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'Slap in the face': Marae graduation

Having no marae graduation at the University of Waikato is a “slap in the face”, Māori student leaders say, and they’re worried it might not just be for this April.Read this story in te reo Māori and English here. / Pānuitia tēnei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ki konei.The university says the “break” from usual tradition is because of short notice that the new campus pā wouldn’t be finished in time – and there was a communication breakdown.The two groups are now in discus...

Teacher strike: Education Minister

The Education Minister was booed and told to do her job by striking teachers – an awkward position for the former principal and NZEI union board member, who spent years on the side of teachers during times of protest.Jan Tinetti acknowledge it was “probably pretty tough fronting up” to the protest on Thursday, “but it's something that I was absolutely determined to do because our teachers matter”.Teachers across the country called for better pay to meet the rising cost of living, as we...

The obligation

Denis O’Reilly’s community in Waiohiki, Hawke’s Bay, is one of many still reeling from Cyclone Gabrielle and the flooding. In this update, he writes about the continuing challenges, and why the census matters even in the midst of so much displacement.First up, thank you. I love this land Aotearoa and the people who inhabit it — tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti. Thank you all for the support.Come the day when you’re in need, as in the past, Waiohiki will be there for you, too. We under...

Kia ora e hoa:

New Zealanders will now see the common and casual te reo Māori greeting Kia ora e hoa! – meaning “hi mate” – in their Oxford English Dictionaries, as the institution moves to recognise the “profound and lasting impact” the Indigenous tongue has had on New Zealand’s language.E hoa, or friend, is one of 47 New Zealand English words or expressions added to the dictionary in its latest update – most of them in te reo Māori, which is an official language of New Zealand. The OED desc...

Northland the meth capital of New Zealand, wastewater tests show

KIA TŪPATO NGĀ WHAKAAHUA: Be careful of graphic picturesLink to video: Northland the meth capital of New Zealand, wastewater tests show - NZ Herald...

Slash is a human rights issue.

Paul Hunt is the Chief Human Rights Commissioner.OPINION: The Government’s two-month inquiry into forestry slash and sediment-related damage in Tairāwhiti and Wairoa is underway.Like the thousands who petitioned for the inquiry, I was shocked and angered to see the devastating scale and impact of wood debris and sediment unleashed by Cyclone Gabrielle.Many people have lost homes, livelihoods, livestock and, in some instances, family members.Link to video and article: Slash is a human rig...

Local Focus:

Pākaitore, also known as Moutoa Gardens, is a significant historic site in the Whanganui town centre. In the 1800s it was a trading post and fishing village for Whanganui iwi, later becoming a port for Pākehā settlers.In 1995, Pākaitore was in the news every night as protestors occupied Moutoa Gardens, sparking a 79-day occupation.The protests attracted a strong police presence and divided public opinion but were resolved peacefully after 79 days.Every year on February 28, Whanganui iwi retu...

One in five students from ethnic communities

Many New Zealand secondary and primary school students from ethnic communities are encountering widespread racism at school, new research finds.From mispronouncing names to bullying a child for what they bring for lunch, students are facing challenges based on their race - prompting calls to better identify and address racism in schools. Research from the Education Review Office (ERO), the Government's external evaluation agency, found one in five learners from ethnic communities said they ...

Full 'mega' strike to go ahead on Thursday

A full 'mega' strike of teachers will go ahead as planned on Thursday after a meeting between the Government and the union representing primary school teachers failed to reach an agreement.More than 800,000 students from preschool to Year 13 will be impacted but some schools have applied for exemptions.In 2019, more than 50,000 teachers went on strike. And there will be similar scenes on Thursday, as a similar number plan to take to the streets again.Parents and students are bracing for the disr...

Te Pūkenga tells academics not to say

The row over academic freedom at Te Pūkenga – the country’s largest tertiary provider – has rumbled on after it emerged staff have been issued with a list of words they should and should not use.The 30-page internal “style guide” was published in February, two months after Peter Winder became chief executive, to ensure its “written and verbal communication is uniform” and “in line with Te Pūkenga values and reflects the needs of our priority audiences”.The document was sent t...

Waihī architect Kyle Anaru

Architect Kyle Tiweka Anaru is the principal of the Tohu Workshop of Architecture, a small practice based in Waihī Beach. His Homunga Bay container house Rua Puoto, which simply means “two containers”, has been named a finalist in Home magazine’s house of the year, wowing the judges with its Māori cultural elements blended with design.The house was carefully designed to sit gently in the landscape looking over Homunga Bay while borrowing from the surrounding spaces - extending the sense ...

International student

An international student, inspired by her PhD research in education, has set up the first childcare centre based on Te-Whariki New Zealand Early Childhood Education Curriculum in Vietnam.Read this story in te reo Māori and English here. / Pānuitia tēnei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ki konei.Inspired by the Māori concept of ako, University of Auckland student Hoa Pham launched a kindergarten called Ako in her home country.With the slogan ‘where children are teachers’, Pham’s kinde...

Social housing has potential to lift Māori wellbeing,

Communal space, social activities, and community leadership can help lift the wellbeing of Māori social housing tenants, new research shows.Māori experiences of social housing in Ōtautahi Christchurch was released on Tuesday by Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online.Researchers interviewed 12 Māori tenants over a year and concluded social housing can do more than just house those in need.University of Otago teaching fellow and study author Els Russell said the effects of co...

Te Raina Ferris:

There’s often a moment just before a pōhiri when the question goes out: “Who will do the karanga?” Silence can hang dead in the air for what feels like hours, save for the sound of shuffling feet as wāhine edge backwards, trying to disappear.Karanga expert Te Raina Ferris knows that fear well, and how to overcome it. In this conversation with Siena Yates, she explains the mahi of karanga and why she’s made it her life’s work.Link to article: Te Raina Ferris: Karanga is the ...

Habitat for Humanity opens

Housing charity Habitat for Humanity has opened a 10-home development in central Kerikeri — its biggest community housing project to date in Northland.The development consists of nine two-bedroom homes, and one with three bedrooms, next door to the BP service station on Kerikeri Rd.While the $6 million-plus project is by far Habitat’s biggest investment to date in the North, it won’t be for long.The community housing provider has just started work on a 23-home, $12m development in the Whan...

Tūhoe tohunga Tā Pou Temara

When people think of a modern-day tohunga, or expert, Tā Pou Temara is usually high on the list.The Tūhoe educator is a trusted source of mātauranga on tikanga, te reo Māori and history - from universities around the world to the Waitangi TribunalHe's come a long way from his upbringing deep in the ngāhere (forest) of the Urewera ranges, but his latest book Te Rautakitahi O Tūhoe ki Ōrākau takes him on a journey through the history of his people.Link to video and article: Tūhoe toh...

'Every little bit counts':

The Government has announced significant increases to Superannuation, main benefits and student supports as part of a "bread and butter support" package coming into effect on April 1.It's expected to cost an additional $311 million, but the Government said it means about 1.4 million New Zealanders will "not go backwards" as most of the changes are aligned with increases in inflation.The announcement comes on the same day StatsNZ revealed food prices rose 12 percent in the year to February, the h...

Putting trees back

Around the world, cities are trying to boost their tree cover - and here in New Zealand, it's no different.While trees have been in the news for smashing into houses and damaging powerlines during the recent storms, there are many benefits to having them in our streets, parks and backyards.Erika Commers, urban forest team leader at Auckland Council, manages half a million trees on streets and in parks in our biggest city.Just 18 percent of Auckland's urban area is covered in trees - the council ...

Auckland's Pasifika Festival

Auckland’s beloved Pasifika Festival is going back to its roots this weekend, returning to Western Springs and to the village atmosphere it has long been known for.The festival kicks off on the main day, Saturday, officially opening the eight villages to the public through to Sunday.The villages will feature 11 nations in the Pacific - Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawaii, Samoa, Niue, Tahiti, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati and Aotearoa - and will house all the traditional and contemporary Pacific Isl...

There will be 30,000 fewer school-aged children

Schools in Wellington and Auckland will suffer the biggest losses as the population of school children drops during the next 10 years.Education Ministry projections provided to RNZ show Canterbury was the only region expected to have more school children by 2032.The estimates suggest rolls at primary and secondary schools would fall nearly 30,000 or four percent nationally but in the Wellington region they would drop 11 percent, or 8707 children, to reach 71,972 by 2032.In the same period Gisbor...

Swarbrick comes out swinging

Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick says a growing tide of disquiet with the proposed budget cuts to a range of council services encouraged her to help people submit feedbackA sweeping suite of cutbacks in Auckland’s mayoral budget proposal has spurred Auckland Central’s MP to launch a guide to the submissions process and encourage Aucklanders to have their say on the proposed changes.Chlöe Swarbrick says the wide-ranging cuts to services could have a damaging effect on progress on social ...

A growing plastic smog is choking the world’s oceans

KEY POINTSMore than 170 trillion plastic particles weighing roughly 2 million metric tons are afloat in the world’s oceans, according to new research.To tackle the plastic problem, the researchers call on lawmakers to urgently enact policy measures that focus on source reduction and reuse.U.N. member states are scheduled to meet this spring to develop a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.Link to article: Pollution: Over 170 trillion plastic particles in the world's oceans (cn...

NZ landfill boss sees alarming rise in clothing waste

Promising to deliver the latest trends rapidly from catwalk to consumer at knock-down prices has seen a new wave of global clothing brands like Spain’s Zara, Sweden’s H & M and China’s Shein experience phenomenal growth to dominate the world clothing industry in just a few decades.The owners of those companies, like Zara’s Armando Ortega, have amassed vast wealth to become some of the richest individuals on the planet.Shein, started by 30-year-old Chinese engineer Chris Xu, has an es...

An 85-year Harvard study on happiness found

In 1938, Harvard researchers embarked on a study that continues to this day to find out: What makes us happy in life?The researchers gathered health records from 724 people from all over the world, asking detailed questions about their lives at two-year intervals.As participants entered mid- and late-life, the Harvard Study often asked about retirement. Based on their responses, the No. 1 challenge people faced in retirement was not being able to replace the social connections that had...

Partnership means

Treaty partnership is a widely-used term, thrown around by local and central government departments and staff.But so often it seems like an abstract concept assigned to the wider organisation, not something individuals themselves are committed to.I want us to think about our responsibilities at an intimate and daily level. To consider what it really means, from a personal perspective, to be one half of the partnership. It requires conscious effort and a willingness to embrace discomfort.I’m fo...