Meriana Johnsen

Wellington

Reporter, The Hui at Newshub

Ngāi Tahu, Rangitāne o Wairau • Reporter for The Hui [email protected]

Articles

From weaving to robotics: programme propels rangatahi into cutting edge careers

1 month ago | teaonews.co.nz | Meriana Johnsen

An initiative blending mātauranga Māori and science is successfully lifting Māori school achievement and getting rangatahi into cutting-edge careers. Pūhoro STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Mātauranga) Academy, based in Manawatū, is the world’s largest indigenous science academy. Māori students achieve around 10 per cent below the average in NCEA levels 1 - 3, data from NZQA shows.
Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti: Is this what peace feels like?

Nov 23, 2024 | e-tangata.co.nz | Meriana Johnsen

Meriana Johnsen was one of the more than 50,000 who joined the hīkoi when it reached Wellington. For a crowd of more than 50,000, it was quiet. Very quiet. From the green barriers separating parliament from the masses, a friend remarked to me how strange it was that the crowd was so subdued. Solemn maybe, I suggested. But then as we quietly thought about it, staring out into the sea of faces and flags, it occurred to me. Maybe this is what peace feels like.
Customer takes Bunnings to task over plastic waste

Oct 17, 2024 | nzherald.co.nz | Meriana Johnsen

An overflowing skip bin at Bunnings in Lyall Bay. Photo / Steve CroninBy Meriana Johnsen for RNZA Wellington man is fed up trying to get Bunnings in Lyall Bay to keep their plastic in check, but the hardware chain has said it has been making efforts to stop its waste blowing away. Wellington's south coast is known for its blustering southerlies and it's also a popular surfing spot, where local Steve Cronin likes to head down to catch a wave.
Stuff

Sep 17, 2024 | stuff.co.nz | Meriana Johnsen
'Over my dead body': Māori respond to Govt's proposed Fast-Track Approvals Bill

Jun 16, 2024 | newshub.co.nz | Meriana Johnsen

Watch: The Hui airs debate on Government's proposed Fast-Track Approvals Bill. Credits: The Hui Kapiti iwi Ngāti Toa only need to gaze out their office window to see the environmental impact of sped-up building processes. They look out across Te Awarua o Porirua (Porirua Harbour), which was once the pātaka kai (food source) for the iwi. However, Ngāti Toa chief executive Helmut Modlik said that all changed in the 1950s and 1960s.
Corrella's Blue Eyed Māori now spent almost nine months as New Zealand's number-one hit

May 20, 2024 | newshub.co.nz | Meriana Johnsen

Watch: Corrella's lead singer Pipiwharauroa Campbell and rhythm guitarist Te Naawe Tupe tell The Hui they are humbled by their success. Credits: The Hui In just four short years of releasing music, Corrella has gone from a covers band in the Navy - called 'The Marinades' - to releasing a record with a two-times platinum single that's still number one. The eight-piece roots group are up for Single of the Year for 'Blue Eyed Māori' at the Aotearoa Music Awards, and Best Roots Artist.
'Nothing can survive': Iwi and researchers sound alarm over shipwreck's oil threat

May 6, 2024 | newshub.co.nz | Meriana Johnsen

The RMS Niagara is rapidly deteriorating - and could release up to 1400 tonnes of oil into the Hauraki Gulf. Credits: The Hui The clock is ticking down on a rapidly deteriorating shipwreck, which iwi and researchers are warning could release up to 1400 tonnes of oil into the Hauraki Gulf. The passenger liner RMS Niagara has been laying on the seafloor, 40 kilometres southeast of Whangārei, for more than 80 years now.
'There's blood in the soil': Is enough being done to protect NZ's Māori history?

Apr 8, 2024 | newshub.co.nz | Meriana Johnsen

There are concerns not enough is being done to protect NZ's Māori history from land developments. Credits: The Hui When you think of our country's 'heritage', wooden colonial buildings might come to mind - much like Antrim House on Boulcott Street. Built in 1905, it now houses our country's archaeological agency, Heritage NZ. But its chief executive Andrew Coleman says there's actually much more to our country's heritage.
Warning rangatahi are taking up cigarettes to quit vapes

Mar 11, 2024 | newshub.co.nz | Meriana Johnsen

"I just think the harm that we're going to see for our whānau over the next generations is going to be horrific." Credits: The Hui Health advocates say the repeal of world-leading smokefree legislation last month has set the smokefree target for Māori back by more than a decade. Jacqui Harema, the chief executive of Māori public health group Hāpai Te Hauora, said it was "devastating".
Traditional art form weaves a new business for young entrepreneur

Mar 10, 2024 | newshub.co.nz | Meriana Johnsen

Over two years, Awhina Murupaenga has built a business selling kits for people to make their own tukutuku panels. Credits: The Hui It's a life change that started as a call to come home to run a marae art gallery and blossomed into a thriving online business. Over two years, Whatu Creative business owner Awhina Murupaenga (Te Hiku o te Ika) has built a business selling kits for people to make their own tukutuku (latticework weaving) panels.