3 x ARTICLES - $100 Million / Ardern, Bridges

[Kiwi Frontline]

PRIME MINISTER JACINDA ARDERN ANNOUNCES $100M REGIONAL EMPLOYMENT SCHEME TO FOCUS ON MĀORI, PASIFIKA PEOPLE

The Government is ploughing more than $100 million into regional employment, focused on Māori and Pasifika people, in another series of announcements made in the lead-up to Waitangi Day.

The lion's share of the funding, $60m, will go to five of the so-called "surge regions" which require extra help. They are Northland, Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti, Hawke's Bay and Manawatū-Whanganui.

"We will be investing in two specific programmes that support Māori and Pasifika – He Poutama Rangatahi [$13.2m] and the expansion of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples' successful Pacific Employment Support Service [$8.8m]," Ardern said.

Today's announcements come on top of $127m announced yesterday by Ardern and her ministers - up to $100m from the PGF for capital funding for Māori landowners to develop their land, and another $27m for the Kaipara region, mainly for transport infrastructure......

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12200506

[Kiwi Frontline]

ARDERN’S WAITANGI SEQUEL A TEST OF RELATIONSHIP

National’s newly-minted Māori-Crown relations spokesman Nick Smith believes the Government faces a similar challenge from Māori as it does overall after a year “typified by a large amount of promise but very little progress”.

“On many of the issues, whether they’ve been treaty settlements or challenging issues like water, there hasn’t been any real progress. The expectation, which I also heard at Ratana, was, ‘We’ve given you the benefit of the doubt for year one, but for year two the Government’s going to have to start delivering’.”

Matthew Tukaki, chairman of the National Māori Authority, agrees there will be plenty of expectation from Māori for the Government to deliver on its many promises.

As Tukaki says: “Māori are the eternal optimists: we’ve been optimists since the Treaty was signed all those years ago.”....

www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/02/03/424858/arderns-waitangi-sequel-a-test-of-relationship

[Kiwi Frontline]

NATIONAL LEADER SIMON BRIDGES URGES RMA REFORM OVER $100M FOR MĀORI LAND OWNERSHIP

The government is making the same mistake with Māori land ownership as it did with KiwiBuild, National party leader Simon Bridges says.

"The one thing that is required is Te Ture Whenua Māori land reform. That's what's got to happen because the complex legal intricacies of multiple owners mean it's always going to be incredibly difficult to do this unless you get that law reform. It's not a question of the financing."

Mr Bridges said he would not be going along to listen to what Don Brash says at Waitangi but supported his right to say what he wants to say.

"I think it's a good thing that he gets the chance to go up there and say his piece."
When asked what he made of Mr Brash's Orewa speech and the idea that Māori get special privileges Mr Bridges said that in simple terms he entirely agreed things shouldn't be done on the basis of race.

"But we should be doing things on the basis of need ... that means things like whānau ora, like partnership schools, like Te Ture Whenua Māori land reform that disproportionally affect and will benefit Māoridom are right.

"In that regard I think what Don's saying just isn't nuanced enough for the modern world that we live in."

However Mr Bridges said New Zealand should get rid off Māori seats.......

www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/381655/national-leader-simon-bridges-urges-rma-reform-over-100m-for-maori-land-ownership