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news • business • opinion • sport Thursday, April 4, 2024
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Here run the sheep…
Liam Fagan is already shearing sheep at 10 – and he and siblings Ella, 9, and Beauden, 6, have been following the Fagan family tradition since they were one year old, practising with pretend shears on teddy bears. So the three King Country Primary School students are well used to seeing sheep
running on their farm. But on Saturday those sheep will be running on Rora Street as the traditional running of the sheep returns to Te Kuiti after a two year break. The event will be the most public of a series of celebrations alongside the New Zealand Shearing Championships over the weekend
– and they are notable enough for Prime Minister Chris Luxon to put “visit to Te Kuiti” onto his calendar. He’ll be in town with Taranaki-King Country MP Barbara Kuriger and Trade Minister Todd McClay on Saturday afternoon The PM will also get an overview of The Lines Company and particularly get an
insight into how energy is distributed to a large geographical area with a relatively small population. The shearing championships began this morning, and the running of the sheep will start at 2pm on Saturday. • Read all about this weekend’s events inside today, starting on Page 16.
Liam, Emma and Beauden Fagan pictured yesterday on mum and dad – Stacie and Neil Fagan’s - farm yesterday.
Academic’s pointed Māori message By Sigrid Christiansen
Historian Tom Roa says when the government say it feels Māori pain over O-Rakau, it is simply paying lip service. The Waikato University professor delivered his rebuke when speaking on Tuesday at the 160th anniversary of the battle of O-Rākau on Tuesday.
His comments were directed to Māori development Minister Tama Potaka, the most high-profile government representative present. And to emphasis his points he “reluctantly” broke with the protocol of the paepae to speak in English. Roa said he felt hurt by expressions of sympathy
from the government in the context of damaging actions towards Māori, in particular the dismantling of the Māori Health Authority and its support of the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill. He later told the King Country News he wanted to be constructive in his contribution to the discussion, rather than
inflammatory. Roa first delivered his kōrero in te reo Māori, speaking beside a portrait of Rewi Maniapoto, who had led Māori in the O-Rakau battle. Having switched to English he said his intention was to share a clear message to all, including those with a lesser understanding of te reo Rangatira.
While some iwi had settled with the crown, he said, people felt decidedly “unsettled” in the current political environment. Thousands of whānau attended the 2 April kaupapa, almost all of whom had tūpuna among the survivors and those killed. See more stories from the day on Pages 2 and 3.
Tom Roa
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