Kei nga ihoiho o nga maunga whakahi, kei nga wai whakatere taniwha, nau mai tahuti mai ki Te Hui. Ko Mihingarangi tenei e mihi atu nei ki a koutou katoa. Welcome to The Hui, Maori current affairs for all New Zealanders. E taro ake nei ` She's weaving her community together one cloak at a time. It's become my passion now. Teaching the traditional art of cloak-making to the people of Pukekohe. I've got a little group of followers, and these ladies are dedicated to the kaupapa. Us three here, we're always here week in and week out. Now Emily Whyte wants her Pakeha students to become teachers. I'd be one of the happiest ladies in Pukekohe if they took my place. And he's apologised to the takatapui community, but are they buying it? We discuss just how sorry Brian Tamaki really is. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2019 Karahuihui mai. Billed as the Well-being Budget, the government has committed half a billion dollars of targeted funding for Maori and Pasifika communities. It also comes with a cash injection for health, schools, child well-being, with mental health taking a substantial portion of the cash. But how quickly will the money flow from the government coffers to the pockets of the whanau who desperately need it? To tell us more, I'm joined by minister for Maori development Nanaia Mahuta. Tena koe. Tena koe, kia ora. He oranga mo tatou i roto i tenei tahua? He tuatahi tenei tahua oranga. Kia arataki i nga kaupapa e whai ake nei i tenei kawanatanga. No reira, ki taku titiro, ae, he pai mo nga whanau. What are you most pleased about? Well, I think the budget has signalled that, one, we're not prepared to measure the success of what we do simply through an economic lens, that we want to broaden our focus. The budget makes some high-impact investments in some critical areas like child poverty, like mental health. But more importantly, it signals that this government is prepared to do things differently and we can no longer take a siloed approach to addressing some significant issues for New Zealanders. And this year we have targeted funding for Maori in excess a half a billion, which I think signals that we're serious also about adding value to the way in which we can impact well-being outcomes for Maori. Of that half a billion which is targeted for Maori and Pasifika communities, what was the hardest fight and what are you most excited about seeing roll out? Actually, the difference under this government is that we're not trying to gain concessions and do something in a little bubble. In fact, it's about adding to. So the biggest aspiration, I believe, in terms of the targeted funding, was to ensure that we were going to be addressing issues that were fundamental and core to Maori well-being in outcomes. A kaupapa Maori focus, our language and culture, our identity becomes core to how we deliver. Taking a whanau-centred approach in terms of our development aspirations. And I think adding value to some of the critical areas in our economic space that would help whanau, like, for example, developing their whenua. The Papakainga housing project, then, adds to that. It's received 27 million. Is that programme growing fast enough for you? Just 23 homes were constructed or fixed since 2015. Yes, well, this budget contributes an extra 40 million towards Papakainga and repairs and maintenance. Now, we can focus on the money or we can focus on the direction that we're taking under this government. We are looking at whanau development, with Papakainga supporting that; we're grouping our investments so Papakainga alongside Oranga Marae, alongside whenua development. Often our whanau are going home to live not because it's just the cheapest option but because they want to develop their whenua as well. There's a whole strategy around it. So this fund will build on the successes of what we've already invested in, take those learnings forward and grow what we're contributing to. And I have to say the successes in the repairs and maintenance programme is showing to have some really good outcomes as well. So 40 million, you say. If the average home is $580,000 how many houses would you like to see? I think it would be inequitable to try and compare the number of houses with the opportunities within a community` More than 23, then? It will be more than 23. It's about 100 extra a year. However, that sits alongside a bigger development strategy where whanau are looking to develop their land, where often the development sits alongside bigger community aspirations, and also the livelihood of the marae. So there's a lot of things packed in around Papakainga development opportunities. You'll be well aware of the Maori Council's challenge. Matthew Tukaki says we need programmes for Maori led by Maori. I know that there's $1.9 billion that's been put aside towards mental health for all New Zealanders. We have a rising rate of youth suicide, and just 2.5 million has been set aside for that. Do you think that's enough? Well, look, Maori are already participating in this space. The real challenge out there is to ensure that kaupapa Maori responses within, for example, the mental health, drug and addiction space continues to be a viable way to support our whanau at a community level. We've had David Clark with Meka Whaitiri, our local MP in Gisborne, just the other day to signal the investment there in drug and alcohol addiction services, and that is community-based, but also` Yeah, Minister, criminologists will tell you that Maori suicide is not a subset of suicide; it needs its own programme and it needs to take in wairua, tinana, hinengaro, all those kinds of things. So does Matthew Tukaki from the Maori Council have a point that it needs to be Maori-funded and Maori-led? Well, 62 million of the mental health package will be for kaupapa Maori services. And of the 40 million that's been put aside for suicide in particular, 6.2 of that will go to kaupapa Maori. But this doesn't exist in a vacuum. This is to support the overall investment that we're making in mental health, drug and alcohol services to have more front-line nurses, more accessibility to our young people of these supports and services within the school environment. Yes, kaupapa Maori, but ensuring that we've got the drug and alcohol supports as well. Because no kaupapa Maori service exists in a vacuum. It exists within a larger ecosystem of supports in the area. Whanau Ora minister Peeni Henare indicated there'd be more money for Whanau Ora, and there has been. And people seem very pleased with this $91 million to support their mahi. Also 10 million set aside for Te Puni Kokiri, which is your agency, to administer and evaluate Whanau Ora. You'll remember in December they failed to spend 5 million; they had an underspend. Why do they need 10 million more if they've underspent? Those questions are probably more appropriately asked to the minister for Whanau Ora. But what I can say generally is that this budget delivered 80 million new funding for Whanau Ora as a result of the review. It found a couple of key things that I think the minister has indicated very publicly that he was keen to support and broaden, that the commissioning-for-outcomes approach does work, that navigators are key. And he will work through with Whanau Ora providers to ensure that whanau development and Whanau Ora continues to be an opportunity to improve outcomes. You are the minister for Te Puni Kokiri, so how do we know that your ministry's going to spend the money? Because that's what happened last time ` they underspent by 5 million. I certainly am the minister that holds the vote, but the minister responsible for ensuring that the vote gets spent is the minister for Whanau Ora. Are you confident, then, that those funds will go into the community? I'm confident that the minister for Whanau Ora believes that this money will be well utilised not just in the current system but to broaden the way in which Whanau Ora and the commissioning-for-outcomes approach can improve well-being outcomes for our whanau. And he is looking very broadly into our towns and communities to ensure that those supports are there. Ka pai. Just quickly, new political party on the horizon ` Coalition New Zealand, with a Maori woman at the helm. Is this a party you think you could work with? I think people have got to assess whether it's a party that they would join first. That's the first hurdle. Ka pai. Also speculation that Air New Zealand will be changing their ta moko policy. It's understood to be a world leader that we will have cultural ta moko tattoos on the cabin staff. As a woman who wears a moko kauae, your thoughts? It's about time. The koru is on the plane, on uniforms and things like that. Actually, the real expression of manaakitanga and who we are as a country is reflected through our people, so it's about time they make the change. Are you looking forward to seeing those wahine and those tane on your planes as you're flying up and down the country? I'm sure we will. And actually, I was most impressed with a pilot who spoke Maori, and actually gave us some of the narrative with te reo Maori. So thumbs up on that. And more funding for that. Tena koe. Kia ora, thanks for coming on. Kia ora. He kaupapa raranga e haere ake nei, no reira kia mau tonu mai te titiro. A Pukekohe weaver is helping to bring her community together through the art of weaving. For the past 10 years, Emily Whyte has taught weaving classes in Pukekohe, where many of her star students are tauiwi. Now she's hoping they'll take over from her when she retires. Kei a John Boynton te roanga ake o nga korero. (ACOUSTIC GUITAR) The art of kakahu weaving is bringing this community together. It's become my passion now. A passion she's passing on to Pakeha in Pukekohe. I've got a little group of followers, and these ladies are dedicated to the kaupapa. Us three here, we're always here week in and week out. Now she wants them to help keep weaving alive by becoming kaiako themselves. I'd be one of the happiest ladies in Pukekohe if they took my place. For Pukekohe weaver Emily Whyte, creating korowai is at the centre of her world and her home. I started off in my whare. I had four students there; two kuias that knew how to weave, and they were teaching me how to weave. 10 years ago she started a journey to bring her community together by starting a korowai making class. It's an idea she picked up after attending weaving classes at Papakura Marae. When I first went to Papakura I walked into those double doors and I saw every walk of life in that room learning to do korowai. That's when it became my passion. Because there was Indians there, Chinese, men, kids and women, all learning to do the korowai. Her weaving class, Whariki o Te Ao, is held every Wednesday and is no longer taught from her home... Morning, Shirley. Morning. ...but from a humble shed outside Nga Hau E Wha Marae in Pukekohe. Now, the kaupapa is... I'm your kaiako, Emily Whyte. Emily's kaupapa is teaching students the art of korowai or kakahu weaving,... The first one goes around. ...using traditional methods, but with non-traditional materials such as cotton. You'll notice what's happening now. Uh... One side is getting longer than the other side. You can see it. 500 weaving students have passed through Te Whariki O Te Ao. Glennis Robinson is one of the students who've been under Emily's wing the longest. I was thinking about doing it for a couple of years before I had the courage to go along. And I'm glad. I'm glad I did. Although she's Pakeha, her husband and tamariki are Maori. I always wanted one for my own family. So now all they've all got one each. And she feels great pride in seeing her whanau wear her creations. I've got a son in Scotland that I made one for. He didn't know I was making for him, and I took that over, and when I opened it up and gave it to him, yeah, he was beside himself. He couldn't believe it, yeah. And she's also made korowai for her mokopuna. The older one wore hers at a graduation up here at the marae. She was really proud to wear it. And she looked really good in it, you know, and I felt really proud ` 'Oh, I made that,' you know. Emily says she doesn't know how much longer she will teach the class, but she wants her Pakeha students to carry on her legacy. They're here every week and they look after the place. These ladies here, they've been here with been six years now, and I always put them in my korero when we do a display. I always mention these ladies, and they're there beside me, so my Maori people can see who they are who I'm talking about. And because they're showcasing their korowais there, and then you get a lot of good talk from the Maori people back here. You have some of them coming up here and saying, 'Oh, the ladies are the bomb,' you know. For Glennis, taking over the class comes with its own challenges. Emily wants you to take over her class when she retires. Is that something that you want to carry on? Yep, yep. She's taught us well. But for us to teach, um... other Maori students and that, it's a bit difficult for a Pakeha to teach people when it's their tradition ` which it's theirs, but we're keeping it going. In the last decade, Emily's gone to great efforts to showcase the works of her students in public. Emily! Nansi Thompson is the facility manager of the Franklin Art Gallery in Pukekohe, and over the years she's developed a close bond with Emily. She's come here and given demonstrations every year, put ads in the paper every year that the korowai classes are open to everyone, and she has been incredibly generous towards sharing her skills with anyone who wanted to learn korowai. Emily says here classes are about inclusiveness. How have you seen that play out in the community? For someone like Emily to come from Pukekohe, to come from this past of Pukekohe and to have that openness is sort of healing, in a way, you know? She's healing. The metaphor of weaving goes further than the korowai in the work that Emily does. And Nansi can see Emily continuing to strengthen the threads she's already woven. It's beautiful. I'm so proud to be part of a community that has people like Emily doing this work. You know, and no one's paying her for it, no one's commissioned her to do it. It's just coming from her. I haven't seen anyone else doing what she does. She bridges all the time. She's introducing Maori to Pakeha and Pakeha to Maori in her classes. She brings people in. Emily doesn't know how long she'll be in charge of the class, but she's positive about its future and believes it will be left in capable hands. I would have to say to these ladies 'thank you' because they're still here after six years. That was really cool. I think it became their passion the same way it's a passion of mine. Na John Boynton tera ripoata. Hei muri i nga whakatairanga ka matapakihia te Hahi Destiny me te whakapaha ki te hapori takatapui. Auraki mai ano. Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki offered an apology to the rainbow community after years of treating them with contempt, including marching on Parliament to protest against the Civil Union Act and suggesting sexual perversion caused the Christchurch earthquake. The apology was delivered to representatives of the LGBT community who attended the event at Destiny Church. But it comes after the launch of a new political party led by Hannah Tamaki, leaving many to question if the apology was genuine or a vote-gathering exercise. Here to discuss, I'm joined by human rights advocate Annette Sykes and Ratana minister Kereama Pene. Tena korua. BOTH: Tena koe. Just quickly, before we jump on to that kaupapa, we heard the minister earlier, Nanaia Mahuta. What's your thoughts on the budget? I don't think it's transformational, but it's a great beginning. I think it's wrong for Willie to tout that the Maori Party hadn't actually achieved anything in the nine years with National, because they've built on the hard yards of the Maori Party to fund now Whanau Ora ` inadequately, but at least the numbers that they need. They're starting to look at housing the homeless, which is something the Maori Party also was very clear about. And I have to agree, though, with the general sentiment that Maori should be glad that there's a beginning of change. But can I say to the prime minster and to the minister of finance that, yes, you are a government of kindness, you are a government of compassion, but you lack courage to confront the structural change that is needed to address the inequalities between the rich and the poor, between Maori and Pakeha. Until you do that, I think you will never, ever really have a well-being budget. Tena koe. Let's talk about politics there, Kereama. You've been a long-time member of the Mana Party. And also the Ratana Church, which has been a movement with a really long political history. Tell me about that political history and how it's had relationships with political parties. Tena koe, Mihi. Look, the history of the Ratana movement goes back to a time when our men were just getting home from the First World War. And the whole of the structure of the Ratana movement was built by the likes of Sir Eruera Tirikatene, a returned serviceman; Tokouru Ratana, Ratana's son, a returned serviceman; Paraire Karaka Paikea, a returned serviceman. Pita Moko. They were all returned servicemen from First World War. They came home and they saw the injustice. What was offered to the other people who served in the war, our Maori members never received. Mm. And so from the early stages, and the hardship of 1918, epidemic, the flu, a man rose and he became a great leader. And he led us spiritually and physically. So you can't go past the Ratana movement in terms of` A really, really long history in terms of looking after te pani me te rawakore, which you too were part of the Mana Party movement which did the same things. Looking at the Coalition New Zealand party, then, matua, is there any opportunity there for you to work alongside that? We know that your current leader, Hone Harawira, has been supportive of that movement. Hone has been supportive of the Man Up programme and the Legacy programme. Yes. In the Far North, the disparity of our people in the Far North, with P and suicide, Hone would support anybody that could come up there and help his people who are in absolute desperate need. Yeah. I'd be completely disappointed if Hone supported a party that, in my view, notwithstanding the apology, promotes hate speech, that vilifies our young members of the rainbow community. Hone is also an advocate for the poor and also somebody who's a strident, independent voice for mana Maori motuhake. And this party that's emerged does none of that. So I'm very clear that it was a media charade that was orchestrated last week, unfortunately, using some of the greatest members of the rainbow community to promote a single agenda, which I think will fail at the next election. In terms of Maori politics, though, Hone is one of the great leaders. And I think he has more to offer in the community, as what he's already doing, the Open The Curtains programme is transformational in what it's doing for those being rehabilitated from prisons. And so people like Hone need to be utilised to promote the structural change that's needed to avoid the numbers of our people being incarcerated that are at the present time. It's interesting times, though, isn't it, because as a former Mana Party member ` and founder, really ` your views are that you can't work with a party like Coalition New Zealand because of the hate speech and their whakaaro that they have. What do you think, Kereama? Do you think there any, kind of, movement in there? I was responsible for going down to Christchurch during the shootings. And so I... There are some things about Brian which are very troubling. And so we have to be careful when somebody is able to entice people to hate Muslims simply because they don't have the same prayer. So it's very difficult for a person to say 'we're open to all churches' but have those clear statements about non-Christian churches. We have been just discussing before this interview about the future of the Mana Party and if there is one. Tell me, it's a long whakapapa. Tell me about that and where you think it's heading, if anywhere. I think the Mana Movement, rather than the party, had its genesis in Mana Motuhake. It was subsequently brought up again by the late Eva Rickard with her Mana Party. And then, of course, we had the Maori Party emerged from the activism ` which most of us organised ` against the largest confiscation of the foreshore and seabed. So there will always be strident, independent voices for Maori politics. The Maori Party lost its way and therefore lost the support of our people that believe in mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga. They live that kaupapa. So in the future, there's always going to be those voices. And I am amazed at the rangatahi that I meet who live outside the political frameworks but are engendering change in kura kaupapa and wananga. And so I think our work outside Parliament will be as important to promote kawanatanga change while the constitutional adjustment, the constitutional change that's going to be required to take us to 2040, when 200 years after the Treaty occurs. And I'm really confident that Mana activists ` cos we all are; Yeah. I mean, I've been there with Eva since 1980 ` we will continue to support the emerging leadership that want that. I'm looking forward with bated breath to Moana Jackson's next report on the criminal justice system. And I am enamoured by the young people ` young men, young women. The young woman president of Victoria University, for example. She's standing in the local elections. Watch this space. Can I just come back to you, Kereama, cos I didn't ask you about your thoughts around the apology. Brian Tamaki did apologise to the rainbow community. What do you think of that? Some people think that it was vote-gathering. Uh, the timing was bad. So when Jevan had advised them to do it during their annual hui, the timing was bad. If you're gonna be genuine, you don't do it at your national conference to increase your membership. If you want to be genuine, you've got to go amongst them, amongst the rainbow community. So I guess I have to be honest. I thought that his apology was a little bit short and too late. Your thoughts? Oh, I thought it was just speaking empty words. Maori judge the wairua of the whakaaro. And I didn't see any genuine effort to make amends. I actually felt like the individuals on the stage ` who I actually admire ` from the rainbow community were a little bit overwhelmed by the setting, and I agree totally that the apology is nothing if it's not matched by practises that change behaviours. And I haven't seen that, even in his Man Up programme. It's very patriarchal, it's very influenced about looking at behaviours but not necessarily challenging behaviours. And the violent behaviours, the sexual violence that men, uh, done to women, are fundamental issues we need to address in the Maori world. Mm. Having said that, we do need programmes that Maori create, kaupapa Maori programmes to do that. I think that the key in this regard is for Whanau Ora and independent agencies to develop those kaupapa Maori philosophies and ensure that they're inculcated into these kinds of programmes being promoted ` not just by Man Up, by a lot of new groups who I think are on the bandwagon to cash in on the money that's now available from this government. Tena korua. Well, we'll wait with bated breath to see what happens with the Mana Party closer to the next election. Tena korua. Hei tera wiki ` Arohaina Gilbert's medical treatment was dogged by delays and missed opportunities. This whole situation could have been avoided. So it's not good enough. A series of errors meant the 25-year-old didn't get the urgent surgery she desperately needed. I think the system let her down, yes. Now Arohaina's whanau are left wondering why ` why did she die from a condition that could have easily been treated, and are Maori living in remote communities receiving substandard health care? I think what we're definitely seeing is some inherent bias that occurs. Do you believe Arohaina Gilbert's death was preventable? It was potentially avoidable, yes. If she'd got an earlier appointment and had an operation, she's be here today. Kua hikina Te Hui mo tenei ra. You'll find links to our stories on our Facebook and Twitter accounts or at newshub.co.nz Newshub Nation's next. Pai marire ki a tatou katoa. Captions by Tracey Dawson. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2019 ALL: He mea tautoko na Te Mangai Paho. The Hui is made with support from New Zealand On Air.