Matariki atua ka eke mai i te rangi e roa. E whangainga iho ki te mata o te tau, e roa e. E te kahui whetu o Te Hui ko Mihingarangi tenei e mihi atu nei ki a koutou katoa. Welcome to The Hui, Maori current affairs for all New Zealanders. Coming up this morning ` it's a sport that's supposed to bring communities together. So why does racism continue to rear its ugly head on Canterbury's rugby fields? Sometimes it's there in the forefront, and sometimes it's just a little niggle every now and then. We meet the players and coaches who are blowing the whistle and find out how Canterbury Rugby Union are tackling the problem. There is no place for discrimination in our game. (ALL SING IN MAORI) In their golden age and still lighting up the stage. We follow a very special group of senior performers to the Kaumatua Kapa Haka nationals. They make us feel alive, and it's a beautiful feeling. Karahuihui mai. Racism on Canterbury's rugby fields is nothing new, but in the last few years, it's become more prevalent. Now the people on the receiving end of racial abuse have had a gutsful, and they aren't alone. Not only is the Canterbury Rugby Union making a stand against racism, but individual clubs are too. Rewa Harriman headed to Te Wai Pounamu for the story. (INDISTINCT SHOUTING) In the south, rugby reigns supreme. (UPBEAT MUSIC) And here in Canterbury, its a part of their culture. But what about racism? Is that also part of the Canterbury rugby landscape? I think there's probably more issues out there than complained about. We've had cases this year around referees being abused and side-line behaviour, fights between players. Sometimes it's there in the forefront, and sometimes it's just a little niggle every now and then. Racism in Canterbury rugby was thrust into the limelight recently when a grandmother was racially abused by a coach in a car park, calling her a (BLEEP)in' black (BLEEP). And players say on the field, they hear it every week. (SOMBRE MUSIC) Don't listen to any rubbish out there, don't let anyone get in your minds and play your own game. Block it all out. Support each other out there. The Suburb's senior team used to react to racial slurs and let it get under their skin, but they've now realised in the end they were the ones getting punished. Suburbs' coach Jayson McRoberts has seen it all... Great defence, Luke. ...and knows too well the affect racial comments have on his players. Some players will be a bit withdrawn about it. Obviously hurt and that sort of thing. And the other side of it is players will fire up as well and just want to follow that bad choice of words with bad actions. So then all of a sudden you've got trouble on your hands, and the initial victim turns into the perpetrator in the end, and the guy that said the racist remark walks away squeaky clean. Jayson says he wants to see people speak out against racism because it hasn't been happening enough. People aren't coming forward, maybe whether they just don't want to stir things up or they're embarrassed to come forward. Unless they do come forward and say something, it will just continue on. I think it needs to be reported, and people need to be held accountable. If they think it's a place to come and vent their issues and their racism, they're wrong, cos it affects so many people, the game of rugby, so. It doesn't matter where or when they play. It's normal to hear comments from all corners of the field in almost every game. Over the last few years its been Fijian players who have copped the worst of the abuse, one player receiving a 46-week suspension for making racially abusive comments. And yet this behaviour continues. I wonder sometimes if it's intentional to upset players and put them off their game. Yeah, so if that's the case, then we're just letting our players know they've got our support off the field and on the field. We're bigger than those comments at the end of the day, so yeah. Can you realistically stamp out racism on the rugby field? You'd like to think so, don't you? I mean, you've got to start somewhere, don't you? Across town, the Otautahi Rugby Club is also showing self-control. There's no back-chat. If somebody wants to say something in the other team, kei te pai, bro. I'll lift you up. We'll carry on. You say whatever you want. It doesn't matter. Yeah. At the start of the season, Otautahi decided to refocus and concentrate on their core values. Now any racists comments fall on deaf ears. We're just trying to tell the boys Otautahi is bigger than racism. Let's not bite to whatever they say. Is it hard not to react as a player when you're hearing these comments? It's very hard. Even at times, I'm holding back, but as captain, you've got to lead by example. If you lash out, everyone else is gonna see you, and then they're like, 'Oh, yeah.' Not that it's OK, but cap done it, so you know. Their new approach has done wonders for the team. And refocusing their energy towards what they can control has resulted in more wins on the score board. It's interesting because our kaupapa was never about winning games. We had the bigger kaupapa At the moment, including our preseason games, this one here will be our 12th game. We've won 10 and drew one. MAN: Go, go, go, go, go! Racism isn't unique to rugby or the south, but the Canterbury Rugby Union are making a stand, launching their We All Bleed Red campaign last month. We all share the same love for this game, and we all bleed red. Canterbury Rugby CEO Nathan Godfrey says it was important for them to get involved. I'd seen some reports very early on in terms of some cases that took place last year that I thought were quite disturbing. And certainly wanted to be proactive and take a strong leadership position. So we launched that early on this year, and there's clearly more work to do. It's a long term-plan for us. How bad are things down here? We really don't know. We're encouraging, I guess, for people to speak up and call out this behaviour. And then it's for us to deal with that through our judicial process. The Canterbury Rugby Union is clear. There are no winners when it comes to racism. We're all custodians of the game of rugby; we have a responsibility, in terms of our own behaviour but also other people's behaviour, in terms of calling that out. We just need to understand that our behaviour can have an impact on someone else enjoying the game, and that's really the strong message from us. The We All Bleed Red campaign will run for three years with the hope that it will be rolled out nationwide. Our code is simple. There is no place for discrimination in our game. I'd like to think that we're more than just a game, that we can take a position of a driver of change, of social change. I think we have a responsibility to do that, given our reach and our exposure and significance in NZ. The Otautahi club is also hopeful change will come. I know that Christchurch as a city probably don't have the biggest reputation in terms of racism, all that sort of stuff, but it's a start. If we don't sit there and talk about it between the clubs and be able to resolve it between clubs, then no one knows. Otherwise it's just gonna go not so much unpunished but unrecognised. Tauke kia kaha koutou. Na Rewa Harriman tera purongo. A ko ake nei i runga i a Te Hui. New Zealand's worst-kept secret has finally been confirmed. Former Labour MP Shane Jones joins me next to talk about his return to politics. Sometimes it's there in the forefront, and sometimes it's just a little niggle every now and then. Hoki mai ano. Well, it's been called the worst-kept secret in politics, but finally its been confirmed. Two tenacious taniwha of Te Tai Tokerau are teaming up to contest the next election. That's right. Former Labour MP Shane Jones will switch waka, joining Winston Peters to paddle New Zealand First to parliament. To discuss this change of direction, I'm joined now by Matua Shane. Tena koe. Kia ora. Kia ora. So, you were in the Labour Party, but you had lots of National mates. Which of those parties now do you think reflect or align with your values now today? Well, despite my affection for some remaining personalities in Labour, they no longer know, really, what they stand for. In respect of National, yeah, I've got a few mates there, but they really are the party of corporate clover. And they had the bread and circus budget recently. But the reality is they will fight to keep power at any costs. But you're gonna need to buddy up with one of them. Where do you feel more comfortable? Well, the first thing we've got to do, in my case, is win Whangarei, but most importantly harvest votes, because once we boost the number of votes, we increase leverage. And when you've got leverage, you've got genuine influence to exercise the formation of a future government. So, really, I guess I would say it's a version on what Clinton used to say ` 'It's the electorate, stupid.' So open to options on both sides. If you do win Whangarei, New Zealand First will have a really good healthy number of Maori MPs. And you seem to have parachuted over the top of them. What's your relationship with Ron Mark like now? Look, Ron and I` He's been in contact with me. Ron and I were in the Golden Oldie rugby team together. Is he still gonna pass you the ball? No, he realises, as I realise, one thing is, uh, fatal in politics, and that's wehewhe, i.e. disunity. OK, so he's on-board. OK, I wanna talk about some of the policies. So if I look at your treaty policy, New Zealand First policies talk about supporting any group... you know, about equality. It says, 'Ensure that all policy-making is based on need and not race, creed or colour.' Do you accept Maori are disadvantaged as a people or a race? What I want us to do is look at the actual manifesto that went to the election, OK? What the manifesto talked about, for example, in the case of resource management ` that there are distinctive Maori values and interests that ought to be protected when legislation is passed. But I'll tell you what. Where I agree with the statement that you've just made is I personally have had a gutsful of what was a great social renaissance ` the development of iwi. But up and down the country I go, and I find that many of our whanau of an urban nature, they are parched. They're left behind. And I hate that. So are you saying it's iwi's responsibility to look after the social issues of Maori? Um, I'm yet to be convinced as to` So... Please let me say this. I'm yet to be convinced as to why iwi are not subsidising the costs of every single Maori kid to go to Kohanga Reo. OK. Every single Maori kid to be in preschool. That's a better actual investment than a lot of these highfalutin things that they're doing. No, but what about people living in cars? Are iwi responsible for that as well? Or is that the government's job? And if it is the government's job, and you're at the table, are you going to be funding people based on... You know, are you going to put Maori together as a group? For example, 51% of the prison muster are Maori. Is that a group of people? Is that a race of people? Where do you start with the problem if you can't identify them? Yeah, let me take two bits there. People who currently are condemned to living in cars on the streets ` number one, they shouldn't be there. Number two, there's always two sides to the equation. It's what we do, either via iwi or government, to assist them. But you know, I'm a bit old school. You get up, and you assist yourself first. Before you put your ringaringa out to either take putea from the Crown or iwi, make sure that you've made the best effort possible to get your own act together. In respect of our people in the hinaki, I mean, I agree. Those stats are horrible. OK. Well, here's another one for you. Maori life expectancy ` there's seven years' difference. And New Zealand First, you've got a lot of old voters there. So do you think that it's fair that a Maori person can work and pay taxes all their lives, but then at the end of their life they don't enjoy the fruits of their labour as much as a non-Maori? Well, I remember Sir Graham Latimer, who, in the day, didn't along with Winston, but put that to the side. He's now dearly departed. Sir Graham always pushed the line that Maori should get superannuation at an earlier` I think it was 60. Should they? Well, I think where it's gets problematic` and I'll talk about myself. Obviously I classify myself as a Maori, but I've got Tarara and Welsh and English, etc. In general? It need not just be superannuation that offers assistance to someone of Maori extraction who's fallen into struggler's gully. I guess the issue is I'm talking about these differences, and when I look at health expectancies ` so that's defined as somebody who will have some kind of disability in their older age ` the disparity people a Pakeha male and a Maori male is 18 years there. Not seven years. 18. From 54 years of age, a Maori male will need some kind of assistance of some kind. And your party won't... It will be not race-based. Well, let's just wait for the full policies to roll out, Mihi, but this I would say ` when I'm a minister, I won't wander around having university common room debates as to whether or not I'm gonna tautoko someone on the basis of they're in struggler's gully or their whakapapa. If they are deserving of support, they'll get my support. But know this from me. Every individual and whanau, do what our parents do; get up off your asses and look after yourselves as well. So you say when you're going to be a minister. Which ministries do you want to be minister of? Well, I'm gonna do everything I can to tautoko Winston by harvesting votes to form a government that takes the country in a far more relevant direction. Now, as to what might be available` No, cos I have to move on if you` Nah, we'll wait till that. OK. I want to ask you a couple of things. These are your 'get rid of' or 'you'd support them'. Maori TV? Oh, you're asking me about Maori TV at a time when I'm full of rage. There's a chap there called Mr Rehu, who has agreed that the Tongans be ridiculed. Rehu, as you know, means dim. Obviously a more dim-witted person has never been employed in Maori TV. I would give them not one more cent of money. I would expect them to improve their act based on` Fortunately for Maori Television, Mike Rehu is not the kaupapa of Maori TV. So you'd support the kaupapa of Maori TV or not? Yeah, look, I'm one of the pioneers of Maori language renaissance; of course I support Maori TV, but I don't support what they've done recently. Maori wards? Um, yeah, well, the legislation is in place, but I'm not particularly fussed by Maori wards. How about alternative admission schemes into universities for doctors and that kind of stuff? Well, look, I won the Polynesian and Maori scholarship in 1978. So yes. Maori prison? Nah. I'm not interested in Maori prison. Maori seats? Pardon? Maori seats. The Maori seats will subsist for as long as people of Maori extraction remain on them and want them to continue,... So for the people to decide? ...but it's a kaupapa for the people to decide. Ngapuhi. Where do you sit on the Ngapuhi claim. Are you Tuhoronuku or Te Kotahitanga? Well, I was, along with Jim Bolger, involved at the Waitangi tribunal and supporting the mandate of Tuhoronuku. For reasons that I've never fully understood, the government changed its mind, largely driven by the officials, and they've read more integrity and relevance into that cultural graffiti otherwise` So the Waitangi tribunal that says that Tuhoronuku is an empty vessel is wrong? Uh, in actual fact, the Waitangi tribunal never said that. What the Waitangi tribunal said is that the Crown had allocated a mandate and that more needed to be done. They came up with some cultural graffiti otherwise known as the Maranga Mai report, which will never, ever solve the Ngapuhi claim. It also said that Ngapuhi never ceded sovereignty to the Crown and it should be dealt with hapu by hapu. Well, the sovereignty report has more of a national implication, but I've gotta tell you ` I'll be very honest with you` We've run out of time, and it's probably a good thing. Sovereignty is the last thing on my mind for Maori advancement. Kia ora. Kia ora, Matua Shane. Thanks for joining us this morning. Kei tua o nga whakatairanga. We follow a very special group of kuia and koroua to the Kaumatua Kapa Haka festival in Wellington. Kia piri tonu mai ra. Sometimes it's there in the forefront, and sometimes it's just a little niggle every now and then. Kei te matakitaki koutou i a Te Hui. The rising of Matariki is a time for celebration and to remember those who've past on. For a group of Kaumatua from the heart of the Waikato, this Matariki is particularly significant. They're taking part in Te Papa's annual kaumatua Kapa Haka festival, and they're using the opportunity to pay tribute to a very special wahine. Raiha Paki followed the Taniwharau Kapahaka Kaumatua on their journey from Waikato to Wellington. Toru, wha. # Kui, kui, kui. # Whitiwhiti ora. # (WOMAN LAUGHS) It's a chilly winter's night here at Waahi Pa in Huntly, but inside, kapahaka practice for the kaumatua is just warming up. In a few days, these Taunui elders will board their buses to Te Whanganui-a-Tara to participate in the Kaumatua Kapa Haka Festival at Te Papa Tongarewa. (ALL SING IN MAORI) And while these folks might be in their golden years, they're still young at heart. They're like little kids when they come to practice, so it's nice to see them in that way. They're happy. I mean, you can see it around the room. There's a big ropu, and it sounds like a small ropu. There's heaps of us. These people are the life force of the kingitanga, dedicated to serving their king and the marae of Tainui. (UPBEAT GUITAR MUSIC PLAYS) For tutors Lucy and Turongo Paki, who is King Tuheitia's nephew, tutoring this 120-strong kapa haka of kaumatua is a chance to see their old people have fun. (ALL SING IN MAORI) It's quite unique seeing kaumatua do this. Some think they're too old to do anything, but we've got 86-year-olds. And some of them, they've never done kapa haka, or if they have, they've done it when they were young as. Like, young as. Yeah. # Haere mai e nga iwi. # In this group, 60 years of age makes you a spring chicken; the oldest here are knocking on 90. But whatever their age, they're more than happy to speak their mind. If either of us step out of line or anybody else that we place in front, they address it. They don't hold back. Or they do it a different way. Like, they'll pull you aside or they'll just tell you that's enough. They can get stubborn too, eh. Yeah, they can. Quite stubborn. (ALL LAUGH) The mischief Martin sisters are better known for cooking up a storm at Horahora Marae than their kapahaka skills. But this ropu is a chance for them to step out of the kitchen. They make us feel alive. It's just... It's a beautiful feeling. (ALL SING IN MAORI) All our mokopunas get to see their nanas. They think we're stars. Even if we're in the back row. (LAUGHS) (PEOPLE SING IN MAORI) We make heaps of mistakes, but we still have fun. That's what our tutor said ` as long as you have fun', you know. 'Don't be so serious about your mistakes. Just carry on.' When you're all together in line, do you get up to mischief? All the time. Cos everybody in our line, honestly and truly, are like that ` we have a lot of fun. Maybe that's why we've been put at the back. (ALL LAUGH) Under the cover of darkness, the kaumatua gather at Huntly's Taniwharau club rooms to board their busses, travelling through the night to get to wellington. But before they go, they stop at Taupiri Mountain for a special karakia to pay their respects as they leave their haukainga. (SPEAKS KARAKIA) While they're excited, this journey is bittersweet. It's their first performance since the passing of the late Princess Kiritokia e te Tomairangi Paki in April. Princess Tomai, sister of King Tuheitia, was devoted to the preservation of kapahaka in Tainui. (MAORI MUSIC) This song, 'Mou', was one of her favourites. They plan to perform it at the festival. And as they travel, she's not far from their thoughts. The kaumatua arrive at dawn to a warm welcome at Te Papa Tongarewa. (HORNS BLOW NOTE) (PERFORMS KARANGA) In just a few hours' time, they'll take the stage. Months of practice and sacrifice all come down to this 30-minute performance. Although its not a competition, these kaumatua are crowd favourites, their supporters travelling from far and wide to watch their ruruhi and koroheke with pride. (ALL SING IN MAORI) (ALL SING IN MAORI) For te kapa haka kaumatua o Waikato Taniwharau o Tainui, the hard work has all been worth it. (ALL SING IN MAORI) The king's younger brother, Maharaia Paki, is so moved he leaves the audience to join his whanau on stage. (ALL CONTINUE SINGING) The tears came down when Maha got on. That was really beautiful. (ALL SING IN MAORI) (APPLAUSE) It was good. It was excellent. Yeah, felt really good. Enjoyed it? Rejuvenated. (CHUCKLES) While this performance isn't about winning taonga, these kaumatua are here to win hearts and to show their aroha for a princess who dedicated herself to her people. (ALL SING HIGH NOTE) (APPLAUSE) Waikato Taniwharau o Tainui! Aue te aroha. Na Raiha Paki tera purongo. Hei tera wiki i runga i a Te Hui. He's Rotorua's new top cop who's promising to reduce the number of Maori caught up in the criminal justice system. One vehicle stolen... Inspector Anaru Pewhairangi is the first Maori area commander in Rotorua in 167 years. It excites me to work with our community, to make Rotorua the safest place. That's why I'm here. With Maori accounting for 70% of all arrests here, calls for better representation have finally been answered. It may have been a long time coming, but we've been patient. We're now there. And it's not about looking backward; it's about looking forward. Police top brass say they're committed to turning the tide of Maori offending, and Anaru Pewhairangi is leading the charge. He's got the mana and he's got the strength to actually do that and make a massive difference. I joined the police to help our people, to help all people. And I just think that's an exciting opportunity. 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 i tenei ra. Pai marire ki a tatou katoa. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2017 He mea tautoko...