Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust concerned about possible future division

01 Dec, 2022

BY JULIA WADE

Also attending the November 30 Kaipara District Council (KDC) meeting were local iwi members of Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust and chair Reno Skipper, who says the organisation is ‘very concerned’ about what occurred between Maori ward councillor Pera Paniora and Kaipara mayor Craig Jepson, fearing it could be the beginning of a division.

“We are concerned about the mayor’s actions with the karakia as, based on what I saw, he just outright shut Pera down. I think his views [about treating her respectfully] are quite different from how his actions spoke at the meeting,” he says. “We had a great relationship with the previous council, former mayor Jason Smith who was really inclusive and took responsibility to have a good relationship with Maori, so yes, we are very worried.”

Skipper says a rangatira [chief] is a person who brings people together, however he feels the current mayor appears ‘to be coming in with his own agenda,’ and admits to feeling quite uncomfortable at the meeting ‘but were not permitted to say anything’.

“It seems the mayor made a decision about the karakia based on his limited understanding and beliefs, some people are often quick to oppose before really knowing the true meaning of these things.”

A karakia does not have to be for any religious purpose Skipper says. For Maori it’s ‘tikanga’, meaning ‘best practice’ – ‘tika’ is ‘to do things correctly’ and ‘nga’ is the practice of tika.

“How a karakia works is similar to when the Black Ferns and All Blacks do the haka before a game, the haka puts you in the right mindset, same as what meditation does for some people, it prepares you for the journey, the game,” he says. “When you go for a trip, a karakia can be said to clear the pathway ‘to have a safe trip’, it’s about preparation, to give a collective vision such as the various things you would be discussing at a meeting.”

Following Cr Paniora’s maiden speech, Skipper supported her with the song ‘Tutira mai Nga Iwi’ and says the member of the public who objected to the singing obviously does not know the meaning of the song, ‘it talks about working in unity, ‘Tutira’ means to ‘stand together’.

While members of Te Uri o Hau are happy for Pera having a seat at the council table and acknowledge that she is a very strong woman, they also hold concerns.

“I noticed she had support from another female councillor, she’s trying to build relationships, but we do wonder if she is going to be in a safe place, is the mayor going to create a good environment for her to be able to contribute and be an important part of the team?” Skipper says. “We’ll be attending future council meetings as backup for Pera as, if truth be known, if she wasn’t there, we wouldn’t know about some of the things the mayor is trying to do under our nose, so it’s really important that she is there and safe, and we look after her.”

Items Cr Paniora ‘was bringing to the table’ include an unfolding situation in Dargaville which Skipper says is the dissembling of a co-governance arrangement between the Harding family and Te Uri o Hau involving a Pa site and Harding Park, against both parties wishes.

“We’re all about collaboration, working together as a collective finding solutions, and would love to contribute and make things more culturally viable. We just want to create positive working relationships,” Skipper says. “Te Uri o Hau would be happy to co-write a karakia with the council that is non-religious which focuses on their ambitions and aspirations for Kaipara and creates a positive pathway with Maori.”

“It seems the mayor made a decision about the karakia based on his limited understanding and beliefs, some people are often quick to oppose before really knowing the true meaning of these things.”

– Reno Skipper, Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust chair