Associate Minister of Education Dr Pita Sharples says he is excited by recommendations from the Maori Youth Council relating to professional development of teachers, because they align with his own views and work he has been doing.

“I have been developing a programme called ‘Tataiako’ for nearly two years now, of cultural competencies for teachers of Maori learners, and I am hoping to make an announcement quite soon,” said Dr Sharples.

Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples says the Maori Youth Council’s report and recommendations is a refreshing mix of big ideas and practical solutions.

“I asked the Maori Youth Council to tell me what they think about how the government’s policies and programmes work for young people. They have put in countless hours, and had four meetings together, to produce this report,” said Dr Sharples.

“They have focused on four policy areas: youth justice, Maori education, youth development and representation of Maori youth,” he said.

The Minister of Maori Affairs, Dr Pita Sharples, says the Queen’s Birthday Honours list this year reflects the value that the nation places on Maori language as a taonga for all New Zealanders.

“The honour bestowed on Dame Katerina Te Heikoko Mataira is a tribute to over forty years of leadership and scholarship in the Maori language revival movement. As a teacher, writer, poet and artist, Dame Katerina has inspired generations of students and shown them the inherent beauty and richness of te reo Maori,” said Dr Sharples.

Jamie Tuuta will be appointed as the new Māori Trustee, the Minister of Māori Affairs, Hon Dr Pita Sharples announced today.

The appointment will be for a five year term starting on 19 August 2011.

“Jamie Tuuta is an outstanding example of a new generation of Māori leaders.  I am delighted to be able to appoint him as Māori Trustee”, says Dr Sharples.

“I am confident that Jamie Tuuta will ensure that the Māori Trustee plays a key role in the growing Māori economy.”

The mandate of Nga Pu Waea, the Maori working group on rural broadband, is to be extended to include the UFB network, the Government announced today.

Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples and Minister for Communications and InformationTechnology Steven Joyce made the announcement, together with a name change to the National Maori Broadband Working Group, as the outcome of the UFB tender was announced.

Budget 2011 will ensure the Government maintains momentum with its Māori Affairs programmes, which are delivering encouraging results, Māori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples says.

“Within existing baselines, we have found $2 million to support Māori engagement with the constitutional review and $2 million to continue community-driven language revitalisation projects,” Dr Sharples says.

Budget 2011 will provide significant capital and operational funding to strengthen delivery of school and community-based Māori language initiatives, Associate Education Minister Pita Sharples says.

It will also help teachers to engage better with Māori students, improve literacy teaching, and support Kura Kaupapa Māori.

Budget 2011 provides new funding for Māori education:

The Government has agreed to a forward work programme on water reform that will involve the Land and Water Forum, iwi and ongoing analysis by officials, Environment Minister Nick Smith, Agriculture Minister David Carter and Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples say.

It is time for New Zealand to break the cycle of sexual violence that sees some women suffering multiple revictimisation says the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Hekia Parata.

This week (May 2-6) is Rape Awareness Week, which aims to raise awareness of the terrible human and economic costs of sexual violence.

“New Zealanders need to wake up to the fact that sexual violence is shamefully common in New Zealand, and that the impacts – and often the abuse – frequently continue throughout people’s lives.

Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples praised the work of the Maori Economic Taskforce today, at a Maori Economic Summit where the results of the Taskforce’s work were reported back to the people.

Speaking to around 200 Maori business and community leaders, Dr Sharples said that, in his first year in office, the country faced a global economic crisis.

“I was worried. History taught us that Māori were devastated during the Great Depression of the 1930s and suffered terrible outcomes during the recession of the 1980s-90s,” he said.

Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Steven Joyce today announced the establishment of a Maori Working Group to help steer the rollout of the government's Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI).

A high-impact Maori cultural promotion of New Zealand is being planned for Auckland’s waterfront during the Rugby World Cup.

The programme will be hosted in a waka-shaped pavilion close to Queen’s Wharf. The pavilion will be demountable for use at other events after the World Cup has finished.

The project is a joint venture between Ngati Whatua and the Government, with support from the Auckland City Council. It will be integrated with, and complement, other RWC activities in downtown Auckland.

Two reports to guide the Government’s work in unlocking the potential of Maori agribusiness have been released by Agriculture Minister David Carter and Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples.

“The Government has identified Maori agribusiness as a key priority and these reports support our work in targeting opportunities to lift the productivity of Maori land and agribusiness,” says Mr Carter.

The Minister of Maori Affairs, Hon Dr Pita Sharples says the Government has welcomed the Maori Affairs Committee’s report on its inquiry into the Maori Community Development Act. 

“The Committee highlights the importance of engaging with Maori communities on issues relating to both the Maori Wardens and the New Zealand Maori Council,” Dr Sharples said. 

Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples is today visiting the Maori earthquake response command centre which has been established at Wigram.

“Both Te Puni Kokiri and Ngai Tahu offices in Christchurch were damaged in the earthquake, so we have moved in together with He Oranga Pounamu, the Christchurch Whanau Ora Provider, and the Maori Wardens in Christchurch, to Ngai Tahu’s facilities at Wigram,” said Dr Sharples.

Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples says today’s Human Rights Commission report on Treaty issues and race relations in 2010 is a great reminder of how much was achieved in just the last twelve months.

The ceremonial start to construction of a new rehabilitation unit at Hawkes Bay Prison marks a philosphical shift in corrections policy and practice, according to Associate Corrections Minister Dr Pita Sharples.

Unlike most prisons, which are built to keep people apart, Dr Sharples said the new Whare Oranga Ake is based on Maori philosophies, and marks a new beginning.

“In Maori tradition, building a house is about building family and community.” he said.

E hū rā Whakaari, e tau te kohu o te pōuri ki runga i ō iwi, mai i Tikirau ki ngā Kurī a Whārei, e tangi ana ki a Roka Paora e tīraha ana ki Te Kaha nui a Tiki.

E Te Whānau a Apanui, kua roa te kuia nei e kōrero ana mō koutou,

mai i tōna akoranga i ngā kōrero a Hoani Waititi mō Tamahae rāua ko Rewi, ki āna pukapuka ako i ngā kōrero paki o e wā kāinga, tae noa ki tōna whakapapa i ō koutou tīpuna ki te pukapuka ipurangi ki Te Ara.

Ināianei, mā koutou e kōrero mōna e takoto nei,

mō tōna kaingākau ki te reo o ōna tīpuna,