A POLITICAL PARABLE

My mokopuna brought me a fistful of freesia plants this morning from his mum’s garden. No. Not freesia flowers. Whole plants, with bunches of flowers attached.

I didn’t have the heart to growl him, but I showed him how, in future, he must use two hands to pick these particular flowers – one to anchor their stem at the bottom, the other to break it. Then we went home and planted the sweet-smelling remains in pots.

If ever there was an object lesson in how hope works, it’s a child planting spring bulbs when they should have been in the ground months before. Hei aha. My mokopuna had no time for that, or any other, inconvenient fact – like, those bulbs had already well and truly sprung. Unlike the fragile freesias he’d so easily uprooted, his hope sprang deep and tough – just like him.

I think there’s more than a little of that same strong feeling in the hearts of most people who allow their name to go forward for elections to public office.

Even allowing for whakahihi (overweening pride) and muru (vengeance), is it not hope that motivates the candidate who, having spent yonks trashing a Council or Board, now wants to lead or be part of it?

And what stronger urge than hope impels the incumbent who, all but invisible for their entire time in office, now comes courting our votes again?

Consider the candidate who has crashed and burned in past elections. While ego or eccentricity might be the vehicle, hope is the fuel that allows them to throw their hat in the ring again.

And what induces the candidate with no experience, or the single issue candidate, to stand? Sure, passion and self-belief are probably a large part of their motivational mix. But hope gives them the guts to take the chance.

Hika! Even the solid performing shoo-in, who couldn’t lose if they tried, has hopes for things like less friction, more gratitude, or higher voter turnout.

I’ve made hopeful investments in what turned out to be hopeless causes, and I’ve seen success stories that started as little more than jokers in the pack. I’ve planted seeds in stony ground and even stood for public office. So to all those hopefuls in this year’s local body elections – ratbag or radical, saint or sinner – I salute the lot, and point them to the parable of the freesia.

The scent of this flower, planted as a hope and harbinger of spring, is fantastic. But, sadly, like a lot of exotics, it’s too, too easy to pull out.

Perhaps I should have written about thistles or ragwort instead.

Maybe there’s more to be learnt from a manuka stump. Hei konei. Hei kona.

HE WERO (A CHALLENGE)

Amber Lundy, Britney Abbott, Alice Perkins, Maria Perkins, Cherie Perkins, Cameron Fielding, Krystal Fielding, Coral Burrows.

In this week’s NZ Listener there’s a challenge from well-known New Zealand children’s author, Jenny Hessell. “Try naming,” she writes, “some Pakeha children who have died as a result of child abuse”. Can you think of one? I couldn’t. Yet, of the 88 children killed in New Zealand between 2001 and 2006 by their whanau or caregivers, 48 were Pakeha, 28 were Maori and 12 were some other ethnicity.

Even when I very deliberately went looking for the dead Pakeha children’s names in the New Zealand Herald’s online search engine, all I could find were these eight – Amber, Britney, Alice, Maria, Cherie, Cameron, Krystal and Coral. And after I found their names, I still could not readily recall the faces or the circumstances behind the deaths of these Pakeha children.

Yet I’ll bet, like me, you could chant the names and case histories of many of the Maori dead at the drop of a hat. Try it.

The reason for this is simple. We have all been very deliberately exposed over and over again by the media in this country to a mantra of Maori names while Pakeha names have just as deliberately been ignored.

I’m not excusing or minimising the deaths of Maori children. I am challenging the inherent, unhelpful and unacknowledged racism of those who choose to portray child abuse as a “failure of ethnicity” rather than a “failure of humanity”. And I am joining Ms Hessell’s call for a radical media experiment over the next 12 months, starting with the writers and contributors to this publication, and comprising four simple actions:

1. Every time you publish an article, write an opinion or letter, or broadcast an item on child abuse, remind the public that about twice as many Pakeha as Maori children die each year at the hands of those who are meant to care for them.
2. If you must recite a list of names, take them only from the larger, Pakeha group of victims.
3. Let’s have investigative journalism that asks what it is about European culture that results in them killing their children.
4. Let’s have panels of Pakeha leaders interviewed about what they are doing to address this problem within their own cultural community.

Amber, Britney, Alice, Maria, Cherie, Cameron, Krystal, Coral and at least 40 other Pakeha children deserve that much at least.

Kanui tena i tenei take!

A reminder: this Friday is the last day for candidate nominations to all local bodies and I am hoping like mad that Maori candidates won’t repeat the mistake of standing against each other in the Far North District Council Wards. Hei konei. Hei kona.

KAUA E WAHANGU (DON'T BE SILENT)

Just one week ago Hone Harawira roundly criticized the “cycle of violence” that is brutalizing Maori whanau. "Never mind pointing the bone at anyone else, and never mind the platitudes,” he said, “We have the power to make a difference, we have the numbers.” He then went on to propose all 21 Maori MPs work together, across party lines, to come up with some solid solutions. The response of Labour’s Maori MPs has been faint.

This week Toby Curtis, spokesperson for the whanau of three of those accused of abusing the toddler Nia Glassie, announced that his whanau are going to openly approach and deal with and to other members of their very large whanau whanui who they believe may also be abusers.

Did you know and do you care that both these men had put these ideas out there? Or do you prefer to believe that the whanau of abusers are uncaring and that Hone is using the racist injustices against aboriginals as a red herring to distract from the terrible injustices against our Tamariki?

You know, it’s a largely hard and thankless task being an activist for the under-dog, especially in the face of the prevailing social climate that would prefer everyone sat down and shut up. I dedicate this poem to all those men and women who stand up and speak out.

He Wahine Toa –
Body carved cleanly and curved like a Crown,

Nursery of new life in its cyclical round.

Bold and bodacious,

Groovy and gracious –
Woman
He Tane Toa –
Body braced strongly for the sneaky blow
Sent special D by those you know
Laughing and loud,

Pukana proud –
Man

History's high waves sweep your shores like a song

Smashing rivers of right over rocks of wrong

Shattering spray lifts and drifts away.

Arced through the shimmer hangs a shining hope

God’s promised token like Maui’s strong rope

Sign of a future both sunlit and sure,

Lightening on faces of foes set in frowns

Who flit through the fight in the cloak of the Crown

Greedy and rotten their people forgotten.

Fight those behind them with God-given skill.

Wielding the Word whose power can kill

Sharp as a knife yet offering life

Laughing and loud
Pukana proud
Man
Fight hard and strong and persevere

Fight for a future free of fear

Lovely loquacious
Bold and bodacious
Woman

COME ON

As the oldest child in my whanau I hated hearing, “You must set the example.” I’d sit there thinking rebelliously, “Oh – come on!” But the higher expectations my parents had of me were always offset by the often unearned goodies that came with being first on the scene – like never having to wear older siblings’ hand-me-downs. No matter how hoha I found it, being the matamua both elevated and obligated me.

And the spotlight has gone on Maori leadership again this week for the same reason. Sure, they get to go, do and be things that many of them would not otherwise go, do and be. But, when all else fails, they also get to carry the can. And there’s no more obvious failure than children killed by their own whanau. So yes, right now our leaders are feeling the heat and there’s a lot more at stake than mere hoha. Aroha au ki a ratou, but the mana we vest in them also elevates and obligates them. .

Good on Hone Harawira for putting forward a plan to stop the killing. The Pawarenga aunties say it like this, “Do something! Even if it’s the wrong thing, it’s better than nothing.” But Hone, mate, even if the other twenty Maori MPs agreed to be locked in a room with you – I think the best thing that could happen for the entire country, let alone our babies, would be if only six of you came back out.

You see, I have no time for the majority of Maori MPs who refuse to stand alongside you and say, “There is a connection between stripping Maori of the bulk of our resources and the hopelessness of many of our whanau.” I specially have no time for those who are too lazy or loyal to their party to point out the dotted line between crappy government policies and fractured hapu and iwi.

Come on you Labour party Maori members. Sure, Maori success stories are real and rising. But the gaps between the haves and have nots are frighteningly wider than ever before. And even amongst those who are making it, the edge of the cliff is only as far away as the cuzzie, sis or bro who’s having a tough time. By all means, use your departmental newsletters to celebrate the successes. But don’t take credit for our successes and ignore your failures. For our babies’ sakes, do something. You are not sled dogs. There’s no need to travel in packs following behind your leader. Come to us one at a time and at our behest. Don’t call your own hui and expect us to come to you to be told what your bosses are going to do. Come to our hui and hear what we need you to do.

Come on you National party Maori members. If your first name is not Georgina, then you have not done anything noticeable for your people in parliament.

Come on we who lead our whanau, hapu, iwi and waka alliances, come on. Don’t centralise the power and resources when our whanau can set up their own Komiti, pool and leverage off their own resources and tap directly into whatever resources are out there for them. Don’t just talk about it. Make it happen.

Oh yes. We might hate hearing it. We might get hoha with it. But the fact is we who lead can only remain elevated when we lift those to whom we are obligated. Hei konei. Hei kona.

WHY DO WE DO THE THINGS WE DO?

I’ve been percolating for months on why Maori, as a nation, can’t crack the hard nut issues. Why can’t we stop the murder and abuse of our kids by their whanau? Why are we letting the Crown pimp Papatuanuku to Rio Tinto? Why aren’t we preparing sensibly for peak oil? I think the answers lie in the fact that too often we equate big with powerful, collective with good and individual with bad.

At one extreme our Runanga attract criticism for being flash and powerful, while hapu and whanau are cast as overlooked minnows in the face of runanga clout. Yet at the same time and at another extreme those same whanau are judged to be more important than the individuals inside them. Try telling that to Nia Glassie.

Any way, as one who's engaged in all these structures I say that's so unbalanced as a perspective, it’s useless. Runanga are useful for some things. But the only structure I'll give my blood for is my whanau. How powerless or powerful is that for an individual? In fact I firmly believe Maori strength and health and capacity to deal with the big kaupapa all starts with me as an individual.

It will be the seed planted in every spare piece of ground that’ll secure Maori once peak oil hits. That's why we're going to teach the whanau on this street to do exactly that. That way we'll all get to grow some kai while at the same time sharing some key skills in horticulture, enterprise, literacy, numeracy, parenting and plain social cohesion. I know it's gonna work and when it does we'll take it on to the next street and the next. This mahi has power in it for our whanau simply because it is at the whanau level.When it comes to Rio Tinto sniffing around Taitokerau for gold and anything else it can make a buck off, it will the individuals who convince their whanau and mates to join them and lay their bodies on the land who will stop it being mined.As for the horror of child abuse amongst us, it will be the individuals who are taught and supported to value themselves who will bring it to an end.

I believe the different structures we are using are but stepping stones on the way back to something we already have to go forward under. They are the whanau and marae. Yet we're overlooking them for other structures and mechanisms that will never wrap around our hearts and carry us forward as Maori the way our whanau and marae do.

And I just can't figure out yet why we're doing that.

Kanui tena mo tenei wa.

MONTHLIES

This month is my first anniversary with Te Runanga-a-Iwi-o Ngati Kahu and it’s been fun from day one when I found most of my so-called staff possessed a rough and ready sense of humour. I quickly got used to deleting forwarded emails with subject titles like – ‘50 Ways to Lose Your Job’. I wish! These decreased markedly after I and the Environmental Manager had a heated stoush one day over the fact that he hadn’t sent me his monthly report on time. Finally, I sat him in front of my computer while we jointly scrolled through my email inbox. “See,” I said, “Nothing.” “Try the Deleted Box,” he suggested. And sure enough, there it was – under the title “Monthlies.” Be honest. What was the first thing you thought of when you saw that heading? I’ll bet it wasn’t a monthly report of activities. Funny guy.

Sadly he did a spot of impromptu ice-skating last month during that cold snap we had, and managed to snap some ribs as well as compress a vertebra. Who’d have thought one could find ice to slip on in sunny Tokerau? While our hearts go out to his long-suffering wife (kia kaha Flossy – won’t be too much longer before he’ll be out from under your skin … I mean feet) – Victor’s mishap has left us a bit short-handed with regard to all things environmental. Engari, the work goes on. Here are just a few of a number of take we’ll be talking about out at Karepori marae in Taipa this Saturday where the Runanga hui-a-marama will start at 10 a.m. sharp.

We’re currently handling resource consent applications from Karikari No 2 Ltd and Motutara Beach Holdings Ltd. On top of that the Northland Regional Council’s Draft Navigation Bylaw is open for submissions until August 15th, while the government paper on Bioprospecting is also up for discussion. Bioprospecting is the search for and gathering of material for development of commercial products, and it has big implications for Maori intellectual property rights, traditional knowledge and matauranga Maori. The government is holding a series of consultation hui with the nearest being in Kaikohe on 4th September, and submissions close on 12th October 2007. We’re also prepping a submission to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee on the Treaty of Waitangi (Removal of Conflict of Interest) Amendment Bill. This Bill is a worry because it aims to remove the ability of a serving Judge of the High Court or Maori Land Court to serve as a member or Chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal. That would disqualify Joe Williams, Caryn Wickliffe and others from fulfilling their current roles. Submissions for this one close on August 10th.

We’ve been contacted by Sharkey (Shane) Howell, a member of a group of carvers who go by the name of Wharepuwerewere. Every Easter they hikoi to a predetermined place to carve and leave their work for free at their destination marae. In 2008 they’re searching for a destination marae in the rohe of Ngati Kahu. So kia tere whanau ma. If you want your marae to be the beneficiary of Sharkey and his mates’ mahi – come to Taipa on Saturday and let us know.

Anniversaries are generally a time for review. So here’s my take on the last year’s mahi in a nut shell. To succeed inside this iwi you’ve got to know two things. How to work hard without losing your sense of humour, and how to tell the difference between a written report and the monthlies.

Hei konei. Hei kona.

CAUSES AND CURES

When we got the news last week that we’d passed all the hurdles to get the population portion of Ngati Kahu’s fisheries settlement assets, a favourite song from my Scottish whakapapa popped into my head. It opens with the question,

Oh flower of Scotland, when will we see your like again,
That fought and died for your wee bit hill and glen?
Which stood against him, proud Edward’s army,
And sent him homeward tae think again.

Man – that song could have been written by and for Maori. It came to me again on Saturday when I ran into the Aupouri whanau at the market on their way to a rugby game with Otiria. As I moved along the bench outside the restrooms greeting each one, I saw behind their cheeky grins many other long-gone and sweetly familiar faces from all over Te Hiku O Te Ika. Hemowai Brown and her sister Kahuwhero Nathan, Joe and Lucy Wiki, Mei and John Everitt, Temepara and Kuini Kaaka, John and Hera Brown, Petia Welsh and Amy Tatana, Ngaire Morrison and Paihere Brown, Glass Murray and Mac Matiu, Jeb Brown and Maori Marsden, Simon Snowden and Matiu Rata.

They, and many others, were the grunt behind the Muriwhenua Fisheries claim lodged in 1986 when the Labour government adopted the Quota Management System (QMS) and once again breached Te Tiriti O Waitangi. Eventually our claim went nationwide and a partial settlement covering its commercial aspects was negotiated in 1992. That was the Sealords Deal that also set up the Waitangi Fisheries Commission (Te Ohu Kai Moana) to look after the assets until it could figure out who to give them to and how.

Only now, 21 years later, are Ngati Kuri, Ngaitakoto, Ngati Kahu, Te Aupouri and Te Rarawa, (the five iwi who started it all), nearing some kind of conclusion. In Ngati Kahu we’ll get almost $4 million worth of shares in Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd plus fishing quota and $220,000 cash. We’re still working on getting the coastline portion of our assets, probably in the next month or so.

Was it worth it? It’s my very subjective opinion that in spite of all the shortcomings of how we got here, it’s the duty of us who inherited the cause to make the best of the only cure on offer. I go back to the last lines of that Scottish anthem –

Those days are past now, and in the past they must remain.
But we can still rise now and be the nation again
That stood against him, proud Edward’s army,
And sent him homeward tae think again.

We are the like of those who went before us. E rereke he rakau o te riri, nga tikanga, te whakarangatiratanga o nga whakapapa, me nga wa. Engari, e rite tonu te take.

And congratulations to Aupouri for the win over Otiria on Saturday. That’s awesome whanau. We look forward to the day when all the strands of our whakapapa unite to beat even higher hurdles for even higher honours.

Ka whawhai tonu matou mo ake tonu atu.

THE COLONIZERS' DILEMMA

In 1966 my mum and dad made a tough call. Along with dad's first cousin and his wife, they decided to pull nine children out of Rotokakahi Maori School and send us to Broadwood District High instead. The reason? The roll had dropped to twelve, including the sole teacher's two kids, and they wanted us to contact and experience the wider world into which we would have to move. Result? The school closed and, personally, my world opened – for better and worse.

At Broadwood, with the guidance of a quite young Dan Urlich, I largely met my parents’ hopes and flew. Already an avid reader, writing, art and science became added passions for me. No star on the sport field, I discovered my body was specially fitted to throwing things that I never even knew existed until he put them in front of me. Engari, I met racism for the first time, and got nasty ridicule for holding hands with my brothers and sisters and talking about mummy and daddy. For those who made the mistake of calling me a dirty Pawarenga hori, I probably confirmed every racist stereotype they’d been taught by seriously punching them out. Otira, we were all just kids trying to adapt to the changes foisted on us.

If the fourteen kilometre move from Rotokakahi to Broadwood seemed huge, the move I made three years later to Epsom Girls Grammar School was like - Off The Planet. What a culture shock it must have been for most of my WASP hostel and class mates to have this Catholic, Maori, Hokianga girl move in. Those very differences protected me from the hostel hazing many of my fellow 'turd-formers' suffered, but not from being homesick to the max. I truly thought I was going to die crying some nights. Yet, in spite of the yuck food, strange people and stranger customs in the hostel (who knew a gingernut broken with your elbow could predict how many letters you'd get?), the school presented me with doors which I’d never have known existed if I'd stayed home.

I regret none of the pains and gains from those years of change and can’t help but think about them when I read that the number of Maori living in Australia has increased 27 percent over five years from just under 73,000 to almost 93,000. The increase is attributable to a mix of migration and self-identification, and the mining boom in Western Australia which is drawing many Maori workers. Whatever its reasons, it raises uncomfortable but interesting questions for me as a Maori. Are we shamelessly riding on the backs of someone else’s loss to improve our lot? Or are we merely taking advantage of the opportunities there? Big questions ne? The same questions my folks debated when they effectively closed the local school and sent us out into the big bad / wide world.

I don’t have THE answer, but the experiences of my whanau, hapu and iwi tell me that all things must change, and the only thing we can choose is what and how we will contribute to the process. The Maori choice to colonise another land has been made. How to contribute to it ethically? That’s the tough call.

Hei konei. Hei kona.

HE PIRIPONO O NGATI KAHU

Kia ora koutou ma – just a quick catchup on Ngati Kahu Fest 2008 planning.

Yep yep – it is happening over the Easter weekend next year under the theme “He Piripono O Ngati Kahu.” What does that mean? Many things, but the main concepts centre around people who are bosom friends, whose hearts are bound together in a tight weave of loving friendship. Neat eh? And we’re designing every event to reinforce that sentiment in Ngati Kahu.

A small but energetic team of reps from eight of Te Runanga A Iwi O Ngati Kahu’s fourteen marae members, plus Te Hauora O Te Hiku O Te Ika and Ngati Kahu Social and Health Services have been meeting fortnightly and so far we’ve divided the events between us based on age groups. The programme is still fluid, but some things have started to solidify under age group and day / night categories.

Te Runanga-a-Iwi-o Ngati Kahu are responsible for overall facilitation, funding, administration and communications, while Te Hauora O Te Hiku O Te Ika are organising the hui whakataetae of sporting and physical activities. Other daytime activities include Tupuna Tours running throughout the three days, as well as whakapapa, toi Maori, taa moko, waiata, hip-hop and kai tika workshops. We’ll also have a fishing competition and various stalls and displays running throughout. Then each night we’ll close with a signature celebration. Kenana Marae have put their hands up to run a Mokopuna Idol on the Good Friday. Ngati Kahu Social and Health Services is pulling together a Glamour Night / Fashion Parade to celebrate Ngati Kahu Styles on Easter Saturday, and Te Runanga-a-Iwi-o Ngati Kahu closes the Sunday night with He Piripono Ball to celebrate and honour those couples who have endured 35 years or more together.

There’s still plenty of workshops and events up for grabs by a lead organizer. So if your roopu or marae wants in, then come to the next planning hui on Monday 9th July at … well, if He Korowai Trust doesn’t accept our request to host us, then it’ll be back at Te Runanga-a-Iwi-o Ngati Kahu on Parkdale Crescent.

Riki me koutou ma – sorry for this if I haven’t gotten to you before you read this. I’ve just gotten in from Mangonui where we had a fantabulous planning session and the Social and Health Services up there on Karamea Rd, and I have to get this to the Age two minutes ago. Engari – Ngati Kahu e te tuatahi, e te tuarua me te matamuri. Haere mai nau mai piki mai ki te Piripono o Ngati Kahu.

Aroha mai.

A MAORI PARADIGM

A paradigm is a set of rules, and a paradigm shift is when you change from one set of rules to another. These shifts are always powerful and sometimes painful. If you don’t believe me, consider this slice of history in which you yourself may have taken part.

In 1969 watches “Made in Switzerland” meant top quality while “Made in Japan” was code for cheap and nasty. 10 years later the two nations’ manufacturing reputations had almost completely reversed. Why? The introduction of the quartz watch, invented by the Swiss themselves, had changed the watch paradigm. But Swiss watch manufacturers, stuck in their paradigm of watches with bearings, gears and a mainspring were blinded to the future of a totally electronic and versatile watch that could be a thousand times more accurate. In fact, they were so convinced the quartz watch wouldn’t succeed, that they didn’t even bother to patent it. When it was displayed at the annual watch conference in 1967, the Japanese firm Seiko saw its potential and the rest, as they say, is history.

Turning from the world stage to closer to home, we are experiencing strong and historical paradigm shifts right now. How many of us over twenty knew what Mataariki was when we were growing up? If, like me, you’ve moved in your lifetime from having no or little knowledge to knowing quite a lot about it, then you’ve experienced a paradigm shift. Happy New Year! Of course not everyone is happy with this or other similar shifts.

At this year’s ANZAC Day service in Kaitaia I sat behind an old lady who was all smiles until the head boy at Kaitaia College stood and opened with a tauparapara i te reo Maori, then moved into English for the bulk of his very moving korero. But not before the old lady fumed loudly, “Why can’t they speak English?” Now it was a given, proven by his eloquence within seconds of her complaint, that the Kaitaia College Head Boy could speak English. So who was this ‘they’ the old lady was mad at?

In one of those quantum leaps of empathy that happen between humans it came to me that she was actually mad at the paradigm shift that had happened somewhere between 1945 and 2007. I happen to believe that this particular paradigm will eventually shift to the point where almost everyone will be bilingual and the lingua franca will be Maori. I also suspect that at some future public event I might find myself moaning, “He aha ai kaore taea a ratou kia korero i te reo Maori?!” For that reason I reached toward the old lady and, even though I didn’t actually touch her, I like to think she felt my unspoken thoughts, “Kei te pai tena. I understand. Peace. Be still.”

It’s not easy to be at peace when paradigms are shifting all over the place. And inside an iwi we know that not every shift is as benign as multi-lingualism or Mataariki. Engari we also know they throw up some amazing opportunities. Back to the Swiss. Ask any trend-setting youngster to name the top ten watches today, and somewhere in there you’ll hear the name Swatch. That’s a Swiss watch made with a quartz crystal. Man – those Swiss ain’t dumb, and neither are we.

Engari kia mataara! Kei tënä whanau kei tënä whänau anö te pütake mai o te ora. Ko tätou katoa ngä poito, kia Mataariki te taa i te kupenga, kaua e matararahi! Hei konei. Hei kona.

CORONER HUI ON AGAIN

When the Coroner Hui was postponed last month I got lots of calls from disappointed people. The interest in Te Hiku is very strong and people specially wanted to have the hui before the July 1st roll-out of the new Coroners. Engari the Chief Coroner had a full month of work in June swearing in and orientating all the new Coroners. Since then we have seen the new Taitokerau Coroner announced and I admit to very mixed emotions. The new appointee, Brandt Shortland, comes with an impeccable pedigree. A descendant of Hineamaru, his whanau is well-known throughout Taitokerau, and his reputation as a lawyer is similarly illustrious. We look forward to meeting and working with him. Engari, we are sad to lose the services of Robin Fountain here in the Far North.

I cannot let the moment pass without publicly and personally thanking you Robin, and by extension your colleagues Max Atkins and Heather Ayrton, for being so consistently sensitive, accessible and available to the people of the Far North, not least ki nga Iwi Maori o Te Hiku O Te Ika. When I heard the news I was deeply disappointed that you were not to continue serving us, albeit on a broader front. Your successor has very large shoes to fill and we will do our best to ensure he does so.

Since the hui was postponed we have used the time to shape the programme so that it covers the coronial scene as broadly as possible. One of the things seriously lacking in Taitokerau is a wider approach to mortality review and what might have contributed to the cause of death. Currently the main reports taken into account at an inquest are those of the inquest officer and the pathologist. That means GPs, social workers, mental health workers, teachers, spiritual advisors and a plethora of professionals are rarely (if ever) approached to contribute to an inquest. The result is a heavily forensic view, while a goldmine of data, that could improve prevention and intervention strategies in general, is often left untapped. The Coroner’s office is ideally positioned to lead and deliver such review.

Koutou ma he panui tenei – the Coroner hui is on again. DATE: Friday 20th July. VENUE: Oturu Marae. TIME: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. PROGRAMME: As above. CONTACT: nkceo@xtra.co.nz or call 4083013. The hui programme now consists of brief (10 – 15 minutes) presentations from:
1. The Chief Coroner and / or the newly appointed Taitokerau Coroner on the Act – both letter and spirit.
2. The local inquest officer on how and why inquests are pulled together.
3. A local funeral director on the roles of police contracted FDs and private FDs.
4. A pathologist and / or mortician on autopsy.
5. A kaumatua on the interface between coronial process and tangihanga.
Each presentation will be followed by facilitated questions / discussion to the presenter.
No reira, whakawhetai hoki ki a koe Robin Fountain. Ma te atua e manaaki e tiaki ki a koe i nga wa katoa. Thank you and God bless.

Hei konei. Hei kona.

PARKDALE PROBLEM

In Kaitaia the name Parkdale has become code for Problem in some people’s books. I work on Parkdale Crescent and live on Matthews Ave. Mates and whanau have made their homes on Terry Crescent, Allen Bell Drive, Lake Road me nga tini rore o Brown Town. The half-dressed kids playing on these streets, and the diseased dogs – I know them. I also know that it's real easy to write them, their dogs and their whanau off as problems looking for a place to happen. Specially if your idea of a good whanau is one that has the kids appropriately dressed for the weather, the pets' paperwork all in order and the whole lot playing inside the fence. Of course that's a pretty picture on the surface. Who doesn't buy into it? Well, for starters – I don't.

I remember as a kid my mum being really wild when it got back to her that a cousin-in-law reckoned, "Gloria Herbert's children are little savages. They run around in the rain half-naked!" Hey – it was fun to strip off and stand under the spouting. Closest thing we had to a shower at the time. Given the chance, mum would probably have told us “No.” But we didn't think to go home and ask her first if it was OK. It was the same when we swam in floods, played in slips and roamed the roads of Pawarenga, going to war with each other or the neighbours' kids. And I mean real war with real rocks, punches and kicks, and real bruises and tears. Oh yeah - and there was always some mangy mutt hanging close by too.

Now you couldn’t get a better mum than ours. She wanted nothing but the best for us, hated seeing us with hupe noses, and worried when we came home the worse for wear. Engari, for all her loving care we still caught scabies, brought home cooties, developed tapa feet and suffered more than our fair share of broken bones.

There are people who genuinely don't give a toss about their kids’ wellbeing. But I don’t care to leave it up to CYFS and the Police to take our kids away based on judgments about their dress, location and non-criminal activity. Blinking heck! I cannot imagine what would have happened if anyone had decided to sweep me and my brothers and sisters off the road and into the tender care of Social Welfare because we didn't fit the good whanau template. Actually I'm wrong. I can imagine – and the thought makes me shudder. With one road in and the same road out, it would’ve taken an army.

Parkdale Crescent in 2007 is not much different to Pawarenga in 1957. Some people look at the state of its residents and make judgments. Well, let them. 28 years ago, August 3rd 1979 to be precise, when the Stormies and Police went to war on Moerewa's streets in one of the most violent clashes of this nation's history, who'd have believed that stinky old tuna town would one day be proudly known as Tuna Town? Moerewa and Pawarenga refound their true sources of unity, strength and pride. And so too will Parkdale and its sister streets.

It’s time for me to get back into waka ama and stage my own sweep of these streets. I’m thinking of setting up a club called Nga Tini Rore o Brown Town and making Parkdale Pride its motto. All ages, races, creeds, colours, occupations and genders will be welcome.

Hei konei. Hei kona.

MANAGING THE MANA GERMS

A few years back when I first made it to management, a mate asked me if I knew what most Managers were. Like an idiot I said, "No - what are we?" "Most of you," he said, "are really 'Mana Germs' who work hard to take the credit and give away the blame."

What do you do with that kind of advice? Me – I just stared at him and wondered, "Is he right or is he wrong?" Since then I've figured he's both. As a group, Managers are no different from anybody else. When it comes to voluntary mahi most people find it easy to be humble. But as soon as we feel we've got something to lose – cash, reputation, power, status or whatever – very few of us are immune from the mana germ. In fact some of us never get over it.

So I take my hat off to Chris Hook for his back down over the Cable Bay bridge to mayhem. That whole scene was shaping up to be nothing but a breeding ground for the nasty little blighters, and it took guts to recognise that and change your direction, Chris. In medical circles it’s called recovery, but I know it as repentance. Either way, well done chum. You’ve survived and, hopefully, built up immunity to the germ.

Sadly I don’t see and can’t think of many similar recoveries in recent times. Instead, those who get the bug find ready comfort in numbers. Philip Taito Field is an example. He’s resisting taking his medicine on the grounds that he did nothing wrong. And the main thing shoring up that clearly loopy belief are those who have chosen to back him because he’s a person of standing amongst them. I reckon the higher you stand in a group the more accountable you should be held by that group for what you do and how you do it. Then there’s Rick Ellis of TVNZ who, last week, showed all the signs of a full-blown attack of the mana germs with his sorry excuses to the Maori Affairs Select Committee that his employer is meeting its charter obligations to Maori with a programme mix of Shortland Street, Police-Ten-Seven, Game of Two Halves me nga mea. The feedback to this tells me there’s a mana germ epidemic in this country, and, even if Rick Ellis tried to retract he’s likely get it in the neck from those who reckon Maori are not only well served by TVNZ, but have our own TV station. Well, how about this for an idea? Let's make sure only Maori are allowed to watch MTV and get TVNZ to fulfill its charter obligations to all the other races in this country with the same programme mix Mr Ellis listed. If that happened, do you reckon we’d see a rush of people canceling their SKY subs?

Koutou ma, I’ve made more mistakes in my life than you’ve eaten hot hangi. I know how easy it is to give in to the mana germ. Engari, like most of you, I’ve learned from my mistakes. But the really smart people learn from others’ mistakes. So may I suggest to whoever cut down those pohutukawa trees at Coopers Beach recently – don’t be a mana germ.

Hei konei. Hei kona.

FROM THE LATE MRS GRAVES

We’ve had to postpone the long-awaited Coroner Hui that was set to be held today in Oturu marae because of a death involving the main whanau of the host marae. Deaths and resultant hui postponements go hand in hand inside an iwi. So, instead of tearing my hair out, which was my first instinct when I heard yesterday morning, I’ll use the opportunity to share more information in prep for the hui, when it’s reconvened, by sharing with you an email exchange I had with someone who is interested but doesn’t know much about the issues.

Kia ora Anahera … what are the major concerns and difficulties iwi Mäori have experienced with the current system?

[The issues are], apart from general hostility to the concept of operating on our tupapaku, and the consequent disruption of their tangihanga:
1. Modesty: It doesn’t take much [for pathologists] to maintain body cover, particularly of the genitals, during post mortem.
2. Intrusiveness: Pathologists … don’t have to remove the whole top of the scalp to get at the brain unless it is absolutely necessary. ... Yet in Whangarei this is still standard practice.
3. Liaison with Whanau: Too often pathologists don’t seem comfortable with the living who want to connect with the person operating on their whanaunga.
Regarding the Act, some of the issues are:
1. On the surface it looks like progress that whanau can object to post mortem. But the inability, once an objection has been made, for whanau to rescind it or for the Coroner to over-rule it, until the full time allowed in the Act has lapsed, makes it likely .. [to] cause damaging delays.
2. The Act defines autopsy as “full internal and external examination of the body” … [What will that] mean in practice?
3. … in reducing the numbers of Coroners in the country from 52 down to 15, there will now be only one Coroner in the whole of Taitokerau, instead of the current three. … Will [that person] have a good grasp and experience of local / regional sensitivities and networks? … Because it’s a political appointment, we simply don’t know.

Thank you Anahera. That doesn’t sound good. I have heard ... that the chances of Mäori going to a coroner can be greatly reduced by … being seen by doctors/NGO’s more often … can I ask if you think that assertion is still valid?

The short reply is yes. The long answer is that autopsy is always mandatory when there is no medical doctor willing to sign off on cause of death. … But autopsy is also mandatory for any death which:
1. Is a matter requiring police investigation (accidents, murder, suicide, etc)
2. Takes place while a person is in custody or in care (prison, hospital, etc)
3. Takes place in suspicious circumstances (e.g. during commission of a crime)
I personally don’t believe investigation of cause of death (including autopsy) is inherently against Maori tikanga. Old whakatauki show we were constantly reviewing and learning from past experience. It’s the way in which it’s done and the attitudes of the people who have statutory roles in the process that needs review and change in some places. … Engari if we take better care of ourselves, … then we do reduce the likelihood of having an autopsy when our turn to shuffle off this mortal coil comes.

Koutou ma, the Coroner’s hui will be reconvened as soon as possible.

Hei konei. Hei kona.

EARTH TO IWI INSIDER

What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?—

We who work for the iwi get passionate about things like human rights, biological diversity and economic sustainability. Important stuff, sure – but not always a priority in the everyday world of our whanau. To stay in touch with that world from which we came, we do things like mahi in the marae kitchen where we’re just another working stiff, and the VIP we rubbed shoulders with yesterday doesn’t give us any special privileges today. Or we’ll ring fence our whanau time and do the kohanga reo papa bit, the rippa rugby nanna gig, me nga mea. It’s sobering and refreshing to get that jolt back to earth that only whanau can give. Here are some examples.

A STORM IN A TEASPOON
I remember having my monthly report back from the Runanga to my marae disappear without a ripple as the aunties paused briefly to let its last echo fade before moving on to the real bizzo. “We had 100 teaspoons when this whare kai opened and now we’ve got none. Na wai he tangata tahae!?”

BUGS IN THE BELFRY
Our mokopuna love bugs. Shiny bugs, fat bugs, round bugs, buggy bugs – it doesn’t matter. They indiscriminately love the lot. In fact when our second oldest mokopuna got kutus he proudly and loudly told complete strangers in public places, “I’ve got bugs in my hair!” While I’d be saying with a sick smile and an inward cringe, “Well … you know they’re an occupational hazard in the north,” for him it was a source of wonderment that they had chosen to make his head their habitat. He didn’t care to worry about whether his biological diversity was being upset.

THE ARM OF THE ANGEL
On ANZAC morning, while our kids raced round and over the monument, three mothers sat under the angel in Kaitaia’s Memorial Park sadly looking at the names of those who left to fight in two World Wars and didn’t come home again. We felt sad. Then one of the kids asked, “Where’s the other arm of the angel?” And it’s true. I’ve sat under that angel since I was a kid and can’t remember – did it ever have two arms? Well, if it did, it doesn’t anymore. How could I not know?

TAKE TIME
A century ago W H Davies wrote the poem, “Leisure.” I can’t say it any better.

… A poor life this if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.

Hei konei. Hei kona.

SOMETHING REMARKABLE

When my grandpa Spike died in 1986 he and nanna Alma had happily bickered through fifty eight years of marriage, produced twenty one children, more than seventy grandchildren, close to a hundred great grandchildren and something like eight great-great grandchildren.

Gloria and Jim Herbert presenting the 'Ray and Alma Herbert Sports Memorial Trophy for Team of the Year"

By the time Alma died in 1998, I had personally given up counting. But I’ve never stopped feeling that such durability and fruitfulness is something special – even something remarkable – in these days of shrinking love and expanding self, as described in 2 Timothy 3:1 – 7.

The truth is that my grandparents’ whanau experience is not unique. That’s why, when we had our pilot planning hui for Ngati Kahu Fest 2008 last week, I found myself smiling fondly when the suggestion came up that we should make whanau our focal theme. In spite of the regular horror stories that hit the headlines, this week being no exception, most Maori whanau can only be labeled ‘good’. And even amongst those that wouldn’t win any “Family of the Year” competition, most are just trying to do what’s best, especially for their kids and kaumatua.

That’s what prompted the thinking behind our theme. Put the good up there where it belongs as something precious and delightful for all to see, and let it be a model for copying. As a point of celebration it works.

And, like any carrot, what we hope to see come out of it at an everyday level is consistent teaching and support of whanau so that there’s less and less need for the big stick of castigation.

And you know that there are many sticks with which to beat Maori backs. Our famed collective sense of guilt and shame is real for me. A murder, rape or other headlining crime is reported and I find myself thinking, “Oh please – don’t let it be a Maori.” So, no, we are not succumbing to a Pollyanna syndrome and, yes, we are still in touch with reality. But that reality abounds with more happiness than misery. So excuse us while we smile about that. In fact, come and join us if you’re interested in working hard to spread the reason for smiling around.

Ae ra – Ngati Kahu Fest 2008 is definitely on the front burner and, next Monday 14th, we’re going to officially launch its planning stage with a working hui here at Parkdale Crescent followed by lunch. We’ll meet fortnightly thereafter in a variety of locations around the rohe so that all our workers get a chance to host the planning mahi.

I remember my nanna telling me once that after the sixth child things got a lot easier as the older ones showed the littlies what to do. And that’s one of the main beauties of belonging to a large, prolific and rambunctious whanau. Everyone has something remarkable to contribute.

Hei konei. Hei kona.

IN WHOSE INTERESTS?

I enjoy watching our mokopuna playing together because they are completely honest about their self-interest. Rules are made up, bent and chucked out at will – all to secure a victory. It got to the point recently where the bossiest moko invented a rule that if you won a trick in the card game being played, than you actually lost. The trouble was he couldn’t quite bring himself to lose a trick and ended up crying because, as his cousins gleefully reminded him, according to his own rule, he’d just lost the game. At five he can be forgiven for not knowing the political reality that, whenever a decision is made, someone’s interests are always going to be served. And it’s good that he is learning in childhood that, when the interests being served are his and his alone, then everyone else will probably end up resenting him – a lot.

Not so our local authorities. In whose interest did they make the decision to allow Crystal Waters to build luxury condominiums on the hill overlooking Cable Bay? And whose interests will be served by their decision to allow an overbridge from those condominiums to be built onto the beach?
In spite of evidence that the survey boundaries for the overbridge were wrong, making the Councils’ decision to let it be built legally questionable, this proposal never died when public opposition to it got too intense. It just went behind closed doors along with the developers, the planners, the consultants, the consenting authorities and the law enforcers. Recently they all got together – the Far North District Council, Northland Regional Council, Transit New Zealand, McBreen Jenkins Construction, Crystal Waters Developers and the New Zealand Police met in Council’s Chambers and talked about a construction start date. Some of you may have read in last week’s Tuesday Age a press release giving three working days’ notice that the Far North District Council is hosting a public meeting on this matter today in the Mangonui Hall at 4 p.m. Or maybe you missed it. Te Runanga-a-Iwi-o Ngati Kahu joins the Cable Bay Beach Watch Network in urging you to go to tonight’s meeting.

You know, you’d think that they would have gotten the message from the past opposition to the proposal, including an 8 week 24/7 presence on the beach, that they had better include the local hapu and community in any ongoing process. For sure, however they might spin the answer to the question, “In whose interests did you make these decisions?” it’s a dead cert that not many, if any, of the local Pakeha community, and not one of the local Maori hapu were included in the process by which they reached their decisions.

It almost seems like they have as much understanding as my mokopuna of political realities. Well, I think they are about to gain some enlightenment. Unfortunately there’s not much fun in watching adults re-learn childhood lessons.

IN WHOM CAN WE TRUST?

He Panui Aitua na nga hapu o Te Whanau Moana me Rorohuri e noho atu nei i roto i te ao pouri. Kua mate a Aunty Suzie Reihana.

Last week I made mention of feisty women who speak their minds, and this week I got the really sad news that one of the feistiest of all has gone the way of the world. Throughout her long and lively life, Aunty Suzie Reihana had a strong belief in the afterlife. So I feel sure she herself is not sad to find herself ki muri i te arai. It’s me who’s the sad one. Just as I was getting to know her twinkly, prickly humour – kua haere ia. Promoted. E hika!

This brings me to the new Coroners Act. On Tuesday 22nd May we are hosting a hui at Oturu marae. The Chief Coroner and other key Ministry of Justice officials will be there to explain the differences between the existing Act and the new one that comes into power on July 1st. So, that’s good. But I reckon, though some will want to know what the new Act means, others might simply want the chance to tell their story and be heard. When I mentioned this to Fiona Kale, the Department’s Project Manager who is liaising with me on the hui arrangements, she said that the Chief Coroner will be cool with whatever comes up at the hui. So, that’s even better. E nga iwi katoa, haere mai ki Oturu mo te whakawhiti-korero o te kaupapa tino hohonu nei.

Since the debacle of the FSSB Bill, no piece of proposed legislation has caused as much of a stink as the electoral law reforms put forward by government last week. I had very carefully read Nicky Hager’s meticulously detailed book, ‘The Hollow Men,’ and was already convinced of the need to reform the electoral laws. So, when the government’s proposals came out I carefully read those too.

Question: Given the screaming need to ensure election campaigns are above the corrupt practices that were rife in the last election, how the heck did government get the reform process so wrong? Answer: By making it a unilateral one, and by obsessing over the religious affiliations of seven wealthy men who played a major, if shadowy, role during the last election.

The key issue is not the fact that these characters had affiliations to a particular religion, but that senior National party leaders and they hid their collaborations with each other. Why? Because they wanted to secretly raise and spend more money on the election campaign than they were legally allowed. I think the technical term for that is – buying an election.

The fallout from that gifted this government the chance to make the needed reforms. But, by not making the process as open, independent and transparent as possible, and by making too much of the religious right connections of one group, it has mucked up badly. Meantime the electoral laws are still in need of serious review and reform.

Who can we trust to do it?

Probably not many politicians.

Where are the Aunty Suzie’s when we need ‘em? Moe mai ra e te Whaea ki roto i te ringa o te Matua. Hei konei. Hei kona.

SPEAK THAT I MAY SEE

For hundreds of whanau in Te Hiku, IMB started last Saturday, and we, like countless others, had to make the choice between our kids’ sport and a hui. I went to the hui-a-marama at Kareponia for Te Runanga-a-Iwi o Ngati Kahu while Doug got the hard job (NOT) of going to the Rippa Rugby. Apparently, in his first game ever, our five year old, raised on watching the adult game, failed to connect the concept of ripping a ribbon off opponent’s shorts with the game of ‘rugby’ and tackled everything in sight. He now answers to the name ‘Sin-Bin.’

I went to a hui once where the first guy up said, “Kaore a au e mōhio he aha au i haere mai ai i tenei ra.” Like my mokopuna, he had failed to connect the concept with the outcome, and he too got promptly sin-binned by my feisty karani who stood and told him if he didn’t know why he was there – sit down, listen and learn. Then she did an A-grade job of laying out the issues and kick-starting the whakawhiti-korero. She did the mahi of the Taumata which, traditionally, has been done by men, and is critical to the progress and effectiveness of any hui.

The ideal Taumata has good speakers with good minds and hearts who help clarify the way forward for the people. The best will work together and can offer love as an antidote to hate, counterpoint wrong with right and challenge lies with truth, all the while stitching and mending any tear in the fabric of the hui.

I tenei ao hurihuri the Taumata need solemn wisdom and a wicked sense of humour, topped with some life experience. So, when the scarcity of men who can man the Taumata came up on Saturday, Te Runanga-a-Iwi o Ngati Kahu delegates talked about the pros and cons of teaching our boys to do it. How to protect them from being gored in the cut and thrust of the task at hand? How to ensure they enjoy their childhood before being asked to take on a man’s work? They talked about the pros and cons of women doing it, with lively recollections of Muriwai Popata who spoke whenever she wished because the only thing she cared about was whether or not the talk was walked. Are today’s women as strong? Are we prepared to take on other traditionally male roles? Will we butcher the beast, collect the kai moana and cook the hangi? Are we prepared to see a man take on our role of kai karanga?

You know, I hate weekend hui because they chew up precious whanau time. So when I do have to sit through one it at least helps when the quality of the korero is as good as what went down last Saturday. Regardless of who we think should be on the Taumata, we all have a right to expect quality from it. We can take a leaf from my forthright karani and sin-bin the wafflers. Or, if we are of gentler persuasion, we should at least take them aside and help them get up to scratch. And if there is a woman or a younger man there who can do a better job, then just do it – please.

Speak that we may all see.

Hei konei. Hei kona.

REDEMPTION SONG

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery,
None but ourselves can free our mind.”

In 1979, when Bob Marley sang his iconic number, Redemption Song, he struck a chord in Maori hearts and minds that resonates to this day.

“’Ow long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look?
Some say it’s just a part of it,
We’ve got to fulfil da book.”

I always think of and play this sing every Easter weekend when, throughout the country, whanau gather from all over the motu to countless rural marae for the uniquely Maori unveiling ceremony known as He Hura Kohatu. 

With a similar programme to the day of burial it allows us to once more publicly share our sorrow, while at the same time releasing us from all future obligations to our whanaunga, other than quiet remembrance. 

In 2007, my whanau was amongst those who gathered for Hura Kohatu.

Death is always sad, but for those of us who have lost loved ones to whakamomori, it can also be really, really destructive. For me it was like a nuclear bomb going off. Years later the fallout continues and so does the hurt in a way that no other death has. 

With respect and tenderness I offer these personal insights to anyone who is being touched right now by suicidal feelings or acts. 

First, hope is the one thing everyone needs to be scripted for. How different things would have been if my brother had found a ‘hope script.’ But here we are, and if we've learned anything from the distress of his suicide it's exactly that. Hope is paramount. 

Second, consider this statement: - "If I start piling weights on your shoulders, you're going to eventually collapse ... no matter how much you want to remain standing. Willpower has nothing to do with it." 

Third, here’s another statement to think about: - “Suicide is not a choice; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain.” 

You're not a bad person, or crazy, or weak, or flawed, if you feel suicidal. I mean, sure at any given time, you might feel you are any or all of those things. Please believe me, you are not. You simply are having more pain than you can cope with at that time.

BUT (praise God) I am here to also tell you that suicidal feelings can be survived when you find ways to reduce the pain and increase the coping resources.

“But our ‘and was made strong,
By the ‘and of the almighty.
We flowered in this generation,
Tri-umph-ant-ly.”

Help is waiting for you right now. It’s only a phone call or a prayer away.

Taku tuakana, Bo, I will always miss you. But I know that in a way you are closer than ever to the comfort, hope and charity made possible by He who redeemed the world during that first Easter season - our big brother Jesus Christ.  I love you my brother.

“Won’t you ‘elp to sing,
Dese songs of freedom?
‘Cos all I ever ‘ave
Redemption songs.”

THE WAY OF JOY

At every Te Runanga A Iwi O Ngati Kahu hui, a recurring theme and dream I hear is - let's hold a regular Ngati Kahu Festival and celebrate.

Even though the treaty claims are not yet settled, and some people are not always nice to us, joy is a much more welcome and healthier emotion than misery, and there are some seriously choice things for this iwi to celebrate - not least that we are still here. In fact when I look at our runanga and its members I am reminded of a sign that the Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley reported seeing hung by a rusty staple to a rundown barbed-wire fence in Texas. It read:

Burned out by drought

Drowned out by flud waters,

Et out by jackrabbits,

Sold out by sheriff,

Still here!

The biggest reasons to celebrate are our people. We feel justifiable pride at the continued emergence of youth like Rangi Moses (2003 Maori Sports Scholar) who will continue to shine in the academic arena, long after her feats in the sporting world have passed. We claim with pride seasoned men of strength and achievement like Hekenukumai Busby (master waka builder) and Eric Rush (double international in rugby union and sevens). And we applaud our women leaders like June McCabe and Dr Robyn Manuel.

Another cause for celebration is our influence and presence on the geography, history and demography of the Far North in our marae, maunga, awa and moana. Place names like Mangonui, Taipa, Puwheke, Rangiputa, Karikari, Oturu, Kenana, Te Paatu, Takahue, Mangataiore, Waiaua, Waiari, Toatoa, Parapara, Kohumaru, Oruru, Kareponia, Peria - these and so many others bear on-going witness to us as descendants of Kahutianui and Parata.

Then there are those things that we do that make it simply cool to be Ngati Kahu. Fishing, pig hunting, kapa haka, fishing, purakau, fishing ... you get the picture.

So, at the urging of ourselves, we are going to hld a big hooley in 2008 and celebrate. The organising sub-committee is being formed now, and if you want in on it, you can contact us on 408-3013, nkceo@xtra.co.nz or www.ngatikahu.com

On the other hand, if you think it can't be done, kei te pai tena. But please don't get in our way while we do it.

To paraphrase peace worker Doris (Granny D) Haddocks

- this is great work. Aren't we joyful for this moment, when all is at stake? We are, we are, and do not stand in the way of our joy. For what is life, if not a theatre of the soul where we might take our part for good or ill? What better thing do we have to do in these months ahead than prepare to celebrate? We will, we will, and do not stand in the way of our joy.

Hei konei. Hei kona.

MAORI POLITICS

In 1993 Ross Himiona, wrote, “Maori politics are practiced with great gusto, much noise, good humour, and sometimes too with considerable acrimony, … by the wise and respected, … by the not-so-wise, by the manipulators, numbers men and power brokers, behind doors and in dark corners; … by our womenfolk quietly getting on with the real business while the men prance and bluster; just like the other variety.”

The big difference of course is that the other variety doesn’t have to first convince its constituency to vote. That’s the dual challenge for Maori in this year’s local body elections; convince Pakeha that it’s in their interests to vote for you, and Maori that it’s in their interests to vote – period.

You’d be smart to run as part of a slate of candidates who are known to be good listeners, harder workers and champion communicators. And you’d be smarter still to avoid the killer mistakes that put paid to Maori success in the past. First, don’t stand Maori against each other. In 2004 three Pakeha and four Maori competed for two seats in the Western Ward. Result? Two Pakeha won. Second, don’t let mana get in the way of eliminating weak wannabe candidates. If someone can’t attract Pakeha support and excite Maori participation, do everyone a favour and cut them. Third, while you should talk to them, avoid public endorsements for your campaign by any organisation. Electoral laws on campaign spending aside, they can lose you more votes than they’re worth. Finally, don’t run with Maori only nominees or so-called Maori issues. Pick people with character and ability who understand that every issue is of interest to Maori.

Some independent candidates will likely get in, regardless of anything you do. Look at who amongst them might make attractive allies on Council, but don’t get too bogged down trying to win them over pre-election. The same goes for the Mayoralty. Run your own strong candidate before thinking about how you might work with an independent.

You should already have a hard-charging campaign team on the ground to raise the money, run the strategies and close the connections between you and the voters. Engari, the Maori Party showed that, even at very short notice, it can still be done successfully.

Policy statements haven’t played an important part in past local body elections up this way. But this year, if you’ve got a strong slate, a heavyweight Mayoral contender, an ace campaign team and key alliances, then a policy platform that tells voters clearly what to expect from you would be nothing but a plus.

If you can pull it all together in the next few weeks, you’ve got a fighting chance to overcome the dual challenge of conservative Pakeha and disengaged Maori voters, although, from my point of view, the real political challenge facing this entire country is how to make the Maori political process part of the mainstream.

So, how do you convince a Pakeha to vote for a Maori? The same way you convince a Maori to vote. Put your head down and bum up, than go kanohi ki te kanohi and door to door for every vote.

Hei konei. Hei kona.

WHAT'S THE BUZZ

This weekend I attended two quite different but equally invigorating events. Friday night I went up to the powhiri at Parapara marae, the venue for the long-awaited Tangaroa me ana Tamariki hui, and was blown away by a couple of things. First the Pakeha there almost outnumbered Maori. Second, as soon as manuhiri arrived they went into the whare kai to help get the evening meal ready. That told me straight away this was going to be a hui where a number of different groups would work together practically and get to know something about what made the others tick.
This hui came out of korero between the workers of the Doubtless Bay Marine Protection Group, Te Whakaminenga, the Department of Conservation and Te Runanga-a-Iwi-o Ngati Kahu. Now, you couldn’t get a more motley crew if you tried. But they took their shared sense of caring for the sea and everything in it, and they carried on talking to each other. The result was the hui – a bridge if you like. For the sake of Tangaroa me ana Tamariki, me nga iwi katoa, I hope it’s one that will get used and extended often.

Sunday, our whanau joined the throngs down at the local pool to celebrate Children’s Day. There was a good buzz happening right from the off with free sausages and cold water being served on demand plus plenty of cool handouts promoting the love and protection of our Tamariki. When the giant inflatable train / obstacle thingy was floated, the buzz deepened. Moving amongst the myriads of ages, shapes, genders, sizes, races and creeds packed around and in the pool I felt the moment when that buzz shifted from good to primo.

Nah - this is really a pool in China. Look relaxing to you?

Spacifix is a West Auckland hip-hop band who started as a school group three years ago, write and record their own songs, tour extensively and have a TV series. Fresh back from Los Angeles they turned up at Kaitaia on Sunday.

Love that Hair. These guys had energy to spare.

What a coup for the organizers, and what a frisson for the crowd. Yep. Their arrival onstage definitely marked the moment that Children’s Day went primo. And don’t ever believe hip-hop is only for brown boys. Because, quite frankly, this fifty year old nanna reckons we could do with way more events like this one in our town. And, judging by the way he rocked his five month old to sleep bopping to the beat, at least one young Pakeha dad would agree. Way to go REAP, Whakawhitiora Pai, Te Hiku Media and everyone else responsible. More please.

To close – last week Trevor Mallard and Mark Burton (Ministers of State-Owned Enterprises and Treaty Settlements respectively) opted for a common-sense month long moratorium on Landcorp sales while they review the ‘policies’ involved. We’re not out of the woods yet regarding Rangiputa, but we have every base covered and will do everything we can to help the Ministers in their review. If you’re interested in knowing more you’re always welcome to phone or call in to our Parkdale Crescent office any time. Or come to the Runanga hui-a-marama on Saturday 31st at Kareponia marae.

Hei konei. Hei kona.