Ngāti Kahungunu is kicking off the new year with a wānanga ā motu at Ōmāhu Marae. The wānanga follows the three hui ā motu hosted this year and will be the kickstarter to a series of hui within Te Ao Māori, including Rātana and Waitangi.
Ngāti Kahungunu chairman Bayden Barber says this is to be another call for unity and action as Aotearoa heads into the new year.
“Kua huihui ai ngā huihuinga, kua kōrerohia e ngā hau e whā. Ko te whakaaro ia // kua eke ki te wā kia mahia te mahi.”
“Meetings have happened. Issues have been raised by everyone across the country. So we thought the time has come for us to get the job done.”
Ngāti Kahungunu has put out the call to the country to gather at Ōmāhu marae for the Wānanga ā Motu next year. It is a gathering spearheaded by the Te Amorangi ki Mua working group, pursuing Māori unity.
Barber says there is no point in having gatherings if nothing is to come of it.
“Ko te hua nui kia tū ai tētahi whare mō tātau, mō te iwi Māori. Ko te kotahitanga tērā, kua noho mararā ngā kaupapa, he iwi chairs forum i konei, he kaupapa anō i konā. Me pēhea tō tātau nei whakawhāiti i ngā kaupapa katoa? Kia whai mana, kia whakapā atu ērā aweawetanga ki te katoa. He rautaki tōrangapū tō te whare nei. He aha tērā rautaki? Koirā ngā pātai ka pātaihia nei ki te motu.”
“The biggest solution we want to gain is a standalone governing house for us, for Māori. That is where we can find unity. There are so many events that are scattered, like the Iwi Chairs Forum and others. So how are we to collate all of these events to ensure validation and influence for everyone. There will be a political strategy to this house. What does that strategy look like? Those are questions that we will put to the wānanga.”
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The national workshop will kickstart a chain of Māori gatherings with Rātana, Waitangi and then Te Matatini following in February.
Barber says the plan was intentional to provoke thought within Māori.
“Kua whai hā tātau katoa, kua whai hararei, kua whai kirihimete tātau. He wā e tika ana kia whakaarohia ngā whakaaro hei kawe nei ki te wānanga. Nōreira kua pērā mātau.”
“We will have caught our breath, had a holiday and celebrated Christmas. So we felt it was an appropriate time for all thoughts and ideas to be presented at this wānanga. That’s why we planned it this way.”
This gathering will take place on January 10 where plans for a Whare of Māori Rangatiratanga will be carved out.
