‘It's In Our DNA': Why Aboriginal Cultural Protocol Welcome To Country Is Not Topic For Debate
, Māori News Journalist
Welcome to Country is a sacred ceremony practised by the world's oldest continuous cultures- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – dating back 65,000 – 70,000 years.
An Aboriginal academic says the ancient cultural protocol of Welcome to Country demands genuine understanding and respect and urges Australians to embrace it as a living expression of unceded sovereignty – not a culture war talking point.
In Aotearoa, the pōwhiri has long been the formal ritual of welcome. Once used by iwi Māori to assess whether newcomers were friend or foe, today it greets all manuhiri (visitors) onto a marae or place.
Every iwi applies its own tikanga and kawa to pōwhiri – from karanga, to whaikōrero. But at its heart it is about extending and receiving manaakitanga (hospitality) and acknowledging the sacred link between people and place.
Across the Tasman, Aboriginal peoples maintain a similar tikanga – the Welcome to Country.
Delivered by a local Elder whose whakapapa ties them to that land, it too provides spiritual protection and affirms custodial authority.
Yet, as recent Anzac Day events in Te Whenua Moemoea revealed, this protocol is increasingly debated and even turned into 'political bait' for the 2025 election.
Curtin University senior research fellow Dr Cally Jetta told RNZ there remains 'a lot of resistance and denial' in Australia, as too many would rather 'forget that side of everything and move on' than confront the deep history and responsibilities that a Welcome to Country embodies.
What is a Welcome to Country?
According to Jetta a Welcome to Country is a way to honour ancient and continuing First Nations customs.
'It's about honouring the fact that you are just one link in a chain. That this land – and the people who have been on it, looking after it – go back generations. Through that welcome, you are offered spiritual and cultural protection. It's a beautiful thing.'
She said that 'Country' does not refer to the nation-state of Australia but rather the hundreds of distinct Nations – similar to Aotearoa where different iwi and rohe would have different customs – each with its own language, story and protocol.
'When people say, 'I don't wanna be welcomed to my own country,' we're not talking about the country of Australia,' she said.
'Australia didn't exist as a concept, as a word, as a term, as a nation prior to 1901, and definitely not back in 1788.
'Every single [area] represents a different country, a different cultural group that has different history, different ancestors, different stories, different ways of working with that land and country to look after it.'
Jetta said whether it was indigenous people or non-indigenous people, they were all welcomed if they're not from that particular place.
Weaponising culture
Jetta believes the Welcome to Country has become 'a political tool to weaponise and divide society to win political votes'.
'Blackfellas here are just the poor scapegoats in the middle,' she said.
'And any hate and resistance felt as a result of government initiatives. Don't go back on the government, they come back on Aboriginal people and communities themselves.'
Although Labor won the 2025 federal election in a landslide, she said acute social crises were still being overshadowed by persistent anti-Indigenous rhetoric.
'Australia has massive drug issues, massive homelessness. People can't afford to get a house. And yet some political parties, their opening line, 'we're sick of being welcomed to our own country' just shows how hateful and petty politicians can be when they're chasing votes.'
She believes Welcome to Country has been 'misinterpreted and deliberately twisted'.
'This isn't something that should be used as a political tool. This is something that should be treated with respect and dignity because it's 70,000 years old, far older than any concept of the nation of Australia.'
Solidarity and the road ahead
Jetta hopes non-Indigenous Australians recognise that Welcome to Country is part of Australia's collective heritage, not an 'optional extra'.
'It's not just Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and heritage. It's Australian knowledge and heritage.'
She said the outcome of the 2023 Voice referendum – a proposal to recognise its First Peoples in the constitution, which was overwhelmingly voted down – had been a major setback.
'We were hoping that we would see that change with the Voice referendum. But it didn't happen. It just means we keep working harder.'
Looking forward, Jetta said change would require true allyship from non-indigenous allies.
'We need non-First Nations allies as the dominant majority to stand up and help. When people hear these messages from their own communities, that's when real change happens.'
However, she believes the world is at a 'turning point'.
'While we've seen this rise of that hard extremist right-wing rhetoric. We've seen on the other side, the younger generations and those coming through that are just going, no, we don't accept that.'
'It's in our DNA. If we were meant to have rolled over and given up, we would've disappeared by now,'
'We won't stop walking until our grandchildren no longer have to debate their right to be welcomed on their own lands.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
15 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
‘Leaks', 'mould' and sewage: Christchurch school kids still waiting for permanent site
Rangimarie Parata-Takurua and pononga (students) harvesting food in the māra kai (garden for food) at Te Pā o Rākaihautū. Left to right: Kade Te Whata-Kururangi, Deegan McGarr, Hineterā Davis, Rangimarie, Wahawaha Winiata, Celia Williams and Hawaiki Jones-Fiso. Photo: Phil Tumataroa When you step through the gates at Te Pā o Rākaihautū, you can feel the manaakitanga from its people wrap around you like a korowai. Every morning, students and their whānau from the Christchurch-based school are welcomed in with a big 'kia ora' from kaiako. "You'll hear waiata playing in the background. You'll hear genuine laughter and happiness to be there," said kaiurungi and principal Terina Tahau. Inside, along the corridors, sepia-toned portraits of students dressed in feather kākahu (cloaks) and adorned with mataora and moko kauwae (Māori facial tattoos) line the walls - on one side photos show students on their first day of school, the other side displaying graduates - it serves as motivation for whānau Māori, many of whom haven't felt engaged or served by traditional Western systems of education. But that wairua, or spirit, you feel in the school is a stark contrast to the actual temperatures inside. The almost 70-year-old repurposed buildings are doing their best to keep the bitter cold out. Still, the students' breaths are visible as they giggle and chatter to each other on their way to class. Signs of water damage are visible in one classroom, with parts of the wall rotting away and the ceiling paint peeling. Te Pā o Rākaihautū is the South Island's first kura-ā-iwi, a state school mandated by local hapū or iwi. It was established as a 'Designated Character' school in 2014, and is a unique 21st-century pā wānanga (learning village). But it never received a permanent site or new school buildings. Instead, it has been operating out of a temporary site, which leaders say is causing health and safety problems. School leadership feels it has been battling against institutional racism and inequity from the Ministry of Education for more than a decade. RNZ examines the school's efforts to secure a permanent site and sufficient resources, despite its success in Māori-medium education. Ministry of Education chief executive for school property Jerome Sheppard has acknowledged the school's concerns and said it was working with them to ensure that all students and staff have access to safe, warm and dry facilities. A long and winding road Te Pā o Rākaihautū originated from a group of friends gathering in an Irish pub. Brought together by their shared love of waiata Māori, they established what is now a well-known South Island-based Kapa Haka rōpū, Te Ahikaaroa. But when there was a 'baby boom' in the group, the education options catering specifically to Māori were few and far between. Te Pā founder and now chairperson Rangimarie Parata-Takurua said they started asking each other: "What is the environment we need to create for our kids to not just endure education, but really enjoy it and thrive?" In the process, they thought back to their own experiences of the education system and when they were most engaged in learning. "Inevitably it wasn't when we were sitting in a classroom or sitting in assembly … It was when we were back at our own marae, when we were surrounded by people that loved us, that fed us, that we did things with them that mattered to us. "That was the beginning of Te Pā," she said. The school's founders first applied to open the pā in the aftermath of the 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch, but it was not until three years later that the government approved the establishment of Te Pā o Rākaihautū as a year 1-13 co-education school in Christchurch, opening in 2015. The approval came without a business case or property budget attached, and Te Pā was assigned a temporary site at Richmond Primary School, a school that had previously closed down due to earthquake damage. Due to rapid roll growth and the site's unsuitability, the school moved to another temporary site the same year it opened, this time to the previously closed-down Linwood Intermediate School. Signs of water damage were visible in one of the classrooms. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Since 2015, the old repurposed buildings in Linwood have had numerous health and safety issues. According to principal Terina Tahau, she and the property manager meet every morning at 7am to walk around the pā, identifying any new leaks, broken pipes, or other issues. One of the last major incidents involved sewage flooding on a Sunday. "We had to get that cleaned up because we got kids coming on Monday, and the last thing they need to even think is that that's okay, because it's not. "We spend many a weekend here because something's popped up." The buildings are also cold. "We know we have to keep our heat pumps on overnight because these facilities freeze, and if we don't have those heat pumps on 24/7 from Monday to Friday, then we're letting our pononga (students) come into something that's not suitable," Tahau said. An independent workplace health and safety report - commissioned by the school's board in May - outlines what it says are "critical issues" that require "immediate and comprehensive action". The report was done by Health and Safety at Work NZ, a Christchurch-based company that offers certifications, audits, investigations and training. Some of the findings included "rotting window frames and sills" throughout classrooms, "significant ongoing leaks" over the kitchen area where school meals are prepared, and "widespread water damage to internal walls and ceilings, with visible mould growth in certain areas". It also noted that evidence had emerged of health deterioration among staff and students, including "increased asthma symptoms reported among staff. Breathing difficulties and respiratory illness reported in students not previously affected". "The findings from the 2025 inspection confirm that Te Pā o Rākaihautū continues to pose significant health and safety risks to its occupants. Despite partial repairs, the buildings remain cold, damp and in disrepair compromising the wellbeing of staff, students, and visitors." Additionally, successive reports done by the Education Review Office (ERO) in 2017, 2021 and 2025 all highlighted the need for a permanent site and new buildings. According to the most recent draft report by ERO, provided to RNZ by the school, securing a permanent site and building that "reflects the unique kaupapa of Te Pā o Rākaihautū" is "required". "The pā has operated out of a temporary site for 10 years that compromises the health and safety of pononga and hinders realising the strategic goals of whānau." A draft ERO report says the buildings "need replacing". Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon The 2025 ERO report also said that the board, Te Tautarinui o Matariki, spends a "disproportionate amount of time and resources managing the ongoing aged property related issues". "The pā continues to operate from a temporary site after 10 years. Again, ERO supports the need for Te Pā to establish their permanent pā site to realise their aspirations and full potential. "The buildings are well past their use by date and need replacing," the ERO report said. ERO did note that students are emotionally safe and healthy. International and local successes The school has demonstrated strong academic results. The draft 2025 ERO report stated that students are achieving above national averages across all levels of NCEA. "We can show results that the ministry has been unable to achieve in mainstream schooling since forever," said Parata-Takarua. Part of their success story can be attributed to their kai programme, Parata-Takurua said. Each day at school, all of the students, from year 1 to 13, receive two full meals. "We were able to install commercial kitchens straight away, and we feed our kids breakfast and lunch." Over the years, they have even built gardens and grown food themselves to supply the kitchen, something the students are actively involved with. Half of the back field is now gardens, alongside 30 hectares they are leasing in the red zone, near the school. With the first crop expected in the next season, Parata-Takurua said the initiative helps students reconnect with the whenua and understand composting processes. The school was recognised internationally, winning the Zayed Sustainability Prize in the Global High Schools East Asia and Pacific category. Returning home In May of 2023, a new site was identified near Te Waipapa, Diamond Harbour, at the base of Te Ahupātiki Eight hectares of ancestral whenua, the same location where the school's namesake, Ngāi Tahu ancestor Rākaihautū, buried his famous kō (digging tool). The new site would allow the school to return home. The land had been owned by the local council since 1913, and in 2024, Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke went through the process of buying it, which was unanimously agreed to by the council. If the proposal is approved by the Ministry of Education, the school hopes to run a dual-site model, a city-site, and the Diamond Harbour site. Under the proposal, the hapū would lease the land back to the Ministry for Education. But the school's leadership is not holding out hope, as out of the 10 options presented by the Ministry, Parata-Takurua said nine focused solely on fixing up the current buildings. "The current buildings being a temporary site that we never ever envisaged that would be the permanent home for our pā wananga. It completely ignored all the work we'd done on the site in Diamond Harbour." In a statement, Jerome Sheppard from the Ministry of Education acknowledged the concerns raised by Te Pā o Rākaihautū. "We have been working with them to ensure that all students and staff have access to safe, warm and dry facilities. That is why we continue to work with Te Pā o Rākaihautū to finalise a scope that will allow for investment in the redevelopment of the existing site, which will include a mixture of new and existing buildings to support up to 350 students." Sheppard said that many schools throughout New Zealand operate from ageing building stock. "These buildings can and are being successfully maintained and upgraded to support learning, and we are confident we can achieve the same with the property for Te Pā o Rākaihautū. "We continue to work closely with Te Pā, within the current fiscal environment, to make sure their provision reflects the importance of Kaupapa Māori Education," Sheppard said. Parata-Takurua said treatment of Te Pā feels like racism to her. "I've yet to be persuaded that it's something else." She said she feels there are "elements of ignorance and arrogance" from the ministry, leading to the dismissal of Māori-medium education's proven success. The Ministry of Education did not wish to respond to the school's comments regarding perceived racism, ignorance, or arrogance within the ministry when contacted by RNZ. "I'd like to invite people to come and spend a couple of days in our shoes and see what that 'privilege' looks like. That privilege looks like this. We're still in old broken buildings, and now we're being pushed down a path of 'accept this or it could be nothing." According to the Ministry of Education, Budget 25 allocated $544 million for growth (including roll growth, new schools, and learning support roll growth), of which $50m is earmarked for Māori Medium Education/Kaupapa Māori Education. Kura make up approximately 6 percent of schools nationwide. The land leased in the red zone was contaminated from previous housing, with old piping and waste underneath. Now, Te Pā has built up enough compost on the surface to start growing food on one hectare. Photo: Phil Tumataroa Parata-Takurua said it means only one or two kura might get lucky with new builds each year, while others must "scrape it out of wherever they can find some loose change". The property challenges Te Pā is facing are felt by the tamariki and their whānau too. Kay-Lee Jones is a māmā of three children who attend or have attended Te Pā. She feels the whole situation is "inequitable". "All around Ōtautahi, especially post-earthquakes, we had all these very fancy schools being established here, there, and everywhere, and our kids see this, and it's disheartening." She said she worries about the well-being of the staff and students. "Our kids, they don't deserve this." Jones shares the example of her son Wi, who was around nine years old when discussions about the need for new school buildings first started. Now at 17 and about to graduate, he will never see any improved facilities. She worries the same might happen with her nine-year-old child as well. In 2013, the government announced the Christchurch School Rebuild (CSR) programme, with the aim to replace or repair 115 earthquake damaged schools in Christchurch over the following 10 years. As of March this year, 100 schools have been completed, 11 schools are under construction, and three schools are in the planning and design stages. As Te Pā o Rākaihautū was not established until 2014, its redevelopment or rebuild is not within the scope of the CSR programme, according to the Ministry of Education. The property challenges Te Pā is facing are felt by the tamariki and their whānau too. Photo: Phil Tumataroa Tahau said the health and safety challenges have been more than frustrating. "We already know what works. We're acknowledged for it, so get out of the way. "Get on the waka or get out of the way. Because, pono katoa mātou ki tō mātou kaupapa (We are all true to our cause)." Late last week, Parata-Takarua said the school had received another letter from the ministry, which reconfirmed the funding for the "redevelopment" of their current site in Linwood, instead of a custom build at a new site. Parata-Takurua said it was now left with a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum and had engaged its lawyers. "For more than a decade, our children have been left in unsafe, cold, damp buildings while 100 other Christchurch schools were rebuilt around us. The ministry's legal responsibilities extend well beyond 'warm, safe and dry'." A spokesperson for Education Minister Erica Standford said she would not be commenting as it was an operational matter for the ministry.
Otago Daily Times
15 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Chch kura stuck at site with ‘leaks', 'mould' and sewage
By Ella Stewart (Ngāpuhi, Te Māhurehure, Ngāti Manu) of RNZ When you step through the gates at Te Pā o Rākaihautū, you can feel the manaakitanga from its people wrap around you like a korowai. Every morning, students and their whānau from the Christchurch-based school are welcomed in with a big 'kia ora' from kaiako. "You'll hear waiata playing in the background. You'll hear genuine laughter and happiness to be there," said kaiurungi and principal Terina Tahau. Inside, along the corridors, sepia-toned portraits of students dressed in feather kākahu (cloaks) and adorned with mataora and moko kauwae (Māori facial tattoos) line the walls - on one side photos show students on their first day of school, the other side displaying graduates - it serves as motivation for whānau Māori, many of whom haven't felt engaged or served by traditional Western systems of education. But that wairua, or spirit, you feel in the school is a stark contrast to the actual temperatures inside. The almost 70-year-old repurposed buildings are doing their best to keep the bitter cold out. Still, the students' breaths are visible as they giggle and chatter to each other on their way to class. Signs of water damage are visible in one classroom, with parts of the wall rotting away and the ceiling paint peeling. Te Pā o Rākaihautū is the South Island's first kura-ā-iwi, a state school mandated by local hapū or iwi. It was established as a 'Designated Character' school in 2014, and is a unique 21st-century pā wānanga (learning village). But it never received a permanent site or new school buildings. Instead, it has been operating out of a temporary site, which leaders say is causing health and safety problems. School leadership feels it has been battling against institutional racism and inequity from the Ministry of Education for more than a decade. RNZ examines the school's efforts to secure a permanent site and sufficient resources, despite its success in Māori-medium education. Ministry of Education chief executive for school property Jerome Sheppard has acknowledged the school's concerns and said it was working with them to ensure that all students and staff have access to safe, warm and dry facilities. A long and winding road Te Pā o Rākaihautū originated from a group of friends gathering in an Irish pub. Brought together by their shared love of waiata Māori, they established what is now a well-known South Island-based Kapa Haka rōpū, Te Ahikaaroa. But when there was a 'baby boom' in the group, the education options catering specifically to Māori were few and far between. Te Pā founder and now chairperson Rangimarie Parata-Takurua said they started asking each other: "What is the environment we need to create for our kids to not just endure education, but really enjoy it and thrive?" In the process, they thought back to their own experiences of the education system and when they were most engaged in learning. "Inevitably it wasn't when we were sitting in a classroom or sitting in assembly … It was when we were back at our own marae, when we were surrounded by people that loved us, that fed us, that we did things with them that mattered to us. "That was the beginning of Te Pā," she said. The school's founders first applied to open the pā in the aftermath of the 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch, but it was not until three years later that the government approved the establishment of Te Pā o Rākaihautū as a year 1-13 co-education school in Christchurch, opening in 2015. The approval came without a business case or property budget attached, and Te Pā was assigned a temporary site at Richmond Primary School, a school that had previously closed down due to earthquake damage. Due to rapid roll growth and the site's unsuitability, the school moved to another temporary site the same year it opened, this time to the previously closed-down Linwood Intermediate School. Poo floods in the playground Since 2015, the old repurposed buildings in Linwood have had numerous health and safety issues. According to principal Terina Tahau, she and the property manager meet every morning at 7am to walk around the pā, identifying any new leaks, broken pipes, or other issues. One of the last major incidents involved sewage flooding on a Sunday. "We had to get that cleaned up because we got kids coming on Monday, and the last thing they need to even think is that that's okay, because it's not. "We spend many a weekend here because something's popped up." The buildings are also cold. "We know we have to keep our heat pumps on overnight because these facilities freeze, and if we don't have those heat pumps on 24/7 from Monday to Friday, then we're letting our pononga (students) come into something that's not suitable," Tahau said. An independent workplace health and safety report - commissioned by the school's board in May - outlines what it says are "critical issues" that require "immediate and comprehensive action". The report was done by Health and Safety at Work NZ, a Christchurch-based company that offers certifications, audits, investigations and training. Some of the findings included "rotting window frames and sills" throughout classrooms, "significant ongoing leaks" over the kitchen area where school meals are prepared, and "widespread water damage to internal walls and ceilings, with visible mould growth in certain areas". It also noted that evidence had emerged of health deterioration among staff and students, including "increased asthma symptoms reported among staff. Breathing difficulties and respiratory illness reported in students not previously affected". "The findings from the 2025 inspection confirm that Te Pā o Rākaihautū continues to pose significant health and safety risks to its occupants. Despite partial repairs, the buildings remain cold, damp and in disrepair compromising the wellbeing of staff, students, and visitors." Additionally, successive reports done by the Education Review Office (ERO) in 2017, 2021 and 2025 all highlighted the need for a permanent site and new buildings. According to the most recent draft report by ERO, provided to RNZ by the school, securing a permanent site and building that "reflects the unique kaupapa of Te Pā o Rākaihautū" is "required". "The pā has operated out of a temporary site for 10 years that compromises the health and safety of pononga and hinders realising the strategic goals of whānau." The 2025 ERO report also said that the board, Te Tautarinui o Matariki, spends a "disproportionate amount of time and resources managing the ongoing aged property related issues". "The pā continues to operate from a temporary site after 10 years. Again, ERO supports the need for Te Pā to establish their permanent pā site to realise their aspirations and full potential. "The buildings are well past their use by date and need replacing," the ERO report said. ERO did note that students are emotionally safe and healthy. International and local successes The school has demonstrated strong academic results. The draft 2025 ERO report stated that students are achieving above national averages across all levels of NCEA. "We can show results that the ministry has been unable to achieve in mainstream schooling since forever," said Parata-Takarua. Part of their success story can be attributed to their kai programme, Parata-Takurua said. Each day at school, all of the students, from year 1 to 13, receive two full meals. "We were able to install commercial kitchens straight away, and we feed our kids breakfast and lunch." Over the years, they have even built gardens and grown food themselves to supply the kitchen, something the students are actively involved with. Half of the back field is now gardens, alongside 30 hectares they are leasing in the red zone, near the school. With the first crop expected in the next season, Parata-Takurua said the initiative helps students reconnect with the whenua and understand composting processes. The school was recognised internationally, winning the Zayed Sustainability Prize in the Global High Schools East Asia and Pacific category. Returning home In May of 2023, a new site was identified near Te Waipapa, Diamond Harbour, at the base of Te Ahupātiki Eight hectares of ancestral whenua, the same location where the school's namesake, Ngāi Tahu ancestor Rākaihautū, buried his famous kō (digging tool). The new site would allow the school to return home. The land had been owned by the local council since 1913, and in 2024, Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke went through the process of buying it, which was unanimously agreed to by the council. If the proposal is approved by the Ministry of Education, the school hopes to run a dual-site model, a city-site, and the Diamond Harbour site. Under the proposal, the hapū would lease the land back to the Ministry for Education. But the school's leadership is not holding out hope, as out of the 10 options presented by the Ministry, Parata-Takurua said nine focused solely on fixing up the current buildings. "The current buildings being a temporary site that we never ever envisaged that would be the permanent home for our pā wananga. It completely ignored all the work we'd done on the site in Diamond Harbour." In a statement, Jerome Sheppard from the Ministry of Education acknowledged the concerns raised by Te Pā o Rākaihautū. "We have been working with them to ensure that all students and staff have access to safe, warm and dry facilities. That is why we continue to work with Te Pā o Rākaihautū to finalise a scope that will allow for investment in the redevelopment of the existing site, which will include a mixture of new and existing buildings to support up to 350 students." Sheppard said that many schools throughout New Zealand operate from ageing building stock. "These buildings can and are being successfully maintained and upgraded to support learning, and we are confident we can achieve the same with the property for Te Pā o Rākaihautū. "We continue to work closely with Te Pā, within the current fiscal environment, to make sure their provision reflects the importance of Kaupapa Māori Education," Sheppard said. Parata-Takurua said treatment of Te Pā feels like racism to her. "I've yet to be persuaded that it's something else." She said she feels there are "elements of ignorance and arrogance" from the ministry, leading to the dismissal of Māori-medium education's proven success. The Ministry of Education did not wish to respond to the school's comments regarding perceived racism, ignorance, or arrogance within the ministry when contacted by RNZ. "I'd like to invite people to come and spend a couple of days in our shoes and see what that 'privilege' looks like. That privilege looks like this. We're still in old broken buildings, and now we're being pushed down a path of 'accept this or it could be nothing." According to the Ministry of Education, Budget 25 allocated $544 million for growth (including roll growth, new schools, and learning support roll growth), of which $50m is earmarked for Māori Medium Education/Kaupapa Māori Education. Kura make up approximately 6 percent of schools nationwide. Parata-Takurua said it means only one or two kura might get lucky with new builds each year, while others must "scrape it out of wherever they can find some loose change". The property challenges Te Pā is facing are felt by the tamariki and their whānau too. Kay-Lee Jones is a māmā of three children who attend or have attended Te Pā. She feels the whole situation is "inequitable". "All around Ōtautahi, especially post-earthquakes, we had all these very fancy schools being established here, there, and everywhere, and our kids see this, and it's disheartening." She said she worries about the well-being of the staff and students. "Our kids, they don't deserve this." Jones shares the example of her son Wi, who was around nine years old when discussions about the need for new school buildings first started. Now at 17 and about to graduate, he will never see any improved facilities. She worries the same might happen with her nine-year-old child as well. In 2013, the government announced the Christchurch School Rebuild (CSR) programme, with the aim to replace or repair 115 earthquake damaged schools in Christchurch over the following 10 years. As of March this year, 100 schools have been completed, 11 schools are under construction, and three schools are in the planning and design stages. As Te Pā o Rākaihautū was not established until 2014, its redevelopment or rebuild is not within the scope of the CSR programme, according to the Ministry of Education. Tahau said the health and safety challenges have been more than frustrating. "We already know what works. We're acknowledged for it, so get out of the way. "Get on the waka or get out of the way. Because, pono katoa mātou ki tō mātou kaupapa (We are all true to our cause)." Late last week, Parata-Takarua said the school had received another letter from the ministry, which reconfirmed the funding for the "redevelopment" of their current site in Linwood, instead of a custom build at a new site. Parata-Takurua said it was now left with a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum and had engaged its lawyers. "For more than a decade, our children have been left in unsafe, cold, damp buildings while 100 other Christchurch schools were rebuilt around us. The ministry's legal responsibilities extend well beyond 'warm, safe and dry'." A spokesperson for Education Minister Erica Standford said she would not be commenting as it was an operational matter for the ministry.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Aratere makes its final sailing across Cook Strait
Cook Strait ferry Aratere sails into in Wellington on Monday. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The Aratere arrived in Wellington for the final time on Monday, ending almost three decades of Cook Strait sailings. It was announced in April the ferry would stop crossing the Cook Strait to make way for new port infrastructure needed for two new ships set to arrive in 2029. The ferry first arrived on New Zealand's shores in 1999 having been built in Spain at the Hijos de shipyard a year prior and replaced the Aratika, which had been in service from 1974. Aratere ferry has been in service in New Zealand since 1999. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Maritime Union Wellington Branch Secretary Fiona Mansell worked on the Aratere as a cabin attendant and said it would be "really sad" to see the ship sail into the capital for the last time. "It's kind of like losing something or somebody that's very close to you." Mansell told RNZ the ferry's crew created the best memories onboard it. "They're with each other you know a lot, they become family, not just friends, not just crew mates." The ship's retirement was difficult to deal with, she said. "It's a big loss to the crew, to our membership, to this country, to our city." Cool Tranz truck driver Morgan MacAllister-Robb had been sailing on the Interislander frequently for his 35-year career. Over the past six years he had been onboard the Aratere six days a week - which equated to 312 trips annually. MacAllister-Robb said by a stroke of luck he had a ticket on its last crossing. "I didn't even actually have to plan it, it just happens to be one of my scheduled sailings." He said that the Aratere was his favourite of the three ferries in the Interislander fleet, and that it would be weird to not see it in Wellington and Picton port. In its first months of service, it faced several mechanical problems - including a sailing on 24 February 1999 where it suffered a series of power failures that left it adrift in Wellington Harbour. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Days later KiwiRail - then called Tranz Rail - put out a large full page ad in the Weekend Herald which had a picture of the ferry with the text: "Sorry it hasn't been plain sailing". There were problems with the ship highlighted throughout that year and in the 2000s, which included the time it was taken out in heavy conditions and lurched forward, which lightly injured five people. It led to the introduction of new heavy weather protocols for Cook Strait ferry operators. In late April 2011 the Aratere headed to Singapore for six months for a $53 million 30 metre extension which increased the amount of passengers it could hold from 400 to 650. The work was done by cutting the ship in half and inserting what was called the "mid-body". As part of that work, new propellers were fitted to it which became a focus when two years later the ferry's starboard propeller was lost in Cook Strait. Transport Accident Investigation Commission's (TAIC) chief investigator Tim Burfoot said the propeller was fitted poorly, and that was likely because KiwiRail either did not seek, or follow, expert advice. The propeller from the Aratere was found in Cook Strait after it fell off in November 2013. Photo: RNZ On an evening sailing on 21 June 2024, the Aratere ran aground just outside of Picton with 47 passengers on board. No one was injured, but it triggered another Transport Accident Investigation Commission investigation, with its interim report finding a 36-second auto pilot mistake led to the grounding. The report showed that a new Kongsberg steering system had been installed on the Aratere just weeks prior in May, and 83 inter-island crossings were made in the three subsequent weeks. It also found the crew did not know how to take back control from the autopilot, and it took about two minutes before the ship was brought back under manual control. In April, Rail Minister Winston Peters announced it would be retired due to it being the only ferry where rail freight can roll on and off it. That means it can't use another wharf in Picton while port upgrades there and in Wellington are underway for two new ferries, set to arrive in 2029. At the time Peters said it would have cost $120 million to keep the Aratere in service. The retirement has caused a restructure at KiwiRail with some jobs on the chopping block. In a statement, KiwiRail said that confirmation of what jobs would end and what staff could be redeployed in the company would come at the end of August. It said that a decision had not made on the future of the Aratere post retirement yet and it would lay up at its Wellington berth in the meantime. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
