Due to the live nature of Te Karere, some segments will not be subtitled. 18 January 2012 Does the Turangi teen admit to raping the 5-year-old foreign girl? Many people of the hapu didn't want Te Papa to exhume and take the whale bones. Has Ngai Tamahaua lost all autonomy over these whale bones? How many Maori are there in the NZ Ice Blacks team? Who are the winners of the junior section Tena koutou katoa, and welcome to Te Karere. A 16-year-old Turangi teen has confessed to raping a 5-year-old girl at a Turangi camping ground. The judge agreed that the seriousness of the crime the case shouldn't be heard in the Youth Court but in the district court. Rapaera Tawhai has more. We're still unable to show his face, but this is the person who attacked a 5-year-old girl. This is where he attacked the foreign girl. In a family conference he did not object to taking his sentence to the district court. The Youth Court judge agreed. He says due to the seriousness of the crime he should be sentenced as an adult. The court heard of a letter which was written by the accused and given to the victim's parents. The community is pleased. The community is pleased. His name will be suppressed until his sentence on the 23rd of February in the Rotorua District Court. Don't jump to conclusions. That was Tariana Turia's comment to media today regarding the death of a 2-month-old triplet from Whanganui who died of a non-accidental head injury. The Te Tai Hauauru MP says she has spoken to the family of Hinekawa Topia who are devastated at this time. Hinekawa who was 2 months old when she was admitted to Whanganui Hospital last Thursday with a head injury died shortly after. Her siblings are being looked after by authorities at the moment and the police are continuing their investigation. The family of the Maori canoeist that went missing in the Whanganui River over the weekend has put out a statement today. The family says they have resigned themselves to the fact that it is unlikely Duane Kaka (34) is still alive and will return to them. Flooding of the river has made it very difficult for search and rescue who have been conducting daily sweeps of the banks. Search and rescue is continuing at this point. A Whakatohea sub-tribe Ngai Tamahaua has concerns about whale bones that were exhumed from within their territory. The two rare whales died at Opape Beach, east of Opotiki, in December 2010 and were buried there but now the bones are in the possession of Te Papa in Wellington. Roihana Nuri reports. These are the bones of the rarest whales in the world. It's no wonder this Te Papa marine mammal scientist is excited. He says these specimens are truly significant because little is known about them. At the end of 2010, the whale beached at Opape, in Opotiki, which is the territory of Ngai Tamahaua of Te Whakatohea. What role now is there for Ngai Tama, what's Te Whakatohea's role? The bones were taken from their burial site here before an official agreement had been put in place between the sub-tribe, the tribe and Te Papa. The people didn't want Te Papa to take the bones. But last Thursday the bones were exhumed from Opape Beach. And now are in the hands of Te Papa forever. Perhaps there are opportunities in this for our descendants who might like to learn more about whales. In time we hope Anton and Te Papa will provide a report on their research on the bones. Discussions between the hapu and Te Papa continue in the hope of formalising a working relationship. Roihana Nuri, Te Karere. A boy is dead after a car accident near Te Teko in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. It is understood he was travelling on the back of a ute when the driver swerved, throwing him off the back and into the path of another vehicle. He is believed to be aged 11 or 12. The incident happened about 1pm and cordons have been placed at either end of the scene. A packaging plant in Hastings has been devastated by a fire which began last night. Hawke's Bay fire fighters worked all night to get the blaze under control. The good thing is that there were no casualties. However, one onlooker says they've never seen anything like it before. Ash is the result of a major fire at the Hawke Packaging plant in Hastings. The blaze began last night and accelerated by the paper products in and outside of the plant. This is their third fire in a year. The fire was that powerful that it could be seen 10km away from the site in Mahora. It was a fearful sight for locals and nearby residents were evacuated, but no one was hurt. Apple boxes was the plant's biggest demand, and with the apple harvest in Hawke's Bay just weeks away the fire couldn't have happened at a worse time. They're still investigating the cause of the blaze, but they can be glad that it wasn't worse. Irena Smith, Te Karere. After the break, the NZ U20s ice hockey team will go for gold at the World Champs. A shark has been spotted near Motiti Island. Locals have requested that Waikato University assess how the damage of the Rena will affect them as they fear that their food source has been severely polluted. High water levels at Lake Rotoma near Kawerau are causing concerns for locals. Resident Maria Johnston says it's the highest she's ever seen the lake in 20 years and she fears that there may be no sandy beaches left. Ngahuia Wade at Rotoma. Maria Johnston and her dog Honey have always walked along the lakeside path of Rotoma. But not anymore. Following record rainfalls in December and rain most days in January, lake levels are peaking. The lake waters have drowned boat ramps, beaches and wharves. The lake waters have drowned boat ramps, beaches and wharves. At the end of last year, the sandy beach was behind me but now since the water has risen, there is only this narrow beach left. Lakes Chairman Toby Curtis says they have yet to be briefed about the high levels, but it is of some concern because there is no way it can be drained. Lake levels may be high but the people and the animals are still having fun. Ngahuia Wade, Te Karere. Sun and good weather is usually the preference for most summer sports but this NZ team are looking for a cooler option. NZ is hosting the NZ U20's Ice Hockey World Champs and the NZ side are keen to make an improvement on last year's performance. Sharp skates and sharp minds are the tools needed for this game. He's one of four Maori athletes in the NZ U20's squad. In the Henare family, Ice Hockey runs in the blood and their dedication to the sport is the reason they're so successful. Tonight, the NZ U20's team will take on Bulgaria in their first game of the world champs. In Mexico last year, they beat Bulgaria and they're hoping for a repeat. The last time NZ won the world champs was in 2008 and last year, the boys finished second to last. The Round Robin Games finish this Sunday and NZ hope to come out on top. The crews in the Waka Ama Nationals in Karapiro, Waikato are rising to the occasion. Potaka Maipi was there at the third day of the competitions. Due to the late arrival of this story, we are unable to provide subtitles. Please visit our website to view this story with English subtitles. The Maori Swimming Lesson programme started today for Maori language teachers. The programme aim to help ease the teaching of swimming skills by teaching these skills in Maori. This is the first programme of it's kind and is being launched in Auckland. The instructions are in English for now. However, when the course is complete, that will all change. Because Tangaroa is considered the guardian of water, we should also teach these skills in a Maori way. We are lucky that these instructions have been translated to better teach our kids with. The students come from Te Wananga Takiura, Teachers Training College and some are also current Maori school teachers. There's 10 all up. I like going for a dive and the safety side of things gets disregarded, but I've learnt good skills here and I'd like to thank those who are responsible for taking these classes. Today, we learnt how to teach tamariki how to swim and just great swimming skills in general. The course is a Water Safety NZ, a Post NZ and a He Oranga Poutama initiative. At the completion of the course, the teachers will be certified We hope to set up our own programme to teach swimming with a Maori feel and in te reo Maori. Tomorrow is the last day of this course. Tomorrow is the last day of this course. Anzac Pikia, Te Karere. Te Karere will now be providing closed live English subtitles. You need to do a few things to your television before you will be able to see the subtitles. Please visit our website for more information. After the break, we have the weather. Let's take another look at today's top stories. The 16-year-old youth from Turangi has admitted to allegations of assaulting a 5-year-old tourist at a Turangi Camping Ground. It's settled the whale bones will not be returned to Opape, they will be kept at Te Papa Museum. Maori Te Tai Hauauru MP Tariana Turia warns media that they should not make allegations that the death that they should not make allegations that the deaths of triplets was due to abuse. To the weather now. For weather see Teletext p103 or tvnz.co.nz. For weather see Teletext p103 or tvnz.co.nz. Te Karere can be accessed in a number of different ways. It is repeated on TV ONE, TVNZ 7 and on Sky. You can also view Te Karere a number of ways online. That's all we have for today. Turou Hawaiki. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2011