Te Hui ā Motu ki Turangawaewae
Nā Helmut Modlik rāua ko Callum Kātene ēnei kōrero.
The hui at Tūrangawaewae this past weekend was one of those rare occasions when in years to come, people will say “I was there!”. Beginning with our warm welcome onto Taupiri Marae and the generous manaakitanga of the hau kāinga on Friday evening, the scene was set for an auspicious weekend. Saturday morning began early with the hauntingly beautiful Paimārire karakia on Tūrangawaewae, where Ngāti Toa joined the rest of Tainui waka in preparing ourselves to welcome and support the arrival of rest of the motu, and participation in the day’s activities. The breadth and depth of the preparations for the day were breathtaking in scale and attention to detail, with Waikato Tainui and the Kīngitanga sparing no effort to ensure a mana-enhancing day, and that is precisely what happened. As thousands responded to the assembled kaikaranga and filed through the gates of the marae, it seemed like they’d never end!
As expected, the pōwhiri was powerful and entertaining, with insights, observations and wero aplenty. To set the scene and ensure the wairua was right, aside from the day’s beautiful karakia and waiata, a sermon was offered The Archbishop of Aotearoa Don Tamihere. His kōrero was quite outstanding, acknowledging the turning point that we are now at, and imploring all to be guided by aroha as we set the direction for our shared pathway forward, while being very clear that the time was here for fundamental change!
We were represented in all five of the concurrent breakout sessions, and our kaikōrero were variously able to put our views forward. The reason was that the facilitation format was primarily focused around panel discussion and Q&A, with an emphasis on questions coming from the App released by Tainui to collate and share whakaaro from around the motu. However, in the Te Tiriti workshop, world famous (in Rotorua Lol) constitutional lawyer Annette Sykes interrupted the panel because she (and others) had come prepared to make verbal submissions and were tired of waiting to do so! Representing Te Arawa, she said the time had come for fundamental change and Te Arawa was willing to contemplate succession from New Zealand’s democracy. Speakers for other iwi reaffirmed their determination to uphold Te Tiriti, exert their mana motuhake and rangatiratanga, though few offered specific suggestions of how to accomplish those ends. I (Helmut) spoke for Ngāti Toa, calling for the establishment of a constitutional convention to entrench Te Tiriti o Waitangi (and probably He Whakaputanga) in a formal, written constitution for Aotearoa, and to revisit how our democracy and machinery of government can be changed to improve the distribution of power and resources for better outcomes for all. I also noted that if the kawanatanga is not interested in resuming and strengthening its partnership with its rangatiratanga partners, then we must consider the re-assertion of our collective tino rangatiratanga, noting that nobody knows what that would mean in the 21st century, but that we must do it, and not remain beholden to the kawanatanga. Tā Matiu also spoke briefly encouraging us all to hold firm to the words, meaning and intent of Te Tiriti as we move forward.
I (Callum) attended the National Identity/National Unity session which had a number of highly regarded speakers, including Dame Sylvia Cartwright, ex-cabinet minister Aupito William Sio, Tā Tipene and Hana O’Reagan, Hinewehi Mohi and Rikirangi Gage, Dame Jenny Shipley and Ruakere Hond. Most had valuable contributions and wonderful insights, although not everybody won the crowd over, with one example of poor Māori pronunciation of even the simplest Māori phrases, and, I think, a lack of insight into the purpose of the day.
Other inspiring workshops included a Rangatahi wānanga which was well attended by our Ngāti Toa rangatahi representatives, a session on Te Reo and Tikanga, and a forum on Wellbeing and Economy. A major takeaway from the event was the level of engagement shown by our Rangatahi across the motu, and the platform they were enthusiastically given by Pakeke. A sight to behold and a welcome omen of what the future will look like.
In general, the sessions were organised as a panel discussion, with the audience being able to submit questions via the app, and hand raising. The Tiriti session did evolve beyond that, but for the majority of the sessions, they tended to be a “talk at us” hui. Many attendees assumed we would have had more of an opportunity to contribute to the kōrero, but to be honest, with the numbers of people in attendance, we’re not sure they could have planned it any other way.
The overwhelming message of the day was “kotahitanga.” Our way forward will be best achieved by Māori unity; not something that is easily achieved, as Māori are not one homogenous entity. So perhaps the major outcome of the hui was exactly that; seeing the numbers in attendance and the positive, constructive nature of the engagements, we think we are in a great position to achieve widespread “buy-in” for our next pan-Māori actions.
The day finished with a summary, plenary session back on the marae ātea, concluding with encouraging and inspiring words from King Tūheitia. He noted the extraordinary kotahitanga that had been achieved; the beautiful wairua of the day, and our determination to uphold and enhance the mana of our people and Te Tiriti. He ended reminding us all who we are and to remember and act on that birthright moving forward together.
Our reflections post-event have focused on how to leverage the unity and power manifested by our people, to catalyse concrete action that will transform the future for ngāi Māori, otirā ngāi Aotearoa whānui! The next few weeks will be pivotal in that regard, and we look forward to sharing more as we continue to whakawhiti kōrero moving forward.
