Maori leaders from all over New Zealand have gathered in Tauranga for the quarterly Iwi Chairs Forum.
The forum has been meeting regularly to discuss and enable Maori aspirations in the spheres of cultural, social, economic, environmental and political development.
Spokesman Buddy Mikaere said the event was the most influential body of its kind in the country and allowed iwi to get together to discuss issues across the board such as fresh water, family violence, fisheries and forestries.
"It's quite a high-powered discussion. What they do is have a whole lot of working groups who go out and do the work and gather all the data, which is then presented in a series of reports.
"Whereupon they move resolutions and what to do about the issues."
About 120 people registered for the event held at Baypark Arena and National Party deputy leader Bill English was expected to speak about the Government's housing policy. Mr Mikaere said the most important issues being raised for Tauranga would be water, housing and family violence - "there is a whole lot of meaty subjects".
The event started with attendees looking at several projects in Rotorua, a guided tour of the Seeka facility in Te Puke with an informal reception last night for the iwi leaders to meet with the local tangata whenua.
Different iwi across the country hosted each of the events except for the one held in February which is always held in Waitangi, he said.
The forum officially starts today and will run to tomorrow afternoon.
Members of the public can attend the event but are asked not to take part in discussions.