Kei aku whakateitei ki te whenua, kei aku tamarahi ki te rangi. Tena koutou katoa. Ko Mihingarangi tenei e mihi atu nei, nau mai, tahuti mai ra. Welcome to The Hui, Maori current affairs for all New Zealanders. Coming up this morning ` He was evicted from his Housing New Zealand home after it tested positive for meth, but he says it was contaminated before he moved in, and Housing New Zealand new about it. I felt humiliated, blamed, angry. Housing New Zealand laughed at him, they belittled him, and they demonised him. We bring you the story of Martin Koroheke and his stand against Housing New Zealand. Then we're in the ring with Aotearoa's first professional female heavyweight MMA fighter, who's bringing beauty and brawn to the sport. The first punch, whether she gets punched or you get punched, you're in the zone. Karahuihui mai. Tenancy Advocates are calling for changes to the way Housing New Zealand conducts methamphetamine tests, even going so far as to accuse the Corporation of misusing P tests to evict problem tenants. They're asking for mandatory meth tests to be carried out at the beginning of a tenancy, so that responsibility can be clearly determined. Martin Koroheke was evicted from his home after claims that his son and his partner smoked P on the property. But Martin's fought their accusations and says Housing New Zealand has failed in it's duty to notify tenants of the history of their homes. Anei te purongo a Ruwani Perera. Contaminated and condemned. Not just this house, but also the reputation of the tenant who once called it home. They're trying to bring up my past to discredit me. This two-bedroom Housing New Zealand property in Ranui, West Auckland now sits empty. Boarded up, there's nothing remotely welcoming about this former family home. Signs clearly warn you to keep out, giving visitors a hint as to what might have gone on at this address. This is no quiet, suburban cul-de-sac. The street's been linked to gang activity and made news headlines in 2012, after a man died from a gunshot wound to his chest. But for almost seven years, this was 51-year-old Martin Koroheke's home. But this whare has a past. According to a tenancy advocate and a previous tenant, drugs and other paraphernalia were found at this address 10 years ago. Martin Koroheke wants to know if Housing New Zealand knew about this, and if so, why wasn't he told? He says the corporation is trying to pin P use in the home on his whanau and says how would they know when no baseline tests were carried out in the first place. Martin's been a Housing New Zealand tenant since 2006. He lived in Waterview for four years, but his first Housing New Zealand home was demolished to make way for the Waterview Tunnel, and that's when Martin was re-located to Ranui. So this was going to be a new start, a new home, back with your boy. Hello. How you been? Martin had been estranged from his son Waikura since splitting up with his wife Michelle Koroheke. But determined to be in his son's life again, Martin completed a series of parenting courses, winning Michelle's trust after a lifelong battle with the bottle. Martin's completed several rehabilitation programmes and can now say he's been sober for almost five years. He and 17-year-old Waikura moved into the Afton Place property in July 2010. Waikura's early teenage years were troubled. Hooked on synthetic cannabis when it was legal, he found it hard to kick the habit once they were banned. Martin sent him to rehab without success. Waikura admits that he was no angel. Housing New Zealand say there was no reason to suspect Martin was using methamphetamine at the property until Martin himself admitted to them last year that Waikura and his girlfriend smoked meth at Afton Place. Martin denies saying this to Housing New Zealand but didn't object to the property undergoing a comprehensive meth test. They said that they wanted to do a P test, and I said, 'Fine. You can. I've got nothing to hide.' Two weeks later, it came back positive. Were you shocked at that? Yeah, so much. Housing New Zealand say that you admitted that your son and his girlfriend were using methamphetamine in your house. (SCOFFS) That's wrong. Honestly, that is wrong. I never have condoned my son or anyone else to come and smoke P in my house. Have you ever smoked meth? No, never. Never. Never touched it. But an assessment of the house showed that someone at some point someone had been using meth. Seven of the eight rooms had methamphetamine levels above the Ministry of Health guidelines. It was freaking me out. Two weeks later, after the P test, they gave me a 90-day eviction. But Martin was adamant that no P had been smoked in his home during his tenancy, and after making inquiries, he discovered that Afton Place had never been tested for methamphetamine before he moved in. Housing New Zealand couldn't prove that Martin or his family were to blame for the contamination. All boarded up. The corporation say that the positive meth test is just one reason for Martin's eviction. Their main beef with him is what they call 'anti-social behaviours', including Martin intimidating staff, not looking after the place and claims that his dog was dangerous. They ordered him off the premises by December. Martin says he was frustrated with Housing New Zealand, who he says ignored his pleas to maintain the property. You can't tell me that that's just only six months, mate. That's 4 years that's actually been unmaintained, and they're telling me that I never looked after the house? Look at their part. While the other home on the section was being painted and maintained, Housing New Zealand wouldn't commit to any upkeep on 6A, and the house fell into ruin. Martin's place is like a dump, and the others are nice, tidy, painted, maintained, the gutters cleaned ` there's no comparison. Peter King from the Tenancy Protection Association has been Martin's advocate since his eviction. Housing New Zealand, the way they've treated him, they laughed at him, they belittled him, and they demonised him. Through an Official Information Act request, Peter found that 6A Afton Place had been raided by Police in 2007. They seized cannabis, P pipes and paraphernalia and arrested a woman for cultivating cannabis. That was three years before Martin moved in. We've met the Housing New Zealand tenant who lived in the house in March 2007, a month after the Police bust. She won't appear on camera, so we'll call her Tenant X. She's told us and Martin what she found in the attic and on the grounds of the property ` pots and syringes and tins of solvents that are used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Tenant X says she gave what she found to her tenancy manager. The Tenancy Manager said, 'Just chuck it in the bin,' so she just grabbed it off her and just chucked it in the bin, and from then on, I've wanted to push this further and further. The methamphetamine tests Housing New Zealand carried out also show traces of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, both are components used to manufacture P. Martin's concern is that Housing New Zealand aren't telling their tenants about the history of their homes and believes if base-line meth tests were carried out before their tenancy, they would show exactly who was responsible for contamination. It'll cost $34,000 to decontaminate and refurbish the house. Compare that to a good quality meth test, that would've cost around $2000. Martin's also lost his furniture and belongings, all because of contamination. He's now getting ready to file an ACC claim for what he says has damaged his already-poor health. Do you think it's had an effect on you? Housing New Zealand found him another home six months later, but Martin says he's speaking out for other tenants who may have been forced out of their homes for meth test results they're not responsible for. Na Ruwani Perera tera purongo. We asked Housing New Zealand to be interviewed regarding Martin's case, but they declined. In a written statement to The Hui it say's, 'Mr Koroheke's current claims can not be substantiated 'in any way, nor has his previous claims. The New Zealand Police have provided absolute certainty 'there has never been a meth lab at the Afton address, 'and they have never said there was. 'When a tenant signs their tenancy agreement with us, 'we clearly outline our expectations around behaviour and other matters to help them sustain their tenancy. 'Housing New Zealand has worked with Mr Koroheke for a number of years now, 'in efforts to help him sustain his tenancy and address issues of concern.' After the break ` we discuss the new initiative that aims to get rangatahi out to the polls. Kei te matakitaki koutou i a Te Hui. With just weeks until the election, nearly a 250,000 young New Zealanders haven't enrolled to vote. Maori voter turnout has been steadily decreasing over the years, but a new initiative hopes to help rangatahi to understand and engage in the civic process. Kei Au is driven by Te Ohu Mana Rangatahi for rangatahi, holding a series of wananga and a political debate. The aim ` to empower Maori youth to make an informed decision about whether or not they cast a vote. Hei matapaki i tenei kaupapa. I'm joined now by Jason Mareroa and Ashlea Williams. Tena korua. Tena koe. So, where's the missing 250,000? What are they up to? How come they haven't enrolled? We can't speak on behalf of every rangatahi that there is. But what did you find in your hui? Like, why people didn't really feel like they wanted to enrol? I think there's a real disconnection between how we as rangatahi can participate in our communities and society and... yeah. What do you think, Jason? Is it, like, not being heard or listened to? I think when we first came up with the idea are the project, there was some illusions we had to dispel, one of them being that civic participation only occurs around voting. That was probably the biggest illusion that we had to dispel. And the other one that says that Maori don't participate. We're the highest stats in justice. We're the highest stats in health decline, which in terms of the wananga that we've been having kind of has told us that, yeah, we do participate, just in a different way. Just in a different way, yeah. So, tell me, the wananga that you had, you had a series of wananga, how many turned up? What kinds of rangatahi came? Yeah, so, for the wananga we've had between 15 and 40 rangatahi come and go throughout the wananga. What did they tell you the reason that they came or they enrolled to come along? What were some of the reasons they wanted to come along? For some of them, their parents wanted them to come. (LAUGHS) But it's just them having an interest in how` what is this? What is civic participation? What does it mean to us as rangatahi? Were they voters already? Some of them aren't of voting age. Right. So how young would they be? Some of them are 12, 13. Wow. Yeah. And you had all these wananga, you talk through wairua, hauora, all these kinds of things. When you married all that in, what was the outcome for some of them? I think the realisation that` You know, cos there's a big stigma around that to participate, you have to go to the poll. On 23rd of September, I have to get out of my house and go and do the vote. One of the questions that's come up in the wananga is if elections was the Mongrel Mob, Black Power, Destiny Church, or Ratana, who would you vote for? Because for some us, that's the only information we get. And so I think what the outcome of the wananga really has been around actually understanding that there's more to society than just voting. So one of the` We talked about as lame as taking the rubbish out on Wednesday to the side of the road, to as far as voting for your next chairperson at the marae, you know, it's a myriad, it's a plethora of opportunities. So are you guys voters? Were you? Is this your first time voting? This is my second time voting. Second time, and you voted last time? Yup. And what made you vote? Um, I guess the environment I'm in, cos I'm in a privileged position, cos I go to university, so I'm exposed to, you know, knowing how the policy systems work. How about your family, are they voting parents? My parents were both voters also. And yours too? Did you talk about voting growing up? Um, yes and no. I'm not a big fan of voting. I don't think that it does much for us as a people. And that's really come out in the wananga around the` and we talked about it at the panel discussion last night, or the debate, that at the end of the day, there's a system that exists that doesn't agree with our culture, doesn't agree with our values and beliefs. In terms of voting, I make the decision sometimes to vote, sometimes not to vote, but more so to assist us as a people,to do what we need to do for our own people. So, I'm trying to understand that concept. Is it, like, having rangatiratanga is working within the system. You may not be participating with the voting part of it, but you're doing your civic duty as groups or community within it? I think that part of it is that` So, where I'm from, Mataatua, Tuhoe, Whakatohea, Ngati Awa, is that we participate in different spectrums of society. Iwi chairs is one of them. Politics is another one. We have our whanau who are standing, Uncle Tame, you know, Te Ururoa, all standing, and I think we all support each other in our own different ways of doing things. But they beautiful thing is that we have the one purpose of why we do what we do, and that's to advance our whanau, hapu and iwi. And in terms of how I participate, whether I vote or don't vote, the purpose of why we do what we do is still the same, to advance us as a people. At the end of your wananga you had a political debate. So you had, like, there was Kelvin Davis, Wi Popata, um,... Don Brash. Done Brash, you had a Maori party. Chloe. Chloe from the Greens. What did you get out of that? Um, a lot. What'd you learn? I think, form my lens, I could really see who was really experienced and who wasn't, and who was speaking on behalf of their party and who was speaking on behalf of themselves. And I think I appreciated the realness of when people were talking on behalf of themselves, not just for a vote, I guess. You can answer this if you want to ` are you going to vote? Yes. Yes. Yes. Ka pai. Tena korua. Kei tua o nga whakatairanga. Don't ask this Aunty to cook you some eggs. We're in the ring with Aotearoa's only wahine pro fighter in the mixed martial arts heavyweight division. Tahuti mai ano. MMA, or mixed martial arts, is blowing up in Aotearoa, with more and more people getting involved in the sport, but it's not just for the boys. Renata Poa started dancing in the cage a few years ago, and she hasn't looked back. Now she's preparing for her first pro fight against Brazilian Ellen Rosa in Poland. Kei a Rewa Harriman te roanga ake o nga korero. Fighter ready? Fight! (CROWD CHEERS) It's brutal, it's violent, it's the modern-day blood sport. Kick-boxing, wrestling, ju-jitsu ` everything's allowed in the cage. After the first punch, whether she gets punched or you get punched, you're in the zone. MMA, or mixed martial arts, used to be just for the boys, but now more wahine like Renata Poa are getting into the sport. It took me about 2 years to get used to punching someone in sparring. I just used to take all the hits. That's all changed now. Renata, or Razz, as she's known, is preparing for her first pro fight in Poland. I've had two MMA fights, four boxing and one kick-boxing, and this will be my third MMA fight. Based in Whangarei, Razz has been training like a mad woman for this fight. Her daily schedule includes CrossFit, gym sessions and, of course, martial arts. Being mixed martial arts, there's, you know, ground work, stand up, fitness, strength. There's so many different things, and that's what I like about it, the challenge Her commitment has also seen her travel over 7000kms in the last three months, driving back and forth to Auckland from Whangarei twice a week to train with Mark Hunt's ground coach, Steve Oliver. She's doing very well. She's very heavy-handed and in MMA. The beauty with MMA is they don't have to be experts in every part of the game. They can have their specialties. When we train, we don't really talk much. He delivers the what you need to do, you listen, and then you make sure you execute it to the best of your ability. COMMENTATOR: Oh! Great hit from Mark Hunt. Steve Oliver has worked with Mark Hunt as his head ground coach for several years. He knows the sport inside and out. She's got a similar game plan as his ` just get busy with the hands, and don't get put down. And when they come in to approach to put 'em down, she just makes them pay on the way in. It's a pretty simple game plan, but she seems to be pulling it off well, yeah. Despite only being in the sport for three years, Steve thinks Razz has the potential to go far. She's got the big pieces there. She's got the majority of the hand skills. She's got her take-down defence going well. She's just got to sharpen her hands a little bit. Fitness aspect will with time. This sport that takes years to develop a fighter to a real professional level. She's just getting started, but she's doing a great job. COMMENTATOR: The champion Ronda Rousey, as we have seen before, so focused when she enters into combat. Razz has been influenced by many, none more so than former UFC champ Ronda Rousey. Rhonda definitely was a massive reason why I got into MMA, purely because of her mental attitude towards the training, and just how much of a bad ass she is in the ring. COMMENTATOR: The advantage here now with Rousey. I've watched so many of her training videos, and her fights are just a reflection of how hard she works for things, just to be strong and beautiful like that, and still be tough in the ring and still be feminine. That was, like, a massive influence for me. And she's learnt a lot from her first fight three years ago. All I want to do is finish the fight, but I'm rushing it too much, but that all just comes down to experience. I get a pretty good hiding on the ground here, which I never experienced in training. Didn't learn much ground and pound, and she nailed me. That was the first hiding that I've ever had, and refuse to get another like that. Yeah. Have you been hurt badly? Badly is only this one, which was a cut lip and a bruised eye. That was it Training is probably the one where I get injured the most. Injuries and training aside, Razz has also had to drop weight for her pro fight. 15kg in 15 days, to be exact. I'm in the heavyweight division, which is between 95 kilo and 120 kilo. The lady I'm fighting, she'll be weighing in at 100, and I'll be weighing at 110. So, we started the intermittent fasting in an attempt to get that weight down. Razz has been following a strict eating plan, to make sure she cuts the excess weight. Usually there's a catch weight where we both agree where we're gonna meet. Towards the end of this week, we're going to drop those starchy carbs down. I'm not going to sugar coat it, the preparation is hard. It's putting all the little things together that everyone has helped me with and making sure I execute them to get to my final goal. For example, last week I lost 6 kilo in that week, and that was sticking to the nutritionists' plan. So far, so good for Razz, but if she can't get to 110kg before weigh-in, she'll have to resort to more extreme measures. So, sauna cut is basically sitting in the sauna, and letting all that water that's in your body sweat out. That's good times (!) Not really. The other challenge is finding other people to fight against in the heavyweight division. It's taken a year for Razz to find someone else to get in the cage with. It's that challenge that keeps her hungry. There's always going to be someone better out there than you, and I acknowledge that, and I know that and I'm prepared for that. And it's that slight fear that makes me want to keep doing it. While it's been a tough road to get to Poland, Razz is confident and ready to dance in the cage. Do I believe in myself? Yeah, I believe that I'll get the job done, absolutely. Wetiweti ana! Na Rewa Harriman tera purongo. E haere ake nei i runga i a Te Hui ` When she was 12 years old, she could hear voices. Paige's daughter Francesca struggled with a lifetime of mental illness, violent outbursts and suicide attempts. She was just trapped in a mind that she couldn't control. Her whanau say they repeatedly asked for help but couldn't get the support Francesca needed. (SOBS) She didn't receive that help that we'd been pleading for for a while. The system's really (BLEEP)ed. Sorry about my language, but it is. Now she's facing a murder charge for a death that's chattered two families. Fran stabbed her boyfriend. She just said, 'Mum, I've hurt him, I've hurt him. There's so much blood.' That's next week. 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