On The Up: Top honour for young Northland Māori beef farmer from Waimā
Coby Warmington, pictured with partner Holley Millan, won the 2025 Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer Award on Friday.
A Northland farmer who helped transform a beef farm in his home town of Waimā has been named New Zealand's top young Māori farmer.
Coby Warmington (Te Mahurehure, Ngāpuhi) was named the winner of the 2025 Ahuwhenua Young Māori Farmer Award on Friday, for his work as farm manager with
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
6 hours ago
- Scoop
Tonga Princess Calls For Legal Rights For Whales
Article – RNZ 'The time has come to recognise whales not merely as resources but as sentient beings with inherent rights.' Tonga's Princess Angelika Lātūfuipeka Tukuaho is calling for whales to have legal rights. 'The time has come to recognise whales not merely as resources but as sentient beings with inherent rights,' Princess Angelika told the One Ocean Science Congress in France. Talanoa Tonga reported the global 'I'm a Person Too' campaign is asking governments to give whales legal personhood. More than 367,000 people around the world have supported it. Tonga has a strong connection to whales. In 1978, the late Tongan King Tāufaāhau Tupou IV banned whale hunting in Tongan waters, creating one of the world's first whale sanctuaries. Last year, Aotearoa's Kiingi Tuheitia and the Cook Islands Kaumaiti Nui Tou Ariki signed the He Whakaputanga Moana in Rarotonga that aims to give to'orā more robust protections that are recognised internationally. The declaration also seeks to protect the rights of tohorā to migrate freely, conserve and grow dwindling populations, establish marine protected areas, and use mātauranga Māori alongside science for better protections and set-up a dedicated fund for whale conservation. After Kiingi Tuheitia's death, the residents of the Tonga island group of Vava'u promised to honour the late Māori King's call for whales to be given personhood. A whale watching guide in Vava'u, Siaki Siosifa Fauvao, told RNZ Pacific his community was committed to safeguarding the mammals. 'We will protect the whale; the whale is like a family to the Tongan people,' Fauvao said. One of the late Māori King's closest advisors, Rahui Papa, said the Pacific Ocean was not just a body of water but a connector, and so are whales.
Scoop
7 hours ago
- Scoop
Fear Of Confusion Sparks Name Rethink For Manutahi Park
Worries about a new Manutahi Park being mistaken for another Manutahi an hour's drive away has New Plymouth's council considering adding the name of a British Military Settler. The park is a planned green space in Lepperton village, about 15km from New Plymouth, on the site of a hall demolished three years ago. New Plymouth District Council asked mana whenua about a name for the park, and Manutahi was suggested by Puketapu hapū. Manutahi remembers the name of the Māori village where Lepperton now stands, as well as nearby Manutahi Pā which was built to defend against British invasion in the Taranaki Wars. The name - literally One Bird - references local bird-hunting forests and is supported by neighbouring Pukerangiora hapū. Manutahi is already widely familiar: it's the name of one of the two country roads intersecting in the village. But a council report said consultation found some locals worried that people would confuse the new park's location with an even smaller hamlet - also called Manutahi - 80 kilometres away between Hāwera and Pātea. "Generally, those who did not support the name felt that [Manutahi Park] did not reflect the Lepperton location and non-locals will not know where it is," staff reported. "The name 'Manutahi Park - Lepperton' is proposed to address this potential confusion." Although, perhaps confusingly, not necessarily as the official name. "The addition of Lepperton ... could either be a formally recognised part of the name or a component that is put in place as required to confirm the location, as opposed to formally recognised as part of the park name." Council policy is that reserves' names reflect history. "If there is a strong Māori cultural connection to a reserve, a Māori name should be considered in consultation with mana whenua. "Likewise, a strong European cultural connection to a reserve should result in an appropriate European name. "Where appropriate, both Māori and European names will be used." The report recognised the name might be disputed. "There is a risk that adding the location descriptor of Lepperton to the name could be seen as not needed by hapū and/or some of the community that were supportive of the proposed name." Lieutenant Colonel Maxwell Lepper was a British soldier with the 14th Regiment, redeployed from colonial duties in Ireland to fight Taranaki Māori in 1860. Retiring from the Empire's army, Lepper then commanded the Taranaki Military Settlers - volunteer troops who were rewarded with land taken from Māori in return for 'policing duties'. In 1865 the area was proclaimed confiscated and Manutahi declared a military settlement. Lepper was honoured with the town's name and the family thrived on that confiscated land, with many descendants also recognised on Lepperton's war memorial obelisk and as contributors to Lepperton School. Locals who spoke with Local Democracy Reporting said they were not confused about Manutahi. Out with the grandkids, Lindy Moratti said she didn't even know where the other Manutahi is. "I cannot see any issue with it, I would not think that would be a problem at all. "To me it's very, very clear and very obvious that it would be here." Speedway driver Sean Price didn't think Manutahi alone would confuse people, but was happy either way. "I'm on the fence really," he said. "Definitely you know where it is, if you say Lepperton - I mean, that confirms it. Lepperton would be bang on." Dave Trinder was delivering taonga pūoro, traditional musical instruments, to Lepperton School for a practice session with students. He deferred to hapū leaders with more knowledge, but neither he nor the kids helping with the taonga had any confusion about Manutahi. The naming decision goes before NPDC's iwi committee Te Huinga Taumatua on Tuesday.
RNZ News
21 hours ago
- RNZ News
Highest number of 15-year-olds drop out of school since 2007
Last year 1376 teens were allowed to leave school before the age of 16. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller More 15-year-olds are being allowed to leave school, Education Ministry figures show. In both 2023 and 2024 the number of early leavers was higher than any year since 2007. The ministry said 1376 teens were allowed to leave before the age of 16 last year, though the figure was preliminary because some might have later returned to school. In 2023, 1291 15-year-olds were granted early leaving exemptions, giving an early leaving rate of 20 per 1000 15-year-olds. However, Māori students were granted exemptions at a rate of 47 per 1000 15-year-olds and accounted for 761 of the 2023 exemptions. The figures also showed Northland had the highest rate of early leaving exemption at 61 per 1000, followed by Nelson with 42 and Bay of Plenty with 41. A ministry report on the 2023 data showed several schools in the group classified as facing the most socio-economic barriers had early leaving rates ranging from 150 to nearly 350 per 1000 15-year-olds. The report said the number of applications for early leaving exemptions reached more than 70 per 1000 in the early 2000s, but a rule change in 2007 dropped the rate to 11. "Between 2008 and 2012, the rate of early leaving exemptions continued to decrease and remained at a consistently low level. Following the 2008 global financial crisis, from 2009 to 2014 the unemployment rates for 15- to 19-year-olds were very high (over 18 percent) and this may have affected the number of requests for an early leaving exemption. Since 2014, the number of approved early leaving exemptions has been increasing. In 2014, there were 362 approved early leaving exemptions, increasing to 1291 in 2023," it said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
