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Government appointment 'best way'

Māori health representatives in Marlborough say government appointed health boards may be the “best way” to get Māori on health boards.The Health and Disability Systems Review, released last month, proposed district health boards be entirely government appointed, rather than having some members locally elected by the public.Iwi Health Board chair Dawn McConnell, who resides in Picton, is in her third term as a ministerial appointment to the Nelson Marlborough District Health Boar...

Te reo Māori names reinstated around

Pukeatua and Dyers Pass, Ōrongomai and Cass Peak, Tapuwaeharuru and Evans Pass – te reo Māori names have been reinstated for 13 places on Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū/Banks Peninsula.The te reo names have been officially restored and have the same legal status as their European equivalents.The changes were proposed by Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke (Rāpaki Rūnanga) to the New Zealand Geographic Board, with Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage formally announcing the changes at Rāpaki Marae on Wed...

Māori, Pacific and Chinese NZers less comfortable

Māori, Pacific and Chinese New Zealanders are less likely than others to feel their values are in alignment with criminal justice system, according to a survey out today.The Ministry of Justice has released its Social Wellbeing and Perceptions of the Criminal Justice System report, which draws on feedback from 8000 people about their experiences and perceptions of crime.Sector deputy secretary Tim Hampton said the views differed depending on people's background."Māori, Chinese and Pacific...

Te reo Māori news more than

OPINION: Did you know that in Aotearoa we have three daily national news services in te reo Māori? Āe, e toru ngā ratonga pūrongo.They’re all funded by the state under various Treaty of Waitangi obligations.On television, there’s Te Karere, the koroua or granddaddy that started on TVNZ in 1983 and Te Ao, produced by Māori Television, itself now 16 years old; both shows are subtitled in English. The third is the reo-only Waatea News, produced since 2004 by Auckland-based urban Māori rad...

Opinion: Explore Tikanga Māori but remember,

By Precious ClarkOPINION: In the 1800s, my seven-times great grandfather Apihai Te Kawau was a bridge between our people and the newly arrived Pākehā. He was one of the forefathers of Auckland City, yet you've probably never heard of him. I invite you to ask yourself, why that is so?He cultivated a relationship with William Hobson, making large areas of Tāmaki Makaurau available for settlement on the understanding that the Government would be established in Auckland, thereby assuring the...

Child protection’s culture of silence

Oranga Tamariki's refusal to acknowledge systemic issues within the organisation is intolerable, writes social worker and social work researcher John DarrochRecently Newsroom published an article based on interviews with practising social workers who described systemic issues within Oranga Tamariki.As a social worker, and post-graduate student conducting research into statutory social work, what Newsroom has reported resonates with my experience and what I have learnt through my o...

‘The tip of the iceberg’

Since publication of Newsroom’s extensive investigation into serious issues at Oranga Tamariki, our inbox has been flooded with stories from more current and former employees. In less than 48 hours after Newsroom’s in-depth inquiry into the children's ministry was published we received a high volume of correspondence from current and former Oranga Tamariki employees and others who interact with the agency. Every one confirms the issues brought to light in our ar...

17-year-old launches book about maramataka Māori

Today Te Wharekura o Rakaumangamanga student Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke launches her new book at her school in Huntly.The book, Maahina, encourages rangatahi to take an interest in the stars and the moon to heal themselves.“I wanted rangatahi Māori to become more aware of the environment and how it can help us physically mentally and emotionally and help us with the everyday things we do in life like studying and NCEA.”The 17-year-old created Maahina about seven months ag...

Waitematā DHB Māori Nurse of the Year announced

Waitematā District Health Board Māori Nurse of the Year Chloe Maeva didn't let a worldwide pandemic, motherhood, study or being pregnant get in the way of her work and commitment to Māori mental health.Maeva was presented with a korowai for the award by the board today during a special ceremony where she was named the latest winner of the Te Kauae Raro Māori nursing and midwifery award.The korowai is passed from winner to winner each year and is highly symbolic of the board's organisational ...

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...