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Māori doctors address the issue of vaccine hesitancy

Days before the first Covid-19 vaccinations are expected to begin, three Māori health experts have answered questions about the vaccine and why some people feel anxious about immunisation.They spoke to Moana Maniapoto the host of Māori TV’s current affairs show, Te Ao with Moana.Clinical immunologists Maia Brewerton and Anthony Jordan, as well as GP Rawiri Jansen, agreed that Māori have suffered in the past, and they understand why some may be vaccine hesitant, but said vaccines d...

Tony Kemp:

Kia ora, Tony. You and I have got to know each other through radio, TV, and rugby league. But there’s way more to life than broadcasting and footy. And often that can be your nan — which is true in your case, isn’t it?Yeah. I grew up in the north with my nan, Ida Te Ao Tauri. She’d stepped in because my mum (Elizabeth Tauri) needed to take some time out.Still to this day, Mum won’t speak about it. But, when I was a baby, and we were living in Whangārei, I lost two brothers and a s...

Family hits out after young Northland man's death

Liam Ranby, 21, died of a brain aneurysm and cardiac arrest earlier this month just hours after talking to his mum about whether he should get the jab or not.He had been living in Whangārei and working on a berry and kiwifruit farm prior to his collapse at a gym.His mum confirmed he hadn't received the Comirnaty jab, but that hasn't stopped "keyboard warriors" insinuating his death was related to it.It got so bad that Liam's father had to speak about the lies during a eulogy for his son."People...

Why Destiny Church and other New Zealand Pentecostalists

Was anyone surprised when New Zealand's self-made Apostle Brian Tamaki courted controversy and arrest by participating in two anti-lockdown protests in Auckland recently? Or that during one of these events he declared he would rather live in "dangerous freedom than peaceful slavery" and likened the director-general of health to Hitler?This was, after all, the same Brian Tamaki whose Destiny Church followers wanted to reclaim Christchurch "for Jesus" in the immediate...

'Give it a go':

The New Zealand creators behind the reo Māori film are calling for performers from across the motu to audition.The much loved children's animated film first released in 1994 has since become one of the most successful Broadway shows in history.Producer for the film and Oscar nominated film-maker Chelsea Winstanley said like the te reo Māori adaptation of Moana they encourage people from all rohe to take part in hopes of celebrating the many dialects in Aotearoa.She said they are welc...

The young barrister taking on

The fallout from child uplift practices carried out by Oranga Tamariki and signed off by the Family Court continues to be felt in homes and courtrooms throughout the country. But in one extraordinary case, a young lawyer is taking on the power of the Family Court as she attempts to have children returned to their mother.A lawyer who usually represents litigants in matters of money laundering and defences under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act, has stuck a spear right into the heart of the se...

The pou tokomanawa in the whare:

Te reo Māori is everywhere. While that riles up certain types who haunt comments sections and talkback radio, watching Jordyn Rapana reaction posts always gives me a laugh and welcome respite. Scrolling down a bit, I might find a helpful video by Hemi Kelly to help me touch up on my grammar. Thursday nights are often spent on the couch playing Kaupapa by Kura Rēhia with my mates. Te reo pumps out of my car radio as I drive up SH35, listening to ‘Rehurehu’ by&n...

Aue! It’s a new te ao Māori podcast

“Nē” is such a versatile, complex expression. It’s both a statement and a question, which variously means “really?”, “I agree”, “holy shit!” and “huh, I didn’t know that” depending on the tone. To me that sums up the conversations we’ll be having, and the curiosity that drives us.I’m joined by two incredible co-pilots on this project: Te Kuru o te Marama Dewes (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Rangitihi) is a multimedia content creator who films, edits, narrates, translates and ...

The role of Pākehā

I spent the last couple of lockdowns in bubbles with two of my children and their partners who are trying to raise their two-year-old daughters as Māori speakers. And that took me back 40 years to the time their mum, Alison, and I were doing the same for them.I’m a Pākehā who grew up having absolutely no clue about Māori anything. When I enrolled to learn Māori at Victoria University in 1974, I had no idea that Māori was a spoken language — and I still don’t quite know why I took...

Language Matters:

OPINION: A reader has asked us to discuss Māori English. It so happens that Andreea Calude and I were recently asked to write on this for an Encyclopedia of World Englishes.Today I focus on pronunciation. Next week Andreea will cover structure and vocabulary.We cannot discuss Māori English (ME) without first saying what we mean, since it is a term that linguists use but which has relatively little salience in the general population. Early references describe it as English with a Māo...

'Let's go hard': Harawira blasts traffic light framework,

Former Māori Party MP Hone Harawira is censuring New Zealand's new COVID-19 traffic light system that will shortly replace alert levels, saying it's unsatisfactory.Harawira says he has serious concerns about the system, calling it "Delta's nightmare dawn for Māori"."Keep the traffic lights on red, design a level 5 and take Auckland back there, then tighten up the borders," he told Te Ao Māori News. The Government on Friday set a 90 percent COVID-19 vaccination target for each distri...

Massey playwright wins award for original script

A Massey playwright has been awarded for her efforts to expose what happens when Māori and Pākehā worlds collide.Rawinia Parata, of Ngāti Porou and Ngāi Tahu, has been recognised with a Playmarket Brown Ink award for her debut full-length play Our Side of the Fence.The award is given to Māori and Pasifika writers considered to have submitted the best new and original scripts each year.Link to article: Massey playwright wins award for original script showcasing Māori and Pākehā...

Author Keri Opai writes book

Tikanga, an introduction to Te Ao Māori, is a new book by linguist and educator, Keri Opai, which has been released to help beginners understand the Māori world.Author Keri Opai hopes that this book reaches Māori who have been "disenfranchised from their language and culture.”‘I'm hoping that many people look at that and go,` Wow, it's an interesting, fascinating world, I want to be part of that.”"Kia oti a runga, kia oti a raro, ka puta ai, ki waho."'Only when you know yourself, y...

Dame Cindy Kiro

Dame Cindy Kiro has been sworn in as New Zealand's next Governor-General at a ceremony at Parliament.The event, which is the most significant State event since the opening of Parliament last November following the general election, sees Dame Cindy become New Zealand's first wahine Māori Governor-General.Dame Cindy and the Prime Minister entered Parliament's legislative chamber side-by-side ahead of the ceremony. After waiata, a commission from Queen Elizabeth II was read out in both Englis...

Lockdowns led to 'exponential demand for support'

The $626,000 fund will be spread across 13 agencies, and handed out by the Whānau Ora commissioning agency for the south, Te Pūtahitanga o te Waipounamu.The funding would assist within urgent areas calling for more support such as mental health support, kai access, housing and vaccination uptake.Te Pūtahitanga o te Waipounamu chief executive Helen Leahy said whānau were struggling and it was important to find news ways to assist those in need."The opportunity we saw from the funding that cam...

Return to school decision plays 'roulette' with students' health,

An Auckland high school principal says her school will respond to what its kids need, not what Covid-19 announcements direct after the Government’s green light for senior students to return to school next week.Education and Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced on Wednesday that students in years 11, 12 and 13 would return to school on Tuesday, October 26.Hipkins cited the need to bring students back to prepare for their end-of-year exams.Link to article and video: Return to ...

The story of Kāhu -

When demigod Māui brought fire to the world, he did so using trickery, tenacity and cheek, traits that would define his character in Māori mythology.Fire was contained in the fingernails of the goddess of fire, Mahuika, which Māui managed to steal by cunning and deception.Furious at his trickery, Mahuika threw a burning toenail on the ground to set the mountain on fire. Māui changed into the native hawk kāhu to escape the flames but the underside of his wings were singed a glowing red.The k...

'Ah there you are!' Queen holds video call with the new Governor-General of New Zealand, Dame Cindy Kiro,

She welcomed Dame Cindy Kiro, the first indigenous woman appointed to the role, with an exclamation of surprise, as she raised her finger and remarked: 'Ah, there you are ... Good evening.'Dame Cindy, who was speaking from Government House in Wellington, replied: 'Good morning.' The Queen - based at Windsor Castle - smiled and said: 'Oh, of course, it's good morning, isn't it, to you?'Link to article and video: Queen meets the new Governor-General of New Zealand | Daily Mail ...

‘Explosion of ideas’:

When English settlers first arrived in New Zealand, they brought with them pests, diseases and England’s common law. Indigenous Māori already had legal customs in the form of tikanga, a set of rules and principles which governed daily life. But the settlers dismissed Māori as “savages” and tikanga as primitive. As their power grew, so did the common law’s. Eventually, though many Māori still followed tikanga, it was pushed to the legal margins.That is starting to change. In 2020 ...

Te Pūkenga says close ties with Māori

The goal headlines a proposed operating model the institute published today.The model also highlighted partnerships with employers, barrier-free access to courses, and efficient, cost-effective operations.The document said Te Pūkenga would "give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in all that we do", provide exceptional learning experiences and equitable outcomes for Māori, and be learner-centred."We're going to become and are building the organisation to be authentically bicultural," the institute...

Judges being surveyed to boost understanding

It is unclear if the survey results will be made public. (file pic) Photo: RNZ / 123RF It comes after RNZ's Is This Justice revealed nine out of 10 judges in the High Court and Court of Appeal are Pākehā, and most are men.The only information currently collected by the Ministry of Justice about all judges is their gender, ethnicity and age, though Crown Law collects some information about the legal experience of senior court judges immediately prior to being appoi...

New Zealand's violent

Comment: Following the Royal Commission report on the Christchurch terrorist attacks and the New Lynn terrorist attack, there is growing pressure on the Government to roll out new countering violent extremism (CVE) and de-radicalisation initiatives and programmes.Such programmes, it is believed, can divert individuals away from committing future acts of political violence. A recent article, for example, makes a plea for universities to tackle the threat of radicalisation...

For the love

Music has always been my go-to. It’s where I go to seek solace, where I go to be inspired, where I go to express myself. Music is powerful, and music heals.My dad started learning Māori when I was about 10. My grandparents had been of the generation who were punished for speaking Māori in school, so they wanted to spare their own children the indignities of that experience, thinking they’d only need to speak English to get on in life.Dad involved the whole whānau in learning te reo Māori...

Tertiary Education Commission gives institutions 10 years

The Tertiary Education Commission has given universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions 10 years to end persistent disparities between the pass rates of Māori and Pacific students and those of others.It's the third time in the past decade the commission has set a deadline for achieving parity.In 2012 the commission wanted to eradicate disparities in polytechnics by 2015 and in universities by 2018. But that didn't happen. In 2018-19 the commission aimed to achieve parity within f...

High Court grants customary marine title

Customary marine title over a Tauranga estuary has been granted to five iwi and hapū by the High Court.Te Tāhuna o Rangataua is a tidal estuary within 10 minutes’ drive from the Tauranga central business district, and is the easternmost arm of Tauranga Moana (Tauranga Harbour).Justice Grant Powell wrote that there was “evidence of a deep and abiding connection” over several hundred years for the groups granted the title – legal recognition of their relationship with the area.Link to ar...