KA PO TAPUIKA, KA AO TAURANGA. E TE IWI E POWHIRITIA ANA KOUTOU KI TE HUI. KO MIHINGARANGI TENEI, E MIHI ATU NEI. NAU MAI, TAHUTI MAI RA. WELCOME TO THE HUI, MAORI CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR ALL NZERS. COMING UP THIS MORNING ` THEY BEAR THE MARKINGS OF A ONCE-VIBRANT CULTURE, TE IWI MORIORI. I HAVE OFTEN THOUGHT THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY DO REFLECT THAT MORIORI MUST HAVE BEEN QUITE A HAPPY AND JOYFUL PEOPLE BECAUSE MOST OF THESE IMAGES HAVE A SORT OF A JOYOUS EXPRESSION ABOUT THEM. BUT THE MORIORI'S KOPI TREE AREN'T JUST DYING, THEY'RE BEING DESTROYED. THE VANDALISM IS HUGELY HURTFUL. THE MAMAE OF THAT WAS JUST INDESCRIBABLE. WE RETURN TO REKOHU FOR THE FIGHT TO SAVE THE KOPI. WE MEET THE KAHUNGUNU KID CONQUERING THE BALLET WORLD IN LEAPS ABD BOUNDS. HE LITERALLY JUST CAME ACROSS THE ROOM DOING SPLIT GRANDE JETES, AND THE GIRLS JUST POPPED THEIR EYES AND SORT OF LEANT ON THE WALL AND SAID, 'THAT'S NOT FAIR.' NOW HE'S DANCING HIS WAY FROM LOWER HUTT TO LONDON. IT MUST BE THE MAORI GENE, EH? THAT SHAE'S DONE SO WELL. (LAUGHS) TWINKLE TOES. JUST QUIETLY, IT HAS TO BE. KARAHUIHUI MAI. WELL, IT'S FAIR TO SAY, WHEN IT COMES TO HISTORICAL EVENTS, THE INDIGENOUS MORIORI PEOPLE OF REKOHU, OR THE CHATHAM ISLANDS, HAVE HAD A TOUGH RUN ` ALMOST DRIVEN TO THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION. SOME OF THE FINAL REMNANTS OF THEIR CULTURE ARE THE ENGRAVED FACES OF MOMORI, OR 'DENDROGLYPHS', ON THE KOPI TREES. BUT WHETHER FUTURE GENERATIONS GET TO ENJOY THEM WILL RELY ON THE SUCCESS OF CONSERVATION EFFORTS. OUR REPORTER RAIHA JOHNS REPORTS FROM REKOHU ON THE PLIGHT OF THE MORIORI TO SAVE THE KOPI TREES AND THE TREASURED MOMORI. SERENE MUSIC REKOHU, THE MAIN ISLAND OF THE CHATHAMS, IS WINDSWEPT ALL YEAR ROUND. HOW THE FIRST MORIORI GAVE UP THE WARMTH OF THEIR TROPICAL ISLANDS TO MAKE THIS PLACE HOME IS A TRUE WONDER. NOT ONLY DID THEY LIVE HERE, THEY THRIVED. MAJESTIC MUSIC THESE KOPI TREES PROVIDED SHELTER FROM AN UNFORGIVING CLIMATE. BUT, SADLY, THE KOPI TREES ARE DYING. MAJESTIC MUSIC THEY BEAR THE MARKINGS OF A UNIQUE WORLD TREASURE, TRADITIONAL MORIORI ENGRAVINGS CALLED 'MOMORI', OR 'DENDROGLYPHS'. MAJESTIC MUSIC IT'S VITALLY IMPORTANT THAT THESE TREES ARE` WHAT'S LEFT IS PRESERVED, BECAUSE THESE PLACES ARE NOT JUST OF NATIONAL, BUT OF INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE AND WE PROBABLY HAVE ABOUT A HUNDREDTH LEFT OF WHAT THERE WAS. SO, THIS FEELS LIKE A VERY SPECIAL PLACE. IT'S GOT A GOOD WAIRUA ABOUT IT HERE. AH, KIA ORA. MAUI SOLOMON IS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOKOTEHI MORIROI TRUST, WHO ARE DRIVING THE KOPI CONSERVATION PROJECT, AND THE MORIORI CULTURAL REVIVAL. THE ANCESTORS OR MORIORI BROUGHT THE KOPI TREE HERE AND PLANTED IT. THEY WERE AGRO-FORESTERS. THEY PLANTED AND MANAGED THESE FORESTS BECAUSE THERE WAS NO OTHER SOURCE OF CARBOHYDRATE. THERE WERE NOT POTATOES, THERE WERE NO KUMARA, AND APART FROM FERN ROOT, THE ONLY OTHER CARBOHYDRATE IN THEIR DIET WAS THE KOPI NUT. SO THESE PLACES ARE VERY VERY IMPORTANT. WE'VE SORT OF BEEN TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CREATED THAT IMPRESSION IN THE TREE. SO, WE HAD A WANANGA EARLIER IN THE YEAR TO MAKE TOOLS THAT WE THOUGHT` TRADITIONAL STONE TOOLS WE THOUGHT THEY MIGHT'VE USED, AND WE DID HAVE A PRACTISE ON SOME OTHER TREES. WE'RE STILL IN AWE OF HOW THEY ACTUALLY MANAGED TO MAKE THOSE IMPRESSIONS. NOT ALL HERE SHARE MAUI'S PASSION FOR SAVING THESE TREES. MANY HAVE BEEN VANDALISED. THE WEAPON OF CHOICE ` A MACHETE. NO ONE HAS BEEN HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DAMAGE. THE SOLOMONS ARE FRUSTRATED WITH THE REPEATED ATTACKS ON THESE TAONGA TUKU IHO. THE MAMAE OF THAT WAS JUST INDESCRIBABLE. BUT WE CAN'T BE BEATEN BACK BY THAT KIND OF BEHAVIOUR. WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS SHOW THE SORT OF RESILIENCE THAT THE TREES THEMSELVES ARE. IT'S NOT JUST THE KOPI TREES THAT ARE BEING DAMAGED. THERE ARE OTHER ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND ARTEFACTS ON THE ISLAND BEING WRECKED. THIS WAS THE RESIDENCE OF MORIORI ANCESTOR NUNUKU. THE CARVINGS ARE SAID TO BE OF SEALS, WHICH WAS AN IMPORTANT FOOD SOURCE AND CLOTHING SOURCE FOR THE MORIORI PEOPLE. IN RECENT YEARS IT HAS BEEN VANDALISED AND LIKE THE KOPI TREES, THE HOKOTEHI MORIORI TRUST IS STILL FIGHTING HARD TO HAVE IT PRESERVED. SUSAN THORPE BELIEVES PEOPLE GET AWAY WITH THE VANDALISM BECAUSE THE ISLAND IS SO ISOLATED. WE KNOW IF THIS WAS IN NZ, IN THE MAINLAND NZ, WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS STRUGGLE. I THINK WE'D GET A GREAT DEAL OF SUPPORT AND UNDERSTANDING. THESE ARE THE LAST EXAMPLES OF A UNIQUE CULTURE - UNIQUE INTERNATIONALLY. IT'S NOT JUST THE VANDALISM THAT'S THREATENING THE HEALTH OF THE TREES, THEY'RE ALSO SUFFERING FROM DISEASE. FUNGAL INVASIONS, PHYTOPTHERA INVASION, WHICH CAUSES DIEBACK. THE DETERIORATION WAS RAPID AND IRREVERSIBLE. WITH MANY OF THE TREES DAMAGED OR INFECTED BEYOND SAVING, THE HEART-BREAKING DECISION WAS MADE TO CUT THEM DOWN. THE ANCIENT ENGRAVINGS ARE NOW PRESERVED ON THE ISLAND, WITH TE PAPA PROVIDING TECHNICAL SUPPORT. WE BELIEVE THAT BY BRINGING THEM HERE AND WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TE PAPA, WITH THEIR CONSERVATORS, THAT WE HAVE A CHANCE TO CONSERVE THEM PERMANENTLY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO ENJOY. THE KOPI THAT REMAIN ARE STILL AT RISK FROM DIEBACK AND WIND DAMAGE. BUT MEASURES HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE TO GIVE SOME PROTECTION. EVEN ON A FINE DAY, THE GUSTS ARE PRETTY POWERFUL UP HERE IN ROTORUA, IN REKOHU. THIS IS THE FIRST OF A FEW WIND BREAKERS SET UP AROUND THE KOPI GROVES TO PROTECT THE TREES FROM WIND EROSION. WE ESTIMATE WE NEED $1M TO $2M RESOURCES FOR THE FENCING, FOR THE PLANTING, FOR THE WIND FILTERS, FOR THE FERTILISATION. IT'S A MAJOR PROJECT OF INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE, AND IT'S SUPER URGENT. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE SOME LOCALS WHO DO CARE ABOUT THE TREES, MAUI SAYS HE NEEDS MORE TAUTOKO. THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO DO CARE, BUT I THINK IT'S MORE OF A PASSIVE CARE RATHER THAN AN ACTIVE CARE, AND THEY CERTAINLY APPRECIATE, I THINK, THAT THE RAKAU MOMORI ARE SOMETHING THAT IS DISTINCTIVELY CHATHAM ISLAND. THERE'S A RAHUI OVER THEIR KOPINGA TO ALLOW FOR THE REGENERATION OF THE KOPI TREES. WE PUT IN PLACE A CONTAINMENT STRATEGY, AND THE CONTAINMENT STRATEGY ENABLED US THEN TO GET INTO THE GROVES AND CARRY OUT THE WORK THAT WE NEEDED TO DO TO TRY TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH. BECAUSE THESE ARE KARAPUNA FOR MORIORI. THE RAKAU MOMORI, THE TREES THEMSELVES, AND WE THOUGHT THEY NEEDED A REST. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR KARAPUNA WOULD THINK IF THEY SAW THE STATE THAT THEY'RE IN NOW AND THE EFFORTS THAT YOU'RE MAKING? I THINK THEY'D BE SAD THAT IT'S BEEN LEFT THIS LATE, BUT THEY'D ALSO BE HAPPY THAT THEIR DESCENDANTS ARE NOW TAKING ACTIVE MEASURES TO PROTECT THESE PLACES. THEY'RE THE LAST REMAINING EXAMPLES OF MORIORI ART AND CULTURE IN THE ENVIRONMENT SO WE NEED TO HONOUR THEIR PRESENCE AND STAND STRONG. SERENE MUSIC I'VE OFTEN THOUGHT THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY DO REFLECT THAT MORIORI MUST'VE BEEN QUITE A HAPPY AND JOYFUL PEOPLE. UH, THEY'RE A PEOPLE OF PEACE, AND, UM, BECAUSE MOST OF THESE IMAGES HAVE A` SORT OF A JOYOUS EXPRESSION ABOUT THEM. NA RAIHA JOHNS TERA PURONGO. KEI TUA O NGA WHAKATAIRANGA, KO NGA TAKE TORANGAPU TE KAUPAPA KORERO. BECAUSE MOST OF THESE IMAGES HAVE A SORT OF A JOYOUS EXPRESSION ABOUT THEM. KO TE HUI TENEI E WHAKAPAHO ATU NEI. FOR 60 YEARS THE LABOUR PARTY SAFELY HELD THE MAORI SEATS. THAT ALL CHANGED IN 1996 WHEN THE 'TIGHT FIVE' TOOK ALL THE MAORI SEATS FOR NZ FIRST. BUT THE 'TIGHT FIVE' FELL OUT FAST, AND IN 1999 LABOUR WON THE MAORI SEATS BACK. MAORI VOTERS STAYED LOYAL TO LABOUR UNTIL 2005 WHEN THE FORESHORE AND SEABED LEGISLATION DROVE THEM INTO THE ARMS OF THE MAORI PARTY. FOR THREE TERMS THE MAORI PARTY HAS SAT AT THE TABLE WITH NATIONAL, BUT ITS COME AT A COST. THREE OF THEIR SEATS HAVE RETURNED TO LABOUR; THE MAORI PARTY ONLY KEEPING A HOLD OF WAIARIKI. BUT IT LOOKS LIKE MAORIDOM'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH LABOUR MAY AGAIN BE ON THE ROCKS. NOW FORMER NZ FIRST MP TUKOROIRANGI MORGAN IS VOWING TO WIN BACK EACH AND EVERY MAORI SEAT FOR THE MAORI PARTY. JOINING ME NOW TO DISCUSS THIS IS COLUMNIST CHRIS TROTTER AND CAMPBELL SQUARED FOUNDER AND FORMER TV3 POLITICAL REPORTER SCOTT CAMPBELL. TENA KORUA. KIA ORA. WELL, TUKU SAYS HE MEANS BUSINESS. HE'S GETTING TRACTION IN THE MEDIA, BUT WHAT ARE YOU HEARING ON THE GROUND? WELL, WE'RE THREE WEEKS LATER AND WE'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT IT, SO IT'S OBVIOUSLY STILL GETTING TRACTION. I'VE BEEN ON A BUNCH OF HUI AROUND THE COUNTRY OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS, A RATIFICATION HUI, AND IT COMES UP AT EVERY HUI, TALKING ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING. THE FORESHORE AND SEABED ACT IS STILL DEFINITELY THE` THE MAMAE'S STILL THERE FOR PEOPLE, AND THAT KEEPS COMING UP. PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT ON THE GROUND. BEING AT A HUI BACK HOME WHERE PEOPLE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE CANDIDATES AT HOME. AND SOMEBODY LIKE RAWIRI WAITITI, WHO WAS HARDCORE LABOUR, WHO'S NOW JUMPED SHIP, SAYING THAT HE'S TAKING THE ADVICE OF THE KING AND HE'S NOW FOLLOWING THE MAORI PARTY. SO IT IS HAVING SOME EFFECT ON THE GROUND, YEAH. PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT STILL. SO, CHRIS, WE'VE ATTEMPTED TO GET SOMEONE FROM LABOUR'S LEADERSHIP TO COME ALONG. YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T EVEN GET ANYONE FROM LABOUR TO COME ALONG, BUT YOU'RE HERE. WILL THEY BE FEELING WORRIED ABOUT THIS CHALLENGE? (LAUGHS) THEY'LL BE WORRIED IF YOU'RE CLASSIFYING ME AS THE LABOUR SPOKESPERSON. NO, I'M NOT, SORRY. I'M NOT. (LAUGHS) I WENT TO A FUNCTION EARLIER THIS WEEK AT THE LABOUR PARTY HELD HERE IN AUCKLAND, THE SECOND ONE THEY'D HELD. THEY INVITED ALL THE GOOD AND THE GREAT. THE GOOD AND THE GREAT REALLY WEREN'T THERE IN GREAT NUMBERS. UM, AND NEITHER WERE VERY MANY MAORI MPS. UM, IT'S THE FIRST LABOUR DO I'VE ATTENDED FOR MANY, MANY YEARS WHERE THERE WASN'T A POWHIRI. UM, I JUST CAME AWAY UNDERWHELMED. AND I THINK THAT'S INDICATIVE OF THE PARTY AS A WHOLE. SO WASN'T NANAIA THERE? YOU KNOW, WHO WAS THERE FROM THE MAORI CAUCUS? I DIDN'T SEE NANAIA. UM, I DIDN'T SEE MANY MAORI FACES AT ALL. I DIDN'T SEE MANY PASIFIKA FACES. I MEAN, IT JUST STRUCK ME AS A PARTY THAT, UH, IS STRUGGLING, AND I THINK WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE MAORI SEATS IS INDICATIVE OF A PARTY THAT ISN'T ACTUALLY ON TOP OF ITS GAME YET, UH, AND IS ALLOWING THINGS TO HAPPEN, UH, IS ALLOWING ITSELF TO BE DRIVEN BY EVENTS RATHER THAN DRIVING EVENTS THEMSELVES. DO YOU THINK THE LABOUR LEADERSHIP HAVE TAKEN THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAORI FOR GRANTED? I DON'T THINK THEY KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MAORI. I THINK THEY WERE VERY PLEASED TO GET THE SEATS BACK, BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE 2014, HAVE MAORI BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF IT? UM, ARE THE POLICIES THEY'RE PUTTING FORWARD GEARED TOWARDS THAT CRUCIAL MAORI VOTE? UM, I WOULD SAY NOT. UM, IT'S, AS I SAY, A PARTY THAT SEEMS NOT TO HAVE ALL THE REINS IN ITS HANDS AT THE MOMENT. AND I WOULD SAY THE MAORI PARTY'S A VERY IMPORTANT REIN TO HAVE. ONE MOVEMENT WHICH USED TO BE A LABOUR STRONGHOLD IS THE KINGITANGA, AND WE HEARD KINGI TUHEITIA RECENTLY BASICALLY WRITE THEM OFF AND BACK THE MAORI PARTY. WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF HIS SPEECH? OH, PRETTY STRATEGIC FROM TUKU'S POINT OF VIEW IN PARTICULAR. UM, EVEN JUST HAVING TUKU AS VOTED IN AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE MAORI PARTY, EVERYBODY AROUND TAINUI IN PARTICULAR KNOWS THAT TUKU'S AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE KING, UM, SO THAT IMPLICITLY IS THE SIGNAL TO MAORI TO SAY, 'HEY, THIS IS HAPPENING ANYWAY.' BUT THEN FOR THE KING TO COME OUT AND BE SO OPEN ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, WELL, I GUESS THAT'S THEIR TAKE. THEY` HE IS STILL HURTING IN THE MAMAE FROM THE FORESHORE AND SEABED. THAT'S OBVIOUS. BUT THERE'S THE MAMAE OF NOT HAVING NANAIA ANYWHERE NEAR THE FRONT AS WELL TOO, AND THAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED. WAS THIS A BIT OF POLITICAL UTU? OH, OF COURSE, BECAUSE THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD MAORI HIGHER UP THE LIST AS FAR AS WHERE THE PARTY IS SITTING AT THE MOMENT. YOU HAVE TO LOOK THROUGH THE RANKINGS IN THE PARTY. YOU GO DOWN TO KELVIN AND THEN NANAIA AND THEN THE REST OF THEM ARE RIGHT DOWN THE BOTTOM. KELVIN'S SEVEN. NANAIA'S 12. IT'S JUST` SHE BROUGHT IN SIX SEATS, AND SHE GETS REWARDED WITH NOT EVEN BEING IN THE TOP 10. I'M JUST GOING TO PICK UP ON WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT NO POWHIRI AT THE LATEST HUI, BECAUSE BACK IN THE DAY IF SOMEONE HAD SET A CHALLENGE LIKE THAT TO THE LABOUR PARTY, SOMEONE LIKE SHANE JONES WOULD HAVE ROSE TO HIS FEET ON A PAEPAE AND CHALLENGED THE KING. HE WAS GOOD AT THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. DO THEY JUST NOT`? WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT? ARE THEY NOT GETTING THAT OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD? (SIGHS) NANAIA'S EFFECTIVE DEMOTION WAS CONSIDERED AND ENACTED, I THINK, ALMOST ENTIRELY IN PAKEHA TERMS. I MEAN, THERE HAD BEEN FACTIONAL STRUGGLES. SHE, IN A SENSE, HAD BACKED THE WRONG HORSE. SHE WAS PAYING THE PRICE FOR THAT. YOU SEE THE ELEVATION OF SOMEONE LIKE, UM, KELVIN DAVIS. AND SO HE GETS PROMOTED AND HE REPLACES NANAIA. THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE THE UNDERSTANDING THAT, YOU KNOW, HER LAST NAME IS MAHUTA, YOU KNOW? (LAUGHS) IT'S MORE THAN JUST NANAIA THAT` DO YOU THINK SHE'LL STAND AGAIN? WELL, THERE'S LOTS OF RUMOURS FLOATING AROUND, AND CLEARLY THE KING'S INTERVENTION ` UM, RARE BUT I THINK SIGNIFICANT ` UM, I THINK IS HAVING ITS EFFECT. WE'VE ONLY GOT A VERY SHORT TIME LEFT, BUT I JUST WANT TO SAY TO YOU HOW DO YOU THINK WINSTON PETERS AND NZ FIRST WILL REACT TO TUKU TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, TAKE THIS KINGMAKER, UM, PLACE? THEY'LL BRING BACK THE MAN WHO SHOULD BE AT THE TOP OF THE LABOUR PARTY AS FROM A MAORI POINT OF VIEW, WHICH IS SHANE JONES. UM, HE'LL COME BACK. I'LL PUT SOME MONEY ON IT. IT'S HIS BIRTHDAY THIS WEEKEND. HE'S PROBABLY CELEBRATING, BUT I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF HE COMES BACK. IT'LL BE THE FINAL UTU FOR WINSTON IN PARTICULAR. HE KNOWS THAT SHANE'S GOT A BIG FOLLOWING. LABOUR IS MISSING HIS LEADERSHIP IN THE MAORI CAUCUS INSIDE THAT PARTY. PEENI DOESN'T QUITE HAVE THE BACKGROUND AND THE EXPERIENCE. NEITHER DOES RINO. SHANE WAS THE PERSON. WILL HE COME BACK IN A MAORI SEAT? UH, LET'S SEE. UM, IT WILL BE VERY... WHANGAREI ` NOT A MAORI SEAT. IT WILL BE A VERY INTERESTING SPACE TO WATCH IN THE NEXT YEAR. TAMAKI MAKAURAU. TENA KORUA. THANK YOU SO MUCH. NOHO TONU MAI RA, AFTER THE BREAK, WE MEET THE KAHUNGUNU TEEN TAKING THE BALLET WORLD BY STORM. HOKI MAI ANO. IN THREE SHORT YEARS, NGATI KAHUNGUNU DANCER SHAE BERNEY HAS ACHIEVED WHAT MANY TAKE DECADES TO ATTAIN ` INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION IN THE PERFORMING ARTS. CHASING HIS DREAM AS DANCER WAS SOMETHING SHAE KEPT SECRET FROM HIS SCHOOL MATES, BUT SINCE LEAPING ONTO THE WORLD STAGE AND RECENTLY BEING ACCEPTED INTO THE LONDON BALLET SCHOOL, THERE'S NO HIDING THIS YOUNG MAN'S SUCCESS. RUWANI PERERA HAS SHAE BERNEY'S EXCITING ADVENTURE. CLASSICAL MUSIC HE'S GOT LONG LIMBS. HE'S GOT REALLY GOOD FEET. HE'S GOT GOOD PROPORTIONS AND HE LOOKS GOOD, AND THAT ALWAYS HELPS. I LOVE TO DANCE, AND THAT FEELING THAT YOU GET JUST EXPRESSING YOURSELF. YOU GET BUTTERFLIES (CHUCKLES) AND YOU JUST GET PUMPED, BASICALLY, JUST TO DANCE. THIS LOWER HUTT TEENAGER WAS BORN TO BALLET. HE A BIT OF A FREAK? (LAUGHS) FOR ME, FOR PEOPLE I'VE TAUGHT, YES. BUT I'VE NEVER HAD IT HAPPEN BEFORE, AND IT'S AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE TO HAVE A FREAK. (LAUGHS) WHEN IT COMES TO CLASSICAL BALLET, 16-YEAR-OLD SHAE BERNEY FROM NGATI KAHUNGUNU IS A NATURAL. IT MUST BE THE MAORI GENE, EH? THAT SHAE'S DONE SO WELL. TWINKLE TOES. JUST QUIETLY, IT HAS TO BE, COS WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP. (LAUGHS) HE'S LEAPT ONTO THE BALLET SCENE AND IS WELL ON HIS WAY TO MAKING IT BIG. TO BE SO YOUNG LIKE HIM AND HAVE THIS TALENT AND THIS POSSIBILITY, HE NEEDS TO BELIEVE IN AN INCREDIBLE, BIG FUTURE. BEING THE ONLY MALE IN CLASS ISN'T EXACTLY UNUSUAL, BUT WHAT SETS SHAE APART IS HOW LONG HE'S BEEN DANCING. WHILE MOST TAKE BALLET CLASSES SOON AFTER THEY LEARN TO WALK, SHAE BERNEY TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS JUST THREE YEARS AGO. HE WAS 13. WAS IT LITERALLY ONE DANCE AND YOU WERE TAKEN? YEAH, JUST ONCE CLASS AND I LOVED IT. I JUST SAID, 'COME IN, JOIN INTO THE CLASS AND JUST DO WHAT YOU CAN DO.' AND HE STOOD JUST AT THE BAR OVER HERE AND WENT THROUGH ALL THE WORK. DO THIS SORT OF STUFF TO TRY AND FIX IT. BRONWYN BENNETT IS SHAE'S BALLET TEACHER, AND SAYS RIGHT FROM THE START HE BLEW EVERYONE AWAY. HE LITERALLY JUST CAME ACROSS THE ROOM DOING SPLIT GRAND JETES, AND THE GIRLS JUST POPPED THEIR EYES AND SORT OF LEANT ON THE WALL AND SAID, 'THAT'S NOT FAIR.' COS HE JUST DID IT. BEING A LATE STARTER IS ALL THE MOTIVATION SHAE NEEDS. HE KNEW RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING HOW MUCH MORE WORK IT WAS GOING TO TAKE FOR HIM. HOW DO YOU CATCH UP ON ALL THOSE YEARS OF FORMAL TRAINING? SO, HE WOULD COME IN AND USE ANOTHER SPACE THAT WAS EMPTY, AND HIS SISTER WOULD COME IN AND HELP HIM. SO HE HAD THAT AS WELL. HE WANTED TO DO EXTRA TO CATCH UP. PA: FROM WELLINGTON, SHAE BERNEY. BUT BEING FLEXIBLE WITH HIS BODY WASN'T TOTALLY NEW FOR SHAE. HE'S BEEN DOING GYMNASTICS SINCE HE WAS 5. HE WAS PRETTY GOOD AT IT. RUGBY, ON THE OTHER HAND, NOT SO MUCH. I FOUND OUT VERY QUICKLY THAT IT WASN'T FOR HIM. THERE WAS ONE OCCASION WHERE THEY WERE RUNNING DOWN THE SIDELINE AND HE WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FIELD TO DO THE COVER TACKLE. HE'D DONE A LEAP, SPLIT-LEAP. LEGS IN THE AIR AWAY HE WENT AND I KINDA KNEW THEN THAT, YEAH, THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE ON HIS MIND APART FROM RUGBY. YEAH THAT WAS MY LIFE, AND THIS IS HIS. NOW THEIR LIVES REVOLVE AROUND ALL THEIR BALLET. WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN THE CAR PARK WAITING, DRIVING HIM EVERYWHERE. AND I KNOW A LOT OF PARENTS CAN RELATE TO THE SAME SITUATION, SO THAT'S WHAT YOU DO FOR YOUR KIDS. LAST YEAR, AFTER JUST 18 MONTHS OF DANCING, SHAE MADE HIS DEBUT PERFORMANCE AT 15 ` HIS FIRST OUTSIDE OF THE DANCE STUDIO, COMPETING AGAINST 400 OTHER DANCERS FROM ALL OVER AUSTRALASIA. SHAE MORE THAN IMPRESSED THE JUDGES. THAT WAS MY FIRST EVER COMPETITION I'D DONE, SO THAT WAS REALLY EXCITING TO GET THAT RESULT. HE GOT HIS BIG BREAK, LANDING A SCHOLARSHIP TO TRAIN AT A PRESTIGIOUS BALLET CONSERVATORY IN FLORIDA. SHAE STUDIED THERE FOR A MONTH. WHEN I CAME BACK FROM FLORIDA THAT'S WHEN I WANTED TO DANCE. YEAH, THAT'S WHEN I KNEW IT WAS MY THING, YEAH. HE WAS A VERY DIFFERENT BOY WHEN HE CAME BACK. AND JUST SAW WHAT WAS POSSIBLE. SO THAT INSPIRED HIM TO SEE THESE OTHER BOYS AROUND HIM AND WHAT THEY COULD DO. SHAE FITS ABOUT 20 HOURS OF BALLET TRAINING A WEEK AROUND HIS STUDIES. THERE ARE THE INEVITABLE SACRIFICES. SCHOOL IS REALLY THE ONLY TIME HE SEES HIS MATES. I TEXT LOTS (LAUGHS) BUT JUST THE HAVING AFTER TIME` AFTER SCHOOL TIME AND FAMILY TIME HAS REALLY GONE DOWN. I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME FOR THAT STUFF. THAT'S REALLY SAD. BUT LIVING AND BREATHING BALLET HASN'T BEEN A WASTE OF TIME. IN APRIL SHAE AUDITIONED FOR A 3-YEAR TRAINING SCHOLARSHIP AT THE ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET SCHOOL IN LONDON. THEY WERE SO IMPRESSED, THE FAMOUS SCHOOL OFFERED HIM ONE OF ONLY THREE PLACES. ROYAL NEW ZEALAND BALLET'S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR FRANCESCO VENTRIGLIA KNOWS WHAT A BIG DEAL THIS IS. HE'LL BE 17, DANCING FOR THREE YEARS, HOW BIG AN ACHIEVEMENT IS THAT? WELL, THIS IS TALENT. THE ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET SCHOOL IS A SCHOOL WHERE A LOT OF FAMOUS AND GREAT DANCERS STARTED IN THE PAST SO IT'S FOR SURE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR HIM. AND TO LIVE IN LONDON IS ANOTHER GREAT OPPORTUNITY. I HOPE HE JUST LOVES IT, AND JUST GETS ABSORBED BY THE LIFE AND THE DANCE SCHOOL IN LONDON, BUT THERE'S A CHANCE THAT THAT WON'T HAPPEN. SHALL I PUT THE CHICKEN IN? UH, JUST THE ONIONS ON THE SIDE. YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO COOK FOR LONDON. (LAUGHS) SHAE KNOWS THE REALITIES. HIS OLDER SISTER MIKAELA WAS THE BALLET DANCER IN THE FAMILY, DANCING FOR 10 YEARS, BUT AN INJURED FOOT FORCED HER TO GIVE BALLET UP. HE IS LIVING HER DREAM REALLY, YEAH. IT'S TOUGH. IT IS TOUGH. SHE HAS BEEN AMAZING, ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. SHE HAS SUPPORTED HIM 100% ALTHOUGH YOU KNOW ITS HURTING, SHE'S STILL THERE FOR HIM. IT'S TAUGHT SHAE HOW QUICKLY THINGS CAN CHANGE AND HE'S KEEPING HIS OPTIONS OPEN, IN CASE. PLAN B IS GRAPHIC DESIGNER, HOPEFULLY. I MIGHT END UP DOING THAT ON THE SIDELINES ANYWAY, BUT DANCING'S MY THING, THAT'S WHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO. AND HIS WHANAU ARE RIGHT BEHIND HIM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. SCARY, EXCITING, EXHILARATING, ALL THOSE THINGS. IT'S A LOT OF EMOTIONS ALL PACKED UP INTO ONE. I JUST CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT HE DOES, WHERE HE ENDS UP. I'M VERY PROUD, VERY PROUD OF HIM. BUT ITS HIM, IT'S HIM THAT'S WORKED. SHAE WILL NEED EVEN MORE OF THE DRIVE AND DETERMINATION THAT'S GOT HIM HERE. LONDON WILL BE WHERE THE REAL WORK STARTS. WHAT I CAN SUGGEST TO HIM IS TO HARD, HARD, HARD WORK. TO STUDY A LOT, BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE THIS KIND OF TALENT, YOU HAVE IN YOUR HANDS BIG POSSIBILITY. I WANT TO BECOME A COMPANY MEMBER IN A COMPANY AND JUST DANCE ALL DAY AND THEN IF` WHEN MY CAREER IS OVER JUST TEACH AND JUST PASS MY KNOWLEDGE ON TO YOUNGER STUDENTS. IT'S MY DREAM. HOPEFULLY IN NZ TO COME BACK TO HELP KIWI BOYS, MAINLY, PURSUE THEIR DREAM, YEAH. NA RUWANI PERERA TERA PURONGO. COMING UP NEXT WEEK ON THE HUI ` HIS STORY IS DARK AND CONFRONTING. AT A YOUNG AGE I WAS ACCUSTOMED TO ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AND FOR PAUL WHATUIRA IT'S A DIFFICULT STORY TO TELL. THE VOICES IN MY HEAD WERE TELLING ME TO KILL MY PARTNER VANESSA, OUR UNBORN CHILD AND THEN MYSELF. THE VOICES IN MY HEAD WERE TELLING ME THAT MY BROTHER BACK IN NZ HAD KILLED HIMSELF BECAUSE OF ME. IT'S ABOUT TRIUMPH, TRAGEDY AND REDEMPTION, AND IT'S A STORY HE BELIEVES CAN HELP OTHERS. SUICIDE IS MASSIVE IN NZ AND AUSTRALIA, AND I JUST WANT TO PLAY MY PART AND, UM, TRY GIVE OUR PEOPLE HOPE. THANKS FOR JOINING US TODAY, HUI HOPPERS. REMEMBER, YOU CAN CATCH ALL OUR STORIES ON THE 3NOW APP OR WEBSITE, AND WE'LL POST LINKS ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, AND ON TWITTER @THEHUITV3. BEFORE WE GO THIS MORNING, KUA TAKOTO TE MANUKA. KO TE MARAMA O MAHURU MAORI TENEI, TE HAERE AKE NEI. KO TE WHAINGA KIA KORERO MAORI ANAKE MO TE RA KOTAHI O TE WIKI, TE WIKI KOTAHI RANEI, TE MARAMA KATOA RANEI. NO REIRA TU WHITIA TE HOPO E HOA MA, KOREROTIA, MAI-MOATIA. KUA HIKINA TE HUI MO TENEI WIKI. MAURI ORA KI A TATOU KATOA. CAPTIONS BY ABLE. WWW.ABLE.CO.NZ CAPTIONS WERE MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM NZ ON AIR. COPYRIGHT ABLE 2016