Lucy Schrader Manuera | Te Aupōuri
Tēnā koutou e te hunga kaipānui,
Tau atu taku manu ki runga i te pinakinakitanga o maunga Tawhitirahi
Tau ana te titiro ki ngā au moana, ki ngā mau o te whenua, ki ngā ara tawhito i ahu mai ai ngā tūpuna
U ana ai te waka o Kurahaupo
Tere whakarunga i nga wai rere o Te Awapoka
Whatiwhati o parirau ki Pukemarama
Tauhokai iho ki Te Kao
Tatu atu ra ki Potahi e āhuru ai te iwi o Te Aupōuri I ōna pārae, ōna māniania, ōna awaawa, ōna maunga
Tāhorahora ana te huanui hei hīkoi mā tātou
Kei runga ko te whetū hei arataki
Kei raro ko te tapuwae hei whai
Pātōtō ana te manawa kia whiwhi
Ka puta ka ora, ki te whaiao ki Te Ao-Mārama!
‘Poipoia te kākano, kia puāwai’, a whakataukī that speaks to the importance of nurturing the seed, so it can blossom. A motif that is unmistakably embedded in te ao Māori, both in a literal sense of kaitiakitanga and in a metaphorical sense of whanaungatanga.
In 2020, the Ministry of Social Development released a report named “Poipoia te kākano kia puawai: Family structure, family change and the wellbeing of tamariki Māori”. Linking the whakataukī to the future prosperity o tō tātou tamariki.
A key finding of the report was that “Diverse family trajectories are linked to poorer cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes of tamariki Māori, but they are not the main driver.” Rather, they recognised other factors to be more central to cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes of tamariki Māori. Arguably most importantly, greater cultural connectedness is associated with promoting socio-emotional childhood development. The authors of said report recommended “the value of researching and differentiating the links to family and child wellbeing experienced by tamariki Māori, since there are potentially unique dimensions of wellbeing that are more important to Māori which may be overlooked when we do not create Māori-led and Māori-centred policy.”
This notion of creating Māori-led and Māori-centered policy has been intentionally ignored, yet again, with the proposed changes to the Oranga Tamariki Act 7AA. I am terrified of the irreversible effects that this bill will have on our tamariki. I know that many of you will share this whakaaro or worry about the complete disregard of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its values. With the census data being released, we now know that the Māori population is now estimated to be at 904,100. As a young and fast-growing population, arguably now more than ever, we need to protect tō tātou tamariki. E ai ki ngā kupu a te māreikura a Whina Cooper, “Take care of our children. Take care of what they hear. Take care of what they see. For how the children grow, so will the shape of Aotearoa.” Koinei te wā hei tū tātou ki te kotahi.
Growing up disconnected from my whenua has meant that a generation of my whānau have been without their reo, without diverse connections to te ao Māori, and without an opportunity to puāwai in their Māoritanga. That is not a future I envision for my tamariki and mokopuna, nō reira, me tūhono anō au ki tō mātou Te Aupōuritanga. Mō tātou, ā, mō ngā uri a muri ake nei.