NEWSROOM: 02 September - 08 September 2007

‘Tuaman’ set for second rumble on Maori Television
08 September 2007 - Source: Maori Television Press Release
 
Samoan knockout specialist David ‘Tuaman’ Tua continues his mighty comeback campaign with free-to-air coverage of his second major fight live from the USA on Maori Television this Saturday September 8 from 1.00 PM.

The Kiwi heavyweight contender is the co-main event at the Soaring Eagle Casino show in Mount Pleasant, Michigan – replacing Joe Mesi who has backed out with a bad back – and will fight tough 28-year-old American Cerrone Fox. Fans can email their messages of support to Tua on tuaman@maoritelevision.com.

Former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman will face Dicky Ryan in the main event while undefeated super lightweight Vernon ‘Iceman’ Paris will face the brother of the former heavyweight champion Chris Byrd, Patrick Byrd, in the featured bout. Other notable fighters on the card include Brian Mithar and Larry Ventis. The event is being promoted by Carlos Llinas of CLIP Boxing and Bluecap Promotions.

Maori Television presenter Te Arahi Maipi will again host the special sports broadcast TUA OF DUTY, re-joined by former professional fighter Danny Codling – who now trains up-and-coming boxer Monty Beetham – as well as fight fan and funnyman Mike King.

Ranked number 13 by the WBC, Tua took the first step in his comeback campaign with an explosive first round knockout over Mexican heavyweight champion Saul ‘La Cobra’ Montana in their Utah showdown on August 19. Montana was laid out for the count by two Tua left hooks in a time of two minutes and 15 seconds.

Tua told Maori Television that he feels humbled and blessed to be given another opportunity in the ring. “It’s not just my tour of duty, it’s the tour of duty of all those who supported me from day one and through the challenging times – in and out of court. This has allowed me to look at the sport that I love and know that I’m going to have a serious go for three to four years. So things are different now and I’m just trying to keep things simple and stick to the basics.”

Get ready to rumble when David ‘Tuaman’ Tua takes on American Cerrone Fox – live and free-to-air only on Maori Television – in TUA OF DUTY this Saturday September 8 from 1.00 PM.
 

New Zealand leaves mark on The Tattooist star
07 September 2007 - Source: SKYCITY Press Release
 
This Saturday night the lights of the Sky Tower will be fading to black to support our boys, as they take on Italy, in one of the most anticipated sporting events of 2007.

This weekend, SKYCITY Auckland will be the place to watch the weekend's biggest sporting matches live, with the Vodafone Warriors vs. Parramatta Eels NRL playoff on Friday night and the clash between New Zealand and Italy's finest in the rugby on Saturday night.

Blend, on Level 3 of SKYCITY Auckland, will be transformed into a sport fan's dream - complete with grandstands and big screens for both matches. If you missed out on tickets to Mt Smart or work wouldn't let you fly to France, SKYCITY's home stadium will ensure you have just as good a time watching your favourite teams on the field.

To help get you in the spirit of the game, traditional sporting fare will be available including pies, battered hotdogs, hot chips and wedges - all served up with a cold pint of lager.

On Friday night, the Vodafone Warriors will be kicking off their semi-final match at Mt Smart Stadium at 8.30pm and on Saturday night the Steinlager Black Zone will be blacked out and ready for action for the game in Marseilles, France at 11.00pm.

There is no place like the SKYCITY Black Zone to watch the All Blacks games:
Saturday 8 September vs. ITALY, 11.45pm
Sunday 16 September vs. PORTUGAL, 11pm
Monday 24 September vs. SCOTLAND, 4am
Saturday 29 September vs. ROMANIA, 11pm
PLUS
Quarter-finals, Semi-finals & the Final!

So get down to SKYCITY, if you can find us in the dark, and enjoy the big games at Auckland's leading entertainment destination.
 

New Zealand leaves mark on The Tattooist star
06 September 2007 - Source: NZ City
 
The American heart throb who stars in New Zealand film The Tattooist is overwhelmed at his honour from the Samoan community.

Jason Behr, known to most as Max from teen alien series Roswell, was bestowed with the chiefly matai title halfway through filming, along with director Peter Burger. Behr says he and Burger really wanted to be authentic and represent the Samoan community honestly. He says they were surprised with the honour and it means a big deal to him, as it is not something given away lightly.

In The Tattooist Behr plays Jake, a restless tattooist from LA who messes with traditional Samoan tatau and unleashes all kinds of horrors. Mia Blake plays his love interest Sina, while the film also features Robbie Magasiva and Michael Hurst.

It is Burger's first full-length feature and a joint production between New Zealand and Singapore, the first such partnership. The film will at this stage be distributed in New Zealand, Singapore and Australia and premieres in Auckland tonight. Behr believes The Tattooist's portrayal of Samoan supernatural beliefs will spark interest from other countries. He says it has the benefit of a story and a world that people across the globe are unfamiliar with, making it more believable.

Behr has a Japanese character tattoo already and says it was tempting to get another during the filming of The Tattooist. He says he loved having a full sleeve tattoo for the role, although it was fake. "It was really difficult to walk away from this film and not have a full sleeve. I mean every day you would look at it and just looked so cool and just right." But he conceded a full sleeve would limit his acting career.

Jason Behr says when he first arrived a year ago he instantly felt connected to New Zealand and it now feels like home, so much so that he would love to retire here.

The Tattooist opened at cinemas across New Zealand on August 30.
 

Tana Umaga signs million-dollar Cup deal
05 September 2007 - Source: Rugby Heaven / sharemyNZ
 
Tana Umaga has signed a million-dollar deal to captain a new team up until the Rugby World Cup 2011.

Tourism New Zealand's virtual Front Row Rugby Club has contracted the former All Black captain to front an online campaign to boost tourist numbers for the cup.

Chief executive George Hickton would not confirm how much they had paid Umaga, 34, but The Dominion Post understands he will be paid $200,000 a year to appear on an internet and DVD marketing campaign till the 2011 championships.

Umaga has also signed a big-money two-year deal to be general manager for French second division team Toulon. He earned him more than €300,000 (NZ$533,000) while playing seven games for the club last year.

Tourism NZ's online rugby club would enlist travelling Kiwis as its ambassadors, supplying anyone who signed up with a New Zealand marketing pack and a DVD invitation personalised by Umaga.
The Wainuiomata-born rugby star was a popular pick for government-funded campaigns, with a $510,000 three-year package signed with the Education Ministry in 2005 to front Team-Up, a $16 million plan to get parents involved in their children's education.

Signing Umaga to captain the team was a good way to identify with the international rugby fan base, Hickton said. "He's got a lot of mana as an ex-All Black captain. He was our No 1 choice."
Over the next four years Tourism New Zealand would spend up to $7.5 million a year on Rugby World Cup associated promotions, Hickton added.

Become one of the first members of Tana Umaga's Front Row Rugby Club and help spread the word to your mates far and wide about the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 2011.

You simply sign up and then invite your mates to join. You enter some facts about your friends, like who they support and what position they played at school. They then receive a personalised video invite from Tana. It's very cool.

Then once this year's World Cup is over you'll be invited into the Club Rooms where you'll be involved in some global initiatives and world firsts, like the biggest team photo and road trips around New Zealand.

Check out the website, and sign up: http://www.newzealand.com/frontrowrugbyclub/
 

Increasingly believable internet scams catching Kiwis
04 September 2007 - Source: Netsafe Press Release
 
New Zealand’s Internet Safety Group, NetSafe has experienced an upsurge in calls from New Zealanders caught in internet scams.

NetSafe Executive Director Martin Cocker says, “Even people who are well aware of common scams and who are cautious with online transactions can be fooled. Some people have lost money, others have contacted us before doing a deal – just to check if what they are about to do is legitimate. ”

One caller booked private overseas accommodation on a legitimate website, deposited money into a bank account to secure the booking, and was unable to ever get in touch with the owner again.

“Most people are familiar with common scams through from stories in the media – but people need to understand that scammers are now using more and more sophisticated methods,” says Martin.

People can protect themselves by only using reputable websites. These often have more effective trust and safety teams who can prevent and follow up on fraudulent activity.

How you are being asked to pay for something may be a clue to possible dishonest dealings. A secure site (https and a padlock with a current security certificate) or a reputable escrow service is safer than ‘wiring money’ through a facility like Western Union. Keep all records of online transactions just in case. People can also check for feedback on a trader before parting with money.

“Online communities can sometimes be a good source of information about fraudsters. The person who was defrauded when booking overseas accommodation, found feedback about the property concerned, and several other people who had been scammed by the same person” says Martin.

“People can help protect themselves by being cautious about online deals that look ‘too good to be true’ and by ensuring that they do a thorough investigation before parting with any money” says Martin.

Common scams in New Zealand :
• Lottery scams – you are contacted by an overseas lottery agency which tells you that you have won money. They then ask for your account details to pay the money into and a small deposit as a processing fee.
• Overseas job offers – a great job in an overseas location is offered, and a contract is sent by email. In order to take up the vacancy the applicant must secure a work visa through a recommended immigration consultant who requires a down-payment for services.
• Nigerian type scams – someone overseas needs help to move money from one account to another. These scams often offer money for this service.

For more information about online scams and how to avoid them, visit: http://netsafe.org.nz/fraud/fraud_scams.aspx
Or contact:
Martin Cocker (021) 790-369 or Rachel Harrison (021) 333-198
 

New technology centres set to upskill NZ in ICT
03 September 2007 - Source: Arataki Communications Press Release

A Maori internet company has joined with Maori health providers around the country in a unique initiative to increase New Zealanders technology skills.

“Our Space” opens this week-end in Waiuku, and it provides locals with free access to computers and the Internet –as well as training and support.

“It’s an Internet café open to everyone, but apart from providing locals with free facilities, there’ll be training and support here as well.” Arataki Communications Director Ngaire Schmidt said today.

Working with Poutiri Trust (a Maori Development Organisation), Arataki will establish another eleven learning spaces in rural areas before Christmas.

The new initiative is government funded and the first “Our Space” project opens this weekend Saturday 1st September 2007, in Waiuku (Shop 21, No 23 Kitchener Road, Waiuku). Arataki Communications, will be using this as a prototype to test the uptake by the community.

“Our Space” in Waiuku will begin with eight workstations that have broadband internet, MS Office and email facilities. There will be a data-projector for training and later on in the year video-conferencing and printing facilities will be added. This will be the standard package at each of the eleven “Our Space” locations.

“It’s about giving all New Zealanders ICT skills so that we can use the Internet more effectively in the development of trade and cultural capital.”

Ngaire Schmidt on New Zealanders and ICT:

In the last survey of ICT usage in the OECD, New Zealand rated poorly. Uptake and use of technology by New Zealanders is low.

The impact on our ability to trade is significant. Because we’re ICT illiterate, we’re like a kiosk from the back blocks on the South Pacific.

We’re still catching up with basic requirements like adequate broadband access, that’s why the government is investing in projects like Our Space.
 

Contemporary Pacific art showcased in Germany
02 September 2007 - Source: Govett-Brewster Gallery Press Release

Contemporary Pacific art will be showcased in an exhibition opening at the leading Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (NBK) Gallery in Berlin in September.

Working in partnership with New Plymouth’s Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, NBK presents Date Line – Contemporary art from the Pacific which features works by 14 leading New Zealand artists.

This exhibition tracks along the ‘International Date Line’ to investigate how contemporary artists in the region respond to the complex interplays amongst customary practice, globalisation and the poetics of the everyday.

Date Line articulates a range of narratives concerning spirituality, colonial rupture and change, migration and displacement, diasporic and ‘travelling communities’, environmental pressures, the challenges of representation and the complex dynamics of multiple, evolving identities. It also examines how the larger Pacific impacts within the context of New Zealand art.

Curated by NBK Director Dr Alexander Tolnay and Govett-Brewster Director Rhana Devenport, the featured artists are Edith Amituanai, Shane Cotton, Lonnie Hutchinson, Andy Leleisi’uao, Ani O´Neill, Fiona Pardington, Michael Parekowhai, Reuben Patterson, John Pule, Rachael Rakena, Lisa Reihana, Peter Robinson, Filipe Tohi and Michel Tuffery.

Spanning a full range of media, the artists experiment with sculpture, cut paper, crochet, photography, video and painting to examine ideas about how locality and location are interpreted in Aotearoa / New Zealand today.

Date Line is the first large-scale group exhibition of New Zealand art to be presented in Berlin and only the third in Germany in the past two decades.

Devenport says the presentation of Date Line at NBK is significant.

“NBK recognised as a leading institution in Berlin’s cultural landscape, renowned for its programme of both local and international exhibitions,” she says.

Among the works presented in Date Line are works by Lisa Reihana from the series Digital marae, which will simultaneously feature within an expanded presentation of this ongoing series at the Govett-Brewster in October 2007. Reihana’s compelling photographs offer a contemporary handling of traditional pouwhenua, the wooden carvings found lining Maori marae.

Date Line will be accompanied by a programme profiling recent video works by a number of artists including Shigeyuki Kihara, Vea Mafileo, Nathan Pohio, Janet Lilo and Natalie Robertson. The exhibition will also be accompanied by a full colour bi-lingual publication.

In addition to the presentation at NBK, Date Line will tour a further two venues in Germany in 2008, City Gallery Kiel and City Gallery Sindelfingen. The partnership between NBK and the Govett-Brewster will see a return exhibition mounted in New Plymouth mid next year.

In the presentation of Date Line the support of Creative New Zealand has been instrumental.

Date Line – Contemporary art from the Pacific
7 September – 21 October 2007
Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (NBK) Berlin
 

Back to Top               News & Info               Newsroom Archive