The Maori language has had a long journey - all the way from the hills of Vietnam and Cambodia - and will continue to evolve, says Maori Language Commissioner Patu Hohepa.

The origins of the language, celebrated today with Maori Language Day, go back more than 30,000 years, said Dr Hohepa. "The origins of the Maori language are just as old as that of the English. It didn't just begin when we [Maori] landed here."

The language came from a family that covered one-third of the globe, most of it water, from Vietnam and Cambodia to Taiwan, the Philippines, through Indonesia, Malaysia, and south to Madagascar, he said.

The review of the 50-year-old New Zealand Geographic Board Act proposes to include a Maori protocol on naming places, recognise name changes determined by treaty settlements, and move to consult directly with iwi on name changes.

A national hui on the review supported greater responsibility and recognition for Maori in naming places and raised concerns about local authorities failing to consult Maori when choosing names.

The Maori Language Commission/Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori said in its submission that consultation with Maori was insufficient and Maori should have more say in naming places. "Names and the process of naming is one of the most significant cultural icons of Maori culture."

Fewer than half of all Maori children under 5 eligible for the meningococcal B vaccine have received their free immunisation.

Just 40 per cent of Maori children under 5 in South Auckland have had their first dose of the meningococcal B vaccine since it was made available last month.

Poverty and a lack of transport have been blamed for the slow response by Maori to an intensive media campaign aimed at making sure those most at-risk of developing the disease are immunised.

Health professionals discussed the vaccine and its benefits at the New Zealand Immunisation Conference in Rotorua last week.

A new "cybertribe" of Maori artists is harnessing the web to take paintings, sculpture, mixed media, weaving and glassworks to the world art market.

The "tribe" has launched Maoriartnz.com, a website that acts like a digital showcase of art representing some of the best Maori artists in the country. The site links potential buyers with artists carrying out commissioned works and tells the stories behind their artworks.

It joins a growing band of websites that are looking to take New Zealand art to the world. Fishers Fine Arts is conducting online auctions and making big overseas sales - a C.F. Goldie piece sold for $589,625 and a Michael Illingworth for $233,625.

Sheryl Neill thought snowboarding was a white, middle-class sport until she discovered the Tuwharetoa Snowboarding School.

Today, the 24-year-old snowboarding instructor is one of a handful of "brown faces" who work on Mt Ruapehu.

"I'm proud to say I'm from Turangi. I'm proud to say I'm one of the very few brown faces up here and I pay thanks to the programme for that," she said.

Miss Neill, who has been an instructor at Ruapehu Alpine Lifts for three years, said her days of using a plastic rubbish bag to slide down the mountain's snow-covered banks were over.

The Maori Party has jumped ahead of Labour in the Maori seats, a Marae-DigiPoll survey of Maori voters shows.

The survey of 938 Maori voters suggests the Maori Party could hold most or all of the seven Maori seats after the next election - and possibly hold the balance of power.

It appears the party's stance on the foreshore and seabed has struck a chord with voters on the Maori roll that has translated into a big upswing in support in the Maori electorate vote.

The head of a million-dollar Maori tourist operation says his group was insulted during a powhiri at a tourism awards dinner and has accused the industry of paying lip service to New Zealand culture.

Jim Gray, director of Tiki Tere Holdings, which operates Rotorua's Hell's Gate and Waiora Spa, said Tourism Industry Association staff made disparaging remarks and told his group to settle down as they performed a powhiri while entering an awards dinner they were finalists at last week.

Tuku Morgan's infamous "garden shed show" has been pulled from Maori television after comparisons with the British chat show The Kumars at No.42.

Maori Television Service (MTS) spokeswoman Sonya Haggie confirmed on Friday that Matua Whangai had twice been dropped because of concerns raised by London-based Hat Trick Productions.

Hat Trick Productions makes the award-winning chat show featuring the "Kumar" family. The company raised concerns with MTS after it became concerned about camparisons between its show and Matua Whangai.

26.08.2004
By RENEE KIRIONA
A Rotorua group has gone to the High Court to try to stop the Government from handing over the ownership of 13 lakes and a $10 million financial redress package to Te Arawa.

Yesterday's action comes as a last resort attempt by the Rotorua Lakes Protection Society, which for the past two years has lobbied against the iwi being given title to the lakebeds.

Last December the Minister of Treaty Negotiations, Margaret Wilson, offered Te Arawa a settlement of their Treaty of Waitangi claim over the lakes. That included giving them 14 Rotorua lakes, a $10 million package and an apology.

20 & 21 June 2005, The Wellington Town Hall

Ko te pae tawhiti, whaia. Ko te pae tata, whakamaua kia tina!
Ka tu, ka ora! Ka noho, ka mate!

F.I.R.S.T. Circular and Call for Papers