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M9: It's been a magical road on route 35 for

Māori entertainer and Silver Scroll finalist Rob Ruha is getting plenty of kicks from his song '35' - about the main road that runs around the East Coast - but is also finding global recognition.With '35' close to passing 10 million streams on Spotify, indigenous peoples from around the world are enjoying the journey as much as Kiwis."I guess people from places like the Philippines can relate to it," Ruha said.Link to article: M9: It's been a magical road on route 35 for Māori entertainer...

How woven flax mats pinned to lake beds in Rotorua

Lake Rotomā is one of 18 lakes in Rotorua, the homelands of Te Arawa people. The waters there were once full of native aquatic life and kai."Our kōura (freshwater crayfish), kōaro (climbing galaxias fish), kākahi (freshwater mussel), tuna (eel), inanga (whitebait), morihana (gold fish), those kinds of ika (fish) have sustained our people for millennia, hundreds of years," said William Anaru, biosecurity manager at Te Arawa Lakes Trust.But the introduction of pest species has threatened their...

Growing anger over use of moko, mataora in image filters:

A proliferation of social media filters that allow users to project mataora, moko kauae and other taonga onto their faces has raised fresh concern about the protection of Māori identity and intellectual property.Given names like "Māori Mask" and "Māori Face Tattoo," among others, creators have designed filters that can be used on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.To some, easy access to Māori culture has been touted as a positive, a helping lens to the revitalisation of mātauranga Māor...

Absent students 'may wait up to eight weeks'

Some absent students may have to wait up to two months until they receive help to get back to school, according to a youth attendance worker.“There’s not enough funding and not enough workers,” said Brendon Crompton, who works with attendance service Blue Light.“We have 12 youth workers for all of south Auckland, and we have an active caseload around 1800 to 2000 [non-enrolled] kids.”The number of children who are not in any education has more than doubled in the last five years, ...

Jacinda Ardern in complete denial

A TV broadcast showing "appalling scenes of intimidation, violence, misery and crime" in Rotorua's emergency housing illustrates the government's "utter failure on housing" after five years in office, National says.The party's housing spokesperson Chris Bishop has spoken out following the TVNZ Sunday broadcast, saying Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is in complete denial about government's failure over housing and its consequences.It comes after months of extensive reporting from the Rot...

The lawyer and the Treaty:

“This is my first book and likely to be my last,” says Ned Fletcher, Auckland lawyer, occasional historian and reluctant writer.If there will only be one, make the most of it. This is a very big book before us. At more than 700 pages, and weighing in at 1.5kg, The English Text of the Treaty of Waitangi is the size of a large brick.It is big in terms of subject, too, tackling the most important and contentious story in New Zealand history – the origins and meaning of the Treaty of Waitangi....

Tim Finn on singing in te reo Māori:

Musicians and songwriters pour themselves into the words they will then sing back to others. But what happens when you change those lyrics, translating them into te reo Māori? Does it change the meaning? Does it change the way they feel about their stories and themselves?Waiata / Anthems tasks musicians to do exactly that, with the help of te ao Māori experts to guide them through the process, before rerecording the song in te reo.The five artists explain the line that had the biggest imp...

COVID-19: Disability advocate blasts

A disability advocate is blasting the potential move to scrap mask mandates in many public areas.The Government is consulting on ditching mask mandates now COVID-19 numbers are dropping and a shift to the green traffic light setting could be announced in just over a week.Link to Newshub recording: COVID-19: Disability advocate blasts potential move to green setting | Newshub ...

M9: Learning te reo before English

''As a Māori, there's no such thing as self-made.''That's the ethos that te reo Māori sports commentator and broadcaster Te Aorere Pēwhairangi stands by.Coinciding with Māori Language Week, Pēwhairangi (Ngāti Porou) is humbled to be one of nine te reo champions sharing their perspectives at a special M9 event next Friday to celebrate Whiua ki te ao!' - 'Hurl the Māori language to the world!'Link to article: M9: Learning te reo before English has paved the way for Te Aorere Pewhairang...

Tame Iti shares his journey

Tame Iti has a new art exhibition in Wellington - I Will Not Speak Māori - where he reflects on his life as an activist.The exhibition comes as Aotearoa celebrates 50 years of Te Reo Māori being recognised as an official language by the Government. Iti was heavily involved with Ngā Tamatoa, a Māori activist group, who presented a 30,000 signature petition to Parliament in 1972 to have Te Reo Māori taught in schools. Made up of sculpture, projection, performance and sound installations the e...

There's no shortcuts when adressing single

Most, but not all, of the single-letter words in te reo Māori are particles or structural words – and have grammatical functions specific to the construction of phrases in te reo, meaning that, quite often, they aren’t translatable into English words.The focus this week is on words represented by a and ā.As the “personal article”, the word a precedes personal names when they occur as the subject of a sentence: I haere / a Tamahae / ki te kura. (“Tamahae ...

Air New Zealand celebrates employees

Araraurangi Aotearoa, known to most as Air New Zealand, held its first Tohu Reo awards to acknowledge and celebrate its staff’s commitment to te reo Māori at Te Mānukanuka o Hoturoa Marae in Tāmaki Makaurau yesterday. The 10 recipients will now wear Tohu Reo pins, indicating their fluency and identifying them as te reo Māori speakers to Air New Zealand customers. It was a special way to kick start Mahuru Māori and Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori for recipient Trish Maxwell-Ric...

M9: Pere Wihongi champions

Composer, musical director and presenter Pere Wihongi stands by the holistic benefits of learning te reo Māori for whānau hungry to learn.Wihongi, of Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, and Ngāti Wai descent, is one of nine te reo champions who will share their perspectives at a special M9 speaking event to celebrate Whiua ki te ao!' - "Cast the Māori language to the world!""I 100 per cent believe that the benefits of te reo Māori could go beyond any holistic health benefits that any other language can cr...

Pākehā / Palangi positionality:

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'Signing National's political death warrant':

Brian Tamaki has hit out at National leader Christopher Luxon for ruling out working with his newly launched political party.This is despite Tamaki saying it would be "like selling your soul out to the devil" if his party, Freedoms NZ, did work with National.Speaking with Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking earlier on Thursday, Luxon confirmed he would never work with Tamaki's political party after previously refusing to rule it out."What I've tried to say consistently is, I've got nothing in common with...

Māori and Pasifika's

Māori and Pacific communities achieved impressive outcomes with Covid-19 vaccination. Mobilising their great knowledge, expertise, and experience could go a long way to tackling rheumatic fever.Comment: The Covid-19 pandemic showcased how critical Pacific leaders, health providers, community groups and churches were in ensuring the community was protected and vaccinated, achieving a 90 percent vaccination rate among Pacific people by the end of 2021.It demonstrated the power...

Kate Hawkesby: Why wasn't more done after the first time

When Thomas Phillips first went missing into dense bush with his kids back in 2021, I wrote an editorial at the time saying police and welfare agencies weren’t taking it seriously enough in my view. There was a lot of talk at the time about leaving it to the community, leaving it to the family, trying to understand that rural New Zealand is different to what those of us in cities are used to. I was criticized by people who said worrying about three kids in the bush with their Dad was over...

Muru strays from the historical facts,

A new film about the 2007 Te Urewera police raids chooses creative license over historical accuracy. Is there value in going beyond the facts when we’re retelling stories from the past?The events that unfolded on 15 October 2007 have had a lasting  impact on Ngāi Tūhoe. On that day, a helicopter and convoys of marked and unmarked police vehicles descended upon the small valley town of Rūātoki in the Bay of Plenty. Set against the backdrop of dense Tūhoe native bush, the town was bloc...

Plans to move high needs homeless

There are plans to move homeless people, some with high-needs drug addictions and mental health issues, from a Fenton St hotel to somewhere more appropriate, a Government department has confirmed.There are more than 30 residents living at the Four Canoes Hotel under a Government contract as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. There are now plans to move the entire contract elsewhere.The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development says the move will help residents better access support servi...

How to Tame Your Emotions

KEY POINTSEmotions can improve choices, but can interfere with cognition.Make a habit of reviewing how emotions impact your outcomes.Focus on creating alignment between your rational and emotional processes.To do this, it can be helpful to practice deep breathing, mindful listening, modulation, and improvement.Have you noticed that you rarely think at your best when you get really upset?Link to article: How to Tame Your Emotions and Make Better Choices | Psychology Today ...

M9: Casketeers star says one of the best places to learn

"One of the places that I've learned so much at is at tangihanga," Tipene said."Once you take a tūpāpaku [dead person] on the marae and you're able to sit there and listen to the whaikōrero, karakia, hīmene, all of that is like a whare wānanga [place of higher learning]. I say that in a positive manner because if you want to learn that's where you hear the best kōrero, the best tauparapara [incantation], all of that happens there and that's where I sit, learn, listen and understand."Tipene...

Kiwis encouraged to speak te reo

From our packaging to the weather, te reo Māori is becoming more prevalent in New Zealand, and now people are being encouraged to practice their speaking skills with a new challenge.Te Wānanga o Aotearoa’s Lyndsay Snowden told Breakfast the Mahuru Māori challenge was developed by te reo expert Paraone Gloyne in 2014 as a “social experiment to see if one could adhere to te reo Māori for the duration of the month - anywhere, to anyone, at any time”.Link to video and article: Kiwis e...

Whānau of eight say they're 'being forgotten about'

There aren't enough state houses, rents are rising, and add to that a pandemic, supply issues, and a huge jump in build costs - you've got a housing crisis.It's been a perfect storm for a housing crisis that Aotearoa has already been grappling with for years. For whānau unable to afford private rent but with no state homes to go to, it's a dire situation. Link to video and article: Whānau of eight say they're 'being forgotten about' after living in one-bedroom transitional housi...

Australia TV host Rowan Dean, panel

Sky News Australia host Rowan Dean has just come rather late to the party over the controversy about mātauranga Māori being included in academic science.Earlier this year some academics objected to the inclusion of mātauranga Māori while others including several universities and the respected Royal Society of New Zealand defended its use.But Dean hit out at mātauranga Māori science on his show this week, saying the Royal Society of New Zealand is pushing its "woke agenda on to students".Li...

'Absolute scenes':

The hosts of far-right media outlet Counterspin have appeared in court after being arrested in Christchurch last week.Kelvyn Alp and Hannah Spierer were arrested on Thursday, facing charges under the Films, Videos and Publications Act 1993.The pair appeared in the Christchurch District Court on Wednesday and were remanded on bail to enter pleas on September 21.Anti-Government demonstrators descended on the courts and gathered outside ahead of their appearance, clashing with a group of counter-pr...