Titewhai Harawira, Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins at a powhiri ahead of Waitangi day.
OPINION: A couple of weeks ago, following an unseemly bout of infantile intolerance over the use of te reo Māori at a Grey Power meeting, I asked in this column if we had become a little too sensitive about the differences between Māori and non-Māori social and cultural norms. It had been suggested, in a Grey Power newsletter, that Opotiki District councillor Louis Rapihana had insulted those at the meeting who did not understand what he said in a Māori karakia or prayer to open the meeting. The two parties to the dispute eventually agreed to have a polite discussion and settle their differences.
Wed, 27 Jan 2021, 14:47 14:47 PM | BY: EARTHQUAKEMONITOR
4.3 quake 28 Jan 12:27 am (GMT +10)
Just 11 minutes ago, a 4.3-magnitude earthquake struck near Nemuro, Nemuro-shi, Hokkaido, Japan. The tremor was recorded after midnight on Thursday 28 January 2021 at 12:27 am local time, at a shallow depth of 19.6 km below the surface.
The event was filed by NIED, the first seismological agency to report it.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 4.3 earthquake as well.
Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Nemuro (pop. 31,200) located 94 km from the epicenter.
Wed, 27 Jan 2021, 12:54 12:54 PM | BY: EARTHQUAKEMONITOR
4.0 quake 27 Jan 9:34 pm (GMT +9)
An earthquake of magnitude 4.0 occurred in the evening on Wednesday 27 January 2021 at 9:34 pm local time near Shizunai-furukawachō, Hidaka-gun, Hokkaido, Japan, as reported by NIED.
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at a moderately shallow depth of 31 km. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Shizunai-furukawachō (pop. 22,400) located 65 km from the epicenter.
Felix Desmarais/Stuff
Those people who have no interest in religion and no understanding of Māori are usually polite enough and intelligent enough to observe civilised protocol to go along with the process, writes Tom O’Connor
In spite of more than 200 years of European settlement of, and presence in, New Zealand can we still hear the faint echoes of the clash of cultures or have we become a little too sensitive about our differences? The use of te reo Māori by Opotiki District councillor Louis Rapihana at the opening of a local in Whakatane Grey Power meeting brought a surprising suggestion that he had insulted those who did not understand what had been said. If anyone has been insulted he has and he has responded with a decision to take the matter to the Race Relations Commissioner. His annoyance is understandable but have both sides overreacted?