TE KARAKA - Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu

The Wisdom of Drug Testing

I write this article the day after the University of Canterbury Students’ Association Tea Party, a big dress-up-themed party on Ilam Fields where students drink in the sun and dance to bands and bass. A few friends asked me if I had put on any sunscreen. I replied that I was a “hearty brown boy” and didn’t need to, so naturally I’m pretty red – sunscreen, water, food, break-out spaces, and support workers were all provided to those smart enough to use them. All told, everyone had a great day. However, one thing was missing – drug testing kits. And by that I mean kits to check that drugs are not cut with dangerous chemicals, rather than kits to test whether you’ve been taking drugs.

Breaking free from victimhood

Could it be that we have become so defined by our past that the more things improve, the harder we cling to an abstract sense of oppression? Any statistic, even an improving one, that has Māori behind Pākehā is immediately cited as evidence of the inherent and unashamed racism of
New Zealanders

He Reta

My whole thinking revolves around the idea that we need a complete tribal effort to enhance our natural biodiversity – to enable all of our people to become kaitiaki in action for our whenua, water, and indigenous taoka species. We do have our lovely people from the Te Ao Tūroa team at Te Rūnanga who do wonderful work in this realm, but they have neither the budget nor the capacity to create change on the level that is necessary.

Māori Victims of Crime – an alternative viewpoint

Sometimes it’s hard to even think about crime. Especially when a violent crime is committed by Māori. It can unleash feelings of anger and sadness because it evokes realities that can be shocking in their brutality. And it’s always hard because most of the victims of offending by Māori are other Māori; often women or children hurt by a violent partner or family member.