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."