I kōrero a Eruera Lee-Morgan ki a Rihi Tenana e pā ana ki tana whakahaere i te hīkoi ki Paremata mō te kaupapa Oranga Tamariki – 30th July, Manako, Radio Waatea.
Original interview:
Spoken summary (script below):
Kua mārama te tino whakaae a Eruera ki te tino whakaaro o rātou e porotēhi ana. Ko tāna, ‘Kāore pea he kaupapa i tua mai, i tua atu i te oranga o ā mātou tamariki… me mutu pea te rāwekeweke i ā tātou tamariki mokopuna.’ I kōrero ia ki tētahi o ngā kaiwhakahaere o te auporo, ko Rihi Tenana. Ko ia te pūkōrero mō te hunga e porotēhi ana ki ‘te ana o ngā raiona,’ ki te ‘ara poutama’ o te whare paremata.
Tuatahi, ka mihia te hunga rā e Eruera mō ā rātou whakapau kaha ki te hiki tēnei kaupapa. E ai ki a Rihi, ko te ngako o te kaupapa, mā Ngāi Māori ā rātou tamariki e tiaki, ā, me homai ngā rauemi ki a rātou ki te whakapai i ngā raru o ngā whānau Māori. Ahakoa kua whakapau moni te kāwana mō tenei momo mahi, e ai ki a Rihi – “Mō te aha? Mō te kore.” Ki a ia, me noho ngā tamariki i ō rātou whānau, i ō rātou whakapapa, i tō rātou ahurea, kia tū kaha rātou i tō rātou tuakiritanga. Ki a ia, mehemea ka tino mōhio te tamaiti ko wai ia, ka piki ake te ora.
Ko te pātai a Eruera, me tuku rauemi ki a wai. Ko tā Rihi whakautu, ko te mea nui, ki ngāi Māori – otirā, tuatahi, ki ngā kaimahi o Whānau Ora – nō te mea, kei te mahi rātou i te taha o ngā whanau, nō reira, me tuku ngā rauemi ki a rātou.
Vocabulary
porotēhi protest
rāwekeweke meddling, interfering
i tua mai, i tua atu in this context, more important
pūkōrero spokesperson
‘te ana o ngā raiona’ figurative – ‘the lion’s den’
‘te ara poutama’ the ascending staircase – in this case, the steps of parliament
Reo Māori speaker, with no pretence to great expertise ('āhua mōhio' means 'reasonably knowledgeable'), but with a good working knowledge of the language, and keen to share it with others. Recent PhD in Māori Studies from Otago University, recently quit teaching te reo Māori at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in Dunedin.
Also interested in education generally.
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