27 November 2014 Coming up on Te Karere... John Key faces a grilling over his on-going ties to controversial blogger Cameron Slater. A new road safety warning as we prepare for the summer holidays. Dunedin wins Gigatown competition, but was it fair? Due to the live nature of Te Karere, some segments will not be subtitled. Tena koutou katoa, and welcome to Te Karere. A parliamentary committee has begun hearing submissions on a new bill aimed at preventing New Zealanders from being recruited as foreign terrorist fighters. It will strengthen the government's ability to cancel or suspend passports and extend the surveillance powers of the SIS. Although the Maori Party has supported the bill through its first reading they say they have concerns about how the changes will affect Maori and say the timeframe to make submissions has meant a lot of people have missed out on having a voice on the matter. Public submissions closed today and the select committee is set to report back to Parliament next Tuesday. Meanwhile Prime Minister John Key is in hot water today after accusations he misled Parliament about his dealings with controversial blogger Cameron Slater. Going about his normal duties today, but there was no avoiding the issue. John Key was forced to go back to the house last night to explain his conversation with blogger Cameron Slater after earlier not answering the question correctly. Labour says Key lied. We know he lied. He says it was only brief, but we've seen his texts with the blogger Cameron Slater so we know the deceit goes deeper with his lackeys like Slater. But John Key maintains he was not in the wrong. He wants to distance himself from Slater now because he's been caught out. Not a great week for the government, but that suits the opposition just fine. Irena Smith, Te Karere. Maori Party co-leader, Marama Fox, took the issue of low Maori representation in local body politics to Parliament today when she asked the Local Government Minister whether there were any plans to address the disparity. What initiatives has the minister investigated to increase tangata whenua representation on local and district councils? However, Paula Bennett said government officials will provide advice on the issue in March. Marama Fox says just 5.7% of local body politicians are Maori. Reach the Beach - the main drive behind the road safety initiatives for the upcoming holidays. Police and ambulance met today at Piha Beach where they spoke about the different initiatives that will be implemented throughout this summer. Pere Wihongi reports. For now they look like they're having fun. But these are the last people you want to be seeing on your summer holidays. Avoiding them and other emergency services is the goal. With the summer heat nibbling at us, it will only mean more families heading to the beach. But it's arriving safely to the beach. Those safety warnings include a zero tolerance for drivers who go over the speed limit. And a lower alcohol level for drivers under 20. From 80 to 30mg, those under 20 are at 0mg. But there were some who objected to these initiatives. They turned up today to voice their concern. Matthew-Wilson says campaigning aside, it's about creating better roads, better cars and better medical services. Rules will be official as of next Monday. Pere Wihongi, Te Karere. Tongans head to the polls today for their national election. Voting started at 9am local time. Almost 200 voting polls were put up across their islands. There are 105 candidates standing for the 17 seats allocated to the people's representatives while the noble families will also choose nine members to represent them in the new Parliament. A record 16 female candidates are hoping to get selected to represent in their government. Also a record number of women have registered to vote in the poll. Only four women have managed to get elected in Tonga since the 50s. After the break, Dunedin wins Gigatown competition, but was it fair? He's only 16 but already making a name for himself. Questions are being raised as to the fairness of a competition that's made Dunedin the first city in the southern hemisphere to get ultra-fast broadband. The southern city won the year-long 'Gigatown' competition, beating four smaller populated cities including Gisborne. Oriini Tipene-Leach reports. The Gisborne mayor seemed somewhat anxious prior to last night's big announcement. It was the crowning moment the entire East Coast had long dreamed for. It's a plan the judges favoured most putting Gisborne in first place for that challenge. They placed second and third in all other five challenges, albeit winning the social media challenge. In Gisborne today the disappointment was apparent. We didn't win and I congratulate Dunedin. However, Gisborne is this small compared to Dunedin which is this big. But, tomorrow is another day. The majority of us are still on dial-up and we're doing ok. We'll continue to manage to get by. As part of their prize Dunedin gets a $500,000 community development fund, as well as $200,000 to help entrepreneurs. Work will begin over the next few months that'll give the city 1 gigabyte per second internet speeds I'd like to congratulate Dunedin for winning this competition. It s a prize that comes with an expiry date. As for this...well, it's a prize that'll never be taken from the East Coast. Oriini Tipene-Leach, Te Karere. A towering 16-year-old is the favourite to take out the Junior Maori Sportsman title at this year's Maori Sports Awards on Saturday night. He comes from good stock - both parents are world champions, and his dad is the most titled champion in wood chopping. But as Manawa Wright reports, the young up-and-comer is making a name for himself in a totally different sport. Blocks don't come easier than this. Yes indeed this isn't a game for the Tall Blacks. Wynyard has been selected for that very team, making him the youngest in both his junior and senior Tall Blacks teams. This young man is a whopping 200cm short, he's in the running for Junior Sportsman of the Year at this year s Maori Sports Awards. Tai's father Jason is also up for Senior Sportsman of the Year, a world first if both Wynyards win. The Maori Sports Awards take place in Manukau's Vodafone Events Centre on Saturday night. Wynyard hopes both he and his father slam dunk the awards this coming weekend. Manawa Wright, Te Karere. The NZRFU has just announced the list of nominees The NZRFU has just announced the list of nominees for its annual awards. A number of Maori are in line for recognition. Also of interest are the nominees for the Tom French Memorial - the award for the best Maori rugby player of the year. Heta Gardiner has the details. What a year it's been for ABs and Highlanders player Aaron Smith. His performances have been rewarded with a nomination for Player of the Year, for the Steinlager Awards. It'll be a tough task to take the top spot, considering he is up against recently crowned world player of the year Brodie Retallick, and ABs captain Richie McCaw. Many Maori were nominated. Colin Cooper, the Taranaki and Maori ABs coach was nominated for Coach of the Year, and Amiria Rule and Rawinia Everitt will battle it out for Women's Player of the Year. The three players battling it out for Maori player of the year are Smith, Liam Messam, and Maori ABs captain Charlie Ngatai. The awards will be presented next month. The awards will be presented next month. Heta Gardiner, Te Karere. After the break, a new website to learn te reo Maori for those struggling to make classes. And then we have the weather. To the weather now. For weather, see tvnz.co.nz. Let's take another look at today's top stories. John Key faces a grilling over his on-going ties to controversial blogger Cameron Slater. A new road safety warning as we prepare for the summer holidays. Dunedin wins Gigatown competition, but was it fair? A new website that teaches te reo has just launched. It's been designed for people who find it difficult to attend classes or those living overseas. Hinerangi Goodman spoke with the creators of the website named Maori.com An online resource, publically accessible via the internet 24/7. In my research people are getting lazy not going to kura to learn Maori. In countries like Australia and further afield this is an absolute gem. It makes it easier for those living overseas to access programmes without having to physically attend a learning institution onsite. One of the problems living overseas like Australia, there are few to no places to go to learn te reo. In the past things like this would not have been possible because of the low availability of broadband internet. Now, it's everywhere. Of course we are all busier now more than ever. But the technology now exists that makes flexible learning possible. So get to it and learn te reo on your cell phones. Hinerangi Goodman, Te Karere. That's all we have for today. Turou Hawaiki. Captions were made possible with funding from Te Mangai Paho. Copyright TVNZ 2014.