Whakatōhea Mandate Inquiry Report Wai 2662 Last week the Waitangi Tribunal published Whakatōhea Mandate Inquiry Report – Wai 2662. The report is the outcome of an inquiry into 12 claims relating to the Crown’s recognition of the Whakatōhea Pre-settlement Claims Trust and it having a mandate to enter negotiations to
Author: Seattle Ropiha
Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration to End 12 April 2018 the Minister of Energy and Resources, Dr Megan Woods, announced that the offshore block offers for oil and gas exploration permits will end, effective immediately. The block offer was an annual tender process established by the former National led Government
Te Puni Kōkiri have published a Civil Defence Marae Emergency Preparedness Plan. This resource is designed to help prepare Marae in the event of a natural disaster or emergency. https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/a-matou-mohiotanga Last week five two-bedroom, pre-fabricated papakāinga homes were opened at Kōkōhīnau Marae, Te Teko. The $2.7 million development was carried out with
Periodic Tenancy Reviews of Public Housing Tenants Last Thursday the Minister of Housing, Phil Twyford, announced that periodic tenancy reviews of public housing tenants would be paused (until the end of June), while the Minister considers whether the groups of tenants exempt from the process should be widened. Tenancy reviews
Last month a Deed of Settlement was initialled between Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki Nui-ā-Rua and the Crown. The settlement will include the vesting of 33 Crown-owned sites to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua, $93 million in financial redress and the right to purchase properties including 70% of the Ngāumu Forest
Last Thursday the draft terms of reference for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into historic abuse in State care were released, and public submissions are now open until 30 April. The inquiry website and draft terms advise that a “key focus will be the impact of abuse in state care
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E11 6 April 2018 – Minimum Wage Rise
On 1 April the changes to the minimum wage came into effect, raising the adult minimum wage rate by 75 cents per hour to $16.50. This is effectively a $30 per-week increase to $660 for a full-time worker on this rate. This equates to an additional $1,560 per annum, (or
Last Thursday a report on Māori income projections was released by Tokona Te Raki /The Māori Futures’ Collective (which is a Ngāi Tahu led collaborative initiative). The report is called Change Agenda: Income Equity for Māori, and was prepared by BERL (an economics-focused consultancy firm). First, the authors compare Māori
Social Matters Child Poverty Reduction – Three Year Targets Announced On Tuesday the Minister for Child Poverty Reduction, Jacinda Arden, announced her Government’s three-year targets to measure the reduction of child poverty. (Ten-year targets have already been established, refer to Panui 02/2018 for these.) The three-year targets are: reduce the
Appointments and Awards Kingi Kiriona (Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Apa) has been appointed to the Māori Television board. The Department of Conservation re-opened the nomination process for 45 Conservation Board members. This follows a statement by Minister Eugenie Sage, that the boards need to reflect the diverse communities they
On Thursday Te Pire Haeata ki Parihaka / Parihaka Reconciliation Bill was read a first time and referred to the Māori Affairs Committee. This Bill, if passed into law, gives effect to the Te Kawenata o Rongo / Deed of Reconciliation signed between the Crown and Parihaka in June last year.
Earlier this month Te Puni Kōkiri published a document entitled the ‘Waikato Region Maaori Economic Action Plan and Agenda’. This is a product of Waikato-Tainui and Partners WMB (Waikato Means Business), and Te Puni Kōkiri.[1] This is a sixty-pager, but most readers will be able to get all the information
Last month a number of documents relating to Māori fisheries were publicly released including: The Annual Report (to September 2017) of Moana New Zealand; The Annual Report (to September 2017) of Te Ohu Kaimoana; The Māori Fisheries Strategy prepared by Te Ohu Kaimoana; and The Briefing to the Incoming Minister
On Wednesday the sale of plain packaging tobacco products came into force. Plain packaging is a measure introduced under the Smoke-free Environments (Tobacco Standardised Packaging) Amendment Act. The potential benefit of plain packaging should be disproportionally positive for Māori. This is because the smoking rate amongst Māori is double that
In Pānui 2/2018 we advised that The Treasury was reforecasting its estimates of children living in poverty, and projected changes that might occur via the introduction of new policy settings from the Government.[1] That work is now completed, and in essence the agency considers that slightly less children are living