Māori News Stories for the Week Ending 6 March 2015 (edition 6/2015)
- Last week the Government announced the establishment of a Flag Consideration Panel. This panel will “engage with the public” on matters relating to a referendum on the New Zealand’s flag.[1] There are twelve members, two of whom identify as Māori;
Hana O’Regan (Ngāi Tahu); and
Malcom Mulholland (Ngāti Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa). - This week Ngāi Tahu is hosting the Te Matatini festival in Christchurch. Circa 50,000 people are expected to attend.
- On Tuesday the Minister for Youth, Nikki Kaye, announced funding grants totalling $905,000 for youth enterprise initiatives. Eight organisations will receive funding to deliver business enterprise programmes – although most of the funding (circa $600,000) has been awarded to The Young Enterprise Trust. Of the eight successful proposals one, from Victoria Link Ltd, has a specific focus on building business acumen amongst Māori (and Pasifika) students. Victoria Link will receive $80,000 for that programme.
- Yesterday a ceremony was held to mark the return of a 740 hectare forestry lease from the Crown to Parengarenga A Incorporation, in the Far North. The land had been leased to the Crown in 1966, for 99 years, but in 1999 the Incorporation was able to negotiate that the lease be concluded after a single forestry harvest. (This harvesting has now occurred, which allows the Māori owners the opportunity to directly manage the next plantation cycle.)
- On Tuesday the Privy Council quashed the conviction of Teina Pora for the 1992 rape and murder of Susan Burdett. The Law Lords found that the effects of Pora’s fetal alcohol disorder meant reliance on his confessions gave rise to the risk of a miscarriage of justice. They have allowed four weeks for submissions to be made as to whether there should be a third trial for Mr Pora.
[By way of background, Mr Pora was found guilty of Ms Burdett’s rape and murder in 1994, on the basis of his confessions to the crimes. However in 1996 scientific (DNA) evidence linked Malcolm Rewa to the rape of Ms Burdett. In 1998 Mr Rewa, already a convicted serial rapist, was then found guilty of Ms Burdett’s rape, but not her murder (there was a hung jury on that charge). Following this Mr Pora’s case was then reheard, however in 2000 he was again found guilty of the rape and murder of Ms Burdett. This ultimately led to the successful appeal to the Privy Council, which centred on both the reliability of Mr Pora’s confessions – given at age 17 after alleged duress from police officers – and on the fact that another person had already been convicted of the rape. Mr Pora had been imprisoned for twenty years for these crimes.]