Kei nga matawaka o te motu, tau mai ki Te Hui. Ko Mihingarangi tenei. E mihi atu nei kia koutou katoa. Welcome to The Hui, Maori current affairs for all Aotearoa. E taro ake nei ` it's the jewel in Tamaki Makaurau's crown, and it's in crisis. - It's a story of generational deprivation and exploitation. - We find out what's happening under the surface in the Hauraki Gulf. - It absolutely is a wake-up call. - Then ` he's experienced bittersweet success in the top kitchens of Europe. - The pressure and the toxicity of the industry just all compounds and ` 'Poof!' ` you know, blows up. - Now he's home, creating uniquely Maori flavours. - You know, Europe has provenance; we have whakapapa, which is powerful, right? - We meet Maori chocolatier Tom Hilton. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022 - Tahuti mai. It's the blue jewel in Tamaki Makaurau's crown, the playground and pataka kai of Aotearoa's biggest city ` but below the surface of the Hauraki Gulf, an environmental catastrophe is unfolding. Sarah Hall spoke to tangata whenua about their efforts to restore Tikapa Moana to its former glory. - Tikapa Moana ` the Hauraki Gulf, a 4000mk2 stretch of water that's one of the great marine taonga of Aotearoa. But it's a stretch of water severely under stress ` overfished and over-harvested. Quite simply, the Gulf is in crisis. - I would say it's almost in its last throes of death. - That bad? - That bad. - But all hope is not lost, as kaitiaki, iwi, are doing all they can to protect the Gulf. Rahui are in place, and Maori scientists are at the forefront of research into how we can recover. - Maori have been custodians since time immemorial, and what we're seeing now in the 21st century is making best use, best practice of everything that we have in our toolbox for survival. (HAUNTING MUSIC) - It's hard to believe how plentiful kai moana, especially shellfish, once was in the Hauraki Gulf. Giant koura were huge and easy to catch. Now they're functionally extinct. Scallops and paua are non-existent, and the mussel beds have all but disappeared. Here on Waiheke Island, stocks have been badly affected. Herearoha Skipper from Ngati Paoa. - Living off the moana when I was a child to the state it's in now, where my grandchildren and my children cannot just go out and harvest and get a kai ` for most species, it's all gone. - So badly depleted, in fact, that in June, more than 100 divers surveyed all of Waiheke Island over an eight-week period looking for koura. They found just 22. (BROODING MUSIC) - It used to be a delicacy on our tables, but, no, it has` it's been gone for some years. - Ngati Paoa placed a rahui on the island 18 months ago banning the gathering of shellfish and koura. - The thing with rahui is that you put a rahui down; you let it rest, you let it restore; and then you shift the rahui to another location so that one can open up. - I'm just surprised that Fisheries hasn't banned the taking throughout the entire Gulf. - Exactly. Exactly. So we've had to actively do that through laying down rahui and simultaneously making an application to the Ministry of Fisheries to` for a 186 ` a temporary closure. (BROODING MUSIC) - So how did it go so badly wrong in the Gulf? Nicola MacDonald from Aotea heads the Ngati Manuhiri Settlement Trust and co-chairs the Hauraki Gulf Forum. - If we keep exploiting the natural world, the taiao, then the taiao will give up on us, and that's what we're seeing. It's been generational take. The koura management system that we currently use in this country ` it's not sustainable; it's not durable. We really haven't looked at how we're managing commercial and recreational fisheries. - And she puts the blame squarely on our fishing practices, including dredging, seine fishing and bottom trawling. - There's no place in the 21st century for these archaic methods. And if we want to be serious about restoring the Gulf for our future future generations, then we actually need to say to all holders of quota, 'Stop dredging the kutai; 'stop dredging the tipa ` the scallops ` and everything else.' - Just two spots remain legally open for scallops in the Gulf ` Hauturu, Little Barrier; and Aotea, Great Barrier. - These two very special places, which actually are the nursery that feeds the entire Gulf, have been left open. - Nicola recently visited the beds with NIWA only to find them destroyed. - Where there has been commercial dredging, those tipa have not returned. And if anyone who thinks that you can keep these beds open and continually dredge and they'll replenish themselves, you've got to be joking. - While iwi are fighting Fisheries to put more protections in place, scientists are also working behind the scenes to implement a matauranga Maori approach. Daniel Hikuroa from Auckland University. - Let's remember that Maori have been living in and on and around the Gulf for centuries, and they lived with it in a way in which they understood the cycles, they understood about managing themselves and the interactions where` gathering kai. - Have Maori been given enough... power, as it were, to lead the way? - Well, on the one hand, you could argue, 'Well, no.' There's no genuine enabling facilities in some of the laws, or in many of the laws. But on the other hand, we see these really amazing things ` we see Ngati Paoa place a rahui around Waiheke in collaboration with most of the Waiheke community. - And the community has its own initiatives underway. Meet the Waiheke Marine Project. - We're looking at rewilding koura. We know that koura take six years to grow to a catchable form, so it's a really long-term project. - They're also trying to replenish the seaweed destroyed by kina. - So, with so few koura eating the kina and so few snapper eating the kina, means the kina have gone wild, and they're eating all of the seaweed. So in the summertime, we go down and measure how much the kina have eaten, and we remove around about 800 per weekend, which we share to the community. - So overfishing has caused a clear imbalance in the Gulf ` but it's not just what we do on the water that has created the crisis. - All the land of the catchments around the Hauraki Gulf used to be covered in native forest, and we've chopped that down either to create pasture land or to extract the valuable timbers. And as a result of that, millions and millions of tonnes of sediment has slowly, through those 150, 160 years, been washed down into the Hauraki Gulf. - Local iwi, including Ngati Whatua, are reseeding mussel beds throughout the Gulf. Called 'the kidneys of the sea', kutai clean up sediment and oxygenate the water. - There is hope, because through reseeding the natural kutai, the mussel shellfish beds ` that goes along to the first steps of restoration. - And that's what you've done here, isn't it? This is the largest reseeding of mussels anywhere in the Hauraki Gulf. - Anywhere in the Hauraki Gulf? Anywhere in the world. - Amazing. How many mussels were put here? - 150 tonnes. We're not gonna stop there, because our goal is 1000 tonnes. - Ngati Manuhiri has also purchased three former police boats to use as surveillance, training up rangatahi to fulfil the roles. - So, the vessels' primary purpose will be looking after the restoration of basically all the sea life ` bringing the stocks numbers up, trying to control the recreational and commercial side of harvesting to make sure that there's plentiful shellfish still in the area. - There's no doubt Maori are leading the charge when it comes to saving the Gulf. And this month, Ngati Paoa will launch a five-year project to look at how to protect the ocean using Maori practices. - Western science is good for identifying the issues but not resolving the issues. What we are doing at the moment is bringing in all our matauranga experts and coming from a Maori worldview in regards to the state of the moana, and what type of practices can we put in place to support the restoration and regeneration of our moana space. - The kaitiaki of Hauraki are hopeful these waters can be restored to their former glory ` a place of abundance for future generations. If you could describe the Hauraki Gulf in 20 years from now, what would you like it to be? - Oh. In 20 years, uh, now I'd like to see a beautiful, thriving gulf where our marine habitat's absolutely bursting with abundance; where I see the green-lipped carpet that our great grandparents enjoyed actually in place; where we've got rimurimu ` the seaweed ` growing; and that all of us together are enjoying this taonga that we've been given to look after for our next generations. - Imagine that. After the break, we speak to Corrections about concerns over visitor access to prisoners. Since 2021, the Department of Corrections has been restricting visitor access in its prisons. Corrections says it's a safety measure due to a staffing shortage made worse by COVID, but it means some prisoners haven't been able to see whanau members. The Hui has been contacted by several inmates, including one at Waikeria Prison complaining that the situation is restricting his children's ability to see him and isn't in keeping with the values of Corrections' strategy Hokai Rangi, which aims to achieve better outcomes for Maori. So to discuss this, I'm joined by Corrections Deputy Chief Executive Maori Topia Rameka. Tena koe. - Tena koe, Mihingarangi. - How many more staff do you need for these visits to resume? - Well, currently, there is a vacancy of just over 400 Corrections officers across our network across Aotearoa. We're currently recruiting heavily, and over the last three months, we've enjoyed an application rate of just over 1500 people. We're quite positive about this. Um... You know, whanau visits, family visits are really important to ensuring the people in our care and management remain connected with whanau. We're doing everything we can to turn these on. The global pandemic, COVID, was really restrictive, uh, in that sense. Um, the staffing capacities has exacerbated that. In saying that, we've got... - I think you're` I mean` - ...currently 11 prisons... - Sorry to interrupt. I don't think you're any different... - We've got` We've currently got 11 prisons that are open. - ...to any other organisation. You know, COVID has had a huge impact. But if you consider the vaccine rollout in 2021, February 2021, the government needed 5000 vaccinators, and they trained them in three months. You know, why wasn't Corrections thinking like this at the beginning of the pandemic? - Uh, we've been very innovative in the way in which we've been ensuring prisoners remain connected with whanau throughout the pandemic. Uh, we've provided phone cards to all prisoners to allow them to remain contacted, connected. We've provided AVL and video connections for family to remain connected and do video calls. And like I say, we currently have 11 prisons that are open for visits at this time. The matter that you referred to at Waikeria ` currently, that is a prison that is open for family visits. I don't` I'm not aware of the blockage that's happening there for that person, but if there is one, that's something I'm happy to look at. - So, let's just go back to the fact that we're still looking for 400-plus prison staff. It's` You know, you've said in press statements that it takes about three months to recruit them. If the vaccination rollout can recruit people in three months and have 5000 vaccinators ready three months later, why has Corrections not done this before? It's 2023. - Yeah, well, there are a lot of vacancies in the labour market at present across Aotearoa ` not just Corrections are suffering from a shortage of workers. We're not alone in that. Our people come; our people go. This is something that we've had our eye on for some time, which is why we've been actively entering into spaces such as social media to recruit people; we've been actively utilising marae facilities in communities up and down the country over the last six months so that we can, you know, bring people in. Last month was the first time in a number of months that we've had more people recruit and stay with Corrections than we have leave. So those are all positive signs and signals. - The issue for Corrections, though, is that when this government came in, it launched a really... incr` well, it was incredible at the time that it was launched ` Hokai Rangi, and it's a strategy that's specifically to, um` directed and aimed at Maori. And I just want to read a little bit from it, because it says, 'Whanau must have timely tailored access and support 'and are able to identify and access the best pathway and services for effective rehabilitation, 'holistic wellbeing and reintegration to prevent future re-offending.' So we've now had this really long period where prisoners haven't been able to see their whanau, haven't been able to see their kaitautoko, and it's working directly against your strategy. - Uh, that's not the entire` entirety of the story. You know, Corrections ` we've been actively engaging with families and whanau of prisoners throughout the course of the pandemic. Just because we've been unable to, at times, allow for in-person visits, that does not stop us from interacting with whanau. - But` But` No, but the strategy` - I know first-hand some of the work that we're doing. - The strategy doesn't say that Corrections should inte` should, uh, connect with the whanau; it says that prisoners for rehabilitation, and the best rehabilitation, need to be able to see their whanau, their tamariki. And it's not only just good for prisoners; it's the best practice to stop intergenerational crime for the tamariki. So is Hokai Rangi a failure? - No, not at all. We've actively been keeping prisoners connected to their families and whanau by way of providing free phone calls, video calls throughout the last couple of years. - In all prisons? - We currently have` - Can you guarantee that that's happening in all prisons? Cos we've also been contacted by prisoners who say that they can't get any digital access. Have you got digital access for all prisoners that are unable to have in-person visits with their families? - Yes. All of our facilities have the ability to do video calls. That's something that we've been very active providing over the last couple of years. We currently have` Of the 18 prisons in New Zealand` - And how often` how frequent would a prisoner be able to access that facility? - Prisoners are able to make phone calls, uh, at least a couple times a week. They're allowed to provide that daily ` depending on the amount of time that they've got on their, um` their call cards; they can use that as they see fit. We generally try and provide video calls, in most of our facilities, for at least` for prisoners at least once or twice a week. - Can we talk about`? You just said your response to whether Hokai Rangi was failing was, 'Absolutely not.' So let's just talk about some of the other promises inside Hokai Rangi, and one of them was that it would increase and build the competency, obviously, of Maori ` who would have a Maori worldview, because the whole concept is a Maori worldview. So can you tell us`? From` I looked at some of the stats ` In 2015, 2016, it was` 20% Maori were` you know, made up the prison staffing. What is it today? - Uh, I understand the pri` the entirety` You know, Corrections is a large organisation ` 10,000 kaimahi in our organisation. I understand that the population of Maori staff is sitting at around 22%. - So you promised in a document five years ago that you were going to increase the capability of Maori staff because you had this new programme that needed Maori to implement it, and yet you've got 1.6% more five years later. Is that good enough? Is that another failure? - No, not at all. I oversee a large workforce of Maori practitioners. We've grown our specialist Maori` uh, kaupapa Maori practitioners in the organisation significantly over the last couple years. They provide significant support and supervision to the rest of the organisation. We've, equally, got a significant` good representation of about 20% of Maori across the organisation in leadership positions. So, um, you know... - How many would you like? - ...we're on a journey. - How many would you like? What would be`? - Oh, it's not a... It's` You know, that's in the eye of the beholder. What I'm more focused in on is that we've got Maori in the key positions that are relevant to the mahi at play. And I can tell you that I see a large group of kaupapa Maori practitioners that are working tirelessly every day to support the organisation, whether it be in the community or in custodial operations. - OK. You've said you're really happy with the progress of the recruitment programme, so when can we see those visits coming back? So if you say it takes three months to train a prison staff member, will we be seeing them in January 2023? - Absolutely. So, like I said, we've had a significant, um, interest in the community in terms of joining the Corrections ranks in all the number of roles. It takes a number of months to onboard them, and that's something... - Ka pai. - ...that we want to do that's` safely and confidently. Well` We're also turning on prison visits at the other prisons week by week. I know there is another one opening this week, and we're really pleased with the progress we're making in that space. - Kia ora. We'll check back with you come January. Tena koe, e te rangatira. - Tena koe, Mihingarangi. Nga mihi. - Next ` we open a Maori box of chocolates. Maori chocolatier Tom Hilton knows how bittersweet professional success can be. Born in Aotearoa and raised in the UK, Tom's now home, creating luxury chocolates with an indigenous twist. Kei a John Boynton tenei purongo. (BRIGHT, CURIOUS MUSIC) - Maori chocolatier Tom Hilton loves to indulge in his craft. - And that's what we do as chocolatiers, pastry chefs, chefs, bakers ` we're creating nostalgia through taste. - He's worked around the world, even making chocolates for the Royal Family. But the high pressure of the hospitality industry almost became too much. - I think it took me to burn out; it took me to truly have a bit of a... rock bottom ` falling to the kerb and picking myself up. - Now he's launching Ao Cacao, spreading the message of culture and identity through chocolate. - You know, we may the other side of the world, but we do bloody good chocolate, and that's what I'm trying to portray ` tell the Aotearoa tiakarete story. - Whenever Tom Hilton returns home to Takahiwai, just south of Whangarei... - Hey, Dad. (CHUCKLES) - How are you doing? - Good. How's`? There's some chocolates. - Oh. Good. Thank you. - ...he always makes sure to bring a sweet treat for his dad, Patrick Hilton. For more than a decade, Tom's worked across the world as a pastry chef and chocolatier. - I think one thing that inspired me is, you know, when it comes to all the pavlovas and all the desserts we used to have. - Cooking runs in his whanau. His dad, Patrick, is a baker. - That was the big thing about being in the UK ` teaching him how to do it properly. - (CHUCKLES) - Yeah. And then, uh, making them at home with you, your mum and your sister. and, uh, just making it as Kiwi as I could. - After his parents separated, Tom grew up in the UK with his mum, but the Ngati Whatua, Ngapuhi and Whakatohea uri always wanted to reconnect to his whanau in Aotearoa. - I was going through a bit of identity crisis, you know. I didn't know which side I kind of felt belonging to. - That was some of the things that used to, uh, upset me a wee bit with living away in the UK ` was you kids. I wanted to bring you home so you could run wild like we all did. - So at 16, he moved back to Takahiwai to live with his dad ` a tiny community famous for its rugby league club. - It was just really good. And, obviously, learning more about our culture ` feeling like that missing piece that you always had that was missing is slowly coming back into becoming whole. It was` I guess it was a bit of a culture shock coming from school in England ` you know, not going to school with any family and then coming to school and realising... - Everyone. - ...some of these were your cousins and... - Although happy to be reconnecting with his whanau, Tom was struggling at school ` until his hospitality teacher spotted his talent in the kitchen. - In hospitality class we learned how to be a chef; we learned how to cook, how restaurants run. And then she told me all these stories of her time in London and travelling Europe, and the spark, the curiosity of... - Tom's curiosity led him to the doorsteps of revered Scottish pastry chef and chocolatier William Curley in London. Eventually, he worked his way up to becoming a pastry chef. But the pursuit of perfection took a toll, with Tom working 80 to 100 hours a week in a cutthroat industry. It's an intensity he struggled to shake when he returned to Aotearoa in 2017. - When I came back, I was horrible. Uh` (CHUCKLES) I shouldn't laugh. But in the kitchen, I was... I was constantly 'go, go, go'. - The intense pressure of his career finally catching up with him. - Like, I've worked in pressure environments ` massively. It was more... a culmination of a decade-ish of that intensiveness and the pressure and the toxicity of the industry alone ` it just all compounds and ` 'Poof! ` you know, blows up. - What was that rock bottom for you? - At one point I just didn't really wanna be here, and so I did attempt to take my own life. (SOMBRE MUSIC) - Tom slowly found his way out of that dark place through the help of a life coach. He wasn't sure if he'd ever return to the kitchen, but making chocolate became an important step in his recovery. - Once I'd picked up the tools, it's like they never left, um, and it brought that love back. And... chocolate is one of those things that can improve your mental health to eat it, but working with it is just the same. So, you know, you're immersed in all that smell, the feel, the touch. That was my therapy, really. - Therapy which turned into Ao Cacao, Tom's luxury chocolate business with a distinctly indigenous flavour. Today, I'm in the kitchen with Tom, who's sharing some trade secrets. How do you tell a good piece of chocolate? - You wanna look at the shine. You also smell it. You can smell the different cacao notes. And then the best way to test if it's really good quality ` apart from the look, the feel, the smell ` is just simply put it in your mouth (CHUCKLES) and try it. - Creating a strong indigenous-made product is a driving force behind Tom's mahi. - So, the beans come from a female-owned indigenous farm in Samoa. And so I want to showcase these producers, so that's why I use these different products, you know? This form of sugar ` which is maple sugar ` specifically comes from the only indigenous female-owned farm in the whole of Canada. - He's also combining uniquely Maori flavours into his chocolates. Some of the more creative flavours include frybread, paua, hangi and steam pudding bonbons. - You know, Europe has provenance; like, I think we have whakapapa, which is powerful, right? So telling whakapapa of cacao, where my chocolate comes from ` the exact tree it came from; the exact ingredients that go in it and where they came from ` telling those people's story. Cos everyone has a story, right? - Today, Tom is finding balance, his connection to his whanau now helping to guide him. He's planning to open his first store next year in Auckland. His next dream is opening an indigenous chocolate school. - To see it carry on and carry on and carry on will be the best part. And to then see the first graduates then become... teachers and... just paying it forward ` like, that's the pinnacle for me. - Kua kainga i au. He tino reka. Kua hikina Te Hui, e hoa ma. Noho ora mai ra. ('THE HUI' THEME) Captions by Able. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022 (MUSIC CONTINUES) (ETHEREAL MUSIC) - Ko te reo te take.