March 11, 2024
Kotahitanga hui called by Ngati Kahungunu
Ngāti Kahungunu has called a hui taumata for the end of May to identify solutions for Māori unity.
Chair Bayden Barber says the call from hui at Tūrangawaewae, Rātana and Waitangi was for kotahinga.
He says iwi Māori must come together as an irresistible force that cannot be ignored, no matter who is sitting in government.
Kahungunu has a long history with attempts to unify Māori, going back to the Kotahitanga Movement started with a hui held at Waipatu Marae in Heretaunga in 1892.
The hui taumata will be held on May 31 at Omāhu Marae, the largest marae in Heretaunga and one of the seven marae devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle just over a year ago.
Mr Barber says Omāhu is a tohu of Māori mana motuhake, of true community resilience in the face of extreme hardship.