Tena tatou katoa.
It is only right I begin by acknowledging the recent passing of Maureen Waaka. There have been so many wonderful acknowledgments of her that I struggle to find the appropriate words. She was a staunch advocate for our people in the areas of health and anti-gambling as well as a local councillor and in many other aspects. I have been buoyed by her support of me as a politician and, further, the support she has lent to my efforts to reducing problem gambling.
It humbled me to know that even in her most delicate state, she was still encouraging me and pushing me along in the right direction. She will be sorely missed by the community she served so well. Haere atu ra e Te Rangi Rere i Waho, moe mai, moe mai.
I was pleased to help out backstage at the Te Arawa Secondary Kapa Haka competitions last week. Every year, the standard just gets better. It's such a buzz to listen to the rangatahi give their whaikorero and some of the choreography and singing - these kids could compete in the senior regional competition. Being backstage, you don't get to see the full effect of some of the items but it was exciting to see and hear the potential of our future leaders. Congratulations to the winners, all the participants, their tutors and the organisers, they all did a fantastic job.
Last week was Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori and it was awesome to read a story online about local whanau who have chosen to speak and raise their tamaiti only in te reo Maori. This is not something new, but it is a decision that takes some consideration and thought. I was not impressed when I read some people out there having a go at this whanau and, worse, suggesting they were "damaging" their tamaiti by raising her in this way. What exactly is damaging about raising a child in their indigenous language? It makes me wonder if everyone realises there are actually many whanau who raise their tamariki this way and, for the most part, they turn out to be quite successful contributors to society. In fact, just a few weeks ago, the Minister of Education released some wonderful results which demonstrate that Maori students in kura kaupapa or wharekura are doing far better than Maori students in English-medium classrooms from Years 11-13. Maori students in Maori medium are performing at the same rate as non-Maori students in English medium learning in NCEA levels 1 and 2 (literacy and numeracy).
