maori heritage advisor with the Historic Places Trust says a lot of younger people are interested in learning the traditional ways of making tukutuku.

Jim Schuster who is organising a three day workshop on tukutuku which begins in Tauranga today says the desire for the old ways and materials is most welcome.

“They like to create new styles in fashion things but they like to include the old materials and it’s great and if I can be a help to them, it’s what I try to do as part of my job,” Mr Schuster says.

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