Aotearoa In the final tally, Labour won a clear 50% of seats (i.e.60 of the 120). National lost a further two seats so now has only 33 on the final tally. As we hoped, the Maori Party now has two MPs, Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer (one electorate seat and one list MP). […]
Elections 2020 in Aotearoa
October 19, 2020 by 1 Comment
Sunday 18 October – the day after our elections How lucky we are to live in a country where a warm, eloquent and truthful woman Prime Minister has been able to hold our nation together during the difficult times of the last three years. We hoped that Jacinda Ardern and the Labour-led […]
1.Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori: The Māori Language Moment
September 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
This month’s most creative event in Aotearoa was undoubtedly Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori: This year,Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori , the Māori Language Commission, decided to celebrate Māori language Week in a new way because of Covid-imposed limitations. Their goal was to encourage one million New Zealanders to sign up to […]
3. Keeping in touch..
September 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Over the last few years we two have developed some favourite activities to help us understand our changing country: an hour or two each morning listening to Dale Husband on Radio Waatea (603 AM)- his news and interviews from 7.15am onwards include a wide range of Māori contributors. Dale is always thoughtful, courteous and informative, […]
5. Reflections on Institutional Racism
September 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
While we celebrate the progress being made in reclaiming te reo Māori, and the many exciting Māori projects which are enriching us all, we are also deeply concerned about the depth of institutional racism which undermines justice and equality in Aotearoa. The most recent public challenge to institutional racism has come from senior and […]
Lockdown/Rahui again…
August 19, 2020 by 1 Comment
We’re in Level 3 for 12 days because of a new cluster of Coronavirus cases detected in Auckland City, and since a few cases in Tokoroa and Rotorua. The whole country has been put into Level 2: https://covid19.govt.nz/covid-19/alert-system/alert-level-2 Here in Auckland, we feel for the smaller shops and cafes that can’t afford to become delivery […]
De-Carbonise Auckland by 2030!!
August 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
( please consider signing the open letter on their website) On Monday 10 August We went to an excellent meeting at The Grid in downtown Auckland, organised by Bike Auckland and Generation Zero and chaired by Lucy Lawless. The purpose of the meeting was to publicise the campaign, “The Race to Decarbonise Auckland Transport”: https://www.generationzero.org/decarbonise_transport_2030?mc_cid=58df924e64&mc_eid=264f2bbd2d […]
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