Agreement marks new collective approach to Wellington council partnership with Māori

Thursday, 28 April 2022

Wellington City Council unanimously voted in favour of adopting its te reo policy, Te Tauihu.

Wellington City Council and mana whenua will sign an agreement that sets out how the groups will work together on Friday, 182 years after Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed in Wellington.

The agreement will be signed at Pipitea marae by representatives from the council, Te Ātiawa, Taranaki Whānua, and Ngāti Toa.

Kura Moeahu from Te Ātiawa said signing the new agreement on the anniversary of the local signing of the Treaty was “a reminder that we did not cede our chiefly authority”.

“In saying that, Tākai Here is a reminder of the collective responsibility that we have towards one another, it is the vehicle towards navigating towards Oritenga [the equity for Māori promised in article three of Te Tiriti] through a co-led, co-driven, co-governance waka.”

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Kura Moeahu, chairman of Te Rūnanganui o Te Ātiawa, said signing the agreement on the 182nd anniversary of Te Tiriti’s signing in Wellington Harbour was a reminder that the iwi did not cede their chiefly authority. (File photo)

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The new partnership agreement between mana whenua and Wellington City Council, TÄkai Here, will be signed on Friday.

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Signing the agreement is the first step towards implementing Tūpiki Ora, the council’s Māori Strategy for the next ten years – the council will vote on that strategy on 5 May.

The new partnership agreement replaces the two individual memorandums of understanding with Taranaki Whānui and Ngāti Toa which were signed back in 2017.

Kara Puketapu-Dentice, of Taranaki Whānui, highlighted that the agreement was unique as it was “one agreement for all of us”.

Mayor Andy Foster said that the agreement marked “a new way of working together”. (File photo)

“It opens the door for collaborative and open discussion between us all and what really matters in Wellington City,” he said.

Helmut Modlik of Ngāti Toa said “like our tūpuna did 182 years ago, the leadership of Ngāti Toa sign this partnership agreement with an eye to the future and a commitment to working together”.

Councillor Jill Day said collaboration with mana whenua was an area where the council needed improvement.

“There has been such a big shift over the past three years,” Day, who is Ngāti Tūwharetoa, said. She gave the example that the Māori team in the council used to have only three people, and now there are 13.

Tākai Here meant uplifting Māori engagement across the council and not just within designated teams, she said. “It means asking how, at every level, do we achieve Te Tiriti partnership?”

Day said the main change would involving mana whenua in council decisions much earlier – the council would not be asking for approval once a decision was already planned, but engaging with iwi throughout the process.

“The intent is that the decisions we make over the next 10 years will impact positively on our grandchildren in 50 years’ time.“ She said she looked forward to seeing the outcomes of the new approach in the future.

Mayor Andy Foster said that the agreement marked “a new way of working together” and was closely linked to Tūpiki Ora, the council’s proposed 10-year Māori Strategy.

Together the agreement and strategy provided “a blueprint for the pursuit of wellness”, he said.