Davidson posts a press statement on housing (hurrah) but Nash is quiet about the role of animism in vision for the tourist industry

Our Beehive bulletin

There was great excitement in the Point of Order office this morning when one of the team checked the emails. He bellowed the news to his colleagues as if it were a headline: “Davidson breaks her duck”.

Yep. She had runs on the board, if you regard her Beehive website as the official scoreboard for this sort of thing. .

Our excitement almost distracted us from other Beehive news, including the welcoming of a Tourism Futures Taskforce report which sets out a long-term vision and direction.

It emphasises the need to prioritise sustainable tourism that enhances community wellbeing, tourism Minister Stuart Nash said.

In fact it does much more than that by promoting a fundamental cultural and spiritual transformation – social engineering is another way of putting it – for the tourism sector. For example:

“We have Mauri – we carry a life force that connects all living things. Our Mauri is what binds us to the land.”

In other words, the future of the tourist industry should be based on animism, or the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence.

And where did the taskforce get that idea? The report makes no secret of the answer:

“This is a taskforce and report that from day one has been inspired by the Te Ao Māori perspective. The wisdom and guidance received from Māori leadership has been incredibly significant to the thinking along the journey towards these recommendations”.

Nash has already signalled the industry is about to undergo a transformation, as the government prepares for borders to re-open and international visitors to return when it is safe.

The Taskforce report is HERE.

In other news from the Beehive:

Conservation Minister Kiri Allan declared the North Island kokako has been brought back from the brink of extinction. Protection of this species began in the late 1990s, after the kōkako population dropped to as few as 330 breeding pairs – around 1000 individual birds –scattered across the North Island. There are now 2000 breeding pairs.
Three ministerial speeches have been delivered (see below for further information).

As we said, these posts were crowded out in our considerations by what seemed to be the triumph of Marama Davidson getting runs on the board.

But not only did we find a record of the statement that had been emailed to us this morning, when we visited the website. We found records of other announcements and speeches in Davidson’s name –

Release

26 MARCH 2021

$4M to reduce homelessness in five locations

Associate Housing Minister Marama Davidson today announced funding support for new initiatives that will prevent and reduce homelessness in Whangarei, Auckland, Napier/Hastings, Rotorua and the Hutt Valley.

Speech

15 MARCH 2021

Speech to the 65th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women Side Event, March 15 2021

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Release

24 FEBRUARY 2021

Government delivers 1,000 more transitional housing places

The Government has added 1,000 more transitional housing places as promised under the Aotearoa New Zealand Homelessness Action Plan (HAP), launched one year ago.

Speech

28 NOVEMBER 2020

Opening Address, Pacific Women’s Watch (New Zealand) Annual Conference on Disability – Creating a level playing field between ALL women in Aotearoa New Zealand

One of the greatest opportunities to improve the wellbeing of New Zealanders is to reduce New Zealand’s high rates of violence and ultimately to reduce and stop family violence

We are sure we found nothing on the site when we looked just a few days ago, prompted by a question in the House, and reported we had found a blank slate.

But maybe we were wrong – and maybe Davidson has been wronged by critics who question what she has achieved (although Davidson could take lessons from Kiri Allan on how to keep the press up with the play with a steady flow of press releases).

Her announcement today was the allocation of more than $4 million of funding support for new initiatives intended to prevent and reduce homelessness in Whangarei, Auckland, Napier/Hastings, Rotorua and the Hutt Valley.

This is the first round of funding from the Government’s $16.6 million Local Innovation and Partnership Fund, which is a key part of our Homelessness Action Plan.

The fund allows Government to partner with local providers or organisations who are doing innovative work to reduce homelessness in their area.

It also allows the government to pitch for political support among Maori and gays.

As Davidson said:

“The initiatives funded in this first round have a strong focus on Māori, rangatahi and the rainbow community.

“They offer new and tailored strategies to disrupt the cycle of homelessness for communities experiencing discrimination and isolation.”

For example, one of the recipients, Rainbow YOUTH, will partner with the housing and homelessness sector in Auckland to reduce the barriers LGBTQIA+ face when accessing mainstream housing services. Another, a partnership between Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga Trust and Whatever It Takes in Hastings, Napier will provide support, positive relationships and connection using tikanga Māori to help people who have experienced long-term homelessness and move people into permanent housing.

Round two of the Local Innovation and Partnership Fund is expected to open in mid-2021.

The full list of successful applicants for round one funding is below.

Successful Local Innovation and Partnership Fund grant recipients

Takiri Mai o Te Ata Collective in partnership with Petone Budget Service Inc
Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga in partnership with Whatever it Takes Trust
RainbowYOUTH in partnership with Te Ngākau Kahukura and Auckland Council
One Double Five Whare Awhina Community House in partnership with Mahitahi Hauora, Whangarei Youth Space, Ngati Hine Health Trust and Pehiaweri Marae
Kāhui Tū Kaha in partnership with Auckland Council Auckland Housing First Collective, South Pacific Pride, Arohanui ki te Tangata and Northland Urban Rural Mission
Te Taumata o Ngati Whakaue Iho Ake Trust in partnership with Manaaki Ora Trust
Lifewise in partnership with Auckland City Mission.