Former Treaty lawyer Moana Tuwhare welcomed to Ngāpuhi top role

Regaining the trust of hapū, ensuring the voice of youth is heard, and "stabilising the waka" - those are just some of the goals of the former Treaty lawyer appointed to Ngāpuhi's top job.

Moana Tuwhare was formally welcomed to the role of Te Tumu Whakahaere, or general manager, of Te Rūnanga-ā-iwi o Ngāpuhi at Okorihi Marae, near Kaikohe, on 16 September.

She takes the helm at a challenging time for the rūnanga, which has just undergone a major restructuring forced by a sharp drop in income.

Tuwhare (Ngāti Korokoro, Ngāti Tautahi, Te Popoto, Te Uri-O-Hua) is, however, undaunted.

She told RNZ she wanted to see the rūnanga live up to the whakataukī that defined its vision: Kia tū tika ai te whare tapu o Ngāpuhi (that the sacred house of Ngāpuhi stand firm).

"That will mean bringing the hapū of Ngāpuhi closer to the rūnanga, or transforming the rūnanga into something that is responsive to hapū needs and desires, to support and empower our hapū and whānau and all our people, regardless of where they are."

Another goal was to set the relationship between Ngāpuhi and the government on a footing better aligned with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

"Neither of those two things are a small task, but they're certainly achievable in my view," she said.

Rebuilding hapū trust in the rūnanga was one of the reasons for the Ngāpuhi roadshow, called Āpiti Hono Tātai Hono, currently travelling the country.

In particular the rūnanga wanted to hear what people thought about the organisation's representation system, currently based on regional takiwā.

Tuwhare said it was likely that system would change in the near future, possibly to make it more hapū based, but that had yet to be decided.

She hoped the young generation would share their views during the roadshow, because the vast majority of Ngāpuhi were aged under 27.

"So we're really hoping to hear from our young people, to help set our future direction … and develop a model people feel comfortable with and are happy to support."

Tuwhare, a mokopuna of renowned poet Hone Tuwhare, said she had worked in law for 19 years, managing Treaty claims, Māori Land and general court matters, and many whānau, hapū and iwi issues.

Much of her work had been with hapū of Ngāpuhi.

Her key role in the Waitangi Tribunal's ground-breaking Stage 1 Te Paparahi o Te Raki inquiry had given her in-depth knowledge of He Whakaputanga, or the Declaration of Independence, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

"So I have a very solid understanding of our people's position on what the intention of our rangatira was when they signed Te Tiriti in 1840. And that translates to having a solid understanding of what the relationship between us and the government needs to look like now for it to be genuine."

For the past three years she had worked for Mather Solutions, a Māori development consultancy.

Tuwhare acknowledged she was taking on the role at a challenging time.

A sharp drop in revenue - driven mainly by declining income from the iwi's fisheries assets - had forced severe belt-tightening, including a cut in the number of staff at the rūnanga from 22 to six.

Her predecessor Sam Napia's chief executive role had gone, replaced by a general manager reporting directly to the board.

"I knew it wasn't going to be an easy job, but I'm certainly up for the challenge. It wasn't a role that I've aspired to hold, it was an opportunity came up. And I decided that now is actually a great time to become involved and be in the mix of improving things for our people," she said.

Tuwhare said she had come in at the end of the restructuring process.

"So we're still embedding a new team, a much smaller team with a tighter belt in terms of the funding we have available, but in saying that, things are looking pretty positive in terms of what we might be able to achieve in in the near future. It's just a matter of stabilising our waka and embedding some clear systems and processes so our team is able to deliver … We're very focused on being servants to our people and making sure that our people can come to us and we can support them."

Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāpuhi chairman Mane Tahere is also relatively new, having been appointed late last year.

He was aged 36 at the time, making him the youngest member of the nationwide Iwi Leaders Forum.

Tahere said the appointment of Tuwhare was part of a major restructuring.

"We're looking for a new way for Ngāpuhi and someone who can match the skill, energy, and experience, and we've found that in Moana."

Tuwhare currently divides her time between West Auckland and Kaikohe. She plans to move north full-time in the New Year.

With more than 165,000 members, or almost one in five of the total population of Māori descent, Ngāpuhi is New Zealand's biggest iwi.