posted 10 April 2003 11:39 AM         

The cover story in the latest issue of Mana magazine has prompted debate over the role and relevance these days of the Kingitanga.
The story not only includes a rare interview with Te Arikinui, Te Atairangikahu, who succeeded her father, King Koroki, as the leader of the Kingitanga, but it also traces the beginnings of the movement and its history from Te Wherowhero, Tawhiao, Mahuta, Te Rata to Koroki and now his daughter.
One significant element in the story is that the Kingitanga has always had a pan-tribal role, even though there's often the perception that it's really just a Waikato operation.
And there's concern among Waikato elders that there's too little appreciation of the whakapapa of the Kingitanga among other tribes, and even among the younger generation of the Waikato people.

Penalty

There has been sharp response from the Maori caucus of the Public Health Association to the proposal that there should be a higher penalty docked from a single mum's DPB, if she doesn't declare the name of the father of her child.
Kathrine Clarke, the spokesperson of the PHA's Maori caucus, says they'll be pushing for the Government to take another look at the proposal because they can't see any value in penalising families already struggling in difficult circumstances.
And she argues that the burden will be borne by a high proportion of Maori families.
Kathrine says it's obvious that the Minister of Social Services, Steve Maharey, hasn't considered the impact on the kids.

Robert Sullivan

An Auckland librarian and poet, RobertSullivan, has, along with an illustrator Gavin Bishop, won the New Zealand Post Children's Book of the Year award. The award is for a retelling of Maori myths and legends in a book called Weaving the Earth and Sky.
Robert says that, although he's made a detour from poetry, it's not a major departure because he's told the stories "in poetic fashion."
He says that poetic style is something that's developed naturally from the poetry of tupuna - poetry in their whakatauki, their moteatea and their waiata.

Boxing