Coming up on Te Karere... Greek shipping owners are planning to meet with iwi about the Rena oil spill. What will it mean in terms of compensation? Will John Tamihere gain support from Maori social service providers in his fight with the Crown? And this Tainui swimmer is set to compete at the Olympics. Due to the live nature of Te Karere, some segments will not be subtitled. Tena koutou katoa, and welcome to Te Karere. As clean-up of the oil spill continues in the Bay of Plenty, the Greek owners of the containership Rena have agreed to meet with affected iwi this month, and have appointed Sir Wira Gardiner as their representative. Sir Wira Gardiner went to Greece recently and has the mandate of the Rena owners to engage with iwi. Sir Wira Gardiner confirmed to Te Karere that he will represent the Greek Ship Owners of Rena. His job will involve facilitating meetings with Tauranga Moana tribes Sir Wira Gardiner confirmed to Te Karere that he will represent the Greek Ship Owners of Rena. His job will involve facilitating meetings with Tauranga Moana tribes and central Government. Sir Wira Gardiner wouldn't come on camera today but a meeting has been confirmed between Tauranga tribes and Greek representatives of Costamare Inc this month. They're coming from Greece to meet with us. Discussions haven't started yet but the process of how the meetings will be managed has been. Tauranga Moana tribes are undecided about joining the class action seeking damages from Rena owners. We will wait to see what the business owners want to do, but their agenda is very different to ours. Next week representatives of the Greek Shipping Company will meet with Te Moana-a-Toi representatives. Ngahuia Wade, Te Karere. That's a good question. The problem is that the law says Maori will always lose out because Maritime New Zealand and their past deeds will win out. Second comes the district councils and third are the businesses that pollute our waterways such as tourism and fisheries. There s no place for Maori in current laws. That s why Wira is taking this course of action with the support of the people of the Bay of Plenty, so that we can speak openly with the people responsible for the Rena, to tell them how they have wronged us and to ask how they can fix it so that Bay of Plenty Maori may have closure in this issue. We see Sir Wira Gardiner is no slouch and has already taken the first steps towards compensation for the iwi by talking directly with the owners of the Rena? The people responsible for the Rena and the ship's Greek owners are indebted. There's no other way to say it. The question is how much compensation they will pay and how much compassion do they feel for us, the people of Tauranga Moana. How are these talks going? They're going well because we know that there's a cap on what they will pay, but the issue can be discussed between us and that family, and with that, we may sttle on an agreement and Wira is in charge of that. I understand one of the issues the iwi have up their sleeve is fishing quota and the replenishment of stock polluted by the spill? We're unable to provide subtitles. John Tamihere is gathering Maori social service providers together in Auckland tomorrow to support his fight against the govt. He claims its contracting arrangements with Maori providers is discriminatory and is calling on Maori to force change. I asked him what the aim of this conference was. The conference aims to create ties between businesses The conference aims to create ties between businesses and iwi runanga in our struggle against the government and their racist demeaning acts against Maori initiatives throughout the country. Waipareira are trying to bring Maori businesses and iwi runanga together so that we stand united in our goal. You've decided to take the Ministry of Social development According to the Treaty of Waitangi, Maori are entitled to be involved in initiatives that are uplifting for our people in terms of our human rights, inherent rights and personal rights. John Tamihere says it's they're discriminating against Maori agencies, your thoughts? Maori businesses have been affected, businesses throughout the country. Many of us have been restricted by the Government with contracts and we see this as an act of animosity because if Maori businesses such as the Waipareira Trust and iwi runanga cannot function in their own communities, who'll help us? Who'll correct us? Who will be there to support us in the difficulties we face? What do you want to see happen in the end? We want to have an advisory group that will function as an umbrella group for all iwi and business groups to take these issues to court and to the Government so that they don't just have to deal with Government offices. It needs to be an independent group, a voice for Maori groups and businesses so that we are equipped to fight the battles ahead. That was Rawiri Waititi, Cultral Advisor at Te Waipareira. Maori women are more likely to avoid buying prescription medicine after seeing a doctor, because they don't have the money. They also put off buying medicine even though they often suffer more chronic illnesses than Maori men. The findings are from an Otago University study in which 2,700 Maori were surveyed. Professor Peter Crampton says the results are concerning given many women cared for children and the elderly in the family. After the break, she's a NZ record holder in swimming. Will Hayley Palmer add an Olympic medal to the list? An independent report has been released by Ako Aotearoa today that says current system aren't working well for one third of tertiary learners. The report found low completion rates, and low progression rates amongst students they call priority learners, Peata Melbourne has more Students who are studying certificates to go on to further learning are the ones who have fallen victim to the system, many of whom are Maori. They aren't completing their degrees and aren't moving into postgraduate studies. Ako Aotearoa's report shows less than 39% completed a qualification, and only 35% enrol in a higher level qualification. It's important for Maori to pursue educational opportunities. and only 35% enrol in a higher level qualification. It's important for Maori to pursue educational opportunities. A tertiary plan should be made for each student. If he can dream he can achieve and a plan will help him achieve this goals. Ako Aotearoa say the Government need to be supportive, and more data needs to be collected around this group of learners. Success will come through providing purposeful and personalised courses. In our project Tu Toa we don't focus on the negative issues, we focus on the skills of the student. This is why we've set up this programme it's about to focusing on their strengths. Peata Melbourne, Te Karere. A 23 year old woman from Tainui has reached elite status in NZ swimming. Now Hayley Palmer is vying for the top, at the London Olympics. Irena smith has her story. With the swiftness of a dolphin, Hayley Palmer is off. She is swimming in the fifty metre freestyle and one hundred metre relay race at the London; it's her second Olympics but first time in an individual race. For the past six months, this has been like a second home for Hayley Palmer. She has spent almost twenty hours a week training in this pool plus more hours in the gym. She is seeing the results. Her training regime will be tapered down soon so that her body is ready for the major event. She will be heading to Belgium next week to finish her preparations before arriving in London. Irena Smith, Te Karere. A Bachelors programme in Haka has been created. The course is called Nga Mana Whakairo a Toi. The idea for the course came from the huge success of the Arohanui theatre production. This was one of their first public performances. We went well tonight, we've put in a lot of practise leading up to the performance. The Bachelor of Maori Performing Arts is being run by Te Whare Wananga-o-Awanuirangi the haka component came from the production Arohanui held last year. It was their idea to broaden the skills of kapa haka, so the BA stemmed from that. It was their idea to broaden the skills of kapa haka, so the BA stemmed from that. These are only some of the students studying this degree; they come from adult kapa haka groups throughout the country. The degree only began this year, and the students are really enjoying themselves. The practise is hard but the written work is easy. Haka theatre is a new path for Maori to pursue. What we're learning at the moment is what I already knew about but its a lot broader, and broadened my understanding. At the moment they're practising for the 2 Degrees Kapa Haka Super 12 competition next Saturday in Auckland. That's what we really want is to get more exposure so that the rest of NZ gets to see their haka theatre talents. Although each person has their different objectives it looks like they're on the right path. Anzac Pikia, Te Karere. After the break, we have tomorrows weather. Come on, Seymour. Come on, Seymour. DOG BARKS Yes, dear? Yes, dear? Hello, there. Did you know NZ TV's going digital? Is that right? Is that right? Yeah. It'll be heaps better. With old TV... Well, let Seymour show you. But with digital ` DOG BARKS DOG BARKS better pictures, better sound and more channels. DOG BARKS APPLAUSE To find out how you can see more and enjoy more, visit goingdigital.co.nz To the weather now. For weather, see tvnz.co.NZ. Let's take another look at today's top stories. Sir Wira Gardiner is appointed by the Greek owners of Rena to facilitate a meeting with iwi affected by the oil spill. John Tamihere is gathering Maori providers together tomorrow, to support his stand against unfair treatment by the govt. And Tainui swimmer Hayley Palmer is off to London to compete in the Olympics. That's all we have for today. Turou Hawaiki. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ on Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012.