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Minister and CEO of Oranga Tamariki told to step down

Prominent Māori wahine have again called for the chief executive and minister of Oranga Tamariki to step down.This comes despite the decrease in the number of Māori children going into state care over the past nine months.Link to video: https://www.teaomaori.news/minister-and-ceo-oranga-tamariki-told-step-down...

SWRB: Scope of Practice

Photo (left to right) Diane Garrett RSW, Principal Policy Advisor SWRB, Paul’e Ruwhiu RSW, Lecturer Massey University Auckland; Kieran O’Donoghue RSW, Associate Professor Massey University; Graham Warren Kaumatua SWRB; Shannon Pakura RSW, SWRB Chair & Māori Service Development Manager Barnardos; Sally Dalhousie RSW, COO The Fono and ANZASW Vice President; Rose Henderson RSW, SWRB Board member, Director of Allied Health Canterbury DHB; Lucy Sandford-Reed CEO ANZASW; Sharyn Roberts RSW, ANZAS...

The brave new world of Oranga Tamariki

Last week Newsroom revealed details around Oranga Tamariki CEO Grainne Moss’ sudden exit from her previous role at Bupa and asked how, within months of receiving a payout, she had managed to secure a top job in the public service.Influential Māori leaders have been calling for her resignation for more than a year, with the heat turned up again this month after the release of the Children’s Commissioner report into the agency’s uplift practices.In the second part of this inv...

Māori astronomer Professor Rangi Matamua wins top science award

Professor Rangi Matamua was awarded the top communication prize at the Prime Minister's Science Awards on Tuesday.Matamua said his interest in celestial knowledge begun when he first went to university and was gifted a 400-page manuscript written by his ancestors, which included hundreds of Māori names for the stars, from his grandfather."Before he died he said, 'look that manuscript and what you've been doing - don't let the manuscript go, it's an heirloom - but the knowledge within, you need ...

Advocates say Oranga Tamariki isn't doing enough to support Māori children

Oranga Tamariki says there has been a major drop in the number of Māori children entering state care in the past year.Wednesday marks one year since the Ministry for Children introduced new laws to improve outcomes for Māori.But lawyers and whānau advocates say from where they're standing not a lot has changed. Manukau barrister Kingi Snelgar comes face-to-face with Oranga Tamariki regularly, as he defends rangatahi who get into trouble with the law.It's a role he's been carrying out for...

Opinion: Why I don't want compulsory te reo Māori in schools

OPINION: I attended Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata, a school that embraced te reo Māori and celebrated being Māori. When I moved to an English medium school, Māori was an option, and I continued with Māori as a subject until I left in year 13. Reo Māori featured in my University study, alongside Kura Reo and Te Panekiretanga o te Reo (The Institute of Excellence in Te Reo Māori) which consumed significant chunks of holidays and weekends. I currently work in the te reo Māori space. I hav...

'Nothing's changed':

Four years on since the March for Moko and protestors say there's been no improvement in our child abuse figures in New Zealand.Moko Rangitoheriri died in 2015 from injuries caused by abuse.Now, there are fresh calls for change and for Oranga Tamariki to meet families half-way.On Sunday activists marched through the streets of Lower Hutt with children in tow, calling for an end to child abuse and paying tribute to kids who have lost their lives. One of them was Moko Rangitoheriri, the three...

Colonial feel to Māori media plan

Crown options for Māori media have a colonial “feel and smell” to them, writes the University of Auckland's Dr Claire Charters Are the Government’s Options for Māori Media unconstitutional, contrary to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, international Indigenous peoples’ rights and human rights? Does the Government even know?Hon Nanaia Mahuta’s recent publication of shift options for Māori media, Te Ao Pāpāho Māori: He Ara Hou, has attracted strong criticism from, well, much of Māori med...

Ire over lack of Māori academics in Māori research projects

Māori academics are questioning how a government-funded research body selected five projects that met with its goal of promoting Māori knowledge, yet none of them are led by tangata whenua.Science for Technological Innovation has given $200,000 to 15 researchers in this year's seed funding round, which allows them to develop their own high-risk and technically complex projects.Five of those funded come under the Vision Mātauranga criteria, a government research funding strategy to bring Māor...

Beauty industry racism criticisms prompt changes

A consultant whose firm educates companies on diversity and culture is calling on brands and consumers to re-consider selling and buying products with racist overtones.Conversations about racism are shaking up the fashion and beauty industry in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, with companies vowing to make changes to branding and products after the death of US man George Floyd.Food companies are also reconsidering their branding in response to criticism over racism.Ludo Consulti...

Waikato iwi look to block Auckland water grab

Waikato iwi want to block Auckland Council's bid to more than double the city's daily water grab from the Waikato River.Auckland's mayor has asked the Environment Select Committee to add the consent to the list of 11 fast-tracked projects on the Covid-19 Recovery Bill.But those responsible for protecting the river say Auckland's drought crisis is nothing to do with Covid-19.The existing consent request was made in 2013 and remains at 106th in the queue.Waikato-Tainui says the fast-trac...

'I've been involved since the beginning':

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is rejecting "inaccurate" claims that a deal is imminent over the disputed Ihumātao land and that she only recently became involved.Multiple reports have alleged a decision about the future of the south Auckland land is near with a resolution deadline of June 30, and that the Government is planning to acquire it under the Housing Act at a cost of $30 million.But the Prime Minister on Tuesday morning would not confirm the claims, and said some of the reporting she h...

Schools want to revitalise te reo Māori through education - report

A new report by the Education Review Office (ERO), called Te Tamata Huaroa, has found there is a strong desire in schools to revitalise te reo Māori through education.The agency spoke with teachers and school leaders in 102 primary and secondary schools.The majority of schools it spoke to have a positive view of teaching te reo in classrooms and felt an ethical responsibility to the language, some going as far as to include it in their strategic goals.A focus on complex learning such as grammat...

Publication: Aroha Knows

Aroha knows that nature is there for you and for me. Spending time out in nature makes her feel all kinds of wonderful emotions. Throughout Aroha Knows, Aroha and her friends experience our amazing world and this picture book explores how it can benefit our wellbeing.From the creators of bestselling Aroha’s Way and Let It Go, Aroha Knows encourages children to feel connected to and find meaning in nature.With every copy of Aroha Knows sold, Wildling Book...

'We cannot wipe away our colonial past':

Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy is calling for a wider understanding of history in New Zealand as the debate continues over whether to remove colonial statues.The Black Lives Matter movement has sparked calls to take down colonial and slave trader statues around the world. The movement reemerged after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a US police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes.In the wake of Floyd's death, demonstrators have toppled statues with controv...

Mihi Forbes: This will silence Māori media voices

and will further marginalise the Māori voice, writes journalist Mihingarangi Forbes.Those of us who live and work in te ao Māori have clocked up more than a few hours on wooden bench seats on windswept marae, pulling our coats close and hanging on every word, every thrust and parry of argument, as speakers duel in the realm of Tūmatauenga.When it’s done well, whaikōrero on the marae takes an issue and examines it from all sides. Each speaker builds on the speech before. Watching a great ka...

Iwi walks away from Taranaki Crossing project

after being forced to use the Official Information Act to find out where millions of taxpayers money is being spent.Kaiarataki of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, said the iwi waited several months and had to appeal directly at ministerial level before 122 pages of heavily-redacted documents were released to it - and she said it was still none the wiser about how the money is being used.The Taranaki Crossing - formerly known as the Pouakai Crossing - has been promoted as an al...

Autonomy the solution to Māori health - Janice Kuka

Not ambitious or empowering enough - that's a Māori health advisor's diagnosis of a new government report into revamping the health system.The report recommends setting up a new independent Māori health authority that would advise the Health Minister on eradicating inequality in the system, identifying problems, developing and testing solutions.But as it stands, the authority would then work with another new agency - Health NZ and DHBs - when it came to commissioning kaupapa Māori services.Ja...

Netsafe: Keep It Real Online

As tangata whenua and as an Association we are aware that during Lockdown and even post Lockdown, the internet, social media and gaming may have gained even more importance and therefore we are urging practitioners to work with schools, tamariki and whanau to keep everyone safe.Check this website out for really useful information, to report any concerns and to access resources:https://www.netsafe.org.nz/...

Oranga Tamariki social workers' te ao Māori knowledge questioned

There are concerns that universities are churning out social workers who have not been taught the skills to work well with Māori.Last week, Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft released a report revealing harrowing stories of Māori mothers experiences with social workers in the state care system.The report was looking at how to keep Māori babies in the care of their whānau, as data showed Māori newborns were five times more likely to be taken in care than non-Māori.Judge ...

Kidnapped, ripped from the arms of their loved ones and forced into back-breaking labour:

Tens of thousands of Pacific Islander slaves were ripped from their families and forced into back-breaking labour on sugar farms across Australia, in direct opposition to controversial remarks made by Scott Morrison.The prime minister sparked outrage on last Thursday by claiming there was no slavery in Australia, despite historians widely documenting the fate of the slaves - called Kanakas. Edmund Barton, Australia's first prime minister, even admitted in a speech in 1901 that Kanaka people...

Parent wants Marist College to meet with families over racism

A parent at Marist College in Auckland say the school needs to meet with families and address accusations of racism at the school.About 30 students and some of their parents protested outside Marist College in Auckland after Black Lives Matter posters were taken down at the school. Photo: RNZ / Gill Bonnett Students say there has been no apology for how the school dealt with Black Lives Matters protests there.About 30 students and some of their parents protested outside the Auckland sc...

Fears the future of Te Karere Māori news is on the line

The future of the flagship Māori news show Te Karere is on the line as the government proposes to create a single Māori news service run by Māori Television.The Government this week released its much-anticipated proposals for a major Māori media shake-up, Te Ao Pāpāho Māori, but some of the plans have come as a shock to the industry.The project covers Māori broadcasting funding agency Te Māngai Pāho, Māori Television and Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori, which represents 20 ...

Armed response to Māori children 'absolutely appalling'

for attending call outs to deal with children as young as 12 while they were in action.The controversial teams were officially scrapped this week, but data shows the armed units were called out to several incidents involving children during the six-month trial.The Police Armed Response Team dealt with eight, mostly Māori, 12-year-olds.Armed officers dealt with six incidents involving a total of eight 12-year-olds - seven of whom were Māori. The other 12-year-old's ethnicity was reported "unk...

Publication: 'Aroha'

Ki te kotahi te kakaho ka whati, ki te kapuia, e kore e whati When we stand alone we are vulnerable but together we are unbreakable See the world differently, through some of the wisest of human eyes. Discover traditional Maori philosophy through 52 whakatauki - simple, powerful life lessons, one for every week. Each one is retold by respected Maori psychiatrist Dr Hinemoa Elder to show how we can live a less stressful daily life, with more contentment and kindness for each other and the planet....