Hapū Join Forces to Manage Environment

Pono Marik a
Issue 39 2014
Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-O-Ngāpuhi Magazine
IN THIS ISSUE
Hapū Join Forces to
Manage Environment
• Tūhoronuku: steeped in history and psyche
• The Dust Hasn’t Settled in Pipiwai
• The Leaders of Tomorrow Gather
Contents
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Pono Marika 2014
Hapū Form Group to Protect Waterways
Tūhoronuku
Funding: HYPE
Council Comes to Waima
Dust Problems Still Iritate
Funding: Retracing the Steps of the 28th Māōri Battalion
News Briefs
Communications Workshop for Marae
2014 Ngāpuhi Scholarships List
Some of the participants at the Social Workers in Schoolss leaders conference during March this year.
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HAPŪ
Hapū Form Group to Protect Waterways
THROUGH strength in whakapapa and whanaungatanga Ngāpuhi hapū are working together to replenish the mauri
of the Awaawa - waterways from Te Ruapekapeka, Tapuhi and Puhipuhi to the Wairua Mangakahia.
Ngā Kaitiaki o Ngā Wai Māori was formed by Ngāpuhi hapū including Ngati Hau, Ngati Kahu o Torongare, Te
Orewai, Te Uriroroi, Te Parawhau, Te Kumutu and Ngāti Hine. The group was established in 2012 in response to
Ngāti Hau’s concerns in 2007 about pumps installed in the Hikurangi swamp cutting up tuna during every flood.
From sharing stories about the ill state of the waterways, the struggles of migrating tuna and the lifeless stretches
of re-directed water-drains they decided on the name Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Wai Māori - Te huarahi hei whakahokia
mai te mauri o nga awa (Caretakers of fresh water rivers and tributaries - a pathway to return the essence of life to
the water ways).
Now in it’s third year Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Wai Māori has formed partnerships with Northland Regional Council, Far
North and Whangarei district councils, National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Fonterra,
Department of Conservation, Rayonier/Matariki Forestry, Northpower, farmers, fisheries, Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-ONgāpuhi (TRAION) and others.
The group’s strategic plan, facilitated by TRAION Hapū Development Natural Resource Manager, Tania Pene, has
a timeframe of five years. “The Rūnanga is there to provide support and guidance to the rōpū - we are working
alongside them,” she said.
Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Wai Māori continues to work with NIWA to run tuna workshops, tagging and releasing of tuna,
weighing, measuring, ageing, and identifying the species of tuna including their sex. Last year 50 breeding-age
tuna were fitted with transponders to enable scientists to track their paths as they migrate.
In April this year members of the group and community, with students from local schools, NIWA staff and Tania
worked together as part of the tuna-monitoring programme at the Wairua River Hydro Station. With work on
the North Power station involving the dewatering of the canal connected to the river, they were able to enter the
water to catch, record and release migrating tuna. Hoori Tuhiwai from Korokota Marae, who manages the elver
trap and transfer operation said there are approximately 6500 elvers in every kilogram he releases upstream.
Information collected from the waterways and tuna-monitoring programmes supports the aspirations of Ngā
Kaitiaki O Ngā Wai Māori to better protect and return the mauri to Ngā Awa o Te Ruapekapeka, Tapuhi and
Puhipuhi to the Wairua Mangakahia. Being able to track migrating tuna means that Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Wai Māori
will get better data about the way tuna journey to Tonga, including the obstacles they encounter along their
travels. The Stream Health Monitoring Assessment Kits provided by the regional council has enabled them to study
the quality of the waterways and detect any changes that may occur.
The need for future generations learning how to be sustained by whenua, and replenished by wai, in order to
appreciate and in turn tiaki these taonga was identified by the group in their strategic plan. Young Māori students
from the local area have been taught to use the kits and continue to be involved in other waterways and tuna
programme fieldwork. “It’s about sharing knowledge so there are up and coming kaitiaki.”
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Pono Marika 2014
Tūhoronuku is Steeped in our History
By Haami Piripi
Ko Ngāpuhi e Ko te
Koko Kai
THE notion behind
Tūhoronuku is
steeped in our
ancestry and psyche
as Ngāpuhi. In my
view, it is disrespectful
of our forbears
for us to belittle and authenticity of our history, that
expresses the ethos of our cultural identity as Ngāpuhi
descendants. Rahiri was a long time ago, chosen as our
eponymous ancestor by better and more learned people
than our generation today.
Within this context of Ngāpuhi identity Ngāti Hine
have always had an important place. The ariki lines
of genealogy that lead to Kawiti mana have always
displayed a captaincy of our iwi affairs. The subsequent
leadership of Tau Henare and his association with the
young Māori Party in the early 1900s followed through
with political influence and today Ngāti Hine continue to
produce young raNgātira of immense potential who were
born to lead.
It has always been of great concern that Ngāti Hine have
sought to severe themselves from the Ngāpuhi Rūnanga
and more recently Tūhoronuku. To extract a hapū
like Ngāti Hine, from on-going Ngāpuhi development
robs the entire iwi of its potential. Aside from the
advantage gained for Ngāti Hine, the effect on the wider
iwi of Ngāpuhi would be severely debilitating. This is
exasperated by the oasis mirage which is created by the
Treaty Claims industry. Once hapū think they see this
mirage, they chase after it like fools gold, and the more
unprepared and disempowered the hapū is, the more
chance there will be for them to chase the mirage.
This is the case with several hapū leaders advocating for
the Kotahitanga o Ngā Hapū approach. Right now they
find strength by unifying with the battle of succession
by Ngāti Hine from the iwi of Ngāpuhi. Ngāti Hine
leaders should not countenance this approach to iwi
development in Te Taitokerau, and must put aside its
own iwi aspirations in order to resume their rightful
place in the leadership of Ngāpuhi.
Indeed it is sacrilege for discord to continue when
brilliant young leaders lie on both sides of the argument
and are right now on a collision course, the price of
which will be our iwi sovereignty. We the people of
Ngāpuhi need Ngāti Hine to complete the roof of our
house, and we must find a way to ensure Ngāti Hine
can achieve what it requires from within Te Whare Tapu
o Ngāpuhi, not outside of it. Leadership of this nature
will dissolve the mirage and provide a more appropriate
perspective for hapū to concentrate on.
From what I have observed and experienced among
the kotahitanga camp their mandate is thin, and their
leadership is severely diminished in capacity. In fact there
is no Māori entity better than an iwi to consolidate and
strategically align all the aspirations into a single vision
of the people. That is the purpose of the iwi which is
a confederacy of hapū constituents and whānau who
commonly affiliate to achieve a purpose.
In the old days the purpose was war or some other major
undertaking that required a large and diverse spectrum
of knowledge skills and networks to overcome any
challenge. Today the battle arena is somewhat different
and the challenge is now to obtain Crown recognition
and subsequent redress for the unconscionable action of
the Crown in relation to our communities and kainga.
It seems so logical that a unified approach ought to
be employed where the mana, tapu and autonomy
of iwi constituencies remain in tact. So it becomes a
whakatoputanga of many identities not a kotahitanga
of a single one. We must remember that on the back of
the old korero, we as Ngāpuhi have already established a
body (or waka) to represent us, beginning with fisheries
and then the delivery of important services of our
Ngāpuhi whānau and communities.
To my mind we would be foolish to now walk away from
the institution to look for another reiteration of our
identity. The odds of getting it right the first time are
pretty slim, as they would be, with something like 150
hapū, 118 marae and over 144,000 people scattered
around the world.
We should remember also, that the very same people
leading the charge against the Rūnanga were once the
architects of it. There is something wrong with that
picture. Sure, the entity will also need reviewing and
reforming, but never will it need abandoning.
It was the Rūnanga of Ngāpuhi in an expression of
love for its people that initiated Tūhoronuku out of an
obligation to provide infrastructure for its membership.
Once again it would need constant and ongoing attention
to make it effective, but instead the initiative has
received scorn and attacks from individuals and groups
from whom there has come no strategic direction or
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effectively coordination.
If it’s broken, why don’t we just fix it on the assumption
that we all want the same thing for our future, the
thing our nannies wanted. How on earth can the abuse
hurled at Tūhoronuku and the Rūnanga achieve that.
Quite simply it cannot. It describes a scenario where
the two groupings are going in opposite directions and
the dialogue is becoming more and more toxic creating
pathways of no return and burning the bridges that are
necessary for progress.
I have carefully examined the mandating requirements
necessary for mandate. The Crown has added
considerable rigor into the process, but it seems
the problem is personalities and that overwhelming
assumption about certain indispensable individuals. Even
if we all sat down and started again tomorrow I don’t
think we could get a more robust than what Tūhoronuku
currently offers us. We just need to participate.
From my own Ngāpuhi hapū perspective we will have
objectives and goals that we wish to achieve, and these
will be forged from the underlay of claim research and
oral history. If Tūhoronuku is able to provide a vehicle by
which we can achieve this, then why wouldn’t we use it.
After all the aim is to empower our hapū and whānau,
not to kill off our iwi or Rūnanga.
The current hearings before the Waitangi Tribunal are
vital to helping determine these claims and negotiated
outcomes. The hearings are spearheaded by hapū and
these need the support of the iwi. Once again progress
sporadic and there is a dissidence between which reveals
a fundamental in the weakness in the fabric that I and
many others have come to know and be proud of as
Ngāpuhi Tuturu.
I am really disappointed however in our leadership, not
of our Rūnanga as such, but with our kahui rangātira,
whose knowledge skills and oratory is suppose to lead
us out of the wilderness. Instead we have developed
entrenched position, polarisation and large doses of
ignorance. The Rūnanga and Tūhoronuku must also show
that they are capable of responding and fulfilling our
respective hapū aspirations. This is pretty much a mission
impossible but the effort must be made by the elected
leadership (as opposed to unelected) to build the bridge
that will be needed to re-energise the ihi and the wana
of Ngāpuhi nui tonu.
We as individual leaders within our own whānau, marae
and kainga have to now stand up and speak our mind for
progress, not regress. And argue for unity not disunity.
Having gone through the process already of negotiating
Treaty claims for my other iwi, I can see we are creating
collateral damage to ourselves with what is often
irrational and ill-informed korero designed to hurt not
nurture, and to pull down not raise up, with the Ngāpuhi
standard we all know so well, Whiri te Paiaka o te Riri.
Me te mahi a Tūhoronuku kia ea ai te mamae a tena a
tena. E hoa ma, kia kaha, kia u, kia mataara. Ehara te
Puriri o Taiamai he kaikata, engari ko tauiwi ke. Ina ka
muru a Ngāpuhi ki a ia ano, kei reira te tangi o ratou ma,
ratou i whakapau kaha mo te koretake noa iho.
I was fortunate enough to have received some
instruction from uncle Jimmy Henare, who taught us that
the house of Taitokerau had four iwi walls, Ngāti Whatua,
Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa and Te Aupouri, the roof was
Ngāpuhi and right now it is ripped and torn and leaking
common sense.
Ka mitimiti te puna ki Hokianga, ka toto te puna ki
Taumarere. E tu whānau.
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Pono Marika 2014
FUNDING
Rūnanga Supports HYPE with Funding
EARLIER this year the HYPE Youth Advisory Group was reformed and new members joined the rōpū - leading to the
Coast'n Skate Park Event on April 27, 2014. Linda Tiatoa, HYPE Youth Advisory Group (YAG) Mentor said the vision of the YAG was to run a free event in Kaikohe
that was engaging, vibrant, informative and positive for the local young people. "It was a phenomenal success," she said. "Every member took lead roles in facilitating the Coast'n Skate Park event. This helped to develop their leadership and problem solving skills while working together as a team."
Linda said information gathered from the Coast'n Skate Park event will be used to improve future HYPE events.
The Youth Advisory Group thanked the Rūnanga for helping to sponsor the event. "It made our vision a reality by
helping to offset the cost of holding an event in which young people felt they were valued and worth the effort and
funding put into it."
The HYPE event was supported through the Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-O-Ngāpuhi’s sponsorship fund. Details and application
forms for all funds are on the website: www.ngapuhi.iwi.nz or call the office on 0800 NGAPUHI or 09-401 5530.
Some of the action at the Coast n Skate Part event. Over 400 sausages were given away on the day and everyone received a prize.
66
WATER
Council Comes to Waima with Cap-in-Hand
010.
ry in 2
Our sto
Councillor John Vujcich puts the case for the Far North District Council to representatives of the Waima community.
AFTER a long, hot summer, unsurprisingly to those in the North, the water supplies around Northland communities
started drying up.
In the Hokianga - Rawene and Omanaia to be exact - it’s the third year in a row they’ve experienced drought
conditions. The situation was so dire the Far North District Council was forced to go cap-in-hand to the Waima
community to ask if it could draw water from their supply in the Waima River.
The irony was not lost on the locals. After lacking support to set up the autonomous water supply back in 2010,
after it had been completed the council then tried to charge locals for taking the water from a supply they sourced
themselves.
Fast forward to April 2014 and the council’s Asset Engineer, Barry Somers, in a report to council said low rainfalls
over the summer had compromised the water supply to the Rawene and Omanaia communities to such a degree the
Hokianga communities faced the real prospect of having no water at all.
The council officer said the only way to ensure water kept flowing to Rawene and Omanaia was through the Waimabased water supply.
“On behalf of Omanaia and Rawene communities the council would appreciate the opportunity to build a
relationship with the Waima community regarding a temporary draw of water from the Waima River as an
emergency water source only, during these extreme drough periods, and also to develop a collective approach
towards finding a long term solution to the more frequently occuring issue of water shortages,” his report said.
For their part, Te Mahurehure, acknowledged some of the residents of Rawene and Omanaia were their whanaunga
and welcomed the opportunity to help them out. But warned the council it was on their terms, not council’s.
Te Mahurehure spokesman Patu Hohepa said the council still had a lot of fences to mend with Waima whānau.
The council is still to produce a drought mitigation plan, other than imposing water shortages on the communities.
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Pono Marika 2014
The Dust Still Hasn’t Settled in Pipiwai
The background photo highlights how much dust is left floating in the air after a logging truck has gone past. On any given day there
can be up to a dozen trucks traversing the roads in Pipiwai.
THE dust still hasn’t settled in Pipiwai... literally.
For the past 12 months a Pipiwai residents group has
been making a noise about their dust problems. The
problem is, no one is listening.
So following a library of emails and correspondence
to and with the Whangarei District Council, Northland
Regional Council, local MP Mike Sabin and the Prime
Minister to name a few, the group took to the streets
recently to highlight their plight.
The problem is dust. Lots and lots of dust. So much dust
in fact it fills the air and infiltrates water tanks, right
down to forming silt inside the electric jugs locals use to
make a cup of tea.
In essence, all the Pipiwai Titoki Road Action Group
wants, is for their roads in the middle of nowhere actually it’s Pipiwai - to be sealed.
In essence, all the interested parties to this drawn out
saga, have sent the group round and round in circles
blaming everyone but themselves.
It goes like this: Northland Regional Council isn’t to
blame because it’s the Whangarei District Council’s
problem, fixing roads that is.
The Whangarei District Council says it’s not to blame
because the government’s roading strategy, NRS for short
(National Roads of Significance), is to blame because it’s
priorities are fixing roads in Auckland and everywhere
else except the middle of nowhere in Northland.
The government, according to Northland MP Mike
Sabin, is not to blame because it subsidises Northland
councils enough, and taxpayers shouldn’t have to fork
out anymore.
Which brings us back to Pipiwai. They still have a dust
problem, only now it’s more than just a dust problem, it’s
a health hazard, and all they want is their road sealed.
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Pipiwai and Titoki roads are inland 35km northwest of
Whangarei.
The roads became forestry highways in the mid 80s as
trusts like the Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust entered into joint
ventures with overseas-based forestry companies to
harvest their trees.
Hancock’s is the current
managers of the
forests in and
around Pipiwai.
By and large they
have an amicable
relationship with
locals, even though
it’s their trucks that
are causing most of
the dust problems.
On the plus side
they’ve instigated
speed restrictions
on all their trucks to
30km/h. Although
the locals will tell
eive text
on to rec
m
you the restrictions
m
o
c
part of
n
It’s not u
group as
e
th
m
o
are not regulated and
es fr
messsag
paign.
m
a
c
occasionally the locals
ir
the
have had to take matters
into their own
hands, including throwing rocks at loggers as they whisk
by.
Once, local Hori Niha says, he stood in the middle of the
road to bring a fully laden logging truck to a halt.
While the councils, government and all the politicians
of various hue who have been North to see the problem
first hand and agree there’s a problem, an answer is not.
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RARURARU
Act that says, in a nutshell, it’s the regional council’s
responsibility to maintain the quality of air at a
reasonable standard and if it’s not, it’s their job to fix it.
The action group have been monitoring the air quality
thanks to equipment supplied by the Northland Regional
Council. What they found is that during a 23 day
monitoring period last March, the dust contaminant
PM10 exceeded acceptable levels nine times.
PM10 is a dust particle about 25-100 times thinner than
a human hair. When you inhale you breathe in air along
with any particles than are in the air, such as PM10. The
particles become entrapped in your respiratory system
sticking to the sides of airways or travel deeper into the
lungs.
So what the group is now saying is their dust problem is
no longer a dust problem, it’s a health hazard.
Both local and central government are continuing to
ring their hands of the problem. Only the locals are
determined to box on and won’t let the matter lie until
they get a satisfactory result.
They took to the streets of Whangarei recently to
vent their displeasure, leading a march of 60 people
highlighting the issue.
Puti says they’ll keep pushing the matter until they get a
satisfactory result.
Some tried solutions include spraying the road with a
dust suppressant. That’s code for oil. The problem is
if you spray enough of the stuff, then it creates a new
hazard - oil getting into the waterways.
Voluntarily, Hancock’s has also been to the aid of Pipiwai
residents, soaking the road with water to suppress the
dust. It’s a temporary and inconsistent approach that
quickly subsides during the course of a long drawn out
summer.
Cynically, locals like Puti Tipene and her partner Jack
Luisi, who have been spearheading the action group
along with farmers Graham and Alex Wright, believe
all the actions are merely a device to get to the winter
season when nature itself takes over and the cooler
weather and rainfall hides the issue for another year.
But after a number of years of putting up with the dust,
they’re now of the mind to pursue the case come what
may.
As part of their campaign they’ve sought independent
reports from experts who agree there is a big dust
problem that needs to be addressed by the local
authorities. Naturally, neither the Northland Regional
Council or Whangarei District Council agrees with the
experts saying the dust problem is a dust nuisance.
Only the action group have as part of their journey also
become quasi lawyers citing the Resource Management
Puti Tipene (above in the orange vest) leads a group of marchers through the streets of Whangarei highlighting the dust problem.
9
WHĀNAU
Pono
PonoMarika
Marika2014
2014
Dust Problem Not Isolated to Pipiwai
WHEN Mataitaua Marae opened
its doors in March following the
refurbishment of its whare kai, it
needed a bit of spit and polish for
the big day to celebrate its opening.
Marae treasurer Alva Pomare was
one of the whānau who lovingly
applied the spit and polish to
the marae to get it ready for the
opening.
One of the tasks Alva was given
was to wash the windows on the
whare kai, which she did with the
tender love and care of a proud mum
bathing a new born baby.
Alva started with the windows facing
the roadside. Two hours later she
had worked her way around to the
other side of the whare kai - the side
not facing the roadside - but was
surprised to be confronted by her
older sister who gave her a serve
about the windows on the other side
not being clean.
Thinking she was going potty, Alva
went back around to the side of
the whare kai facing the roadside
and again cleaned the windows.
Again, she gradually worked her way
around to the other side only to be
met by her sister who again accused
Alva of not cleaning the windows on
the other side.
So Alva decided to go back around
the other side and wait. It didn’t take
long till she got an answer to the
problem.
A fully laden logging truck went
past the marae - as is the usual - the
dust being kicked up by the truck
eventually settling on Alva’s nice,
clean windows.
What the incident did though was it
got Alva thinking: there are houses
on the edge of the road that are
covered with dust daily, windows can
not be opened, kitchens have been
moved to the back of the houses due
to dust invasion. And when there is
no wind the dust remains and is like
fog and smoke.
“Therefore when our people are
having to inhale the dust due to
it sitting around, then the health
effects are enormous,”said Alva.
Unlike the residents at Pipiwai, Alva
hasn’t had the benefit of monitoring
the dust particles in the air around
Horeke or been to council yet to
complain about the problem, but she
sees synergy in getting together with
Pipiwai and other areas throughout
Tai Tokerau to tackle the issue
collectively.
“I didn’t know there was a problem
in Pipiwai, but what I am sure about
is that the dust is causing our people
to get sick,” she said.
“We’ve just put up with it. But we
need to do something about it
collectively.”
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THE dust caused by unsealed roads
is an increasing issue throughout
Northland.
Te Tii resident June Heihei, an
asthmatic, found herself choking
on the dust that rises from the
unsealed surface of the roads she
likes to frequent for exercise.
She’s written to the Far North
District Council, and gathered
support from the local school,
sporting clubs and marae in an
effort to get some action.
“Once while out walking I called an
ambulance because the dust was so
bad and I’d forgotten my inhaler and
had trouble breathing,” said June.
The Te Tii resident tries to go out
walking as much as possible for
exercise, but admits the ambulance
incident frightened her.
“There’s a bigger picture here,” she
said. “What about our water supply
in our tanks. Are they affected by
this too?”
Last year Ngā Ngaru o Hokianga
Chair Tipene Pikaahu reported
residents in the Hokianga were also
tired of the dust problem because
their roads were unsealed.
FUNDING
Retracing the Footsteps of
the 28th Māori Battalion
Cassino
By Kristi Henare
ON Tuesday 13th May 2014 Patrick Henare and his fellow cadets at the Leadership Academy of A Company based in
Whangarei will be travelling to Italy to retrace the footsteps of the 28th Māori Battalion and to celebrate the 70th
Anniversary Commemoration Event in Cassino, Italy on 19th May 2014.
Patrick is the mokopuna of Samuel and Rose Henare (nee Busby), of Ngāti Kahu and Ngāti Kuri. His Ngāti Hau, Ngāti
Wai, Ngāti Manu and Ngāpuhi grandparents are Martin and Thelma Connor (nee Davis).
Patrick started his journey with the Leadership Academy of A Company based Whangarei by joining the Fred Baker
Intake in 2011. His grandmother Queenie Davis (nee Gardiner) is a first cousin to Lieutenant Colonel Fred Baker. Three years on Patrick is still at the Academy and studying at Whangarei Boys High School in Year 12. While Patrick's
main focus is education he has always been interested in things military. In February our family shared a proud moment when Patrick was promoted from Lance Corporal to full Corporal.
Many of Patrick's whanau from Tai Tokerau enlisted to fight when war broke out in September 1939 in response to
calls from Sir Āpirana Ngata and other Māori MPs for an all-Māori unit, the 28th (Māori) Battalion.
The Leadership Academy of A Company will be visiting several significant sights during the Italia tour, including the
Cassino Commonwealth Cemetery where over 300 Māori and Kiwi sons lie and Castello di
Verrazano, the estate that was used as the Headquarters for the 28th Battalion in World War
II. By retracing the footsteps of their tūpuna who fought alongside the Allies during WWII to
liberate Italy in 1944, it is hoped the cadets will appreciate the heavy price paid by the men of
the 28th (Māori) Battalion towards providing a better future for Europe, New Zealanders and
themselves.
The Leadership Academy of A Company appreciates the support they have received from Te
Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-O-Ngāpuhi.
The Leadership Academy was supported through the Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-O-Ngāpuhi’s funding
schemes. Details and application forms are on the website: www.ngapuhi.iwi.nz or call the
Patrick Henare
office on 0800 NGAPUHI or 09-401 5530.
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KAUPAPA
Pono Marika 2014
THE RATS have been driven out of Kaikohe.
The RATS are the Riders Against Teenage Suicide, and
on a cool Friday morning mid May, about a dozen
motorcycle enthusiasts left the Northland town to join
up with another 80 riders from across the country to
make their way to Opotiki to highlight issues with teen
suicide.
Ministry of Justice figures from June 2012 to June 2013
show 541 suicides in New Zealand, including 34 in
Northland.
Green Ribbon campaigner Kahui Neho, said 80 percent
of those who took their own lives were Māori, and 80
percent of those were teens.
He said he’s at a loss to understand why people don’t
want to talk about it.
“People come out in force to the Ngāpuhi Festival and
Waitangi Day, but they don’t to address the suicide rate,”
Kahui said.
Chief Coroner Neil MacLean said New Zealand’s suicide
rate almost defies explanation, and supports the Law
Commission’s review into rules around media reporting
of suicide, saying current restrictions are based on fear of
copycat deaths.
The Government’s attempt to tackle the problem has
seen the Ministry of Health produce the New Zealand
Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2013 - 2016.
The plan has five objectives:
1. Support families, whānau, hapū, iwi and
communities to prevent suicide.
2. Support families, whānau, hapū, iwi and
communities after a suicide.
3. Improve services and support of people at high risk
of suicide who are receiving government services.
4. Use social media to prevent suicide - Identify and
respond to suicide contagion through social media
and reduce cyber bullying.
5. Strengthen the infrastructure for suicide prevention
- make better use of the data government already
collects on suicide deaths, self-harm incidents.
Unsurprisingly then it’s on social media like Facebook
where you’ll find proponents like RATS, Green Ribbon
and The Raid Movement trying to engage with young
people.
Some of the Facts
• New Zealand has the highest rate of youth suicide in
the OECD; twice the rate of the USA and Australia,
and five times higher than the UK.
• One in five people who die by suicide are Māori.
• Rates of youth suicide are two-and-half times higher
for Māori than non-Māori.
• The most common age for Māori and Pacific Islanders
to take their lives is 15-19.
Need to talk?
• Depression Helpline (8 am to 12 midnight) – 0800
111 757
• Healthline – 0800 611 116
• Kidsline (aimed at children up to 14 years of age;
4 pm to 6 pm weekdays) – 0800 54 37 54 (0800
kidsline)
• Lifeline – 0800 543 354 or (09) 5222 999 within
Auckland
• Samaritans – visit the website www.samaritans.org.
nz, or call 0800 726 666
• Skylight – visit the website www.skylight.org.nz or
call 0800 299 100 (9 am to 5 pm weekdays)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline (12 noon to 12 midnight) –
0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)
• Suicide Prevention Information New Zealand – www.
spinz.org.nz
• Youthline – 0800 376 633, free text 234 or email
talk@youthline.co.nz
• What’s Up (1 pm to 11 pm) – 0800 942 8787
• www.depression.org.nz
• www.thelowdown.co.nz – visit the website, email
team@thelowdown.co.nz or free text 5626
• Or search The Raid Movement or RATS on Facebook.
Hone Mihaka leads the RATS riders out of Kaikohe.
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News Briefs
Mataitaua Marae opened its doors again on
March 15, celebrating the opening of its new
whare kai.
Eighteen Ngāpuhi community workers
graduated on March 21 from a financial literacy
programme funded by the Māōri Women’s
Development Inc. with support from Massey
University and Westpac.
Quinton Hita was one of the guest speakers at
the annual Leaders Conference on March 20
run by the Social Workers in School team at
Ngāpuhi Iwi Social Services.
The Rangihama-Omapere Trust had an open
day on March 22 to mark the opening of its
new dairy production unit.
The new dairy unit development is seen as
a template by government for the utilisation
of unproductive Māori-owned land.
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Pono Marika 2014
Marae representatives pose for a group shot at the communications workshop.
PLANNING
Marae Plan Communications
TE Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-O-Ngāpuhi’s Iwi Development Team
hosted the first in an ongoing series of workshops
planned in the coming 12 months to help marae build
communications plans.
With marae becoming increasingly dependent on
whānau living away from home, communicating with
individuals connected to a particular marae is seen as a
key to unlocking a marae’s future aspirations.
“What we’re seeing is the hau kainga are being drained
because the support doesn’t exist at home,” said the
Rūnanga’s Communications Leader Reuben Wharawhara.
“On the other hand, whānau living away in the big cities
and overseas are hanging out to make a contribution to
their marae, even if they can’t be there. But in order for
that to work both the marae and them need to be having
a two-way conversation.”
The potential of whānau living away from home
contributing to marae is huge, based on communications
plans developed with other marae.
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“Marae have at their finger tips acccess to lawyers, policy
makers and writers, labour pools and money that can
move marae development projects significantly if the
resource is tapped.
“It saves on draining the resource at home who usually
maintain marae on a day-to-day basis, and it opens the
field to a whole new level of expertise.”
Twelve marae were represented at the first
communications planning workshop.
The workshop included working with marae to write
their plans, and introduced participants to some free
tools available online like Facebook and website builder
Wix.
One of the participants, Suzy Wipou-Reneti, said she was
overwhelmed by the level of detail the workshops went
into. But she found it useful.
“The workshop opened my eyes to a new level of
professionalism and the benefits for our marae if we talk
with our whānau in a meaningful way,” said Suzy.
2014 Ngāpuhi Scholarship Recipients
Recipients of the $500 Scholarship Award:
Kim Chevolleau (Diploma in Pokairua Ngāpuhi)
Jordan Cross (Foundation Cert. Arts Commerce)
Marian Downs (Certificate Sustainable Rural Dev L4)
Kathleen Edmonds (Diploma in Business)
Nadine Haenga-Albert (Certificate in Social Services)
Arianna Hemi (Diploma in Marine Studies)
Donna Herewini (Diploma in Culinary Practice)
Raukura Johnson (Diploma NZ Law Legal Executive)
Emma Johnson (Diploma in Architectural Tech)
Sherrie Kaa (Diploma in Culinary Practice L5)
Jessica King (Diploma in Film, TV Production)
Lavinia Kingi (Diploma in Social Services L6)
Maraea Leng (Diploma of Science)
Samuel Liebezeit (Diploma in Applied Fitness)
Martha Paewhenua (Diploma in Naturopathy)
David Palu (Cert. in Applied Sport & Recreation)
Joanne Pou (Diploma in Rehabilitation)
Elizabeth Roberts (Diploma Te Reo Māori)
Rangi-Maria Waitai (Cert. in Academic Studies)
Parry Wanoa (Certificate Te Awa Tupapa)
Ethan Wells (Certificate in Health Sciences)
Recipients of the $1500 Scholarship Award:
Hine Funaki (Grad Diploma of Teaching Primary)
Richard Cooper (Grad Diploma of Teaching)
Tashiana Borell (Grad Diploma of Teaching)
Tania Bristow (Grad Diploma in Strategic Mgmt)
Conor Tinker (Bachelor of Commerce/Law Honours)
Recipients of the $2000 Scholarship Award:
Rameka Alexander-Tu’Inukuafe (Master of Arch. Prof)
Lana Arun (Master of Indigenous Studies)
Rayna Crymble (Master of Business Admin.)
Dain Guttenbeil (Master of Business Admin.)
Atarangi Kask (Master of Commerce)
Una E P Mathews (Master of Education by Thesis)
Cheryl Meek (Master of Indigenous Studies)
Mahonri Owen (Master of Engineering)
Paul Pirihi (Master of Education)
Kim Rogers (Master of Indigenous Studies)
Irene K Royal (Master Māori Pacific & Indigenous Law)
Nikolas Wilson (Master in Health Psychology)
Recipients of the $1000 Scholarship Award:
Ururaiaha Awarau (Bachelor of Teaching, KKM)
Rerehau Bakker (Bachelor of Nursing)
Georgia Bennett (Bachelor of Information Technology)
Ko-Tahi-Ra Boaz-Curry (Bachelor of Sport & Leisure)
Bradley Boyce (Bachelor of Computing & Technology)
James Cherrington (Bachelor of Social Work)
Tayla Cook (Bachelor of Arts/Psychology)
Kuini Daniels (Bachelor of Nursing Māori)
Shayna Dean (Bachelor of Applied Social Science)
James Enright (Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery)
Harriet Gray (Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery)
Chanelle Holtz (Bachelor of Applied Social Services)
Manawa Huirama (Bachelor of Science/Arts)
Samuel King (Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery)
Joanna Makiha (Bachelor of Social Practice)
Sherene McManus (Bachelor of Education)
Racquel L Murphy (Bachelor of Health Science/Nursing)
Natasha Murray (Bachelor of App Soc Sci in Social Work)
Tunisia Napia (Bachelor of Arts/Law)
Teena Noble (Bachelor of Education Huarahi Māori)
Lesley-May Paora (Bachelor of Nursing Māori)
Linda Pikari (Bachelor of Natural Medicine)
Isabel Poutai (Bachelor of Applied Social Services)
Gina Reed (Bachelor of Env. Planning)
Te Korou W Roberts (Bachelor of Māori Performing Arts)
Jesse Ruri (Bachelor of General Studies-Science)
Maree Smith (Bachelor of Health Science/Occ Therapy)
Sharlene Subritzky (Bachelor of Nursing)
Marree Sylva (Bachelor of LLB/BA)
Lauren Taylor (Bachelor of Health Science Nursing)
Pita Taylor-Heke (Bachelor of Design/Commerce)
Cheryl Te Moana (Bachelor of Social Work/Biculturalism)
Erana Te Rangi (Bachelor of Nursing)
Hayley Wahapa (Bachelor of Teaching ECE)
Jordan Westerlund (Bachelor of Arts)
Recipients of the $4000 Scholarship Award:
Sharon Toi (Doctor of Philosophy Law)
Tia Reihana (Doctor of Philosophy)
Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-O-Ngāpuhi congratulates all this
year’s recipients and wishes them well in their studies.
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For contributions to Pono Marika email comms@ngapuhi.iwi.nz
or phone 0800 NGAPUHI (0800 6427844)
The opinions expressed in Pono Marika are not necessarily those of Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi-O-Ngāpuhi
Our website address: www.ngapuhi.iwi.nz
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