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Covid-19 coronavirus Delta outbreak:

Shelves at a central Auckland foodbank have been wiped almost bare, with demand up a third on last year's lockdown as the city remains under alert level 4 restrictions for a further two weeks.The Presbyterian Support Northern (PSN) food bank service has boxed 210 food parcels in four days last week, when it normally provides around 150 in a month."Instead of an order once a month, I'm having to place the same order once a week at the moment," said community relationship manager Anne Overton.A sm...

Lockdown isolation difficult for NZ's youth,

It’s the second week of a tough new lockdown, but the way mental health advocate Mike King sees it, the problem this time isn't Covid.It’s the second week of a tough new lockdown, but the way mental health advocate sees it, the problem this time isn't Covid. Source: Sunday Isolation can be brutal, particularly for our young ones, and the risk, he says, is greater than we might think. We track the spread of the outbreak, geographically through our country, and also psychologically in what it�...

Changes urged

An iwi leader who has also been on the Super Fund Board wants to see a more coordinated approach to tackling the inequalities faced by Māori and Pasifika communities in retirement.On the Super Fund Board, Tama Potaka says Māori and Pasifika superannuants are few and far between. Source: Q+A Tama Potaka, the head of Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki, told Q+A’s Our Future/Tō tātou anamata special on superannuation that the system is equal, in the sense that “if you make it to 65 you get the pension”...

South Auckland students

Launched in December 2020, Lālanga delivers health and wellbeing programmes to students at Tamaki, Ōtāhuhu, Māngere and Tangaroa colleges. Founder Lesieli Oliver told Breakfast it is asking people to donate money to help purchase 200 food boxes for the Tamaki College community. It needs $40,000 and any leftover funds will be given to the Pasifika community, she said. The programme had been finding it difficult to engage the students this week and were told this was becaus...

Loading Docs: HAKA haha -

Māori filmmaker Corinna Hunziker was tired of seeing viral videos containing embarrassing renditions of the Ka Mate Haka performed by foreigners for a laugh.Hammed up renditions in recent years include the British Tavistock Day Case Theatre nurses performing a Covid-related version of Ka Mate, and the "#bollyhaka" dancers from the Czech Republic performing a mock haka with painted faces.These and other offensive depictions have been labelled "shockers", creating frustration among Kiwis for the ...

New isolation rules

Last week a new Section 70 notice was brought in under the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act.Now, not only do visitors of locations of interest have to self-isolate pending a day five negative test, their whole household does too.This means visiting food banks is off the table.South Seas Healthcare chief executive Silao Vaisola-Sefo told RNZ in homes where nobody was allowed outside, hungry people faced difficult choices."If they're self-isolating at home for whatever period there is actually ...

School sanctions should be proportionate

OPINION: The recently publicised case of the Auckland student excluded from school for swearing at a teacher in 2019 attracted some public backlash, much of it focusing on the need for kids to respect rules.The Chief Ombudsman overruled the school board, claiming it was incorrect to deem the student’s behaviour as “gross misconduct” warranting permanent expulsion. In this case, the student had told a teacher to “f... off” and “don’t touch my s..t”, when the teacher atte...

Rugby: 'Objectified and commercially exploited'

An English rugby writer says the haka has been 'objectified and commercially exploited' by rugby in a column that asks if the All Blacks' pre-match routine is on borrowed time.The Telegraph's Charles Richardson penned a column on the topic of English team Exeter Chiefs and their Native American branding which has come under scrutiny.The Exeter Chiefs had a review of their name last year which saw the side remove the mascot Big Chief, but retained the Chiefs moniker. Now supporters from rival sid...

All the locations of interest in NZ’s delta

Knowing where and when those infected with delta have been while symptomatic gives those who may have come into contact with them the best shot at protecting themselves and their community. If you have been at any of these locations during the relevant time, you should self-isolate and call Healthline on 0800 358 5453.Locations of interest, mapped, with date they were added Note: The categories Previous, Yesterday and Today indicate when the location information was last updated. Repeat loc...

Victims, survivors of family violence

Victims and survivors of family violence are being urged to seek help, even though the country is in lockdown.Chief Victims Advisor Kim McGregor said the police and other support agencies were essential services, so they continued to operate.Many people and families would be more experiencing more stress at home, McGregor said."Even though we are currently in self-isolation, we still want to hear from you if you, or someone in your bubble is being hurt," she said.If someone is in immediate dange...

Learning the features of verbs

In attempting to learn another language it’s frequently the forms of verbs which present the major difficulties.As has been observed previously in this column, this is much less of a problem with te reo Māori.In te reo the base word used as a verb remains constant regardless of tense, person or number: I haere / au. (“I went.”) E haere ana / rātou. (“They are going.”) Kua haere / a Mere. (“Mary has gone.”)But although the tenses of verbs in te reo are less problematic than in man...

Otago Museum

A te reo Maori name change could be on the cards for Otago Museum.Museum director Dr Ian Griffin said in his report to the Otago Museum Trust board meeting yesterday the museum’s Maori advisory committee would meet mana whenua representatives to consider recommending a Maori name.Dr Griffin said the process was driven by mana whenua not the museum.He did not want to be seen to predetermine anything, or influence a decision.With Toitu and Te Papa as examples, the idea was not an unusual one and...

Tiny New Zealand airport

A tiny regional airport in New Zealand that weaves a Māori story of love and longing into its architecture is in the running for a prestigious design award, up against international heavyweights including New York’s LaGuardia.Unesco’s Prix Versailles recognises architecture that fosters a better interaction between economy and culture, and includes a range of categories from airports to shopping malls. The finalists for the airport category include the New York LaGuardia upgrade, ...

Inside the community

Homelessness is a difficult subject. Each path to the street is vastly different, each person’s experience is unique.Patrick doesn’t know when exactly he became “a streetie”. It was sometime in his late teenage years, but there is no exact day or moment which pinpoints the moment he became “homeless”.For others, there’s the moment they were kicked out of home. It could be the day they decided to run away. It could be the afternoon they were discharged from hospital, or perhaps when...

Oranga Tamariki chief

Sir Wira Gardiner, the acting chief executive of Oranga Tamariki, has taken a leave of absence for "health reasons".Chappie Te Kani, Oranga Tamariki's acting deputy chief executive for governance and engagement, has taken over as acting chief executive of the department.Gardiner was handpicked by the Government on March 1 to reform the organisation after a series of scandals involving the uplift of Māori babies and mistreatment of children in state care.Link to article: Oranga Tamariki chi...

Iwi stand up to KiwiRail plans

Manawatū-based iwi Ngāti Kauwhata wants to be an equal partner in decisions about KiwiRail’s proposed rail freight development close to Aorangi Marae.Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngāti Kauwhata chairman Dennis Emery told the commissioners hearing KiwiRail’s plans to designate 177 hectares for the freight centre there required adequate consultation before plans were approved.He said iwi did not agree with the site between Palmerston North Airport and Bunnythorpe, and did not want to commit to any condi...

Oranga Tamariki wants girl removed from couple after three years

A traumatised and neglected Māori girl was placed in the care of a Pākehā couple. They have provided her with a safe, healthy, loving environment for nearly three years. No one disputes that the girl, now nearly 6, has received excellent care from the couple.But Oranga Tamariki and the girl's iwi want her removed because they don’t think the couple can meet her cultural needs.Over a recent week in the Family Court in Napier, the circumstances that led to this battle were laid out in painsta...

Tūpuna portraits helping prisoners

Since 2016, through their Behind the Wire - Rangatahi ki Rangatira, the Nordstroms have been taking portraits of men from the Te Ao Marama unit in Waikeria Prison.  As of June 2021, Māori make up 53.1 per cent of the country's prison population.  The Nordstroms also take portraits of people in Māori, Pasifika, Native American and First Nations regalia with their Soldiers Rd Potraits. They have been doing so since 2013. "We recreate images of our people looking like our...

TJ Perenara seeks answers

Hurricanes star TJ Perenara is seeking answers from team management following board member Troy Bowker's disparaging comments towards Sir Ian Taylor, which the All Black says contained "underlying racism''.Bowker accused Taylor of “sucking up to the left Māori loving agenda”, despite the animation entrepreneur's Māori heritage, after the latter posted a response to National Party leader Judith Collins’ backing for a referendum on the use of the name Aotearoa for New Zealand.Bowker, ...

North Waikato school changes name

At the end of this school term, Mercer School will be moving to recognise the schools' new name, Te Paina - which represents the history of the area.The school was named after Captain Mercer who was a captain in the british army and fought and died in the Waikato land wars at Rangiriri.Principal Paula Faitala says a huge amount of personal and professional growth was needed to start the journey.Faitala says she was challenged at the beginning of her role, about four years ago, if she understood ...

MediaWorks hit with $3000 fine for John Banks’

The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) said the on-air exchange between Banks and a caller breached the good taste and decency, and denigration standards. In January, fill-in host Banks came under fire after he agreed with a talkback caller's racist comments. The caller, named Richard, claimed Māori were "stone age people from a stone age culture"."This notion that Māori are victims... they're victims of their own genetic background. They're genetically predisposed to crime,...

Hurricanes 'do not support'

Wellington businessman and Hurricanes board member Troy Bowker has accused animation entrepreneur Sir Ian Taylor of “sucking up to the left Māori loving agenda”, despite Taylor’s Māori heritage.Taylor’s post five days ago was in response to National leader Judith Collins’ backing for a referendum on the use of the name Aotearoa for New Zealand.In his LinkedIn post Taylor, whose firm Animation Research Limited is famous for its America’s Cup and global ...

A kaiako on the year’s best

Pati Hakaria is a kaiako at Te Puāwaitanga, the immersion unit at Birkdale Primary, in Auckland. She shares her own te reo story, and talks about some of the picture books shortlisted for the Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for te reo Māori. Just letting you know, my reo is not formal. It might change as I get older but right now my goal is just to be able to speak at home the language that I speak when I go back to where I’m from, and where my husband’s from – he’s...

Gangs offer prospects up to $20,000 to join

Modern gangs are recruiting new members with "starter packs", a former gang member claims.Wi Turei Waikari, who was a Mongrel Mob member, said in his day a leather jacket and a pair of gumboots was all gang members needed.He told Te Ao with Moana that modern gangs are now using a range of attractions to lure rangatahi into gang life.Link to video and article: Gangs offer prospects up to $20,000 to join - former Mongrel Mob member - NZ Herald...

Mahi a Atua

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