Matariki whanaunga kore, matariki tohu mate. E te tuakana Talei, te whetu rereata kua whakawhenuatia, he hanga hua noa te roimata i aku kamo, motu ririki ana te tau o taku ate. Te aunga o te moe ki a koe. Ko Mihingarangi tenei e mihi atu nei. Welcome to The Hui, Maori current affairs for all New Zealanders. E taro ake nei. A whanau who feels they were torn apart in Housing New Zealand's meth testing debacle. It was the most broken I've ever seen both my parents as individuals. The McLean family speaks out about their three-year fight to have their children returned to their care. They destroy families. That is, you know` That is exactly what they do. And the sum of Tamaki Makaurau's most fierce spoken word warriors. ALL: Our tupuna fell victim to the injustices of the system, but I refuse to bow down. There's nothing more powerful than seeing a young person step up to that line and confront all of those things in a really vulnerable way. We meet the rising stars of Slam Camp 2018. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2018 Karahuihui mai. The Drug Foundation is calling the recent methamphetamine debacle 'the biggest scam New Zealand's ever seen'. A bombshell report by the country's top scientist, Sir Peter Gluckman, found there is no real risk to humans where methamphetamine has been consumed. The report comes after Housing New Zealand evicted hundreds of families and spent $100 million cleaning homes that had tested positive for methamphetamine reside. One family, whose state house tested positive for meth, had their two youngest children uplifted after Housing New Zealand notified Child Youth and Family. The family, who deny using meth in their home, say no tests were conducted prior to their tenancy, nor were any of the occupants charged in relation to the meth use. Oranga Tamariki has now discharged custody back to the family, and we were there to speak to them. Anei te purongo. After nearly three years as a ward of the state, Anahera McLean is home. It's cause for celebration. The potiki, or baby of the family, is back in the custody of her whanau. Her mum says the struggle to get her returned has been long and painful. The pain's over now ` the hurt, the pain that CYFS have done to me and my family. They separated us. But now we are back together. They say their nightmare began in 2015 when their state house tested positive for methamphetamine. They denied smoking P in the home, and no prior test had been conducted, but they lost their house. Housing New Zealand also notified Child, Youth and Family. And shortly after, the two youngest members of their family, Anahera and Te Morehu, were removed and placed with strangers. Pepe McLean, who has had interim care of the children, remembers police arriving at dawn to take her siblings. They came to my house on Anahera's birthday two years ago. The police came ` the whole police squad. I mean, there was like 15 to 20 police officers that had come. Banging on my doors, you know, said they had a search warrant search for some Child Act or something looking for the two kids. And I was just like, you know, 'They're not here'. What every big sister would do ` say, 'They're not here'. Anahera and Te Morehu were sent to live out of Auckland. But while in care, they made a run for it and made headlines. Police are still trying to find two children who've gone missing from their caregiver's home in the north Waikato town of Tuakau. At the time, The Hui was invited to speak with the children's grandfather ` well-respected kaumatua, Burt McLean. Do you feel let down? I do feel let down by the system, because I've been an advocate for the system. Would you have been able to take them if they had called you? If we had have been consulted when it first occurred, it wouldn't have happened. Mm. I know it wouldn't have happened. What would you have done? I would have taken those kids myself and put them here. (GENTLE MUSIC) Now it's finally over. Just last week, the court granted a parenting order to the whanau. But it took years of fighting the system and legal action to have them discharged from Oranga Tamariki. Tell me about today's decision ` how did you feel? Real happy. It's finally over. What's over? You know, CYFS being a part of our lives. They destroy families. That is, you know, exactly what they do. 'She says the ordeal has taken a toll on her mother, Te Awhina.' It was horrible. It was real horrible. What did she go through? Hell. She went through hell. Her younger sister Ihipera agrees. It was the most broken I've ever seen both my parents as individuals. While Te Morehu and Anahera are happy to be home, they all wear the scars of separation. How hard has it been, Te Awhina, this last few years? (SIGHS) The only ones who ever really know are the parents that have walked that path, eh? What... pain you go through. And what do you say to your kids? 'Oh, Mum, can we go home?' What do you`? You've got no answers for them. Someone who did understand was Te Awhina's friend Eleisha. Eleisha's children were also removed after her state house tested positive for meth. But last week she gave up her fight, passing away as a result of a suspected suicide. And her body is here at the McLean's home. We bounced off each other, supported each other. I think, if you don't have close friends or family, it's really hard to do it by yourself. Her one regret? She never got to tell Eleisha the good news ` that the children had been returned. I feel angry. I feel pissed off. You took three years of my kids away from me. I mean, we are family and that. And over what? But for now, it's time to say goodbye, a tragic end for a mother whose fight to reunite her family will never be won. She's been fighting the same journey as me ` trying to get her kids back. Rest in peace, my sis, Eleisha. It's been a helluva painful journey. Yeah. Ihipera says it could just as easily have been her mum. If my family wasn't so strong, you would have ripped my family apart. But there's other families out there that you have ripped apart. But it's not over for Ihipera. She's still facing charges from when police removed her siblings after they ran home from foster care. I witnessed them dragging my brother from his feet. And his face was scraping against the concrete road` the gravel road, and so I attacked. I kicked them all down the stairs. I attacked. And next thing you know, I had 12 cops on top of me. And I got arrested for disorderly behaviour, assault with police and resisting arrest. And you're still facing those convictions now? Yeah. All because I was trying to stop them from, you know, hitting my underage brother. Te Morehu was 14 at the time. He's now 17 and working, and Anahera is back at a local school. Te Awhina wants an apology from Oranga Tamariki for the pain and disruption to their young lives. Come on, Government. Do your job properly. Make sure you got good` Doesn't matter whether the threshold has gone higher in the P testing. You know, it's too late. They've already done the damage to me and my children. I've gone through harassment from the police. I've gone through everything. You name it, I've gone through it. I've been blacklisted. It's been a long journey, eh, for the last two years ` a very long journey. I mean, we've moved from house to house, because the police have gone there, told the landlords to kick us out. They don't want us in their house. And that we're so-called 'gang members' or..., you know? We're just trying to live in a house and get by and try to get by without our babies until we get our babies back. And now I see the relief on my mum's face this afternoon in court. It was awesome, eh? Well, for the last two weeks, we have attempted to interview the CEO of Oranga Tamariki regarding how her organisation processed Housing New Zealand notifications, but have been told she is unavailable to speak to us until late July. But in a statement to The Hui regarding the McLean whanau, Oranga Tamariki says ` Hei muri i nga whakatairanga ` ka tutaki i nga kaka haetara o te ao toikupu. Noreira kia u tonu mai ra. Auraki mai ano. WORD ` The Front Line is breaking down barriers and getting young people to not only open up but speak up. This slam poetry competition is gaining momentum with Tamaki Makaurau students who are all competing for their time on the big stage. A stage that is less about victory and more about the journey. (SLOW, MELODIC MUSIC) 275 love letters to south side. Tap, tap. Can you hear me? Was it loud enough for you to hear that I was struggling? Don't ever call me your son. Don't expect me to forget the shit that you did to my mum. Spoken word, spoken truth. You gave birth to feisty brown bitches in a world made for white men. My taonga, please forgive me. This is the next generation of poets using words as their taiaha. Slam Camp's, like, just a really cool place to be. You're in an environment where everyone's comfortable, everyone wants to share, and you're getting ideas off other people. Slam Camp is a part of a inter-high school spoken word slam called WORD ` The Front Line, which is about young people standing up to the front line, whatever their giant might be, and slaying it with their words. Trust is a decaying bone in female bodies. It has been strangled, blackmailed, abused by the hands of once-upon-a-time 'nice guys', whose staying journeys of women just trying to find someone they don't have to sleep one eye open with. This two-day Slam Camp run by Action Education is the first step of the journey to the national final's grand slam in September. And so just a huge big ups and congratulations for making it here. Organiser Ramon Ngarian says these are the top teams in Tamaki Makaurau. We had like about 44 teams, over 200 young people, come together and audition. Here, this weekend, we have our top 14 teams from right across Auckland. Also, the young people themselves will be connected, each and every team, with a coach who's an amazing spoken word poet. They get to work together, and that coach will walk alongside them right to the very end goal at the end of September. The reigning kings of slam is Dilworth College. They took out the competition last year and are itching to throw down again, starting here at Te Puea marae. Hitting two birds with someone else's stone,... (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS) ...a ball hogger, a spotlight stealer,... selfish rebellion,... blowing out others' candles to light your own,... not giving out your Netflix password. (CROWD CHEERS) It's a way for everyone to be able to hear what I'm saying without trying to fight against it. They have to sit there and be quiet and listen, so I'm able to say what I want to say without the interruptions. ...like cold steroid type corroding a young boy's mind with negligence forces him to prise his fingers away from his mother's hands, ripping him from the tikanga that was set out before him! It's not like that, but no one understands! You try to speak up, but it's a deafening silence! Jai's a viral superstar. His poem from last year's competition being shared and viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media. I just want to keep evolving and getting to perform in different places, but try to be different every time, So it's not saying the same things over and over again. But the people keeping the thought of Maori oppressed don't know that my culture ain't got shit to do with skin colour, with financial stability, with who you hang out with, but what you say about yourself. I am Maori. True story. (AUDIENCE CHEERS) There's nothing more powerful than seeing a young person step up to that line and confront all of those things in a really vulnerable way. And for somebody else to hear that and connect with that and realise that they are not alone is just pretty amazing. (AUDIENCE CHEERS, WHOOPS) It is confronting and a glimpse into the student's lives. So Ramon and the team are careful to ensure the safety of all rangatahi. It's about us getting to know one another, to connect, to kind of really build some awesome relationships, some safe spaces. And if things come up, because it does, it can stir a whole bunch of things up, but we help people to see that as a celebration and guide them to the right places so that they're able to do something with that and share with people they trust and work through those things. ALL: When Tawhiri casts his eyes into the sky` Challenging the slam throne this year is this talented threesome from Nga Puna o Waiorea. Their words inspired by their whakapapa. All the pieces that we've done is ` like, as a group ` are based on Maori culture. Why are we not strong enough? ALL: We want to be as strong as men. Why are they honoured? ALL: We want to be honoured. Manaia has also been influenced by her great-grandfather, Hone Tuwhare, one of Aotearoa's most celebrated poets. I've kind of always had poetry like from koro hone. I don't know. I really loved poetry, but I would never like` I'd never thought of performing it myself. After a little encouragement from her friends, she signed up to the spoken word team and hasn't looked back. My whole school career and social life has been based around everyone I've met and everything I do at WORD ` The Front Line and, like, that's involved with poetry. So it's a big part of my life right now. ALL: 'Our tupuna fell victim to the injustices of this system, but I refuse to bow down. 'I refuse to remove my korowai and cover my mouth. I speak my reo to create the perfect melody 'to my identity. How dare you take away the instruments of my orchestra?' (AUDIENCE CLAPS, CHEERS) The change in the rangatahi from when they arrive to when they leave is clear. Some of those young people, they've never shared their poetry in front of a room before. And at the end of it, they are performing in front of crowds of 400 people. And that is just incredibly amazing. WORD ` The Front Line is into its fourth year now, and the hope is to take it nationwide. A parent and a child in one form. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS) Change of the past marked on my skin. I've been doing youth work for the last 17 years, and this is the most powerful, like, youth development programme I've ever seen that it really helps you to come alongside people to build relationships in a very real and authentic way. ALL: They are. Please tell the people I love. Authentic and articulate. Slam Camp has brought these kids together and given them a voice. Turn up the volume, and you might hear my calling for someone to listen. But you never hear my calling for someone to listen if you don't check the volume in the first place. Well, our daughters become mothers to their siblings so young, because their parents work shifts at night. And the media won't focus on that, but will focus on any recorded street fight. You will never understand the pain I went through, man. Or should I say boy? Because you'll never grow up. If you wanted to be a dad so bad, then (BLEEP)ing show up. Our house has heard how raw our throats are. Now she's soothing us with her respect, allowing our eyes to become the stars, beacons of enlightenment for men to follow. We don't need man's god; we will be our own gods. Kei whea mai koutou! Na Rewa Harriman tera purongo. Kia mau tonu mai ra te titiro, inangeto nei ka korero ahau ki te kaitiaki take kowhiri mo te kowhirnga rarangi poti. Kei te matakitaki koutou i a Te Hui. The 2018 Maori Electoral Option, where Maori voters can choose between the Maori or the general roll, closes on the 2nd of August. Many political pundits expected it would increase Parliament's seven Maori seats to eight. However, on current numbers, it doesn't look to be the case, and, in fact, Maori could even lose a seat. So to discuss the Maori Electoral Option, I'm joined now by Mandy Bohte, National Manager of Enrolment and Community Engagement at the Electoral Commission. Tena koe. Kia ora. Kia ora. So, compared to last time, how are you looking in terms of the take-up? Mm, well, we're about halfway through the campaign. We've got another six weeks to go. So now's a really good time for Maori voters to think about whether they want to be on the Maori roll or the general roll and to make sure that you are enrolled in the first place, because you need to be enrolled in order to vote. Are you surprised by how many ` I think it's about 3500 ` who have chosen to go on the general roll, and that means that the Maori roll's down about 1500. Is that following a trend of any kind? Uh, look, it's similar to what we saw in the 2013 Maori Electoral Option, in that there hasn't been a huge amount of change. So when you think about from a percentage perspective, it's only about .5 of a per cent that the two rolls have changed by. So they're quite small numbers at this stage. And so, if people don't know about it, this is the campaign with William Waiirua and some other ones. Do you think they've been able to reach those targets? And who are your targets? So our targets are all eligible Maori voters, so right across the spectrum. But where are young people? So would there be, you know` are you looking at rangatahi? Absolutely. So, you know, we've been going to a number of places out in the community. So we've got about 100 people that we have across the nation that are reaching out into all areas of the community ` in particular, looking at rangatahi, as well as all eligible voters. We're at multiple places. You're at the Tamaki Makaurau regional kapa haka ` the fiercest competition ` this weekend. What did you find there? Who was turning up at your table? There was a whole variety, actually. We attracted younger children that brought their parents along. There's many of the youth turning up, plus some older people who are updating information and wanting to find out more about the option. It's kind of` I mean, it's mid-stream, really ` the election's gone, and then the next one's not for a little while. Is this the only time that Maori can change? It is challenging for us that, you know, this is a time where voting isn't top of mind. This is the only time that Maori can change rolls, so it's really important that people understand that you've only got to the 2nd of August to make that choice, should you want to change. But it's very valid for people just to say, 'Actually, I'm really happy with the roll that I'm on, 'and I'm staying where I am'. And if that's the case, you don't need to do anything. And then when you get to` election comes round, and your MP might change, and you think, 'Oh, I don't want to vote for that MP. I want to vote for my Maori MP.' What happens then? So, it can be really frustrating when the only time that you can change roll is during the Maori Option. We have made a recommendation to Parliament that Maori can change rolls at any time. It's now up to Parliament to look at that and make a decision around what they want to do. Do you think that's something that's going to happen in the next` before the next election? I don't know. Look, I need to say, that's up to Parliament to look at that. People will have to ask them to hurry up and have look at that if that's what they want to do. What's your message for those people who still have the envelope on the kitchen bench, like our kids? Absolutely. Look, think about it, you know? Talk to whanau. Talk to people that you trust about what's right for you. Who do you want to represent you? Is it an MP from a Maori electorate? Is it an MP from a general electorate? And make a choice around that. Just make the decision. Get your choice back to us or go and see any of our people that are out in the community. They'll help you work through an enrolment form. Make sure that you are enrolled. Our young people are often online these days ` is there an option for the online? There absolutely is. So if you go to our website, which is maorioption.org.nz you can download a form, and you can actually take a photo and upload it directly back to our website. So it's as easy as that. It's very simple. The letter that you may have received in the post, you can also take a photo of that and upload it back to the website. So we've tried to really make it as easy as possible for people to make their choice, should they wish to. When the numbers are in, can you tell us how it does work? If there is an extra seat or if we lose a seat, what happens? I guess, you don't just go, 'OK, the people of Whanganui are going to lose a seat.' How does it work? No, so, the Electoral Commission doesn't make that decision. We provide the information through to Statistics New Zealand. They have some quite complex calculations that they use based on the information from the Maori Option, as well as census data. So there's a lot of number crunching that goes on. So we won't know until that's provided by Stats New Zealand. So it has a bit of a` I guess, if you think about it, you know 10, 15 years ago, there were ` my numbers aren't right here ` but I remember when there were just four seats. That's right. And so they were whoever was in that area and, you know, as they were created, where the population was. Mm. So that information goes to the Representation Commission, and they decide where the electorates are. And so, you know, that happens after the information` We don't know. So, no, we don't know at this point. You just have to get out there and fill in your forms and make your choice. Absolutely. Make a choice. Think about who you want to represent you ` MP Maori electorate, MP in a general electorate. And regardless of which roll you're on, you get to vote for the same political parties. Thank you so much. 2nd of August ` get in there. Kia ora. Fantastic. Kia ora. Hei tera wiki i runga i a Te Hui. Housing New Zealand has spent $100 million in just four years on testing homes for methamphetamine. They labelled us. They treated us bad. It's just disgusting. You know, we were only innocent kids at the time. But hundreds of those tenants have paid a much higher price ` losing everything. They tried to take my kids off me. What did they say? Because I was living in a contaminated home. They told me that I wasn't allowed to apply for a house for between one and three years. Heartbreaking. It was sad. I'll be homeless, live on the street. They share their stories ` evicted from their homes after positive meth tests. That house was on us for 25 years. My mother passed away in that house. Do you want an apology? Yeah, I would like an apology. Not just to me, to my whole family. What did you do when you were told that you've got 90 days to get out? Broke down and locked myself away for a little bit. (SNIFFS) Cos I felt useless. I felt powerless. I lost my mana. (CRIES) Kua hikina Te Hui mo tenei ra. Newshub Nation is next. Pai marire ki a tatou katoa. Captions by Elizabeth Welsh. www.able.co.nz Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2018 ALL: He mea tautoko na Te Mangai Paho.