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'Where are the feminists' supporting Aboriginal women suffering domestic abuse

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Fighting for Rotorua:

Changes to a service transporting children living in emergency housing to and from school could have a negative impact on attendance and deepen social divides, principals fear.The Ministry of Education had been running a van service to transport the children to school since March 2021.The vans had school liaison whānau connectors on board to help link families with social services, to support regular attendance, and to connect displaced children with a school.The service was scaled back from se...

New independent Māori education entity needed

Māori must have more agency and authority over its future if the government wants to increase the number of tamariki in kaupapa Māori education, a new report says.Last year, Associate Minister of Education Kelvin Davis said he wanted 30 percent of Māori learners participating in kura kaupapa or other Māori medium education by 2040.In February last year, he said this would see more than 60,000 more Māori learners, 3500 fluent kaiako (teachers) and 250 more kura (schools).The second report fr...

New Prime Minister Chris Hipkins speaks

The newly crowned Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has fronted his first post-Cabinet press conference and in the wake of fresh consumers price index data being released.The CPI, which records changes in the price of goods and services, increased 7.2 per cent in the 12 months to December 2022, Stats NZ said today.It comes alongside Jacinda Ardern’s official resignation as Prime Minister after she attended her last event in the role yesterday when she travelled north for annual Rātana celebrations...

Māori seats don't 'make a lot of sense' -

Fresh off using his platform at this week's Rātana celebrations to criticise the government's approach to co-governance with Māori, National Party leader Christopher Luxon is taking aim at Parliament's Māori seats.But despite saying their existence "doesn't make a lot of sense", National will still be looking at standing candidates in "at least one or two of them".At Rātana on Tuesday, Luxon - who began his speech in te reo Māori, making use of lessons he started in 2022 - accused the gover...

Luxon commits to scrapping Māori Health Authority,

National leader Christopher Luxon has committed to scrapping the Māori Health Authority and giving its $170 million funding to iwi instead.Luxon's commitments come after he attacked the wider conversation of co-governance at Rātana on Tuesday calling it divisive and immature.The National leader doubled down on his views on Wednesday, telling AM co-host Ryan Bridge co-governance is creating two separate systems for Māori and non-Māori. Luxon said he had no issues with co-governance when ...

Live updates: Chris Hipkins sworn in as Prime Minister,

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has been sworn in as New Zealand's 41st Prime Minister.It follows the resignation of Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday morning.Carmel Sepuloni has also been sworn in as deputy Prime Minister at a ceremony at Government House. Link to video and article: Live updates: Chris Hipkins sworn in as Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern resigns | Newshub...

Landmark deals give Indigenous key role

Two landmark deals in western Canada could reshape the role of Indigenous nations in resource development projects, placing greater power in the hands of groups that have long been excluded and signalling a possible shift in how industry and governments negotiate with communities on the frontlines of environmental degradation.In recent years, a string of fierce battles over pipelines have put a spotlight on the fractious nature of resource extraction projects, often pitting First Nations communi...

What is the Doctrine of Discovery?

Link to slide show: What is the Doctrine of Discovery? Why do Indigenous leaders want King Charles III to renounce it? (msn.com)...

28th Māori Battalion Battle Honours memorial flag

For the first time in 76 years, the 28th Māori Battalion Battle Honours memorial flag will be fully displayed and recognised in Rotorua for Waitangi Day.It will be presented at Muruika, Ohinemutu on 6 February by Tā Robert Gillies, the last remaining member of the 28th Māori Battalion who served in B Company during World War II from 1942-1945.Last year he was knighted for a second time after previously turning it down twice, accepting it on behalf of the soldiers he fought alongside.The Batta...

‘Knocking down’ wallaby populations in Rotorua,

Wallaby populations are continuing to grow in Aotearoa, including the dama wallaby in Rotorua, prompting the launch of the first nationwide predator-free awareness campaign.The Tipu Mātoro: Wallaby-free Aotearoa campaign launched this summer highlights the damage the animals do to the environment and asks New Zealanders to report any wallaby sightings to help stop the spread of these pests and knock down their growing populations.Biosecurity New Zealand’s director of response John Walsh said ...

Stone sculptures attracting attention

It seems everyone has a different favourite when it comes to the stone sculptures on display on New Plymouth’s Coastal Walkway.Whether it is Pirongia artist Bill Devoy’s Tui on the Kowhai, Whangarei artist Trisha Fisk’s Moe – Gentle Sleep or the work of Gisborne sculptor Karaitana Akroyd’s with his piece Rangitukia - there have been no shortage of visitors to the exhibition.Hundreds of people have been taking the opportunity to stroll through and admire the work from the biennial Te Ku...

Rātana mission complete for Christopher Luxon,

ANALYSIS: The annual trek to Rātana was a contrast of Chrises: believing different things and making different points, while also having different objectives from the day.For Christopher Luxon it was mission accomplished, although not particularly well. One of the things that he will have to work on is the fact that a lot of his speeches sound either like a basic stump speech with ‘insert name/sector/audience here’ or they come across as some sort of politics 101 primer.His speech at Rātan...

Jacinda Ardern makes final speech

“This is for him to carve out his own space, be his own leader," the outgoing prime minister said of her successor Chris Hipkins as she arrived for a final speech at Rātana.Ardern said she was ready to be a backbench MP and step back from the “centre” of politics, during her last formal engagement in the top job.Ardern praised the incoming leadership of Hipkins and Carmel Sepuloni.“I can say hand on heart this is a group of exceptional people who have the privilege of leading New Z...

Winston Peters takes centre stage

Followers of the Rātana Movement - and politicians - are heading to the Rangitikei village of Ratana to celebrate the 150th birthday of the movement’s founder, Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana.Thousands of Mōrehu (followers) are expected to descend upon the small Māori village during the three days of celebration.But it was New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters who was the first politician out of the gate.The former deputy Prime Minister, made a no controversy surprise visit to the Pā, where h...

Quickfire Q&A:

Incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says he wants to lead a government that's clear and transparent in its communications.He told Checkpoint that meant New Zealanders knowing what the government was doing, and why."I want to lead a strong and stable government, I want to lead a government that's focused clearly on the issues that are most pressing for New Zealand."The cost of living was right at the top of issues most important to New Zealanders, he said."I will be doing a bit of programme rat...

'Can't remember the other':

Incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins wasn't able to name all three of the Treaty of Waitangi articles during his first press conference as the incoming Prime Minister.Speaking on Sunday after successfully being elected by the Labour caucus as the party's new leader, Hipkins was asked to name the three articles of the Treaty of Waitangi.After briefly umming and ahhing, he successfully named two out of the three articles."We have Kawanatanga, Tino Rangatiratanga, and, actually no, I can't remembe...

Kāinga Ora pays $4.5m

Kāinga Ora has bought six existing houses worth $4.5 million in Northland and is accelerating the pace of new-builds, including the region’s largest social housing development in Tikipunga, Whangārei.The six existing houses in Whangārei, Kawakawa and Kerikeri bought in the last quarter of 2022 consisted of two two-bedroom, three three-bedroom and one four-bedroom homes.These include five standalone homes and a duplex home.Kāinga Ora regional director for Northland Jeff Murray said the $4.5...

How iwi, DOC and a community trust

Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf has become a test case for how iwi, the Department of Conservation and community groups can work together. But as Tony Wall and Maxine Jacobs report, it hasn’t been easy.Read this story in te reo Māori and English here. / Pānuitia tēnei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ki konei.In February 2020, James Brown, then-chairman of the Ngāi​ Tai​ ki​ Tāmaki​ iwi, wrote an angry letter to Department of Conservation staff and members of the Motutapu Re...

'People are angry':

Carmel Sepuloni's appointment as Deputy Prime Minister is being celebrated as a win for the Pacific community.The West Auckland-based MP will become the first Pasifika person to take on the role. But there's only one issue concerning voters in her area.West Auckland's Avondale Market is not far from Carmel Sepuloni's Kelston electorate and was busier than ever on Sunday. And there's no doubt the cost of living is the major concern here."At the moment, we are really in a hard situation," another ...

Learning te reo

COLUMN: A good understanding of how nouns, verbs and particles are used to form phrases and sentences in te reo Māori doesn’t detract in any way from the importance of the principle, described in Bruce Biggs’ Let’s Learn Maori, that “The phrase, not the word, is the unit of Maori speech which should be emphasised in learning”.Indeed, focussing on phrases that for one reason or another seem particularly memorable is almost certainly a very good way of increasing one’s vocabulary and ...

Top scientists confirm

University of Auckland researchers have found more than 60 biologically active compounds in kawakawa leaves.Aotearoa New Zealand scientists are proving the health effects of kawakawa, a plant revered as taonga and long used in Māori medicine, or rongoā.In the latest paper, researchers from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, in partnership with hapū-owned Wakatū Incorporation from Te Tauihu at the north of Te Wai Pounamu, applied liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to identi...

Manawatū:

Tangata whenua in the small Manawatū town of Kimbolton hope a meeting this weekend will help bring the community together.Controversy was kicked up when posters appeared around the town for a Settlers Day event to be held on Waitangi Day - but no mana whenua were invited.The organisers of the event will meet with local iwi, Ngāti Kauwhata, on Monday to discuss the history of settlement in the Oroua Valley.The hui comes after comments were made by some locals questioning whether there had been ...

'Ruthless' and 'down to earth':

The news that Chris Hipkins is set to be New Zealand's new Prime Minister has made its way around the world.International media outlets are doing their research on the man who is in line to replace Jacinda Ardern as leader.Hipkins' considerable experience and humour are being highlighted in news articles online, but there have been questions raised about whether his role in New Zealand's approach to the COVID-19 pandemic could hinder or help the Labour MP.While Hipkins still needs to be formally...

Whanganui village wipes name of Scottish military leader

The small settlement of Pākaraka outside Whanganui has wiped the name of a Scottish militia leader from the map.Formerly known as Maxwell, it was named after Sergeant George Maxwell, who led a massacre of Māori rangatahi more than 150 years ago.Replacing the road sign and replacing a name associated with one of the little-known dark chapters in our history, officially returning the name of this small settlement near Whanganui.Link to video and article: Whanganui village wipes name of Scot...