Was it a case of cultural bullying in NZ...

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  James Takamore's widow and daughter.
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  Was it cultural bullying? His whanau(family) insist James Takamore's body stays where it is buried, after it was taken from his home, wife and children. That is cultural arrogance as well.
•  Custom cannot be allowed to circumvent the the decision of the immediate family. I don't support this, and I believe a majority of New Zealanders of many etnicities don't either.
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  "Denise Clarke, with daughter Jenna, is delighted with the judge's decision over the body of her husband, James Takamore, but uncertain about her next move. Photo / Simon Baker
• Relatives who took the body of a man from his partner and children, claiming Maori custom, say they did nothing wrong and have no intention of returning it despite a court ruling against them.
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  The Tuhoe relatives are standing firm after the High Court ruled that they had no legal authority to take the body of James Takamore from his family in Christchurch in 2007 and bury him at Kutarere in the Bay of Plenty.
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  But although the court has determined that Mr Takamore's long-time Pakeha partner, Denise Clarke, has rights to bury his body where she sees fit, Justice John Fogarty did not order that the body be exhumed.
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  Instead, he invited Tuhoe to disinter it or to get together with the widow to try to reach a resolution.
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  Ms Clarke was ecstatic at the ruling after two years of what she described as bullying and manipulation, but uncertain about what would happen next.
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  "I really don't know what the [Takamore] family are going to do. I know they want discussions, but we really don't know whether they will appeal or not."
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  A Takamore family member who asked not to be named said the whanau had no regrets about their actions.
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  But she said they were willing to talk to Ms Clarke. "That's if she comes to talk with us."
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  The lawyer for the whanau, Moana Tuwhare, said they were disappointed by Justice Fogarty's ruling but had no plans to give back the body.
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  "As far as my clients are concerned they hold firm to the position that they have acted in accordance with their tikanga [customs] ... but they are willing to continue out-of-court dialogue with Ms Clarke," she said.
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  "[Both parties] are quite determined to stand their ground, which makes any resolution difficult."
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  Mr Takamore died in August 2007 and before he could be buried in Christchurch, where he had lived for almost 20 years with Ms Clarke and his two children, visiting whanau took him north.
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  He was buried at Kutarere alongside other relatives before police could serve an injunction.
  Ms Clarke took a civil case to the High Court, which was heard this month.
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  In his ruling, Justice Fogarty said the family and Tuhoe had no legal right to take Mr Takamore's body and "so it is not properly buried".
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  If a resolution could not be reached, the judge said, he could make an order for the body to be disinterred.
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  "In this case, it is beyond doubt that the late Jim Takamore chose to live outside tribal life and the customs of the tribe," Justice Fogarty said.
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  "Under the common law he was entitled to expect the choices he made during his life to be respected by the executor of his will when it came to the decision as to his funeral. This is even more so because he chose as his executor of his will his life-long partner."
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  Ms Clarke said she still felt angry that the Takamore family did not consider her wishes, and those of her partner, who wanted to be buried in Christchurch.
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  She was prepared to go back to court to continue the fight if she had to.
  Maori academic Rawiri Taonui said those who took Mr Takamore's body ought to apologise for the cultural bullying of Ms Clarke and her family."
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  The Riverman says: The body should be disinterred and taken back south to Christchurch and re-buried where his wife planned to bury it before the North Island whanau 'stole' it. This is not the first time a Maori whanau has forcibly taken a body away from a Pakeha wife and family and taken it north to its Tuhoe tribal area. This is cultural bullying.
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  The court came out against it but the judge didn't have the intestinal fortitude to order the body to be disinterred and reburied where the widow and family want it. It is after all the 21st century, not the 19th century of a couple centuries ago.
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  Another story here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/2592767/Takamore-couldn-t-have-been-buried-in-Chch
• http://anzacbloggersunite.blog.co.uk

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Shock look at NZ's child poverty...

Could this be NZ too?     Image via Wikipedia

by MICHELLE DUFF

More than 100 New Zealand children who died last year would probably have survived had they lived in Japan, Sweden or the Czech Republic, a new documentary shows.

In Inside Child Poverty: A Special Report, set to air this week, Wellington documentary maker Bryan Bruce shows a Swedish doctor footage of sick, scab-ridden schoolchildren suffering from preventable diseases in Porirua and asks if he saw similar situations in his country.

The doctor shakes his head: "In the 70s, maybe."

Last year, more than 25,000 children were admitted to hospital for respiratory infections. Doctors routinely treat cases of rheumatic fever and scabies – diseases now rare in Europe.

The reason behind these preventable diseases were appalling rates of child poverty that New Zealand could not afford to ignore, Mr Bruce said.

In the two years he spent researching the topic, he visited schools, doctors and low-income families in eastern Porirua. Cross-referencing world development indicators with mortality data, he found that 150 children who died in New Zealand last year would probably have survived had they lived in Japan, Sweden or the Czech Republic. New Zealand is second to last in child health and safety rankings of 30 OECD countries, with only Turkey worse.

As part of the study, Mr Bruce visited Sweden – a country once considered similar to New Zealand – and found that children there received free healthcare, were provided a free meal a day at school and were free from diseases associated with poverty.

Back in Porirua, he visited houses with walls blackened by mould, where families of five slept in the same room just to keep warm. Diseases like rheumatic fever, skin infections and respiratory illnesses spread quickly in the damp and overcrowded conditions.

In the documentary, Wellington Hospital paediatric surgeon Brendon Bowkett laments the huge sums of money spent on operating to save children with preventable diseases. "That would have paid for hundreds of child assessments."

Mr Bruce said New Zealand was now at a "moral crossroads" and he was calling for politicians to work out a long-term policy for the health of children. This could include redistributing parts of benefits to pay for free medical care and school lunches, introducing health regulations for rental housing, and appointing a children's minister.

"A nation with poor children is a poor excuse for a nation ... it's not a political question, it's an ethical question. No child should go hungry in this country, no child should have a preventable disease. 

Health Minister Tony Ryall could not be contacted yesterday, and Social Development Minister Paula Bennett did not respond to a request to comment.

Porirua Mayor Nick Leggett said that, while most of the information was already known, anything that put child poverty in the spotlight was worthwhile.
 
"We want to build these kids into contributing citizens for tomorrow, and certainly whatever is being done at the moment isn't working and we have to work really hard to put services in place that actually meet their basic life needs.

"This is not the fault of any one government, it's actually a social responsibility."
Inside Child Poverty: A Special Report will air on TV3 at 7.30pm tomorrow.
 
Acknowledgements:  - The Dominion Post

http://stuff.co.nz

National Homepage

 

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Occupy Pomare in Taita North, Lower Hutt...

 

Pomare residents to move into tents on land where state houses were demolished

      

Media release from Pomare Community;

Members of the Pomare community in Taita North will this weekend move to occupy the site of their demolished homes as a further protest at Housing New Zealand’s failure to act on their housing concerns.

Last week hundreds of residents and supporters attended a community rally to highlight the loss of their community and the community’s need for state housing.

From Saturday morning community members will move into tents erected on the demolition site surrounded by headstones and crosses representing the lost houses. Each headstone or cross shows the time the house had been lived in by local families, with some families being moved from houses they have lived in for over 40 years.

Korina Haua, Tolly Jackson and Yvonne Kapua lived next door to each other in Pomare for more than 30 years before being moved by Housing NZ. The three women are missing the support of their long term neighbours “We all looked after each other. I feel like I’ve moved from a community to a street where I don’t know anyone. We just want to be allowed to come back to Pomare when the redevelopment is done” said Ms Haua.

“This is not just about Pomare,” said community spokesperson Dina Awarau. “The same thing is happening in Glen Innes and it will be other communities next. Many low income families are already struggling to get affordable housing and Housing NZ selling land to private developers is only going to make that worse”.

Housing NZ called for tenders this week for developers to deliver a mix of private housing, social housing and corporation housing in Pomare with a maximum of 12 of the 72 proposed new homes to be owned by Housing NZ.

“This is asset sales by another name” said Ms Awarau. “If the National government get voted back in, low income families will end up living under the bridge”.

Who? Pomare Community Voice

What? Occupy Pomare

Where? Farmer Crescent, adjacent to Taita Drive intersection.

When? From 9am Saturday, 19 November 2011

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Tomorrow it will be exactly one year since the Pike River mine tragedy claimed 29 lives...

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  Image by Getty Images via @daylife

  
  Tomorrow it will be exactly one year since the Pike River mine tragedy on New Zealand's West Coast which claimed 29 miners and contractors employed by the company. They went to work in the morning and have never come home! An explosion ripped through the mine filling it with methane and other poisonous gases. The men wouldn't have survived the blast, let alone three more during the next few days. Children still cry for their fathers and widows still mourn for their men.
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  The whole country was stunned by the tragedy which was played out on television into the lounges of the nation. We all wanted rescuers to get into the mine and rescue the men, but knew it wasn't a reality under the circumstances. But why haven't the bodies been recovered, a year on? That's another story. A Royal Commission of Enquiry is under way to establish the cause of the tragedy. It will be a very emotional time for the families tomorrow! Please read the following news story below:
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  "A monument to the 29 men who died in the Pike River mine will be unveiled in Blackball on the West Coast today.
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  Most of the families of the miners are expected to attend the service as part of International Workers' Memorial Day.
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  The men died last November after a series of explosions at the coal mine.
  Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn says it will be a day for people to reminisce and spare a thought for those loved ones who are still in the mountain, not far from Blackball.
  President of the Council of Trade Unions Helen Kelly will also be at today's service and said the tragedy highlights a deeper problem with workplace safety.
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  "The Pike River mine was open for only a year before it exploded killing 29 people including a 17-year-old boy, and having a service in Blackball serves as a poignant reminder to us all of the tragedy of workplace accidents," she said."
• Some have said the Pike River mine was an accident waiting to happen. Others say the mine should never have been allowed to happen.

http://communitybloggersevolve.blog.co.uk

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Cameraman at the centre of teapot tape controversy takes own legal action...

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The lawyer for the cameraman at the centre of the 'tea party' controversy has filed civil proceedings in the high court in Auckland seeking a declaratory judgement against the National Party and John Key.

Bradley Ambrose says he unwittingly recorded the conversation between National Party leader John Key and ACT's John Banks.

He then handed it to the Herald on Sunday newspaper.
His lawyer, Ron Mansfield, says the legal action is being taken in the light of the allegations being made publicly against his client that his conduct was criminal or unethical.

Mr Mansfield says Mr Ambrose's reputation is important because journalism is his sole source of income and he is being used by a political party for its gain.

Acknowledgements: © 2011, Radio New Zealand

 

 

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Timeline: David Bain - one of New Zealand's most controversial murderers to claim compensations...

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Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Timeline: David Bain - One of New Zealand's most controversial indicted mass murders found not guilty, and now seeks compensation...

Timeline: David Bain...
One of New Zealand's most controversial mass murders found not guilty, and now seeks compensation..
June 20, 1994 - David Bain's parents, Robin and Margaret, two sisters, Laniet and Arawa, and brother, Stephen, are shot and killed in their Dunedin home. Bain calls emergency services in a distraught state.
* June 24, 1994 - Bain is charged with five counts of murder. The following day the rest of his family are farewelled by 1000 mourners.
* July 7, 1994 - Bain home is razed by Fire Service at request of family.
* October 1994 - Depositions hearing begins and Bain is committed for trial in May 1995.
* May 8, 1995 - Three-week-long murder trial begins in the High Court at Dunedin. Unprecedented public and media interest.
* May 29, 1995 - Jury finds Bain guilty on all five murder counts.
* June 21, 1995 - Bain sentenced to mandatory life term, with a minimum non-parole period of 16 years.
* December 19, 1995 - Court of Appeal dismisses Bain appeal.
* May, 1996 - A petition to Privy Council seeking leave to appeal fails.
* July 22, 1996 - Court of Appeal lifts suppression order covering defence witness Dean Cottle and evidence that was to have been presented at Bain's murder trial. It alleges Laniet told Cottle that her father was having an incestuous affair with her and she was going to confront the family.
* April 16, 1997 - Joe Karam launches his book, David and Goliath. It says Robin, not David, was the killer, and that police botched the investigation.
* May 5, 1997 - Police appoint Assistant Commissioner Brion Duncan to head an independent inquiry reviewing police handling of the murder investigation.
* June 23, 1997 - James McNeish releases his book, The Mask of Sanity, which concludes that David was the killer.
* November 25, 1997 - Police in the murder investigation are cleared by the joint police and Police Complaints Authority inquiry. It finds no serious flaws in the police investigation and says criticism that police were incompetent is unjustified.
* March 1998 - Police officers to sue Karam over claims in his book.
* June 1998 - Petition of 113 pages and 290-page supporting document seeking a pardon for Bain is lodged with the Governor-General.
* June 1999 - Former Dunedin pathologist Jim Gwynne presents petition to Governor-General seeking pardon for Bain. Dr Gwynne says evidence shows Robin Bain committed suicide.
* June 9, 2000 - Damages suit brought against Karam by two Dunedin detectives, one since retired, fails in the High Court at Auckland.
* December 19, 2000 - Bain has aspects of his case referred back to the Court of Appeal. Justice Minister Phil Goff said an investigation had shown that "a number of errors" may have occurred in the Crown's presentation of its case.
* October 2002 - Court of Appeal considers four aspects of the case referred to it by Mr Goff.
* December 20, 2002 - Mr Goff announces the case is to be reheard in full by Court of Appeal.
* September, 2003 - Court of Appeal hears case.
* December 13, 2003 - Court of Appeal decides a retrial was not needed on the grounds that the new evidence would not have changed the jury's verdict.
* June 7, 2006 - Bain's legal team wins right to a full Privy Council hearing.
* March 8, 2007 - Five-day Privy Council hearing in London begins.
* May 10, 2007 - Privy Council delivers decision, ordering a retrial.
* May 15, 2007 - Bain granted bail at hearing in Christchurch High Court
* June 21, 2007 - Solicitor-General rules that Bain will face a retrial
* March 6, 2009 - Retrial begins. Bain pleads not guilty to five charges of murder
* June 4, 2009 - Retrial ends, jury begin deliberations
* June 6, 2009 - David Bain found not guilty of all the murders
Consideration for seeking compensation from the Crown: Is David Bain actually innocent? Being found not guilty on the evidence of the last trial is not good enough. Now the debate in New Zealand society continues. It will have be up to Prime Minister, John Key, and his Cabinet to decide his innocence.

2010 - Canadian Judge appointed to hear David Bain's compensation claim.

Huttriver12

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The controversial "teapot tape" to be released after the NZ elections...

Image via WikipediaImage via Wikipedia
New Zealand's online predictions market, iPredict, has today launched new stocks asking about the content of the so-called "teapot tape".

Prime Minister John Key and Act Party Epsom candidate John Banks met for tea on Friday and their conversation was recorded by Bradley Ambrose, formerly known as Brad White. Act leader Don Brash did not attend the meeting.

The Herald on Sunday and TV3 have reported that they have obtained the recording but its contents remain unknown. Mr Key has asked the police to investigate the circumstances of the recording. The Deputy Editor of the Herald on Sunday, Jonathan Milne, says the contents of the recording are potentially a "game-changer" for the election. The Political Editor of TV3, Duncan Garner, disagrees but says the contents are "interesting and raise some questions for Key and Banks".

The new stocks launched by iPredict today are as follows:

• Tea Pot Tape to NOT be released before Election Day: https://www.ipredict.co.nz/app.php?
• do=contract_detail&contract=TAPE.NORELEASE

http://peteskiwiforum.blogspot.com

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