Posts Tagged ‘Maori’

State of the Nation – some successes but escalating challenges too

Thursday, February 15th, 2024
State of the Nation

In the midst of the country’s escalating cost-of-living crisis, the Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2024 report spotlights the growing socio-economic challenges confronting New Zealanders. The report, Ngā Tukunga Iho – The Things We Inherit, offers an annual assessment of the country’s social progress – this year especially – children and youth housing crime Read more

Vaccines saved thousands of lives during Omicorn

Monday, February 12th, 2024

A recent study highlighted the significant impact of Covid-19 vaccines in New Zealand, notably reducing deaths and hospitalisations during the Omicron phase. Published in Vaccine, the research estimates vaccines averted 4,000 to 12,000 deaths and 34,000 to 56,000 hospitalisations within 18 months from January 2022. However, among the highlighted outcomes were the disparities in health Read more

Māori atheism on the rise: the legacy of colonisation is driving a decline in traditional Christian beliefs

Monday, December 4th, 2023

Religious beliefs among Māori have shifted significantly over the past two decades. The number of Māori identifying as having “no religion” in the census between 2006 and 2018 increased from 36.5% to 53.5%. Māori affiliation with Christianity has fallen from 46.2% to 29.9%. Are Māori simply rejecting Christianity? Or are they rejecting all supernatural phenomena, Read more

We will mobilise against ‘racist’ policies of incoming Government

Thursday, November 30th, 2023
racist policies

It has taken just over a month for this new coalition Government to render Māori an almost nullity. The last time that occurred was in 1877 when the then Chief Justice James Prendergast proclaimed the Treaty was “worthless” because it had been signed “between a civilised nation and a group of savages” who were incapable Read more

Modern Jesus mural defaced – “pretty stink”

Monday, October 2nd, 2023
Jesus mural

“Pretty stink” is how artist Aora Novak described an attack on a Dunedin Māori Jesus mural. The mural had been fully covered in white paint. The artwork veered away from traditional iconography and aimed to represent a more modern and inclusive image of Jesus Christ. Novak of Ngai Te Rangi and Ngati Kahungunu descent guided Read more

Māori landowners head to UN in bid to stop ETS changes

Monday, July 17th, 2023

Māori landowners are flying to the United Nations in a last-ditch effort to stop changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme. The scheme forces polluters to offset their emissions by buying carbon credits. Planting trees creates those credits, which can then be traded. It’s led to the creation of an industry of carbon farming which many Read more

A growing number of non-Māori New Zealanders are embracing learning te reo – but there’s more to it than language

Thursday, February 16th, 2023
Waitangi Day

Waitangi Day again raises the question about what Te Tiriti o Waitangi means. As the late Moana Jackson commented, the meaning of Te Tiriti will be talked about in each generation because it is about a relationship between Māori and Pākehā and relationships must always be worked on. Here, we focus on the learning of Read more

Unintended mistakes ensured parallel Māori and European churches

Thursday, December 8th, 2022
devotion to mary

The Catholic Church throughout New Zealand made serious mistakes in its approach to Māori, and using te reo during Eucharist helps us become more inclusive even in our daily lives. The comments about parish sacramental celebrations come from Palmerston North’s Bishop emeritus, Peter Cullinane, in an article published in Tui Motu. Citing examples of the Read more

Pharmac says it will strengthen its focus on equity for Maori after June review

Thursday, September 8th, 2022

Pharmac says it will strengthen its focus on equity for Maori and other population groups as a result of the government’s independent review. That review, released back in June, found Pharmac had issues on accountability, decision-making and responsibilities. It also said the benefits the model brings need to be shared more equitably across Maori and Read more

Record low Māori unemployment something to celebrate

Monday, August 8th, 2022

Last week’s labour market data showed the Māori unemployment rate at the lowest it has been since modern records began in 1986. That’s got to be a good thing. Economic commentators – myself included – can sound a bit clinical when we talk about the risk a tight labour market poses to the economy. It Read more