13/11/2025
Kiaora Koutou,
Weve been fielding lots of worries and concerns from whānau with all what is happening nationally and locally, and thought it best to share the same message. Hei ārahitanga mō te katoa.
To all Ngāti Hineaute whānau and the wider Iwi....
For the past 12–14 months we’ve tracked every twist in national politics, including this week’s Palmerston North City Council decision to remove Rangitāne representation from its committees.
First some opinions:
Palmerston North City Council;
The nonsense about “one group having special rights” means all groups should get them, or else it’s “government by special interest committees,” is a complete fallacy that dodges the point. Not all groups have had their sovereignty violated by a colonial treaty partner. Rangitāne aren’t just another “interest group”— we are the indigenous people with a bilateral agreement that forms the basis of NZ’s legitimacy as a nation. If we applied that logic to everyone, we’d dismantle protections for any minority: religious freedoms, disability accommodations, or women’s rights should all be labeled “special” and scrapped for “equality.” That’s oppression, not democracy. And who gets left out? Historically, as has been repeated this week - Māori.
So what’s our position as a Hapu? It remains the same, simple and non-negotiable:
- We stay focused on us. Council tables come and go. Political parties rise and fall. Our mana does not.
- We prioritise our own development still: hapū growth, land, resources, business and future generations.
- We protect, grow and advance our reo and tikanga—no compromises.
- We continue to strengthen relationships within our wider whānau and hapū and strengthen the working with others—that’s where our power lies.
- We dont take the internal Iwi political bait, and not look for ways to hurt each other (kai-tangata and tūkino tangata)
- We continue to trust in ouselves, in our own leadership and capability, to navigate the moana and waka forward.
We control our direction, our voice, and our destiny, and we don’t let the fog of confusion set us back.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. Not an external saviour, no tūpuna stepping out of the kohu with a toki in hand—just us, right now, with what we carry and what we choose to build, and who we choose to listen and follow. Our past teaches, our future calls, however today is where the work happens. And yes—the best is still ahead, not because it’s promised, but because we’re going to make it so.
Ngā manaakitanga ki a tātou katoa.
Christopher N Whaiapu
