Kia tau ng\u0101 manaakitanga a te mea ngaro
ki runga ki t\u0113n\u0101, ki t\u0113n\u0101 o t\u0101tou
Kia mahea te hua m\u0101kihikihi
kia toi te kupu, toi te mana, toi te aroha, toi te Reo M\u0101ori
kia t\u016bturu, ka whakamaua kia t\u012bna! T\u012bna!
Hui e, T\u0101iki e!
Let the strength and life force of our ancestors
Be with each and every one of us
Freeing our path from obstruction
So that our words, spiritual power, love, and language are upheld;
Permanently fixed, established and understood!
Forward together!<\/p>\n\n
Thousands of years of m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori has been gifted down through iwi, hap\u016b, and wh\u0101nau – acting as a guiding compass to living in absolute harmony with te taiao (nature). The fabric of m\u0101tauranga is an innate understanding of balance which allowed pre-colonised M\u0101ori to thrive. It enabled M\u0101ori to live peacefully alongside te taiao and to act as kaitiaki (protectors) of the mauri (life essence) of surrounding moana and whenua.
After centuries of colonisation against global indigenous cultures, commercialisation of the ocean, weaponization of intensive dairying, skyrocketing carbon emissions and lacklustre political movement, the mauri of our environment is damaged, it\u2019s tired, and it\u2019s sick. It needs our help, and in some cases, it needs to be left alone so that it can rest. <\/p>\n\n
He maha nga hap\u016b (many sub tribes) around Aotearoa have established r\u0101hui as a response to the desecration of whenua and moana. A r\u0101hui, to M\u0101ori is the tikanga (customary practise) that prohibits access to an area, either on water, land or resources. A distressed or imbalanced environmental state allows rangatira (leaders) to consider impacts on future well-being of people and the natural environment, and exercise their right as kaitiaki to apply measures such as r\u0101hui. This allows time for te taiao to regain balance.<\/p>\n\n
Iwi and hap\u016b are now calling for the New Zealand government to respect the practice of r\u0101hui, invoking regulations to give its official support. Kaitiaki from Ng\u0101ti Hei, Ng\u0101ti P\u0101oa, and Ng\u0101ti K\u0101hu ki Whangaroa recently discussed the three current r\u0101hui – at Whangaroa in the far north, Waiheke Island and Ng\u0101ti Hei\u2019s r\u0101hui on the Coromandel scallop fishery, which was just announced it would close for two years. The closure covers scallop fishing in an area extending along the east Coromandel coastline from Anarake Point to Ruahiwihiwi Point, where Ngati Hei exercises mana moana, and includes Opito Bay.<\/p>\n\n
Two hundred people joined the online hui to discuss tikanga surrounding r\u0101hui and the challenges that tangata whenua face in implementing restorative measures for the environment.<\/p>\n\n
The Fisheries Act spousal provides for hap\u016b and iwi to seek legislative support under s186a to back customary measures such as r\u0101hui and mataitai legally. However, it is proving to be problematic for tangata whenua to use due to long delays in the Ministry responding.
In the event organised by Mauri o te Moana, M\u0101ori leaders – Joe Davis (Ng\u0101ti Hei), Nyze Manuel (Ng\u0101ti Kahu ki Whangaroa) and Herearoha Skipper (Ng\u0101ti Paoa) whose iwi have set down r\u0101hui, have been waiting months for a response from the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries in their applications through s186a of the Fisheries Act to protect their rohe moana. <\/p>\n\n