Ko te Atua too taatou piringa, ka puta ka ora.
E ngaa rangatira o te motu, koutou katoa e tau nei,
Haere mai, haere mai, haere mai raa.
Ka tangi te ngaakau ki ngaa mate maha.Ki taku hoa a Anaru, haere e koro, moe mai raa. Koutou te hunga wairua, e moe.
E taku Tumuaki, e Hone, teenaa koe. Kia kaha i roto i o mahi mo te iwi, mo te Kiingitanga.
E te iwi, e te motu, kia hari kia koa taatou! Kei konei taatou, kei konei te Atua – ka pai!

It feels good to see you again at Tuurangawaewae, after two years online. Zoom is good, but face-to-face is better.

With Covid’s shadow slowly fading, we can stand in the light again.

But the world we see is different -
It is more uncertain,
It is expensive and rapidly changing.

War and famine have followed the pandemic. Superpowers are threatening each other, and our world and people are suffering. In just one generation, our kaumaatua have seen the impacts of rising sea levels on their marae and hapuu.

The Kiingitanga is aware of these issues, and the need to solve them.

Earlier this year, with other global leaders, I have given support to Moana Pasifika – an Indigenous-led kaupapa to protect the Pacific Ocean. As kaitiaki, we have a responsibility to use maatauranga to protect the life force of Te Moana Nui aa Kiwa. It is also important to embrace our Pasifika whanau in this Kaupapa.

To support the wellbeing of tamariki, the Kiingitanga has contributed to the fundraising efforts of Starship Children’s Hospital. We acknowledge the other corporate sponsors who contributed.

I am humbled to be the Patron for Starship Child Health which has a kaupapa to put mokopuna at the centre of childcare. “E kore teenei whakaoranga e huri ki tua o aku mokopuna. Ka puta, ka ora.”

The Kiingitanga has also voiced concerns about the disestablishment of the Office of the Children's Commissioner – a critical role for us all. The way our society cares for children speaks volumes about us. We must make decisions that put mokopuna first and protect their future.

Earlier this year, I was pleased to support Maaori artists under the tongikura “Amohia ake te ora o te iwi.” Creating opportunities for rangatahi to express themselves and their whakapapa brings hope to the soul and to our people everywhere.

This is something The Kiingitanga will always support.

Fighting the inequality and injustice of the State is also something the Kiingitanga continues to do. We all know of whaanau not being heard or struggling with systems and Government Departments. To ensure iwi-Maaori views are heard, I have agreed to a Kiingitanga representative on the Ombudsman's Maaori Advisory Panel.

Let me turn to an issue of paramount importance to us all – Water: Wai Maaori! We have been fighting this kaupapa since the time of Pootatau. Back then, Governor Grey said his cows would drink our waters dry. He was wrong, but the cows did pollute our water, and our whenua. Here at Turangawaewae my mother confronted this issue and asserted ownership of the Awa. “This is my river, this is my mountain, here are my people.” Waikato Awa is strong and has not run dry – it comes from deep within the earth. The current Government has embraced Te Mana o Te Wai.

But what does that mean? It is more than a statement about the importance of water. Te Mana o Te Wai belongs to us, to our iwi. It is about our relationship to our taonga and about the wairua of our water:
Our lifeforce
Our past
Our present
Our future

Waikato Awa will always be part of the Kiingitanga. It is who we are. Our tuupuna travelled on it; they bathed in it; they drank from it and ate from it. Its mauri speaks to us, guides us, gives us signs and tohu. We live on the river; by the river and for the river. So too does every iwi in Aotearoa – kei a taatou te mana o te wai. I will say it again – Te Iwi Maaori owns the water.

We are prepared to share our taonga for the wellbeing of all. But it must be done on our terms and our tikanga – that is our way. Living lives shaped by tikanga is who we are. As Maaori we are not free to do whatever we like. Tikanga dictates how we interact, who with and when. Tikanga is paramount in Te Ao Maaori.

As the world emerges from Covid, we stand at a crossroad. We need to decide what road to take. Do we stay on the path with the highest suicide rates, mental health problems, high house prices, and low incomes? Or do we choose another path that puts people first and helps us heal the damage of decades past?

We need to think differently.
We need to think long-term.

To work with Papatuuaanuku instead of bending her to our will. To embrace matauranga Maaori and Kiingitanga-based solutions that can bring a better life for everybody. To live according to our tikanga and doing what’s right for the collective, not just the individual – taatou, taatou.

The Kiingitanga is committed to this path.

To learning from the past to grow our people. To giving protection to the vulnerable and hope to the downhearted. To finding the good in the world and shining a light on it, so that others might see the way forward.

So let us finish by turning our minds to the future.

We have always known the answers to the future are in the past.
In other words, in the teachings of our tupuna. That means knowing who we are and where we come from.

My challenge this Koroneihana is three-fold:
- make sure our identity is strong
- our purpose is clear
- and our tikanga upheld

When we know who we are, we can face the future with confidence.
This is the way of the Kiingitanga.

Whaia te kotahitanga paiheretia ki te rangimaarie
Taiparatia te maahina, he puurangi, te maaneanea

Paimaarire
 

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