Waatea News Update

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Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Monday, June 28, 2010

Fires on beaches protest oil exploration

Fires were lit on beaches around the East Cape yesterday to protest the government granting Brazilian oil company Petrobras to prospect in the Raukumara Basin.

Protest organiser Ani Pahuru - Huriwai says the fact there were bonfires on almost every beach shows the depth of feeling among Ngati Porou and Te Whanau a Apanui.

She says the fires symbolized the ownership of the area by the hapu, who the government ignored in granting the licence.

“Most of our people here can’t afford to march to Parliament or anything like that but they can afford to come out on the beaches and try and be heard by the rest of the world that we are concerned about our environment and what is happening around us.
Ms Pahuru-Huriwai says.

Coast residents are considering further protests.

WAITANGI TRIBUNAL DETAILS CROWN PLUNDER OF WAIRARAPA

Wairarapa Maori are applauding a Waitangi tribunal report which found serious breaches of the Treaty by the Crown when the area was colonised during the 19th century.

The Tribunal is recommending the bed of Wairaparapa moana and any Crown land close to lakes Wairarapa and Oneke be returned to tangata whenua to compensate for 3 million hectares of land taken by the crown.

Henare Manaena, a spokesperson for the 17 Ngati Kahungunu claimant groups, says it’s what claimants wanted to hear.

“The report is really really good. It is gratifying and sufficient in the evidence we all presented to the tribunal, so a lot of recommendations that have been put forward by the tribunal are heart warming and gratifying,” Henare Manaena says.

The claimants will now seek a mandate to enter negotiations with the Crown on a remedies package.

TITANICS DRAW BROWN AUDIENCE TO THEATRE

The producer of a play about the Maori showband era says it’s revealed an audience in Auckland for Maori theatre.

Tainui Tukiwaho has worked on Raising the Titanics for three years ago with playwright Albert Belz.

He says last week’s sold out premier season at the Tapac theatre at Western Springs was eye-opening.

“Theatre in Auckland is exploding as far as our Maori people are concerned. At Tapac on some nights 80 percent of the house was Maori, which was amazing, it was huge for us to see so many brown faces and really exciting,” Mr Tukiwaho says.

Raising the Titanics has a short season this week at the Maori playwrights festival in Papakura.

BLAIRE ARCHIBALD WINS MIRAMODA FASHION AWARD

This year’s Miromoda Fashion awards for Maori designers has been won by Blaire Archibald from Te Arawa.

The recent AUT University graduate will show his menswear at New Zealand Fashion Week, and he also gets a week at the Sydney Fashion show later in the year.

Event organiser Ata Te Kanawa says he stunned the crowd at Saturday night’s gala event in Wellington with a magnificent array of clothing.

“He presented a collection inspired by his grandfather. It was all in beautiful cotton wool, wonderfully constructed, fully accesorised head to toe, hats, shoes, the whole shooting bag, just stunning, standout,” Ms Te Kanawa says.

Seven designers were chosen to represent Miromoda at the New Zealand Awards in Auckland in September.

ANCIENT GAMES FOR MODERN COUCH POTATOES

Kokiri Marae wants to get rangatahi off the couch.

The marae, from the Wellington harbourside suburb of Seaview, is taking its Rangatahi to Rangatira programme nationwide.

Project manager Theresa Olsen of Ngati Porou says it’s aimed at young people between 13 and 24, and includes a mix of leadership training, sharing information about whakapapa and local marae, and participation in traditional Maori games or taonga taakaro..

“Taonga taakaro is part of who we are as Maori. We were a really active race and we played a whole lot of our own games so there has just been a real resurgence of nga taonga takaaro and we hope that will appeal to those rangatahi who are not doing anything, who are not physically active,” Ms Olsen says.

Rangatahi in the programme can be referred on to other education and training providers.

WHANAUNGATANGA TRAINING OPENES EYES POST-PRISON

A former prison inmate wants to see more Maori-focused courses made available to serving prisoners.

As part of his probation, Gypsy has just finished a week long course at Auckland's Nga Whare Waatea marae on tikanga and the dynamics of whanaungatanga.

He says the discussions on the restoration of mana struck a chord, and was the sort of thing that could reach those still inside.

“I’d really like to see some of these programmes brought to jail so our whanau in there can stay out of jail. I’ve just been released because I thought I knew it all when I went to jail but obviously I didn’t, and when I was in there I saw all my family just sitting around doing nothing in there. It hasn’t worked in the past and it isn’t working now,” he says.

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