Coming up on Te Karere... Coming up on Te Karere... Treasured Ngati Whatua chief Takutai Wikiriwhi passes away. Treasured Ngati Whatua chief Takutai Wikiriwhi passes away. Treasured Ngati Whatua chief Takutai Wikiriwhi passes away. And Te Puia in Rotorua celebrates its 50th birthday with the unveiling of a not so new waharoa. Due to the live nature of Te Karere, some segments will not be subtitled. Tena koutou katoa, and welcome to Te Karere. The Salvation Army has released a report suggesting the government's social housing policies need reviewing in order to cater for the many families who are struggling to find affordable places to live. On the same day, the Minister for Housing was turning soil for a new housing development in Pomare for low income families, but it seems state housing in poor areas are a thing of the past. Here's more. Giving with one hand, only to take with the other. But only 20 of those houses will be state houses, and it's the shortage of affordable houses like this that the Salvation Army is concerned about. Their report on Social Housing released today claims that a lot of money is being invested in the Housing NZ and dividends taken out by the government, but social housing groups are not seeing the benefits for families. Housing Minister Nick Smith says the problems and crime rates in areas with many state houses such as Pomare have prompted this change in building mixed housing. As an election year looms, these community workers are hopeful the government will take note of their concerns, and the fact that the current social housing policies are making a bad situation worse. Irena Smith, Te Karere. Due to a busy house schedule, Hone Harawira's Feed the Kids bill's first reading in the house was delayed last night. The bill has been put on the back burner for a year now The bill has been put on the back burner for a year now and was not expected to pass the first reading without the support of Peter Dunn. It will now be scheduled for the next time the members sit in a couple of weeks, giving Hone Harawira more time to lobby the support he needs. A former caregiver and prominent Kaitaia businessman has been sentenced to five years and seven months in jail for sexually abusing young boys. Daniel Taylor previously admitted to nine charges of sex abuse against five boys. Taylor had been a foster parent for Child, Youth and Family and faced a raft of charges relating to incidents with boys as young as 12 between 2007 and 2011. There was a strong reaction in the public gallery when the sentence was read. He will have to serve at least half the sentence before he is eligible for parole. The Maori Land Court is deliberateing over a decision that could see them save 500 hectares of Maori-owned land in Matauri Bay. A group half-owned by Matauri X wants to convert some of its subdivided land from Maori leasehold to Maori freehold to entice buyers in a last-ditch attempt to pay off a $15 million debt. It's a move that's being heavily opposed by many Ngati Kura descendents. We're unable to provide subtitles. Oriini Tipene-Leach, Te Karere. Ngati Whatua and Te Uri o Hau leader Takutai Wikiriwhi has died. He's long stood by Te Karere and always made time for us when we wished to speak with him. We're unable to provide subtitles. Pere Wihongi, Te Karere. I spoke with Mana leader Hone Harawira earlier and asked him for his thoughts on the Education Minister's budget for building new schools in Christchurch. We're unable to provide subtitles. That was Hone Harawira, Mana Party leader. After the break, what does the Minister of Education have to say to Christchurch schools? Te Puia in Rotorua celebrates its 50th birthday Te Puia in Rotorua celebrates its 50th birthday with the unveiling of a not-so-new waharoa. Ponder this - Christmas is less than five weeks away and retailers are already gearing up for the silly season. So too are those who see the hardships many communities face with one well known personality doing his part now to spread some Christmas cheer. Tina Wickliffe has more. Christmas has arrived early for some. But not for families from communities like Kaiti. We know about poverty, when we go to town you can see the stores are already trying to entice people to spend, not to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but to make a dollar. Which is why these good Samaritans of this corner of Gisborne are collecting clothes, household items, and food to lighten the load at this time of year. Before Christmas we'll have bags of food ready to donate. We're not after votes, we're not after anything, what we want is for people to be happy, to put a smile on their face, most of all the children. So this Santa has his own wish for the conscientious amongst us. For those of you who have items, food, anything you'd like to donate, please bring them with your love. They say it's better to give than receive, these Christmas angels are an example of how true that is. Tina Wickliffe, Te Karere. The government is to spend over a billion dollars over the next ten years building, repairing and modernising schools across Christchurch. The Education Minister has this afternoon unveiled the government's final plans for 115 schools across greater Christchurch. It includes building 13 schools on new sites and completely rebuilding 10 schools on existing sites. Hekia Parata says, when finished, 80% of all classrooms in Christchurch will have been modernised. The Auckland Council's submission was presented in a governing meeting today on the prospect of petroleum exploration in the waters off the North Island West Coast. The Council says Ngati Whatua ki Kaipara and Te Kawarau a Maki were the only two of around 20 iwi consulted who have said they will be making their own submissions. Both iwi and council recommending for the exploratory area to be extended from six to 12 nautical miles from the shore line to help protect the habitat of the endangered Maui dolphin that could be affected by sonar activity and chemical leakage. Te Hotu Manawa Maori's report has just been released. The healthy food pyramid has been updated into the form of a healthy eating heart. Maori food is healthy food. This is the belief of Toi Tangata in regards to the new chart that has hopes to increase healthy eating in NZ. The food on the new picture includes food that Maori will understand, affordable and Maori will also recognise where ever they live. If a person does not think about their health, it's time for them to start doing so. According to this chart, the top food is not a surprise. The public is encouraged to eat more fruit and vegetables. However wheat and rice have both been dropped from the encouraged section. If your food doesn't rot within two days, then it's not the right food for you. It must be Maori food. I'll leave those words for you as food for thought. Pere Wihongi, Te Karere. After the break, we have the weather. GENTLE MUSIC Looking back, when I first experienced depression, staying active was probably one of the best things I could have done. I didn't realise it at the time, but these days I know that if I don't work out at least three or four times a week, I just don't feel good. Now, it's not the physical buzz that makes me feel good; it's the mental buzz. It's that little feeling of self-reward or goodness that comes from moving around that helps me feel better mentally. At depression.org.nz, I'll take you through a programme that will teach you that regular exercise is going to help you get through depression. Depression.org.nz ` I'll see you there. To the weather now. For weather, see tvnz.co.nz. A carved waharoa that's widely regarded as the historic symbol of cultural tourism in Rotorua and NZ has been expertly replicated at the NZ Maori Arts and Crafts Institute at Te Puia was unveiled this morning. A carved entranceway to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Te Puia Arts and Crafts Institute, established in 1963. This special occasion brings back memories of all our elders who were here at the time when I first arrived here. It took 9 months to carve this waharoa, therefore many accolades go to those carvers who no doubt applied their expertise and worked tirelessly until its completion. I give absolute salutations to them all for their work in taking great care when undertaking their work. In the year 1908, the original waharoa was shown at the NZ International Exhibition in Hagley Park, and later brought back here to Whakarewarewa where it stood for a 100 years. Truly a magnificent work of art to welcome and be admired by many. To also be loved and caressed by tourists. Hinerangi Goodman, Te Karere. We're unable to provide subtitles. That's all we have for today. Kia ora tatou katoa. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ on Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2013.