News
A new four-year Maori immersion teaching degree at Massey University will help to fill a critical shortage of expert Te Reo teachers and help halt the decline of the language, says Associate Professor Huia Tomlins Jahnke who led the development of the course.
On Tuesday February 7, Massey University will welcome 27 new first year students to its intense Maori immersion teaching course – Te Aho Tatairangi – the only course of its kind in New Zealand.
Whanau and students on the course will be formally welcomed to Te Kupenga o te Matauranga marae at Massey University’s Hokowhitu campus in Palmerston North.
Associate Prof Jahnke, Head of Massey’s School of Maori Education, said the redesigned and extended four-year course aimed to supply 200 Maori immersion graduates into the teaching profession by 2020.
“There is a shortage of teachers nationally, and in the Maori sector that shortage is critical and our graduates will help to build a bigger talent pool. It will also help the long-term rejuvenation of Te Reo Maori which is currently classified as an endangered language,” she said.
Lecturers include experts and current practitioners from leading Kura Kaupapa Maori known for their strength in Te Aho Matua, including Dr Kathy Dewes, who was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in last year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours and who is the principal of Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ruamata in Rotorua; Rawiri Wright, principal of Hoani Waititi in Auckland and Chair of Te Runanga Nui o Nga Kura Kaupapa Maori; and Toni Waho, principal of Mana Tamariki in Palmerston North.
One important aspect of the course is that all students are supported by, or assigned to, a kura hapai – mentoring school. This is a unique requirement that ensures the distance learning undertaken through the programme is married with daily practice.
The programme is being delivered through a new partnership between Te Runanga Nui o Nga Kura Kaupapa Maori and Massey University and is firmly based on the principles of Te Aho Matua, the foundation document which sets out the ethos behind the formation and running of Kura Kaupapa Maori, Maori-language immersion schools.
“This approach will ensure the ethos of the kura kaupapa Maori movement is upheld in the preparation of teachers who will teach in the total immersion sector,” Associate Prof Jahnke said.
“We are happy to be working closely with Massey to ensure our teachers are properly prepared. The inclusion of Te Aho Matua in the design, content and delivery of the programme is the key,” says Toni Waho, who is also a member of Te Runanga Nui.
Te Aho Tatairangi graduates will qualify with a Bachelor of Teaching Maori Medium / Diploma Maori Education.
For more information please contact Sue Allen, Massey Public Relations, on 029 917 5466.
The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs is calling for more funding for Pacific early childhood centres and bilingual education to lift the poor performance of students.
The call comes in a briefing to incoming minister Hekia Parata, who is also in charge of education.
The briefing says the education system is failing to meet the needs of Pacific students.
The ministry’s chief executive, Colin Tukuitonga, says educational underachievement is dragging down Pacific communities – and the country as a whole.
Dr Tukuitonga says more money is needed to boost Pacific participation in early childhood education and for bilingual education.
He says research shows bilingual education can be a path to better achievements for Pacific people.
This year’s review of the Pasifika Education Plan needs to set higher targets for lifting students’ performance, he says.
Maori tourism businesses in Otago and Southland are putting themselves on the map, by creating a tiki tour to showcase indigenous tourism and cultural experiences.
The website tikitourmap.co.nz and fold-up brochure covers from Timaru across to Haast, and every spot further south.
The locations feature marae, waka landing sites, and well-known visitor attractions, such as the Shotover Jet, which is owned by Ngai Tahu Holdings.
Otago and Southland Maori Business Network chairman Richard Kerr-Bell says the guide comes with plenty of stories.
He says the stories and history are attractive parts of the map, because tourists can’t find out about them from any other source.
Mr Kerr-Bell says the tiki tour website will be launched on Friday.
Former Labour MP Winne Laban has called for the Tokelauan, Niuean and Cook Islands languages to be accorded official status in New Zealand.
Ms Laban, now an associate professor at Victoria University, made the call in a Waitangi Rua Rautau lecture outlining a Pacific perspective on the Treaty of Waitangi.
In her speech at Te Herenga Waka Marae at the university, Ms Laban noted that English, Maori and New Zealand sign language were the three official languages.
“New Zealand has the responsibility of ensuring that the languages of the realm and our near neighbours are preserved.
“The people of Tokelau, Niue and the Cook Islands are New Zealand citizens and New Zealand has constitutional responsibilities.
“After English, Samoan is the most daily spoken language in New Zealand. Why are these languages not `official’ in New Zealand?”
The Maori Language Act 1987 declared Maori to be an official language and created a right to use Maori in court proceedings. The associated Maori Language Commission was also established.
“New Zealand does not have a Pacific language policy.
“Perhaps it is time for the development of a language policy to protect, maintain and rejuvenate Pacific languages spoken in New Zealand,” Ms Laban said.
Race relations conciliator Joris de Bres said Tokelau, Niue and the Cook Islands remained a part of the “New Zealand realm”.
All had a majority of their population living in New Zealand and language retention in New Zealand was vital to the survival of their languages.
There were 265,974 people who identified themselves as Pacific in the 2006 census, representing around 7 per cent of the total population.
Samoans are the largest group at 131,103, followed by Cook Islanders at 58,011.
At the time of the 2006 census there were 22,476 Niueans in New Zealand and 6819 Tokelauans.
Pacific Island Affairs Minister Hekia Parata was unavailable for comment last night.
Tomorrow Auckland’s birthing units will be waiting, poised to witness the arrival of a milestone: Auckland’s 1.5 millionth resident.
Of course, it might in fact be a new immigrant rather than a baby who chalks the population up to that landmark, and it might not happen tomorrow, but either way the face of New Zealand is changing.
Projections show that by 2021, for every 100 people in Auckland, 53 will be European, 27 will be of Asian heritage, 17 will be Pacific Islanders, and 12 will be Maori.
The figures total more than 100 as people can identify as more than one ethnicity.
Statistics New Zealand senior demographer Kim Dunstan said this did not necessarily mean the rest of New Zealand would reflect the same kind of melting pot. “Auckland does have slightly higher birth rates than other regions, and partly that reflects a younger population.
“And of course fertility rates are generally higher for the Maori and Pacific populations than they are for Asian and European populations. Migration is also an important contributor to growth, particularly in Auckland.”
Auckland Chinese community leader Kai Luey said New Zealand’s open spaces and the clean environment attracted people of Asian heritage. Auckland was particularly popular, as it offered a metropolitan lifestyle with a decent amount of living space, he said.
Asian people brought with them a culture of hard work and planning, and possibly even the answer to the “brain drain” phenomenon, Mr Luey said.
“A lot of parents are moving here for their children. They could probably earn more money and have a more familiar environment if they stayed in Asia but they know they’ve got an opportunity to make a break for their children.”
New Zealand’s other centres are also changing.
In Wellington, the population is 78 per cent European, 14 per cent Maori, 10 per cent Asian and 9 per cent Pacific Islanders. By 2021, it is predicted to be a little less European and a little more Asian. The others are expected to plateau.
In Canterbury, the proportion of Europeans is expected to sink a few percentage points, with growth forecast in the Asian and Maori communities.
“Canterbury has a slightly older population than Auckland and older populations tend to have more deaths and relatively fewer births,” Mr Dunstan said.
But like the population itself, these projected statistics are constantly being revised and updated.
“Demographic trends can and do change. We update the projections every two to three years to maintain their relevance. We’ll be releasing new projections for New Zealand and the sub-national areas through this year.”
To predict the future, statisticians study past censuses, and use assumptions about birth rates, death rates and migration.
WHO WE’LL BE
Projections for ethnic composition in 2021:
NEW ZEALAND 2021
71% European (other, incl New Zealander)
16% Maori 14% Asian
9% Pacific Island
WELLINGTON REGION 2021
75% European
14% Maori
12% Asian
9% Pacific Island
CANTERBURY 2021
86% European
9% Maori
9% Asian
3% Pacific Island
AUCKLAND 2021
53% European
27% Asian
17% Pacific Island
12% Maori
Current ethnic composition (based on projections by Statistics NZ, not actual figures)
AUCKLAND 2011
59% European
11% Maori
22% Asian
16% Pacific Island
WELLINGTON 2011
78% European
14% Maori
10% Asian
9% Pacific Island
CANTERBURY 2011
88% European
8% Maori
7% Asian
2% Pacific Island
Regan Tamihere has the build and the fitness to be a daunting police officer but up until 2007 Tamihere made his living playing Super rugby for the Auckland Blues.
The 103kg flanker turned South Auckland police constable stands at 186cm tall and is an imposing figure on and off the field.
Like many police recruits, Tamihere was somewhat smaller than his current stature when he first dreamed of donning a police uniform. Tamihere made the decision in his early teens. “During my teens I came in contact with a number of policemen and those experiences (increased) my interest in joining,” says Tamihere. “I felt my personality and skills base was suited to the role. I have an ability to get on with everyone and to work in a team.”
None of Tamihere’s whanau had been police officers. During his childhood two of his uncles had a high public profile. John Tamihere was a member of parliament and when Regan was six years old his uncle David Wayne Tamihere was convicted of murdering Swedish tourists Sven Höglin and Heidi Paakkonen.
Instead of joining the police directly upon leaving Papatoetoe High School his career took a temporary turn in another direction. “I knew I wanted to be a cop, but I considered myself when leaving school to be a little bit too young.” Instead he studied sport and recreation at AUT University for a year and then joined the New Zealand Customs service as a client liaison officer.
“I applied for Customs (instead of the police) because it was similar to the police. It was a uniformed enforcement role in a government department.”
It’s not at all unusual for police recruits to have another career first. The skills people bring from previous study, work in the community, playing sports, or understanding foreign languages, are all factors that are considered in the recruitment process.
Tamihere worked a year full time at Customs then combined that first career with rugby in 2005. “In 06/07 rugby was my full time role. I loved it and I still love it. Rugby was an ambition of mine (from childhood) but I knew my future couldn’t revolve around rugby because it is so fickle.”
Sadly for Tamihere the Auckland Blues dispensed with his services. “I was 24 and I decided I’d better start putting some roots down.”
Tamihere had seen media advertising for the website newcops.co.nz, which has an online mental aptitude test to help potential recruits determine if they might be suitable to become a police officer.
“I had gained enough life experience by then,” he says. He registered online for a recruitment seminar before going through a number of tests and being selected to attend the police college just north of Wellington in June of 2008.
The selection process is rigorous to ensure police offices are fit enough, intelligent and culturally savvy. Most importantly, like Tamihere, they need to be motivated to help their community.
Ideally police recruiters are looking for a workforce reflective of New Zealand’s diverse communities to ensure responsiveness to the needs of all New Zealanders, says Gerrad van Ooyen, national recruitment manager. As a result the police force is currently looking to recruit more Maori recruits such as Tamihere as well as female, Pacific and other ethnic groups.
The process from logging onto newcops.co.nz to starting police college took Tamihere four months. Police recruits need to have a number of certificates before they can enter the police college, which can take a number of months to complete.
Upon graduation Tamihere was assigned to the Counties Manukau police in Otahuhu, where he is currently stationed.
There he works as a constable attached to the Criminal Investigative Branch (CIB). Tamihere is aiming to become a fully-fledged detective, which will require him to complete residential courses, study modules, and on-the-job training.
The fact that he made the right decision in his choice of career is confirmed on a daily basis, says Tamihere. “Each shift that I report for duty confirms that the police is definitely what I want to do as my life long career. When you apprehend an offender or gain justice for a victim it is heart-warming – even though it sounds a little clichéd.”
Tamihere hasn’t left rugby behind completely. With his help the Counties Manukau Police Rugby team won the 2010 National Police Rugby Champs and the Challenge Cup against defending champions Auckland. Tamihere was named Forward of the Tournament.
On the job
Whether it’s on TV or in real life, rookie cops sometimes get the worst jobs. Regan Tamihere’s heart sank when his partner informed him at 3am one morning that he was going to be the one to swim out into the Tamaki Estuary and check out reports by a boatie of a body floating in the water.
“It was pitch black and we could see a silhouette and ripples of what appeared to be someone in the estuary. I looked at my sergeant and he said: ‘It looks like you’re going out there to have a look’,” says Tamihere.
“I stripped off my uniform off and swam out in my boxers. It was spring and the river was freezing cold out there. I was thinking: ‘here I am two weeks into the job and I am swimming out to retrieve some drowned person floating down the estuary’.
“As I closed in it looked like a person and I thought: ‘this is what I joined the police for and I better go to it’.”
When he finally reached the “body”, it turned out to be a mannequin that someone had tossed into the water. It was too far from the shore to call to his supervisor, so Tamihere swam it back to the relieved sergeant and retrieved his uniform from the side of the road.
“I knew when I joined the police (that) this was what I was getting myself in for. You can’t imagine someone doing something like that in other jobs.”
Writing about the Maori World – a key concern of the writer and historian Michael King – will be the focus of a writing workshop to be held this month (February).
Ta te Ao Maori: Writing the Maori World is the third writers’ residential workshop run by the Michael King Writers’ Centre. The centre was established in 2005 in memory of King who died in 2004, and aims to support New Zealand writers and to promote all aspects of New Zealand’s literature, including fiction and non-fiction. Trustees say the writing workshops complement the residencies provided for working writers at the Writers’ Centre.
The February workshop is aimed at experienced writers (Maori and Pakeha) with a specialised interest in writing the Maori world.
It will offer stimulating discusssion on translation, writing in te reo Maori, adaptation, history, biography and book and web publishing.
The workshop is limited to 24 participants: a few emerging writers but mostly professional writers or academics who have published many articles and books.
Another eighteen senior writers and publishers will speak, lead panel discusssions and chair sessions, most staying on for further discussion and some staying over.
The workshop convenors are both writers with several books to their credit and strong connections to the Writers’ Centre: Paul Diamond (Ngati Haua, Te Rarawa and Ngapuhi), and Bradford Haami (Ngati Awa, Ngati Kahungunu, Kai Tahu, Tuwharetoa). Haami held the first Maori Writer’s Residency at the Writers’ Centre in 2010.
Diamond was a speaker on biography at previous residential workshops.
Diamond is excited the Writers’ Centre has chosen writing the Maori world as the theme for its third workshop. ‘It’s a rare opportunity to share expertise and experience in writing about many different aspects of Te Ao Maori and how to go about getting that writing published.’
Participants will hear from writers Witi Ihimaera, Merimeri Penfold, Anne Salmond, Monty Soutar, Aroha Harris, Jock Phillips, Basil Keane, Paul Moon, Jane McRae, and Darryn Joseph and publishers Robyn Bargh, Geoff Walker, Sam Elworthy and John Huria.
For more information, including the full programme, speakers’ profiles and application details refer www.writerscentre.org.nz
Click here to view the application form.
Congratulations – you have managed to secure that all-important job interview. But before you just march on in, do some preparation.
Before the interview
This preparation time is pivotal. In my experience, over 80% of people know almost nothing about the company and the position they are going to interview for. Therefore by just spending a half hour on the company’s website, you are going to perform better than many of your peers. A main reason is that you will be armed with key bits of information that you can recall at the interview, highlighting your understanding of the businesses market / needs / customers / culture etc. This in turn highlights your suitability for the position. That little bit more knowledge you are armed with, may be the difference between getting the job and not getting it!
Review your own career experience and qualifications, ensuring you understand all your achievements and skills that are relevant for this position. You must go into the interview and ‘sell yourself’ to your full potential. Anything less and you are letting both yourself and the employer down.
Have a strong understanding of what the employer is actually seeking in a candidate is vital. In most job advertisements and position descriptions, there is a section entitled ‘personal specifications / characteristics’. This section is the key to interview success and is what you need to target. Knowing the skills and experience the employer is after will help you to ‘mirror’ examples of these competencies, and will make you appear as a ‘solution’ to their employment conundrum, rather than just another applicant.
If possible, try to find out what sort of interview you will be going into prior to turning up. It becomes really hard to focus if you are expecting a one on one interview, then find you are being grilled by a panel of six.
During the interview
One of Europe’s leading career specialists, Daniel Porot, studied candidates in job interviews and found that to be successful, you should generally try to make your answer last between 20 seconds and two minutes. Anything too short does not give enough information to the interviewer; anything longer just drags the interview on and starts to make you look too long-winded.
For me personally, someone who is genuinely enthusiastic and friendly usually stands out above the rest. Don’t be afraid to show that you are really excited about the opportunity. While you may not be the best candidate on paper, a lot of the time the employer goes on ‘gut feel’ and your enthusiasm may well be the key aspect that pushes you to the top of the pile.
Try to understand the question behind the question. In the end, it all comes down to, “Why should I recruit you?” Be sure that you attempt to answer that underlying question completely.
Be your authentic self – professional, yet real. You do no one any favours by pretending to be someone you are not. Even if you get the job, everyone will see that you do not match their expectations.
Remember the interview is a two way street. You are there to ‘sell’ yourself, however the interviewer also has a duty to ‘sell’ the opportunity and company to you too! Ask good questions about the organisation, and ensure this really is the right place for the next stage of your career.
Q & A
In most interviews there will be common questions that will keep cropping up. Typical questions include:
“Tell me about yourself.”
Before you go to the interview, write a brief account of your achievements, work history and education. Make sure that this answer relates to the position for which you are applying and don’t be afraid to sell yourself!
“Why do you want to work here?”
This is a vital question, as the employer is attempting to find out your motivation for their organisation specifically. Share your knowledge of their business and comment on how your skills, experience and education would fit so well with their company.
“What are your strengths?”
As you have done your research on the job as well as the company, you will be able to visualise what they are looking for. Phrase your answer in this context as well as give an example of each strength.
“What are your weaknesses?”
Choose a weak area prior to the interview. Only state one weakness and say what you are doing in order to overcome it. Overcoming a weakness is actually developing a strength!
“What remuneration / salary package salary are you after?”
Try to do some research prior to the role and look at what the industry is offering for similar positions. It’s a waste of time being in an interview for one hour and then find you and the recruiter have wildly differing salary expectations.
After the interview
Always ensure that you follow up the meeting with an appropriate thank-you email. This is another opportunity to sell yourself to the employer and will only improve your chances. This email usually involves three to four lines thanking the interviewer for their time, touching on a couple of key points you discussed and again highlighting your interest in the position.
Panic stations
When someone says to you “don’t be nervous”, this advice is contrary to reality. You are presumably going to an interview for a job you want to be successful in getting. You have something to lose and you are exposing yourself to potential rejection from the interviewer. Therefore it’s okay to be a little nervous – just try not to let it show.
If you get the ‘butterflies’ (sick feeling in your stomach), don’t panic! They are a sign adrenaline is rushing through your body. This actually means you are becoming more alert and attuned to your surroundings. ‘Butterflies’ are a good sign that you are mentally ready.
Remember – the job hunt is a race. But unlike the Olympics, there is no prize for coming second – only disappointment and wasted time. Therefore, work hard on becoming the employer’s solution at the interview, and you will gain your next role in record time.
Interview to win
First impressions are vital. Many interviewers will reach a decision about you in the first five minutes.
Write out responses to typical interview questions and practice these with a friend.
Remember that you are selling the most important product you own – yourself! It’s up to you to communicate to the employer what makes you stand out as a candidate.
Write a brief thank you letter after the interview, highlighting your interest in both the company and opportunity.
* Tom O’Neil is a leading international career specialist and author of Selling Yourself to Employers – The Essential Job-Hunting Guide.
From this special garden comes fresh organic food grown according to tikanga, a veritable taste sensation, full of nutrients.
Kaiwaka Riki leans on a heap of sweet- smelling compost while he tells me about the relationship he holds with his land. Nestled on the slopes of Mt Karioi, Kaiwhenua Organics possesses a view for which property developers would hack off their limbs. Manu and Whale Bays spread out below, the Tasman glistens in a welcome sunny day and I find myself silent (for once), drawn in to Kaiwaka’s story like a child listening to the adventures of a pirate.
His story is that of a present-day pirate made good; leaving his grandfather’s land where he helped grow potatoes as a young boy for what he describes as “the other side” – a life which resulted in an 18-month prison term for growing cannabis.
When he returned to the land in need of rehabilitation, Kaiwaka began to dig the soil. His spade broke. Annoyed at the world he retreated to the house for a cuppa, then he trudged up into the steep and dense manuka bush to cut himself a new handle for his spade. He began to dig again and 12 years later, with the support of his wife, Lynette Lovini, they have a thriving market garden business.
Kaiwaka believes that his tupuna were testing his mental and physical strength back then and now he draws daily on traditional Maori wisdom to maintain the 150-acre (61ha) site, five (2ha) of which are used for growing kai.
They garden by moon phases, something that humans have done for centuries, compost all weeds, animal manure and organic waste. Leaving areas to lie fallow is also a well observed practice or “tikanga” here. Tikanga is “the right way”, Kaiwaka explains.
“There is a place and time for every plant on this land,” he adds, demonstrating his story with tall grasses that are browned and gone to seed. “Here is a mother and her babies – we must respect that this grass is doing what nature intended.
” Before we plough this paddock over we will say a karakia, asking for this space to continue our work, removing the tapu, thanking mother nature for her assistance and assuring the plants that they are welcome to return at another time.”
Indeed, some visitors may see only patches of overgrown wilderness, desperately in need of Round Up and feel judgmental of the non-conformity of this garden. Yet every green leaf here vibrates with an energy so pure and uncompromised you can almost see the nutrients flowing through their cells. Lyn prepares bags of salad mix for the local supermarket and health food store. Thrusting me a handful of baby greens: “these are my favourite, great with a steak,” she says. It’s a blend of mizuna, mustard greens and baby rocket. They are peppery, fresh and exhilarating, crisp and loaded with juice. None of that limp and flaccid nonsense you get in gas-flushed bags from the supermarket.
The garden was one of the first to be awarded with Hua Parakore status – the Maori standard for growing organic, pure food, honouring tikanga Maori and identifying whakapapa pathways that, among others, lead to traceability and authenticity.
A small truck arrives with four children in the back holding huge buckets of compost and a barrel of vermacast (worm manure).
They are here to build, prepare and plant their own raised vege beds. Excited at the afternoon’s work they discuss which are their favourite veges, and who is going to plant what.
Not a PlayStation in sight.
Plans are afoot for a community learning centre. A local building has been donated and some funds secured to erect it but they need finance or sponsorship for a concrete slab to sit it on.
Easy enough, most of us would think, but when the government cut Work and Income subsidies their work force was reduced to volunteers, those serving community service and prison department inmates.
They could not afford to pay the increase their Work and Income workers needed and many people lost out.
“It was such a shame,” says Kaiwaka. “These people needed to do what they were doing here. They were learning about the land, regaining their mana and feeding their families with pure food. We want to create a learning facility here that not only teaches people about organics and tikanga, but also empowers whanau to live healthily from and on their land. Reducing living costs, living sustainably and focusing on self- reliance. We call it `Pu Taiao’ – natural sciences”.
As we wander around the garden I feel uplifted by the energy of this special place. When I begin to write my stories each week I base the article on the first verb that comes into my head when I arrive at that garden. When we came upon Kaiwhenua Organics, all I could hear was “integrity”. There is an indescribable honesty about this land. Kaiwaka Riki and Lyn Lovini are dedicated guardians, kaitiaki with a sense of humility and gratefulness.
I have had the pleasure of visiting many gardens that have been rehabilitated by their guardians. This one is different. It provides pure and healthy kai, shelter and opportunity to reconnect spiritually with the land, its whanau and community, rehabilitating its people.
“Pakeha or Maori, we are all cousins, all connected like a fishing net below the soil. The gardens that we grow naturally today will be the wellbeing of our earth,” Kaiwaka sums up for me. His father was a kaumatua here, I believe Kaiwaka is, too. His place is here, on this land.
Kaiwhenua Organics, Whaanga Road, Raglan. Tel: 07 825 0250
This panui was passed on to TangataWhenua.com and offers an excellent opportunity to not only be profiled but to serve as an inspiration to those seeking to push the boundaries and develop successful Maori businesses themselves.
To all Maori business leaders: Tell your exciting story of journey and achievement in the new Te Rau Huia – Pakihi Maaori case book series, printing mid 2012. We look for 4-8 page engaging experiences how your Maori-led business achieved and excelled. Sample cases and easy-to-follow ‘how to write’ instructions available. Don’t be left out when Maori businesses tell NZ and the world about their accomplishments!
Authors include Jens Mueller, Associate Professor at Waikato Management School, Bentham Ohia is CEO of Te Wananga o Aotearoa, Tama Potaka is General Manager Corporate Services at Tainui Group Holdings and Hana Grant is Service Development Manager at Poutiri Trust.
If you have friends who this would be relevant to, you may like to forward this link on to them and make sure they don’t miss this opportunity.
Anyone interested in submitting can contact Jens Mueller at muellerj@waikato.ac.nz, and if you require a sample case one can be emailed to you.
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