Maori fitness businesses please MP

Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell works out at the Waikite Gym in Rotorua. Mr Flavell is impressed with the number of Maori fitness initiatives in Rotorua.

Tena ano tatou katoa.

Te reo Maori

It was great news to hear recently of the Ministry of Justice initiative set to increase the use of te reo Maori in courtrooms.

The initiative will ensure that all district court sessions, including those with Justices of the Peace and community magistrates, will be opened and closed in te reo. Any initiative that moves to normalise the use of te reo in our communities is a great thing, and certainly in and across government departments or agencies.

It is already commonplace to hear te reo used in the Family Court, Youth Court, Maori Land Court and even in some inquests so extending this to the district court has to be a good thing.

Ahuwhenua Trophy

I was proud to announce the three finalists in the annual Ahuwhenua Trophy awards in Parliament recently. For the first time in the recent history of this competition, two of the farms are from the South Island, which is awesome, while the other is from South Waikato, in Okoroire just up by Tirau.

Ngai Tahu Farming Limited, Tewi Trust and The Proprietors of Rakaia Incorporation are the three trusts, all of whom must be commended for their sheer hard work and for fulfilling a legacy left by Sir Apirana Ngata, who helped introduce the competition. Now in its 83rd year, the Ahuwhenua Trophy encourages proficiency and skills in Maori farming and celebrates the pursuit of innovation and new approaches by Maori farmers.

I look forward to hopefully heading to some of the public field days at the farms before the winner is announced in May.

Local Maori Business

While I'm on the topic of Maori business! While I was preparing a speech a few weeks ago for a Rotorua Chamber of Commerce lunch, and was jotting down the names of some local Maori businesses, I couldn't help but feel such pride that in a busy main tourist city like Rotorua, we have a huge number of small to medium enterprises that are owned and/or operated by Maori.

And what is even more impressive to me is the number of gyms, or health and fitness initiatives that are led by Maori here in town. Toa Health and Fitness, Waikite Gym, Instinctive Fitness, RotoVegas Boxing, Hori Thai MMA, the Cross Fit Gyms, Cross Fit Rotorua, Te Arawa and Ruark are all either owned or operated by Maori and I suspect have a huge Maori membership. Having Maori at the forefront of health and wellbeing initiatives certainly encourages greater Maori participation. There's no excuse for not getting out and being active as we head into the cooler months. There are a number of free or very low-cost fitness initiatives going on in the community now, so get involved! Kia kaha e hoa ma!

- I welcome feedback. Email mpwaiariki@parliament.govt.nz or phone 0508 924 274.