‘Looking after the home fires, the ahikāroa’

TO SERVE: The new chairman of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated Bayden Barber is looking forward to the future of the iwi. Picture supplied

It was a huge maunga to climb.”

That’s what Bayden Barber, 49, said about making the decision to campaign for the position of chairman of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated against Ngahiwi Tomoana who held the role for 26 years.

Ngāti Kahungunu is the third largest iwi with 38,000 registered members.

Geographically the tribe has the second longest coastline in the country from Paritū in the North to Turakirae in the South.

Mr Barber has also been a Hastings district councillor since 2016. He started campaigning quite early, but found it was completely different to council campaigning.

“I did things other candidates haven’t done before, like using billboards, brochures, and going the extra mile by having hui every night and every day — hui, hui.

“Hui from the top of the rohe to the bottom and everywhere in between. I had to be seen connecting with everyday whānau,” Mr Barber said.

“I started early in the red Covid setting, so it was challenging. But I used the internet, social media platforms, and Zoom. They were all valuable to connect with whānau — for them to give their 10-cents worth , their kōrero.

“I just love talking to our people, talking about our aspirations, dreams and challenges. It’s all good stuff, and even if I didn’t win, it would have been a valuable experience just having that engagement with our whānau,” he said.

Mr Barber was born in Hastings, but he has whakapapa to Waimārama, a seaside village in Te Matau-a-Māui, Hawke’s Bay.

“It’s our papakāinga, tūrangawaewae, our marae and our ancestors have been there since Tākitimu wāka arrived back in the 1300s,” he said. His hapū is Ngāti Kurukuru.

Mr Barber went to school in Hastings, but later went to Church College in the 1990s.

He served his mission for the Latter-day Saints in Pōneke and Te Waipounamu.

After doing his mission he decided to study business at Waikato University.

“I found studying business interesting. I wanted to get into it to support our whānau, hapū and eventually iwi.”

He got a Bachelor of Management in Maori Resource Management and a postgraduate diploma in strategic management, graduating in 1999.

Later he also studied at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, completing a Bachelor of Māori performing arts in 2016 and 2017. Then in 2018 he went to Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa to do the diploma Te Panekiretanga o te reo Māori.

Mr Barber decided to come home to Waimārama in 2001.

“It was something my grandmother, Haumihia Te Whaiti, taught me — to be home and represent your ancestors at the marae.

“Go away and fill your kete with māutauranga and go home to benefit the people.”

His grandmother had encouraged him from a young age to be a leader for his people at a hapū and marae level.

“She had a big part in supporting me at a young age.

“From an early age I felt a responsibility for our people and I never forgot it. Others might go off on an OE (overseas experience)or try living in Australia, but to me it was all about coming home and supporting our whānau, hapū and marae. Now it has extended out to our iwi.

“It’s based on old values that our kuia and kaumātua have and that’s looking after the home fires, the ahikāroa.

“You can’t be wi-wi-wa-wa and the home fires aren’t burning. That’s why I came home, that feeling of responsibility to our people.”

He has a big family. He’s married to Myra Barber (nee Christy) from Nūhaka, and they have seven children ranging from six years old to 24. He was raised by his parents Eddie Barber and Marama Tiakitai.

“Our eldest is in Hawaii with his wife studying and they are due to have their baby, my first mokopuna on Friday (yesterday). We will get over there to visit at some stage when international travel is a bit more normal.”

His first job out of university was working in a Māori health provider in the early 2000s.

“There were some big hitters on the board, like Sid Jackson and Sir Kim Workman. It was good working for your people in the health space.”

After that he held a role with the Hawke’s Bay DHB, but then he started his own Māori business consultancy where he worked with council, DHB, and Māori health providers.

He became the Waimārama marae chair in 2012.

Mr Barber said there was a big issue with a waterway that once went past their marae, but in the 1950s it was diverted because of a flood.

“My uncles and ancestors tried to get it back past the marae. They understood they needed to work with council to sort this out. Long story short, we managed to get the river returned. It was a huge accomplishment for whānau.”

Mr Barber saw a gap in the representation on the Hastings Council — there were no Māori sitting at the table.

“We needed to have some Māori on the council so I stood in the Havelock North-Hastings ward which has a predominantly pākehā population.”

He was successfully elected in 2016, right after the water crisis, and has been there since.

In regards to Ngati Kahungunu elections, he said it was time for a change.

“I had been looking around at the iwi and noticing things that need changing, especially around some of our commercial assets.

“There are some challenges going on with our iwi and we need a new direction, new enthusiasm, new blood.

“Ngahiwi Tomoana has been there for 26 years and has done a great job, but ko huri te tai, the tide is changing. So I put my hand up.”

He had been asked to stand in previous elections, but he wanted to develop his governance capability before doing so.

“It’s about building your CV, so anyone that is standing for the chair role has the ability to be chair.”

Mr Barber has held many different roles.

He is currently a Beef and Lamb NZ board member, is the chair of Health Hawke’s Bay, the commissioner of Māori Language Commission Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori, a Te Mata Park trustee, a Māori Education trustee, the elected Waimārama representative on the Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga Te Haaro Trust board and director of Takitimu Ora of the Whānau Ora alliance and is the chair of Cray Bay Lands Trust.

He says being a councillor and also being the chair of the iwi does have its pros and cons.

“Council work is quite taxing; there are a lot of things you need to do. I’ll probably look to either step down (from council) or not stand again.

“But the relationships I have made in the role will be beneficial.

“We have elections pretty soon. So probably just not stand again at the election just so people know that I am putting in the time and effort and concentrating on my role within iwi.”

He says the iwi is huge so cannot see himself doing council work and this at the same time.

He is excited for the future of Ngāti Kahungunu.

“We acknowledge our whakapapa and our ties to Tūranganui-a-kiwa, to Rongowhakaata, to Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki and our whanaunga Ngāti Porou.

“I think relationships between our iwi and our neighbours are really important. I think going forward there will be great opportunities to work with our whanaunga in Tairāwhiti.

“It’s about sharing for the betterment of our people.”