The NZ local government elections are almost here, and I will be voting to keep Māori wards. So will my 101-year-old Mum. And we hope you will too. Here are some reasons why I am voting to keep Māori wards: Improved decision making: Having Māori voices at the council table means better decisions. As I…
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Recently I was at Auckland airport’s Koru lounge, and I saw that our new Deputy Prime Minister, David Seymour, was sitting nearby. On impulse, I went over, shook his hand, and said that I very much hoped he would withdraw the Regulatory Standards Bill. His smile faded and he asked why. I began to answer,…
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Are you a leader in philanthropy or social change in Aotearoa NZ who wants to deepen your understanding, connection and support of Te Ao Māori and Māori aspirations? If so, check out the 2025 Ki te Hoe Wānanga series – we would love to have you come along! Ki te Hoe (literally ‘to the…
Continue reading →I love Aotearoa New Zealand deeply. I feel lucky to live here, and there is no place in the world I would rather be. I belong here. Well, I hope I belong here. Why the hesitation? Firstly, our history. A foreign power, Britain, came into this land, imposed their government, took 95% of the land,…
Continue reading →“Like every thinking Pākehā, he wants to get his head around the Treaty thing. What are the best books for me to buy him as a present?” So I was asked recently, and yep, it is a great time to be building our understanding of te Tiriti o Waitangi. And a great time for gift…
Continue reading →Many if not most of us tangata Tiriti understand that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our founding document which provides aframework for us all to belong here – see why Te Tiriti is important to me here. And, many if not most of us tangata Tiriti are also unhappy about the many backward steps currently…
Continue reading →Recently a group of us had the privilege of seeing mana motuhake [Māori self determination] first hand. And it was beautiful. Let’s start with this term “mana motuhake” – what does it really mean? Te Aka online dictionary defines it as “separate identity, autonomy, self-government, self-determination, independence, sovereignty, authority – mana through self-determination and control…
Continue reading →Aotearoa New Zealand’s founding document, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, (also referred to as the Treaty of Waitangi), is a hot topic currently. Te Tiriti is very important to me as a Pākehā New Zealander, and here, in seven sentences, is why. Te Tiriti is the agreement signed in 1840 which sets out a peaceful relationship…
Continue reading →“What is the crucial work we must be doing as Pākehā to be part of Te Tiriti justice and decolonisation?” That was the question posed to 14 of us who were invited by the wonderful Emily Beausoleil to contribute to this year’s Joan Cook Memorial Essay, an annual offering set up in memory of Treaty…
Continue reading →I’m in a Wellington cafe, at a coffee meeting with a colleague from Ngāti Kahungunu. We are both born in Hastings, so that is a nice start. Then after a while he says, “Actually, I am not really from Hastings, I am from Flaxmere.” And I say, “Actually I am not really from Hastings either,…
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