Tihei: Hui an opportunity to kōrero and determine priorities

Waimarama marae nannies and Tawhirimakea Karaitiana at Te Papaorotu marae in Whatawhata where Kahungunu whānau stayed when they went to Turangawaewae.

OPINION

Ngāti Kahungunu, like many iwi, joined the hui-ā-motu gathering of whānau, hapū and iwi on January 20.

The invitation was announced by Kīngi Tuheitia who saw the need to hold a national unity hui at Tūrangawaewae marae in Ngāruawāhia to bring all iwi together to share and discuss concerns about the new coalition Government and their announced statements to remove policies designed to improve Māori health and wellbeing. Kīngi Tuheitia said that “the best response as Māori, is to come together and unite in our efforts”.

The new Government’s first joint announcement which took place toward the end of November 2023 included that they would remove the Māori Health Authority, Māori wards in local government, Māori involvement in the governance of natural resources, Māori language in government departments, the right of Māori children to be kept in their own whānau, government services being delivered to Māori, Smokefree New Zealand, the jurisdiction of the Waitangi Tribunal, and Māori rights under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Many Māori whānau saw these statements as a direct attack on Māori. A number of protests took place around the country.

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi incorporated chairman Bayden Barber called for a hui-ā-iwi to allow the whānau, hapū of Kahungunu to come together and share their concerns and submit their thoughts. The hui was co-chaired by Mereana Pitman MNZM. The information from this hui was collated and put into key statements and endorsed by the iwi board and taken to the hui-ā-motu supported by the host of Kahungunu whānau who attended the hui at Turangawaewae along with an estimated 10,000 people from around the country.

Kahungunu’s key statements included

• Reaffirming that Kahungunu did not cede sovereignty
• No confidence in the new Government
• That Ngāti Kahungunu will determine its own strategy
• Support the actions of other iwi/rōpū that align with our own Declaration of Kahungunu Rights
• Work with other groups to protest the repeal of 7AA and the repeal of Smokefree Aotearoa
• Insist that councils and the Government continue to acknowledge and give effect to te mana o te wai, te oranga o te taiao
• Insist upon the continuation of Māori Wards
• Ensure our people remain informed through whānau, hapū hui, education, and regular communications.

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi is grateful to Kīngi Tuheitia for leading us through these politically challenging times for our people. The experience in Ngāruawāhia was positive and the objective was achieved. The key kaupapa of the hui was kotahitanga - a hui for national unity and an opportunity for our people to kōrero and wānanga as we determine our priorities and establish the kaupapa we want to strive for and achieve.

“Our time is now - kotahitanga is the way,” Kīngi Tuheitia said.

To keep updated in this kaupapa and Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi’s stance in this space and understand the ‘Declaration of Ngāti Kahungunu Rights’ check out our website - https://www.kahungunu.iwi.nz/politicalactionplan2026

Forward plans involve allowing people to be involved, included and informed. This article and the iwi website page is the first step to communicating. We believe that the best way to help whānau is to educate them and then allow them to govern themselves.

For this purpose, a group of educators and facilitators have been established to work directly with hapū and whānau over the next 12-18 months to educate, conscience, wānanga with our iwi and anyone who is interested, about the impacts of any changes upon their own mana and rangatiratanga as hapū and whānau.

On February 6, 2024, Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc is hosting the annual Kahungunu Waitangi Day Celebrations at the Hawke’s Bay Mitre 10 Sports Park. We will have a Wānanga space to discuss Te Tiriti o Waitangi, our political strategy, share key messages, but most importantly, to listen to our people. The iwi operations team will share with you the mahi that they do with whānau, which is directly in partnership with government agencies. Come and be a part of this day with us. For more information email ruth@kahungunu.iwi.nz

The overall key message received at the Hui-ā-Motu was that we work together – kotahitanga. The following are a few comments shared by some facilitators:

“Kotahitanga starts with self. What are we doing as individuals to contribute to our whānau, to our hapū, to our iwi?”

“Governments will come and go. We are going to be here forever, and we need to find new models and be able to unpack our existing models and our models of the past to try and get us further – to go from being good to brilliant”.

“We need to be constantly innovative and inspirational for our rangatahi”

“The best protest we can do right now is ‘To be Māori, live our lives and uphold our values, kōrero Māori, care for our whānau, our whenua, and each other. Continue to be who we are and live what we believe, and respect one another’.”