On the 25th and 26th of February 2021, John Stanley (TY Wellington), Lucas Paku (TY Hawke's Bay)and Irimana Ngawhika (TY Rotorua) attended two days of what was a humbling and energising National Māori Housing Conference event held in Hastings. The function was a setting for the esteemed, and the calibre of those in attendance reflected the importance of the conference.
Our speakers/presenters included four ministerial members, namely:
- Hon Dr Megan Woods – Minister of Housing
- Hon Peeni Henare – Associate Minister (Māori Housing)
- Marama Davidson – Associate Minister Housing (Homelessness)
- Hon Willie Jackson – Minister for Māori Development
As well as Iwi/Hapu Chairman, Chief Executives/General Managers of organisations such as Te Puni Kokiri, Kainga Ora, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, and many other Iwi and Hapu were in attendance.
The purpose of the event was to bring the housing crisis to the forefront, more particularly Māori housing, Government to communicate the Māori and Iwi Housing Innovation (MAIHI) framework, and for developers to share their experiences of housing projects either completed or afoot.
Te Tiriri o Waitangi was expressly recognised as a priority for partnership between Māori and non-Māori by Government officials. Our presence at this event kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) allowed us to gauge where we are as TelferYoung and to proactively and attentively align our waka through cultural awareness, cultural knowledge/understanding, active participation and fortitude.
The feedback from those that we spoke to, aside from the surprised, slightly confused facial expressions, was positive, mixed in with some hardlined “have you thought about this?”. Nga pou e wha (Four Pillars) was one such example.
Nonetheless, our presence at the conference has more benefits than those that are easily measured or calculated, and we believe TelferYoung are progressing to being an organisation that ‘gets it’ and more importantly, we are trying.