panda-key-mp-smokefree

caught my eye.

The panda diplomacy is offensive to me. I just don't think animals should be treated that way. It is not right that kiwi can be sent to another country for no other reason than to show off. And the pandas should not come here. Animals are not some play things - they are living entities that deserve respect and it is not respectful to export them to alien countries.

I wonder how the maori party mp's can sit at the same table as john key when all he shows it disrespect to maori. He, IMO, mocks tangata whenua who rightly say they should have been consulted about this multuinational oil company and it's exploration plans. I cannot get my head around it to tell you the truth. But then again there are some evil smokers out there who need to be strung up and the maori party are staunch on that one alright.

I went to the smokefree rock quest gig in Nelson last saturday night to watch the son of a friend play. It was fantasitic. It seems competitive but i don't think it is, there is much more an element of being able to play in front of people. The kids were awesome and the bands blew me away. Great initiative and great talent.

Fire Alert

Fires on the beach - fire in our heart

From NZH

"East Coast Maori will light fires to symbolise their historic occupation along the coastline tomorrow in a protest against potential oil drilling by Brazilian giant Petrobras."

Go home Petrobras - there will be no massive exploitation and profit from these fair islands

rat poison and birds = a big no no

Spilling rat poison from a helicopter into a lake on an island sanctuary for our most protected parrot - the kakapo. Horror story? James Bond unlikely scenario number 205?

From The ODT

"A 700kg load of rat poison has fallen from a helicopter on to Fiordland's Anchor Island, a safe haven for endangered kakapo.

A storage pod full of brodifacoum cereal pellet baits fell from a helicopter yesterday and landed in the large freshwater lake on the 1300ha island in Dusky Sound, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson said.

Eight hectares of land surrounding the lake has been searched and no pellets have been found.

"Anchor Island is home to endangered kakapo and the immediate response of DOC staff on the ground was to ensure the birds were not at any risk," Ms Wilkinson said.

"Two kakapo in the vicinity of the lake have been removed to another island as a precaution. It is highly likely all the poisoned baits landed in the lake.

"Brodificaum does break down in water and DOC will continuously monitor the lake over the coming weeks to judge what, if any, ecological impact the spill has had."

Whatever caused this whether human or mechanical error - someone should be held responsible - imagine if under this type of scenario ALL the kakapo were killed. The time to stop that happening is BEFORE it happens. Tighten up and sort this out.

dirty country

Are we a developed nation acting like a developing nation, in our environmental ways?

From Stuff

"You're not a developing country, but you're behaving like one in some areas." New Zealand's record on species extinction, river pollution, and plans to mine conservation land was shocking, wildlife biologist  Dr Barbara Maas said."

Yes - when it comes to protecting our environment, water and natural places we act like there is no tomorrow, that everything will just carry on as it always has - but that is not the way it works. In every instant we are changing. Nothing is static, nothing is the same as it was. Constant change. We cannot go back because there is no 'back' - only forward.

"There are a lot of problems, really high nitrate levels in your water, because of fertiliser going into the oceans. Ninety per cent of your wetlands have been destroyed."

This month, The Dominion Post reported pollutants were still pouring into New Zealands's rivers, two years after a national inquiry proposed changes to help clean our water. Two years was too long to wait, Dr Maas said.

A Tourism New Zealand spokeswoman said 100% Pure New Zealand was not an environmental promise."

And that sums it up really. Not a promise - not a goal or a desire - or even dare i say an aspiration. It is just to make money. And in that way we fit the 'developed' profile very well indeed.

curved stars

curved stars and space

the shadow of the sun

Please bear with me - there are a number of majors happening at the moment which have affected my access to a lappy and the net and thus mars2earth. Normal transmission will be a few days away.

slapping yourself silly

I haven't really wanted to wade into this one but Len Brown you are making an idiot of yourself. Slapping your chest and head whilst talking passionately has nothing to do with maoi culture and your teams explanation of your behaviour as maori gestures tells me you have no idea how to relate or talk to maori - which is surprising because of your current mayorial status in a large maori demographic area. So what gives? Is this similar to the case of Rod Blagojevich who famously declared that he was blacker than Obama

“I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived,” Blagojevich said. “I saw it all growing up.”

And is that similar to Trevor Mallard who also famously said he was indigenous because he grew up in Wainuiomata

“I regard myself as an indigenous New Zealander – I come from Wainuiomata.” Hon. Trevor Mallard 28.07.2004"

It is a sort of compliment - that people want to be part of a culture and i am all for building knowledge and connection BUT we should be proud of who we are - who WE are.

In a funny kind of irony that maori, who for years have been coaxed into assimilation, now find others appropriating bits of maori culture. It is almost as if the wheel has turned fully. I have known non-maori who say they are maori. I have known non-maori who are on the maori roll. I have known maori who say they aren't maori. Why don't we just be proud of who we are - with all of our whakapapa strands melding into the unique us.

So Len give this line up. Be proud of your heritage - it is good enough that it doesn't need embelishment. And stop beating up on yourself - it is a sign that you don't actually like yourself and that is a sign of impending health problems.

kereru and whakapapa

we are the leading, living ends of our whakapapa branch

the kereru play with our ancestors

and then they look at us

Multiply the oil spill by 12 to get an idea of the disaster we are in

The oil disaster has the potential to change the world.

From The Guardian

"BP's out-of-control well will go on spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico for the next two years or more if all attempts to contain or plug the gusher fail, oil industry experts said today.

The estimates, based on new figures supplied by BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, during seven contentious hours of testimony to Congress on Thursday, suggest the potential environmental and economic devastation would far outstrip the damage done so far by the ruptured well, which has been spewing for 60 days."

We are at 60 days and two years is 730 days.

This is the latest map of the disaster - times that map by 12 and you begin to see the extent of the horror awaiting us. And remember this is the surface - under the water giant underwater plumes hold the majority of the oil.



What will happen to the ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico? What happens when the oil gets out into the Atlantic Ocean? What the hell type of hell have we unleashed?

a butterfly sting

What does thinking strategically mean?

For Pita Sharples it means,
From Waatea News Update

"Dr Sharples says it comes down to what is possible politically, and the party has to think strategically rather than walk out if it doesn't get everything it wants.

“The only way Maori are going to have power is to be part of a coalition at this stage as an independent party and if we walk now, well who’s going to marry up with us in the future, so we’ve got to see it through. So many coalitions and stuff fall down or break up. We’ve got to hang in there and try and see it through,” Dr Sharples says."

Are you really independent Pita? If you follow the gnats line and support and back their position, even when your instincts say to do the opposite - is that independent?

Who will marry with you into the future? Ummm anyone in power who wants to keep the power.

This is the problem i think - the maori party don't actually realise what power they could have. Being independent and above the left/right meme gives the maori party the ability to dance like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Unfortunately that is not the situation. To allow the insults to Tuhoe to go unanswered told the story for me - that was weak and the oppostite of the kaupapa as I understand it. Dancing like a bee and stinging like a butterfly is apt. Bees deliver much information from their dances and a butterfly sting is a bit like a butterfly kiss.

Try listening to this Pita



Lyrics
"Bullet With Butterfly Wings"


The world is a vampire, sent to drain
Secret destroyers, hold you up to the flames
And what do I get, for my pain?
Betrayed desires, and a piece of the game

Even though I know - I suppose I'll show
All my cool and cold - like old job

Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage
Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage
Then someone will say what is lost can never be saved
Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage

Now I'm naked, nothing but an animal
But can you fake it, for just one more show?
And what do you want?
I want to change
And what have you got, when you feel the same?

Even though I know - I suppose I'll show
All my cool and cold - like old job

Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage
Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage
Then someone will say what is lost can never be saved
Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage

Tell me I'm the only one
Tell me there's no other one
Jesus was the only son, yeah.
Tell me I'm the chosen one
Jesus was the only son for you

Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage
Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage
And someone will say what is lost can never be saved
Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage

Despite all my rage am I still just a rat in a-
Despite all my rage am I still just a rat in a-
Despite all my rage am I still just a rat in a cage

Tell me I'm the only one
Tell me there's no other one
Jesus was the only son for you

And I still beleive that I cannot be saved

Any of those lines tell the story. And the title of the album: "Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness" could be the catchcry for many supporters who wanted the maori party to lead, to deliver, to bind together, to be independent...

use everything to grow

This is good even though it is bad. News that an internal investigation into leaked information from Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu has begun is important. Tribal politics can mean that loyalties are stretched in directions unanticipated. Where does that loyalty lie - whanau, hapu, marae, iwi? If you work for the office you must maintain high standards of privacy and professionalism. I hope there is no witchhunt but rather this investigation is used to strengthen and increase knowledge and learning. Tribal politics will not go away - it is just the way we are.

from ODT

"Ngai Tahu has launched an internal investigation following a serious leak of personal staff information.

In a statement to the Otago Daily Times, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu chief executive Anake Goodall confirmed an internal investigation had begun after a "serious breach of personal staff information".

Mr Goodall said the breach went against the "behaviour that we expect from each other".

The ODT understands group employee information was sent anonymously to several iwi members, who then alerted management.

"The disclosure of this information exposes the Te Runanga Group, the person who released it and anyone who passes the information on to potential legal sanctions," Mr Goodall and Ngai Tahu kaiwhakahaere (chairman) Mark Solomon said earlier to iwi members."

Good luck with sorting this out.

past future = now

Yesterday i awoke at 4.30am and set off from nelson, downhill, on my way to dunedin. Whanau and family sound similar and they are in many ways. When whanau calls it is time to listen. It was dark and frosty, stars intruded and i found myself leaning forward a few times to get a good look. The car was a cocoon and I had lots of time to think. And i thought about the past and how a few generations ago, this journey which took 10 hours, would have and did take generations. It is amazing to consider that when waka and walking were the only options - the world was a lot smaller and also bigger. Our ability to travel - quickly - eating kilometres is mind-boggling.

When the sun rose the crisp, white frost was like snow. I find the further south i go the lighter I become.  Aggressive angles subdue into rolling hills. Is that what coming home means?

Deeper and my ancestors become restless - sliding into the past and the future.

look out and up

remembering to look out and up

crafar cows crap on historic waahi tapu and pa site

A historic pa site descecrated by crafar cows. Par for the course where maori sensibilities are concerned don't you think?

From Stuff

"Ngati Ruanui iwi is outraged that a waahi tapu and pa site, Te Ruaki Pa at Ohangai, owned by Crafar Farms has been damaged.

Debbie Packer, manager of Ngati Ruanui Group Management, said iwi discovered the damage when reviewing its waahi tapu sites over the last couple of weeks.

"It represents an area that was quite a masterful and unique pa. It's one of the most rare and beautiful examples of a terraced pa pre 1834.

"It's part of all our history from an era that you can't get back. We're really gutted," Mrs Packer said."

Yes we are too Debbie - it is so shocking to discover that generally people just don't care about maori history.

"Mrs Packer said the iwi was worried the property, which is being marketed for sale, would go to buyers who were either unaware of, or would not care about the historically important site on the farm.

Most local farmers respected waahi tapu and fenced them off or didn't stock them, she said.

The owners before Crafar Farms had fenced around the pa site but stock had been allowed on since they took over, Mrs Packer said.

"They could sell it to someone who doesn't give a hoot and a significant part of Ngati Ruanui and South Taranaki history will be completely ignored."

Very good points.

How about this - IT IS NOT YOUR LAND ANYWAY - give it back to the rightful owners not sell it to overseas interests.

murky details from the deep

More clarification of the murky depths of the Foreshore agreement.

From Audrey Young NZH

"Attorney-General Chris Finlayson said yesterday that customary title was "an ownership title" - meaning that Maori groups awarded customary title in the foreshore and seabed will be the legal owners of it and the minerals beneath it.

Is this what it is really all about - the mineral wealth? Is this why the iwi Leaders group gave the maori party the go-ahead for the agreement?

"Foreshore and seabed will be deemed to be in "the public domain" and owned by no one until an iwi or hapu is awarded customary title by a court or the Government, although another term may be found."

The relevant customary title will then sit over the public domain designation in the same way that fee simple title sits over the Crown's radical title to land.

Mr Finlayson said public domain would provide "a staging post" in which some iwi or hapu would be able to investigate customary title."

The use of the word 'until' is problematic because even if the iwi or hapu get issued customary title - that is still subordinate to 'public domain' or whatever bogus name they make up.

"Iwi will have to prove they have had exclusive use and occupation of the relevant area since 1840.

Mr Finlayson said "exclusivity" was a common-law concept "which requires the applicant group to demonstrate their interest in a particular area is generally akin to ownership in that they are able to exclude non-members of the customary title-holder group".

"Exclusivity must have been continuous without substantial interruption since 1840."

Some examples of interruption included selling the land, having a port built over it or, as in the case of Auckland beaches, having thousands of people passing through and using it and the local iwi not exercising any control over use or occupation."

The bar is set high to reduce the opportunity for iwi and hapu. Yes they can go to court but the test for customary title is not designed to empower maori - it is designed to keep maori down.

Once again we have the tail wagging the dog. The crown should have to prove that maori don't have customary title NOT the other way round.

Time for another hikoi IMO

fossil point photo

are you alive

you are alive

a ride on the vomit comet

I have no good feelings about any of the parties involved with the Foreshore and Seabed repeal. It is a joke and insulting to maori. I think the Iwi leadership Group have tried to help the maori party but that kind of help never works. Now, because of the nature of the repeal the gnats and labour will try to NEVER have to relook at this area. And what do the maori party have out of this - "we said we would repeal and we have repealled." Ummm the repeal has left maori in a very similar position - a repeal is to make changes and improvements. Not good enough in my book and the Iwi leadership Group - so tough, so strong , so roll over and pat my tummy. I know the arguments for getting what is possible and using that as a beach-head to gain more ground, incremental steps, kaisan - continuious improvement. I know those arguements but I cannot accept them. We didn't have a hikoi so that this can be celebrated as a big win. Why do we let these no-bodies tell us what to do.

This will not sit well on the ground. This deal is crooked.

Update - Hone has come out fighting - you know what Hone, why not just shut up! You had your chance to oppose this BEFORE the vote - there is no mana is moaning after especially when you could have made a difference.

I cannot vote for the maori party anymore.

chonnie art

art

Good blog - robertguyton.blogspot.com

I'd like to recommend a blog that I have come across recently.

RobertGuyton is well worth a read - I have found many connections - from Murihiku to sustainability, from green living to environmentalism. And all from a deep south perspective - Good on you Robert - keep up the great blog.

piwakawaka footwork

Crisis talks - well the repeal of the foreshore and seabed act and it's replacement is a crisis, so fair enough. The maori party are in a bind and they way they have to move is going to be unpleasant, at least at first. The game with the gnats was always to work with them to deliver real benefits to maori, but at some point the cost outweighs the benefits. If the gnats are not going to move on this issue then it is game over IMO.

One thing i cannot understand about this whole deal is - why the urgency? Why the rush? If there was less haste we would make more progress.

From NZH

"Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell said yesterday he wasn't going to detail where National's proposal fell short, other than to say it involved the public domain and "other issues".

"We are close, but we are not close enough to satisfy all of the parties," he said.

The proposal was "not all bad ... but there are certainly some concerns that have been raised by both the iwi leadership group and ourselves".

I hope the meeting makes progress but it seems we are at an impasse. This comment, however, was disturbing

"Getting agreement between iwi leaders was always difficult, regardless of the issue, and Mr Flavell suggested that while it was important any decisions made by the party was with the backing of iwi, the party also needed to be able to use its discretion.

"It would be disastrous if we weren't aligned with the Iwi Leadership Group, however, we are a political movement and we have to make decisions in light of the information we have in front of us."

Ummm - who do you think elects you? Don't make the mistake of forgetting the real purpose of your role in parliment. REPRESENT the people. The fallout around the ministerial credit cards should show you the folly of getting too big for your boots. Don't let it happen.

QEII Trust open space covenants cut mining options

Good work down south. We can stop some mining by applying these covenants on land - protecting the land for the future. Smart thinking that is good for all.

From The Southland Times

"A Croydon farm, which has coalmining giant Solid Energy and the Department of Conservation as its neighbours, is among the latest list of Southland properties to be granted a QEII Trust open space covenant.

Allan and Robina Johnston today celebrate registration of the covenant for 4.87ha of their 423ha sheep and beef farm near Gore with a field day.

Mrs Johnston said yesterday the covenant covered only a small area of the farm but the couple were working on getting a further 23ha registered. These areas featured a small fossil seam and a traditional Maori oven, she said.

The couple have a love of trees and getting a covenant just made sense.

It was about leaving a legacy for future generations.

It also meant Solid Energy, which has secured major lignite reserves in the area by buying farms over the years, would not be able to touch the land, Mrs Johnston said.

That attitude is what we need. Well done to the johnstons. No coal mine under their land.

bye bye bb

Well it looks like Busted Blonde has said bye bye to blogging. I hope she sold roarprawn for a little bit of walking around money. I am from the opposite political spectrum but it was good to have a Ngai Tahu blogger blogging even if most of what she said was cringe-worthy. Last time BB hung her keyboard up she changed her mind... I get the impression that won't happen this time.

Hei kona BB

light and magazine

the light pours out of me

wankers united

Shane jones has had it. The ministerial expenses are out and he has admitted using taxpayers money (which he has paid back) to hire porn movies to watch in his hotel room. Okay he is a wanker but so what, we are either all wankers or telling lies. The fact that he masturbates is not the issue - the issue is the poor judgement, the perception of 'right' and 'privilege' of stealing our money and don't forget he is a member who rallies against sharples and turia for their enjoyment of ministerial warrents and their reluctance to give them up.

From stuff

"Labour MP Shane Jones has admitted using his ministerial credit card to book up pornographic movies while he was a government minister and has blamed it on the fact he is a red blooded man."

Bye bye shane

Update

"Mr Jones told reporters this afternoon he was not a "sex fiend" but got in the habit of watching pornographic movies while he was away.

He told his wife this morning and she was enraged. He had no excuses, he said. "I just lost the plot."

Jeepers mate you left it a bit late to inform the wife - another epic fail shane

Update

"The shamed MP appears to be within a heart-beat of resigning from parliament.

"[The people] will say that Shane has dug a hole for himself - a hole and that may very well prove to be his grave," Jones said of himself today.

"This is a day of great shame. Not only have I embarassed myself, my family and party colleagues, but I got in to a pattern of expenditure that is inexcusable.

"It's beyond excuse and it's a day of humiliation for me."

Oh dear - talking in third person about himself is not a good sign.

Shane resign.

Then pick yourself up and get working for maoridom via energising the maori party. Labour are holding you back and stiffling you and with this baggage you will never lead that party.

is the maori party 'slam-dunked'

John key seems relaxed about this but the slam dunk analogy says a lot really.

From NZH

"Prime Minister John Key believes the Maori Party is more likely than not to support the Government's final proposal to repeal the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004.

"I wouldn't want to say it is a slam dunk but I think it's better than 50/50."

Better than 50/50? Sure the gnats have tried to make it a no loss situation for them but they have forgotten something and that something is maori.

Let's really cut to the chase.

The maori party was formed to repeal the F&S legislation. Whilst they have been in there, the maori party have achieved some gains but at a very high cost of being seen as being the lapdogs of the gnats. The Iwi Leaders group which represent 100 iwi have rejected the government proposal of this bogus - "no one owns the land" line. The maori party and the iwi Leaders Group do not represent all maori.

If the maori party oppose the Iwi leaders Group then there will be tears and bloodshed for all parties. If the maori party support the iwi leaders group then the maori party may leave the government benches and initiatives like whanau ora may not even get started.

The maori party have some very big decisions to make. They cannot survive without the support of the Iwi leaders Group.

The maori party have to advocate for maori aspirations - the maori party have to support the Iwi Leaders Group - no other course of action is correct.

Good post by marty g at The Standard called high noon on the foreshore

And a wonderful outline of the various threads of concern around this issue from Lew at Kiwipolitico called 'between the Devil and the deep blue sea'

photos for thinking

recursive structures lie at the heart

rockfall misses rockart

The power of water. After the big rain came the rockfall and luckily the rockfall did not destroy our maori rock art.

From ODT

"Rare examples of Maori art have survived the dramatic collapse of a rock outcrop at the Takiroa rock art site, near Duntroon in North Otago.

It was a major landscape feature and an "amazing" site in terms of the rock art and the historical context it provided.

Many different styles and techniques had been used at the site and the wealth of red figures made it quite unusual.

The site was the first recorded instance of Maori rock art, noted in 1852 by the surveyor Walter Mantell.

The first photograph of rock art was taken there in 1896.

Some rock art pieces were removed from the site in 1916."

and

"When contacted yesterday, Ngai Tahu Maori Rock Art Trust curator Amanda Symon said someone had to be located to do the assessment and funding obtained as it would be "not a cheap task".

It was hoped to have that done within two or three weeks."

Money money money if we must have money let's use it for this type of mahi.

Is our rock art treated like the taonga and treasure that it is?

who speaks for maori

Who speaks for maori?

The maori party

The iwi leaders group

Who speaks for maori?

From Stuff

"The Iwi Leadership Group, a forum of some of the most powerful Maori leaders, met on Friday and unanimously rejected the public domain proposal.

Mr Key said though the group was influential, its members did not speak for all Maori. He also rejected their suggestion that if Maori were to forgo their rights to the foreshore and seabed, private land owners should be expected to do the same."

Mr Key said the Iwi Leadership Group was not the only one battling the Government's preferred option for settling the dispute – there were also sticking points with the Maori Party.

He reiterated the Government's position, however, that it would rather shelve the repeal than make further concessions, even though it would mean retaining the 2004 act.

That was despite his view that the law represented a "weeping sore" in race relations."

This weeping sore is about to go septic and there will be a lot of pus to be expressed.

Who speaks for maori?

From NZH

"The Government is close to finalising its foreshore and seabed law repeal proposal, but the Maori Party will have the power to veto it, Prime Minister John Key indicated yesterday.

Mr Key also said that it would not proceed unless the Maori Party supported it - effectively a veto - even if there were enough support from other parties to pass it.

He said again that meant the status quo would remain, namely the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 passed by Labour.

Who speaks for maori?

Heads up - divide and destroy is the way of the oppressors. They will try to divide maori any way they can and they will succeed in some ways because there is self interest and ego and cults of personality within maoridom - just like everywhere else. Focus on the goal - tino rangatiratanga and mana motuhake - everything else is divide and destroy.

the light and dark

the light and dark are us

Our kaiwhakahaere and Q&A

Good interview from Mark Solomon on Q&A. I don't agree with everything he says but he is our kaiwhakahaere and i support our kaiwhakahaere.

From TVNZ

"GUYON But state owned assets, have you had specific conversation with ministers about Iwi getting involved in stakes of state owned assets.

MARK Yes I have, I first raised it with the National Party in July 2008, prior to them coming into power, did the same with the Labour Party and talks have continued since."

We really need to have a think about this. if, from a maori perspective, state assets are shared with iwi via some ppp's - are iwi just a private company that is maori or are there deeper issues, such as the development of tino rangatiratanga. If maori get involved with these state assets - are they doing it just to make money or are they doing it to assert mana over the area. If just for money - don't do it.

"GUYON Let's look at one of the opportunities that is coming up, and that is in the prison sector, because there is joint development in public private partnership there if you like, in contracting out to private providers. Are Iwi looking at being part of any bids to manage any of the private prisons?

MARK Myself and three other Iwi leaders were invited by TPK to meet with some of the companies that are coming into the company to potentially bid for private prisons. I will be up front, my interest wasn't so much in having an equity share in the prison. I wanted to know how these companies that are offshore companies would deal with the cultural aspects when they came into New Zealand. So we met with GE4S.

GUYON A Melbourne based company.

MARK And Serco, yes the other Australian based company. We were blown away in the way that they deal with their prisoners.

GUYON You were impressed?

MARK We're completely impressed."

When you read about the things that impressed them - these companies or organisations that run prisons should be doing those things anyway. The big danger here is that maori will get used by these corporate-prison entities. I do not believe that prisons should be run for profit. I do not believe that maori should be shareholders in prisons run for profit and i do not believe that private companies should have anything to do with running prisons. I do think that there should be very strong and persuasive cultural content and context for any and all prisoners. In this country the cultural content should be based around te ao maori.

Kia kaha Mark

iwi bind together to say no

I was a little concerned about the urgency of this meeting of the iwi leadership group but I am pleased that they have come out strongly rejecting the prefered government option regarding the foreshore and seabed repeal.


Frome NZH

"Mark Solomon, Ngai Tahu chairman and member of a Maori iwi leadership group said the leadership group met on Friday and unanimously rejected the public domain proposal and agreed to seek assurances that past Treaty breaches were not used to extinguish rights."

and mark was also on Qand A

"We refuse to forgo all of our rights and put our rights to the foreshore under the public domain, as long as there are still 12,500 titles sitting there, private titles to the foreshore," he told the TVNZ programme Q+A.

"If you put them into the public domain, then iwi will have the discussion about putting all of our rights into the public domain."

Yes - why should maori get worse treatment or consideration compared to private owners.

I have a little more to say about Q and A and will post a bit later.

taniwha scales

taniwha scales

te waikoropupu springs

Iwi chairs urgent hui today on F&S

Always a worry when urgency is involved.

From Hauraki Iwi

"Iwi chairs working with the Government on an alternative to the Foreshore and Seabed Act have summoned all iwi to an urgent hui in Auckland on Friday.

Mark Solomon of Ngai Tahu told Waatea News the aim is to get a national consensus on a replacement framework for coastal management.

He says the short notice was unavoidable, because the Attorney-General is taking a proposal to Cabinet next Monday.

The hui is at the Ellerslie Event Centre from noon on Friday.

I hope we don't dance to their tune all the time and actually start getting some of our own tunes in there - for them to dance to.

Why the urgency and why are maori saying "how high sir" when they say "jump".

Something is not right here.

gerrymonster says sorry for forgetting maori

Classic comedy - tragicomedy that is, from gerry brownlee.

he has been forced to apologise to iwi for announcing and doing the deal with the multinational oil company to pave the way for their exploitation of our natural resources, without consulting with MAORI.

He forgot that maori have a say in the area he has sold off. or did he forget...

From TVNZ

"It's an oversight on my part, I must confess, that they weren't consulted sooner. But part of the difficulty we have is some of the commercial sensitivity that goes around these things," says Brownlee."

An oversight - oh that's okay then - this shows the attitude of brownlee - maori don't exist for him, they are so unimportant that they can be considered an 'oversight'.

"The Minister says he will try to liaise with iwi on permits involving the foreshore and seabed in future.

Well a try is better than not trying isn't it? How about this gerrymonster, how about respecting tangata whenua before they bite you on the bum. This deal is a bum-deal in many ways.

Let's stop this foul destruction before it starts and let's send a clear message to gerrymonster and this exploitive oil company that this country doesn't sell it's taonga, it's natural resources and it's future for money.

kanuka

kanuka at puponga

whale respected correctly

Can we see the world this way?

From NZH

"An orca that washed up dead on Whakatane's Piripai Spit has been buried whole in a nearby Maori cemetery despite researchers wanting to perform an autopsy on the two-tonne whale."

Why did this happen?

"Ngati Awa cultural adviser Pouroto Ngaropo said sea creatures were spiritual guardians of the people of the land.

"This whale is a message that has been sent to us," Mr Ngaropo said.

"The last orca whale to come ashore we [Ngati Awa] know of was when Te Tahi-o-terangi rode a whale from Whakaari [Whale Island] to the mouth of the Whakatane River."

Te Tahi-o-te-rangi was a famous whale rider who, according to local legend, rode a whale-shaped taniwha called Tutarakauika to the mainland.

"Because of the whale's connection to the people of the land, it must be buried with its ancestors in the sacred urupa Opihi," Mr Ngaropo said.

Locals remained with the whale throughout Monday and Tuesday until Mr Ngaropo performed a karakia (blessing) before it was buried at Opihi."

This is correct and respectful. Thank you. Nothing is unconnected, and the washing up of this whale has many layers of meaning - let's listen and learn about those meanings.

teach maori history to bind us together

I agree with this call - seriously how much maori history or history from a maori persepctive did you learn in school? If NONE then that was more than most. It is not good enough. There is rich and interesting history that is OUR history. This maori history is our history - the history of our country, our land.

I would like to see maori history and perspectives as COMPULSORY for all students in this country including english language students, hell - I'd make it compulsory for ALL PEOPLE. Tax breaks when you can recite your whakapapa, or korero in te reo or explain the history of the region you live in. I wonder how many rich people would get the tax breaks then!

Imagine how great this country will be when we are all paddling the waka in unison.

From Waatea News Update

"The head of Maori and Ethnic studies at Canterbury University is backing his counterpart at Victoria University in attacking the quality of history taught in schools.

Rawiri Taonui says Peter Adds is right to say race relations is the loser if children leave school without ever getting a Maori perspective on history.

He says while understanding of Maori culture and language has improved dramatically over the past couple of decades, the new perspectives on history which have come out of the bicultural Waitangi Tribunal investigation process have not made their way into the syllabus.

“If you say to people what happened at the battle of Orakau where Rewi Maniapoto, two or three hundred of his people were killed trying to escape, what happened at Ngatapa where Maori were stripped naked and thrown from cliffs, what happened at Hanley’s Shed in the Whanganui-Taranaki district where colonial cavalry, some of whom were decorated later, charged down a small group of 8-10 year small boys and hacked them to death with sabers. People just don't know that,” Mr Taonui says.

If the public knew more about the history of te Urewera, its attitude toward's Tuhoe's claim for the national park might be quite different.

How do we make positive change in this country? How do we empower indigenous people? How do we respect and support maori? This is one place to start. Let us all learn the history of this land, the people, the legends. This country did not begin in 1840 and it is time we actualised that into our learning at school.

kotuku

kotuku - ruataniwha inlet

tarred and feathered are us

I am opposed to this permit to drill for a multitude of reasons. It won't create many jobs, the money mainly goes offshore, it is environmental brutality, it is too risky for this country, and we should be looking to sustainability not continued digging and drilling. So brownlee and key sell us out to a multinational oil company - we are the suckers being used to help them all make more money.

From NZH

"International oil giant Petrobras has been awarded a five-year permit to drill for oil off the North Island's East Cape.

Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee said "Given Petrobras's expertise, and financial and technical pedigree, this is an exciting step into areas of New Zealand until now unexplored."

The permit awarded to Petrobras covers 12,333 square kilometres.

So while the world looks on in horror at the destruction caused by drilling for oil - what does gerry brownlee do? - he puts in head in the sand and pretends it isn't happening and cannot happen here.

What an absolute idiot - we know brownlee isn't the sharpest knife in the draw - but here he has proven his mettle - he hasn't got one.

Other horrified people include

"Greenpeace last night labelled the agreement "a bad joke".

Climate campaigner Simon Boxer said it was "unbelievable" that the Government was pursuing deep-sea drilling.

"The BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico shows that it is extremely difficult to control activities in the deep sea."

Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe was "game changing" for deep-sea drilling.

"The inability to control it is demonstrated live on the internet every day.

"Things have changed, and nothing is going to be the same for deep-sea oil drilling ever again."

Footnote - And isn't it interesting that as obama puts a six month freeze on oil exploration brownlee and key refuse to accept what he has accepted, that is

"Where I was wrong was in my belief that the oil companies had their act together when it came to worst-case scenarios," he said. "It just takes one to have a wake-up call."

"... he was ordering a six-month freeze on the opening up of the remote waters of the Arctic to oil exploration and on the drilling of 33 deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Proposed lease sales off the coast of Virginia and in the western Gulf would also be cancelled."

The US president said he was calling the pause to plans by Royal Dutch Shell to begin drilling exploratory wells in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, after studying an interior department review of the Deepwater Horizon disaster."

We are going to have to stop this.

leopard seal

leopard seal on onetahua

drown in oil

Will the oil ever stop flowing into the gulf?

What would stop it naturally - running out of oil might, perhaps.

Look at the first graphic - that shows all the oil wells in the gulf by the US coast - do you really think the oil will run out soon? Nope. They aren't drilling there for nothing.

Image credit NOAA

Hat tip Open Parachute

And go here to see the extent of the disaster. You may even like to produce a google map like this

Will the oil stop flowing - I don't think so, not for years and years.

rugby and race

I have not really been interested in the haden/crusaders/darkies/rugby controversy.
 I don't rate haden - he is a cheat and a big mouth and his darkies comment, while offensive, is really nothing new.

This is a non-story designed to distract us from other things - but it is interesting to note riach's statement

"Meanwhile, Crusaders chief executive Hamish Riach says he remembers speaking to Fraser at a Ranfurly Shield match last year, but denies he mentioned the franchise operated a quota system for Polynesian players.

Riach was adamant that he had not mentioned a quota or a racial selection policy.

He said he was aware that, throughout rugby, there were frequent conversations about race."

Oh really - like what?

Anyway you can see where that all goes - into the black hole of denial.

Of course one of the big reasons for trying to lance this boil is the rugby world cup. Yes everything must be in place to show the world what a country of one people we are. We are? Are we?