Rangatira ki te Rangatira korero vital

The Iwi Chairs Forum has been running for 10 years and is a platform for iwi to share information and knowledge in key areas. Photo / File

The Iwi Chairs Forum as the name suggests is a hui of Iwi Chairs from across the country. It has been running for approximately 10 years and is a platform for iwi to share information and knowledge in the key areas of cultural, social, economic, environmental and political development.

All iwi chairpersons have an open invitation to become a member of this group and to participate in various working groups through nominating "technical/iwi advisers".

Engagement with the Crown by the Iwi Chairs forum is Rangatira ki te Rangatira, which means that the Chairs of iwi meet directly with Crown Ministers to progress kaupapa.

I have been participating as a representative of Ngati Kahungunu for the past 3-4 years.

Originally, I was a technical adviser to a group that was investigating the allegations of "slave labour" on foreign charter vessels and the impacts on iwi Deepwater Fisheries Settlement.

More recently, for the past 18 months I have been a technical adviser for the freshwater group working with the Crown and their officials to determine iwi "rights and interests" in freshwater.

Other kaupapa discussed by the forum include: Constitutional Working Group; Iwi Collective; Mātauranga (Education); Conservation; Climate Change; Whanau Ora; Housing; Oil, Minerals and Gas, Te Ture Whenua.

The forum regularly invites Crown representatives, members of Parliament and stakeholder and community groups to present at hui on projects and issues that concern iwi.

Hui are held every three months at marae across the country.

The next one is happening at Hopuhopu within the rohe of Waikato-Tainui this month.
The benefit of being part of this forum is that it is an opportunity to progress kaupapa collectively and to work directly with the Crown and their officials to find solutions that work for Maori.

These solutions are important for all New Zealanders as we build a healthier, wealthier and happier Aotearoa together.

* For more information, visit the Iwi Chairs Forum website - http://iwichairs.maori.nz/

* Dr Adele Whyte is Chief Executive of Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated