Photo / Matariki Awards 2018
There is profound value in mātauranga Māori for framing and addressing critical research questions and educational practice in Aotearoa New Zealand, says Professor Melinda Webber (Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hau, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whakaue).
The deputy dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Work is set to deliver her inaugural lecture on Wednesday, July 12.
In the lecture, Webber will draw together the threads of 25 years of teaching, research and service in education, recognising the power and potential of mātauranga Māori in the mahi rangatira (chiefly work) of educators.
She says mātauranga Māori helps to shape the contexts, conditions and content of her research.
“He mana tō te tangata — every person has the power and potential to positively transform the world around them,” she says.
Webber’s work, guided by this key idea, is strengths-based and seeks to shine a light on what is working and how those things might be scaled up or amplified.
Profound value of mātauranga
Weaving together ancestral knowledge of hītori, waiata, karakia, whakataukī and whakapapa with contemporary research findings, Webber’s teaching and research show the profound value of mātauranga for framing and addressing critical research questions and educational practice in Aotearoa.
Mātauranga concepts related to excellence, persistence, reciprocity and relationship can transform educational approaches and practices, enabling Māori students, their whānau and communities to flourish.
What the decionmaker mean“What does a relationship really look like with whānau, hapū and iwi?”
Rangihaeata said it was helping persuade voters that being on the Māori roll was a step towards reclaiming tino rangatiratanga.
“I think a lot of the shift is about trust, trusting that a shift to the Māori roll is a good thing.”
What the 'decisionmaker' means
“Taranaki has been hit hard by colonisation … We’ve been suppressed for so long that we’ll always go to where we think it’s safe - which has [previously] been the general roll.”
Rangihaeta, who Te Pāti Māori endorsed, said the party’s potential role in this year’s election was changing minds.
“There’s more talk about Te Pāti Māori and what it means to possibly be the decision-maker in terms of the next prime minister - that’s huge.”
New enrolments in Te Tai Hauāuru are not showing the same strength: 127 new voters have signed up, the lowest of the seven Māori electorates since March 31.
But those new registrations do not face the Thursday cut-off, as new voters of Māori descent can enrol on the Māori or general roll right up to voting day.
Rangihaeata said leaders were working on the ground to influence younger voters.
Authentic engagement
“Our rangatahi need to understand their voice really matters - it has an authentic engagement and mana moving into the future of politics.”
Te Tai Hauāuru has been equally shared between the Labour Party and Te Pāti Māori since taking its current form in 2002.
Dame Tariana Turia won it for Labour that year, then four more times as co-leader of Te Pāti Māori, before Adrian Rurawhe won it back for Labour in 2014.
Last election, Rurawhe beat Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer by just over 1000 votes but she also entered Parliament on the party list.
Rurawhe has since been made Speaker of the House in Parliament and this year is standing only on Labour’s party list, as is typical for Speakers.
His cousin, Soraya Peke-Mason, who shares his links to the Rātana Church, will stand for Te Tai Hauāuru.
Hipango takes on Te Tai Hauāuru
National returns to the contest for Māori seats, with former Whanganui now list MP Harete Hipango as its Te Tai Hauāuru candidate. National won less than 3 per cent of party votes in the electorate in 2020.
The electoral commission sent letters to over half a million voters who had identified as being of Māori descent, confirming which roll they were on and offering the chance to change via post.
Voters can also switch rolls online at vote.nz using a driver's licence, passport or RealMe government-verified online identity.
Even without that ID, voters can fill in a form online and have it emailed to sign and upload.
Help is available on 0800 36 76 56.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.
