New survey data suggest Māori business sentiment lifted over the last 12 months as the Māori business community looks past the tough economy and turns its focus to future growth.

The 2025 BNZ Māori Business Sentiment Survey shows a marked improvement in confidence among respondents. 38% expect general business conditions to improve in the next 12 months, a significant increase on the 26% recorded in 2024. In comparison, the proportion indicating they expect things to get worse has dropped from 38% to 28%.

BNZ Head of Māori Business Whetu Rangi says the data could signal a turning point.

"The past year has been challenging for all New Zealand businesses, but these findings suggest an optimism within the Māori economy, with businesses telling us they're looking past the immediate headwinds and actively planning for future growth."

Technology stands out as a major opportunity. 68% of respondents expect to increase their technology adoption in the next 12 months, up from 58% in 2024.

Rangi says technology and particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI) are viewed as critical tools for improving workflow and efficiency, especially with Māori collectives, who are lean on resource and want to improve their productivity.

"Business owners and managers are telling us they want to use these tools to reduce the admin load. This allows their teams to focus on higher value added work, and quicker decision making on activities central to their business success."

However, businesses are seeking guidance on implementation, particularly around protecting data and aligning with tikanga Māori.

"A view that came through in our survey is that cultural integrity is a distinct competitive advantage, with a number of participants noting that their values are often what differentiates them in the market," Rangi says.

While the outlook is brighter, respondents are still managing real pressure. 81% expect costs to increase further, while 49% expect regulatory compliance requirements to rise. These challenges drive the need for the operational efficiencies that technology can provide.

Economic conditions remain the top challenge for 75% of those responding to the survey, but the data reveal a drive to seek new opportunities.

Beyond technology, some respondents highlighted the commercial potential of leveraging relationships and co‑investment to capture value on a larger scale. Others emphasised the need to build stronger governance capability to move beyond basic operations, enabling them to secure investment and compete for larger opportunities and contracts.

Rangi says the Māori business sentiment aligns with the broader economic outlook as inflation stabilises and interest rates ease.

"The timing of this technology adoption is important. As the wider New Zealand economy begins to turn a corner, Māori businesses are doing the hard work now, looking to invest in efficiency and capability so they are ready to lead the charge when the economic recovery accelerates."

Non-Māori-speaking New Zealanders can recognise more than 1,000 te reo Māori words or part-words, but only understand meanings of about 70, a new University of Canterbury study shows.

Co-author Professor Jeanette King, from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury’s New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain and Behaviour, says the new study, Assessing the size of non-Māori-speakers’ active Māori lexicon, has provided ideas about how “incidental exposure” to language is helpful for anyone who wants to learn a language. 

“The Government’s aim is for one million New Zealanders to be able to speak te reo by 2040. This body of research helps us understand what our baseline understanding is now for non-Māori-speakers. It has provided information about the Māori proto-lexicon – the words we don’t even know we know,” Professor King says. 

“It initially came about because a couple of University of Canterbury linguistics lecturers were listening to their preschoolers chatting and singing in the backseat after picking them up from preschool. They were singing Māori songs, using the right sound patterns but making up the words. For instance, Māori words never end in a consonant and their mimicking showed they had understood that – they understood what we call phonotactic sound patterns,” she says. 

“And so, the lecturers thought, ‘if children are picking up this knowledge about the Māori language sound system, what about adults?’” 

When they started to research the topic, they found that most New Zealanders not only have great understanding of Māori sounds, but they also subconsciously recognise a lot of words.

“Teachers of second languages advise you to have movies with the language you want to learn on in the background as you go about your day. The more you can build up sound patterns and word knowledge, it’s going to be helpful. By understanding that people already have a knowledge of Māori sound patterns and words, we’re hoping that will encourage more people to learn Māori.” 

The findings support events such as Māori Language Week, the use of bilingual road signs and increased use of te reo Māori in public places. 

“Our newest findings show that people really can’t define these words that they subconsciously recognise. Non-Māori-speaking New Zealanders have a considerable knowledge about a word before they know its actual meaning.” 

The research paper, published today  in international journal PLOS One, will be of interest to academics worldwide, Professor King says. 

“New Zealand is the perfect place to study the proto-lexicon*, with only one indigenous language and reasonably strong ‘incidental’ exposure to the language. The status of the language here and promotion of Māori language also play a part.” 

The research team has taken their commitment a step further and are all on their journey to learn te reo Māori. 

“We have a responsibility as New Zealanders to see that Māori language flourishes. It’s part of not just taking language for granted. It feels important and appropriate, and of course being based in a university, we have good access to Māori language courses.” 

A proto-lexicon is the type of word knowledge where you know the form of the word but not its meaning. The proto-lexicon is an important part of the process by which infants acquire language. That is, through repeated exposure to running speech, infants gradually learn to separate words from strings of sound and then begin to attach meanings to these words. 

Understanding racial and ethnic bias in the nursing profession and then working out a way to reduce it are the objectives behind Sonia Hawkins doctoral research.

Her application for her PhD research was signed off earlier this month.

Sonia is one of four people to be awarded a Health Research Council (HRC) scholarship, valued at more than $128,000, to complete her doctorate.

Sonia – who affiliates to Te Arawa and Tainui – worked in Toi Ohomai’s Strategic Partnerships and Māori Success directorate as an advisor, where she developed a new Treaty-based approach and the inaugural Equity report.

She says her doctoral research will help build on her masters’ thesis and the work she had been doing with Toi Ohomai.

“My PhD research relates to the findings from my masters research that centred on narratives of power and privilege. The nurse participants expressed strong views related to the dominant theme of power and privilege, and four subthemes of privilege discourse, bias and stereotypes, cultural safety and racism.

“My thesis findings were a call to action to undertake further research, and to build on another HRC funded study that examined ethnic and racial bias decision-making among medical students.

Sonia says there are 57,000 nurses in New Zealand, but Māori only make up seven per cent of the workforce. She says the reasons why there aren’t more needs to begin with institutions, the systems, its policies and priorities.

“New graduate nurses that whakapapa to a rohe, are confident in te ao Māori and are NCNZ qualified, are critical to developing the nursing workforce. However, the system doesn’t always recognise or value the dual attributes Māori nurses bring. The disproportionate over-representation of non-Māori would suggest one of the contributing factors is the recruitment system and process, which privileges a non-Māori western worldview instead.

“Our Māori health research tells us since the Treaty of Waitangi  institutions’ structure disadvantage and marginalise Māori.”

She says all registered nurses make an annual declaration to Nursing Council New Zealand (NCNZ) that they meet regulatory requirements within their scope of nursing.

“Applying Treaty of Waitangi Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and culturally safe practice are fundamental competency requirements.

“My research findings have shown that nurse leaders’ ability or will to enact structural change, and make inroads towards health equity for Māori is variable.”

Her research will also explore why Māori don’t engage with health services.

Sonia says in her masters thesis, senior nurses shared one of the reasons Māori don’t engage with health services is because Māori do not see themselves, their values or beliefs represented in it, and she looks forward to exploring this further during her doctoral research.

She points to the story of Rotorua’s Talei Morrison, who after being diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer, founded the Smear Your Mea campaign.

The campaign, which went viral online, encouraged women – particularly Māori – to keep their cervical smears up to date. The campaign reflected a way of reaching out that Māori related to then embraced.

Sonia says Talei didn’t engage with health services initially because it was an unfamiliar setting. She says her PhD will contribute to disrupting structures that are obstructive to Māori.

“The kaupapa started by Talei was by Māori for Māori and it works. Māori flourish and thrive when we are doing it on our own terms,” she says.

Sonia says she always wanted to be a nurse because she wanted to work with and for Māori.

She graduated from Waiariki Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Nursing in 1997 and completed her Masters in Health Science in 2017 at the University of Auckland.

Sonia says she has been mentored by incredible and strong health sector leaders during her career.

“One leading Māori health researcher Dr Mihi Ratima expected and supported her team to complete a masters or PhD as well as learn te reo Māori. Most of us who worked with her are either masters or PhD qualified. Māori nurse leader Margareth Broodkorn has just been appointed to the Ministry of Health Chief Nurse position. Her professional pathway has included a role that reported to a Māori nurse leader committed to workforce development.  

“What that tells you is that when there is a commitment to grow the Māori workforce and do it in a way that acknowledges and supports both clinical and cultural knowledge and expertise,  through determined leadership, it will happen.”

After joining Toi Ohomai, Sonia will leave to begin her research this month.

Understanding racial and ethnic bias in the nursing profession and then working out a way to reduce it are the objectives behind Sonia Hawkins doctoral research.

Her application for her PhD research was signed off earlier this month.

Sonia is one of four people to be awarded a Health Research Council (HRC) scholarship, valued at more than $128,000, to complete her doctorate.

Sonia – who affiliates to Te Arawa and Tainui – worked in Toi Ohomai’s Strategic Partnerships and Māori Success directorate as an advisor, where she developed a new Treaty-based approach and the inaugural Equity report.

She says her doctoral research will help build on her masters’ thesis and the work she had been doing with Toi Ohomai.

“My PhD research relates to the findings from my masters research that centred on narratives of power and privilege. The nurse participants expressed strong views related to the dominant theme of power and privilege, and four subthemes of privilege discourse, bias and stereotypes, cultural safety and racism.

“My thesis findings were a call to action to undertake further research, and to build on another HRC funded study that examined ethnic and racial bias decision-making among medical students.

Sonia says there are 57,000 nurses in New Zealand, but Māori only make up seven per cent of the workforce. She says the reasons why there aren’t more needs to begin with institutions, the systems, its policies and priorities.

“New graduate nurses that whakapapa to a rohe, are confident in te ao Māori and are NCNZ qualified, are critical to developing the nursing workforce. However, the system doesn’t always recognise or value the dual attributes Māori nurses bring. The disproportionate over-representation of non-Māori would suggest one of the contributing factors is the recruitment system and process, which privileges a non-Māori western worldview instead.

“Our Māori health research tells us since the Treaty of Waitangi  institutions’ structure disadvantage and marginalise Māori.”

She says all registered nurses make an annual declaration to Nursing Council New Zealand (NCNZ) that they meet regulatory requirements within their scope of nursing.

“Applying Treaty of Waitangi Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and culturally safe practice are fundamental competency requirements.

“My research findings have shown that nurse leaders’ ability or will to enact structural change, and make inroads towards health equity for Māori is variable.”

Her research will also explore why Māori don’t engage with health services.

Sonia says in her masters thesis, senior nurses shared one of the reasons Māori don’t engage with health services is because Māori do not see themselves, their values or beliefs represented in it, and she looks forward to exploring this further during her doctoral research.

She points to the story of Rotorua’s Talei Morrison, who after being diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer, founded the Smear Your Mea campaign.

The campaign, which went viral online, encouraged women – particularly Māori – to keep their cervical smears up to date. The campaign reflected a way of reaching out that Māori related to then embraced.

Sonia says Talei didn’t engage with health services initially because it was an unfamiliar setting. She says her PhD will contribute to disrupting structures that are obstructive to Māori.

“The kaupapa started by Talei was by Māori for Māori and it works. Māori flourish and thrive when we are doing it on our own terms,” she says.

Sonia says she always wanted to be a nurse because she wanted to work with and for Māori.

She graduated from Waiariki Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Nursing in 1997 and completed her Masters in Health Science in 2017 at the University of Auckland.

Sonia says she has been mentored by incredible and strong health sector leaders during her career.

“One leading Māori health researcher Dr Mihi Ratima expected and supported her team to complete a masters or PhD as well as learn te reo Māori. Most of us who worked with her are either masters or PhD qualified. Māori nurse leader Margareth Broodkorn has just been appointed to the Ministry of Health Chief Nurse position. Her professional pathway has included a role that reported to a Māori nurse leader committed to workforce development.  

“What that tells you is that when there is a commitment to grow the Māori workforce and do it in a way that acknowledges and supports both clinical and cultural knowledge and expertise,  through determined leadership, it will happen.”

After joining Toi Ohomai, Sonia will leave to begin her research this month.

This week, Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology co-hosted a symposium on indigenous business research ahead of the World Indigenous Business Forum, now it is supporting the country’s legal profession.

The Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa (New Zealand Māori Law Society) launched its hui-a-tau (annual meeting) with a pōhiri at Tangatarua Marae at Toi Ohomai’s Mokoia campus today (Thursday) at 4pm.

Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships and Māori Success, Ana Morrison, says Toi Ohomai is honoured to share in the celebration of the 30 year anniversary.

“Earlier this week, we had leading entrepreneurs, business thought-leaders and academics discussing how to build strong relevant connections between the business world and researcher community.

“And now, we have some of the sharpest legal minds in the country at our marae, Tangatarua.”

Ana says Toi Ohomai is keen to support professional endeavours that will pave the way for the better future for the region, its communities, and the Māori economy. 

“We support the legal profession through our high-quality legal executive, conveyancing, finance and practice management graduates, and it is wonderful to have the opportunity to directly strengthen our relationship with legal practitioners.”

The hui-a-tau is a two day event and will feature more than 40 speakers on a range of practical topics, as well as discussions on the development of Te Hunga Rōia and issues facing the legal profession.

It will be opened on Friday morning by judge of the Court of Appeal Justice, Joe Williams, who set the theme for the hui-a-tau: Ka Kuhu au kit e ture, hei matua mot e pani – I seek refuge in the law, for it is a parent to the oppressed .

The hui-a-tau will be closed on Saturday by renowned lawyer Moana Jackson, who will reflect on the past 30 years of Māori legal excellence while laying down a wero (challenge) for future generations in his Dreams from a Garage speech.

Te Hunga Rōia was formed at a meeting at Rotorua in 1988 and this year’s hui-a-tau marks the 30th anniversary since its inception. The group was started in the late John Chadwick’s garage.

To commemorate the anniversary, four awards will be presented at the conference dinner at Te Puia on Saturday night. The awards consist of Community Contribution, Te Pae Tata and Matiu Dickson Award for Te Reo and Tikanga Māori.

The NZ College of Midwives has just received the very sad news that our beloved Kaumatua, Mina Timutimu has passed away after a short illness. 

We extend our sincere condolences to Mina’s family.

Mina’s contribution to midwifery in New Zealand and to the health and welfare of families in her community was inestimable. She was a major source of knowledge and strength to the College and will be greatly missed.

Her work for the nation was recognised earlier this year when she was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM). This article http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/75677251/Taranaki-womans-lifetime-of-work-in-Maori-health-and-midwifery-celebrated was written following the MNZM announcement.

College representatives will be attending Mina’s tangi which is at Tauarau Marae, Main Road,  Ruatoki, tomorrow, Thursday 8th December.

(This statement can be attributed to Karen Guilliland, the Chief Executive of the NZ College of Midwives)                                                                                              www.midwife.org.nz

A new training consortium to encourage young Māori and Pasifika in the Bay of Plenty to become qualified in trades was announced by Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce earlier this week.

The consortium is made up of Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Ngā Potiki a Tamapahore, local industry partners, and a joint initiative between Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment and the Tertiary Education Commission. It brings together education expertise, student support and employment prospects leading into a range of opportunities for Māori and Pasifika, in the 18-34 year age group, who are interested in a career in infrastructure and associated trades.

Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Education and Māori Development Director Kieran Hewitson said it was an exciting initiative for the community as well as the country. “Our economic success depends on increasing the skill levels and opportunities of Māori and Pasifika, who will make up a large part of our national workforce in the future,” Hewitson said.

“The demand for skilled tradespeople is expected to be high over the next several years with demand for skilled workers in construction and engineering currently up by more than 16% nationwide compared to last year according to MBIE stats,” she said.

Māori and Pacific Island young people are able to apply for a scholarship through the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic which covers the fees component of the programme of study and support to find work placements.

The first full-time training programme scholarship will be offered for the Certificate in Carpentry programme starting in May. The year-long course is designed to help students develop their skills to enable them to sign up for an apprenticeship.

The Trustees of Nga Potiki Trust are thrilled that this training opportunity has come to fruition. “This is a great opportunity for our rangatahi Māori and Pasifika. We hope to leverage off the construction boom occurring in the Bay, and Tauranga specifically, and to provide training and work opportunities going forward. The goal is to upskill and find employment for trainees between 18-34 years old. It’s great that Government; our public training facilities like Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and iwi groups can work together to realise the aspirations of our rangatahi.”

Future scholarships will be available in automotive technology and electrical engineering.

Information about these scholarships will be presented at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic at 6pm Thursday April 9 and Tuesday April 14; anyone interested in learning more is encouraged to attend.

It was a perfect warm and still morning for the official opening of the new Mana Wāhine building at Rangi Ruru today.

Ngāi Tahu Kaumātua Sir Tipene O’Regan led the ceremony at 7am, blessing and opening Mana Wāhine, which is the third new building to open on the campus in the last seven weeks.

The Gibson Centre and Science Centre opened in early April.

Principal Julie Moor told gathered students, parents, board members and members of the community that the opening of Mana Wāhine sees “the completion of a trilogy”. She paid particular tribute to “the people who have turned dreams and drawings into reality”.

“I am talking about the team from Leighs who have worked simultaneously on three very different buildings, in close proximity, sometimes in horrible weather, under very tight timeframes and with minimum impact on the school operation. We enjoy working with them and we thank them. They have become part of the Rangi family.”

Old Girl and artist Peg Moorhouse who travelled from Marlborough, explained the silk and wool wall hanging which has been hung in the entrance of Mana Wāhine (see attached pic) to Sir Tipene and Julie Moor, highlighting the vertical strands as being indicative of the journey the girls will make in their lives.

Each room is named after a strong woman with the school’s first fully dedicated Maori learning space called Dame Te Atairangikaahu after the late Maori Queen. Other recognised women include Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme; aviator Jean Batten; suffrage leader Kate Sheppard; Canterbury’s founding mother Jane Deans; and Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani school girl and education activist who survived a gunman’s bullet in 2012.

Another special feature in Mana Wāhine is the stunning Maori carving by Riki Manuel which surrounds the front entrance.

Julie Moor says the strength and energy in Mana Wāhine goes beyond the name of the building.

“Our girls know they can do whatever they set their minds to. We are here to support them and as part of that, knowing what women have achieved at different times in our history is essential to gaining a better understanding and appreciation of where we are today,” she says. “We must never take anything for granted.”
Jean Brouwer, Rangi Ruru’s Head of Student Services, says the new building provides spaces for one on one tutoring and counselling, in addition to eight large classrooms – two for Global Living and six for Social Sciences.

“We support all levels of learning here,” she says. “Whether girls need additional support or are highly able academically, we provide what they need, and in a bright and energetic space,” she says.

Just hours after a joint Iwi-Police crime and crash reduction initiative was signed in Wellington, two members of the target audience were arrested and charged with drink driving in the same car in Hamilton overnight.

City Commander, Inspector Greg Nicholls, said Police stopped a Ford Falcon car with four people on board on Bader St early this morning and processed the 19-year-old female driver for excess breath alcohol.

"The legal alcohol limit for a driver under 20 is zero and this woman blew 400mgs. After the woman was processed her arresting officers drove her home. After dropping her off they headed to a local service station where they saw the car the woman had been driving an hour earlier pull up.

"Going to investigate they found a 23-year-old disqualified driver behind the wheel. When questioned the woman said the Police didn't need to ask her if she had been drinking because they already knew, she had been a passenger in the car when it was stopped an hour earlier."

Mr Nicholls said this woman blew over 500mgms and was arrested for excess breath alcohol and driving while disqualified while the car was seized for a 28 day period.

"The overnight arrest of these two young Maori women highlights what the Turning of the Tide initiative, a Whanau Ora Crime and Crash Prevention Strategy, is all about- trying to prevent Maori over representation in crime and crashes.

"Turning of the Tide was developed by the Police's Maori Pacific Ethnic Services office at the request of the Commissioner's Maori Focus Forum. Based on Iwi Crime and Crash Plans drawn up by Te Arawa, Ngapuhi, Ngati Whatua and Tainui, it is the Maori equivalent of the Prevention First strategy."

The initiative's vision is to reduce the number of Maori entering and re-entering the criminal justice system and dying on the roads and is particularly pertinent to the Waikato given the District's road toll of 43 is the highest in the country.

"Research has shown us Maori are almost twice as likely to die or be seriously injured in road crashes compared to other ethnic populations so each of the initiative's signatories is committed to turning this tide

"While working together on Turning the Tide, Waikato Police and Tainui hope to prevent incidents like last night's and protect at risk drivers from themselves."

Targets for Turning the Tide

•       a 10% decrease in the proportion of first-time youth and adult offenders who are Maori;
•       a 20% decrease in the proportion of repeat youth and adult victims and offenders who are Maori;
•       a 25% decrease in Police (non-traffic) apprehensions of Maori that are resolved by prosecution; and
•       a 20% reduction in the proportion of casualties in fatal and serious crashes who are Maori (without increasing the proportion of Maori injured in serious crashes).

Iwi and Police are joining together to implement an innovative strategy aimed at reducing victimisation, offending, road fatalities and injuries among Maori.

'The Turning of the Tide - a Whanau Ora Crime and Crash Prevention Strategy' was developed by the Police Commissioner's Maori Focus Forum, consisting of senior Iwi representatives from around the country, with help from Police.

It's based on Iwi Crime and Crash Plans drawn up by Te Arawa, Ngapuhi, Ngati Whatua and Tainui and has been strongly endorsed by iwi leaders around the country.

Police Commissioner Peter Marshall says there is an obvious need to reduce the number of Maori entering and re-entering the criminal justice system and dying on the roads.

"Maori now comprise more than 40% of all police apprehensions, more than 50% of the prison population and more than 20% of crash fatalities, despite making up only 15% of the general population.

"It wasn't always like this and everyone recognises things need to change.

"We've jointly developed a set of challenging targets out to 2018 that will really make a difference to Maori representation in official statistics."

These are:
•       a 10% decrease in the proportion of first-time youth and adult offenders who are Maori;
•       a 20% decrease in the proportion of repeat youth and adult victims and offenders who are Maori;
•       a 25% decrease in Police (non-traffic) apprehensions of Maori that are resolved by prosecution; and
•       a 20% reduction in the proportion of casualties in fatal and serious crashes who are Maori (without increasing the proportion of Maori injured in serious crashes).

Ngäti Porou leader and Maori Focus Forum member, Dr Apirana Mahuika, believes the time is right for action.

"Most Maori who are victims or who are directly involved in crime are under 25 years of age. With our population of young people growing, if we do nothing, then even more Maori will end up in hospitals, police cells, courts and prisons. We can't let that happen."

Dr Mahuika says in 1996, he laid down a challenge to Police on behalf of Iwi.

"E t? ki te kei o te waka, kia päkia koe e ng? ngaru o te w?. Stand at the stern of the canoe and feel the spray of the future biting at your face.

"The Turning of The Tide shows that Police have risen to that challenge. "

Dr Mahuika says Iwi around the country are serious about working with Police to make a long-term change.

"Both sides are ready for what will be an occasionally testing but very rewarding journey together.

"We welcome this strategy and look forward to the time when every New Zealander will be better off as a result of the improvements it will bring."

“It’s unacceptable to see that despite the work and investment being undertaken in health to reduce disparities between Maori and non-Maori, our Maori tamariki are still dying and suffering from diseases at a higher rate than others in this country.”

Associate Minister of Health Tariana Turia commented today on the release of the second of three reports in the Ministry of Health’s Te Ohonga Ake series on Maori child health. This second report focuses on the health status of Maori children and young people.

“While progress is being made and there is evidence of reductions in hospital admissions for meningococcal disease, infant mortality and some types of injuries, in other areas there has been little change. For example hospital admissions have continued to increase for acute rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease, serious skin infections, asthma and acute upper respiratory tract infections, pneumonia and whooping cough. Reports like this are a sober reminder about how much there is still to do, to achieve the progress we need.”

In March this year, the first report released described the health of Māori children and young people with chronic conditions and disabilities. In 2013, a third report is due on the determinants of Māori child and youth health.

“While action is being undertaken in a number of areas to address disparities highlighted in the report, it’s obvious that it’s not enough. For example more work needs to be done across the health sector to reduce sudden unexplained death in infancy (SUDI) amongst our whānau. The rate of death amongst our infants is still too high. There is almost a six fold disparity in SUDI between Maori and non-Maori infants.

“The report also shows that between 1996 and 2005, Maori children were admitted to hospital with acute rheumatic fever ten times  higher than for the rest of the population. Yes we have invested $24m, over five years to reduce rheumatic fever rates through detection, but we need to be vigilant on all fronts. Otherwise families still living in damp, cold or over-crowded homes will continue to be at risk of highly infectious diseases.

“My expectation is that all government agencies work in collaboration with health professionals at all levels.  Our health cannot be dealt with in isolation of issues like education, employment and housing.” 

All three reports are being produced by the New Zealand Child and Youth Epidemiology Service of Otago University and will be available on their website and at www.health.govt.nz.

The community celebrations recognising the first section opening of the Pureora Timber Trail, part of Nga Haerenga, The New Zealand Cycle Trail, which were held over the weekend are the first step to see visitors travelling through ancient rain forests and across the ancestral homelands of several Central North Island hapū.

“It’s a brilliant example of innovative Māori asset holders and government working together to realise the economic potential of their lands,” said Māori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples.

The government is contributing around $5.5 million to construct the Pureroa Timber Trail: $2.1 million through the New Zealand Cycle Trail and the remainder through the Department of Conservation (DOC).

A consortium of seven Māori land trusts and one Māori incorporation make up Kohia Ltd, who have been supported in their mahi by Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development.

DOC who manage the Trail have asked Kohia Ltd to manage aspects of the trail, located west of Lake Taupō, which analysts predict could attract up to 15,000 tourists every year. 

Starting at Pureora in the north and ending at Ongarue in the south, travellers will cross New Zealand’s longest cycle trail suspension bridge over the Maungatukutuku Stream, pass by spectacular rock formations and travel deep into extensive native bush.

“This tourism enterprise could hold the potential of hundreds of new jobs and shows the benefits of iwi working together and alongside other local and national stakeholders to create sustainable, economic value in their communities,” said Dr Sharples.

The Pureora Timber Trail is expected to open on March 2013.

Ko Hikurangi te maunga, ko Waiapu te awa, ko Whangaokena te motu, ko Hinepare te marae. Te Whānau a Hunaara, Ngāti Porou whānui, e tangi! E tangi ki tō koutou koroua kua mate, ki tō koutou reo kōrero kua wahangū!

Cassidy, kua mutu tō whakapau werawera kia ora ai te reo Māori, me te mōhio anō, kua ekengia ngā moana pukepuke, kua hoea ngā au kōaro, kia pari rā anō te tai, a, kua whakatata tō tātou waka ki uta.

I te wā i tīmata koe i te kura i Rangitukia, ka whiua ngā tamariki mo te kōrero Māori. Ka pakeke koe, ka hoki anō kōrua ko tō hoa rangatira ki te riu o Waiapu hei kaiwhakaako i Te Pae o te Riri i Tikitiki. Ko koe tētahi kaikōrero Māori tūturu i tū tō ringa hei kaiwhakaako reo Māori i te kura tuarua i Te Whanganui a Tara.

Nāwai rā ka haere koe ki Te Waipounamu hei kaitohutohu mā te Tari Matauranga, ki reira āwhina ai i a Kāi Tahu ki te whakarauora anō i tō rātou reo motuhake.

Nau te koraha i takahi kia taea ngā taumata e tika ana, i runga anō i tō whakapono, ko tā te kura i tukituki ai, mā te kura e whakapai anō. I te tau 2009, kua whakawhiwhia koe ki te tohu MNZM mo tō kaha ki te ako, ki te poipoi i te reo Māori.

Ko ngā tikanga tuku iho hei kaupapa mo ō kōrero whakaharakoa, mai rā anō i tō matua i a Hunaara mā, me tana whakapono ki te Tiriti o Waitangi, i a Hori Keeti mā, nāu ia i kawe ki ngā hui nunui i tōna wā. Ka whakahōnoretia koe hei mema tūturu o te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko i te Ora – he mihi nui tēnei nā te iwi ki a koe.

No reira Cassidy, e hoki ki ō tīpuna me te wairua tau mo ngā mahi i oti i a koe, waiho mā mātou ngā take hei kōkiri kia tūtuki rā anō i tēnei ao hou. Haere, haere, haere.

Māori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples has paid tribute to the lifetime achievements of Cassidy Wehipeihana Tangaere who passed away over the weekend.

“Cassidy was totally committed to education and te reo Māori, and his combination of skills and experience helped to turn the tide in favour of Māori language surviving for future generations,” said Dr Sharples.

“When he started primary school at Rangitukia, students were strapped for speaking Māori. As an adult, Cassidy and his wife returned as teachers to Tikitiki School. Cass later volunteered to become one of the first native speakers of Māori to train as a secondary school teacher in Wellington, and became an Education Department adviser in the South Island for six years, where he supported the revival of the distinctive Kāi Tahu dialect.”

“Cassidy broke new ground throughout his career, convinced that education can overcome historical prejudice and disadvantage and open up new opportunities. His commitment to te reo Māori and education was recognised in 2009 with the investiture of an MNZM.”

Dr. Sharples said “his humour was underpinned by a deep knowledge of history and tradition, from his father’s teachings about the Treaty of Waitangi, and from people like the tohunga Hori Gage, for whom Cassidy accompanied as driver in his youth. His community service was recognised with a life membership of the Māori Women’s Welfare League.”

“So Cass can return to his ancestors knowing that he made a huge contribution to turning around the prospects for our language, and he laid down a foundation for future generations to fulfil their dreams in a new era.”

Haere, haere, haere atu rā.