Coming up on Te Karere... The man convicted of murdering a two-year-old Auckland toddler known as Baby JJ in a case that shocked the nation has today been given a long jail term. Why is Te Matatini shutting out Maori media from our biggest national kapa haka festival? we profile a rising star in the AFL. Due to the live nature of Te Karere, some segments will not be subtitled. Tena koutou katoa, and welcome to Te Karere. The man convicted of murdering a two-year-old Auckland toddler known as Baby JJ in a case that shocked the nation has today been given a long jail term. Irena Smith was at court and has more. The death of JJ was caused by his hand and today the full force of law was handed down to him. A jury decided in November that Loffley was responsible for the brutal attack on the baby, which happened with such force that the child's liver and pancreas split in two. Despite the evidence against him, Loffley rejects the jury's guilty verdict. In evidence presented to the court, JJ died from stomach injuries so severe it caused his organs to split. Loffley also fed JJ marijuana. At 30-years-old Loffley can look forward to a long stay behind bars. He will be 50 before he can apply for parole. Irena Smith, Te Karere. Tame Iti will be a free man in less than two weeks' time. The Maori activist was found guilty of firearms charges and was sentenced to two and a half years' jail last May. He faced a hearing before the parole board today. In its decision, the board says it's satisfied that Iti no longer poses an undue risk to the safety of the community. Tame Iti will be released on February 27. The board has imposed special conditions on his release, which will remain until his sentence end date. Chiefs and All Black centre Richard Kahui has announced he's taking up a contract to play in Japan. Kahui has signed to play two seasons for the Toshiba club in Tokyo, following the end of this year's Super Rugby competition here. The 27 year old, whose career has been badly affected by injury, has played 17 tests for the All Blacks. He's only been playing AFL for two weeks but the Melbourne Demons have already offered him a contract. Maia Westrupp of Ngati Awa and Te Whanau a Apanui has signed on to play for two years for the Demons. For Maia Westrup, it seems just as quick as he changes gears, is how fast it took for the club who gave them, to sign him up. A whirlwind experience to say the least for the former Trident High School student who was spotted by a scout while excelling at a combine in Wellington. Despite having next to no in-depth knowledge of the sport, Westrupp was still the first to secure one of eight international scholarships available to each team. Westrupp has also represented NZ age groups in volleyball and tennis. Just last year he also had a trial with the Titans NRL side. His close friends are both blown away, and quietly envious. Despite that, he acknowledges there are still miles of work to be done. Westrupp will be based in NZ and will undertake a development program implemented by Melbourne, with the support of AFLNZ. Kereama Wright, Te Karere. After the break, Why is Te Matatini shutting out Maori media from our biggest kapa haka festival? The Minister of Maori Affairs is questioning the decision of the Te Matatini organising committee to make an agreement to restrict media access to the prestigious Maori event that comes around only once every two years. With only seven days to go before Te Matatini begins, many media outlets have now been banned from broadcasting the event. The ban was announced in the last two days, despite previous assurances from Te Matatini that the event would be open to broadcasters to provide as much coverage as possible. So why was the ban put in place? Te Matatini has allowed for just one broadcasting station to broadcast the event, which means that only that station can take and provide footage of the event, with other Maori shows such as Te Karere left out of the equation. Te Matatini receives tax-payer funding from The Ministry of Culture and Heritage and Te Puni Kokiri, so we asked the Maori Minister for his thoughts on the ban. I want everyone to be able to enjoy our performing arts and for our babies to know that they are Maori. This is about intellectual property rights, so maybe our elders need to decide how we proceed. In addition, Dr. Pita Sharples has commented on whether the idea of exclusivity is a Western construct that Maori should adopt to protect and promote Maori culture. The Labour Party says it supports Te Matatini and its work, but doesn't agree with its media restrictions. Shane Jones says Te Matatini should be encouraging more coverage and exposure of the event, not shutting people out. I am disappointed with Te Matatini. There's a lot of taxpayer's money involved, not only for Te Matatini but also Maori Television. This isn't about Maori TV or Te Karere. The buck rests with Te Matatini and its executives and they've entered into this agreement with Maori Television. Te Matatini is about embracing everyone and celebrating our culture. This shouldn't be a contentious issue between Te Matatini and broadcasters. We should point out that programmes like Te Karere will be able to show just two minutes of kapa haka per day. Te Matatini says it is satisfied that the festival will be available to most of New Zealand's television viewing public. Mana Party MP Hone Harawira says... We spoke to him earlier today. We're unable to provide subtitles. Well this issue has certainly struck a nerve with you... That was Hone Harawira, Mana Party leader. Well this issue has certainly struck a nerve with you... We have received unprecedented feedback. Here are some of your comments that sum up how you feel about the issue. An interactive Maori Future Makers website profiling and promoting high achievers was launched by the Minister of Maori Affairs, Pita Sharples today at Te Kura Maori o Nga Tapuwae in Mangere. The purpose of the website is to encourage Maori students to pursue higher levels of education by accessing the profile of 30 high achievers as role models to excel. The Maori future makers come from all walks of life have excelled in their chosen field of work ranging from engineering to design and art. With the likes of Ani Kainamu in Technology and marine biology. Creating your own future is a project supported by Moana Maniapoto and it is designed to encourage other Maori to pursue the same goals as these role models by accessing and making full use of the social media to grow Maori assets through targeted education and training to follow in the footsteps of successful Maori. After the break, we say farewell to a leader and gentleman. And we have the weather. To the weather now. For weather, see tvnz.co.nz. A man who served his Northland community for more than 40 years in the police force has been laid to rest. Paddy Whiu will be sadly missed but friends say his greatest legacy of working with Pakeha for the betterment of all Maori will live on. We're unable to provide subtitles. That's all we have for today. Turou Hawaiki. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ on Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2013.