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RNZ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Benefit sanctions will mean young parents 'end up on the street', Māori youth service says
they will mean people 'end up on the street'. E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services mana whakahaere (general manager) Cindy Kawana says young parents have been completely left out of this year's Budget. Photo: Supplied / E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services A kaupapa Māori youth service says this year's Budget delivers "nothing" for young parents, and new sanctions on benefits for rangatahi could push them into unsafe situations and homelessness. With a kaupapa Māori framework, E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services provides dedicated support to mātua taiohi (young parents) and their whānau across crisis, employment, health and more. Mana whakahaere (general manager) Cindy Kawana said the whānau it works with have been completely left out of this year's Budget. "There's nothing in it for our young whānau or for rangatahi," she said. "Rangatahi have missed out - but those that are parents have missed out more. All we've seen are punitive responses to youth." On Budget Day, Minister for Social Development Louise Upston announced the government would means-test benefits for 18- and 19-year-olds against their parents' income from 2027. Kawana said this policy would have devastating impacts. "It's just another way of denying their place in society. They're adult enough to join the army, they're adult enough to vote, but they aren't adult enough to get financial support from the government when they need it ... That just seems crazy." E Tipu E Rea run many services offering dedicated support to uplift young whānau - including their Tūpuna Parenting kaupapa. Photo: Supplied / E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services Kawana said the policy overlooks the complex realities rangatahi face and assumes a level of family support that often doesn't not exist. "It's a really privileged position to be able to think that all of the 18- and 19-year-olds, and specifically those our experiences are with, have relationships with their parents, that even if their parents could afford to support them, [they] would support them," she said. "That's a really privileged position for the government to be sitting in." She said the policy also ignores complex whānau dynamics, such as children returning from state care to rebuild family relationships. "At 18 they're told, 'You can't go on the benefit. Your parents have to support you'. We know what will happen to those kids. They will be living on the street." Kawana said the consequences are visible now through the housing crisis. "What's happening right now with housing and emergency housing - our kids live on the streets. Our māmā's with babies live on the streets. These are direct consequences of the government trying to call back money because we have an unfair economic system going on. "And it's always those, the least that can afford it, that are penalised, forgotten and hidden in the statistical data." She said the sanctions would cause more harm to already struggling whānau. "Some of our young whānau are looking for support - not just financial, but a safe place to stay. What happens when they can't get a benefit? We know what will happen. They'll go out on the street, or they'll stay in really, really dysfunctional, unsafe situations." Kawana criticised the government's messaging around personal responsibility, saying it ignores structural inequality and real-life experiences of tamariki in poverty. Minister for Social Development Louise Upston says the government isn't "willing to watch any young New Zealanders get stuck on the benefit". Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone "We don't means-test superannuation. Why is it different for rangatahi at the start of their lives? We have millionaires getting taxpayer money. And yet young people are told they don't deserve support?" She said young parents, especially Māori and Pasifika, are often "talked about, but never talked to". "Youth might be asked to the table sometimes. But young māmā and pāpā with pēpi - they're left out completely." Investment should focus on prevention and support, Kawana said. "As a society, we do have a responsibility for our youth. The state has intervened in many of their lives - and done a terrible job for some. We can't now turn around and say: 'We owe you nothing'. "Recognise our mātua taiohi as whānau in their own right. Support them financially, emotionally, practically - so that their tamariki thrive." In response, Minister for Social Development Louise Upston said the welfare system should support those who need it most - but "we aren't willing to watch any young New Zealanders get stuck on the benefit". "We don't accept that a life on welfare is as good as it gets for any of our young people," she said. "That's why our government is taking steps to make sure work, training or study is the focus for all young people." Upston said the Budget prioritised funding for community coaches, bonus payments, and personalised plans to "hold young people accountable" while supporting them with job coaching and needs assessments. The final decisions on the parental income test will be made later this year, with considerations for hardship and caregiver situations. Minister for Māori Development and Associate Minister of Housing Tama Potaka. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Minister for Māori Development and Associate Minister of Housing Tama Potaka said it was "wrong to say the government doesn't care about housing for vulnerable young people". "Our housing policy has lifted hundreds of Māori whānau and tamariki out of dire emergency housing and into better homes," he said. "That can mean a world of difference for young people in terms of better health, regular school attendance or maintaining employment." He said the government wants rangatahi to grow their education at kura or follow their own ambitions through mahi or business enterprise. "The government is investing in rangatahi Māori through the overall increase in education funding as well as extra investment in Māori education specifically, including funding for kura, te reo Māori proficiency and training for kaiako. "Our aspirations are the same as many parents across the motu: we want all rangatahi to make the most of their talents. That's why we're saying 18- and 19-year-olds who aren't working or studying should be supported by their parents or guardians, not the taxpayer." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award: Winning photo ‘reclaims narrative' for Māori amid cultural unrest
Her photo, part of a series called Taniwha Chasers, was chosen from 41 finalists and was announced in the presence of the Māori Queen, Kuini Ngā Wai hono i te pō, at Pipitea Marae in Wellington on Wednesday night. 'Ōpōtiki hasn't always had the most positive stories told about them to the media and I think it's really important for us Māori digital artists or people who work in this media-type space ... to be reclaiming those stories and reclaiming our narrative and telling them the way we want them to be told, and capturing the beauty of our small towns and our communities,' Paget-Knebel told the Herald. She said Taniwha Chasers was about representing her community 'and their resilience and us as a people'. 'Really embracing mana motuhake [self-determination, independence and sovereignty] and our strength.' Paget-Knebel said she wanted to focus on a Māori perspective for her photo. 'Our time is non-linear, so to photograph a rangatahi, it just shows that real deep connection with our tūpuna [ancestors] and to see our tūpuna in them.' She felt the picture was a 'timely piece with everything that's happening with this Government and the Toitū te Tiriti movement. I think it's a really great symbol of hope for our rangatahi. There's so much power within all aspects of our community.' Speaking on why she chose to enter that particular picture out of the others in the series, she said: 'There's just something about that photo, eh? 'The rangatahi's expression, it's so pure, and just the movement, this feeling of excitement but complete stillness. Yeah, it just fit the brief for me.' In her entry to the awards, she wrote that the photo also referred to an intimate connection shared between tangata, hōiho (horses) and their whenua. 'Māori have held a long and historic connection to horses as they were used as a tool to colonise Aotearoa but have since been reclaimed as part of our whakapapa. This image captures the intimate connection rangatahi Māori share with the wild horses of Ōpōtiki and how they are being used to uplift the mana of our community.' Paget-Knebel was born and raised in Ōmaio, a small coastal town near Ōpōtiki. She began taking photographs at the age of 12, and her interest in photography deepened after attending a five-day National Geographic photo camp in Murupara, where she learned alongside world-renowned photographers. She moved to Wellington four years ago to study photography at Massey University, and will complete her honours degree this year. She photographed the 2023 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award and was later invited by the New Zealand Portrait Gallery to photograph the 2025 awards. Organisers were left scrambling to find a new photographer when Paget-Knebel unexpectedly became the winner of this year's award. She said she 'kind of just went silent' when she found out she had won. She was most excited to meet the Māori Queen, and said sharing a hongi with her at the awards 'made my entire year and more'. She was thinking about using some of her winnings to publish a book of her photo series, and was hopeful if there was some left over it could go towards her receiving her moko kauae later this year. The biennial award was established in 2020 to inspire a new generation of emerging Māori artists to create portraits of their tūpuna. This year's award attracted portraits using a wide range of mediums, including video, stop-motion puppetry, ceramics with pāua inlay, oil paintings and textiles made from linen, cotton and glass beads. The judges described the winning photo as uplifting and joyful, and captured 'the heart of our time'. 'It is full of hope and youthful energy, with a fresh perspective on connecting with our tūpuna and te taiao [the natural world]. We are all carried along with this young rider into a future that is increasingly uncertain. 'The young rider, his galloping horse, the raised flag and the brooding land all merge wonderfully to convey this powerful message ... For us judges, it was a unanimous choice. We all read the work the same way.' The runner-up, who wins $2500, was Maata-Maria Cartisciano from Waitārere Beach for Ekore koe e ngaro i tōku Koro, an acrylic and pencil portrait of her koro. The exhibition of pictures from the award is at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery on Wellington's waterfront until August 17. Entry is free.
RNZ News
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Photographer wins 2025 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award
The winner of the 2025 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award Jazmin Tainui Mihi Paget-Knebel with her winning photo Taniwha Chasers. Photo: RNZ/Pokere Paewai Photographer Jazmin Tainui Mihi Paget-Knebel is showing her community of Ōpōtiki in a positive light by using her camera to document the mana of rangatahi. The 22-year-old of Te Whānau a Apanui, Whakatōhea, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine descent, won the 2025 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award and a $20,000 cash prize. Paget-Knebel's work Taniwha Chasers was chosen from 41 finalists with the Award being announced in the presence of the Māori Queen Nga wai hono i te po at Pipitea Marae in Wellington on Wednesday. She said it was a surreal feeling to win the award and that she was already accomplishing one of her 2025 goals by meeting the Queen. "I just feel so grateful to be representing my community for such a prestigious award and just carry my whakapapa in this exhibition." Taniwha Chasers was her first project working in Ōpōtiki and she said getting to go home and shoot it has been her most fulfilling kaupapa. She focussed on photographing the horse culture that rangatahi (young people) have been practising in the town. "My cousin helped me gather a bunch of rangatahi and we went out to Hikuwai Beach which is just outside of Ōpōtiki, we had about ten maybe twenty kids on their horses and I was on the back of a ute going a bit too fast down the beach with them running behind us," she said. Taniwha Chasers winner of the 2025 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award Photo: Supplied/Jazmin Tainui Mihi Paget-Knebel Paget-Knebel said she can't wait for her cousins back home to tune in to the award ceremony on Wednesday. "Ōpōtiki doesn't have the best reputation and to be showing my community in this light and bringing positivity and showing the mana of rangatahi and showing how they carry their mana motuhake is so important to be represented in the media and I'm just so grateful that I get to share this story." Paget-Knebel began taking photographs when she was 12, but became really invested at around 16 when she began to capture Māori practices with her camera. Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po is known to have a passion for photography as well and even took photos the Kiingitanga's social media pages before her accession as the Māori Monarch. "I was really nervous about talking to her, so now I have a topic of discussion," Paget-Knebel said. The Judges of the 2025 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Awards, from left John Walsh, Dr. Areta Wilkinson and Renata Te Wiata. Photo: RNZ/Pokere Paewai The shortlisted artworks were chosen by a distinguished panel of judges, including contemporary Māori artist Dr. Areta Wilkinson (Ngāi Tahu), Head Carver for Waikato-Tainui Renata Te Wiata (Waikato-Ngāti Māhuta, Te Arawa - Ngāti Kea Ngāti Tuara), and leading painter John Walsh (Aitanga a Hauiti). Walsh said when he first saw Paget-Knebel's photograph his first thought was "that's a winner." "We all were basically thinking the same things.. it's so youthful and so energetic and hopeful," he said. Wilkinson said seeing the diversity of vision among the entrants is also important. "We really enjoyed the diversity of the media, we still look at them as images whether they're two dimensional or three dimensional [or] moving, and just how people are expressing their vision through that medium." The Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award was originally set up in collaboration between the Kiingitanga and the New Zealand Portrait Gallery as a competition to encourages young Māori artists to create portraits of their tūpuna (ancestors) in any medium. Te Wiata said it was a privilege to be involved with awards and he hoped that the memory of the late King is carried on through future Portraiture awards. "Our Kiingi he was a future thinker, he was a big advocate for the arts and this is just proof of that," he said. Jaenine Parkinson, the director of the NZ Portrait Gallery said the criteria for this year's awards were changed to reflect who Kiingi Tuheitia wanted the award to be for, that is young artists. They were saddened by the loss of Kiingi Tuheitia, but she said they are excited to work with the new Queen Nga wai hono i te po, who saw the award as an opportunity to carry on Kiingi Tuheitia's good works into the future. "So it carries his legacy, his hope and his aspirations for rangatahi Māori and it's meant that we have now an opportunity to work with Kuini Nga wai hono i te po herself and we're so excited to be welcoming her here," she said. Parkinson encouraged people to come down to the Gallery on Wellington's waterfront to view the portraits 'face to face with the tūpuna'. The public also has the chance to vote for the People's Choice award that will be chosen at the end of the exhibition. The exhibition will open at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata at Shed 11 on Wellington's waterfront from Thursday, 22 May to Sunday, 17 August 2025. Entry is free. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
15-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
'More needs to be done' to reverse dire well-being ranking
Minister for Social Development and Employment Louise Upston says the government is committed to doing the work needed to improve the lives of rangatahi. Photo: 123RF Warning: This story discusses suicide. Newly released ranking from UNICEF revealed New Zealand is one of the worst for rangatahi mental health and wellbeing, timely with Budget day 2025. The latest UNICEF Innocenti Report Card 19: Fragile Gains - Child Wellbeing at Risk in an Unpredictable World ranked New Zealand 32nd out of 36 countries for overall child wellbeing. It ranked Aotearoa last place for child and youth mental health. The report card - published a week before Budget day - is a reflection of "systems are valuing the wrong things", Wellbeing Economy Alliance director Gareth Hughes noted. "This ranking should be a wake-up call for all of our elected representatives, but we also need to remember these aren't just rankings, these are real people. "They're reflective of the values that we're expressing collectively. These aren't automatic outcomes, these are the result of policy choices and we can make better policy choices." Hughes hoped the budget would place an emphasis on child wellbeing. "We all hear in our day-to-day lives that young people are struggling. "They struggle when they compare themselves to their parents' generations and some of the opportunities they might've had, but also they're struggling with bullying." Wellbeing Economy Alliance director Gareth Hughes. Photo: ©VNP / Phil Smith Report card 19 revealed that before Covid, Aotearoa youth suicide rate was the second highest in the world, now, after Covid it is the highest. "We've known for many years about our dire youth suicide statistics, and this report is just another reminder for too many young people - we're seeing them take a terrible action as a result of the despair they're seeing in their lives." Alongside the ranking, the number of children living in poverty grew from 144,100 in 2023 to 156,600, according to StatsNZ. Hughes said those statistics were worsening in Aotearoa. "It's even higher rates for Māori, Pasifika, and disabled Kiwis. We need to make sure that we're living our values, which is, I believe, we're a country that wants to see every young person with great opportunities and a chance at success. "We need to look at the wider systemic causes - why young people are struggling in modern Aotearoa?" Chief Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad said the rankings showed investment in children and young people was urgently needed to support child and youth mental health, including suicide prevention measures, and to better support the prevention of bullying in schools and communities. "This is necessary to deliver on the government's own Child and Youth Strategy to make New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child," she said. "It's devastating that among other high-income countries, we reported the highest youth suicide rate. We also know that attempted suicide rates for rangatahi Māori, Rainbow children and young people and disabled children are higher." Minister for Social Development and Employment Louise Upston. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker Minister for Social Development and Employment Louise Upston recognised more work needed to be done to improve the lives of rangatahi, which she said, the government was committed to doing. "The Child and Youth Strategy sets out our plan to improve the lives of young Kiwis by creating social and economic prosperity - something that will benefit New Zealand's current and future generations. "Our strategy aligns with many of the recommendations made by Innocenti such as those focused on improving child mental and physical health, and ensuring young New Zealanders are well supported to achieve core proficiencies in reading, writing and maths." It was pointed out to RNZ by the ministers office that New Zealand ranked 35th in September 2020, which is the next most recent Innocenti report. "We are committed to giving New Zealanders more opportunities to get ahead, including investing in children and young people to ensure they experience a good life." If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
03-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Tory Whanau says politics has become more toxic, especially for wāhine Māori
'Politics has become an ugly place' Whanau has previously said she would consider quitting the mayoralty after facing scrutiny for her political and personal challenges, including the appointment of a Crown observer for the council. She told Saturday Morning she has attracted extra attention because the 'old guard' are resistant to issues such as climate change, the cycleway network and social housing. 'Being the progressive change mayor – that does bring a lot of negativity.' Being wahine Māori has also posed extra difficulties, she said, citing the treatment of other Māori politicians such as Tamatha Paul, Marama Davidson and Metiria Turei. There were double standards for women, especially wāhine Māori, and the negativity had also moved on to the rainbow community. 'Politics at the moment has become quite an ugly place and I'm just an example of part of that.' While she has enjoyed some support, especially this week since her decision on the mayoralty, politics could be 'a lonely place' and 'isolating'. 'It's absolutely crucial' to have discussions about the online criticism directed at women and gay politicians, she said. 'When is it okay to threaten the life of a politician? It is never okay,' she said in response to a councillor's claim that she had asked for the abuse she received because of her behaviour. She did not regret using social media in her bid to attract support from young people, however, the political landscape had changed a great deal. US President Donald Trump and some of the New Zealand coalition Government members had helped to ramp up the criticism politicians received, she said. 'The online trolling has accelerated significantly ... the political landscape has become a lot more toxic.' She did not feel her life was in danger, however, the abuse would turn off women and rangatahi Māori from any thoughts of going into politics. 'And that becomes a danger to our democracy.' She appealed to other politicians to make debates about policy and not personal. Surprise at Little's decision Whanau said she was surprised by former Labour minister Little's announcement after he had ruled out the suggestion last year. 'I accepted it [Little's decision], got my plans back in place. I am really excited about running for the Māori ward.' She said she was not disappointed some on the left had backed Little instead of her. The most important thing was to keep the city 'on track' with issues such as the cycleway network, building more social housing, and investing in water. She said many of the things she had campaigned on such as more investment in water and more social housing had started during her mayoralty. Advertise with NZME. 'The biggest thing I didn't achieve was light rail ... I at least was able to keep the Golden Mile.' Questioned about her 'flip-flop' over the sale of Wellington Airport shares, she said it created tension. There was a need to address the $2.3 billion underinvestment in insurance and she believed the share sale would be the best option, however, there wasn't enough support. The council had moved on and relationships had been rebuilt. 'I've learned from that, won't be doing that again.' It had caused 'great upset' that iwi did not have a voice over the sale of the shares, however, her relationship with iwi remained strong throughout the saga. Housing, protection of nature, and having a voice at the table were the main priorities for mana whenua, she said. They had been supportive over her decision to stand for the Māori ward. Crown observer 'didn't need to happen' Whanau said the atmosphere was 'light' during her meeting with Local Government Minister Simeon Brown during which the appointment of a Crown Observer was discussed. 'We've had independent advice that it didn't need to happen but I wanted to show Wellington that I was more than willing to work with the government to prove we could have a successful Long Term Plan ... it's back on track without the airport.' The presence of the observer had helped with the management of councillors' behaviour, she said. She had a 'polite' relationship with Brown and said things were warmer with the new minister Simon Watts. Whanau said it had been an honour to perform her first karanga at two events during her term as mayor. 'One of the most special honouring moments of my life ... that has been an absolute privilege of this role.' - RNZ
