(GUITAR PLAYS) MAN: Tahi, rua, toru, wha! CHOIR: # Purea nei # e te hau. # Horoia... # Horoia e te ua. # Whitiwhitia # e te ra. # Mahea ake nga # poraruraru. # Makere ana! # Makere ana # nga here. # Makere ana! # Makere ana # nga here. (APPLAUSE, CHEERING) MIHI: Kei aku whakateitei ki te whenua, kei aku tamarahi ki te rangi. Nau piki mai, nau mai, kake mai ki te whare korero 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. Today we're broadcasting from Te Mahurehure Marae in Tamaki Makaurau. He hui nui kei te haere! Over the next half hour, we'll hui with the folks who've shared their stories with us this year, like the good people from the Auckland Street Choir behind me. No reira, homai te pakipaki mo ratou, e hoa ma! (APPLAUSE) We begin today with a story that really cuts to the core of our values as a nation. It is the story of the survivors of state abuse ` Nga Morehu ` and their call for an inquiry into horrors they suffered while in state care. Kia tahuri ake tatou. More than 100,000 children were removed from their families and placed in state care facilities between the 1950s and 1980s. Yeah, that would have to be one of the worst times of my life. Kohetere? Yeah. Worse than jail? Worse than jail. Many were subjected to mental, physical and sexual abuse. What did you see? (EXHALES) Is this the first time that you've opened up about what happened to you? Yeah. To anyone. They took me into the showers. And, uh, yeah. Abused me. For a long time. She physically let herself get raped thinking she was saving us. (SNIFFS) When she found out that she wasn't, that it was still happening to us, she couldn't handle it. It broke her. Completely broke her. The government refuses to hold an inquiry. I had horrific, inhuman shit done to me. People knew this was happening. The problem is that we're too fast to bury things. What would an inquiry mean for you? It would mean... that we are all heard. Well, since that story went to air, there's been a change of government, and Labour has confirmed there will be an inquiry. So, here to discuss the latest developments, I'm joined now by our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Riwhi Toi Whenua, Eugene Ryder and his moko, and Hohepa Taiaroa. Tena koutou katoa. Thank you for coming. Kia ora. When you watched Nga Morehu, the story that we put to air, how did you feel about listening to their stories? Emotional, and I think anyone who watched it would've felt emotional, so then adding to that the chance to meet individually with Riwhi and Eugene in particular was even more moving. And you can see by the fact that we, before the election, put the inquiry into our 100-day plan, prioritised it as one of the first things that we would do as a government, I think shows the strength of feeling we had about it. You did. You honoured your promise to them, and you put it into the 100-day plan. Did you think about Nga Morehu? Were you conscious of them when you were putting it in there? I did. I thought about them because they were faces behind a number of stories that I had read, that I had seen in books, that I had seen in the confidential listening and assistance service reports. I had heard the stories, but these were faces, and that added something extra, and you couldn't help but be moved by that. Riwhi, earlier this year you shared your story with the motu, not just with us. How has it impacted you? It's been positive. Mostly. There's been a little bit of negativity thrown in there in the mix. It's empowered me to do more things. And then during the year you came to Wellington and you met the Prime Minister, who wasn't the Prime Minister at the time, was it encouraging to have her as your voice? Yes. How was that? I left with no doubt that we were gonna get an inquiry. Only had to say it once. Hohepa, I'm going to come to you. Hohepa Taiaroa, you were part of the four that shared their stories with Nga Morehu on The Hui. When you went back home into the Manawatu, did people recognise you? And how was that for you? It was a bit strange at first, because I'm not used to attention. But there were a lot of friends and family that awhi'd us and our journey. A lot of people came forward and told their story on how they were and how they were appreciative of us telling ours and hope that we get a closure. I remember you said to me that you hadn't even told your children the extent of what you suffered. What was their reaction? One of shock. Sadness. Disbelief. But mostly of awhi. They sent all their love. You know, they pour their love out and said that we didn't know. And they understand why I was how I was during this journey. Eugene, you were probably the hardest to convince to actually talk with us cos you're a bit cynical. You could probably be a journo if you wanted to be. Others have gravitated to you since you shared your story, and we really appreciate the fact that you've looked after the crew here. Has it been taumaha for you? That role. In a sense, it has. We went through a journey together. We realised that we were in the same places at different parts of our lives. That contributed. That helped ease the burden, I suppose. Being able to support others through Facebook and other mediums, and getting their story out, and understanding what and their partners or dads or sons or mums went through. You had already met lots of people through your associations with people that had been through these institutions, but did you know how big it was? No. Up until the show, I thought that I was a minority. There were people I knew at the times that I was in there. I thought it was just us that I had happened to. But to hear of it happening over years and, in some instances, still happening, that's scary. The terms of reference of the inquiry aren't set yet. But you have in the past said that you hope that it is wider than just the state, because lots of churches and other groups had also looked after these children. What do you want to say to the Prime Minister, who's sitting here? You don't often get her ear! (LAUGHS) I suppose this is a start. It is a great start, Jacinda, and thank you very much for putting that into the 100-day plan. But my cynical self knows that a lot of inquiries have happened over the years. There was Roper Report on prisoners that happened in the'80s. and they found out some stuff and made some recommendations, but because the government at the time didn't gravitate towards the recommendations, they were ignored. And so that's what I fear in any inquiry, is that information will come out, but what's done about it? And that's where I'm hoping that there are some powers, I suppose, that are given to the inquiry that are binding. So that the government has to act on that. And that's what we hope for. We don't want this to be just lip service. We want real change to happen. And changing the name of the organisation doesn't go far enough. I totally agree, and we have a real opportunity. I mean, the last government did create a new organisation, Oranga Tamariki, but our fear was you don't learn unless you ask, and what have we learnt? What have we taken forward from the harm that was done? We're at a critical time right now where we wanna be asking those questions, because we are creating this new agency. And one thing I don't have to ask, one thing I know to be true, is that we need to give families and the children who are in care an independent voice. There is no independent way to complain about what happens to you in our system. And that is unacceptable. When you have powers like that, held by the state, there should be that independence. So we already know that's something we have to do. But I wanna know more. And so, at least what I can tell you is we're going into this with an open heart and with a chance to do things differently. And that's what I want to come out of this. And it's gotta be lessons for the state. I know a lot of people want us to go further, but we have to learn for us right now as well. Prime Minister, thank you for coming kanohi ki te kanohi, cos that is so important in te ao Maori. Tena koutou katoa. (APPLAUSE) E kainamu mai nei ` ko tetahi kaupapa i kaha matakitakihia e te marea huri noa i te ao. No reira kia mau tonu mai ra. Kei te matakitaki koutou i te hotaka whakamutunga o Te Hui. A story that touched our hearts this year was that of 2-year-old Ka'iulani Forbes. Ka'iulani had been diagnosed with neuroblastoma cancer. Her whanau, who were living in the Waikato, wanted to know why 50 visits to the doctor had failed to pick it up and why Waikato Hospital had declined her GP's referral for a specialist assessment. Whoo! (GENTLE MUSIC) These are the moments they treasure the most ` Kei whea? (CHILD LAUGHS) the ones that connect this whanau to the old life. (SHOUTS, LAUGHS) (BABBLES) A life that changed dramatically just 10 weeks ago after a visit to the doctor. I just had to stop him and said, 'Is it cancer?!' And he said, 'Yeah. It's cancer.' And that` (VOICE TREMBLES) just hearing that just... you know, just... it just... your world just stops. No reira, kei toku taha inaianei ko te kotiro kahurangi nei a Ka'iulani Forbes raua ko tona papa, a Manihera. Tena korua. (APPLAUSE) It's been a tough year for your whanau this year. How difficult has it been to support Ka'iulani through her treatment? Uh, Ka'iulani's been really strong through her treatment, so it's more just a matter of parenting for our baby ` our other baby ` and one of us being up at the hospital with her. So we've had good whanau support from our immediate whanau and then our wider support-team whanau. They're always ready to drop off kai and put it in the freezer. Yes, cos you've had to fundraise a lot of money to be able to get the specialist treatment that she's needed. How is it? Is it overwhelming for you, getting that kind of support from your friends, whanau, rugby teams, the rest of it? At first we thought it would be just in a wave of support. But no, it's ongoing. The Chiefs in particular, we just got a message last week saying, 'Hey, they've raised more money. What's the account to put it in?' Yeah, even our other whanau that are making a weekly donations to support, they haven't stopped those. They're ongoing. (WHIMPERS) Amazing. What's the next step now, Papa? Today I got to talk with our oncologist. He wants to do surgery. So since we last talked, she was just about to start a drug that was supposed to be really really strong... Papa. ...to remove her cancer. Unfortunately we've been on it for 10 months, and the tumour's gone in her stomach, and we've got a new spot on her skull. So we've stopped that trial as of today. But we've got radiation planned in Sydney in January. Which is when she goes into hospital for a week... and just gets radiated. We're not allowed in the same room with her for a week. So she's under general anaesthetic. We do that twice. So that's our plan at the moment. It's a tough one. Yeah. I'm thinking of just giving her December off, not worry about surgery. Cos the recovery's a month, minimum. I don't wanna jeopardise anything for Sydney. Up. Thank you for coming along today. Kia kaha koutou katoa. Kia ora. Well, our next story was one of our most confronting we've ever put to air. It was the story of a young mum, Ngaetu Grover, and her very public struggle with synthetic cannabis. Kia matai ake tatou. (BROODING MUSIC) (GASPS) (GRUNTS) It's a confronting scene ` A young woman and her boyfriend in a zombie-like state,... (GROWLS) ...under the influence of synthetic drugs. (HUFFS, SNARLS) (SINISTER MUSIC) The woman in the video is 22-year-old mother of one Ngaetu Grover. Are you all right? (SNARLS) Look at youse. (GASPS) What's it like to see yourself in that video? I felt shocked that that's how I was, in that state, when I get in another world kind of thing. I'm joined now by Ngaetu Grover and her brother, Tuakeu. Tena korua. BOTH: Kia ora. Pehea koe, e hoa? Are you off synthetics now? Ae. I have been for six months now, I think. And how are you feeling? Better. Yeah, life's looking better. And so am I. I'm doing better too. Is it tough, though? How tough is it? Yeah, it was a bit, at first. Just the urges coming and wanting ` cravings, I guess. You were battling an addiction, but yours was just so public that it was like everyone in community, everyone in your whanau, everyone, really, in the world, was thinking about you. Was that just added pressure for you? Yeah. How did you deal with that. It kinda did. Um, just showing everyone that I can do it and proving everyone wrong. And I'm not this person that got out there, I guess. Tuakeu, when you posted that video, it went viral, and at the time, you said, 'I did it cos I wanted her to snap out of it.' Yeah. Would you do it again? How would you do it again, if you had to do it again? Oh, I wouldn't do it now, but, well, if I didn't do it before, of course I would do it again ` just to put it up, show everyone not to do it. But then when I did do it, everyone starting doing it, so, yeah. Yeah, you polarised the public, really, because you had all these people that said, 'Good on you, bro,' and then you had all these people saying, 'I can't believe you'd do that to a sister.' Yeah, yeah. How was that to deal with? People with negative comments, I don't really pay attention to. I just ignore all of it. And the other people came with positive feedback and all that, yeah. It's very nice, eh, just to hear good people out there, you know? Not trying to bring you down and stuff. So, yeah, it was pretty nice. Cool. Now, do you have a message for others that might be in the same situation you were back then? I'll say, like, never give up. Just always keep trying. Good to have her back? Nah. Yeah, yeah. (LAUGHS) Nah, yeah. Aw. You're still brother and sister. Ka pai. Nah, yeah. Of course. Of course. Kia ora. Thank you. Tena korua. BOTH: Kia ora. He paku whakataa te haere ake nei. Ka hoki mai matou ka hoki nga mahara, a ki te kahui kura kua wheturangitia. Through the lens, she appeared confident, happy young woman. A daughter, a sister, and a devoted mum. But the smiles in front of the camera hide the abusive and violent relationship that would eventually end Tara Brown's life. Everyone was touched. Everyone felt that pain. The Kaimanawa forest ` rugged, wild and unforgiving. One month ago, two young men fled into this treacherous landscape completely unprepared. I don't understand why I would end up with this beautiful child, young man, son, for only 26 years. I have to accept that God's will is ultimate. And that's what gives you solace. (APPLAUSE) Auraki mai ano ki Te Hui. There is no question that there is no greater suffering than to lose a child, and this year we met a number of whanau who were grieving for their kids. We also met an exceptional young man, Gabriel Wharehinga, who was determined to live his life to the fullest to the very end. Let's take a look. The whole time he was just adamant that, no, it's infection. We'll keep going. It's all over the place, so it's stage IV cancer. But if he had diagnosed me in the beginning, or even a bit faster, it would have just been in the one place. That's difficult to hear. (UPBEAT MUSIC) It could've been written by Shakespeare himself ` a young man full of promise, struck down by cancer. He bravely fights off the disease and begins life anew, only to be struck down once more. But this isn't a Shakespearean tragedy. It's the life story of Gabriel Wharehinga. Welcome! Once we found out his wish was to watch his favourite play Othello at the Pop-Up Globe, we thought we'd see if we could make it happen. Pretty excited. Just stoked that I get to go see it. Before the curtain falls, the cast of Othello invite Gabriel to perform some lines from his favourite play and bask in the limelight once more. It is the cause, my soul. Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars. It is the cause. For a moment, the actors become the audience and watch on, spellbound. I must weep, but they are cruel tears! This sorrow's heavenly. It strikes where it doth love. She wakes. (APPLAUSE, CHEERING) (LAUGHS) MAN: Great job, mate. Really great. MAN 2: Really good. Wish you could've seen me when I was at school. With his dream come true, it's time for our hero to take his leave. We are joined now by Gabriel's parents, Eunice and Dennis. Tena korua. BOTH: Kia ora. I can't help but notice that colourful beads on your hand. Tell us about that. These are the last of Gabriel's cancer beads. When he first got cancer, he started getting them for his IV lines, his bloods, anything that happened at hospital, his visits. And the first time round, I think he got about 500. And we had a gathering for family... that Christmas, I think it was, and he took his beads out, pulled them apart, gave them to family, so each of the family have a small one like this, (INHALES SHARPLY) just as a remembrance. And then when he got` when it came back, started again. Yeah. And these are those one. Is this some of the ways that you are able to still keep close to him? Definitely. Yeah. Gabriel never gave up hope, and he was a fighter to the end. That was important for him, wasn't it? Yeah. I think all his friends, all of us, the family, Taupo, they were willing him to get better, with love and all their positive vibes. And that was Gabriel. He was so positive. We were, too. Right up to the day... he passed, we thought he was gonna make it. I think he did too. But, yeah, he was just very sick. Yeah. He believed that he'd been let down by the medical people that were caring for him, and the health system. Has anyone followed up the way they managed this treatment with you guys? We've got a DHB meeting coming up soon. Yeah. And there's a nationwide DHB thing that's coming up, I think, today. And hopefully they'll have some answers, and at this meeting we'll get some answers as well. What are you hoping? Apology. A written one. And then that way I can show all his mates. Gabes was right; something went wrong; and Den and I finished it for him, and this is it here. I think, after these meetings are done, that's the last thing... Yeah. ...for Gabes. And I think, you know, I've been struggling for a while now, and I'll finally be able to grieve. I haven't grieved since his funeral. And I don't know when I will, but after these meetings and after that's all done, hopefully I can do it then,... Yeah. ...and get back to the normalcy. Dennis and Eunice, thank you so much for sharing your time with us. BOTH: Thank you. Hinga atu ra he tete kura, ara mai ano he tete kura. Let's take a look back now at some of the rangatahi who shared their hopes and dreams with us this year. On tonight's card ` Ropata Lewis. He's ranked number one in the country for his age and weight. (CHEERING, CLAPPING) Leeshelle is the youngest rider in her class, but that doesn't faze her. She just wants to jump. I definitely think I'm driven. Rugby star Stacey Waaka's style has been likened to that of All Black Christian Cullen. Oh, look at this! It's Waaka! He aha tenei mea te aroha? Te manaaki tangata. He tauira, um, mena kei te mauiui to nana, ka taea te noho ki tona taha ki te, ahua, whangai ia, ki te hanga kaputi, kawhe ranei. Otira kei toku taha inaianei ko Taaroto raua ko Anue mai i te Kura Toku Mapihi Mauerea. Tena korua. Kia ora. I korero koutou te kura ki a whaea Raiha mo te reo Maori. Ki ou whakaaro, me whakaako te reo Maori ki nga kura katoa o te motu? Ae. He aha ai? Na te mea he pai. E tika ana? Kei te mate... haere. Ae. Kia whakaora te reo? Ae. E kaha koe ki te manaaki ou teina, ou whanaunga? O hoa? Ahua. Ahua! Ka pai. Tena korua. Me haere korua ki te whakaritea korua ano mo te kapa haka. SOFTLY: Ae. Ka pai. Well, thanks for joining us today, hui hoppers. Kua hikina Te Hui mo tenei tau. Ka hoki mai matou a te tau e kainamu mai nei. Otira, ka mahue koutou me nga reo waiti o Te Kura o Toku Mapihi Maurea. Nga manakitanga o te wahi ngaro ki a koutou katoa. ALL SING: # He aha kei taku uma? # E tuki nei ka mamae. # He aroha pea ki te tau # i nga mokai kiri e. # E oho, rangatahi, # maranga mai. # Hapaingia to iwi e. # Kia kaha, kia toa, # kia manawanui. # Ake, ake, kia kaha e. # Aue! # Aue te aroha. # Aue te mamae! # E pehi kino iho nei # I nga mokai kiri e. # I nga mokai kiri e. Tahi, rua, toru, wha! # Hii, aue, hii! # Copyright Able 2017 He mea tautoko na Te Mangai Paho.