I te Paraire o te wiki kua pahuri atu i whakatū he pōhiri ki Te Tahuhu o Te Rangi ki te whakanui i ngā kaupapa e toru. Tuatahi, he pōhiri i te whanau o Louis Rāpihana me tōna mate ki te mihi ki āna mahi maha mō tōna whānau, hapū, iwi me te hapori. Tuarua, he whakatau i a Stace Lewer me tana whānau i roto i tōna tūranga hou hei kaiwhakahaere matua ki te Kaunihera o Ōpōtiki. Tuatoru, he whakamana i te kaupapa whakahirahira a Aotearoa Reorua kua tīmata ki Ōpōtiki.

On Friday 28 April 2023, a pōhiri was held at Ōpōtiki’s Te Tāhuhu o Te Rangi to support three kaupapa – welcoming the whānau of former Councillor, the late Louis Rāpihana and to acknowledge his contribution to the council. It was an opportunity to officially welcome Stace Lewer and his whānau into his role as Chief Executive of Ōpōtiki District Council. The pōhiri also marked the start of Ōpōtiki’s reorua journey.

Aotearoa Reorua is a Te Tari Taiwhenua, Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), kaupapa that creates more spaces, places, and opportunities across Aotearoa New Zealand for te reo Māori to be seen, heard, and celebrated. It achieves this by supporting mana whenua and councils to work together to develop a bilingual rautaki (strategy) for their communities. Te Tari Taiwhenua will be supporting Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board and the Ōpōtiki District Council to help realise this for Ōpōtiki Reorua.

"We are thrilled to be launching Reorua and to have the opportunity to work with our partners to promote the use of te reo Māori and develop a bilingual strategy for our town," said Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board CEO, Dickie Farrar, who have entered into the Reo Rua partnership.

"We believe this initiative will play an important role in promoting te reo Māori and strengthening our communities, and we look forward to seeing its impact over the coming years," Mrs Farrar said.

Support for Ōpōtiki Reorua sits with Ue te Hīnātore – Te Tari Taiwhenua’s Local Government Branch, who attended the pōhiri on Friday to endorse the commitment and agreement made between the organisations.

“We are incredibly grateful to be working alongside the Ōpōtiki Reorua partners Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board and Ōpōtiki District Council towards the goal of seeing greater appreciation and promotion of te reo Māori in Ōpōtiki and the wider community. The Ōpōtiki Reorua partners have generously provided a space for te reo Māori champions and bilingual visionaries who share in this aspiration to join in this journey,” said Kim Harris, Strategic Relationship Advisor Iwi/Maori, DIA.

Ōpōtiki Mayor, David Moore, said that it was a very special occasion and marked a significant moment for Ōpōtiki.

“We are starting this Reorua journey with Whakatōhea at their invitation and it is an honour to be part of this kaupapa. We acknowledge that it is a process and we’ll need to take steps in the right direction over many years. But as a starting point, it was so heartening to see and hear the kōrero and waiata at the pōhiri and the clear desire for genuine partnership already on display.

“Louis was a driving force for Reorua and so it was an honour to have his whānau there with us to see the culmination of his years of mahi and honour his contribution.

“We also welcomed Stace formally into his role and brought his family with him into our community and council. Although Stace has been in the role for several months, it was important to show his family just how significant he is to us and the role he is stepping into,” Mayor Moore said.

For more information on Aotearoa Reorua, visit their website aotearoareorua.govt.nz.

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