Ko Mihingarangi tenei e mihi atu nei ki a koutou katoa. Welcome to The Hui, Maori current affairs for all New Zealanders. E taro ake nei ` the race is on around Aotearoa. - Na kona ko taku ingoa ko Moko tonu, ne? - We meet the Maori vying for your vote in the upcoming local government elections. - And I just wanted to talk to you about, uh, how politicians become dickheads. - And discuss why it's vital Maori have their say. - It's really important, and it's really critical that our people become involved in the system. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022. - Tahuti mai. It's where many of the most crucial decisions about our communities, our whenua and our resources get made ` Local Body Elections are coming up, and this year, there are 29 Maori wards and six Maori constituencies, as well as numerous Maori candidates standing across the Motu. We'll be meeting some of them soon, engari matua ra i tenei hotaka. We'll be meeting some of them soon, engari matua ra i tenei hotaka. Te Whanganui a Tara, Wellington City, is shaping up to be one of the most hotly contested and closely watched mayoral races in Aotearoa, with two impressive Maori candidates at the forefront. They are current Labour MP Paul Eagle and former Green Party chief of staff Tory Whanau. - Tena korua. - ALL: Kia ora. - Well, let's just get straight into it. You've represented a Wellington electoral seat for five years now. Is there a single action, legislation or a bill that you've driven that could directly benefit Wellingtonians? - Well, the big one for me was the, uh, four well-being. So when Labour first got into power, I knew that that was a big priority, for the government to restore those. So that was to ensure that councils and local government across New Zealand could have a broader, uh, mandate to do what mattered most to their communities. Luckily enough, uh, the then Minister and is still the Minister for Local Government, Nanaia Mahuta, said, 'Look, rather than a local bill ` or a member's bill, sorry ` 'I'll take that as a government bill.' So that went through without any fuss. - So it was a good win. - Yeah. And so that's been legislated. And so now the four well-beings are ` social? - Cultural, environmental and economic. - Ka pai. Tory, tena koe. Your slogan ` 'I get things done, not just talk about it.' What would you highlight in your list of achievements that reflects this statement? - I'm very proud of my experience at Parliament as the chief of staff of the Green Party. So behind the scenes, I was the leader, so to speak. So I took the party through two very tough general elections, as well as two government negotiations, and that involved working across party lines with the Labour Party and New Zealand First, which in itself, I think, is a bit of an achievement. So I like to think of myself as, uh, a real relationship builder, someone who knows how to bring people together, uh, and work towards a common vision. And that is something that I think Wellington City Council really needs and something that I would be honoured to do. - You're both left-leaning politicians, if you like, or candidates. So Paul, what do you think the difference between you and Tory are? What would you tell a voter? You know, why vote for you and not Tory? - I mean... - It's all right ` you go for it. - (BOTH LAUGH) - I mean, for me, it's about restoring the mana of Wellington, as the capital city of Aotearoa, New Zealand. And I guess the greatest thing here is that Wellingtonians have a choice, and that's really what's been offered up. Your can either have more of the same, Tory or myself. - What will you specifically focus on? - Sure. I mean, for me, the big thing for me is, and I've got three things, but one of those things is just getting back to basics. and I've got three things, I mean, Wellingtonians have said, 'Look, 'there's things like fixing the pipes, 'our pools and our parks, our public transport.' But I think for Maori, the big thing will be housing. How are we gonna grapple housing in the capital city, Te Whanganui a Tara? We've got social services providers out there, saying, 'Pick me ` we can be part of that solution.' This council's not engaging or embracing those solutions for Maori that I think we should, so housing, I think's going to be the biggie. - So housing and some of those social services there and talking about the waste as well ` is that similar to you? Or are you different? - Yeah. Absolutely. - Tell me about what are you gonna focus on. - Yeah. Absolutely. - My top priorities ` very much the same as Paul. So water infrastructure, housing, effective public transport. Something that I'd like to add to that ` so we know that we've have a lot of vulnerable people on our streets. So as well as getting them into a warm home, we must give them access to things like mental-health support or alcohol and harm reduction, that real wrap-around service. So I'm gonna be quite big on that. or alcohol and harm reduction, that I suppose my differentiation to Paul ` I mean, we share the same values ` is that I'm a newcomer to the game; some fresh blood, so to speak. No offence, but... And I think I'm gonna be quite willing to be quite bold when it comes to decision-making. - So, I wanna pick up on that, because when I Googled the median age of Wellington, Wellingtonians, it's 34 ` it's younger than the average New Zealand average. I guess the question for you, Paul, is, you know, what are you gonna offer young people in Poneke? - Well, I mean, I'll bring that experience of being a councillor, the deputy mayor and have been in Parliament. But I wanna bring all that experience back to say to our people ` all people, but particularly those in their 30s ` if we're looking at that, to say, you know, there's going to be a blueprint for a generation of action that I want to implement. And that's something where I've talked about housing, but making Wellington, restoring that mana as the capital city to say what are the things that make Wellington better than other parts of Aotearoa New Zealand? And so it's being attractive enough to say And so it's being attractive we've got some basics to do, but we've got these things to do, which take time. And those are the things like making sure that our rangatahi and others can afford a home to rent or to buy. They don't go to Tamaki Makaurau or Otautahi ` they come to Te Whanganui a Tara. - But that's gonna take time. - Mm. Kia ora. Speaking of mana and mana whenua, what do you think the aspirations of mana whenua in Poneke are? - Like, I've met with, and I know Paul has as well, mana whenua, and a lot of it is to do around, uh, housing and effective public transport and, of course, our environmental obligations. So whatever decision we make on council has to be, kind of, climate resilient, because that's exactly the sort of city we need to build, and, kind of, taking that back to our rangatahi as well. We've gotta leave the city better than how, you know, we're currently running it, and I don't think anyone disagrees with that. But on top of that, the biggest barrier for keeping them here ` our talent, our graduates, everyone ` is the cost of living. So I agree with Paul ` that comes down to housing. It's gonna take some time, which is why after, water infrastructure, we need to start building as many houses as we can. - Mm. You both are talking about, you know, social services and wraparound services, with the people who are living on the streets, with the housing and things like that. When it comes to mana whenua, how committed are you to devolving resources and power to those groups, so that they can look after their own people? - Well, this council took a long time to sign those, uh, documents that acknowledged the relationship. Well, we need to move on from that. You know, they are ready to move in this space. - Mm. - They've had a lot of raruraru around things like Shelly Bay, and that's been a distraction. But what I want to see now with mana whenua is to say to them, what are the things that matter most to you? We've heard, already, that they are willing to take on the provision of housing ` not just the wrap-around services, not just the hard stuff ` they wanna be involved with the whanau right up front, to say if we're going to be, um, there with the whanau, we wanna be there at the start, not at the end. And they are ready. And mana whenua are saying, 'Look, we want a bigger, better, - 'bolder relationship with the city. - Mm. 'Please let us in.' - Do you have the relationships - with central government to make those kinds of things work? - 100%. I'm really proud of my relationships with many ministers, as with Paul as well, and I think that's why it would be beneficial. I wanna say upfront, I think it's really fantastic, that of the three frontrunners, two that of the three frontrunners, two of them are Maori. I think that's really wonderful. And if one of us were lucky enough to lead the city, I think that's fantastic. And we both have those really strong relationships with central government, - and I think that's awesome. - Mm. - Kei te tautoko au i tera. Tena korua. Thank you so much for your time, and all the best. Good luck to you both. - ALL: Kia ora. - Next ` we meet some of the Maori vying for your votes this election. - Auraki mai ano. Time to meet some of the candidates, who have thrown their potae into the ring for the upcoming local body elections ` Tuatahi ko Toi Iti, for the upcoming local body who is seeking re-election to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council; Ruapehu District Councillor Elijah Pue, who is running for mayor; and Far North District Councillor Moko Tepania, - who is also running for the mayoralty in his rohe. Tena koutou. - Kia ora. - Nga mihi. - Tena koe. - Nau mai haramai. Let's just get into it. So, Moko, there's about 52 dedicated Maori seats across 27 districts. - What does that mean for Maori now? - This is huge for Maori. I think it's something like 59 new Maori ward councillors are coming into local government spaces, and they're going to bring, you know, the social collectivism, the tikanga that we have as people to these tables where huge decisions are made for our communities day in, day out. - And I think it's an amazing thing. - Ka pai. Toi, interesting you're standing on a Maori Party ticket this year, so why do you think it's important to align the local government, um, aspirations with that National, you know, the National Party ` the Maori Party and the National Party? - Yeah, cos local government is downstream from central government. They pass the legislation, we, uh, create and enforce the policy, uh, at the local government level or the Regional Council does. And so it just made sense for me that there should be that alignment, with the work that Rawiri and Debbie, the great work that they're doing down there in Parliament. That same energy needs to happen in local government. And for me, it was also about setting up a pipeline, so that when I decide to stand down, that Maori that are coming through have the same values and the same ideas and whakaaro to sit in that seat. Because often at local government, you feel quite alone. - Mm. - You're there as an independent. I think it's really important to be part of a national movement, - and, you know, Maori Party has that. - BOTH: Kia ora. - I guess, Elijah, cos you're at home, where you're representing the council there, so do you feel like you represent your people or the council? Is it both? - How do you kind of play it? - Or my iwi? - Yeah. - Yeah. Look, my whakapapa doesn't go away with me any certain day. - Yeah. - Yeah. Look, So I can absolutely say that I represent, um, my iwi and my whakapapa, because that's with me. But I represent my community at the same time. I'm also Pakeha, which people often don't remember. So I think I can walk quite vividly, - I suppose, in both worlds. - Yeah. We just recently had the local government conference, and many of you were up there on the stage, talking about making decisions for 80 years and that we're not making them, you know, 10 years isn't far enough ` you know, what do you think about that? Like, in terms of the planning that you've done as a councillor, what does it look like for your great-grandchildren? what does it look like for - It has to be intergenerational. We're now planting seeds for, uh, shade that we will not get to be under. That's the reality of the situation. Local government is nauseatingly incremental, Local government is nauseatingly and so you might be banging on the table all you want, but the reality is the machinery, the institutions themselves, um, are really burdened by this inertia. So we do need to make these decisions. We need to keep that pressure on. We need to be talking about constitutional change, cos that is the only way that we're going to get the kinds of equitable partnership that we talk about, uh, and that we want under the Treaty of Waitangi, Te Tiriti. - Mm. What do you want, um, us to all know about the views of rangatahi, of young Maori for the future? - This is one of our new catch cries for local government is making mokopuna decisions, so that we're good ancestors for, um, our mokopuna in the future. But, I mean, I teach at Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Kaikohe as well, and our rangatahi want to ` I was saying this to Elijah in the car ` what our rangatahi want is to make sure that we leave them a planet to actually live in and for their children to live in. And if we don't start making those longer-term decisions, about making sure that we look after Papatuanuku, then we aren't going to be. So, you know, we've got these really, um, long-term plans, we've got these really, that we need to actually think about how we implement these big changes. And it has to start now ` we have to actually start now. It's not tomorrow or when the next council or a three-year election cycle ` we'll see what happens next time; - we actually have to start thinking about that right now. - So give me an example, cos Toi talks about incremental decision-making at local government ` when you're talking about the environment, can you give me an example of how you could plan for 80 years? - Well, one thing we know is, like, we can, um... we can forecast already where the sea level is gonna rise, in 100 years' time, in 50 years' time. So we already know that there are communities that we have in our ` in my district, anyway ` Elijah's in the middle of the North Island, so not him; but we know that there are communities that we're actually going to have to look at moving. And do you know what? We're not talking about any of this at all. Before the pandemic, I was in Florida. And Miami Beach City already had posters up everywhere, on every bus shelter, saying, 'Change is coming ` 'this city will change because of climate change; 'get ready,' And they had a website for you to go look at. 'get ready,' And they had And that was four years ago. - Yeah, I think with us, we've got one of our biggest exports is tourism, right, with Koro Ruapehu right in the in the heart of our district. Winters are getting shorter and Winters are getting shorter and shorter ` there are less jobs available on the maunga. We need to start considering what does that look like for our future. I think the unique thing about us young Maori candidates, at least, is that we're going to be in that future. So when we think 20, 30, 40 years, we're still there. And that's a unique thing, you know, against perhaps others that might be a little bit older. And that's a unique thing, you know, - Plus you're from there, you never leaving, cos that's your kainga. - Exactly. Tangata whenua. - Talking about those Te Tiriti, uh, relationships with local government, and, you know, your iwi's quite established there now. So what does it look like, - and what does the future look like? - Yeah, I think if you think about Te Wa Heke Mai, which was the kaupapa of that Local Government New Zealand conference, this whole notion around co-governance was talked about a lot. But actually what we've agreed to, in the Ruapehu, at least, is that some iwi aren't quite ready for that. You know, some iwi are still struggling to man their pae or get someone to wash the dishes. You know, I'm at my marae at Raetahi, sometimes cooking the kai, lighting the fire, maybe doing the karanga, but also actually doing the whaikorero, you know. So are we actually ready for that as a nation? And equally, are iwi ready? And I'm not sure if we've quite got there yet. - Some are, though And if you think about some of those, um, policies or ideas that the Maori Party are doing at central government, you know, Te Tiriti, what does it look like? What actually is co-governance? Are we actually lying to ourselves and pretending it is? What do you think the future is, and do we have to put, you know, our pou in the ground? - Yeah, the future could be, uh, a lot of lovely sounding words on documents and a bunch of window dressing, because I think the reality is, until there is constitutional change, partnership is going to be window dressing. It's incredibly difficult to navigate a post-settlement landscape for local government entities to go out. Who do we talk to? Do we talk to the post-settlement entity? Are they the Office of the Iwi, or are they the iwi? Let alone, you know, we use terms like mana whenua, tangata whenua, Maori interchangeably, but they're not. So the real challenge, I think, is at a constitutional level. That's why it's great that the Maori Party, Te Pati Maori, is pushing that. Until we have that, I feel we're just gonna be tinkering around the edges. It's still a job for us in local government to ensure that, as we're tinkering around the edges, that, uh, we're standing guard and ensuring, uh, that we're not losing ground. But really, that constitutional and landscape shift needs to happen. - Mm. - I think a lot of the time, you're waiting for iwi to settle, and actually, the opportunity is right now. As you said, we need to make decisions tomorrow, the next day and the next day. Don't wait around for the Treaty settlement process, to start a co-governance or a partnership arrangement ` let's go knock on the door and say hello. Let's go to the marae, to a hui, and say, 'How can we help ` housing, climate change, the works.' - Absolutely. Kaikohe is the seat of the Far North District Council; it's also the seat of Te Runanga A-Iwi-O-Ngapuhi. And we don't have any formal arrangements or partnerships with that iwi. And we don't have any formal They're not settled yet, and we don't know when they will be. And we always talk about that being the saving grace, that if only Ngapuhi would finally settle, then the future for the north is then the future for the north is gonna look bright. But do you know what? - We've still got mahi to do right now. - And be careful what you wish for Even if you do settle, that's just the beginning of the journey. It sometimes makes the situation even more complex. - The other thing we talked about at the LGNZ conference was Maori time is about when the time is right, not about imposing it ` we're ready; get ready yourselves or get settled. Nah, nah. Taihoa. Let's wait till we get the karanga, - so that we can heed that call. - We are not great voters when it comes to local government. We don't have much time, but can you just share a message with those who might be watching, - why they should register and vote? - Oh, absolutely. I mean, for our whanaunga listening in, last election, the national turnout was, like, 42% or 43%, and that's just not good enough. If we wanna make changes, we have to actually get into the table, get into the system and work from the outside and the inside ` in every way that we can. So I urge all whanaunga who are listening to make sure they're enrolled to vote, make sure that they get out and vote and make sure that they put in some really good candidates to represent them at the table. - OK. Is your phone on? Can people - OK. Is your phone on? Can people contact you and ask you questions? - Absolutely. 24-7. And they already do. You can send me a leader as well, like someone did yesterday. You have got till Friday to enrol, i te whanau. You need to get in there. This is your one democratic right. You know, please don't moan. Please don't ring me and moan about the result of the election if you don't vote. Get out there, have your say. Vote number one ` Elijah. - Yep. - (ALL CHUCKLE) - Toi? - Yep. - Whakaaro? - Yeah, tautoko. I tautoko, and the korero of these rangatahi. This is the future. You know, really, we're creating spaces for future generations to come through. I don't think we have the answers here today. - Yeah. - Yeah. - If somebody sees that they do, then don't vote for them. They're lying to you. But we need to create spaces, so that rangatahi can come through with answers for future generations. - Tena koutou. Thank you so much for joining us, and all the best. We hope you get all the things that you're dreaming for ` councillors, mayoralties, the rest of them. Tena koe. - Kia ora. - Next ` we discuss why it's so important for Maori to cast their vote. Hoki mai ano. Well, Maori have a history of low voter turnout in local body elections. I spoke to Bonita Bigham, the chair of the Maori Local Government Executive, to discuss what's at stake for Maori when it comes to local government. Why is it important to vote in local body elections? - It's really important, and it's really critical that our people become involved in the system of local government. You know, we know that it's a system that wasn't designed by us. It wasn't designed for us. Actually, it was designed to maintain the power structures of, um, the colonists. But the reality is we are all heavily influenced by what happens in the local government sector. Your swimming pools, your libraries, the streets in your towns and cities, the footpaths that your tamariki take to get to kura ` that's all part of what local government does. And I think one of the biggest things on the radar at the moment that's getting such a lot of attention is the Three Waters korero and what that means. There's lots of purposeful misinformation out there, but, you know, ultimately, local governments are the ones who deliver water to our whare. So our drinking water, the water we use to bathe in, to wash in, to wash our pepe, to cook our kai ` that's all up to local government to deliver those safe sorts of things. So for Maori to say it's got nothing to do with me, So for Maori to say it's it's got everything to do with us. - Traditionally people might have said, 'Well, there's no one there that looks like they represent me,' but what does it look like today? - Ae. When I started out in the local government sector 12 years ago, - Ae. When I started out in the that was the case. It was a very lonely space for Maori to be in. But, you know, times are different, with the introduction of new Maori wards to at least 30-plus ` I think 32 councils joining the three that already have Maori wards. And this year's election means that we have the opportunity to start changing that up ` we have the opportunity to put our people into these spaces., so that those decision-making conversations include our perspectives. - In terms of young people, why might a young person, who's getting their voting slip for the first time this year, - want to vote? - I think our rangatahi are the most on to it and engaged generation. You know, our rangatahi are the ones who are concerned about the environment, they're concerned about the future for their tamariki. And at the recent Local Government New Zealand Conference, we saw a magnificent presentation from the young elected members, which are the members who are aged 40 or younger, when they come into the local government space. They're already visioning Aotearoa in 2040, and they're talking about the decisions that need to be made now. And they're talking about, you know, a Tiriti-based foundation for all decision-making, partnerships and relationships with tangata whenua that are meaningful and influence the way that future policy is developed and future legislation is made. So I think our rangatahi are the ones who need to take this opportunity and grab it by both hands and say, 'Yeah, you know, you fullas, you've had your time ` 'we're the ones that this future will be built for, 'and so we're gonna participate.' - Now, at a recent local government hui, youth and Maori councillors laid down a wero to reimagine local government and challenged lawmakers to make mokopuna decisions and set goals for the next 80 years. That includes responding to climate change. So here to discuss this is Erana Riddell, an Environment Canterbury Climate Change Action Committee Member - Tena koe. - Kia ora. - Yeah, you know, what does a mokopuna decision look like in climate change - 80 years from now? - So, we are growing up in a world far different from our ancestors', but that's definitely, um, not a future they envisioned us to be a part of. - When you're on those that climate change committee, you know, what kind of things do you discuss? What do you bring into it? Cos I imagine it's a whole bunch of people, eh, different ages and from different walks of life. - Yeah, for sure. It's really, really important for young people to be in those spaces, to see the substance of our values and the procedure in which we see them carried out. I find what's really, um, kind of, obvious to us as young people is not so obvious to the older generation as well. But young or old, we definitely each have a role to play, cos without each other, we won't survive. - Yeah, you're from Otautahi ` your tangata whenua down in Ngai Tahu, so what is important for you at home? - Particularly with our marae out at Wairewa, it means fast-rising water ` we're kind of having discussions at the moment, um, around flooding in our area, whether to move from the reserve in which we were set on or to move up the hill ` what's that gonna look like under the context of climate change? We have hapus that are neighbouring that are talking about Three Waters infrastructure, when their infrastructure isn't up to date as it is ` they've been petitioning since 1912 for that. There is a lot of, um... We've got... - It's a big job. It's a big job, you know, being young and bringing all those kaupapa into, you know, a pretty serious environment for you ` how do you deliver it, and what's the response? How do they respond to someone so young? - I've come to, actually, surprisingly, a fair amount of support, but it's still quite hard. I find that if you're trying to articulate, um, the problems and what the solutions look like, especially from a context of a young person, that has so much more broader issues, it can be quite hard and quite challenging. Also realising you don't actually have to know everything in order to have a value-based opinion on it. You don't have to be exceptional in your own right, in your spaces, in order for your voice to be valued. And I think once we get over those misconceptions, then we can really thrive. - Tell me ` there's a lot of young people who care about the climate; you know, look at the climate-change protest. What would you say to them in terms of, like, coming into this space, whether it's as a councillor or whether it's one of these committees that you can get involved with ` you know, - talk to them about that. - Just show up. Honestly. I probably only started engaging in these spaces, probably, like, two or three years ago. It was actually supposed to be more of a time-filler and a hobby for me, and then it turned into so much more than that. But, yeah, definitely. I find that the grass-roots bottom-up, levels approach is so much better. And especially, I find that when a regional council backs you, and then when you have communities who take you in as their own, that's when all the magic happens. - Yeah. - And I love it. I really, really love it. I can't actually imagine my life without it right now, but... - Most people would - Most people would be, like, 'What?!' - (BOTH LAUGH) - Have you got any ideas of how we can get more youth, Maori youth, voting? Like, at the moment, it's, you know, there's ads on TV and things like that, but what should we be doing? - I find it's hard when young people ` like, in the context of my friends, like, and especially with climate change, I've had many conversations with my friends ` most of them can't actually focus on climate change. Others don't actually wanna bring children into this world, because the institutions and the systems that we have at the moment, they don't have any faith in. It's like if you don't see yourself in those spaces. And it's also that, um, misconception that you have to know how all the mechanics of, um, government works in order to have a value-based opinion. But, yeah, just more of us in those spaces; um, more people passionate about it. But also I find that people will vote when they're reacting to something that's been taken away from them, although, young people have more... What's the word? Um... I'm trying to think. Like, we have so much more informed young people. We have so much more passionate young people that aren't afraid to ask questions. - Yeah. - But I think that that's from the people before us. - Ka pai. - But yeah. - But vote, whatever it is ` whatever you might think, just vote. Ka nui te mihi ki a koe. Ka nui te mihi ki aku rangatira manuhiri tuarangi katoa. Don't forget to register and cast your vote, e hoa ma. Noho ora mai ra. Captions by Faith Hamblyn. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022. - Ko te reo te take. Na Te Puna Whakatongarewa Te Hui i tautoko.