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
I'm Pākehā, but have a reasonably good working knowledge of te reo Māori ('āhua mōhio' means 'reasonably knowledgeable'), and I'm keen to share it with others. I graduated with a PhD in Māori Studies from Otago University in 2018, taught at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa for 18 months in Dunedin from 2019 to mid-2020, and have been teaching privately since.
I'm also interested in education generally, and have been heavily influenced by the researchED movement, and figures such as Daisy Christodoulou, Tom Bennett, Adam Boxer, Tom Sherrington, Oliver Caviglioli, Barry Smith and Doug Lemov.
I teach te reo Māori to adult learners (groups or individuals, mostly via Zoom). I teach beginners and intermediate learners. Modest fees, in keeping with my modest reo Māori expertise.
Contact me at johnbirnie@hotmail.com if you're interested.
Mauriora tātou!
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