November 04, 2022
Terrorism hui too alien
Indigenous rights advocate Tina Ngata says the next anti-terrorism hui should be hosted by tangata whenua – not the Crown.
Ms Ngata was a speaker at the second He Whenua Taurikura Hui last week, which was promoted by the 2019 Christchurch mosque attack.
She says the Auckland gathering felt alien to her, and lacked the kind of empathy and compassion a hui hosted by Maori would bring.
“That hui should actually be run by tangata whenua. It should not be run by the crown. It should be resourced by the crown but it needs to be run by tangata whenua so it is more accessible and we can guarantee it will be more tiriti-centered and we will have those things we just know how to do so well, the manaakitanga that is there,” Ms Ngata says.
She says Maori, Pasifika, and other ethnicities have all suffered from forms of racism – and hosting the next hui could spark closer relationships and more culturally appropriate solutions for the Christchurch survivors and whanau.