Kei taku tahuna-a-tara, kei aku taniwha hikuroa, tomo mai ki te whare korero o Te Hui. Ko Mihingarangi tenei e mihi atu nei, nau mai, tahuti mai ra. Welcome to The Hui, Maori current affairs for all New Zealanders. Awataha marae was built to serve the Maori community of Auckland's North Shore, but critics say management have hijacked the marae complex, putting tourism before tikanga, leaving whanau to host tangi in their garage. It's not for someone to be running a business out of. It is there for the whole community. Now the tug-of-war over Awataha has reached breaking point, with a community determined to take back their marae. Then, we're in the Kauta with kaumatua who are cooking up a storm, learning tasty tips and healthy habits in their ripe old age. I just wanted to learn how to cook properly. Karahuihui mai. Awataha is an iconic marae on Auckland's North Shore. Established in the 1980s, the marae became an important cultural anchor for whanau who'd been swept up in the tide of urban drift, but 30 years on, the Maori community of Te Raki Paewhenua say that Awataha has lost sight of its original purpose, prioritising business over the community. Our reporter Raiha Paki with this report. It's supposed to be a home away from home for the Maori of Auckland's North Shore. A place to come together, a place to be Maori. But 30 years after the establishment of Awataha marae, the community here say they've been left out in the cold. It's just like they've just had the door shut in your face, and that is absolutely what everyone is over. I used to just come down and stroll in, say hi to the whanau, those sort of things. I don't feel like I can any more. I don't feel like I'm welcome to do that. Now Awataha is the centre of a tug of war between the community and the people who run it. WOMAN: I feel this is our last stand, really. We're united as a ropu, and we're going to do it this time. We are, absolutely. We're not going to give up. Awataha started in 1985, when the government agreed to lease this land for a marae. Hohepa McLean grew up here, and says the marae was a long-held dream of this community. There was always a strong Maori desire to have the marae here. There was always a strong Maori community willing and wanting a hub to call their own, knowing that it was a pan-tribal, knowing that there was Maori from all across the motu that were bases in Auckland on the North Shore. A lot coming through the navy. Yeah, it's always been a tight community here. A leading figure in the establishment of Awataha was renown Maori artist Dr Arnold Wilson. Under Wilson's leadership, Awataha was a place where Maori could connect with their culture in the big smoke. The marae hosted Ataarangi Maori language classes. We had Ataarangi running for about just over 10 years. That started when Arnold Wilson invited some of the tutors from west to started their own whare here, and that was pumping. We would have been producing close to about 80 students a year coming through that whare, increasing up to over a hundred when we were running at full capacity. But while the reo was welcome, tangihanga were not. Wilson decreed that until the wharenui was carved, no tangi should be held here. Three decades on, the whare remains uncarved so grieving whanau are often left with no option but to host what's become known as 'garage tangi'. It's sad when you have to go to your standard three-bedroom state house and try and cater for 300 people or 400 people, when you can only fit 20 people at most in the lounge with the body at any one time. It's not conducive to fulfilling the grieving process, the tangihanga process. WOMAN: You would have thought that those managing the marae would have addresses that need and thought, 'OK, so we can't have the tangi in the whare, but let's see if we can get an old pre-fab building. Let's put some money into meeting those needs of the community. Raewyn Harrison was brought up on the North Shore and has been a long-time supporter of Awataha, even performing with its kapa haka. She can't understand why the whare hasn't been carved, given the support the marae has received. In 2002, Creative New Zealand provided $40,000 to produce the barge boards and tekoteko for the wharenui. And in 2003, North Shore City granted $60,000 to complete the final stage of the wharenui, by beginning work on the carvings. That was 14 years ago. What's happened? I'm not really sure, but what the community's talking about is the huge wooden fence that's been there for nearly two years. It's like, how come they can build this huge wooden fence around the marae complex, which would have cost a substantial amount of money to do, and yet we cannot finish those carvings in the whare? These are the questions that the community are asking. Wilson passed away in 2012. And Awataha is now run by his son Anthony. Like many marae, Awataha doesn't receive funding for its day-to-day running, and relies on hiring its facilities to pay the bills. But some say management are putting tourism before tikanga. Yes, I do think that a lot of what is happening down there is for the benefit of a few. If they are making a considerable amount of money from having lots of tourists go down there, I don't think that is being put in to the marae, as in to open the doors more to the community. So, I think it's just going into more of a business building, and that's really a huge concern for us as a community because to us, that's not what the marae is for. It's not for someone to be running a business out of. It is there for the whole community. Raewyn says she, like many others, is frustrated with the marae management, who she believes avoids engaging with the community. My mahi is taking te reo Maori into mainstream primary schools and intermediate schools so I've met a lot of principals, in particular on the North Shore, who have voiced very strongly their disappointment in trying to engage with the marae. They've been trying to set up a school visit. They either get no response to their emails or phone calls, so you sit there as the Maori with the brown face, trying to explain why Awataha is not engaging to that extent. In 2015, a committee was set up to try and address matter with Awataha. Thank you all for turning up again. They were calling for transparency ad a greater say over the marae. It's not the way that we would have chosen to go, but we feel that we would have no other choice but to go down that legal pathway as well. After refusing to meet in an open forum, marae management eventually responded to their request. Last year, Awataha Marae Incorporated Society invited the community to apply and pay a fee to be incorporated members. 82 people applied, only to be told this year that those applications have been declined as the marae entity is now changing into a charitable trust. Raewyn feels this is a deliberate move to keep the community out by shifting the goal posts. I think it's just another example yet again of how they tend to manipulate things to what they want rather than as a community, what the community wants. The community is now calling for a new marae to be built in Beach Haven. It's an idea supported by Awataha marae management. But the community here still want Awataha to serve its original purpose and open its doors. How did it end up that such a few people took control of our taonga? I realise that some of those people were instrumental in having it come about and building it. I understand that, I appreciate that, but it's not theirs. What angers me the most is that it seems like it is for very few people, a certain group, and they're willing to do just about everything to keep it that way. We asked managing director of Awataha marae Anthony Wilson to be interviewed for this story, but he declined. He also declined our request to film on marae grounds. For those fed up with the status quo, the time for talk is over. Next week they plan to start protesting, and they say they won't stop there. Do we want it to go further, to the High Court? No, not really But unless the people down there are prepared to take us seriously, that is exactly where we will go is we are pushed into doing so. Na Raiha Paki tera purongo. And to clarify, the 82 applicants whose memberships to Awataha's incorporated society were declined were therefore not charged a membership fee. As we said, we asked Awataha Marae CEO Anthony Wilson to be interviewed for that story, but he declined. In a statement received from Awataha Marae, Mr Wilson says that over 10,000 people use the marae's facilities, or access it's programmes annually. Moving to a trust structure would be more inclusive and would allow the marae to better provide for its community. Te Whanau o Awataha Trust was formed earlier this year to replace the incorporated society. He says the new trustees bring a wealth of business experience and a vibrant new energy, and he welcomes the opportunity to be working with them. Mr Wilson also says redevelopment plans include completing the wharenui so there is a dedicated space for cultural needs such as tangihanga. We'll keep you posted on developments there. He kowhiringa poti e kainamu mai nei, heoi ano ka mate wheke, ka mate ururoa ranei te Pati Maori. Kei tua o nga whakatairanga ko tona kaiarahi takirua. Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell joins me next. Ko Te Hui tenei te whakapaoho atu nei. It's nearly nine years since the Maori Party teamed up with National to form a government. With just months until the September general election, the question is whose table does the Maori Party want to be seated at, and what influence will Maori voters have in that decision? Joining me to talk about policy, partnerships and Parihaka is the co-leader of the Maori Party and Minister for Maori Development Te Ururoa Flavell. Tena koe. Pai morena. Morena. 'Make government Maori' is a slogan that I've read. I guess the question is which government? Well, the first thing to tell everyone is that the Maori Party is at the seat with National on the basis of a pohiri, if you like, an invitation. They've never needed us in the last nine years, and they've chosen for their reasons to invite us to be there after the election. Generally we get a phone call, and we go round and ask our people whether they think it's a good idea to be with the government of the day, and at this point in time it's only ever been National that asked us. And I guess that's because they were in a position to ask you to come to the party, and they were going to rule. If the numbers stacked up for the Labour and Green coalition, and they did extend that powhiri atu ki a koe, would you be making that government Maori? What we would be doing is doing exactly the same processes, going back to our people and saying, 'Well, here's the invitation. It's arrived. We can make the numbers. You've told us in the past 'that you want us to be influential,' and therefore make a considered decision from that. Last election, the National government assisted you to raise funds. Will you be doing that again with them? We haven't any plans at the moment around that. If they toro'ed to you to help you, extended that invitation again, would you? We'd consider it on its merits. We're always looking for opportunities to get some money in the putea, Mihi. It's pretty hard going. Based on that, if you did take that offer again, it would pretty much put you in the camp of the National government. How would you then turn around and back up a Labour government if the National government's helped you fundraise? National has always been very clear that we stand alone. That's the basis of our arrangement with them. We support them for purposes of the budget legislation, but over and above that, we're able to freely vote against them. We've done that it terms of resource management for a while. We did in terms of our stand over the Kermadecs. We're freely able to stand against them. So, you'd have no issue? You'd have no issue saying, 'Hey, thanks for building our putea. 'We're going with those guys.' Well, I always recognise that that's how it goes. But on the other side of the coin, labour have basically rejected us and the leadership have said we're the last cab off the rank, and that they wanna work with a non-kaupapa Maori party so therefore` Oh, we'll see what happens, but on election night we know one thing, that they always need the smaller parties to make up the numbers, and we'll make the decision based on what our people tell us. Let's talk about a kaupapa Maori. Whanau Ora received another 10 million in the budget. Are you happy with that? Is it enough? Well, I'm happy that we got money, but it's never enough because our people tell us firstly about the benefits and I've seen and hear of the benefits for many thousands of our people out there that get Whanau Ora benefits, but it's never enough, and we're trying. There's two ways we do it. One is to try and get new money, which we managed to secure, or else draw some of the money out of the bigger portfolio areas. That's happening down in Rotorua at the moment with Te Kahui Hauora, whose lost a contract. What their job is is they bridge the gap for people with culturally incompetencies between front line staff at the hospital and whanau Maori that are visiting. They've lost their contract. $280,000 a year, I think that is, and they've been told that those services will go into a pool and Whanau Ora will take on some of those. So, here we have that situation at the beginning of Whanau Ora, that people were concerned that Whanau Ora would be taking Maori kaupapa contracts. What are your thoughts? How do you know that this isn't happening all over the place? It probably did happen as soon as Whanau Ora came in. The idea at the time was to try and strengthen up the providers in the first instance and bring some organisation` So are you saying the Kahui Hauora wasn't strong? No, I'm saying that when Whanau Ora started, the object of the exercise was to strengthen providers in the first instance. Secondly, it was to try and get away from the notion that you had five providers providing all of the same service in smaller communities, therefore all in competition. I think we've gotten over that. The time has passed now where everybody's consolidated a lot more. There are` What's happening with this Rotorua example, this Ngati Whakaue example? What's happening here? I haven't got all the detail, but what I do know is that both of them have certainly experienced the services of Hunga Manaakis so I know about that, and I also recognise the services that Whanau Ora bring. They've bid for a contract. One of them has been successful, and the other one, it seems like it has not been successful. I think at the end of that day` But one's a Maori kaupapa that's run by an iwi, so that's tino rangatiratanga right there, and what they want is they want to bring it under clinical, which isn't really tino rangatiratanga at all. The downside is I haven't got all the information, but Kahui` Will you look into it? I'm certainly looking into it. It's right in my own electorate so that's fine. Let's have a look at some of your other budget wins, if you like. Waka Oranga. The new initiative is one million dollars to fund a mobile health clinic, in Mataatua, your electorate, and the East Coast. How often would a community see this mobile` this Waka Oranga? As often as we can possibly make it. The opportunity came up in discussions with some of the health providers not just in Mataatua, but down the coast, up North, where many of our rural communities have really been screaming for access to facilities, to try and trial this out, to see how it goes because it's not currently run by anyone, and the hope will be that they see them fairly regularly. Ka pai. Oranga Tamariki youth suicide. Two and a half million a year to reduce youth suicide. When you consider Team New Zealand got twice that to sail a boat in a race on the other side of the world, is that really much? It's probably not enough, and we recognise that because our people have said to us we need more money. We got an appropriation last year for just the one year. What we've managed to do now is to nail it down to be a continuous flow of money and to build up the fund for the future because this is one particular kaupapa that really is hitting many of our communities, and we have to do better. And it's not getting any better because since you've been at the party with the National government, while the number of those who are committing suicide generally are declining, for Maori, it's increasing, and for our youth, they are three times more likely than anyone else. Mike King says the government's plan was 'broad and vanilla and deeply flawed'. Do you agree with that? I think we've got some issues to address within the approach of how the government goes about dealing with suicide. Clearly, because the figures tell us it's not working. We've gotta do better. Our approach was to allow the community to come forward with their kaupapa, the ones like out at Manurewa Te Kaha o Te Rangitahi have done a hip-hop show, which is obviously going to be different something that might happen noho tau, in Rotorua. So, we're trying to empower the communities to make decisions about what's right for them, give them the opportunity. Sure, it's not enough, and this is a serious kaupapa. We've gotta try and drag some more money out for that. Marae Ora is to restore the paepae, both physically and te reo, tikanga and kawa of those areas. Lately we've seen our marae being used in emergencies like natural disasters and also in Te Puea, places like Manurewa and other marae around the country for homelessness. Two and a half million a year to restore the paepae is the kaupapa. It's a pretty cheap social service policy, isn't it? Well, it's not about social services. (CHUCKLES) They are providing social services. It is, yeah. It is true, and we need to recognise the importance of our marae in doing that. and that's why I've asked commissioned a specific report ` just to talk about the social service help-out in times of emergency ` to address the issue that Maori play with regards to some of those issues like the earthquake, like the floods in Edgecumbe. So, that's one kaupapa we've definitely got to find our space in in civil defence. But actually, our marae are about our kaupapa and about our tikanga, and possibly about tangihanga, possibly about celebration. Many of our marae are falling into disrepair. There's been no money brought into that, but that must go with the development of paepae and wahine karanga. We will keep an eye on that. I just want to finish with one really important kaupapa that you attended this week. Parihaka, how was that? Was it an honour to be there? Well, it was pretty heart-wrenching to be truthful. I mean, my wife is from Taranaki. I've been to Parihaka many many times. I've stayed there. I know the people. And many of the people that I know ran the show yesterday. You can't get away from the whole notion of sadness, of sometimes anger, of despair about what happened at Parihaka. Yesterday was a good day in the sense that at long last the Crown recognised, hey, this was an important part of New Zealand history and the Crown absolutely got it wrong. For us to go on as ministers and acknowledge that by way of an apology and to pack in behind some resources that might allow Parihaka to redevelop again and deal with the basic infrastructure issues, I think it's a start, and as minister Finlayson said, that's all we were doing, is making a start. The locals said that was a start, and hopefully we'll be able to pour more resources in to allow them to develop it. And important to see both Pakeha and Maori descendants there. Well, that was the moving part because many of those people that were there are non-Maori, Pakeha put their hand up and said, 'I'm a descendent of the judge,' 'I'm a descendent of one of those soldiers,' 'I'm a descendent of one of those people that was here,' and we saw many of them pretty moved emotionally by what happened. I mean, the one part that was hugely challenging for everyone was the waiata they sang about how their women had been raped. Pretty much all the waiata in Taranaki are all about what happened to them as a people. They can mention days, they can mention places in all of their waiata. It's deep-seated. It's a hard issue to deal with, but hopefully on the back of what happened yesterday, they can see a new future with a relationship with the Crown. Kia ora. Thank you for your time this morning. Nga mihi. Ka pai. A ko ake nei, he hakari kei te haere. We're in the kitchen for a special kaumatua cooking class. Tahuti mai ano. Cooking can be a chore for some people, especially when you're moving into your twilight years, but a group of kaumatua are getting back into the kitchen with the help of a senior cooking class at Orakei Marae. Our Orakei correspondent Rewa Harriman put on her pinny and headed to the marae. WOMAN: Yeah, just keep doing that. Got a spare burger. Move over, MasterChef, the kaumatua are in the kitchen. Look at that. Slicing and dicing their way to the top of the class. It's called Just Cook, and this is for seniors, or kaumatua. I just wanted to learn how to cook properly, instead of coming home and frying eggs or whatnot. It's mind-boggling, actually, cos I just honestly can't cook. But it's not your cooking resume, or lack of it, that gets you a spot in the class; it's your age. You've got to be at least 55 to even get a look in. If you have a look at what we've got here, sitting around here now, they're quite an elderly group of people. WOMAN: Any more mashed potato? Leave the skin on. For eight weeks, this group have been leaning all things culinary ` how to prepare, cook and eat kai. Have you seen the two different coloured beetroots we've got now? MAN: Every week that we've been here, we've surprised ourselves because they're normally dishes that we wouldn't cook. So, we've learned something new, and you only need a little bit. You don't need a lot Steve's mum June has dementia, but that doesn't stop her coming along to cooking class each week. In the time that she is here, she enjoys the company of the people. She knows that we're doing cooking and that so we give her some easy tasks like stirring things or mixing things and do all the cutting for her, but she does enjoy it. We've got a kumara. Nutrition Foundation run the program specifically for the older generation. Glenda says basing themselves out of marae is a concerted effort to encourage more Maori to join in. WOMAN: Even sizing. Health-wise, they statistically show up as being vulnerable in diabetes, with heart diseases, with gout, anaemia. You know, your memory goes, your muscles go, your bone density starts to go, and so we're going to try and make sure that we keep all those levels up and keep this group out of hospital. The help us understand the ailments that we had and why. There was a lot of things that we've been doing for a long time, and we didn't know it wasn't helping us. Margaret was sceptical at first, though, only coming along to keep an eye on the new visitors at the marae. But it wasn't long until she too was hooked. It's made me more aware of what my body needs and what my body doesn't need. And we're only halfway through the program. Puke has moved on from his fried eggs. He's now cooking salmon, eating salads, and has learned more about healthy eating. I'm diabetic so I've got to eat properly. And my wife makes sure that I eat properly, but this takes us another step further, reading the labels when you go to do the shopping and knowing what to buy and what to avoid. That's the main thing about keeping my diabetes in check. GLENDA: It's got chick peas, water and salt. At the start of each class, there's theory, a chance to learn more about kai before the cooking begins. If we get to the older, senior people in the family, we're hoping to get the information out the younger generation as well. That's out hope, that we might be able to change some patterns. Today's meal is fish pie with salad, something simple but tasty for these keen cooks. Back the old way, eh, where we ate everything. Everything that was put on the plate, you ate it. That's what I think we got out of today ` I don't have to peel the pumpkin. Glenda says the course equips this group with the knowledge and the practical know-how to cook for themselves in their ripe old age. Healthy, simple kai on a budget. It should be ingredients they've got in their pantry, and if they haven't, they need to make a shopping list. You can't have a healthy meal if it's not in the pantry at home. (MELLOW GUITAR PLAYS) These new skills not only add spice to their meals, but also to their marriage. I can cook for the family rather than my wife doing it all the time. I just like them to try and say, 'Well, what do you think of that?' It's not just smaller waistlines and lower cholesterol that this class has to offer. It's giving kaumatua a opportunity to socialise and build relationships. # Tenei te mihi # ki a koutou. # GLENDA: Look at Steve with June. I just think that's amazing, what he's done. And as soon as the music or something that's from her past comes up ` woop! Up she comes, and away she goes. STEVE: I think it's awesome for our kaumatua because it gets them out of their whare and mixing with each other, which is what they need at this time of their life. Just goes to show that you're never too old to learn anything. Yeah. (ALL CHEER) Yum. Namunamua. Na Rewa Harriman tera korero. Well, thanks for joining us today hui hoppers. We'll post links to the show on our Facebook page and on Twitter @thehuinz, and you'll find all our stories on the Newshub website. Kua hikina te hui mo tenei ra. The Nation is next. Pai marire ki a tatou katoa. Captions by Tom Pedlar. www.able.co.nz Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2017