Coming up on Te Karere... Māori health experts say the government is writing off another generation of Māori and Pasifika to an early death due to the scrapping of smokefree laws. Oranga Tamariki have launched a tikanga-focused and community-led contact centre in Whakatāne. We take a look back at a big weekend of haka at the Te Arawa and Kāhui Mounga kapa haka regionals. 11 March 2024 Tēnā koutou katoa, and welcome to Te Karere. Māori health experts on the frontline fighting against smoking say the government is writing off another generation of Māori and Pasifika to an early death. This comes after the smokefree laws were scrapped under urgency. Political reporter Te Okiwa Mclean reports. And just like that our smokefree laws have been stubbed out. New Zealand's smoke free laws that saw us leading the way in becoming a smokefree nation has been scrapped under urgency. Health providers says this could potentially see another generation of Māori dying early and is a huge step backwards for the country. The daily smoking rate for Māori are four times higher than non-Maori. I believe our people will suffer. Modelling for the now scrapped legislation found it would have reduced the smoking rate among Māori adults, from 31 percent to seven percent in 2025 and saved more than 3000 Māori lives. Health Minister Shane Reti told Te Karere our existing smokefree measures are working and have seen the national smoking rate drop to 6.8 percent. A trend he says the government is committed to continuing. Maybe it might need to be independent, how we can make these kinds of laws so entrenched that the Government can't simply just undo them when they impact on Māori and the wider community. A repeal that will see our nation going backwards but more so for Māori. Te Okiwa Mclean, Te Karere. Oranga Tamariki have launched a tikanga-focused and community-led contact centre in Whakatāne. However, it cannot achieve its purpose alone. So, it has been decentralised for the sole purpose of involving Te Tohu o te Ora o Ngāti Awa and Eastern Bay of Plenty iwi provider Alliance. Timoti Tiakiwai has more. This facility has been given a new life. Its purpose to reduce the number of tamariki and whānau requiring involvement from Oranga Tamariki. Sounding off this launch Te Pūkaea o Te Waiora are the health and iwi providers who will be part of this change. This centre will act as a gateway into whānau, hapū, iwi and service providers locally in Whakatāne. Also, it is about weaving Māori customs that will aid in helping whanau. It's a transformative journey towards decentralising Oranga Tamariki by putting the power back into the community. Timoti Tiakiwai, Te Karere. Media and Communications Minister Melissa Lee says she does have plans for the future of the tv industry currently in crisis but she's tight lipped on what they are. It follows the shock announcement of Newshub's closure which is set to shut its doors in June and TVNZ also proposing to axe programmes including Fair Go and Sunday. Media and Communications Minister Melissa Lee said she has been working with officials to develop a plan to support New Zealand's media. The plan she intends on taking to cabinet includes modernising the Broadcasting Act of 1989. Te Karere takes another look at the Manu World Championship that was held in Auckland in the weekend. With 75 competitors in this world champs, it was evident that Māori dominated in every category. Our reporter Mārena Mane with this story. The best of the best filled the heart of Auckland city to compete in this year's Z Manu World Champs. And the winner of the kids male and female category were Brooklyn Kay from Pipiwai and Fletcher Anderson from Wellington. Winners of the youth male and female event with their manu bomb's was Naveah Rikihana-Yates from Pipiwai and Ela Mohi Henare. For the adult's section there was a bit of flair where people added their own style to their bomb and here are the winners. On the judging panel was All Black legend Piri Wepu who was surprised at the talent for this year's competition. Whilst it's the first manu world champs there's no doubt wearing budgies is a thing of the future. Mārena Mane, Te Karere. After the break, Pere Wihongi joins us live in the studio to give us a wrap up on a big weekend of kapa haka. To kapa haka now. Ten more teams have qualified for next year's Te Matatini to be held in New Plymouth next year. Four teams have qualified for Te Kāhui Mounga region, who will host the nationals next year and six of the best Te Arawa region teams were named to join them. For more on this, we welcome back our expert performer, composer and tutor, Pere Wihongi. We're unable to provide subtitles. After the break we have the weather. To the weather now. That's all we have for today. Kia ora tātou katoa. Turou Hawaiki. Captions were made possible with funding from Te Māngai Pāho. Copyright TVNZ 2024.