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Review proposes cuts to daily pāua catch

Concerns Taranaki Māori have for the wellbeing of kaimoana, which saw a two-year legal ban introduced to protect a stretch of the region’s coastline, are being felt elsewhere in New Zealand prompting a review that may see daily pāua catch limits slashed.Read this story in te reo Māori and English here. / Pānuitia tēnei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ki konei.In December, the Government banned collection of kaimoana along the 70km-stretch between the Herekawe Stream in New Plymouth to ...

'Kāinga Ora need a kick in the butt':

A Palmerston North woman is taking Kāinga Ora to the Disputes Tribunal to recoup costs from dealing with a disruptive neighbour.A woman, who did not want to be identified for safety reasons, has lived next door to a Kāinga Ora property in Westbrook for almost two years and made multiple complaints about the previous tenants’ bad behaviour.She was threatened, had her windows smashed, and there were police call-outs to the house. She started asking for something to be done in October 2021 and ...

The age of the grandparent

The most saccharine song of 1980 was There’s No One Quite Like Grandma, performed by the St Winifred’s School choir from Stockport, England. It shot to the top of the British charts as kids everywhere gave it to granny for Christmas. “Grandma, we love you,” they sang. “Grandma, we do. Though you may be far away, we think of you.”Today, as the once-cherubic choristers start to become grandmas and grandpas themselves, grandparenting has changed dramatically.Two big demographic trends a...

Book a hāngī :

For centuries, Te Pane o Mataoho (Māngere Maunga) has been home to many whānau and hapori (community) who have lived, worked and played on this wāhi taonga (treasured place).Now, a new whānau ātea - family recreation space - at the mountain has opened featuring a bookable community hāngī pit.The hāngī pit is just one of many elements of the ātea at the foot of the maunga, as well as a māra hūpara (Māori playground), basketball court and skate space.Link to article: Book a hāng...

Six60 tune transformed

One of Six60's biggest hits, The Greatest, has been translated into te reo Māori to create the official Te Matatini theme song for 2023.Its lead singer Matiu Walters said the song was the perfect expression of what it meant to perform kapa haka at the highest level."Once it's gone through that filter and translated, it makes a lot of sense, what kapa haka stands for, the process of working and striving and putting yourself in a position to win but also to fail.Link to video and article: Si...

Billionaire Jeff Bezos names superyacht Koru,

Māori cultural experts have come out in support of billionaire Jeff Bezos, who has given his $500 million luxury yacht a Māori name.Yesterday the Herald revealed the Amazon founder, according to AIS on Vesselfinder, had named his boat Koru - meaning new beginnings and continuity.Hundreds of Herald readers also took to our Facebook page, with the majority of Māori and Pākehā also very supportive.The massive yacht is being moved from the primary facilities in Alblasserdam to Rotterdam through...

Pākehā mum praises Māori wardens

A Pākehā mother is praising the selfless aroha of two Māori Wardens who helped calm her son, who is autistic and has Down syndrome, during a public meltdown on an Auckland city street.Heather Ricketts said “the experience of kindness, patience and their ability to connect and see what we needed”, despite the wardens not knowing them, was an emotional experience.In a letter to the NZ Herald editor she wrote: “In a society where compassion is not a value we encourage, it was so nice to ha...

Renovated Auckland theatre

An award-winning play is set to premiere at a renovated theatre designed to showcase Māori talent.Te Pou Theatre, located at the Corban Estate Arts Centre in west Auckland, reopens its doors on March 3 after a $3 million refurbishment.Hemo is Home, the runner-up at the New Zealand Adam Playwriting Awards in 2022, will be the first production staged at the new-look theatre and its biggest show yet.The play was written by actor Tainui Tukiwaho and his five tamariki during the Covid-19 lockdown in...

Third generation of Bennett family becomes organist

There has been a Bennett behind the organ at St Faith’s Anglican Church in Rotorua for more than 80 years of its history.The first was New Zealand’s first Māori bishop, Frederick Augustus Bennett. Bishop Bennett, who arrived in Rotorua in 1905, oversaw the construction of St Faith’s and played organ during church services.His son, Selwyn Bennett, now 90, pressed down on the organ’s keys and pedals every Sunday and at funerals and weddings for 70 years.So when high school student Pererik...

Leading kauri dieback scientists back indigenous knowledge

Leading kauri dieback scientists are backing the use of mātauranga Māori, or indigenous knowledge, in the battle to restore our kaurilands.They say it's been a long journey to get to this point due to resistance and institutional racism from academia and western science. However, the work by rongoā Māori practitioners with the ancient kauri trees suggests a multidisciplinary approach is the best way forward.The future's looking brighter for one new generation of kauri trees. Rongoā Mā...

Māori, Pasifika recognised

Māori and Pacific rangatahi are being encouraged to enter the financial sector, with scholarships and a mentorship programme being provided by a major bank to help them get a foot onto the corporate ladder.ASB has supplied five $2,000 scholarships, alongside a mentoring programme to ensure young Māori and Pacific are recognised within the corporate world.ASB Kaupapa Māori Executive Manager Krissi Holtz says it is an important step in the right direction.Link to video and article: Māori,...

Wāhine-led landscaping company

Milaan Hart, of Ngāti Kahungunu, co-owner of wāhine-led landscaping company Ladies who Lawn, aspires to challenge what employing a landscaping garden company traditionally looks like.From hardscaping and using heavy machinery, right down to providing maintenance, the Auckland-based business opens a door for women into a male-dominated industry through its community-engaged workplace.Hart says education, above-living wage incomes and free childcare are all part of the deal when it comes to supp...

New Year Honour

A couple partly responsible for te reo Māori’s strength in Aotearoa today have been honoured as Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit.Tāwhirimātea (Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Whakatōhea, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Maniapoto) and Kaa Williams (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Maniapoto) are still the backbone of the institute they’ve been running for 22 years – Te Wānanga Takiura o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa.For the whole of their lives, they have been at the front lines of the fight...

Māori Land Court backs trust decision

The Māori Land Court has found trustees who plan to demolish a homestead at the heart of a rift within a South Taranaki whānau properly followed tikanga and its legal duties in making the controversial decision.The Pihama property, which is owned by Te Hanataua Trust, is a five-bedroom, two-level villa, which has a wharepuni, or sleeping house located inside.The interior room has a ceiling and walls lined with reeds, and was used in the recent past as a venue for whānau gatherings and hui.The...

Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson shares Tāme Iti's 2015

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has praised a 2015 talk by Ngai Tūhoe artist and activist Tāme Iti calling it a “beautiful perspective” on the theme of “mana”.The Rock shared a clip of Iti’s Ted X Auckland talk with his 357 million Instagram followers on Saturday.“You often hear me speak of mana and the power of our mana,” Johnson wrote in a caption to the clip.“Give a listen to @tame_iti of New Zealand here and his beautiful perspective on what mana is... In mana we are all equa...

B.C. Association of Social Workers

The B.C. Association of Social Workers is calling for the province to make registering with the regulatory college mandatory for all social workers in the province.Right now it is voluntary for many, including those who are employed by the provincial Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) or the federal government.“It’s a public safety issue,” said Michael Crawford, the president of the B.C. Association of Social Workers.“When people are seeking help and they sit down in fron...

'I'm still a social worker'

Arihia Bennett (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi) has been the chief executive of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu since 2012. Here she reflects on her work and her life, as told to Kevin Norquay.Being in this role, one needs to come with some capability, and it’s the fusion of heart and head that really matters when you are leading a whānau of more than 78,000 members – especially when the end goal is all about intergenerational wellbeing.As a child I was one of five tamariki and then later as a...

Mātauranga Māori on display

Karanga and mihi were on display at the Bleach Festival on the Gold Coast where thousands gathered to experience the 16-day event.The festival provides locals and visitors a range of events and art displays including live music, pop-up art installations, exhibitions, outdoor film programmes, street parties and theatre.Hine Ipurangi (Ngāti Kahugnunu) represented Ngāi Māori and performed alongside tangata whenua.Link to article: Mātauranga Māori on display at Gold Coast’s Bleach Festiv...

Dismissed youth worker wins 'record' settlement of $100k,

A youth worker who was wrongly dismissed from a Christchurch detention centre and will receive a “record” financial settlement should have been better supported by Oranga Tamariki, says the union that helped him win his appeal.Stephen Baillie was fired from Rolleston’s Te Puna Wai o Tuhinapo Youth Justice Residence in September 2021 after it was alleged he behaved aggressively towards a resident, including raising a fist and unnecessarily restraining the young person.His claim for unfair d...

Little progress

There appears to have been little or no progress on setting up a specialised Māori birthing unit in Hawke's Bay, a key recommendation of a critical review into racial discrimination in the region's maternity services.A review into how Hawke's Bay Hospital treats Māori whānau in maternity care was commissioned after concerns were raised over the hospital's treatment of Māori, following a highly publicised uplift of a child in 2019.The review was released publicly in June.Some whānau said the...

How people and businesses incorporate maramataka Māori

The Tohunga Suppression Act of 1907 forced it underground, but now it's back and thriving and it's open to Māori and non-Māori alike.One of the most popular strands is maramataka Māori. It's best known as the Māori lunar calendar and is essentially an environmental calendar.Individuals and businesses are incorporating it into their daily lives to better connect with their environment and plan ahead for the days that are better suited for certain activities.Mother of twins Ayla Hoeta is one o...

Anthony Hopkins celebrates 47 years

Anthony Hopkins celebrated a big milestone on Thursday as marked 47 years of sobriety. The Oscar-winning actor reflected on his battle with alcoholism in an inspiring video message and urged people to seek help if they are struggling. Hopkins, who turns 85 on Saturday, said getting sober saved his life."I'm celebrating 47 years today of sobriety," the acclaimed actor began. "This is a message not meant to be heavy, but I hope helpful. I am a recovering alcoholic. And to you out there — I know ...

Earthworks allegedly destroy

It’s one of Te Hiku o Te Ika’s [the Far North] most significant pā sites, but thanks to recent earthworks, it has now allegedly been destroyed.Just over two years ago, Valentina Trustees Ltd purchased 70 hectares of land (stretching from the Hihi Peninsula to the west of Taemaro) containing the historical, cultural, political and spiritually significant Puketakahia Pā kainga site on Maunga [Mount] Whakaangi in Takerau Bay.The maunga is said to hold more than 136 Māori sites of significanc...

University Of Auckland Professor’s Research

A professor of philosophy in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Auckland, Dr Mulgan is the 2022 recipient of the Humanities Aronui Medal from the Royal Society Te Apārangi.He says thinking about how we can extend current ethical thinking, which focuses on what we owe to one another, to cover the many new ways in which we can influence the lives of future people involves “fascinating philosophical puzzles” driven by the fact that the very existence and identity of future people depend ...

ISS captures Te Waipounamu

The ISS captures a glorious and virtually cloud-free view of Te Waipounamu/South Island from the west coast. Video / ISS AboveLink to video: ISS captures Te Waipounamu from above - NZ Herald...