The Minister launched Te Hurihanganui at Takapuwahia Marae in Porirua - kicking off an anti-racism initiative for schools and communities, aiming to help Maori students.

Davis said when he started as principal in a Far North school in 2001 and launched testing, there was a near-100 per cent failure amongst Maori students to reach an appropriate standard. Staff, he said, appeared to be resigned to the result. Read more

Tamaki made the comments Monday, on Q+A.

Threatening to re-enter politics if nothing is done to stop Maori families suffering and to fix the prison system he said he may need to talk to Hone Harawira about taking Corrections Minister, Kelvin Davis' Te Tai Tokerau seat.

Calling New Zealand prisons "our rotting dark shame", Tamaki's concern is that the Government is not allowing his Man Up programme in prisons.

The programme targets troubled men, particular Maori men, and claims to help to break cycles of violence and repeat offending.

Calling Davis a liar, Tamaki also threatened to call on inmates to revolt if the Government continues to deny the programme.

Saying the justice system is broken, he told Q+A that it's not him on trial but Kelvin Davis.

Questioned about his comments last week attacking the Government, Tamaki said he would apologise if the Government came to the table.

"Someone needs to have the political courage to stand up in Parliament or in this Government and say, 'You know what, we're not going to continue to see our Maori families suffer'.

"I mean we need a change, we can't leave it like this.

"So if that (political courage) does not happen then maybe I'll have to ring my mate Hone Harawira up in the north and say, 'Brother we might have to take this electorate'."

Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis denies Tamaki's claim that the Government has stifled his attempts for the church to work in prisons.

Instead, he claims Tamaki has not applied through the proper channels.

Tamaki says he tried email, formal letters and talking to ministers.

He says he applied through Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, Justice Minister Andrew Little and Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis himself.

Tamaki says he has spoken with Peters and Little and that both are mystified Davis would not receive his formal approaches.

The Man Up programme is affiliated to Destiny Church.

Sources

• NewsHub
• Twitter
• CathNews
• Image: Man Up

He echoed comments made earlier by Justice Minister Andrew Little, who said Destiny had never actually made a formal application to partner with the Government to work in prisons.

"There have been no formal applications made to deliver the Man-Up or Legacy programmes in prison."

Tamaki wanted Destiny Church's Man-Up programme - an initiative focused on tackling family violence, depression, obesity, addiction and suicide - to be brought into prisons.

Last week Tamaki and 2000 others - including patched gang members - and presented a petition at Parliament urging the Government to allow the church to work within prisons.

"For all of my efforts to try and get into prison, they [the Government] shut us down," Tamaki told those gathered.

The Destiny Church says the Department of Corrections is breaching the Treaty of Waitangi by refusing to let it into prisons.

But Little said he wanted to talk with Tamaki about the programme and what he and the Government could do together.

Davis said in his statement that any community group or organisation wanting to offer a programme in prison is welcome to make a formal application in writing.

He said any organisation that wanted to help safely reduce the prison population should focus on preventing people from going to prison in the first place.

He said until there are no more drugs being baked, until there is no more domestic violence, and when people with addiction services are supported, there will be a need for churches in every community to "work their magic."

"No one needs my blessing to do that work."

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• tvnz.co.nz
• newshub.co.nz
• Image: newshub.co.nz