- Kei nga hau e wha o te motu, nau mai ki Te Hui. Ko Mihingarangi tenei, e mihi atu nei ki a koutou katoa. Welcome to The Hui ` Maori current affairs for all Aotearoa. E taro ake nei ` A drug rehabilitation facility at the centre of a police raid. - Did you know that drugs were on the property? - No, I didn't know. - We look beyond the headlines at Nga Kete Wananga Solutions. - She's taking people that are in the 'too hard' box, you know? No one else wants to give us a go. - These are our people we're trying to help. Those are our sons. Those are our fathers. Those are our grandfathers. Those are our nephews. I'm helping our people. - Yo, what's up. It's Eggplant Boys. - Then ` it's the kai kaupapa that has Tik Tok racing to the kauta. - Mm. And that's just amazing, what this positive energy together can attract. - We're cooking with The Eggplant Boys. (BOTH LAUGH) www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022 Tahuti mai. It was a police bust that hit the headlines ` a sweeping raid that saw drugs, money and guns found at a rehabilitation centre, Nga Kete Wananga Solutions, in West Auckland. The wahine who runs the facility is a mother of three gang members, and she's been criticised over what was found there. Our reporter Sarah Hall was given full access, exclusive access, to the centre to learn more about it and the people there they're trying to help beat their addictions. - Matilda Kahotea and her drug rehab centre are in the business of saving lives. - She's taking people that are in the 'too hard' box, you know? No one else wants to give us a go. - Helping people with serious addictions become functional again. - It's working. I can tell you it's working. I've seen it work. They're going home. They're staying home. They're working. They're reconnected with their families and their kids. - Now, she and her centre have been accused on social media ` and by National's Mark Mitchell ` of being a front for gangs and drugs. Did you know that drugs were on the property? - No, I didn't know. I didn't know there was drugs on the property. For Matilda Kahotea, the last month has been a living nightmare. Nga Kete Wananga, the centre she's worked so hard to open, was raided in October by police as part of a wider crackdown on the gangs. Guns, money and drugs were found, and a 38-year-old gang member was arrested. There were calls for the centre to be immediately shut down. - Put them in a program inside a remand centre, rather than putting them out in the community. The questions are this ` who's running these facilities? Have they been vetted? - The inference was that, somehow, you knew ` you're a mother of gang members, they must be involved and this is just a front for a gang pad. What would you say to that? - No, it's not. It's a healing space. These are our people we're trying to help. We don't see the patch on the back. Those are our sons. Those are our fathers. Those are our grandfathers. Those are our nephews. I'm helping our people. - It must be incredibly disappointing, then, for that to be thrown back in your face, as it were, after the police raid. - Yeah. I'm not going to lie, I was` I was disheartened, and I'm going to be honest, it wasn't so much that, it was the effect it might have on my men. Tihei mauri ora. - ALL: Mauri ora. - Nga mihi, whanau. - Those tane clearly love Matilda. - Around this program, you guys are learning who you are, where you stem from. - She can connect to these men in a way that many others can't, because she's lived their story. A mother of three sons in the Head Hunters, losing her fourth far too young. - It was around drugs and violence. He was 17, um, when we lost him. Um... And, of course, it was a big learning curve for our whole family. - So it was really your son's death that is kind of behind all this kaupapa, here. - Yeah. - This is what started it all. - This is what started it all. That, and the other experiences that my other sons were having. - The men undergo three months of intense therapy. - Does it mean cutting off people that are close to you? - Yeah, actually does. - Yeah. - It will be a hard choice, but it has to be done if you want to change. - That's it. - They do 21 courses, including the 12-step program for addiction, parenting courses and anger management. - You know, you were talking about your anger before` - Yep. - and it's now understanding how that works and why it's there. - That's another korero on its own. - Matilda, who has a bachelor's in Te Reo and taught at a kohanga for 20 years, teaches a whakapapa course. - It's learning about that, you guys don't stand alone. There's a lot that came with you, that made you who you guys are, and a lot you can be proud of. - And of course, there's te reo. - Te waharangi. - Waka rererangi. - Waka rererangi. - How do you think this place differs from other drug rehabs? - Everything we do here is` all our values are around tikanga Maori. Everything we deliver here, I believe, our tikanga Maori values make a heck of a difference to these men. - Levi Tapara and Richard Hakaraia here recently graduated from the course. They were so gutted by the police raid, they've returned to show their support. - They just need to come and hang out. You know? They come and hang up. - Yeah. It's like` - We're not bad guys. - No. - They'll get a different perspective. - Both men have nothing but praise for Matilda and her team. - I'm six months drug free from meth, and I've got` I've` I'm employed, making positive changes towards my family, my kids. - What was some of the key things about this place that really, kind of, spoke to you? - Um, whanau, tikanga, and reconnecting with... my cultural heritage, as Maori. It's all structured. There's rules here. - Yeah. - There were rules broken. - Yeah. And it happens. - Yeah, it will happen. It happens in prison, too. - For many, this rehab is their last chance. Richard Hakaraia applied to 10 facilities, but was turned down because of a serious criminal conviction. - I've suffered from addiction since ages... 12. You know? It was my way of coping with life. - He says getting to the root of his trauma and drug addiction has changed his life. - I was involved in an incident 20 years ago that cost another man his life. For the last 18 years, I've just used drugs to suppress the feelings and thoughts that came with that. - So for you, this place really worked. - This place worked magic. I'm two years clean` actually, I'm 23 months, three weeks and, like, four days. - What do you say to the critics who really want to see Matilda shut down? - They're making a big mistake, because, at the end of the day, we've all got to live in the community. - And returning to the community starts here ` at this rambling country property. The men get their hands dirty, learning new skills like caring for the beehives and tending the gardens. - It's educating them to see the values in this work and help with them on their pathway, on their journey of healing. They even come in questioning, 'What the heck are we doing this for, Whaea?' But once they come through the program and learn what it's about ` kaitiakitanga, aroha, whanaungatanga, manaakitanga ` the seed's planted, and it grows from there, and they understand. - Which makes the arrest last month so upsetting for Matilda. The man was a long-term resident of the rehab and she thought he was heading in the right direction. So, Matilda, the man who was recently arrested here, he'd actually been here five months, and you said he'd been doing pretty well. - Yeah, he was. He was doing really well. He was making good connections with family he hadn't seen for years and his children that he hadn't seen for years. And even around here, we gave him a lead role in maintenance where he's looking after the tools and everything. - So it must have just been really disappointing for you, when he got arrested. - Yeah, it was. It` It hit my heart and it was, you know, it affected my mana and who I was, as a person, here. - While the raid has cast a dark shadow over the centre, Matilda knows she's providing a critical service and she's determined to continue. - I learnt from it, too. I can't save everybody. I believed I could, I 'spose. I'd love to save every guy that comes through here. But I've just been, you know, taught a big lesson. I can't. Um... But I'm still going to have that belief. - Keep trying, Whaea. Keep trying. - I will. I will. Nga mihi. Tena koutou. - Kia kaha, e hoa. Na Sarah Hall tera purongo. Next, we discuss the future of Tamaki Makaurau's water with tangata whenua. It's easy to set up for Christmas with our prices. Seven Piece Outdoor Setting two hundred and ninety-seven dollars. Cantilever Umbrella ninety-eight dollars. Where you find a competitor's lower price on the same stocked item, we'll beat it by 15 percent. Bunnings Warehouse Lowest prices are just the beginning. Iwi leaders are reacting to a new proposal by three mayors to manage drinking, storm and wastewater. Auckland's Wayne Brown and two Canterbury mayors are promoting an alternative to the government's Three Waters, removing the provision for co-governance with iwi, leaving it instead as an option, not a requirement. Hei matapaki i tenei take, kua tau mai nei a Ngarimu Blair, heamana tuarua o Ngati Whatua Orakei, raua ko Tukoroirangi Morgan, heamana o Waikato Tainui. Tena korua. Are you a supporter of the new proposal? - We're open to it. - What do you like about it? - Well, so, our last smear campaign, vociferously against Three Waters and co-governance, and the mayor that we have now is proposing that the local voice be given strength. I guess what we've seen play out with Three Waters, because there's only four entities, you're trying to squeeze 70 hapu and iwi into one mega entity, that people miss out and it's turned out we've missed out. So the iwi of Central Auckland, with the densest population and, arguably, the worst pollution, we haven't got a voice at the table, so we're all about local voice. And if this new option gives that, then, you know, we have to be open to it. - Tuku, you've always said you're a supporter of Three Waters. What do you think` You know, was there any need to change? Where's the representation of Maori there? - I think the proposal being mooted by the three mayors is rubbish. They think that` that this is the first opportunity for iwi across this country to have a seat at the table and they can operate in an equitable way. You know, Ngarimu talks about, you know, being minimised at the table. You know, his chair came to the iwi leaders yesterday in support of Three Waters. So, I mean, for me, Waikato Tainui, Waikato Tainui` this is part of my role, actually. Yeah, you're Chair. So, Waikato Tainui ` 75% cent of this city's water comes into Auckland off our land. Hunua dams and Waikato river? 75%? - Mm-hm. So we do that, not because... we need to, we do that because it's our contribution to the health and well-being of this city, and the areas beyond this city. So, you know, including the rural community. So, I was at Watercare the other day ` very clear. Waikato Tainui makes a huge contribution to the water supply into the city. - Mm-hm. - That's our obligation. That's an ongoing responsibility that we have. - That's right. And then when it gets into the city, I mean, I think that all iwi within Tamaki Makaurau acknowledge that, you know, Hunua` you've got the reservoirs from out west, you've got the Waikato River, but we're dealing with stormwater also. We're dealing with drinking` it's turned in to drinking water and... those are really big responsibilities for iwi that live in the central city. How do you propose that you get a seat at the table? - Yeah, I mean the part of the three mayors' proposal that we would like to see is that there is a mandatory place for iwi at the table, not to leave it to chance. And so` - Well, isn't it chance now? - We're into co-governance - Isn't it chance now? 'Cause they're saying that, actually, every community can decide, pick and choose, if they want to even work with Maori. - That's where I would` probably don't` where I disagree with their proposal. So we're into co-governance. It's just having the right Maori around the table. And what we've experienced in the last 12 years with the governance` co-governance arrangements across our rohe is they have the wrong Maori around the table. Often we're left out. We're the ones who live here. - This isn't a iwi` - That's a debateable point. - Well, it is, because it's not a iwi problem. This is a framework that's been created by government` governments and councils and Ngarimu does have a point there. There's 90` - We're an iwi of 83,000 people. Ngati Whatua ki Orakei have just over 4000 people. - And they're Central Auckland. - And` and` And we have one voice. That's me. - Mm. - That's me. Ngati Whatua have one voice at that` at that same table, chosen by Ngarimu himself. Anahera. Chosen by him, not by me, but my iwi have put me up because I represent 83,000 tribal members in this rohe. And so, what I just want to say, that actually the proposal had been that's been mooted by the mayor of Auckland and his Pakeha mates from Christchurch and Dunedin is rubbish, because there is no clear plan as to how Maori are to` iwi are to engage. So, you know, I mean just because Ngati Whatua ki Orakei, Ngarimu has a cosy relationship with the new mayor. Well, good on him. Good on him. But the issue for me is, what's good for Maori` - Yeah, and` - in this community and what's good for the other iwi` - And relationships are really, really important, so as you say` - Absolutely. - good on him. But Ngarimu, you know, like, Tuku makes a good point. You have got actual mana whenua, you know, who are living on their lands, and Ngati Whatua is a great example of that. And Auckland, because it's a big city, we have lots of Maori that don't live in their own takiwa here in Aotea` in Tamaki Makaurau. So how do you accommodate or how do you fight for the rights of other iwi and other Maori inside this new plan? - Yeah, so, this is the problem with trying to shoehorn 70, 80 hapu into one entity. So, I mean, we've got iwi putting their hand up from down in Thames, and they're being put into this entity, which is patently wrong. And yeah, our iwi goes from Maunganui to Tamaki, and so we have one rep there that's meant to try to represent rural and urban, and that person is actually representing the rural side, not the urban. So we have, in effect, missed out, and we won't have anyone on the corporate board, either. And I understand there'll be people who are iwi-affiliated` have iwi affiliations to Thames` - Do you acknowledge, though, that Waikato Tainui, because of the significant relationship it has with the awa of Waikato, and that river's` - Oh, yeah, no, tautoko our whanaunga from Waikato, they have every right in Tamaki, and we didn't want their water, we opposed those consents, but we have it and we're grateful for it. - So` - See, the issue for us is that, you know, there are families in Orakei, that are our families, too. We are whakapapa bound together. We are inextricably bound. We are one and the same. So, you know, when I` when I listen to the rhetoric by these Pakehas ` and I'm talking about Wayne Brown and his mates, yeah ` there is a clear absence of Maori at that table. There's no plan. There will never be a plan, because those Pakehas are very clear in their own minds ` there is no seat at the table. - So what do we do then? So, if this proposal is because the Prime Minister has already said she'll listen, so, if it does change and Three Waters turns into something else, what's your message to government? - The minister has reaffirmed her stance yesterday, at the iwi leaders in Taupo, that there will no be` there will not be any retrenchment from their position in Three Waters. The iwi leaders have given their complete and total support. This is a body that has 64 iwi embracing this kaupapa. 64 iwi around the country, in relation to Three Waters. - What would it take Ngati Whatua Orakei to support the Three Waters proposal, as it is now? - Yeah, I think there's still some more water to go under the bridge, but we've got to have the right people around the table and what we're seeing currently, we don't have the right people. There are people from outside of our rohe being placed as we speak, and we don't agree with that. - So you're looking at, like, you want to see some real true co-governance with mana whenua and then people` - Can I just say this, Mihi? - Yes. - All of us are dealt the same cards. There was only one person from the` from my iwi, and we have interests all the way into Tamaki. The issue for me is, how do we broker a better future for our people? What does that voice look like? So, while Ngarimu has concerns, his chair at the iwi leaders in Taupo has given her full support on behalf of Ngati Whatua ki Orakei. Marama Royal. So, the issue that I have is, let's get on. We are` We are` We are working for the benefit of all Maori. I can` I can be selfish about my own iwi and my own iwi interests here, because 75% of the water that comes into the city comes from` from` from water on my lands. But I'm` This is more about how can we broker a better tomorrow for Maori across this country. - You've only got a little bit of time to finish, but I going to leave it with you. Can you work with that? That idea of how do we broker a better deal for Maori` - Oh, we` We'll play whatever's in front of us. But you know, we were more hopeful that the Three Waters proposals would be better than they are. And as it's playing out, we can't really see that, which is why we're open to the mayors` current mayors' proposal around leaving it to the local, the ahi ka, the people who actually live next to these rivers, to the Waitemata, to have a real say in how water's managed. - He kai a te rangatira ` good food for thought. Thank you, tena korua. - Tena koe. - Kia ora. - Kia mai tonu mai ra ` next, we check out a bromance cooked in the kitchen. The Eggplant Boys are next. Auraki mai ano. Charlie Farrelly-Gruer and Seymore Harrison are best mates who share a passion for cooking kai and meaningful korero. They've been cooking up a storm for the past three years, ditching their day jobs as a tattoo artist and DJ to pursue their culinary dreams. using te reo Maori in their kitchen chat, the boys are bringing people together, encouraging openness and vulnerability for better mental health. Anei te purongo a Ruwani Perera. - Yo, what's up, it's the Eggplant Boys. - I'm Seymore. - I'm Charlie. (BOTH LAUGH) - Theirs is a bromance founded on food. - 'Hey, bro, do you want to make a cooking show?' 'Bro, hard.' - And there you have it, everybody. - Hungry boys hanging out in the kauta ` (FOOD PROCESSOR WHIRRS) - Can't wait to taste it. having a korero ` and a katakata. - You guys have to wait. You have to wait. (LAUGHTER) - But there's also a serious side to their kitchen conversations. Using kai to get people talking and feeling less alone. - And that's just amazing what this positive, you know, energy together can, kind of, attract. Audio sync, 1, 2, 3. - Audio sick. Got it. - Charlie Farrelly-Gruar and Seymore Harrison were born to perform in front of a camera. - Let's move over to the grill now, guys. Follow us. - On Tik Tok and Instagram, the duo are better known as The Eggplant Boys, sharing their recipes through bite-sized, mouth-watering videos. - Mozzarella. And there you have it, everybody. There's a lot of bad energy out there, and we hope to be, like, that positive vibe for people. - Although they banter like an old married couple... - Oh... Now we are gonna have an argument. - The two are unanimous when it comes to packing their food full of flavour. There's no recipes with these cooks who create kai on the fly. - Cooking is our creative outlet and we love being creative and being innovative and trying new things all the time. Every time we cook something, it's slightly different to the last time we cooked it. We learn and we change it and it tastes better. - Look ` on. - Check out this corned beef, too. - What their food lacks in technique, it makes up for in flavour. - That's what kind of drives us, you know, is taste and trying to use whole ingredients in their most raw form as possible, to build something that is new. Like you can see in front of you, using watercress and spring onions to create a pesto there. We like to match that up with content to hopefully provide people with inspiration to do it themselves. - You really want to encourage people to get into the kitchen and not be too shy to try. - It's more about the things that you're learning along the way, than it is about what you're going to get at the end of it. There's no failing if you're being creative. - The boys speak from personal experience. Before they met almost three years ago by chance, both Charlie and Seymore were going through tough times. - There was a situation that was happening in my life and it forced me to be in the trenches which, you know, like, it` it made me tunnel vision and it made me not see the support that I had around me. And because I` I let that get to me. - For Charlie, it was his mother's passing. - My world was just destroyed. I had a lot of loss and a lot of loneliness and I really just didn't know how I was going to get through it. Sometimes, we feel alone, you know. And sometimes, we're surrounded by human beings and we feel like there's no one here. - They found their salvation in the kitchen. - Today, I'm joined by Instagram duo Charlie and Seymore, aka the Eggplant Boys. - And have gained a following with mental wellness advocates like Sir John Kirwan. - Cooking is one of my mental health tools that I use every single day to switch my brain off, and these boys are not shy on creative ideas. - Through kai, the pair want to promote what they call 'positive masculinity' ` encouraging tane to not be afraid to show their vulnerability. - Well, we always check up on each other, you know? Just randomly too, even if we're both feeling like we're on top of the world ` same time, still check. - That's a big thing, you know? Like, having someone that you can work with and then also be like, 'Bro, you all good? Like, is everything all good? 'That thing we just ate, it really helped facilitate that conversation, 'and now, let's get back to the mahi and smash it.' - There's healthier ways, eh. Healthier ways to deal with a lot of things, people. - Yeah. - Way healthier. - There's also a sprinkling of te reo throughout their videos. - Inaianei, kororitia nga kai, and let the flavours simmer. - Te reo, an ingredient Seymore, from Mangamuka in the Far North, wants to learn and use more of. - These kutai are going to steam open, katahi ka rite ki te kai. I'm 31 now and, you know` I'm` I am not fluent. And so, just of late I've been, you know, taking classes, te reo classes. It's still early stages. Yeah, it's never too late. - Early days, but the Boys are committed to this kai kaupapa ` and creating a future in it. Their social media clips have developed into a 6-part series on YouTube. (SOFT LOUNGE MUSIC) - We're making breakfast shakshuka lasagne today. - What's shakshuka? - Shakshuka is like, basically, you make like a tomato paste, saucy thing like this that's quite thick ` - For their next course, they're going from online to in-person ` securing this commercial kitchen to feed their 3000 followers. - This is the next step. Welcome to our new whare. We want to create this space for people to come in and dine in with us, you know, while we cook, and they're right here with us. Anything that we can do to encourage people to cook, especially males. - Seymore wants to show others who are struggling what cooking has done for him ` celebrating how creating tasty morsels of food has changed his life. - Felt that one, bro. That was (BLEEP) mean. I'm here, I've got a, you know, a TV show, a new best friend, a loving partner, a happy child, you know, a golf cart with a grill on the back. (LAUGHTER) - What more could an Eggplant Boy want? (LAUGHTER) - Rawe. Reka hoki. Na Ruwani Perera tera korero. Kua hikina Te Hui, e hoa ma. Noho ora mai. Captions by Sally Harper. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022