- Tutawa mai i runga, tutawa mai i raro, tutawa mai i roto, tutawa mai i waho. Kia tau ai te mauri tu, te mauri ora ki te katoa. Haumi e, hui e, taiki e. E nga mana, e nga reo, rarau mai ki Te Hui. E taro ake nei ` Utakura Valley is home to around 300 whanau living on their whenua. - The land is a gift that's been gifted to us from our ancestors. - A magnificent place to cycle through, but whanau in Utakura Valley live in substandard housing with minimal infrastructure. - There's something seriously wrong with that picture, that the boardway is more important than those that live in the valley. - It's time, I believe, as a nation that we fix up what has become extremely broken in our country. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. - Karahuihui mai. Aotearoa's housing crisis continues to dominate headlines, with stories about the lack of housing stock and unaffordability. But some rural communities in Aotearoa are facing a very different housing crisis, the result of decades of neglect and inequality by successive governments. It's a situation whanau living in Utakura Valley know only too well. But they're determined to hold fast to their whenua ` tu te po, tu te ao. Kei a Ruwani Perera tera purongo. - Here on the slopes above the Hokianga Harbour is Mangungu Mission House, where 70 chiefs signed Te Tiriti on February 12, 1840. The treaty was meant to signal a new era for Aotearoa and promised to ensure the health, education and spiritual care of Maori. - My tupuna Te Taonui, he signed not only Te Tiriti but also He Whakaputanga five years earlier, the declaration of independence. - But 180 years on, not far from this historic site, this is how the descendants of those rangatira are now living ` in substandard housing, some whanau calling a tent or tarpaulin their home. - I think if he was looking at the valley now and seeing what has become of his people, of his whanau, I think he would be deeply, deeply upset by that. - From my point of view, that Tiriti has never been honoured. - What do you think your tupuna would think about seeing the way whanau are living here today? - It's not acceptable. It's not good enough. And while I'm still breathing, I'll continue to disagree with what's currently happening for our people. - On the upper reaches of the Hokianga Harbour is Utakura Valley, an isolated rural community that's home to around 300 whanau. Most of the land here is Maori-owned. Remana Matiu has lived in this whare on his whenua for almost 40 years. - I would never move away from here because this is where my wife passed away. - The 60-year-old has multiple health issues to contend with. - Our health is not too flash. We have diabetes, kidney failure. Doesn't make it easy when our conditions of our whare is like how it is. - It's startling to learn that Remana has only recently had running water installed. - (SPEAKS MAORI) - The lack of adequate heating and his whare means his mokopuna can no longer stay there. But Remana still feels blessed. - I've always been taught to, uh, to be grateful, you know, and also whanau that... that are living worse off than us. So I consider myself quite lucky to have what I've got. Whereas some haven't got anything, you know? They haven't got any whenua. - Kia ora, Remana. - Ah, kia ora. Kia ora, Jenny. - How are you? - Oh, kei te pai. - Nice to see you. - Former New Zealand First List MP Jenny Marcroft's father was born in Utakura Valley. Remana is her cousin. - Coming in such close contact with someone who is a relation, someone that you care about, to see their situation is just heartbreaking. When I came to this valley and reconnected with not just my whakapapa but the place where my father was born and that spiritual connection I have with it, I realised that actually I have to use my voice in a different way. - In 2017, she entered Parliament to speak out about the conditions her whanau were living in. - Shall I make you up a bread roll? It's all very well to choose not to see something, but once you've seen it, you can't unsee it. And I saw it and I had to do something about it, so I got myself into politics. Our valley in North Hokianga is a place where extension cords stretch from windows across... - She highlighted the plight facing her whanau in her maiden speech in Parliament. - ...and the silent poverty that blows through the region. - It caught the attention of the Coalition Government's Minister of Maori Development, Nanaia Mahuta, who asked for a report on how to improve the housing and well being for whanau in the valley. - There felt like there was a will to actually take a look at the situation. - The report Alva Pomare wrote makes for confronting reading. She grew up in the valley and documented the dire conditions whanau are living in. - The needs were high and they were vast. I know I cried for the first day. I thought,... we can't be like this. Can't be. You know? And it was, 'OK, so what do we do about this?' - Alva is passionate about Utakura and her people. This is the whare on her papakainga where she and her 16 siblings were raised. Like the majority of properties in the rohe, it's in desperate need of repair. What conditions have you seen whanau living in? - There are some homes that don't have bathrooms. Outside, there may be a drum that collects water if there is a guttering system there. That becomes washing water. I mean, you sit in a home that's absolutely freezing. You put on the heater, it just goes right out the back` in the front door and out the back door. - Unbelievably, whanau here pay almost the same council rates as Kerikeri, even though that's a large town, and despite the valley's water supply described as being in a similar condition to Third World living standards. Buying water to fill tanks is beyond the means of most whanau here. - The water is really critical. Safe, clean drinking water is an absolute human right. There is a huge inequity here, and that inequity is alive and well because we look like this. - And in the past year, things have worsened. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted and increased the multiple health and social issues in the valley. Alva also notes an increase in whanau returning to their whenua, escaping the high costs of living in the city, forced to live on their land with the bare minimum. - I really can't see how coming home and having to put up a tent is OK any more when we're in 2021. - A whanau of 13 returned to Utakura last year and were living in this lean-to until fire destroyed the structure. - The whanau were actually living in that at the time of the lockdown during COVID. And then that went up in smoke and the whole bach got burnt to the ground. They actually came out with nothing ` just the clothes on their back and the children. - Since Christmas, that whanau have been living under this makeshift tarpaulin shelter. - Someone just said to me yesterday, 'So are you looking for a handout?' And I'm really clear about ` this is not about handouts. This is about equity. This is about being able to develop a pathway forward. Because if we don't do that now, I can see it getting worse. - Coming up, Utakura finally gets the help it desperately needs. But it's not for everyone. - I don't believe it's been enough. - If you're going to change people's lives and lift people out of poverty, you've got to give them a hand up, not a handout. - Auraki mai ano. More than $250 million of public funds was invested in Team New Zealand's America's Cup defence, a significant handout when you consider the estimated cost to bring all substandard houses in Te Tai Tokerau to an as-new condition around $205 million. Over the past 15 years, successive governments have come up with several housing initiatives like the Maori Housing Network and the Rural Housing Programme. But these haven't gone far enough to improve living conditions for whanau in Utakura. Experts say while there has been some relief, there is still far more mahi to be done. Anei te wahanga tuarua o tenei purongo. - This boardwalk is part of the Pou Herenga Tai, or Twin Coasts Cycle Trail, that cuts through the rural settlement of Utakura Valley. The multimillion-dollar tourist attraction was part of the National Government's cycle trial network and promoted economic returns for Northland locals. But whanau that live in this isolated community have seen no benefits from the cycle path and continue to live in rundown dwellings. - The millions that have gone into that, there's something seriously wrong with that picture, that the boardway is more important than those that live in the valley and the development. - This was bewildering to me, that all of these people would cycle past homes that were clearly in ruins and that people were living in deprivation levels that were just way off the scale. And not only that, but the government at the time that built the cycle way through this particular area of deprivation, did no one ever say, 'This is a place that needs attention'? That the government needs to step in here? - After former list MP Jenny Marcroft made government ministers aware of the housing issues in 2017, a million dollars was given to repair and retrofit whare in the region. - So in this case, the bathroom was done, the weatherboards were done, the house was closed up and the roof was done. - What does having that work mean to the whanau? - They're really grateful. And I think all of the families are really grateful in relation to the type of support that it offers whanau. - While it's a move in the right direction, many whanau don't qualify. 20 homes in the valley were put forward for the home improvement scheme. 10 were accepted, each getting around $30,000 worth of work. This is one of the whare that was turned down, considered beyond repair, and it was recommended that it should be demolished. - I'm wanting to ensure that those that did not meet the criteria, at least we'd be able to find other ways in supporting those families to be able to find a pathway forward. I don't believe it's been enough. Even when we finish these 10 homes, my view is that it has to come back, and we need to be sitting at the table with that. - Alva's thankful things are happening but wants action. She says whanau have been waiting far too long. - We can get heaps of reports done. We can get assessments done. We can get condition reports done. And that's cost thousands of dollars. You might as well have given me the money and we could have had a home done for one of the whanau in need. That's more effective to us than all of the bits of paper because that report will just now go on the shelf again. And unless another minister takes us seriously, we're going to stay where we are. And for me, that's not good enough for another set of generations. - Alva and Jenny are working on how their community can take control and come up with its own solutions, creating an employment and economic base for themselves. - Let's bring in the resources to help people fix it themselves. And that's really important to enable everyone that wants to be a part of it to be part of their own solution, so that they can stand on their new foundations and move ahead with their lives. - But despite the deprivation you can see on the outside, it's their strong sense of whanaungatanga and connection to their whenua that gives whanau the strength to stay in Utakura Valley. - The land is a gift that's been gifted to us from our ancestors and our loved ones that have passed on. We were told to look after the land, to look after whatever we have around us. - Remana Matiu's holding on for his moko. - This is their turangawaewae. They've always got a papakainga to come back to. And that's why I won't swap it for anything. - The bones of our old people are buried there. It's important to feel connected to where you live. And if you have that deep spiritual connection to a place, no one should ask you to remove yourself and go live somewhere else. And it's time, I believe, as a nation that we fix up what has become extremely broken in our country. - Hei muri i nga whakatairanga ka wananga matou i nga take torangapu o te wa. After the break, we talk politics with Tau Henare and Shane Te Pou. - Tahuti mai ano ki Te Hui. While first-home buyers flinch at the cost of housing ` which, by the way, reached $800,000 on average last month ` spare a thought for those at the other end of the market. We now have more than 41,000 people experiencing severe house deprivation around Aotearoa. So when is it reasonable to expect to see some relief from the housing crisis? And when will the year of delivery finally arrive? West Auckland wallpaperer Tau Henare and Epsom electrician Shane Te Pou. Tena korua. - Kia ora. Why did you give me wallpaper? - I don't know. It was Annabel, it wasn't me. Anyway, so, announcement. The prime minister's kind of said it will tilt the balance of the housing market towards first-home buyers, but a warning to property investors. - Yeah, they're gonna increase the bright-line test. Look, reality, that's going to tinker around the edges. I don't think that's going to help the people of Northland or the Eastern Bay of Plenty. We're living in two worlds, really, aren't we? I don't expect` I really do not seriously expect any relief any time soon for the 41,000 people living in crisis. Here's the reality ` there's no political will to do it. It would mean that you'd have to devalue mine and your homes by 20%, and that's a death wish for any government. - You're not` Are you willing to do that, though? - Well, we have to do something radical, don't we? We can't tinker around the edges. We're probably going to get another 20,000 people into New Zealand next year once the borders open again, and they'll come to Auckland. You know, we need a radical shift. And this government has a majority. It has the political capital to do it. It really hasn't` To date, I don't think anyone, Tau, had the political will. - Had a massive false start with the KiwiBuild, the promise of 100,000 houses over 10 years. Change of minister brought the expectation a peg down. But have they delivered? - I don't think they have. And, you know, I was a fan of 100,000. - I remember. I bailed Twyford up in the Countdown, the local Countdown. He's my local MP. I said, 'Well done, bro.' But then it just` it just got taken over by bureaucracy. And, you know, we spent on the America's Cup, both the council, Auckland Council and the government, nearly $350 million just to watch some rich boys... And it was cool. And I must admit, I watched it. ...run around the Hauraki Gulf. And then have the temerity to say we're going to have it over in some other country, and I see that those people in Utakura that are living in what can only be described as shacks. I know that they love their homes and that, but if we can't` - Tents. - Tents! It's, it's disgusting. And when the brother says that we live in two worlds here in this country, you know, 30, 40 years ago, Maori affairs had trade trainees. You would ask them one of two things ` can I have a house? Can I have a job? That was it. And I'm afraid even me as a former minister of Maori Affairs, this situation has been going on for 40 years. - Yeah, I mean, today Utakura, we see this story. But when you were the Minister for Maori Affairs, what did other valleys of Northland look like? - But` But this is not just about the north. This` That could be somewhere in the Urewera, that could be in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. There` It's obviously in the north. And I feel so sorry. You know, we three have shareholdings in land, but can we even go on the land? I mean, my message to all the people out there is if you've got land and if you are a shareholder, get on it and start building your own whare. - I mean, I just want to come back to the Utakura story because in there they pay the same` almost the same rates as people in Kerikeri. So if we can` Let's just dive into this idea that we jump on our Maori landholdings. - Well, it's difficult. - But we're paying the same rates. There's no water, there's` - It's also difficult because it's multiple-owned land, and you're not going to get a mortgage and you're not going to get someone to build the house. So you're going to build shacks and they're going to be unsafe and you can't get insurance. So the poverty trap gets deeper and deeper and deeper. Look, I really don't know how we're going to fix the middle housing block. You know, like, you know, people are into the new job, a couple might earn a hundred-odd thousand dollars, which sounds like a lot of money living in Auckland, but I don't know how we're going to house them. But I do have a solution for Te Tai Tokerau; I do have a solution for Waimana, etc ` state homes. Build state homes and then build some more. And in the '30s when we had our housing crisis, what did we do in Mt Roskill? We built 5000, 10,000 state homes. And that's what we've got to do. And if they're not state homes, then they're hapu- or iwi-based homes. And that's what we've got to do. We've got to house people in immediate need. - So if you can rent off the government as a state house, why can't I go home ` or not me, but one of the brothers or sisters ` go home and rent off Ngati Hine or rent off Te Waiariki or rent off whoever? You know? And what we need is some transformational change. Now, we were promised that the last election, but it ain't happening. - Perhaps the difference between when you were Minister for Maori Affairs and now is that iwi are in a better place. - Yeah, look, I don't actually think that much has changed, actually, between my time and this time. Like Shane says, there is a certain inertia. Even when you've got a majority, you don't want to upset the apple cart, because in three years' time we want to be in again. That's` That's just got to be wrong. - When you look at Utakura, does this, you know, does this put more pressure on people like Andrew Little to settle the north so that you can put putea back into their pockets? - Look... (SIGHS) You know, Treaty settlements ain't the issue. - Mm. - This... The Treaty settlement of, let's say, Ngapuhi, let's say of $250 million, is not going to solve the problem in Utakura. What you` What solves the problem in Utakura? What Shane says ` give us $10 million and we'll build enough houses in Utakura so that all these people can be housed. - On their own land. - On their own land. And I mean` I was going to swear. Because this is a horrible situation. How dare New Zealand in 2021... has this sort of situation. And I'm not blaming the government. I blame all of the governments, from mine to this one and everybody in between. - But, Tau, it's not getting any better. It's getting worse. - And that's the problem, is that once you... Look, in my day, I built some houses down in Eastern Bay of Plenty. OK, whoop-de-doo (!) That was six houses. But we are 6000 houses behind. - Yeah. - Yes. Let's go to Corrections. What do you make of Kelvin Davis, Minister for Corrections, finally says something about the wahine in Auckland Prison. - Good. What took him so blinkin' long? You know, the district court judge, and before that, Guyon Espiner and his expose on this, you know, it was a gut-wrenching read. I think he was pushed into the situation. Rumour has it that the Attorney-General said, 'Kelvin, we've got to do something about this. This is not right.' And what did the Minister of Corrections say? He said, 'Well, there's two sides to the story.' You know, these woman were strip-searched, were stripped in front of men. They had to hand over used sanitary pads. It's a terrible thing to have to talk about. And the minister sort of acted then and there. He was forced in the situation. I'm pleased that he's finally done it. But for me, I think it's a little bit too late. - Tau, what do you think? Is it usual for a minister to, kind of, throw shade like that on his own organisations? - Oh, I think with all due respect to my whanaunga Kelvin, I think he's been captured by the bureaucracy really, really badly. I don't` I think he is actually the weakest link in this government. He just hasn't performed ` not publicly, anyway. I know that there are things that I don't know that go on behind the scenes. But, you know, I watched the film the other night The Mauritanian, about the prisoner in Guantanamo Bay. This is exactly like that, where he was tortured, where he was just treated so poorly. And no one` no one went into bat for him. - You used to be such a champion of prisoners and returnees` - Well, he was a he was a champion of the 501s. You can't get him anywhere near the 501s now. - I think we recognise there's been some reasonably positive things and the muster is down, you know? It's down by about 10%, 15%. But these things` - Yeah, 9000. - 9000. But these things fluctuate. We also were told earlier on in the piece that we're going to separate need, that people with mental health issues ` they've identified about a thousand. That hasn't really been done. The core... Um, the core influences around why people go to jail in the first place, which is poverty, it's poverty-related, really hasn't been addressed. - Enter institutional racism. - Yeah. - But do we have to give it a little bit more time for all of these agencies to work together? You've got Te Pae Oranga now putting 9000 people out of courts and into panels. - I understand that it's a complex fix. I understand that it's going to take a little while. But they've been there four years, you know, they've no longer got a handbrake. They've got a very progressive coalition partner. They've got the political capital. The other thing is` - They don't need a coalition partner. - Is this the year of delivery? Is this the year of delivery? - Oh, look. No, no, look, every year is a year of delivery. And as far as I'm concerned, man, they should be making hay while the sun shines. But something has got in the way. - Can I just finally say, Mihi, money is cheap. Just borrow more and fix the gap. - We're borrowing enough for COVID. - Exactly. - Tena korua. Surely` You two have delivered tonight. So thank you very much for coming on again. - Thank you. - Hei nga wiki e heke mai nei he kaupapa tuakiri, kaikiri hoki. Talkback radio has become synonymous with racism. But a not-so-new voice plans to shake it up. - There are broadcasters that are racist. There are some that pretend they're not, but they actually are. - Here is. - Hey! - Danny Watson is breaking the mould, bringing a Maori view to Magic Talk. - I don't think people even understand how racist we are institutionally. - Watson tells his story of reconnecting with his whakapapa and taking on the rednecks of radio. - When someone sends you an email and says, 'You're (BLEEP)ing licking arse of those (BLEEP)ing Maoris,' you just sit there and go, 'What the hell is going on with these people?' - Kua hikina Te Hui mo tenei wa. 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 2021 ALL: He mea tautoko na Te Mangai Paho. The Hui is made with support from New Zealand On Air.