‘Space for the long haul’: Taranaki police officers create waka ama programme

The high-end waka has been customised with police decals to help normalise the police's role in the community. Photo: Supplied / David Lee-Mori

By Emma Andrews - Henare Te Ua Intern, RNZ

After years on the front line, two Taranaki-based police officers have turned to their cultural roots to help tackle Māori youth crime.

Brad Huntly and Simon Howard have created Te Hapai Hoe, a non-competitive, not-for-profit waka ama programme.

The programme includes three wānanga that focus on tikanga, te reo Māori, karakia, and whakapapa, taught in a full immersion te reo environment.

It also offers practical assistance, including driver’s license training, first aid courses, and vocational pathways.

North Taranaki Kaitakawainga and Iwi liaison officer Huntley has worked directly with troubled rangatahi, which he said was always a worrying sight.

“Māori are always on the wrong side of statistics.”

The Ministry of Justice’s June report shows an increase in serious youth offending, with rangatahi Māori facing police action at more than double the rate of other youth. The proportion of Māori youth remanded into custody has also risen.

Through Te Hāpai Hoe, Huntley and Howard hope to reverse these troubling trends.

“I wanted to create a space that not only addresses these issues but also restores balance to their lives” Huntley said.

Huntley (Ngāi tahu, Ngāti Mutunga, me Te Atiawa) spent seven years as a kaiako and noticed some of his students brought their home struggles into the classroom.

His experience inspired him to work on the frontline, which eventually led him to direct his passions for teaching, police work, and paddling into the Te Hapai Hoe initiative.

“Waka ama addresses both the physical and spiritual needs of our Māori youth, it’s our culture.”

Created under the police Te Huringa o Te Tai (turning of the tides) initiative, the programme only needed a canoe to get the idea off the ground.

Instead, they brought an almost $30,000 high-end waka from Tahiti, got shipping containers to store their gear, a donation of Olympic-grade gym equipment, and permission from Port Taranaki and the local hapū.

They also have leased land from the port and Ngati Te Whiti, which provides a quiet space away from the hustle and bustle of the popular Ngāmotu beach.

Huntley said it was an ideal location for rangatahi to escape their trauma.

“For Māori, paddling should be natural. We’re using the waka as our vessel for teaching and healing.”

The programme has been heavily supported by his police colleagues and encouraged by former deputy commissioner Wallace “Wally” Haumaha.

Although Te Hāpai hoe started in 2020, due to Covid-19 restrictions, Huntley said it was only just getting going.

Te Hāpai hoe is a far cry from the Government’s controversial military-style boot camp pilot, which opened in Palmerston North this week. Nine out of the 10 teenage participants in that are Māori.

But Huntley said that Māori needed activity and aroha, instead of disciplinary boot camps.

“Bootcamps don’t cater for Māori, it’s like a one-off sugar hit,” he said.

“Te Hapai Hoe is a space for the long haul.

“Our goal is to uplift our rangatahi, providing them with guidance and opportunities.”

- RNZ