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NKII board aims to strengthen relationships

A clear ambition of the Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated (NKII) board chairman, Bayden Barber, has been to build relationships and connect with other organisations in the community to build on our common goals and aspirations for whānau, hapū, iwi and community development.Late last year, an invitation was extended from the NKII board to the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC), and Te Kahui Ohanga (TKO) Post Settlement Group Entities (PSGEs) to attend the first NKII board hui of the new yea...

‘It’s only the beginning’:

A determined group of Northland weavers has fulfilled a challenge laid down a century ago by rediscovering the long-lost techniques used to create a traditional Māori sail.Woven sails were used to propel the waka that brought Māori across the Pacific to Aotearoa but the specialist knowledge used to design and weave them had been lost to time.For centuries the only surviving example of a traditional sail, known as Te Rā, was in a vault of the British Museum in London.Fearing the skills used to...

Why travelling Brits should engage

Brits abroad can be an asset to Aotearoa - but only if we make an effort to engage with te ao Māori, writes Scottish expat Fran BarclayEarlier this week, the UK High Commissioner signalled a promising intention to address the barriers facing young Māori and Pasifika who aspire to travel on the UK working holiday scheme. As a Scottish expat in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, I hope that increased interaction with Māori and Pasifika travellers could improve my country’s cultural understanding of Aotearo...

Greens senator Lidia Thorpe says

Thousands of people have attended Invasion Day rallies across Australia, where speakers addressed a number of issues for First Nations peoples, including the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament.Greens senator and DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman Lidia Thorpe was met with cheers from the public in Melbourne when she said Indigenous Australians deserved "real power and action" rather than the proposed Voice.A referendum on whether to constitutionally enshrine the advisory body is due to be...

Indigenous voices are 'being ignored’

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Masterton overdoses:

Some of the 12 people who overdosed in Masterton on fentanyl within 48 hours last year were aware it was the drug they had taken, despite police earlier saying it was sold as either cocaine or methamphetamine.A dozen people were hospitalised in 48 hours after taking a substance in June last year, spaking widespread concern.Police have now revealed an investigation has concluded some users knew the substance was fentanyl.“Other users believed it to be cocaine.”link to video and article: ...

‘Very unlikely’ Australia Day is being celebrated for the ‘atrocities of the past’

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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...