It’s a crisp Tuesday morning in central Ōtautahi and about 100 people of all ages are crawling all over Tākaro ā Poi A little boy in a “Team Spidey” T-shirt channels his hero as he clings to lobster-shaped climbing holds for dear life A gaggle of excited cruise ship tourists snap pictures of the giant orange petal-shaped sunshades while a bashful dad ends his flying fox journey at a glacial pace perfectly soundtracked by a high school cheer squad practicing on a patch of grass nearby The $20 million post-quake playground will be turning a decade old later this year, with celebrations kicking off with a tour at the Open Christchurch architecture festival this weekend Boasting a four metre wide slide and a 10 metre high climbing tower the playground’s sprawling one hectare city block site makes it the largest in the Southern Hemisphere “It’s really the jewel in the crown,” says Matthew Tidball as we look out over a rubber mat rendering of the Canterbury Plains “It brought laughter back into the city at a really hard time.”  the playground still elicits tremendous excitement in local kids “I like the spider nets that you can climb on and the giant metal slide that goes ‘WOOSH’,” said one breathless seven-year-old and even grown-up kids admitted to having a hoon “After a night in town there is no better way to wind down than doing a very slow climb up the ropes to the top of the big slide,” said one fan in their 30s “You also get a lovely view of the twinkly cityscape.”  Catherine Hamilton was the lead designer of Tākaro ā Poi and says the project arrived at both a pivotal time for the city and a transitional phase for playground design in Aotearoa stock standard off-the-shelf stuff,” she explains “All the potential risks had been designed out of them.” But in the 2010s she says the thinking and legislation around play was starting to shift from risk aversion to risk management “That opened up a whole lot of opportunities for doing things that were a lot more exciting and challenging.”  Early on in the design process it was established that the playground would contain character zones based on the Canterbury landscape from the giant artificial mound that represents the Port Hills to a sand play area that represents the coast “It was about how the park itself weaves back into the fabric of the city,” she says we also thought about these land forms and gradients in relation to universal play which means that people who are able-bodied and people who have disabilities can all enjoy the space together.” The thrills and spills – officially called “managed risk” – came in elements such as the bouncy rubber matting to cushion falls and an imposing 10 metre tall climbing system Hamilton assures that it was very carefully and safely designed “It means that kids can challenge themselves and get to that impressive height to conquer their fears but they can never fall more than a metre before they’re caught by the rope system,” she explains I actually think we could have gone higher.”  another essential inspiration for the playground is its namesake beloved Cantabrian children’s author Margaret Mahy After a community competition to design Christchurch’s dream playground Selwyn House School won with their vision for the “Margaret Mahy Amazing Playground” – the original plans of which included a real meadow and real lions “What we did from there was to draw inspiration from Margaret Mahy and her way of seeing the world,” says Hamilton “We watched a lot of her interviews about the power of imagination in particular.”  Hamilton was struck by one interview where Mahy explained why she never described a certain character’s face because she wanted to leave space for imagination in the reader we developed the idea for the 130 metre long story arc through the middle of the park.” Inscribed with some of Mahy’s beloved stories including ‘The Man Whose Mother Was A Pirate’ the arc also includes words from Christchurch author Elsie Locke who formerly had a park on the site in her honour as well as the symbols and stories of local iwi Ngāi Tahu “Cities shouldn’t be built around buildings and enterprises, but built around people.”  A complaint must be first directed in writing the complaint may be referred to the online complaint form at www.presscouncil.org.nz along with a link to the relevant story and all correspondence with the publication Step back in time and experience the joy of heritage games and Nga Taonga tākaro Join our play champions for a hands-on sessions featuring a selection of fun games that have been played throughout the generations Try your hand at a variety of activities and discover the history behind some well-loved favourites Pick up your Play Quiz card when you arrive answer the questions for each game station and go in the draw to win some cool prizes FREE fun for all ages - from grandchildren to grandparents A selection of Play Down Memory Lane games will also be available on a drop-in basis throughout March at Te Manawa Rotary Club of Papaioea Past District Governor Lindsay Knowles presents Helena Baker with the Paul Harris Community Award A former Palmerston North primary school principal has received an award in recognition for work in education and the community was presented with a Paul Harris Community Award by Rotary Club of Papaioea at a ceremony last week Rotary Club members were joined by Te Kura o Takaro School senior staff and school board members at the presentation of the award given in recognition of her 22 years working at the school Rotary club secretary David Hillary said in that time Rotary had a close association with the school He described Baker as “the consummate educator” He said the school was in a lower socio-economic area of Palmerston North and Baker had made a real difference to many lives with her positive approach Baker had recently left the school and taken a position as Māori strategic adviser with the Ministry of Education in Palmerston North Hillary said the Paul Harris award was the highest form of recognition a Rotary Club can bestow It was presented to a Rotarian or a member of the community who has made an outstanding contribution to the community “The Paul Harris recipient goes above and beyond in serving our community through promoting change and understanding,” he said The Rotary Foundation is a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian Hillary said it was supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the foundation who “share its vision of a better world” Andy Stewart pushed on with his motorbike trek despite his growing pain The formal opening of the completed reserve was led by mana whenua elder Glen Wilcox and has been followed by an open day gala for the local community. “We look forward to welcoming the community, in particular the tamariki, to enjoy this long-awaited space of recreation and taiao (environment) upon this historic whenua of the Kaipara,” said Tamaki Mercer, chairperson of Te Poari o Kaipātiki ki Kaipara, the co-governance entity that oversees Kaipātiki. The redevelopment, begun in late January 2023, includes a new playground with māra hūpara (traditional Māori play elements), basketball court and multiple covered BBQ areas with seating. The works also include two rentable holiday cabins and five self-contained campervan sites available for temporary stays. Prominent artist and designer Bernard Makoare (Te Uri o Hau, Ngāti Whātua, Te Waiariki, Te Kai Tutae, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu) guided the design work, which seeks to appreciate the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara people, lands, waters, heritage and ancestry. Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara have long connections with the geothermal springs located on the reserve, with the mineral springs recognised for their rongoā or natural healing qualities. The Crown formally returned the reserve jointly to Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara with Auckland Council in 2013 under a Tiriti o Waitangi settlement after acquiring the land in July 1878. Since the establishment of the co-governance arrangement, the original name of Kaipātiki has been restored to the whenua. We are aware that some customers are having issues making payments online This is due to Visa and Mastercard now enforcing two-factor authentication on all payments in order to increase security If you are having issues making an online payment it has been developed into a modern playground which also reflects the area’s unique cultural heritage The park was established in the 1990s and originally named after Mrs Ila Harris (1922-2019) who lived and worked in the community A collaboration with local hapū Ngāi Te Ahi Ngāti Hē and Ngāti Ruahine who worked with Council on cultural design features who had their say on which playground features to include resulted in an upgrade and dual naming of the park in 2023 Check out the video below of the pōhiri and celebration held to celebrate the re-opening of the park This area was once a thriving wetland sustaining the whānau o Ngāi Te Ahi the land was taken under raupatu (confiscation) It was returned but divided into shares which made it possible for the land to be sold by some owners The wetlands were subject to drainage projects and portions were taken for the highway (SH29) in 1967 and construction of the Maungatapu Underpass which opened on 22 June 2018 Te Papa Tākaro o Tongaparaoa | Ila Park today includes ownership by Capt George Morris and Sidney Oswald Guinness of Guinness Brothers The eastern portion of the park was purchased in 1967 by Russell Benneth Harris for grazing his horses and this period of ownership is where the names Ila Park and Harrisfield Drive originate The Tongaparaoa wetland is sustained by the Waimapu Stream Known as the ‘tears of Mauao,’ the stream flows down from the hills into the Waimapu Estuary and then into Te Awanui The toka (boulders) placed at the entrance to the park represent where Mauao once stood before his long journey to the harbour gouged out the channel known today as the Waimapu Stream The toka acknowledges mana whenua and serves to reconnect people to this whenua (land) awa (stream) and the surrounding moana (ocean) Mana whenua have nominated the species matuku and tuna as kaitiaki (guardians) to guide the restoration of the Tongaparaoa wetland This has included revegetation using plants from Te Akakura Native Nursery on Matakana Island in order to preserve the whakapapa of local species removal of invasive species and non-native plantings and predator control The restoration of the Tongaparaoa wetland from 2019-2024 will see the area once again thrive with native flora and fauna so our current and future generations can learn to connect with and care for this important habitat “Really well laid out with lots of shady spots.” “It’s really fun and it is a really cool park.” Was this information helpful? Tauranga City Council, Private Bag 12022, Tauranga, 3143, New Zealand |Terms of use|Privacy statement|Site map Dean Gilshnan and Jason Pearson from Takaro Bowls Club in Palmerston North won the 2024 Laser Eye Centre Champs of Champs Men’s Triples over the weekend Three Manawatū bowls players have won a national title The 2024 Laser Eye Centre Champs of Champs Men’s Triples took place in Auckland from August 2-4 and was won by Tim Hook Dean Gilshnan and Jason Pearson from Takaro Bowls Club in Palmerston North The three players were up against the top teams from across New Zealand In their first game they lost against Paddy Stewart David File and Steve Goldsbury from Te Karaka in Gisborne Phil Huwyler and Kevan Sellers from Paritutu in Taranaki and John Carruthers from Maungaturoto in Northland Brendon Kelly and Peter Blucher from Te Atatū in Auckland Val Mathews and Adele French won the women’s triples event Linda Jeffries and Jocelyn Holten from Hinuera in Waikato Jackie Moeahu from Paritutu in Taranaki and Anne Lomas Joanne Milich and Christine Stratton from Kaitaia RSA in the Far North There have now been three men charged with murder It’s Play Week (15-21 November) and we’re on a mission to promote wellbeing through play an essential part of childhood development Play Week is a great time to explore and celebrate how Māori have used games and play for generations We’ve teamed up with Wellington-based organisations Nuku Ora and Tū Mātau Ora to explore the benefits of play and the ways in which our tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people) play.  It might surprise you to discover that you may have already played some traditional games such as knuckle bones Revitalisation of these traditions is invaluable in a time where play and whānau are so vital to our collective wellbeing.    “Māori have always looked to the past to inform ways to move into the future Pūrākau for example hold a wealth of mātauranga of traditional practices and frameworks that sustained our whānau in times of challenge and prosperity.” - Voices of Māori Play Report as whakapapa - a direct link to tīpuna (ancestors) and Atua (Gods) there is a growing movement to revitalise ngā Taonga Tākaro (Māori games and pastimes) Many Māori are building on this movement by embedding mātauranga Māori in contemporary settings Kia kawea tātou e te tākaro “Let us be taken by the spirit of play” This article was developed in partnership between Wellington City Council All three organisations aim to promote the importance of play engage tamariki in a diverse range of play experiences and opportunities connect whānau to safe places and space to play and enable parents and caregivers to play more To support whānau and tamariki through lockdown Wellington City Council has joined forces with Nuku Ora to share ideas around the importance of play Make the most of a nice day in the capital by visiting the new extension of Mt Vic's Matairangi Nature Trail with the tamariki The newly upgraded Pukehuia Park will officially open this Saturday Service desk locations Napier Boys’ High School was hosting the Super 8 Tākaro Māori tournament, an event that has taken nearly two years to stage. Teacher Pohatu Paku said the event would normalise the use of Māori games in schools. “He kaupapa tēnei kia kitea rawatia ngā āhuatanga o ngā tākaro Māori, kia noho mātāmua ko ēnei o ngā kaupapa i roto tonu i ēnei o ngā momo kura (This is an event to fully discover the elements of Māori sports so that these are among the main topics in these various schools).” The Super 8 schools were eight boys’ high schools from central North Island cities – Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Palmerston North, Gisborne, Napier, Hastings, and New Plymouth whose school couldn’t make the Tākaro Māori tournament. They would compete in 10 sports competitions including rugby, basketball, volleyball, and golf. Now, adding traditional Māori games to the schedule has taken the spirit of competition to a new level with some of the students learning the ropes as they played. “I would say the atmosphere would definitely be quite energetic,” said Napier Boys’ head boy Poutama Watson. “The boys are definitely going to wanna beat each other in the sports but it will also be quite exciting for the first time it’s happening.” Hamilton Boys’ student Moeahu George said it was about making an effort and trying new things. “He uaua i te wā tuatahi, engari kei te pai, me ngana, koirā te mea nui, me ngana (It’s hard at first, but it’s all good, the main thing is giving it a go).” There is more to just playing the games too, said Ihaka Rapira from Palmerston North Boys. “Ko tētahi o ngā painga mōku kia kore e ngaro i ēnei taonga tuku iho otirā ngā pūrākau ki muri i ēnei kēmu (One of the things I like about it is not only to keep these taonga alive, but the stories behind the games too).” Organisers hoped the event would be held annually and the growth of participants continue. Kī-o-rahi is a mixture of attacking and defensive play where scoring is done by each team during phases of ball – or kī – possession by throwing it at the tupu, or post. It’s a fast-running sport played on a circular field that incorporates skills similar to rugby, netball and touch. Horohopu is played using a poi with a long rope. The object of the game is to get the poi into the scoring zone through passing it from player to player. Napier Boys High School hosting eight schools competing in three traditional Māori sports — waka ama, kī-o-rahi and horohopu. (Source: Te Karere) Seven boys’ high schools from central North Island are participating in an inaugural competition that focuses on three traditional Māori sports: kī-o-rahi, horohopu, and waka ama. Super 8 schools participating in inaugural Tākaro Māori competition. (Source: Supplied) Iwi misses out on bid to buy back ancestral mountain The campaign to bring the Kahurānaki back into Māori ownership included a 10-day hīkoi from Māhia to Kahurānaki Te Ao Māori Iwi boss to head new board for Taranaki Maunga Wharehoka Wano will lead Te Tōpuni Ngārahu – a new body of representatives from the region’s eight iwi – to govern the park alongside the conservation minister Puanga to take starring role at this year's Matariki celebrations The theme for this year's Matariki holiday is 'Matariki mā Puanga' highlighting the communities who observe the star Puanga in their astronomical traditions Posthumous Oxford degree for Māori scholar Mākereti Papakura the first indigenous woman to study at the University of Oxford awarded a degree from the institution nearly a hundred years after attending Cancer survivor’s decade-long path to wellness: ‘Rongoā Māori saved me’ Northland educator Tanya Filia was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour that led to a terminal prognosis over 10 years ago Iwi boss accuses MPs of 'scaremongering' with Waitākere Ranges claims Shane Jones and David Seymour need to "learn to read" the chief executive of a West Auckland iwi says after they criticised a proposal by Auckland Council to work more closely with the iwi as "co-governance" NRL: Sharks centre Iro wants to be known by new name 15 mins ago Juliana Herrera's family tell inquest: 'Stop repeating avoidable mistakes' 19 mins ago Arrest after person assaulted, robbed at Palmerston North Hospital 22 mins ago Iwi misses out on bid to buy back ancestral mountain 30 mins ago Trade war: Sir John Key's 'optimism' on Trump's next tariff moves 58 mins ago More than 25kg cocaine seizure leads to four arrests across NZ 12 mins ago 1Sole survivor of poisoned beef Wellington takes the stand US woman who disappeared for more than six decades found safe Two men's shared name brings years of trouble and a hefty bill to one Homicide investigation after man dies in Auckland's Manurewa Govt halts all current pay equity claims, makes it harder to lodge new ones Photos: Lorde among stars at 2025 Met Gala A$AP Rocky and Rihanna also revealed they are expecting their third child. Two arrested over alleged plot targeting Lady Gaga concert in RioBrazilian police said they thwarted an alleged bomb attack planned for Lady Gaga's concert on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Lady Gaga rocks Copacabana Beach with free concert for over 2 million fansSun, May 4 Lorde announces new album name, dateThu, May 1 Kim Kardashian to testify in Paris trial over 2016 armed robberyMon, Apr 28 Chubby Checker, Outkast, Cyndi Lauper join Rock & Roll Hall of FameMon, Apr 28 Kim Kardashian to testify in Paris trial over 2016 armed robberyMon Seven boys’ high schools from central North Island are participating in an inaugural competition that focuses on three traditional Māori sports: kī-o-rahi Napier Boys’ High School was hosting the Super 8 Tākaro Māori tournament an event that has taken nearly two years to stage Teacher Pohatu Paku said the event would normalise the use of Māori games in schools “He kaupapa tēnei kia kitea rawatia ngā āhuatanga o ngā tākaro Māori kia noho mātāmua ko ēnei o ngā kaupapa i roto tonu i ēnei o ngā momo kura (This is an event to fully discover the elements of Māori sports so that these are among the main topics in these various schools).” The Super 8 schools were eight boys’ high schools from central North Island cities – Hamilton and New Plymouth whose school couldn’t make the Tākaro Māori tournament They would compete in 10 sports competitions including rugby adding traditional Māori games to the schedule has taken the spirit of competition to a new level with some of the students learning the ropes as they played “I would say the atmosphere would definitely be quite energetic,” said Napier Boys’ head boy Poutama Watson “The boys are definitely going to wanna beat each other in the sports but it will also be quite exciting for the first time it’s happening.” Hamilton Boys’ student Moeahu George said it was about making an effort and trying new things There is more to just playing the games too said Ihaka Rapira from Palmerston North Boys “Ko tētahi o ngā painga mōku kia kore e ngaro i ēnei taonga tuku iho otirā ngā pūrākau ki muri i ēnei kēmu (One of the things I like about it is not only to keep these taonga alive Organisers hoped the event would be held annually and the growth of participants continue Kī-o-rahi is a mixture of attacking and defensive play where scoring is done by each team during phases of ball – or kī – possession by throwing it at the tupu It’s a fast-running sport played on a circular field that incorporates skills similar to rugby Horohopu is played using a poi with a long rope The object of the game is to get the poi into the scoring zone through passing it from player to player Hawke's Bay iwi Ngāti Kahungunu has been unsuccessful in its bid to buy back the mountain Kahurānaki but the iwi says its connection to the land will always remain Kahurānaki Station - a 1156 hectare sheep and beef farm south of Havelock North which includes the peak of the mountain - came up for sale earlier this year and the iwi launched a fundraising campaign to buy it The campaign to bring the Kahurānaki back into Māori ownership was called He Maunga Ka Taea and included a 10-day hīkoi from Māhia to Kahurānaki It raised more than $95,000 on crowd funding platform koha.kiwi Hastings-based post-settlement governance entity Tamatea Pōkai Whenua Trust submitted a tender on behalf of the iwi Chairman Pōhatu Paku said the trust was the only local entity to tender for the Station and they were saddened and disappointed by the outcome The trust had approached the tender on the basis it was presented Paku acknowledged the young and emerging iwi members who had generated the groundswell of support for the tender and for the longer term status of the mountain ki tēnā o tātau e titikaha nei ki tēnei kaupapa I just want to acknowledge and mihi to everybody that has connected with this kaupapa Paku said the trust would be engaging with the station's new owners at an appropriate time to convey the iwi's history and also set out their aspirations "The continuation of the protection of our wāhi tapu (sacred sites) is significantly important to us Continued access to the mountain would also be a high priority "The previous owners were quite open for Kura for people running kaupapa and also those that wished to ascend the maunga they allowed that they identified that it was culturally significant to us all." Paku said Tamatea Pōkai Whenua will need to foster the groundswell of support and leadership that the He Maunga Ka Taea campaign had generated "The whakapapa connections and taonga that is Kahurānaki maunga remain our greatest advantage is that we live in perpetuity and our maunga and our tīpuna live with us and they continue to be ours "And like all of our tūtohu whenua (landmarks) our maunga carries our traditions and our identity and our histories and we remain uncompromising to act in the best interests of our tūtohu whenua both for this generation and for future generations." Paku said the trust may look at legal personhood as another avenue to protect the mountain but ultimately he said the maunga remains an ancestor and retains its own mana which no one can ever own rnz.co.nz A trail-blazing tribal leader today starts a new job bringing together eight iwi to look after Taranaki Maunga Iwi now have equal say with the Crown in running the former Egmont National Park The Minister of Conservation will need iwi agreement to approve management plans for what is now called Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki The arrangement is laid out in Te Ture Whakatupua mō te Kāhui Maunga, the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Act passed unanimously by Parliament in January Another group called Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi – half appointed by iwi and half by the Crown – will develop management plans for Te Tōpuni Ngārahu and the minister to consider Wano has for nine years been the first chief executive of Te Kāhui o Taranaki the agency set up when Taranaki iwi settled its historical Treaty claims Wano has helped shape Taranaki iwi’s future and he’s also a trustee for the neighbouring iwi’s post-settlement agency Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa. He’s one of the dozen counsellors on the Kīngitanga’s Tekau-mā-rua the advisory body for Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po – as he was for her father the late Kīngi Tūheitia At Wano’s farewell from Te Kāhui o Taranaki veteran campaigner Peter Moeahu said Wano was “an ambassador a diplomat extraordinaire,” and reckoned he would need those skills “You might have thought handling one iwi was bad enough referring to South Taranaki’s Te Pakakohi and Tangahoe which are not recognised as iwi by the Crown Te Kāhui o Taranaki chair Jacqui King said Wano had dealt with arms of the Crown on many fronts really challenging because often you get so impassioned by the unjust behaviours and practices “You have to carry that in such a way that you can't be asked to leave - and Whare is an absolute expert at ensuring he says what needs to be said without being offensive.” Te Kāhui’s operations manager Mark Wipatene said he’d known many aggressive cut-throat chief executives – “silverback gorillas who have massive egos” “They wouldn’t last a day in this space because you can’t operate that way.” “Whare has the ability to navigate through that world and bring his kaimahi with him because he has no ego Liana Poutu helped negotiate the maunga settlement and said Wano’s calming influence wasn’t limited to dealings with government “And when we want to take on some whawhai (fight) Whare’s like ‘are you sure that's how you want to do it?’” Wano’s niece and former colleague Puna Wano-Bryant said he would bring impeccable communication to the Maunga job “He has the ability to open new ways for people to heal and reconcile their own relationships with each other.” Wano-Bryant said she often spotted surfboards in her uncle’s car and he would explain he was off to a “board hui” Fellow surfer and new Taranaki Regional Council chair Craig Williamson has known Wano for almost 20 years and praised his work for the betterment of Taranaki communities We’ve had three board meetings this week.” In 2016 the Crown accepted that Taranaki Maunga and the adjacent ranges would become a legal person and own itself as Te Kāhui Tupua the Crown agreed to share management of the national park Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki with iwi There's now a search on for four people to represent the iwi of Taranaki on Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi serving as the face and voice of Te Kāhui Tupua When Parliament passed the redress law in January it officially recognised the peaks as tupuna maunga – ancestral mountains LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air The theme for this year's Matariki holiday is 'Matariki mā Puanga' highlighting the communities who observe the star Puanga in their astronomical traditions the brightest star in the Orion constellation In the late autumn and early winter night sky Matariki is seen below Puanga and to the left of Tautoru (the three stars of Orion's Belt) Puanga becomes especially prominent in the evening sky towards the end of autumn and in the predawn sky during the first month of the Māori new year Puanga will feature at this year's nationally broadcast hautapu ceremony hosted by Ngāti Rangi at the base of Ruapehu Ngāti Rangi spokesperson and leading Puanga expert Che Wilson said it was an honour for the iwi to host the ceremony and to be a part of the work that has been done over the past few years by Professor Rangi Mātāmua and all the host iwi - from Te Āti Awa and Ngāti Toa to Te Arawa and last year Ngāi Tahu Traditional stories related to Puanga are shared across many iwi across Aotearoa but are prominent on the western side of Te Ika a Maui The North Island's main divide of the Tararua Ruahine and Kaimanawa ranges separates the island's weather systems so Puanga gives iwi on the western side a better read on how to prepare for the year ahead "The reason we look to Puanga isn't because we can't see Matariki there are parts of the region where you can't but actually the reason we look to Puanga is because Puanga gives us a better read for the weather on the west coast," he said Wilson said traditionally iwi on the west coast would start to observe changes in the weather during autumn while the months around Matariki were a time to wānanga "The thing is that Puanga and Matariki aren't that different We do have a separate ceremony done the month before called Te Maru o te Tau where we send all of our mate with the setting sun to the pō and that's when we call out our names." Matariki and Puanga have always gone together in karakia They also look to other celestial bodies such as the Southern Cross "In our karakia we acknowledge Matariki during the mate because they become part of te huihui o Matariki So that's our reference to Matariki but the remainder of the ceremony is actually focussed in on looking at Puanga." Wilson said it was a beautiful thing that New Zealand is starting to recognise both Matariki and Puanga "It's a chance for everybody to go out and send intention to whoever you may call your atua and to make that connection to nature Wilson said this year's hautapu ceremony will differ slightly from those broadcast in previous years After the opening of the ceremony the next step is te tākiritanga o ngā mate invoking those people who have died in the last year "We don't call out our mate but we then invoke them to transition to become stars." But Wilson said instead of offering food to the stars they are offered to four atua or deities "So we give to atua rather than stars though those atua are also shown in the sky at that time." The last part of the ceremony is the whakapūmautanga where a pou or post is placed into the ground Wilson said those reciting the karakia bind the pou with intention as they "commit ourselves to our tūpuna rnz.co.nz will receive a posthumous degree from the institution nearly a hundred years after attending and her whānau have been fighting for recognition of her achievements for decades A small group of her female descendants from Tūhourangi and Ngāti Wāhiao gathered today at Whakarewarewa Thermal Village in Rotorua to celebrate and talk about their "Kui Maggie" hearing the news made for a "wonderful day" she is a great leader for us and this generation so I'm really proud to have her as my kui." June Northcroft Grant said the family have been waiting a long time "This conversation started probably about 30 years ago We never expected that they might do something about it — we hoped that they would.” Papakura enrolled at Oxford in 1922 where she studied anthropology Her thesis explored the customs and practices of Te Arawa from a female perspective and was published posthumously eight years after her death in a book title The Old Time Māori The scholar lived during a time where Māori culture and language were in decline due to the impact of colonisation and the suppression of te reo Māori "She thought that she was writing about the last words of her people," said Northcroft Grant "because the language was going to be redundant Her thesis was the first ethnographic account of Māori life by a Māori scholar Papakura was an example of a great leader and "incredible trailblazer" having this internal self-confidence about the depth of our knowledge system and having our own mana over the sharing of our mātauranga she influenced this kind of global sector of anthropology.” What set her work apart from those of her contemporaries wasthat she was a female studying in a male-dominant field "It was mainly English men travelling around the world and then writing up through their lens 'these are the cultures' and here was our kuia who went all the way over there and said 'kāo She said academics in the past focused on the men in those cultures but her kui wrote about women and children "That again was a really big point of difference," said Mikaere "and I think we've got letters to show that a lot of the sirs and wardens of the houses at Oxford recognised the scientific value of what she was bringing to this one of the oldest academic institutions in the world." Northcroft Grant said her “nanny” documented her life with beauty and grace writing in English It was a shame she passed before attaining her degree "It was a sad end to her life that she died so suddenly it was published and it was put into museums and universities but it was never a volume of work that was celebrated in any other form." Lani Kereopa said sharing kōrero about "Maggie" as a whānau gave them an opportunity to reflect and appreciate their ancestor’s legacy "Every few years you might pick [her book] up again and there's something new you learn that you think Papakura will receive a Master’s in Philosophy of Anthropology from the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography at Oxford Members of her whānau and representatives of her iwi are expected to attend a ceremony later this year Tanya Filia (Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Tahu) was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour more than 10 years ago. When she was told it was terminal she turned to rongoā Māori – traditional Māori healing – a decision that she says saved her life. She shared her story with Leigh-Marama McLachlan on Marae rongoā Māori has had a life changing impact on her and her whānau she was diagnosed with a brain tumour after she experienced the inability to recall some words and suffered from massive headaches ended up in Whangārei Hospital where I had a scan and they found that I had a grade four glioblastoma brain tumour ‘what am I supposed to do with that?’ It’s devastating She underwent an intense treatment plan that included surgery to remove most of the mass followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy – a hard and fast approach she felt pressured to endure “No conversation at all about anything else We’re talking 42 treatments of radiation directly to my brain,” she said Initially she went into remission but in 2015 she was told the cancer was back and it had spread She refused to undergo further chemo and radiation therapy – “the mask on to my face where they pin you down to give you radiation I said 'I’m not doing that again'” – opting instead for rongoā Māori natural therapies and intravenous Vitamin C Rongoā Māori is a wide-ranging holistic approach When asked to describe what happens during a mirimiri session Tanya explains how it begins with karakia to cleanse and prepare her “for walking in that space” “I go to a place where I walk and speak and talk to my tupuna,” she said and absolutely it is beautiful for my tinana.” Rongoā Māori is undergoing a resurgence. In 2023, the failed Therapeutics Products Bill drew criticism from practitioners and whānau for its impact on rongoā Māori ACC has recognised the traditional Māori healing practice and offer rongoā as a recovery option Thousands of people have claimed for rongoā services since Speaking as part of a discussion panel following Tanya’s story said they work closely with the rongoā community and have an advisory panel to ensure controls “What we’ve found is as we’ve worked with the community through their leadership it’s kept us safe and ensures the integrity of rongoā is maintained.” ACC has partnered with more than 160 rongoā practitioners where the registration process includes an endorsement from mana whenua a police check and requirement for all practitioners to be subject to the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994 Paea said it was about ensuring that clients are treated fairly and that there’s a good quality care of service When asked if rongoā Māori is valued in general leading practitioner Donna Kerridge (Ngāti Tahinga Ngāti Mahuta) said it is by those who use it but “maybe not” by others who don’t understand “I think it’s hard to value something that you don’t understand She said a lot more can be done to help improve collaboration “between those of us who will work towards the same goal” of serving people to the best of their abilities Tanya has been met with scepticism throughout her journey with people questioning rongoā Māori but is adamant that it is the patient’s choice wants and desires of the patient that’s been diagnosed When asked if she thinks she’s encouraging people to opt out of western treatments in favour of Māori healing approaches she strongly denies wanting to discourage anyone off radiotherapy or chemotherapy but only hopes to share her experience I don’t carry the responsibility of others All I do is share my journey so people can get a different perspective.” Tanya wants to see terminally ill patients given more treatment options and be allocated funds so they can access whatever healing method they believe in Going through the ordeal of a brain scan for official confirmation took courage on Tanya’s part What if I go and have a scan and they said it’s all over [that] it’s so widespread there’s nothing we can do about it She becomes emotional recalling what her daughter said to persuade her to go through with it Her bravery was rewarded with her doctor reporting back that there was no indication of cancer “[Rongoā Māori is] a choice that we made and it’s worked out for us I’ve been blessed enough to get longevity also there’s no other way to think about that.” Watch this episode of Marae on TVNZ+ for more on this story rongoā Māori – traditional Māori healing practice that takes a holistic approach to wellbeing NZ First and ACT MPs Shane Jones and David Seymour need to "learn to read" Edward Ashby said the central government MPs were up to "mischief" spreading "misinformation" and "scaremongering" Jones and Seymour are concerned about the potential for iwi Te Kawerau ā Maki to be part of a committee overseeing the Waitākere Ranges but Auckland councillor Richard Hill said the proposal simply progresses something that was agreed to 17 years ago the Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area Act recognised the area as nationally significant and specified it needed to be protected It also said it would progress a Deed of Acknowledgement that the Auckland Council the Crown and the nominated iwi would enter into Now the council is moving forward to create that deed with consultation on the proposal closing yesterday Auckland councillor Richard Hills explained the deed would "in practice" acknowledge the relationship and interest a range of parties have in the Waitākere Ranges enable more recreation and protection of the ranges into the future" "This was asked for unanimously by the local boards and also unanimously by the Auckland Council." Part of the proposal is to establish a joint committee under the Local Government Act with equal representation from Auckland Council the Crown and tangata whenua - in this case Te Kawerau ā Maki NZ First MP Shane Jones has condemned the idea saying his party will never agree to an iwi having "50% sovereignty over the Waitakere forest" no more co-governance of these public service-orientated outcomes." He said the moment you have a "50/50 committee set up as part of the Supercity" it will "morph in no time whatsoever into shared sovereignty over the Waitākere" That is an asset that primarily must serve all the interests and all the needs of Auckland." Coalition partner and Epsom electorate MP David Seymour agreed saying the Waitākere Ranges is a "very special area to many Aucklanders" "The idea it should be governed half by people whose ancestors arrived 800 years ago and half by people whose ancestors arrived more recently He was also concerned about decisions being made to close tracks saying those needed to be made "according to the best science" "And the people with the best science are the people who have the skills experience and qualifications to make the decision is not actually a scientific qualification." Chief executive of Te Kawerau ā Maki Edward Ashby suggested the MPs "learn to read" because "that's not what the information out there says" Ashby pointed out it had taken 17 years to act on what the legislation had promised "which is a deed to be progressed" "acknowledges our association" and "identifies opportunities for us to contribute to the management of the public land" "And so one of the ways we wanted to do that was basically set up a forum or a table for us and the Crown and Council to talk." He said that it would be a "non-statutory" body and would be used to coordinate a plan for the area Ashby maintained the proposal was not co-governance and said the MPs were up to "mischief" It's obviously on trend for some members of this Government He said he thought Te Kawerau ā Maki were being used as a "political football' and the idea that the proposal was co-governance was "misinformation" there would be land in a different structure there'd be decision making over money and things like that "Power isn't being taken away from anyone." He explained the council would still make final decisions over land it manages He said the idea that there'll be "Kawerau police" telling people what they can and can't do on the property was an "absolute fairytale" saying "there's no change of ownership or change of decision making," and that it was simply about "doing what we're already doing in disparate ways" mana whenua together to "improve the future of the Waitākere Ranges and ensure the investment is going in the right places" He said this is "nothing like" the co-governance the government approved a couple of months ago for Taranaki Seymour acknowledged it was ultimately a decision for the local council and said that is why ACT plans to stand candidates in the local body elections for the first time "The legislation in question is actually a local bill which is quite difficult for Parliament to change without the local council asking for it to happen we're standing local candidates so precisely that can happen." Jones said he would be taking the issue to caucus and he will be taking it up with the Minister of Conservation but he declined because it is a local government issue By Lillian Hanly of rnz.co.nz The Cronulla player formerly known as Kayal Iro has explained his decision to change his first name midway through the NRL season Iro made a tryscoring return from a hamstring injury in the Sharks' Magic Round win over Parramatta last Friday sporting a new name on Cronulla's team list The 25-year-old has now requested he be referred to as 'KL Iro' The centre is named after his father Kevin Leslie Iro who enjoyed a decorated career in England and represented New Zealand with distinction The left centre's official documents will still read "Kayal" but the Sharks flyer said he made the switch to 'KL' to avoid any doubt as to how his name should be pronounced "Mum didn't want it to be a two-letter name when I was a kid," Iro said "She's the one that changed it to 'Kayal' I think it was just foreign back then to have a two-letter name "But my dad always wanted it to be 'KL' and I like it that way too because it's easier to pronounce and there's no confusion I was too scared to step on anyone's toes "I guess I've built a bit of a relationship with these fellas now so I asked the question and got it done pretty quick." which was often mispronounced by commentators when his father and uncle Tony were playing "Even my dad and uncle when they were playing the Pommies would pronounce it 'aye-ro' rather than 'ear-ro'," Iro added he loved it but it's pretty cool to hear a commentator saying our family name." Iro was born in England while his father was playing for Leeds but spent most of his childhood growing up in the Cook Islands While he hinted he would be open to facing the Kangaroos in the end-of-season Ashes series "I wouldn't say no but my first thing is getting the Cook Islands qualified for the World Cup next year," he said Iro and the sixth-placed Sharks (5-4) will face one of the most daunting challenges of their season to date when they travel to take on Manly (4-4) at Brookvale Oval on Sunday "They've got a strong right edge and also [Tom] Trbojevic at the back," Iro said "[Trboejvic] is a strike weapon in attack and things happen around him we've got to be aware of him." The sister of Juliana Bonilla Herrera wants her memory to be "honoured through firm actions and just decisions that prevent similar tragedies" Saray Bonilla has taken part in the Coroner's inquest into the 37-year-old's death remotely from California It came to a close in Christchurch this afternoon was murdered in January 2022 by her neighbour Joseph Brider who had been paroled from prison just 72 days earlier He'd been serving time for serious sexual offences including rape Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame has heard evidence from various Corrections Department workers about their interactions with Brider prior to the murder the rehabilitation agency supporting Brider in his reintegration into the community Juliana's sister has had the opportunity to question those who appeared in court and a victim support worker shared a statement from her 1News was not allowed to film Saray Bonilla but she watched online as her words were read and to every person whose safety depends on a just and responsible system and to never again allow preventable failures to cost innocent lives may this be the moment we stop repeating avoidable mistakes and start building a system that truly protects" she said Coroner Cunninghame also addressed Herrera's family "What happened to Juliana was horrific being attacked by a stranger in our own home must be every woman's worst nightmare.. she made the most of what New Zealand has to offer And I'm profoundly sorry that her last moments were so horrifying could have responded if they were aware of concerns is a relevant issue for the inquiry But it's important that this question is not framed in a way which suggests that Juliana should be criticised for not having done more The burden should never be on women to keep themselves safe from men" she said She explained there would now be a period of time before her findings were finalised and made public A person is in custody after an alleged theft which left a person injured on the grounds of Palmerston North Hospital Police said officers were called to a Ruahine St carpark about 1.30pm on Tuesday Police said the alleged offender left the scene and was found a short time later "Police would like to thank the members of the public who witnessed the incident and intervened to assist the victim," a police spokesperson said A nurse leaving her shift last month was held up at gunpoint outside the grounds of the hospital That same night a staff member was knocked unconscious Staff have been calling for security improvements Health NZ MidCentral operations group director Sarah Fenwick previously told RNZ it was committed to making staff feel safer She said these included a security escort to vehicles increasing security services on hospital grounds and "opening up" access to the staff carpark for people working afternoon and night shifts "Lighting has been audited in all outside carparking areas to ensure it is well maintained," she said "Interim access to well-lit parking onsite with dedicated security for staff working afternoon and night shifts while a more permanent solution for out-of-hours carparking is developed." rnz.co.nz More than 25kg of cocaine has been seized and four men arrested following an joint investigation into the importation of the drug into Christchurch Police and Customs received information about a "significant importation" of cocaine that had come through Lyttelton Port on March 29 Search warrants were then executed across the country by specialist teams to support investigators with evidence gathering Tauranga and Auckland as a result of the six-week investigation including possession of cocaine for supply and burglary and will appear in various district courts across a range of dates Detective Senior Sergeant Phil Sparks said the seizure equated to more than 250,000 doses of cocaine and $9 million of harm "That is an enormous amount of damage and misery that had been heading into our communities that has now been halted through this investigation." Sparks said the success of the investigation was partly down to the "excellent partnership" between Customs and the police "We continue to have a focus on engaging with businesses and supporting their legitimate services by keeping them safe with prevention advice to deter drug trafficking organisations’ attempts to exploit their people and premises." Customs acting investigations manager Rachael Manning said the investigation resulted from quick action and close collaboration between the agencies as well as industry partners "We know that transnational and serious organised crime groups are actively targeting New Zealand to drive up both demand and supply of illegal drugs such as cocaine for maximum profit They’re using every method possible to exploit any vulnerabilities within international supply chains in secure areas or on vessels themselves." Audrey Backeberg disappeared from a small city in south-central Wisconsin after reportedly hitchhiking with her family’s babysitter and catching a bus to Indianapolis Nobody ever knew where she went or what happened to her All that changed last week when she was found alive and safe in another state thanks to the fresh eyes from a deputy who took over the case in February Detective Isaac Hanson discovered an out-of-state arrest record that matched Backeberg which triggered a series of investigative moves that led to finding her alive and safe in another state Turns out Backeberg chose to leave the town of Reedsburg on her own accord – likely due to an abusive husband safe and secure; And just kind of lived under the radar for that long,” he said Hanson was assigned the case in late February and he and other officials met with Backeberg’s family to see if they had a connection with that region They also started digging through Backeberg's sister's Ancestry.com account obituaries and marriage licenses from that region they found an address where a woman was living that Hanson said shared a lot of similarities with Backeberg including date of birth and social security number Hanson was able to get a deputy from that jurisdiction to go to the address "I was expecting the deputy to call me back and say ‘Oh nobody answered the door.’ And I thought it was the deputy calling me I could sense that she obviously had her reasons for leaving.” Most of the information he learned during that call he declined to share saying that it was still important to Backeberg that she not be found “I think it overwhelmed her of course with the emotions that she had having a deputy show up at her house and then kind of call her out and talk with her about what happened and kind of relive 62 years in 45 minutes,” he said Hanson described discovering her safe after more than six decades practically unheard of And while he doesn't know what will happen next in terms of her family reconnecting he said he was happy that she can reach out if she wants to so she has my contact number if she ever wants to reach out or needs anything any phone numbers of family members back here," he said "Ultimately she kind of holds the cards for that.” Shane William Pritchard has been charged with crimes he didn’t commit and chased for debts he doesn’t owe That’s because the Dunedin man is not the only Shane William Pritchard in town While the duo’s shared name and age has sometimes been a handy loophole for one Shane for the other it has caused problems for 36 years It’s been years of fearing every knock on the door Years of wondering if he’ll be hand-cuffed and taken to jail to be honest,” says Shane William Pritchard a scout and a member of the Air Training Corp remembers getting quite a shock when her friend called one evening She'd been acting as a referee for a gun licence for Shane whose friend informed her that the police had a long list of offences against Shane’s name Not long after that the police turned up to where Shane was working at the local tannery to arrest him “You're scrambling in your head to think of ways that you can prove it's not you.” Another Shane William Pritchard had been born in Otago They were separated by just two weeks and about 50 miles – one growing up in Mosgiel the other in Milton – but also by the lives they’d been leading To watch the full video story go to TVNZ+ Shane from Milton had huge problems focusing at school He was raised in foster care and then boys’ homes I just wanted to look cool and get in trouble,” he tells Fair Go Milton Shane was used to run-ins with police he got pulled over in his car and asked about his driving licence one’s got a licence and the other hasn’t.’ And I’m like ‘obviously it must be the one with a licence’.” he went to his bank to draw out an ACC payment and was asked which bank account was his He says that at that point he was trying to figure out what was going on “I thought it was just an error.” But he took advantage of the situation and withdrew a large sum of cash Mosgiel Shane became aware of the withdrawal when a scheduled car payment was declined and when Milton Shane turned up at the bank to withdraw more money Identity fraud was considered but Milton Shane was legitimately expecting an ACC payment so the withdrawal appeared to be a genuine mistake and the police couldn’t take any action 'Anything I could get away with Mosgiel Shane thought the bank incident would have alerted police to the problem But his nemesis had cottoned on to the advantages of having a second identity to use Milton Shane acquired a suite of furniture on hire-purchase Milton-Shane clocked up more driving offences Mosgiel Shane thought about changing his name but realised he’d have to provide his previous name in the process the courts and debt collectors such as Baycorp should be able to distinguish between himself and Milton Shane The police first addressed the issue in the 1990s after Mosgiel Shane went to the media He was given a letter to carry with him should he be apprehended He and his parents felt his situation wasn’t being taken seriously Mosgiel Shane went to the media a second time in the mid-2000s the police gave their word that a record in their system would stop the misidentification from happening again This does appear to have worked as far as police action goes But while Mosgiel Shane was given the same reassurance by the Ministry of Justice he continued to receive demands from the courts for unpaid fines He’d also get stopped and questioned whenever he left the country for work trips or holidays It took a huge toll on Mosgiel Shane’s mental health not realising the constant stress it placed on his life John Pritchard says that at times his son felt his life wasn’t worth living worrying about what he was going to do to himself and that really ate me up.” he and his son were in tears as Shane admitted he was at breaking point He described going for days at a time unable to eat or sleep wondering what might happen next "Am I going to be in a position where they've got me in handcuffs or I've got debt collectors coming to the door?" ...You're spiralling into this black hole." He started taking anti-anxiety medication which helped And events regarding Milton Shane seemed to settle Milton Shane was charged for fishing without a licence in Twizel and failing to comply with fisheries officers But a court registrar incorrectly entered the birth date of Mosgiel Shane in the system both Shanes were being chased to pay the $1530 fine It was Mosgiel Shane who spotted the error and rang the court He also sent a statement from his manager saying he’d not been fishing in Twizel that day The reply he got was to say he’d been given the wrong form and that they wouldn’t accept his proof They just wanted to know how I was going to pay the fine.” The first Milton Shane knew about this was when Fair Go told him Mosgiel Shane had been chased for the fine He was told to pay up or face the consequences feeling he shouldn’t have to pay good money to correct someone else’s mistake But it cost Mosgiel Shane over $5000 in legal fees and took months of back and forth between him “Why should anybody have to pay their own money to right somebody else's wrongs and prove who they are I’m sick and tired of proving who I am all the time.” He wanted the Ministry of Justice to take responsibility and reimburse him for his legal costs saying court staff such as the registrar in this case have immunity if they make mistakes such as the one made here and if I make a mistake and it's affecting my client that it's going to cost them money to rectify a mistake that I've made.” he deserves a million apologies from those guys,” she says Milton Shane told Fair Go he still gets in trouble but wants the other Shane to know he doesn’t use his birth date anymore And he had a message for him: “We’ve got to get it sorted for you so you can have a good life with you and your family because I’m trying to get my life together with my son and my grandson” He offers to meet to see if they can sort it out together but I’m not interested in meeting him,.” says Mosgiel Shane He says he doesn’t hold any grudges and accepts Milton Shane’s apology And he believes the only way for that to happen is for the courts and the Ministry of Justice to give him a guarantee that mix-ups won’t occur in the future Fair Go asked the Ministry of Justice to appear in person to apologise and provide reassurance to Shane of its plans to guard against these mistakes The Ministry declined our request to be on camera saying any comment on an individual case would compromise the independence of the courts as the Ministry operates separately But it did send a written apology directly to Mosgiel Shane It also admitted mistakes can occur in clerical records but said instructions were clear and the importance of getting things right had been emphasised to staff Mosgiel Shane isn’t totally convinced that’s the end of it “All I want is for the Ministry of Justice and the courts to do their job I'd like to live without this hanging over me all the time his criminal check has come back showing a clean slate The government is making it harder to make a claim for pay equity that will cut costs There have been massive pay equity claims in recent years for nurses and resthome workers Workplace Minister Brooke van Velden announced the moves to raise the threshold for proving work has been historically undervalued to support a claim on Tuesday saying changes back in 2020 had created problems "Claims have been able to progress without strong evidence of undervaluation and there have been very broad claims where it is difficult to tell whether differences in pay are due to sex-based discrimination or other factors." Claims were concentrated in the public sector with costs to the Crown of all settlements so far totalling $1.78 billion a year "The changes I am proposing will significantly reduce costs to the Crown," she said "The changes will discontinue current pay equity claims." Van Velden told Midday Report she believes in pay equity but the current thresholds were "a bit too loose" Asked how she ensure women were not hurt by this the minister said "I'm a woman and I support women who work" "I also support removing gender based discriminations from our workforces but what I don't support are muddied laws and unclear laws," she said "So these changes are better for all women who are working where we can genuinely say hand on heart that what they are finding with their claims is genuine gender based discrimination." Van Velden told reporters at Parliament any current claims would be stopped and need to restart under the new threshold to show "genuine" gender discrimination and make sure the comparators were right She gave a figure of 33 current claims that would be stopped as the legislation was put through under urgency "You have librarians who've been comparing themselves to transport engineers We have admin and clerical staff at Health New Zealand comparing themselves to mechanical engineers." Social workers had compared themselves to air traffic controllers "We don't believe we have that setting right." Any comparison would now be between female employees and male employees at the same employer "But you cannot go fishing for discrimination across the New Zealand workforce." All current settled claims would continue but the government was drawing "a line in the sand" "We're not stopping claims." The nurse's union has this year had at least 10 pay equity claims in play The PSA union has said pay equity claims and settlements had resulted in significant improvements in pay and working conditions for many workers The union said the changes would make it "impossible for people in female-dominated professions to be paid fairly" "Women across the country will pay the price for this," PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said "The government's changes today are a dark day for New Zealand women as the government says it will repeal the pay equity law and extinguish 33 existing claims in a constitutional overreach "The PSA is exploring all possible avenues to oppose these unconstitutional amendments and stop this attack on women We will not be deterred in our fight to achieve pay equity for all." "This is a blatant and shameful attack on women," New Zealand Nurses organisation chief executive Paul Goulter said "Women in workforces predominantly performed by female employees have been underpaid and undervalued for generations That is what pay equity claims seek to rectify," he said "This move by the government will widen the pay gap between men and women." The union had at least 10 pay current pay claims across Aged Care These cover many nurses and support workers The E tū union also called the changes an attack on women and a green light to pay them less for work of equal value The government was pulling the rug out from under a 13-year-long fight in aged care "These changes are not about evidence — they are about saving money by keeping women underpaid," national secretary Rachel Mackintosh said in a statement A number of unions have called a snap rally at Parliament at 1pm today in light of the announcement the Council of Trade Unions and representatives of other unions say they will be "protesting the government's attack on women and the destruction of progress on pay equity..." rnz.co.nz Lady Gaga gave a free concert Saturday night in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach for the biggest show of her career (...) Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd kicked off the show at around 22.10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary Cries of joy rose from the tightly-packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand Concert organisers said 2.1 million people attended the show switching between an array of dresses including one with the colours of the Brazilian flag Some fans – many of them young – arrived on the beach at the crack of dawn to secure a good spot “Today is the best day of my life,” said Manoela Dobes a 27-year-old designer who was wearing a dress plastered with a photograph from when she met Lady Gaga in the United States in 2019 Madonna also turned Copacabana Beach into a massive dance floor last year The large-scale performances are part of an effort led by City Hall to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Years’ Eve festivities and the upcoming month-long Saint John’s Day celebrations in June “It brings activity to the city during what was previously considered the low season – filling hotels and increasing spending in bars generating jobs and income for the population,” said Osmar Lima the city’s secretary of economic development in a statement released by Rio City Hall’s tourism department last month Rio’s City Hall said in a recent report that around 1.6 million people were expected to attend Lady Gaga's concert and that the show should inject at least 600 million reais (NZ$178.3 million) into Rio’s economy Similar concerts are scheduled to take place every year in May at least until 2028 Lady Gaga arrived in Rio in the early hours of Tuesday The city has been alive with Gaga-mania since as it geared up to welcome the pop star for her first show in the country since 2012 Rio’s metro employees danced to Lady Gaga’s 2008 hit song LoveGame and gave instructions for today in a video A free exhibition celebrating her career sold out While the vast majority of attendees were from Rio the event also attracted Brazilians from across the country and international visitors More than 500,000 tourists poured into the city in the days leading up to the show according to data from the local bus station and Tom Jobim airport Rio’s City Hall said in a statement yesterday made a cross-continent trip from Colombia to Brazil to attend the show “I’ve been a 100% fan of Lady Gaga my whole life,” said Serrano who was wearing a T-shirt featuring Lady Gaga’s outlandish costumes over the years the mega-star represents “total freedom of expression – being who one wants without shame” Rio officials have a history of organising huge concerts on Copacabana Beach Madonna’s show drew an estimated 1.6 million fans last year while 4 million people flooded onto the beach for a 1994 New Year’s Eve show by Rod Stewart in 1994 that was the biggest free rock concert in history sixteen sound towers were spread along the beach Rio state’s security plan included the presence of 3300 military and 1500 police officers Among those present were Lady Gaga admirers who remember their disappointment in 2017 when the artist cancelled a performance scheduled in Rio at the last minute due to health issues “She's the best artist in the world,” the 25-year-old said I love you” in Portuguese rose from the crowd behind him whose real name is Ella Yelich O'Connor which also displayed what appears to be the album cover art — an X-ray of a pelvis "100% written in blood," the website read The new album's announcement came a week after she released her latest single What Was That The song's music video was filmed at a mysterious pop-up event in New York City's Washington Square Park that was initially shut down by police. The event ended up going ahead after all, and fans who stayed got to hear the new song for the first time. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lorde (@lorde) It was the first sign of a follow-up to Lorde's previous album Her other albums were 2013's Pure Heroine and 2017's Melodrama she collaborated with British singer Charli XCX on a remix of Girl so confusing — on a re-release of the Grammy award-winning Brat Kim Kardashian thought she was going to be raped and killed when criminals broke into her bedroom in central Paris tied her up and stole more than US$6 million in jewellery 10 people will go on trial in Paris over the robbery abduction and kidnapping of the media personality and the concierge of the residence where she was staying during Paris Fashion Week the night of October 2 Kardashian’s lawyers said she will testify in person at the trial starting Monday and scheduled to run through May 23 "Ms Kardashian is reserving her testimony for the court and jury and does not wish to elaborate further at this time," they said "She has great respect and admiration for the French justice system and has been treated with great respect by the French authorities "She wishes the trial to proceed in an orderly fashion in accordance with French law and with respect for all parties to the case." In interviews and on her family’s reality TV show Kardashian has described being terrified as robbers pointed a gun at her In a 2020 appearance on David Letterman’s Netflix show she tearfully recalled thinking: "This is the time I’m going to get raped Twelve people were originally expected in the defendants’ box and another is seriously ill and can't be tried five of the 10 defendants were present at the scene of the robbery The French press has dubbed them The Granddad Robbers because the main defendants are elderly and have careers as bank robbers with long criminal records Kardashian told investigators she was taken to a bathroom next to her bedroom and placed in the bathtub Her attackers fled on bicycles or on foot and she managed to free herself by removing the tape from her hands and mouth She had also removed the tape from her feet and rushed to her stylist’s room She called her sister Kourtney to tell her about the theft Kardashian told investigators that she had not been injured adding that she wanted to leave France as soon as possible to be reunited with her children According to her testimony and that of the concierge at least one of the suspects had a handgun The gangsters stole many pieces of jewellery estimated to be worth more than US$6 million (NZ$10 million) Only one piece of jewellery — a diamond cross on platinum that was lost during the suspects' escape — has been recovered Two of the accused have partially confessed to the crime is one of two suspected robbers who allegedly entered the apartment his genetic profile was found on the tape used to gag Kardashian who was waiting for him in a parked car at a nearby train station The second robber said he tied up the concierge with cables but did not go up to Kardashian’s apartment said he acted as a lookout in the ground-floor reception area He said he was unarmed and did not personally threaten Kardashian but admitted he shared responsibility for the crime Abbas was arrested in January 2017 and spent 21 months in prison before being released under judicial supervision he co-authored a French-language book titled I Sequestered Kim Kardashian is the second alleged robber suspected of entering the flat although he was filmed by CCTV cameras and numerous telephone contacts with the other co-defendants show his involvement The other defendants are suspected of providing information about Kardashian’s presence in the apartment Others are accused of playing a role in the resale of the jewellery in Antwerp Joe Cocker and Bad Company will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — in a class that also includes pop star Cyndi Lauper the rock duo the White Stripes and grunge masters Soundgarden the first female rap act to achieve gold and platinum status and the late singer-songwriter Warren Zevon will get the Musical Influence Award pianist Nicky Hopkins and bassist Carol Kaye will each get the Musical Excellence Award who sang at Woodstock and was best known for his cover of The Beatles’ With a Little Help From My Friends a member of Elvis Costello & The Attractions who argued that Cocker is "about as rock and roll as it gets" Soundgarden — with the late Chris Cornell as singer — get into the Hall on their third nomination They follow two other grunge acts in the Hall — Nirvana and Pearl Jam Bad Company get in having become radio fixtures with such arena-rock staples as Feel Like Makin’ Love Can’t Get Enough and Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy The Ahmet Ertegun Award — given to nonperforming industry professionals who had a major influence on music — will go to Lenny Waronker Some nominees that didn't get in this year included Mariah Carey and subsequent Let’s Twist Again are considered among the most popular songs in the history of rock 'n' roll The 83-year-old has expressed frustration that he hadn't been granted entry before including telling the AP in 2014: "I don’t want to get in there when I’m 85 years old so you better do it quick while I’m still smiling." Lauper rose to fame in the 1980s with hits such as Time After Time and Girls Just Want To Have Fun and went on to win a Tony Award for Kinky Boots have six Grammys and a reputation for pushing the boundaries of hip-hop The White Stripes — made up of Jack White and Meg White — were indie darlings in the early 2000s with such songs as Seven Nation Army Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction The induction ceremony will take place in Los Angeles this fall Nominees were voted on by more than 1200 artists historians and music industry professionals The selection criteria include "an artist’s impact on other musicians the scope and longevity of their career and body of work as well as their innovation and excellence in style and technique" Dave Matthews Band and singer-guitarist Peter Frampton were inducted Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University He was trained in occupational and environmental medicine the University of North Carolina and University of Washington Takaro’s research is primarily about the links between human exposures and disease and determining effective public health based preventive solutions to such risks Planetary change poses complex problems for public health that demand an interdisciplinary approach both in research and action Takaro founded the Planetary Health Research group at SFU and was a lead author of the Health Canada 2022 report Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing Knowledge for Action He is the Regional Co-Vice-President for North America for the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War His current research program explores the impacts of resource extraction on human and planetary health With immense gratitude to the First Peoples he is beginning to use Indigenous knowledge to relearn environmental health as he tests different interventions in climate action and planet protection Nobel Peace Prize (1985) as active member of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War; George Elliot Award for Lifetime Contribution to Public Health in British Columbia Tauranga City Council Maungatapu and Poike will come together this weekend to celebrate a significant upgrade of their local playground which now reflects the area’s unique cultural heritage as well Te Papa Tākaro o Tongaparaoa | Ila Park will re-open this Saturday (25 March) with the formalities beginning at 10am with pōhiri by Mana Whenua including waiata from Maungatapu Primary School Pūwhariki children face painting and circus acts to entertain the large crowd are expected and will be followed by refreshments and entertainment from 11:30am-1pm Project Manager Spaces and Places at Tauranga City Council says the revamped playground now caters for all ages “The upgrade includes a double flying fox a learn-to-ride cycle path and an area dedicated to younger children with smaller swings plus a slide Shade sails will provide cover while new trees (to be planted over winter) grow to offer long term shade.” Tuna (eel) artwork wrapped around the new tube slide at Te Papa Tākaro o Tongaparaoa | Ila Park A new toilet block has been constructed and a concrete pathway now links the park to the nearby cycleway that runs adjacent to SH29A “The new playground equipment replaces an old module and swing set that had been there since the 1990s We had terrific feedback from local residents – including many children – during the planning stage and have worked closely with local hapū to reflect the area’s special history.” Many bespoke cultural elements are included in the new playground thanks to collaboration with Ngāi Te Ahi Hapū spokesperson Irene Walker says Te Papa Tākaro o Tongaparaoa | Ila Park was once a thriving wetland and important breeding ground for many bird and fish species “The Waimapu Harbour once provided plentiful kaimoana and wildlife and the flourishing of flora and fauna created a healthy and thriving environment It was an important habitat for the tuna (eels) and matuku (the Australasian bittern) and many more.” Ngāi Te Ahi and Ngāti He have helped restore a small portion of this wetland near the park and many of the design elements on the playground now reflect this connection The blue safety surface laid on the ground features the scales of inanga (small fish) a tuna (eel) artwork is wrapped around the slide and images of matuku (bittern) sit perched on top of the swings A 2m-long custom-made hinaki (eel trap) is another playground feature that will be covered in rope and colourful perspex fish which children can walk beneath A 2-metre long hinaki (eel trap) as part of the upgrade at Te Papa Tākaro o Tongaparaoa | Ila Park “At the new entrance to the park three boulders will be carved to represent the three hapū of the area,” Irene explains “It is wonderful to see the park reflecting our history and cultural identity reconnecting Māuao and the Waimapu River into the Tauranga Harbour.” Welcome Bay Lions Club will provide a free sausage sizzle on the day Members of the public who would like to listen to the formal speeches and waiata from 10am are invited to bring seating with them and renowned local singer Mana Farrell will perform from 11:30am onwards the opening day festivities will be rescheduled “This will be a great celebration and chance for the local community to come together and enjoy their new space,” Christine says “We hope that Te Papa Tākaro o Tongaparaoa | Ila Park can offer something for everyone.” For more information, please contact parks.projects@tauranga.govt.nz Sign up to Kōrero mai - Let’s talk Tauranga and never miss an opportunity to share your feedback Sign up Read newsletter Get involved in the discussion about your city. Learn about the work happening in your neighbourhood. Tauranga City Council, Private Bag 12022, Tauranga, 3143, New Zealand |Terms of use|Privacy statement Alice Neville meets the creators who are making television magic with te reo If you should ever find yourself in the bush at night these mysterious spiritual beings largely keep to themselves but the few folk who have glimpsed them say they're human-like with pale skin and fair hair - a strange sight indeed to pre-European Māori With their magical powers and hypnotic flute-playing abilities who are often described in English as woodland fairies or sprites have captured the imagination of many over the years (a quick Google search will reward you with hours of intrigue) Hoey (Ngāti Kahu) is the founder of Cinco Cine Film Productions an Auckland-based television production company with a big focus on te reo programming An idea for a kids' show based in nature had been simmering away in her brain for some time and - setting aside their less-cute attributes like a penchant for abducting attractive wāhine and the foul stench some say they leave in their wake - patupaiarehe provided the perfect inspiration But a decade passed between that first germ of an idea and the finished product Tākaro Tribe (tākaro means "play" in te reo Māori) "and then it was the format that took us a while." focusing on the adventures of "Ngāti Tākaro" - five adorably chubby toddler-esque patupaiarehe siblings who look a bit like Māori versions of Gumnut Babies they live in the enchanted Wāo Arapū (alphabet forest) and go on learning adventures guided by Pāpā Rākau (tree father) and Kōkā (pond mother) meeting new bird and animal friends and enjoying plenty of waiata (singing) and kanikani (dancing) along the way for the five Māori vowel sounds that are so crucial to nailing pronunciation "It's just getting those vowel sounds into their heads and that makes learning the language so much easier," explains Hoey who was inspired by the catchy "a ha ka ma na" song familiar to anyone who's been to school in New Zealand in recent decades a version of which is the show's theme tune Early concepts involved each of the patupaiarehe having a twin whose name would be the long vowel equivalent of theirs which in Māori is indicated by a macron or a double letter - so A's twin would be Ā or AA But it soon became clear that creating so many characters would require a "Disney budget" so the idea was put on the back burner - but she hopes that in a future episode the five patupaiarehe will visit a parallel universe and meet their twins Grand initial visions of Tākaro Tribe being "the Māori Dora the Explorer" were curbed somewhat by the aforementioned budget constraints resulting in both concepts and the animation itself being simplified from earlier versions The show has received funding through Te Māngai Pāho and Cinco Cine is currently going through the application process for funding for a third series (the first series of 20 12-minute episodes was released late last year hats and talking patupaiarehe toys - sold through the show's website helps pay for it to be made too but it's been a conscious decision to also have resources kids can access for free "It's just trying to make the language as accessible as possible," she says Encouraging a respect for the environment has also been a conscious decision which is why the toys come in reusable bags and plastic is limited as much as possible as the characters are further developed (short YouTube clips are being made to complement the TV series) they're going to have a passion for recycling "It's been a conscious effort to get through to this generation The show is scripted by Hoey and Campbell Farquhar and each episode is made in a fully te reo version - with help from te reo expert Te Haumihiata Mason - as well as a bilingual one "It's about making it as inclusive as possible," says Hoey "When you've got your kids in kōhanga reo there are so few things fully in te reo Māori but we also didn't want to lock out the people who aren't ready for the 100 per cent te reo Māori version "We want it for all New Zealanders and all children around the world." That's not just a throwaway phrase - the show was developed with an international strategy in mind with the bilingual version made so it can be adapted to any two languages Cook Island Māori and Hawaiian would be natural fits but they're not limiting themselves to Pacific languages with Spanish and Mandarin also in their sights was in kōhanga reo when she developed Pūkana the award-winning kids' show that was pioneering in its use of te reo when it launched "I created it because there was nothing," says Hoey "The kids were all watching What Now because they wanted to win prizes and my son said to me if it was all in te reo Māori "At that time I was making drama and television commercials but I thought that's crazy Farquhar has an 11-year-old daughter in bilingual schooling as well as a 4-year-old who acted as a sounding board when Tākaro Tribe was being developed Cinco Cine's Grey Lynn headquarters are very much a family affair with many of the staff working parents who often bring their kids in "You just have to prepare for scooters coming at you at 100 miles an hour but we can get them to quiet down when we need to," says Hoey "We're also lucky that we get to take them out on shoots and make them perform for us," laughs Farquhar referencing the short clips of real-life tamariki that intersperse each episode Those clips are glimpsed through a pāua portal on the trunk of Pāpā Rākau who is voiced by Te Kāea presenter Piripi Taylor in the te reo version and Rawiri Paratene in the bilingual version who's not only one of New Zealand's most respected actors but also akin to Kiwi kids' TV royalty thanks to his tenure on Play School has a long history of working with Cinco Cine characterful voice is the perfect fit for the kindly grandfather-like tree who teaches the patupaiarehe important lessons about shapes interspersed with catch phrases like "tau kē!" (awesome) and "āe "He actually looks like Pāpā Rākau too," says Hoey "I guess as I get older I'm looking like an old tree," he says "I've got a lot of respect for Nicole," he adds "She's a hard worker and she's good at it." He was drawn to the project because of its reo focus and while programmes like Tākaro Tribe are a step in the right direction towards normalising the language Paratene thinks we still have a long way to go as a country While he's pleased the bilingual version of the second series is screening on TVNZ2 the fact it's showing at 6.40am is "a little bit disappointing I think the networks could give up 12 minutes of American cartoons at peak viewing time for younger ones." te reo is at the forefront of what Cinco Cine does which is why she endeavours to employ bilingual staff where possible it's not a lot but it's an acknowledgement," she says "My kid was coming out of kura kaupapa and I wanted him to know that had a value on it our kids get placed in jobs because of their reo." Season 2 of Tākaro Tribe screens on TVNZ2 weekdays at 6.40am from May 28. The fully te reo version will screen on Māori Television in July. Season 1 can be seen on takarotribe.co.nz we look at the new generation of talented presenters cropping up on TVNZ's new on-demand platform Kowhai Intermediate presents science show George & Me Hobbies/sports: I love to skateboard and always make time to do it above most things I also play football and spend lots of time with friends I liked working with the crew because I felt well looked after and they all had a great sense of humour although I would like to be involved with art and design Stranger Things hit the top of my list this year Is science your favourite subject at school but doing the show made me look at science in a different way Manurewa Intermediate Māia on Māia The Brave Hobbies/sports: I love hanging out with my friends and family and just being crazy with them I also love my phone and watching YouTube videos meeting new people and seeing people react when I tell them [I'm on TV] because I would love to travel around the world Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry and Newshub Is it hard to be at school and also working on a TV show just because I missed out on a tonne of work and activities But I'm lucky I didn't get a lot of homework otherwise I would have had to do that and my lines Riverhead School co-presenter of cooking show Kai Five shopping and hanging out with my friends and my little sister because I've always loved being in the spotlight What dishes do you like to make for friends and family Kowhai Intermediate co-presenter of cooking show Kai Five which has helped me learn skills in guitar How do you find time to do both TV and school My school and teacher are supportive of me doing acting and my Mum helps me to keep organised My parents told me that if I want to be great at anything I will need to work very hard I want to be an actor because it's a lot of fun and you get to work with heaps of interesting people Bacon and egg pie that my Nan taught me how to make What's the best recipe you did on the show • Heihei launches on May 28, available at heihei.nz or as an iOS or Android app 'No one was meant to hear it,' Moller said while discussing his life and Parliament tackles alcohol and mental health More than 2400 children ran the Rotorua Mini Marathon CCTV footage has emerged showing two people robbing a Lake Rd dairy in Rotorua CCTV footage has emerged showing two girls The Aronui Arts Festival Matariki drone show returns to the Rotorua Lakefront this June sustainable way of building homes at a low cost could help ease New Zealand's housing woes Recent timelapse taken of Whakaari/White Island Evidence of fresh explosive activity had been seen on the island Tove Jensen-Munroe says the drug will be her 'best option' if she relapses A "very bright" fireball seen over the Bay of Plenty on Wednesday night Rotorua’s Reg Stag speeds to victory at 2025 Red Bull Trolley Grand Prix Smoke from the Rotorua Recycling Centre fire blanketed the surrounding area Amelia Branson is going to America for surgery and radiation for her brain tumour Thousands attend official Waitangi Day event in Rotorua Locals feared they looked like container homes when they first arrived but today they had a chance to look through the finished product Security footage of a ram raid at Westbrook Liquor Centre in Rotorua Parents Sarb Mann and David McNeill want harsher penalties for impaired drivers Twelve fire crews joined the battle to contain a scrub fire in the Tahorakuri Forest area between Rotorua and Taupō on Wednesday Rotorua Māori ward councillor Rawiri Waru at the final meeting for the year Salvation Army’s choice model supermarket empowers those in need The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM presenter Paul Hickey announces the final tally for Fill the Bus 2024 The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM’s Fill the Bus fundraiser is part of the six-week annual Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal for the foodbank Video of the fire showed large flames and black smoke coming from an address on Ngongotahā Rd at the time Thousands of protesters marching up Fenton St in Rotorua Rotorua Daily Post has launched its annual Christmas Appeal supporting the Salvation Army foodbank Ngāti Whakaue has created its own subdivision for its people in a sought-after location on iwi land following a multimillion-dollar partnership with the Government Hundreds of people take part in the Rotorua Pink Walk organised by the Rotorua Breast Cancer Trust A second bronze sculpture dedicated to the memory of a much-loved stray dog in Rotorua that lived beside Te Ngae Rd has been unveiled to the public Rotorua Hospital's children's unit has undergone refurbishment Nikau Grace's latest project with Waiata Anthems has seen a new song and documentary released about her love of Kawerau and how you can beat the odds Tom Stephenson says he hears the hounds from his property daily Hosted by the Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival Taumata Soloman pays homage to cultural entrepreneur and kapa haka legend Wetini Mitai Ngatai Vehicles were caught in a slip on State Highway 2 at Waiotahe in the Eastern Bay of Plenty An investigation is under way after a body was found in a burning vehicle on State Highway 1 near Ātiamuri between Tokoroa and Taupō last night Lynmore Primary School pupils spent the day at NZME learning about the media Hundreds lost power after a car crashed into power pole on Te Ngae Rd on Monday night The Voices in the Shadows by Rotorua's Wairea Company features Tame Iti and premieres as part of the Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival 2024 recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease about why he wants to donate his Tour de France bike to charity Takaro community offered Brazilian Ju Jitsu and mixed martial arts Takaro BJJ/MMA is the dream concept of coach Corey Governor who strongly believes in sharing his knowledge by giving back to the community Health and wellbeing are core to Governor's classes who works alongside his mother Raeleen Simeon They offer specialised classes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and mixed martial arts Governor says his motivation is to offer programmes to kids in Highbury and the neighbouring communities "This is an opportunity to experience a structured level of BJJ at very minimal cost "Kids who have been attending since it started in October 2019 have shown significant improvements in discipline At the weekend Takaro BJJ/MMA proudly hosted a kids' seminar and adults' PT sessions with guest coach Professor Mestre Bira from Wellington Governor said the Sunday session was a great success Classes are held at Takaro School on Brighton Cres; classes are free but a koha/donation box is available Cost: Free with Koha / Donation box available Head to Takaro BJJ/MMA Facebook page for more information Takaro Mallet Sports Club president Dennis Bulloch is keen to share his love of gateball Palmerston North has its own gateball club The club formed just before Covid-19 arrived in New Zealand and become an incorporated society last year It has been based at Takaro for nearly a year President Dennis Bulloch wants to introduce and develop gateball in Manawatū It is a game for all ages and genders and is not physically demanding - if you can walk Each game lasts 30 minutes and the winner is the player with the most points a goal pole and 10 numbered balls so up to 10 people can play The cost is minimal with all equipment supplied by the club Solar watches worn by each player keep the time and score The sticks (mallets) are telescopic so can be adjusted to the player’s height It is an easy game to understand but can be strategically challenging The game is easily portable with a tape that defines the court and Bulloch would like to take it to schools Gateball is played in about 55 countries by about 11 million people and is like a fast form of association croquet Bulloch plans to play in gateball tournaments in France this year He has been playing gateball on and off for about eight years and is keen to play in Australia and Japan Bulloch is the also director of gateball in New Zealand and is responsible for promoting the game The club has about nine gateball players and is looking for more Gateball is played on Thursdays at 5.30pm and Saturdays at 1pm but there is some flexibility with playing times Takaro Sports Club is on the corner of Botanical and Featherston Sts Association and golf croquet are played Wednesday and Sunday afternoons The club is affiliated with Gateball New Zealand Croquet New Zealand and the Manawatū-Whanganui Croquet Association email djbulloch@gmail.com or ring 027 222 5024 Māori games were often designed to teach new skills and advocates say they also offer a haven from more serious concerns Hundreds of people gathered recently at Umupuia Marae in the New Zealand town of Maraetai to celebrate the launch of Kaupapa – a word-description board game for learners and speakers of te reo Māori It is the latest addition to an ever-increasing range of taonga tākaro, or Māori games. Whether you play in Māori or English it involves each player taking turns to describe actions while their teammates try to correctly guess the words Kuruho Wereta created the game with his friend Rosie Remmerswaal. The pair are drawing on a long tradition of using play to help revitalise te reo Māori. which is played by two teams using a woven flax ball on a round field The teams compete to hit and defend targets But research has identified over 300 traditional Māori games They range from strategy games to activities designed to improve agility “Ngā mahi a Rēhia [recreational activities] and taonga tākaro have always been present in te ao Māori [the Māori world],” says Wereta In recent years Photograph: Kura RēhiaIn Māori culture there is a strong connection between play and Māori deities – there is even a god Wereta believes that games help people learn about these deities because when you play you embody the gods associated with your environment To me these kēmu [games] are the equivalent to an encyclopedia of cultural knowledgeDarren YatesDarren Yates went to the launch with his partner Arnya and their young son and they especially enjoyed playing kī-o-rahi “To me these kēmu [games] are the equivalent to an encyclopedia of cultural knowledge they’re living in the communities that play them,” Yates said “They help us stay connected to our ancestors and also allow us to continue to pass on mātauranga [knowledge] that enables us to live in sync with each other and our environment.” Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal has been researching “te whare tapere” (also known as “te whare rēhia”) every Māori community had these “houses” of entertainment Recreational activities were performed everywhere – sometimes outside sometimes inside existing buildings – and there were no restrictions on who could be involved “The whare tapere was a place where everyone of the community could attend.” It provided opportunities for people to get together and enjoy themselves Te Ahukaramū believes Māori communities should embrace the tradition of te whare tapere it is often because very serious things are going on – treaty claims or some developer is wanting to mine a wāhi tapu [sacred place] at the back of a marae That work is important; but he is concerned that when young people they can become overwhelmed by the serious things going on in the community and consciously joyful experiences for their members,” he says the marae – for example – will become a more enjoyable place Wiremu Sarich is a leading exponent of taonga tākaro He works with rangatahi to explore the “kura huna” – the hidden learnings and deeper meanings – these activities contain He prefers the term “taonga tākaro” to “games” Wiremu Sarich operates a whare karioi - what he describes as ‘a whare rēhia on wheels’. Photograph: Kura Rēhia“The problem with ‘games’ is kids think ‘it’s just a game’, you play it and then it’s gone, or you engage with it for a moment and then you leave. It’s not really the best way to get anything valuable out of our taonga,” he says. Read moreSarich operates a whare karioi – what he describes as “a whare rēhia on wheels” – which allows him to share taonga tākaro with children across the country which is now in its eleventh year of secondary school nationals allows him to introduce them to other games “They would use the games to develop different skills and different knowledge systems; so they had other ways of disseminating information across the tribe.” they are better able to learn – which opens up space to explore values such as manaakitanga (caring for one another) and tiakitanga (sustainability) as well as whakapapa (relational connections) to each other and the natural world Te Ahukaramū hopes whare tapere and tākaro will regain their prominent place in Aotearoa. He wants to see them thriving in Māori communities, and creating opportunities for non-Māori to develop a relationship with Māori culture. “That is about building a sense of intercultural knowledge and understanding in mainstream New Zealand life.” Northland Black Fern world Cup winner Krystal Murray - here in for a try during the final against England - is the 2023 Tai Tokerau Māori Sports Award Supreme Winner After a stellar year World Champion Black Fern Krystal Murray has been named the Supreme Winner for the Census 2023 Ngā Tohu Tākaro Māori o Te Tai Tokerau at the Tai Tokerau Māori Sports Awards Northland rugby legend Sid Going was named the inaugural winner of the Te Tangi a Tūkaiāia – Lifetime Achievement Award Held at Waitangi National Trust on Saturday night Murray came out as the winner from an outstanding line-up of award nominees Murray won after a record 57 nominations were received across 16 award categories - the biggest number of entrants in the history of the Māori Sports Awards “Krystal is a homegrown Te Rarawa rugby player to see her excel on the world stage and win the Women’s Rugby World Cup is outstanding” Aperahama Kerepeti-Edwards Around 200 people packed the glass marquee at the Waitangi National Trust to honour and celebrate Tai Tokerau Māori sporting success on Saturday “You can really feel the wairua of humble pride in the where,” Kerepeti-Edwards said “There is a strong diversity of codes in this year’s finalists that shows how much Te Iwi Māori is participating and contributing to all codes in our region” The winners for the Census 2023 Ngā Tohu Tākaro Māori o Te Tai Tokerau are: Iwi Award) sponsored by Far North District Council Te Tohu Oranga Hapori (Community Impact Award) sponsored by Whangārei District Council Te Tohu Oranga Marae sponsored by Te Kahu o Taonui • Waikare Marae & Waikare Research and Development Trust Te Tohu Tākaro Kaiwawao (Sports Official Award) sponsored by Kaipara District Council Te Tohu Kaiwhakahaere (Sports Administrator Award) sponsored by Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Hine Te Tohu Tākaro Taitamawahine (Tai Tamariki Sportswoman Award) sponsored by Ministry of Education Te Tohu Tākaro Taitamatane (Tai Tamariki Sportsman Award) sponsored by Rugby for Life Te Tohu Tākaro Ahungarua (Masters Sportsperson Award) sponsored by Te Puni Kokiri Te Tohu Tākaro Kaiwhakangungu (Coaches Award) sponsored by Te Aka Whai Ora Te Tohu Tākaro Toa – Tangata Whaikaha (Disabled Sportsperson of the Year Award) Te Tohu Manawaroa (Long Service to Sports Award) sponsored by Tai Tokerau Wānanga Te Tohu Kapa Toa (Outstanding Māori Sports Team) sponsored by Te Poutokomanawa Te Tohu Tākaro Tane (Open Male Sportsperson of the Year) sponsored by the Ministry for Te Tohu Tākaro Toa Wahine (Open Female Sportsperson of the Year) sponsored by Zespri Te Iwi o Ngātiwai introduced a new award for 2023 the Te Tangi a Tūkaiāia – Lifetime Achievement Award This special award recognises exceptional sports people and legends of Te Tai Tokerau Inaugural winner of the ‘Te Tangi a Tūkaiāia – Lifetime Achievement Award is: Ngāti Whātua descent is a sporting great for the North “Our ability to recognise his contribution to rugby as a game but his enduring legacy for our people of the North is an honour We are grateful his family is here with us to celebrate his life and influence across the generations,” Kerepeti-Edwards said www.sportnorthland.co.nz/tohu-hakinakina-l-sports-awards/census-2023-nga-tohutakaro-maori-o-te-tai-to Visitors are encouraged to help identify people in the photographs Whanganui Boxon (in blue) with Takaro Taniwha players after their semi-final at Spriggens Park Whanganui Boxon are one game away from lifting the Manawatū Rugby League (MRL) title for the first time in six years A victory over Takaro Taniwha booked a date with Dannevirke Tigers in the grand final this weekend Boxon club founder Lisa Reweti said it was an eight-team competition this season "This year we thought we would put a team in and see how we go "There are a lot of young ones that have come through the ranks who have said Hone Taurua and captain Woody Martin had been joined in 2022 by new players such as Juani Reweti "We've only lost two games so far this season we meet up again with Dannevirke in the final and to have it being played on the number one field at the [Central Trust] Arena makes it even more so." Reweti said the squad had been bolstered by a Fijian contingent this season and we wondered if they could play a bit of league Reweti said the team was lucky to have Haki Herewini as its coach "He has been really patient with the new boys learning the game and he realised who our leaders are and looked after them It's been a really exciting pathway to the final and all our whānau and supporters have been outstanding A lot of work needed to be done to build the game back up in Whanganui in the wake of Covid-19 "We had some great plans over the last two years but that fell over a bit because of the pandemic and then to get the kids up-and-running for 2023 That's our goal as a club and as a district We just needed to get this season over and done with." One aim is to establish a secondary schools tournament with the winner going on to compete at the national championships "There are so many kids in Whanganui who play touch [rugby]," Reweti said "They can take that skill base over to rugby league and run with it Reweti said some of the younger players in the Boxon team had been part of the club's Under-13s programme "We need to build that back up and have Under-13s and Under-17s They can then go and play men's and we get to keep them forever "Covid is hopefully on the back-burner now Whanganui Boxon take on Dannevirke Tigers on Saturday at Central Trust Arena Oval in Palmerston North Low temperatures are forecast to temporarily return to double digits this week Te Papa Takaro o Te Arawa has encouraged families to get active and have fun with the Te Arawa Games The first Maori sports trust in the country is celebrating 20 years serving its iwi Te Papa Takaro o Te Arawa was formed in 1993 and has played a major role in improving the health and wellbeing of Te Arawa descendants The iwi-mandated trust is governed by a board of trustees representing hapu of Te Arawa said he remembered the first meeting two decades ago that saw the organisation come to fruition "I was the director of Te Puni Kokiri and part of the role was developing Maori potential We had the idea of developing something around sports as it gave a sense of identity and people young and old could participate In consultation with kaumatua Pihopa Kingi a meeting was soon arranged with about 20 key people in Te Arawa "It received unanimous support and Cheryl Te Kani-McQueen was appointed the first general manager as she was passionate about sports and had a high profile as one of the country's best squash players," he said "That was the start of Te Arawa Games and the beginning of Te Papa Takaro o Te Arawa." The games are a yearly event that have recently been revived More than 13 hapu take part in competitive and non-competitive games ranging from touch rugby through to badminton The main aim was to get whanau of all ages involved and active "At the core of all of [Te Papa Takaro o Te Arawa] is our people's health "Back then in 1993 a seed was planted and its germinated to be a leader in its field I'm excited about where it is going next," he said Current general manager Paora Te Hurihanganui said they still were very much sport and recreational focussed and continued to organise the large events such as the games and Te Arawa Maori Sports Awards he said they were now showing others how to lead "For us it is about matauranga (knowledge) empowering others to run their own events," Mr Te Hurihanganui said Another successful programme has been the Te Arawa Sites of Significance which has been popular in getting men more active paddling in the water where our ancestors played and walking about and having key speakers at the sites for it to be both physical and motivational," he said "It's about showing people that their ancestors had greatness and that they have the same potential to succeed they better understand themselves and are more likely to sustain their health goals as they are driven by a motivated force that had spanned for generations Te Arawa knowledge into everything we do to find potential." Mr Te Hurihanganui said the six full-time staff at the organisation were passionate about what they did and knew the importance of setting a good example He said there were regular group fitness activities such as Iron Maori Te Papa Takaro o Te Arawa has its sights set high for the future "We are aiming to have four gold Olympic medallists in eight years from Te Arawa," Mr Te Hurihanganui said "We want to establish a Te Arawa elite sports academy and generate a sports recreation and activity through a kaupapa Maori approach." He piko he tuna is about resilience and love the despite challenges of life Pipelines can not proceed until their construction is investigated for health effects Photo by Francis Eatherington/Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0) B.C.'s environmental assessment (EA) commission will rule on whether an environmental assessment certificate issued a decade ago for construction of the Prince Rupert Gas pipeline, should require a new updated EA certificate before proceeding.  The project proposes construction of an 800-kilometre pipeline to transport gas from northeast B.C to the Ksi Lisims LNG plant near the mouth of the Nass River on the province’s northwest coast.  this pipeline project never got off the ground and was purchased by the Nisga’a Nation and Texas-based Western LNG in March 2024 In the absence of demonstrating “substantive progress” in project development – something the new proponents are scrambling to do – the EA would automatically expire next month.  government to “assess potential environmental health and cultural effects” on any major industrial development before an EA certificate is granted to proceed.  The 10-year sunset clause requirement on EAs for projects not well underway by this time is an acknowledgment that environments change over time as does the scientific evidence informing protection of the environment and human health.  As physicians and environmental health scientists we are calling for a new environmental assessment before this project proceeds precisely due to both significant changes in the context of pipeline construction and important new evidence that must be assessed There are also bolstered safety regulations to protect people's health.  The predicted air pollution levels for the PRGT project would no longer be considered safe today. The project's estimated NO2 emissions exceed the current safety standard, and in some cases double that. Ground-level ozone – a powerful respiratory toxicant for which there is no safe level – wasn’t even assessed in 2014 but is now strictly regulated.  there was less air pollution in the Prince Rupert airshed air pollution levels in the area are chronically at a level yellow or “moderate” for PM2.5 and AltaGas Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal More frequent and severe wildfires contribute to poorer air quality. People living in northern B.C. already have higher rates of respiratory disease compared to the rest of the province and are therefore potentially more vulnerable to the health impacts of an additional source of air pollution.  environmental racism was barely understood the National Strategy of Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Act An updated EA is needed to address the potential for disproportionately higher exposure and greater health harms of such projects to communities already facing structural disadvantages and communities with high levels of income insecurity there was also no expectation for project EAs to address their influence on provincial targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction Allowing the Prince Rupert Gas pipeline project to proceed in the absence of a new EA would be disingenuous and disrespects the spirit of the 10-year time limit built into B.C.’s EA regulations UBC Dept of Family Practice; Faculty of Medicine; Core faculty Centre for Clinical Epidemiology at Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute CCFP; clinical assistant professor UBC Dept of Family Practice Faculty of Medicine; President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment MSc; professor emeritus; occupational and environmental medicine Maru Nihoniho’s video games aim to change the world and has won international awards from some impressive places: The takeout food joint around the corner had arcade games and she’d spend her spare change while eating fish and chips explores Māori culture through “Choose Your Own Adventure”-style text-based play “I used to wonder how these games were made. I wSee more from the World’s Top 50 Women In Techas curious about how they worked,” she said After a one-year multimedia course in 2003 she decided to found the company – the first in New Zealand to be run by a woman See more from the World’s Top 50 Women In Tech “Although I had a good idea about running a business I had no experience making games,” she said Nihoniho had 14 years in the hospitality industry before making the leap but had to learn very quickly about the games industry.” The first year after she established the company she flew to the States to attend game conferences including the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles and the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco to learn about the industry She knew jumping into games would mean learning fast and staying flexible to pivot when necessary “Sometime creatives can get stuck on an idea and not want to change it,” she said But I learned quickly that sometimes a little side step on your path can help things along.” Those early days were spent thinking about games for PlayStation Now she’s much more likely to be developing for the small screen especially since smart phones have become more powerful and there are online stores to publish to,” she said “Games are now seen as another resource to help educate and train My customer 15 years [ago] was a games publisher “A lot of time is spent analyzing data,” she said she has time for little gameplay herself beyond short bursts of casual games on her phone she’s director of her husband’s restaurant in Auckland and she’s a director of Circle of Care Ltd where “we are building a socially networked mood-aware system to assist rangatahi to take care of their mental and emotional wellbeing “It builds from the foundations of whakawhanaungatanga -- family and friend relationships It is intended for everyone who would like to improve their wellbeing focusing on the needs of young people struggling to cope with society’s current pressures,” she said And as if that wasn’t enough, she also completed a master’s degree this year in Technological Futures with the Tech Futures lab – part of New Zealand’s hot tech scene Nihoniho also cares for three children ages 9 to 20 including “reconstructing or deconstructing stuff often challenging myself to recreate something I have seen somewhere like a clock or a table,” and taking “native bush walks and listening to bird song.” “Being a Mum and running a business is tough but those multitasking skills can come in super handy now,” she said I’m able to look to my culture for inspiration and strength.” See more from the World’s Top 50 Women In Tech That heritage has impacted Nihoniho’s development and the projects she’s taken on she grew up in the mainstream city Christchurch and the small rural town of Tuahiwi But she didn’t even learn her own language she was approached by the Univerity of Auckland to develop a self-help game for mild depression that would be relevant to Māori rangatahi and other New Zeland ethnic groups so it was important that Māori could see themselves reflected while playing the game,” she said “We included Māori imagery and cultural elements in a hybrid fantasy world “I always knew that gaming was powerful because it’s interactive It wasn’t until I worked on SPARX that I could see the full potential of what can be achieved It was the beginning of working on more games that had an educational outcome.” attempts to introduce outsiders to Māori tradition “My goal is to bolster Māori culture here in Aotearoa and around the world,” Nihoniho said as there is an increase and interest in indigenous storytelling -- and who better to tell these stories than the peoples whose culture it is?” It’s important to Nihoniho that her games relevant to the culture involve Māori at every level “When designing any type of program for Māori we need to ensure that their identity It’s not just about putting in Māori graphics and words,” she said “It’s about feeling included in the experience and getting rangatahi involved in some of the design aspects.” She won the New Zealand Order of Merit 2016 for her work in gaming and mental health and was 2018’s Māori Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 Nihoniho is looking to broaden the platforms she uses for making these experiences-with-a-purpose “My business is going through some small changes to not just make games but to include all interactive media including interactive film,” she said “The technology media platforms allow innovative development and rapid deployment so that’s where I’m heading in the near future.” Straight Talk "Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals But the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness." Supreme Court justice Shelley Fitzpatrick has sentenced another retired university professor to jail Simon Fraser University professor emeritus and public-health expert Dr was ordered to spend 30 days in prison as a result of violating an injunction obtained by Trans Mountain The company did this to keep protesters away from its massive fossil-fuel infrastructure project The government-owned company's planned $21.4-billion pipeline would triple shipments of diluted bitumen from the Alberta oilsands to the Westshore Terminal in Burnaby 890,000 barrels per day will flow through the pipeline system with most of that being shipped by oil tanker through the Salish Sea to export markets “The real climate criminals are the federal and provincial governments for not taking decisive action to reduce fossil energy infrastructure and ignoring the urgency of the climate crisis,” Takaro said in a news release “The government needs to take the climate crisis seriously to keep people from dying instead of shamelessly going after the people who are fighting to keep our planet healthy and safe for generations to come.” Takaro was one of six people who were arrested in the Brunette River area of Burnaby a retired professor in UBC's Department of French On February 15, Fitzpatrick sentenced Winder to 21 days in jail Takaro and Winder were part of the so-called "Brunette River 6" group of activists who suspended themselves in trees to make it difficult for contractors to clear the land for the pipeline expansion According to a 2014 study commissioned by the City of Vancouver annual upstream and downstream emissions from the pipeline project will exceed annual greenhouse-gas emissions for the entire province of British Columbia “Canada is presenting itself as a leader on climate change and health, but where the rubber meets the road, it is increasing emissions from the Alberta tarsands and jailing one of its foremost climate and health leaders—medical professional and health researcher Dr. Tim Takaro—who is calling for a halt to new fossil fuel infrastructure,” Global Climate & Health Alliance director Jeni Miller said in a news release “The Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion is incompatible with a healthy and jailing those who try to hold governments accountable is incompatible with the democratic principles Canada purports to represent.” Penalties for violating civil injunctions obtained by private companies can be far more severe than criminal sanctions That's because people who enter exclusion zones are in contempt of a court order Some of the activists who are fighting the pipeline project have been inspired by the peaceful civil disobedience practised by Mohandas K Gandhi in his efforts to end British colonialism in India Gandhi invited a judge to impose the highest penalty possible on him for violating a law that he considered a crime is either to resign your posts and thus dissociate yourselves from evil if you feel that the law you are called upon to administer is an evil and that in reality I am innocent," Gandhi stated if you believe that the system and the law you are assisting to administer are good for the people of this country Supreme Court bench by the Stephen Harper-led Conservative government in 2010 and security realization at a downtown Vancouver law firm The Harper government ensured that the climate impacts of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion would not be considered in its environmental review of the project Takaro's primary research has been on the effects of global heating on human health He was an intervener in the review process my evidence of potential harms from this project have been largely ignored," Takaro says in the video above Charlie Smith was editor of the Georgia Straight from 2005 until September 2022 Your hair was short-cropped and dyed orange Three days before being sentenced and ultimately jailed retired doctor Tim Takaro reflected on events that led him to spend 16 months in a treehouse protesting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion Since his days as a medical student at the University of North Carolina, when he joined Physicians for Social Responsibility, Takaro had been a public health advocate He joined the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Takaro was sentenced to 30 days in jail by B.C Supreme Court Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick for protesting TMX The treesit was his first act of civil disobedience noting he was hoping for community service rather than jail time because he has a heart condition As a physician, he felt it was important to uphold the Hippocratic Oath but the American Medical Association points out that ethical responsibilities usually exceed legal duties,” he said when a physician believes the law violates ethical values or is unjust but in exceptional circumstances of unjust laws ethical responsibilities supersede legal duties.” where he taught at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences while practising at Vancouver General Hospital he tackled concerns with TMX through reports He wrote two papers on the health impacts of the project for the National Energy Board which he said were essentially ignored by the federal government of the day under Stephen Harper the Health Officers Council of BC (HOC) “recognized that the health impacts assessment that had been done was inadequate,” said Takaro HOC passed a resolution calling for an independent cumulative and comprehensive health impacts assessment of TMX He said when that request was ignored, even after B.C. Premier John Horgan promised to “use every tool in the toolbox” to stop TMX “I would say my career has not been one of activism “And I exhausted all those routes and had my science ignored And so that's what led me to nonviolent civil disobedience systems.” was taken over by Texas-based Kinder Morgan in 2015 which then made plans to triple the exports of the existing operation upping production to 890,000 barrels each day flowing from Alberta to the B.C The federal government bought the pipeline in 2018 for $4.5 billion Construction of the expansion is projected to cost $21.4 billion Others arrested for violating the injunction around the same time as Takaro have been sentenced to jail Tsleil-Waututh Nation member and Burrard Inlet protector William George got 28 days in jail in May Although he wasn’t arrested during the action he was charged with criminal contempt in January 2021 The Tsleil-Waututh Nation said it was “frustrated and dismayed” with the judgment which he said many media outlets are neglecting to connect to climate change And this devastation that we saw last year was just a harbinger of what's to come,” he said “And so a lot of this work we do is to try to reduce that risk And I'm finding it incredibly frustrating.” In reply to by Geoffrey Pounder some in present generations are already thanking them This is the kind of hypocrisy from both the Federal and B.C Government on the TMX pipeline over the years It is shameful that a scientist and peaceful protester like Takaro and others are treated like criminals just for fighting for the environment and future generations TMX is an unnecessary environmental disaster only to please Alberta how do we change a legal system that allows corporations to make the judiciary and the police do their dirty work while "throwing the book" (aka jail time) at peaceful advocates for a safe and healthy future It's gotten to the point where actions such as blocking roads are justified how much cost to the taxpayers of prosecuting non violent "offenders" it will take to move the politicians and the corporate controlled judicial system to re-think their stupid intransigence They keep making the same mistakes over and over expecting something to change They have no idea how much energy is pent up - and building inexorably among the people being victimized by predatory untethered capitalism and its government lackeys Disgusting our law system is in the pockets of dirty energy morons destroying our planet with legal assistance as we know that the government and their flunkies support offshore billionaires and Communist Dictatorial Regime's at the expense of our environment Keep up the protest as you are on the right side of history I'm sure the judge's actions are perfectly in accordance with the law--and that's the problem There is no sanity left in the "justice" system as far as I've seen for several decades now Any action designed to advance or protect humanity runs into laws and judgements designed to protect corporations and there is clearly no political will to tackle this professor Tim Takaro didn’t see himself as a tree sit protester But now he’s living 82 feet up in the air on a sling between two cottonwoods, in a one-man protest against the expansion of the TransMountain Pipeline Takaro is a Vancouver-area physician and professor of health sciences on sabbatical from Simon Fraser University He has published studies about the health risks of the pipeline expansion spoken at review hearings for the project and petitioned his government to stop it The estimated $12 to $15 billion project was purchased by the Canadian federal government from developer Kinder Morgan in 2018 “So I find myself up a tree,” Takaro said in a phone interview Friday He’s living in tent pitched on a fold out shelf suspended from a line slung between cottonwoods right in the path of the planned expansion The trees along the Brunette River in New Westminster just outside the Vancouver area are scheduled to be cut for the pipeline project between now and September 15 – so Takaro decided to do what he could to save the trees He set up his tree sit Monday morning in a grove southeast of where the Trans-Canada Highway crosses North Road in Burnaby A security guard from the pipeline stopped by briefly Friday “We understand there are a variety of views regarding the TransMountain Expansion Project and respect the right to peaceful lawful expressions of opinion,” a spokesperson for TransMountain wrote in an email to The Seattle Times on Friday The company maintains the pipeline is safe and a boost to the Canadian energy industry and customers that depend on products refined from Canadian dilbit That includes gasoline and jet fuel made at Washington refineries supplied by a spur from the pipeline that crosses the border at Sumas The pipeline is expected to be at full capacity from the day it opens and will “unlock billions of economic value,” the statement from TransMountain continued Takaro maintains the expansion will never be built We are not going to let this pipeline go through.” His aerial camp is in no forest primeval: The Trans-Canada Highway roars by on one side Takaro wondered about the propensity of cottonwoods to drop limbs The pipeline is a public health and climate disaster “This is a climate killer,” he said of the pipeline He called the review process of the pipeline by National Energy Board “rigged from the start.” The board acknowledged increased risk of extinction for southern resident killer whales from a seven-fold increase in tanker traffic to the terminal but decided it was outweighed by Canada’s economic interest said he is proud of his constituent and supports the protest “He is putting himself in peril to get people to understand how important it is to stop this project,” Julian said Jonathan Patz is a professor at the University of Wisconsin where he directs the Global Health Institute The COVID-19 pandemic is just a warm-up for the pandemonium he sees coming from climate change from more infectious disease outbreaks to killer heat waves and violent floods “Climate change really should be viewed as a health emergency,” Patz said “For this pipeline to be developed in the year 2020 is counter to science and especially with the implications for the next generation Takaro perhaps doesn’t fit the hippie tree sitter stereotype “I have been working on the health impacts of this pipeline since 2014 and following the rules,” he said The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser T I L Faculty of Health Sciences professor emeritus, colleague and friend Dr. Tim Takaro was sentenced in the BC Supreme Court on June 15 to 30 days in jail for violating a 2018 court injunction prohibiting obstruction of or interference with the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) expansion project In his statement to the Court Takaro said: “[t]he modern Hippocratic oath requires that I protect the health of my patients AND the public AND to inform or warn about impending health threats This is an essential expectation in my professional role.” where he outlined the toxic health effects of a diluted bitumen spill which include childhood leukemia risks As professors in the Faculty of Health Sciences we thank Takaro for continuing the work of advocating for the inclusion of evidence-based science in current climate change dialogues and for collaborating with the many people who feel compelled to speak out to protect people locally and globally from the largest threat to planetary health in known history.  Simon Fraser University respectfully acknowledges the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Semiahmoo and Tsawwassen peoples on whose unceded traditional territories our three campuses reside Metrics details The Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development birth cohort was designed to elucidate interactions between environment and genetics underlying development of asthma and allergy Over 3600 pregnant mothers were recruited from the general population in four provinces with diverse environments with prospective characterization of diverse exposures during this critical period Key exposure domains include indoor and outdoor air pollutants Assessments of early life exposures are focused on those linked to inflammatory responses driven by the acquired and innate immune systems Mothers complete extensive environmental questionnaires including time-activity behavior at recruitment and when the child is 3 House dust collected during a thorough home assessment at 3–4 months and biological specimens obtained for multiple exposure-related measurements Geo-locations of homes and daycares and land-use regression for estimating traffic-related air pollution complement time-activity-behavior data to provide comprehensive individual exposure profiles Several analytical frameworks are proposed to address the many interacting exposure variables and potential issues of co-linearity in this complex data set Interacting risk factors measured in the CHILD study nutritional and psychosocial exposures; genetics; lung function; and microbiome resulting in immunological and clinical phenotypic outcomes including indoor and outdoor air pollutants Our approach includes repeated questionnaires We focused on this microenvironment by undertaking a detailed home assessment at 3–4 months of age but also track other primary locations for traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and other potential exposures These data are complemented by biological sample collections In this paper we also present initial data describing the range of prenatal living conditions and earliest exposures experienced by the cohort living in proximity (<50 Km) to a participating delivery hospital planning to deliver at a designated recruitment center participating hospital Exclusion criteria were major congenital abnormalities or respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) expectation of moving away from a recruitment center within 1 year of recruitment children of multiple births or resulting from in vitro fertilization and children not spending over 80% of time in the index home Recruitment strategies ranged from having staff meet mothers in ante-natal ultrasound clinics and physician offices to community “baby fairs” and included person-to-person referrals and social media advertising A representative general population was sought as the development of allergy and asthma in a non-high-risk population may more readily identify environmental risks as well as novel genes Over 80% of Canadians live in urban centers and the recruited population should be generally representative of the Canadian population Representativeness and potential biases (e.g. allergic diathesis) will be determined by comparison with data from the total Canadian population Standard operating protocols are available upon request through the CHILD website A unique aspect of the CHILD study is the home visit at 3–4 months (hereafter referred to as 3 months) when a detailed home environment assessment is undertaken and sample collection performed This is designed to complement and validate the more frequently obtained environmental questionnaires by providing observational data on the home The RAs conducting this assessment received group training with annual in-person refresher courses led by experienced home inspectors recommended by the CMHC In addition to ensuring a consistent approach to data capture at a key developmental time point this visit enables an objective evaluation of the accuracy of some of the home-related information provided independently by the mother in the questionnaires The home assessment only represents a snapshot in time and therefore does not inform us of additional child and family behaviors affecting exposure these data are obtained in each of the questionnaires including information such as frequency of use of appliances (e.g. Time-activity information for the mother (when pregnant) and for the child is also a critical part of both the detailed and the shorter update questionnaires and is captured by asking about activity over set time periods in the past (e.g. which are based on expected reliability of the mother’s recall This also includes information such as sleeping locations in the home and time-location patterns (time spent outdoors In the detailed questionnaires (at recruitment the mothers report the type of dwelling that best describes their home and renovations done within a defined time period the RA also notes the type of structure and examines the exterior of the home including the composition and condition of wall cladding and roofing and the integrity of water-shedding planes (e.g. Gaps and cracks on the exterior cladding of the house which indicate the potential for water infiltration as well as possible entry points for pests and the integrity of weather stripping around doors and windows (particularly doors leading to attached garages) are documented The RA performs measurements using a laser distance meter for estimating the volume of the indoor space Volume affects the amount of dilution that is immediately available to disperse airborne contaminants and disease vectors and is used to calculate occupant density (people by interior volume) providing a basis to predict the occupant-related moisture contribution (e.g. etc.) The number of children and adults living in the home as well as behaviors such as frequency of opening windows is recorded on the questionnaires only one home assessment per family is possible information on the new living environment is only obtained via questionnaire during the home visit the presence of suspected areas of moisture damage and the existence and extent of visible mold colonization are documented by the RA the greater the potential for exposure to fungal spores The presence and sources of moisture and water leaks are identified by the detailed questionnaires in combination with objective measures of selected mold allergens and beta-(1,3)-d-glucan from dust (described below) will be used to model the potential for occupant exposure As models are developed they will consider the fact that fungal burden of indoor air is episodic and related to multiple factors and building features that act to moderate ventilation and chemicals are often kept in garages and also represent a potential source of elevated exposures to these toxicants For single-family dwellings the garage type (attached no garage) is determined as well as the presence of a door connecting the garage to the home interior Mothers are asked about the number of vehicles regularly parking in the garage by season and the typical daily frequency that they come and go and the presence of other combustion engines and odors In the RA visual home assessment observations about the number of common walls between the garage and interior living space the tightness of the seal for the garage door and for the door from the garage to the house and types of chemicals stored in the garage and any odors in the garage are documented the nature of the parking facility and its physical proximity and structural connection to the living space is recorded RAs then examine the common garage area for size and usage and note any smell of vehicle emissions in common hallways of the building The type and number of furry pets in the home is assessed in every environmental questionnaire Additional information on pets is obtained from the home assessment based on odors detected by the RA on entering the house Pet exposure will also be quantified through analysis of house dust (i.e. and arthropods are covered in questionnaires and are also recorded by the RA through observation of the animals themselves or the observation of apparent efforts to control specific pests such as rodent or cockroach traps or bait Specific allergens related to these and other pests (e.g. dust mites) will also be measured in house dust salt) and their storage location is also ascertained Visits to public swimming pools are tracked more frequently (in each environmental questionnaire) so that the total number of hours the child spent in or near indoor or outdoor pools can be estimated The presence (in the home or attached garage) and frequency of use of chemical products etc.) are recorded on all of the detailed questionnaires the RA also identifies the presence and the total number of such products during the home assessment Potentially hazardous exposures from hobby activities in the home are also determined from information gathered on the detailed questionnaires Cooking can be a significant indoor source of air pollutants.39 Details on cooking appliances and usage behavior are captured during the home assessment as well as all of the detailed questionnaires The detailed questionnaires ask about the use of baby products or other personal-care products such as baby powder noting the frequency of use so that potential chemical exposure can be assessed This also includes the length of time baby is using articles such as a pacifier and soft plastic toys as well as the type and frequency of use of baby bottles and other behaviors related to the use of plastic containers to heat The mother is asked about the frequency of the baby’s exposure outside the home Tobacco smoke odor is assessed by the RA during the home assessment The ability of the questionnaire and home assessment information to predict exposure is being determined by analyzing urinary cotinine levels in a subset of children the mother is asked about her work activities and exposure to dusts Occupant questionnaires and physical inspections are used to assess the potential and extent of dust burden including measures of cleaning behaviors and tools used (e.g. The presence and scale of dust reservoirs are assessed by inspection and direct measurement from the floor and baby’s bed (see below) number of upholstered furnishings and toys and use of allergy covers on bedding are noted Motor vehicle traffic has been linked to asthma development and exacerbation and is an important contributor to outdoor air pollution in the CHILD recruitment cities Exposure to TRAP is estimated from land-use regression (LUR) models that capture fine spatial concentration gradients of outdoor NO2 across the cities Residential GPS coordinates measured during the home visit allow residence-specific assignment of exposure the mother is asked on each detailed questionnaire to provide the address(es) of locations where the child spends time away from home If a child spends at least 1 h/day or 7 h/week away from home during a typical week at 1–2 consistent location(s) the outdoor NO2 is estimated by LUR for that location and combined with the residential value based on the time spent in each location (see next section on time-activity-location) To improve estimates of total TRAP exposure the LUR models are combined with time-activity and location information obtained in the questionnaire at multiple time points the air pollutant levels at 1–2 locations regularly visited outside of the home are derived from LUR and combined with the levels predicted for the home location(s) based on percentage of time in each location For traffic-related air pollutants the exposure estimate is defined as the pregnancy questionnaire considers the mothers’ activities and location particles may also be host to active saprotrophic communities of molds and bacteria Aliquots of sieved dust are extracted in 10 ml of pyrogen-free water at 25 °C for 30 min in an ultrasonic bath Pyrogen-free apparatus is used for all manipulations Endotoxin concentrations are assayed using the Chromo-LAL kinetic chromogenic LAL detection kit incubated at 37°C and assayed in microplate reader at 405 nm following the methods described by the manufacturer (Associates of Cape Cod Endotoxin content of field samples and blanks are evaluated by interpolation against a standard curve prepared using an endotoxin standard This method has a sensitivity range from 0.01 to 100.0 endotoxin units ml–1 extract Beta-(1,3)-d-glucan is measured following a similar extraction procedure followed by analysis using the Glucatell beta-(1,3)-d-glucan detection kit from the same manufacturer Mite Group 2) together with other common indoor aeroallergens and hopane analysis involves spiking the dust sample with deuterated recovery standards (diethyl phthalate (DEP)-d4 n-tetracosane-d50) followed by extraction using an accelerated solvent extractor (ASE 200) with a 7:3 hexane/acetone solvent mixture The extract is concentrated in 0.5 ml of iso-octane using a Zymark TurboVap II An internal standard (fluorantehene-d10) is then added before analysis of a 1 μl aliquot using an Agilent Technologies 6890N GC (Agilent J&W capillary DB-5MS +DG 122-5532G) with a 5973 inert Mass Selective Detector and a 7693 Autosampler All metabolite concentrations are adjusted for urine concentration by specific gravity A rigorous quality assurance program as described by Whitney, Lind, and Wahl84 is followed in the CHILD study To ensure completeness and consistency in the questionnaire data the RAs are available to clarify issues with the mothers upon completion once by the RAs and once in the national data center contacting the mother for clarification if necessary Site visits by CHILD leadership ensure consistency among sites Each home assessment is performed by a qualified RA and often a second RA in training the RA must complete at least one group training program and have performed 20 home visits supervised and reviewed by a more experienced RA Additional quality assurance mechanisms are built into the system by collecting some common information in the questionnaires and the home assessment These data are compared for inconsistencies as well as comparison of information that is not expected to change between the questionnaires administered at different time points the mothers are asked questions pertaining to mold and dampness and the RAs were trained to recognize and quantify mold Cross-comparisons of these independent sets of observations will help validate the questionnaire data and provide insight into possible reporting bias in the questionnaires and the enrolled baby was the family’s first child for half of the cohort fewer than 6% of participants reported four or more adults living in the home Furry pets were present in nearly half of all homes and rodents and cockroaches were reported in 13.3% and 1.4% of homes Housing characteristics derived from the prenatal questionnaire are summarized in Table 4b based on 3303 homes The age of the housing stock varies geographically with the greatest percentage of new homes (built after 1989) in Edmonton (51%) and more families living in older homes (built before 1970) in Manitoba and Toronto (52% each) after excluding those unsure of the date of construction Edmonton had the largest number of homes with attached garages (41%) and Vancouver the fewest (13%) Gas was the primary heating fuel in Edmonton and Manitoba but electric heat was equally as common in Vancouver and 24% of these basements were reported to be damp Basements were being used as living space by 58% of the families with a basement and 24% of these families considered their basement damp Renovations in the year prior to the birth of the index child were completed in the majority of homes ranging from 50% to 66% across the four cities Cleaning habits did not vary widely with most people cleaning four or fewer times per month (Table 4c) Over 80% of mothers worked during pregnancy (89% in Toronto) and 17% of working mothers reported that they were exposed to dust or fumes in the air and/or were dermally exposed to chemicals on the job Temporally adjusted (bi‐weekly averages) estimates of Land‐use Regression (LUR) derived NO2 in the four participating cities (dotted lines represent the mean characteristics and assessments of other exposures thereby leading to a comprehensive characterization of potential risk factors considered in the CHILD study and longitudinal approach to exposure assessment in the CHILD study is expected to offer considerable improvement over many past studies in assessments of the environmental origins of allergy The episodic and categorical nature of the questionnaire data restricts the use of continuous measures of exposure We plan to address this latter issue at least partially with some of the analytic methods described below Whereas residence changes and major residential renovations during the first 5 years of life are documented we could not make a second home visit or repeat sampling for dust relatively few subjects moved during the first year of life (~17%) Analyses restricted to children who did not move will therefore be possible Time-activity information is obtained by recall and this reduces confidence in the data requesting families to complete activity diaries adds burden and still represents a snapshot in time We thus restricted the time-activity information acquired to that which mothers are more likely able to recall and ask for such information on multiple occasions at intervals of only 6 months during the first 3 years of life This should lead mothers to become more familiar with the information desired and so we can compare the information over time The relatively frequent repetition of the detailed and update questionnaires allows us to combine the information at multiple time points to improve precision and/or compare adjacent time periods and identify major changes This level of detail might signal difficulty in recall for one of the periods and thereby be used to improve assessments the goal is to retain as much valid information as possible about behavioral changes across time that could influence exposure The exposure assessments in the CHILD study generate an enormous amount of data thus posing inherent analytical challenges The large number of exposure-related variables and their interactions potentially lead to high-dimension covariates in regression models Colinearity among these exposures adds to the difficulty of high dimensional variable selection may suffer from being unstable with increased prediction errors and computational demands prior to more complex longitudinal and multi-interaction analyses simpler analytical approaches will be undertaken Data from individual exposure domains will be integrated into single categorical or continuous variables representing potentially important harmful or protective factors observations from the home assessment pertaining to mold and combined area and density of mold by room are used to quantify differences among homes in mold exposure These integrated house-specific estimates of exposure are validated with the available measurements of beta-(1,3)-d-glucan and endotoxin in dust Respiratory health outcomes can subsequently be examined in relation to categories of mold exposure (none high) or in relation to a continuous measure based on presence These continuous measures are adjusted by modifying factors for indoor mold exposure Longitudinal questionnaire data on home dampness and persistent wet areas will be synthesized into simple summary variables After systematic exploratory analyses focusing on single exposure time windows and following the simpler approach described above exposures from key domains and quantified risk factors will be combined to characterize the longitudinal exposure for each subject results from this focus on individual exposures and their correlations are expected to lead to identification of the main interacting factors quantified in CHILD that individually or in concert impart risk or protection for allergy and asthma for inclusion in multivariate analytic models If one considers a linear regression model with the log-transformed phthalate metabolites level as the outcome and the large pool of exposure-related variables collected through the questionnaires as the explanatory variables LASSO can be used to fit the model and to identify the most important risk factors allergy or asthma) is the primary outcome of interest LASSO-penalized logistic regression analysis can be adopted to identify the significant exposures and characterize the precise contribution of each to the outcome Advanced multivariate analysis techniques will also be considered for constructing an informative exposure index statistical classification and dimension reduction methods such as Correspondence Analysis an analog of Principal Component Analysis for categorical variables can be used to detect underlying structures among exposure sources and to create the indices summarizing multiple domains of the exposure These exposure domain indices can then be used as potential independent variables in the multiple regression analysis with a biomarker concentration phthalate metabolite or cotinine in urine as the dependent variable in the model The best small subset regression model that explains maximum variation in the selected dependent exposure variable is used to predict the particular phthalate exposure Fisher Linear Discriminant Analysis may serve the same purpose with the exception that the principal components identified from the exposure variables can be guided by an outcome asthma at 5 years or one of several intermediate end points The first principal component in this approach could then be chosen as a summary index for the exposures initially considered Unraveling the complex interacting risk factors for the development of asthma and allergies continues to be a major challenge for public health The prospective environmental exposure assessment methods described here has unprecedented breadth and detail across different growth periods with a focus on exposures in early life These data will be linked independently and collectively to health outcomes from infancy to age 5 years (atopic dermatitis as well as to other possible effectors such as epigenetic modifications The primary limitations of the study relate to the cost to participants for their time and expense of measurement in a large cohort Our single home visit for deep exposure assessment at 3 months may not represent the most vulnerable period in development and though we have multiple time points for some biomarkers and questionnaires GEWIS require detailed environmental assessments like those described here In combination with longitudinal epigenetic data assessments of the diversity and changes in the gut microbiome and psychosocial factors CHILD has the potential to detect and understand the complex interactions between multiple environmental factors and heritable epigenetic imprints that confer susceptibility for the development of asthma and 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63: 12–16 Perinatal exposure to traffic-related air pollution and development of atopy in a Canadian birth cohort study Environ Health Perspect 2014 (in final revision) Determinants of personal exposure to PM2.5 Commuters' exposure to particulate matter air pollution is affected by mode of transport Environ Health Perspect 2010; 118: 783–789 Long-term studies of the natural history of asthma in childhood Measurements of personal exposure to NO2 and modelling using ambient concentrations and activity data Impact of microenvironments and personal activities on personal PM2.5 exposures among asthmatic children J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2014; 24: 260–268 From measures to models: an evaluation of air pollution exposure assessment for epidemiological studies of pregnant women The impact of daily mobility on exposure to traffic-related air pollution and health effect estimates J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2011; 21: 42–48 Modeling the residential infiltration of outdoor PM(2.5) in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution (MESA Air) Environ Health Perspect 2012; 120: 824–830 Fungi and fungal products in some Canadian houses Dust weight and asthma prevalence in the National Survey of Lead and Allergens in Housing (NSLAH) Environ Health Perspect 2007; 115: 215–220 Review of methods to collect settled dust and isolate culturable microorganisms Analysis of the dynamic interaction between SVOCs and airborne particles Source strengths for indoor human activities that resuspend particulate matter Children's phthalate intakes and resultant cumulative exposures estimated from urine compared with estimates from dust ingestion inhalation and dermal absorption in their homes and daycare centers Sanitaire. MODEL S3686. 2012; Available at http://www.sanitairevac.com/professional/products/canister/s3686.jsp Dust sampling methods for endotoxin - an essential Systemic and local airways inflammatory response to endotoxin Tobacco smoking increases dramatically air concentrations of endotoxin Elevated concentrations of endotoxin in indoor air due to cigarette smoking Metropolitan home living conditions associated with indoor endotoxin levels endotoxin and fungi measurements in the indoor environment J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol 2003; 13: 152–160 Mouse exposure and wheeze in the first year of life Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2005; 94: 593–599 Determinants of endotoxin levels in living environments of farmers' children and their peers from rural areas The mutagenic hazards of settled house dust: a review Coal-tar-based parking lot sealcoat: an unrecognized source of PAH to settled house dust Int J Hyg Environ Health 2007; 210: 623–634 Intrauterine exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons Prospective birth cohort study in 4-year olds Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2010; 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13 (Suppl 15): 55–60 The BAMSE project: presentation of a prospective longitudinal birth cohort study Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2002; 13 (Suppl 15): 11–13 Cohort Profile: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children: ALSPAC mothers cohort Epidemiology of asthma: risk factors for development The relation between fungal propagules in indoor air and home characteristics Dust: a metric for use in residential and building exposure assessment and source characterization Environ Health Perspect 2002; 110: 969–983 Determinants of temporal variability in NHEXAS-Maryland environmental concentrations J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol 2005; 15: 388–397 Regression shrinkage and selection via the Lasso Series B (Methodological) 1996; 58: 267–288 Peri-natal environmental exposures and IL-6 measured in cord blood: early expression of the hygiene hypothesis Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2012; 185: A2221 Environmental exposures and wheeze at three and twelve months of age in the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development Study Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2014; 189: A3848 Effect of environmental interventions to reduce asthma triggers in homes of low-income children in Seattle J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol 2004; 14 (Suppl 1): S133–S143 ASTM Standard D5438 Standard Practice for Collection of Dust from carpeted Floors for Chemical Analysis Phthalate and PAH concentrations in dust collected from Danish homes and daycare centers A comparison of direct thermal desorption with solvent extraction for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of semivolatile organic compounds in diesel particulate matter Download references We are grateful to all the families who are participating in this study The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Allergy Genes and Environment (AllerGen) Network of Centres of Excellence provided core support for the CHILD study Additional support was given by Health Canada Environment Canada and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation We acknowledge the significant contributions of all CHILD study investigators who are listed below and Chinthanie Ramasundarahettige who assisted with the final tables Support was provided by CIHR; AllerGen Network of Centres of Excellence; Health Canada McMaster University; Subbarao P (co-Director) Environment Canada and the University of Toronto; Chen E University of British Columbia; Kollman TR University of British Columbia; Kozyrskyj AL Université du Québec à Chicoutimi; Larché M CHILD study investigators are listed in the acknowledgements The authors declare no conflict of interest Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology website Download citation Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article the wife of a man who drowned with three of their children in the Labasa River Ms Takaro broke her silence for the first time yesterday As she mourned the death of husband Mohammed Khaiyum and children Their deaths have broken my heart,” she said Azar and his three siblings were taken by their father to the river on Monday had told them they were going on an outing in a boat In the river he threw the children overboard and he also jumped into the water Azar managed to swim to the boat before he was rescued Ms Takaro said Mr Khaiyum’s act might have been motivated by a row between them me and my children and we would go for a break to Rabi where I am originally from “I can’t believe Khaiyum would do such a thing every time I see their clothes I think of them and I start crying.” She said she was in Nabouwalu at the time of the tragedy A relative from Suva called and informed and said to get in touch with the Police who were trying to get a hold of her all the Police told me was that I was to stay within close range of security because if my husband was still alive “The last time I talked to my husband was on Sunday I asked him if I could speak with our children and he told me ‘This is the last time you will speak to your children’ I did not know what he was planning until the day of the tragedy By entering your email address you're giving us permission to send you news and offers The full-length story originally appeared in AllerGen NCE’s newsletter When FHS professor Tim Takaro received an email from a Grade 10 student asking about how to get started in research “This enterprising young student clearly stated what she wanted to do related to my research on disease susceptibility factors in environmental health,” says Takaro “I wanted to meet her in person to see what was behind this.” who has been passionate about science since middle school had decided to find someone who could help her learn what it takes to become a “real” researcher She never imagined that email would lead her to the CHILD Cohort Study “I googled Simon Fraser University and looked through their faculty,” says Wang Takaro’s bio said he had an interest in child health and chronic diseases I never really expected him to write me back.” Takaro invited Wang to come to the SFU campus to meet with him and graduate student Jaclyn Parks “They were both so encouraging and generous with their time to answer my questions about how to get started in research,” Wang explains Takaro told me about the CHILD Cohort Study and the incredible things the study is teaching us about child health and development The meeting led to a 12-month collaboration in which Takaro and Parks mentored the teen in using CHILD data to study the effects of house dust on the development of childhood allergies and asthma Wang spent the summer becoming familiar with RStudio an open-access statistical program that was used to analyze the complex data The CHILD Cohort Study has been following 3,500 Canadian children from before birth Takaro and I study the effects of early-life exposures on the development of childhood asthma and allergic disease so the endotoxin project seemed like the perfect complement to previous work done with environmental data from CHILD,” says Parks a Master’s student and Research Associate in FHS and we knew that with support and training in research methods and analysis Laura could become an excellent young researcher.” Nearly a year after she first emailed Takaro, Wang summarized her research results into a paper titled “Endotoxins Associated with Wheeze and Atopy” and submitted it to the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair. She won a Gold Medal and a $2,000 entrance scholarship to the University of British Columbia’s Health and Life Sciences Program, as well as a spot in the Canada-Wide Science Fair Wang’s project won Bronze and garnered her entrance scholarships to Western University and the University of Ottawa She was also recognized with a Canadian Young Researcher Award and a cash prize of $1,000 Wang credits her research success to the steady supervision and mentorship provided by Takaro and Parks “Their guidance and support have provided me with such a rich learning experience – I can’t thank them enough.” the collaboration will continue as the findings are prepared for peer review leading to an open-access publication by the STEM Fellowship Journal offered as part of Wang’s CWSF award Publishing one’s first peer-reviewed paper is an important milestone in the career of every researcher – and is especially impressive at such a young age “Laura’s goal was to publish a paper before she finished high school Given all that she has accomplished so far I’m confident now that Laura will publish before she graduates.” Takaro says that the experience has also been a rewarding one for him and Parks Working with Laura has helped consolidate Jaclyn’s analytic abilities and she has become a gifted mentor that young scientists look up to.” A Vancouver-area public health physician is challenging the Trans Mountain pipeline in court after his protest site along the expansion route was demolished so trees could be cut down Tim Takaro, a 63-year-old health sciences professor at Simon Fraser University, is asking the B.C. Supreme Court to set aside an injunction order it handed Trans Mountain and its oil pipeline expansion project in 2018 The order has allowed police to arrest or detain anyone obstructing the project’s progress Takaro and a group of supporters have been camping out in forested areas along the pipeline’s route in and around Burnaby blocking where the company will cut down trees to clear the way for construction of the pipeline set to nearly triple Trans Mountain’s capacity up to 890,000 barrels per day of petroleum products flowing from Alberta He says he is choosing civil disobedience because his professional code of conduct requires that he protect the health of Canadians Any short-term economic gains from the pipeline will be overshadowed by the health risks caused by the climate crisis that is being propelled by pollution from the burning of fossil fuels A map from Trans Mountain shows the path of the pipeline expansion project through Burnaby where Tim Takaro has set up his protest site Takaro said his camping and other equipment in a treehouse-style “peaceful lawful and safe protest” site at a location on Holmes Creek in Burnaby — near a rail line and the Trans Canada highway — had been “demolished” that day before he arrived as well as Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway He said he was given a copy of the injunction order that would prohibit him from continuing his protest “We were just about to go up into the treehouse to stay for an extended period,” Takaro said in an interview Feb “unceremoniously dumped our stuff outside the gate.” Thousands of dollars worth of equipment Photos posted on the Facebook page Protect The Planet Stop TMX show the treehouse surrounded with caution tape and blue scaffolding being put up Another photo showed a sign reading “Trans Mountain property: any person who obstructs access to this site is in breach of an injunction order and may be subject to immediate arrest and prosecution.” Takaro and a group of about eight supporters moved to a spot near Lost Creek and have now built another treehouse camp there “We’re not going to get caught with our pants down again,” said Takaro CN Rail and CP Rail could not immediately be reached for comment The “voluntary safety stand down” of its workforce of 7,000 people was ordered mid-December and Trans Mountain said it undertook a review of all its workplace safety rules The ability of Trans Mountain — which is owned and operated by the Canada Development Investment Corporation a federal Crown corporation that reports to Parliament through the finance minister — to cut down trees to clear the way for its expansion project was also made easier this month after a favourable ruling from a federal regulator The City of Burnaby requires a municipal permit under most circumstances before anyone is allowed to “carry out any activity that may kill or injure a tree” that is 20.3 centimetres in diameter or greater But the Canada Energy Regulator issued an order Feb. 3 that says Trans Mountain would not be required to obtain the permits to cut down trees The energy company had asked the regulator’s commission if it could ignore the permits “on the basis that the bylaw is impairing and frustrating its ability to build the expansion project.” who is also a clinical professor at the University of Washington and visiting associate professor at the University of British Columbia has studied the health impacts of climate change for decades He said he is challenging the injunction on the basis there was insufficient consideration of the pipeline’s impact on the climate and to Canada’s international obligations when it comes to the Paris Agreement “Anybody who really looks at this project in 2021 this project makes no sense whatsoever,” he said But it’s become a political must-have for (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau And I think that’s a really bad miscalculation especially for somebody who is trying to make himself into a climate leader.” Carl Meyer / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer As a 2018 arrestee who self-represented a not guilty plea to breaking the 2018 TMX Injunction Order (and received the lightest sentence of ~230 convictions hence must have made a good case for not intending to thumb my nose at the Crown) I learned about neat Catch-22 in injunction-order law Convictions are based on a 1992 labour-law decision by the Supreme Court of Canada which determined that the usual two-part criminal burden of proof having a guilty mind separate fromo guilty actions The guilty actions were taken as evidence of guilty intent the 900+ Clayoquot convictions set precedence regarding injunction orders the TMX Injunction Order covers all of the roads in British Columbia leading directly and indirectly to Trans Mountain sites -- i.e Being seen on any of these roads with the intention of protesting-- or even just caught on video a new precedence set this January -- sets the stage for conviction all Trans Mountain has to do is call the RCMP to make an arrest Guilty actions = guilty mind and a slam-dunk criminal contempt of court conviction because it's too deep into how the law works for most people to care Even fellow protesters don't want to protest this injustice via Parliament and our elected representatives so Injunction-Order Law complies with the Canadian Constitution Common Law use of Criminal-Law burden of proof those like this valiant physician are just lambs to the slaughter In reply to by Brenda Guiled The war on democratic rights.....citizen engagement.......and sound environmental protection for our common land and water resources is heating up Fellow Canadians owe you massive debt of gratitude Dr for standing up against the recklessly irresponsible Trudeau Liberal Government which decided to back the TMX Pipeline with Canadian tax dollars Mann (leading American climatologist and geophysicist Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University) stated recently "A second Trump term is game over for the climate We need a president who will not only meet our current obligation under the Paris accord but double down on them." Dr Mann's statements are backed by evidence-based science For those of you who don't appreciate the gravity of the predicament we're in may I suggest you try stepping off a cliff if you don't believe in the equivalent science of gravity In a succinct Feb. 4, 2021 summary article by Barry Saxifrage (National Observer), on Canada's "performance" among G7 countries dealing with the climate crisis, it's painfully evident that Canada has proven itself the laggard. https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/02/04/analysis/canada-pledges-str… “Despite promising since 1988 to reduce our oversized climate pollution We now find ourselves the ONLY G7 MEMBER still polluting well above the 1990 starting line." Canadian climate pollution levels have risen to about 21% above our 1990 level Even the USA has managed to bring its climate pollution down to its 1990 level "Americans and Canadians are the super-polluters in the group Both emit 20 tons of climate pollution per person (tCO2) each year That's twice as much as any other G7 country." Although the Americans used to be significantly worse polluters than Canadians they have done a better job of cleaning up and they're on track to soon leave Canadians in the position of greatest G7 super-polluter There's no way greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by continuing to pour tax dollars into the fastest-growing source of emissions in Canada In reply to by Alex Inselberg All true enough.....but the Federal Liberals are betting most of us don't connect these dots........and they can continue taking funding from the likes of CAPP a while longer Perhaps what's needed is exposure of who politicians are beholden to Justin sure hasn't received any thank you notes from the 'I heart oil and gas" crowd in Alberta You'd think they'd learn fossil fuels are no longer profitable; the earth can't afford them This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Trans Mountain says it was trying to ensure “safe construction” when it removed a peaceful protest site in December along its pipeline route in the Vancouver area The company is currently working on a section of its oil pipeline expansion project that will bring petroleum products north of the Fraser River through Coquitlam and Burnaby reaching a series of storage tanks before tunnelling through Burnaby Mountain to a marine terminal on Vancouver’s central harbour In order to build the pipeline through the area it needs to first cut down many trees — over 1,300 of them according to a plan prepared for a Trans Mountain contractor that has been working on the Lower Mainland section of the project Some of these trees are in an area near the Brunette River between the Trans-Canada Highway and the BNSF Railway that Simon Fraser University health sciences professor Tim Takaro says are surrounding two environmentally sensitive streams Feeling compelled by his professional obligations to protect Canadians Takaro and a group of supporters had been blocking Trans Mountain from cutting down trees in that area On Dec. 9, 2020, their protest site was “demolished,” according to a court filing Takaro has made Takaro and supporters have since moved to another location nearby In a statement sent to Canada’s National Observer on Wednesday Trans Mountain says it “respects the right to peaceful the company is relying on the use of a 2018 B.C injunction order that allows police to arrest or detain anyone obstructing access to Trans Mountain’s work sites Trans Mountain needed to move into the Brunette River area to begin site preparation,” the company said in response to questions about its involvement in the Dec The company also reiterated that the injunction was in place that the pipeline expansion route has been approved by Canada’s federal regulator that it was on “privately owned lands,” and that it had secured an agreement with the landowner Takaro, who said he was read the injunction order on Dec. 9 and told to leave the area, is now challenging the order in B.C. Supreme Court on the grounds that there was not enough consideration of the pipeline’s climate impact His lawyer Martin Peters confirmed the court date is set for March 3 Takaro also stated in the affidavit that officials representing Trans Mountain were accompanied by authorities working for the railway when they arrived to kick him and his supporters off the protest site in December said the protest site removal was “handled by Trans Mountain and their contractors.” but said they had “minimal involvement,” limited to reading the junction to the assembled group of protesters The Burnaby tree management plan prepared for Kiewit-Ledcor Trans Mountain Partnership stated that “an approximated total of 1,308 trees will be removed to accommodate (Trans Mountain) construction activities.” Trans Mountain was given permission to cut the trees without obtaining permits from the City of Burnaby thanks to a Feb The Facebook group 1308 Trees has been started to organize opposition to the tree-cutting What do we offer them in return?” the group says on its page “We believe that (Trans Mountain) can be stopped — and these trees should be spared!” Carl Meyer / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer a father and grandfather I am very disturbed that the Government of Canada and the pipeline company it owns disrespects and disregards local government authority ecosystem impacts and economic reality in pushing through the TMX project After reading the report on the giant ship blocking the Suez Canal and the cause of the accident (power blackout - loss of control) I fear for the drastic increase the expanded pipeline will create in tanker traffic travelling the inland waterways of the south west BC coast What would a power blackout and loss of control do with 2,000,000 barrels of oil Think about that Federal Environment officials Sign In Subscribe Now With a big sign reading “Stop TMX,” a Vancouver-area professor spent all of Tuesday (Aug 4) perched in a tree in New Westminster as part of an effort to block construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project “I didn’t expect to find myself living in a tree at 63 years of age,” Tim Takaro said in a statement released by activist group Extinction Rebellion Takaro is currently occupying a section of forested area along the Brunette River which is scheduled to be removed to clear way for pipeline to be laid “I am a public health physician who has been studying and working on policy regarding the health impacts of climate change for nearly 30 years,” he said “This threat has compelled me to put my body on the line to prevent construction of this climate-killing project.” The group is planning a physically distanced march on Wednesday afternoon in New Westminster Black Press Media has reached out to New Westminster police and Kinder Morgan for comment ALSO READ: Protesters lock themselves to Washington port to block Trans Mountain pipeline shipment The latest protest by Takaro comes just days after the Trudeau government and Alberta officials signed an agreement through which the feds will lessen environmental monitoring of oilsands due to budget cuts amid the ongoing pandemic Signed July 7 by top bureaucrats in Ottawa and Edmonton it reduces funding by about 25 per cent from last year’s budget according to documents obtained by the Canadian Press ALSO READ: Trans Mountain pipeline expansion cost jumps 70% to $12.6 billion The Trans Mountain expansion – bought by the federal government in 2018 – is expected to triple the pipeline’s capacity to carry bitumen from Edmonton to Burnaby The controversial project was approved for a second time in June 2019 after the Federal Court of Appeal tore up the original approval last year due to insufficient environmental review and inadequate Indigenous consultations Last month, the Supreme Court of Canada decided not to hear five challenges from environment and Indigenous groups from B.C READ MORE: B.C. First Nations vow to keep fighting after Trans Mountain pipeline appeal denied @ashwadhwaniashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter Want to support local journalism? Make a donation here. Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines.