logo
Foreign Minister Winston Peters raises recognition of Palestine as a state in Cabinet meeting

Foreign Minister Winston Peters raises recognition of Palestine as a state in Cabinet meeting

RNZ News3 days ago
Winston Peters raised the recognition of a state of Palestine at today's Cabinet meeting.
Photo:
RNZ / Mark Papalii
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters raised the recognition of a state of Palestine in Monday's Cabinet meeting.
In a statement, Peters said the issue would be up for "formal consideration" in September.
It comes after other Western nations including France, the United Kingdom and Canada declared an intention to recognise a state of Palestine at the upcoming United Nations summit next month.
More to come
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The Panel with Jennie Moreton and Sue Kedgley Part 1
The Panel with Jennie Moreton and Sue Kedgley Part 1

RNZ News

time30 minutes ago

  • RNZ News

The Panel with Jennie Moreton and Sue Kedgley Part 1

Photo: SERGIO HANQUET Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Jennie Moreton and Sue Kedgley First up, new figures show the amount of Kiwisaver funds that bought into weapon companies increased by 40 percent this year: is your Kiwisaver invested in weapons involved in the war in Gaza? And they discuss microplastics, specifically the Global Plastic Treaty talks which are in danger of collapsing

Removing te reo Māori from children's books 'damaging step backwards'
Removing te reo Māori from children's books 'damaging step backwards'

RNZ News

timean hour ago

  • RNZ News

Removing te reo Māori from children's books 'damaging step backwards'

The Education Ministry canned At the Marae for containing "too many Māori words. Photo: Screenshot / Ministry of Education A leading Māori studies academic says Education Minister Erica Stanford's decision to remove te reo Māori from new early-reading books is "a dangerous move" that breaches both Te Tiriti o Waitangi and human rights. University of Auckland Professor of Māori Studies and linguist Margaret Mutu (Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Whātua) believes erasing te reo Māori from children's everyday learning is "an attempt to maintain the doctrine of discovery" and "inculcate white supremacy". "It's a very, very dangerous move and I feel really sorry for the mokopuna [grandchildren], who are being grossly misinformed and educated wrongly." Last week, the Education Ministry canned early-reading book At the Marae from its Ready to Read Phonics Plus (RtRPP) series, because it had "too many" Māori words. Documents released on Wednesday revealed that decision was part of a wider policy, approved by Education Minister Erica Stanford in October 2024, to exclude all Māori words , apart from character names, from any new books in the series. The pukapuka (books) are used in primary schools to help five-year-olds learn to read. At the time, the decision affected 13 books in development, all of which only included Māori words in character names. The wider series, which currently has 27 books featuring Māori words, could still be reprinted once finished. The report showed the move was driven by concerns from some literacy experts that including Māori words alongside English could confuse tamariki (children), although evidence on this was "mixed". Officials advised the minister that "limited" research existed on the impact of kupu Māori in early reading books. Professor Margaret Mutu claims exposure to more than one language is extremely beneficial. Photo: Supplied / University of Auckland Mutu, who has a PhD specialising in linguistics, said exposure to more than one language at a young age was extremely beneficial. "Children are particularly capable of obtaining a number of different languages up to the age of six," she told RNZ. "At that stage, there is just no difficulty, no complication or anything about a child learning multiple languages. It actually gives them much greater intellectual flexibility to be able to understand a whole lot of different things, because they have access to more than one language. "Being restricted and being monolingual is actually severely detrimental to children," she said. "To deny them this exposure at the age of five is not only stupid, it's very dangerous." A page from At the Marae, an early reading book that the Education Ministry removed from its Ready to Read Phonics Plus (RtRPP) series for having 'too many' Māori words. Photo: Screenshot / Ministry of Education She also accused the Minister of "falsifying what New Zealand English actually is". "New Zealand English is full of Māori words and most speakers don't even think about it. It's just part of who they are, as people living in a Māori country." Mutu pointed to the Dictionary of New Zealand English and the New Zealand Oxford Dictionary as evidence, both containing hundreds of kupu Māori (Māori words) that are neither place names nor rare. "What on earth is she trying to do here? Teach five-year-olds a different version of English than the one that actually exists in this country?" "It's long past time Māori and English were given equal attention in the entire schooling system, so people can be comfortable in this country." Education Minister Erica Stanford's decision has sparked backlash. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The minister's decision has sparked backlash from literacy experts , principals , teachers and Māori education leaders. Te Akatea, the Māori Principals' Association, called the move "an act of white supremacy" and "an act of racism". Mutu agreed and said the change was part of a broader pattern of what she claimed was a "strongly anti-Māori and extremely racist" government. Despite this, Mutu hoped tamariki would still hear and use te reo Māori in their daily lives, but said removing them from what they read in school was "shameful". "This is denying the natural intellectual growth of a child. You rob them of the ability to learn multiple languages that starts when they're very young and fades after the age of seven. "It's a crying shame." She said, if the purpose of removing te reo from children books was to give access to five-year-old children of the words that they hear on an everyday basis, "then this is not the way to do it". "It's just silly. Linguistically, it's quite bizarre." Education Minister Erica Stanford insists she will not remove Māori words from existing books. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii RNZ approached the Minister's office for a response, but was declined. However, on Wednesday, Standford said she would not remove Māori words from existing books and more titles in the series would still include Māori names and place names. She had also directed the ministry to ensure Māori vowel sounds were taught explicitly in the English curriculum, so they were "not left to chance". Stanford also pointed out her part in releasing Rangaranga Reo ā-Tā , a new set of structured literacy books entirely in te reo Māori, earlier this year.

Greyhound racing industry takes court action to stop impending ban
Greyhound racing industry takes court action to stop impending ban

RNZ News

timean hour ago

  • RNZ News

Greyhound racing industry takes court action to stop impending ban

Racing Minister Winston Peters has ordered a halt to greyhound racing from August 2026. Photo: PHOTOSPORT Lawyers for the Greyhound Racing Association have told the High Court in Wellington that the ban on greyhound racing will have a devastating effect on the livelihoods of more than 1000 people. Last December, Racing Minister Winston Peters announced the sport would be banned from August 2026. On Thursday, the association argued in court that the work of a ministerial advisory committee tasked with implementing the ban should be stopped, until a judicial review of the legislation was heard. Lawyer Chris Finlayson said the government had erred in directing the industry to monitor and improve animal welfare standards, only to ignore the results in cabinet's decision-making process. The court was told the racing industry had engaged with three reviews of the sport in just over a decade and had consistently shown willingness to comply with directives to improve animal welfare, and controls surrounding injuries and deaths, as well as track standards and rehoming initiatives. He said the cabinet paper - on which the decision to ban the sport was based - was "misleading" and a "very selective characterisation" of the key issues facing cabinet, which he argued was the industry's animal welfare standards, not the erosion of public license - society's acceptance of the practices of the sport. Finlayson said the government - after directing the industry to undertake a statutory process and then "blandly ignore it" - contradicted its obligation to consider the expertise of the industry in legislating towards the sport. Lawyers for the Greyhound Racing Association (left to right) Chris Finlayson KC and Jonathan Kaye at the High Court in Wellington. Photo: RNZ/Bill Hickman "The standard of animal welfare of greyhound racing is high," Finlayson said. "It aligns with the standards in other jurisdictions and is applied with significantly more rigour than pet dogs." Finlayson said the uncertainty over the recommendations of the ministerial advisory committee's plan to wind down the sport was resulting in members of the industry leaving the country before the ban, a collapse in breeding numbers and serious mental-health issues in participants of the industry. He argued, after the ban, New Zealanders could still bet on Australian dog races, which had "equal or lesser" animal welfare standards than Aotearoa's racing industry. Counsel for the Attorney General - acting on behalf of the Minister of Racing - said interim relief application was "fundamentally premised on a need to stop the legislation". Lawyer Katherine Anderson said the action, if successful, "would frustrate the introduction of the bill to Parliament". She said it was "undeniably clear" the court could not make an order to prevent the introduction of a bill. "It's very clear that the applicant fundamentally [says] the decision is wrong and is attempting to draw you in." She said it was up to the Minister to decide "how and if" parties would be consulted before the bill was put to Parliament. Lawyers for the Attorney General - acting on behalf of the Minister of Racing - (left to right) Katherine Anderson and Emma Dowse at the High Court in Wellington. Photo: RNZ/Bill Hickman "There's no straight jacket on the minister to go to the racing industry saying, 'Is there a ban on greyhound racing that's required on welfare grounds?'. "They've been elected to make policy decisions and, if people don't like it, they can be un-elected," Anderson said. Throughout proceedings, Judge Dale La Hood pressed the Greyhound Racing Association's counsel to clarify how the action would benefit the industry, if it's success was not to prevent the ban. "You need to explain to me... what you're seeking to have... stopped, other than preventing a ban on greyhound racing. I don't know if I understand what the benefit of interim relief would be to your client, if it doesn't halt the ban. "That's crucial to my decision on whether you've got a case," La Hood said. Finlayson said he would undertake to clarify his client's intent in a memorandum to the judge after the day's proceedings. Judge La Hood reserved his decision. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store