Francine, who provided a warm, safe home for Casino before she was uplifted, is the only hero in this story. Thank you Francine.
In my whānau, Pākehā relatives fostered and then adopted four Māori kids. They now have their own families – and yes, they are still aware of who they are. Social Welfare used to send Māori boys to another of my Pākehā whānau (farmers), who guided them into farming, apprenticeships and the military.
Presently under Section 7AA of the OT Act, all these children would have been uplifted to be placed with Māori whānau.
Minister for Children Karen Chhour, who is in the process of repealing Section 7AA, said it was introduced to the act five years ago to bring attention to Māori children and encourage them to connect with hapū and their iwi, but said nothing about their safety and wellbeing.
In her column of May 25, 2024 she said the Opposition had called her a puppet and a sellout, and Te Pāti Māori suggested on social media that she should have been uplifted as a child and raised as the right kind of Māori.
A Royal Commission of Inquiry has just finished an intensive investigation of child abuse in state care – and here we have the state taking children out of safe foster homes because they are Māori, without enough regard to their safety.
On behalf of us, I would like to say sorry to baby Casino.
Eddie Tuhaka
Have to apply, fit purpose
Roger Handford, in his July 12 letter, queried the absence of a Trust Tairāwhiti grant to Hear4U. In the absence of a direct application to the trust, it’s unlikely that the trust would exercise its originating power and make a spontaneous grant.
Of course, the trustees would have to be certain that any such grant was consistent with the purposes of the trust. Apart from having to preserve the value of the trust fund, the purpose of the trust is to provide for the beneficiaries in one of two ways, as set out in the deed which established the trust. There are two purposes.
First, paying for or subsidising electrical reticulation in the district. The second purpose is “supporting business, community and other initiatives which in the opinion of the trustees are likely to encourage or sustain economic growth within the district that is or may be applied directly or indirectly for the benefit of the beneficiaries”.
I suggest that the means of providing for beneficiaries as the trustees might decide is not in itself a purpose and must be in line with one or other of the outlined purposes. Hear4U is not involved in electrical distribution within the district and so any grant to that body must be such that it be likely to encourage or sustain economic growth. Those words are not synonymous with regional wellbeing, but they are, erroneously I believe, interpreted as such by the trust.
G. Webb
Too late for Sinai sanctuary?
With the juxtaposition of American president Joe Biden’s desperate efforts to hold on to the presidency and the need to hold on to the Jewish vote, we even now see how the degree of American support for Israel’s current war effort in Gaza has ostensibly turned even further in favour of Benjamin Netanyahu. Heavy weaponry that was previously held up by the White House is now suddenly free to flow to Israel once more.
Combining the foregoing factors with the supply of food aid etc to Gaza through the floating pier now apparently being impractical, we can clearly see that many more Gazans will be slaughtered or starved to death before any lasting peace deal is enacted.
With all that in mind, a safe transit camp in the Sinai Desert would possibly have saved thousands of lives, had it been established. Is it now too late?
Dennis Pennefather
Woke dominoes in free-fall
Regarding “Trump not irreplaceable” column (Gisborne Herald, July 16): Or is it the Democrats are much further left than they were 10 years ago, and we are now at peak woke with the damage too obvious to ignore?
The woke dominoes are in free-fall as votes globally move from the far left back to the centre... this is when the intolerant left will be at their most dangerous.
Iain Boyle
If Act has its way...
Re: “Gun statistics painting very grim picture for Americans” (Gisborne Herald editorial, July 16).
If Act has its way, the AR15 will soon be legally available in New Zealand.
The AR15 was used by the Trump shooter and, along with other similar weapons, was used in half of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern American history: the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting, the 2018 Parkland high school shooting and the 2022 Robb Elementary shooting. A modified AR15 was used in the Christchurch massacre.
This weapon could soon be available for purchase in New Zealand.
Ian Findlay
Waste of roads budget
Re: Costly roadworks, for what? (Gisborne Herald, July 13).
I was thinking the same thing when I drove past it on Friday! It seems to be a waste of time.
Mike Hall
