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September 05, 2025
Te Kauwhau a Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po
Waatea Team
Posted On September 5, 2025
Kei ngā upoko ariki o Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Koutou o Tonga-tapu, Tūpouto’a Ulukalala, kōrua, ko Sinaitakala, e whakakanohi mai nei i te Kīngi, me te Kuīni o Tonga, nau mai, haere mai ki tō tātou marae. Haria mai te ariki hou o Whīti i whakanuia tahitia rā e tātou inakuanei, a Tui Lau Ratu Tevita Mara, nau mai tātou. Kei te piki tūranga o Ariki Tamaroa David Kawānanakoa, te uri kāmehameha o Hawai’i ka ngaro nei. Te Ariki Quentin, nau mai koutou, nau mai tātou, nau mai rā ki te aloha o te iwi Māori e ngāngā nei, e ngāngā nei, haere mai rā.
Koutou, aku Kaumāiti Nui i te whakanuitanga o te Mana Motuhake i te Maeva Nui, koutou hoki ko Te Whare Ariki o Pōmare ka whakanui rā i a Matari’i i tēnei tau, haere mai, haere
mai, haere mai rā. Kei ngā ihi, wehi, mana, tapu o Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, tatū atu rā ki te huhua o tātou kua whatua tahitia mai nei ki te kahu o Tangaroa, ūhia mai rā tā tātou huihuinga ki te mauri o te moana, tai timu, tai pari, tai nui mai rā ki Tūrangawaewae. Hinana ki uta, he rongorongo, hinana ki tai, he mihi, Tongariro mana, Taupō-nui-a-Tia aroha, Te Heuheu tapu, kei te Ariki, e Tumu, ko te whare tēnei o Pōtatau e mihi nei ki a koe, nau
mai rā.
Ka hua au i te whatitiri e whakatupuru nei i runga i te rangi,
Kāore, ko te unuhanga a te taniwha i te rua,
Ka ngaue Mōkau,
Ka ngaue Tāmaki,
Ka rū te whenua,
Ka mate te marama,
Ka taka ngā whetū i te rangi,
Ka ara a Waikato i te rua, e…
E te iwi, kua kotahi tau, ā, āe, i tōna tikanga, i te kotahi tau i te hinganga o tētahi e tata ana ki a koe, whakairihia ake ai e koe te pare kawakawa, puta ai hoki koe ki te wheiao, ki te ao mārama…i tōna tikanga.
Ahakoa he whakautu tērā e pīrangi ana ahau ki te pāpāho i tēnei rangi nei, kia kore ai koutou e wari, e māharahara mai rānei ki ahau, kāore ahau i te mōhio āhea rawa rā ahau tae ai ki reira.
I tēnei tau nei, i ōna wā, ko te angaanga tinana noa iho i kite mai ai koutou, ā-roto, kāore he aha, te wairua kua oma kē, kua oma i ōna pono, kua oma i tōna ao hou, kua oma ki te kimi i te poho mahana i mōhio ai ia, ki te poho tonu rā i urupā atu ai ana māharahara tamāhine katoa ki te pō, te poho rā ia o taku pāpā. Ā, i aua omanga rā, ahakoa pēhea nei te pīrangi, te tohe, te inoi rānei kia mutu te heke o roimata, tōna au, he au Waikato, tōna puna, manawa whenua ake nei, manawa whenua ake nei, manawa whenua ake nei. Tētahi taumata o te mamae ko tērā, he taumata mamae hoki tērā kāore i te tika kia rangona e tētahi, ngā māripi katoa a Mate he hoa tata nōku i tēnei tau nei. Kāore ahau i te kimi, i te apo aroha rānei i ēnei kōrero, kāo, kei te pīrangi noa ahau ki te whakaatu, he tangata tonu ahau. Pēnei i a koutou i haria mai ai hoki e au te matenga o taku pāpā ki konei, pēnei i a koutou i kawea mai rā hoki e au aku maharatanga ki a ia, e tangi tahi ai ahau me taku iwi, e mamae tahi ai hoki ahau me taku iwi. Nō reira, tēnei tamāhine ngaro nei, āwhinatia mai rā hoki ia i roto i ana taumahatanga, hāpaitia mai rā hoki ia i roto i ana pōuritanga, e eke ai, e kapi ai, e tutuki ai te wāhi ki ngā Kawe Mate – ā, āe, kua tutuki ērā – ināianei, ko te wāhi ki ngā Kawe Ora.
Kawea nuitia te Ora ki ō koutou kāinga maha, e te iwi, kawea nuitia, kawea roatia, kawea oratia ki raurangi – Āe, Kawe Ora – pai ki ahau tērā. Nō tēnei Koroneihana nei kua ako nei ahau, he mate kei roto i te ora, heoi anō, he ora anō hoki kei roto i te mate, ā, ki te kotahi te tangi, te mahara, te poroporoaki i ō tātou mate, he tukunga kei roto, he makeretanga taumahatanga hoki kei roto, ā, nā koutou tonu rā i taea ai e au tērā. Tēnā koutou, e te tini, i
ngā Kawe Mate, tēnā koutou, e te mano, i ngā Kawe Ora, e ara e te rā, e whiti, e ara e te rā, e whiti. Whiti, whiti, whiti ora, e! Nau mai tātou ki te hirahira o tō tātou wiki, he wiki tonu rā tēnei i tino kitea ai te Kotahitanga, kīhini mai, iwi mai, rūnanga mai, ē, i konei tonu taku kōnui e omaoma ana i te Pukamata ki te mātakitaki i ngā whakaharatau, parakatihi, kapa haka a Mea iwi, a Mea kapa, me te aha, i reira ahau e whakarautaki ana i tētahi huarahi e tū tahi ai ahau me koutou. Te mutunga iho, kotahi tonu te wāhi i haere ai aku whakaaro, anei tā taku pāpā i wawata ai, i tūmanako ai, kia kotahi ai te iwi Māori, tutuki kau ana tērā i a koutou, e te iwi, tutuki kau ana, tutuki kau ana. Kia huri noa ake ki te take tuatahi o aku kōrero, tēnei mea, Te Kotahitanga. Āe, koirā te kupu māhanga ki te ingoa o taku pāpā, Kiingi Tuuheitia, Kiingi o Te Kotahitanga, kaaaaapi katoa ana i a koutou, i te iwi Māori, tana ōhākī ki runga ki a tātou, me taku whakapono anō me ia i konei, kua menemene ia i te rangatira o tā te iwi whakakotahi i a ia, ahakoa ngā pūkerikeri o te wā.
Mai o Waitangi, kotahi ana te parea o Tuarā, wi wake ki Rātana, kotahi ana i raro i a Ihowā o-ngā-mano, tapuwae haruru ana ki Pōneke mō te hīkoi, he pīki hīkoi hoki tērā, e te iwi. Arā hoki tātou, e kotahi ana te tangi ki te kāmura o Whānau Ora, ki a Tariana, tatū atu rā hoki ki te kātua o Te Kōhanga Reo, ki te kuia, ki a Iritana, kotahi ana, kotahi ana, kotahi ana te waihoe ki Kotahitanga, ki Mana Motuhake, ki Tino Rangatiratanga. Me mihi tērā, ka tika. Tātou te iwi Māori, he iwi kaupapa tātou. Ka mahuta ana he kaupapa, nekeneke ana te iwi ki te mahi tahi, a konei kua pēnei, a konā hoki kua pērā, ka mutu, ka whakapehapehatia tō hoatu ki te kaupapa me he pine hōia i te poho. Na, ki te nui ake te kaupapa, piri mai ana he māpu tāngata anō ki te āwhina, ā, ki te nui rawa atu te kaupapa, ka mutu, ki te ranua he takahitanga Mana Motuhake ki te kōhua, ooooo kia tūpato, e te ao, ara ana ngā iwi katoa o te motu ki te mahi tahi. Koinei tētahi ātaahuatanga kua kite nei au i roto i taku mātakitaki i te iwi Māori, ko tana mōhio ki te whakakotahi i a ia.
‘Heoi’, āe, he ‘heoi’ tonu tō ēnei kōrero, ko te mate kē o tēnei momo whakakotahi, ko tēnei – te āhua nei, ki te kore tātou e ara, e hāmama, e hāpai rākau, whakarere haki, haka rānei, kua pōhēhē tātou, he koretake tātou, ānō me whai hoariri tātou e Māori ai tātou. Kāo! Ehara taku Māoritanga i te mea ka ara noa mehemea he hoariri tōku, he kaupapa tohe rānei tāku, kāo. Taku Māoritanga kei roto i taku kōrero Māori, taku Māoritanga kei roto i taku tiaki i te taiao, taku Māoritanga kei roto i te pānui me te ako i taku hītori, taku Māoritanga hoki, ahakoa iti, kei roto i taku kōwhiri kē i taku ingoa Māori tēnā i taku ingoa Pākehā, he nui ngā momo whakatinanatanga o te Māoritanga, kaua kau noa i ngā wā o te porotū. Ko ngā porotū, ka haramai, ka haere, te Māoritanga, ka mau tonu, ka mau tonu, ka mau tonu, heoi me rite tonu te whāngai i te mauri o tērā Māoritanga rā e mana ai a Mana Motuhake, e tino ai hoki a Tino Rangatiratanga.
Koinei pū taku pāpā i kī ai, ‘Kia Māori, i ia rā, i ia rā’, he mōhio nōna, me whāngai e tātou te mauri o te Māoritanga, āwhā mai, āio mai, porotū mai, porotū kore mai rānei, kei reira te tino whakamōhio ki te ao, e ora ana ahau, e ora ana te Māoritanga.
Take kōrero tuarua, ko te ao ōhanga. Āe, kei te tino mōhio ahau, ka whakaarotia kaporeihanatia te ōhanga e tātou ānō ehara te ōhanga i te kaupapa Māori. Māori, Māori, Māori ake nei te ao ōhanga. I te wā i a Te Wherowhero ko te awa o Waikato, te haewei o taku iwi, i reira ōna waka, me ōna poti, e piki ana, e heke ana i te awa, ka mutu, e hia nei kaipuke i tēnā iwi, i tēnā iwi e mahi nei i tā te rourou i mahi ai, na, whānau mai ana i reira ko te ao tauhokohoko e mōhiotia nei ināianei.
Ko te take e whakapuakina ana tēnei kōrero e au i taku kauwhau tuatahi, nā te mea, kua hōhā ahau i te kōrero mō te whawhai, me te ‘āke, āke’ i roto i tērā wairua tohe.
Āhea nei tātou angitu ai mō ‘āke, āke’?
Āhea rānei tātou hauora ai mō ‘āke, āke’?
Āhea rawa rānei tātou puta ai i ngā uauatanga o te ao mō ‘āke, āke’?
Kua 2025 ināianei, me mutu te noho papa, taotū, tūroro rānei i ngā kariri a ētahi kē; me kimi huarahi hou, me kimi ahunga hou, me kimi rongoā hou tātou ki ēnei mate whakaheke. Nō reira – hā ki roto, hā ki waho – he whakautu pea kei ahau. E te iwi, e rua ngā kaupapa ka whakarewahia e au i tō tātou Koroneihana tuatahi. Tuatahi, hei ēnei marama tata nei, whakatūria ai e au, he Hui Ōhanga, he Economic Summit, tōna ingoa ko, ‘Ōhanga Ki Te Ao’. I roto i ngā pakanga o mua, ko tērā i a ia ngā rauemi o te wā, me te manawa nguha, i te nuinga o te wā, ko ia te toa o aua pakanga rā. Ko te manawa nguha kei a tātou, kāore aku tohe ki tērā, heoi te rauemi o te wā, kei te Ao Ōhanga pea te taiaha matakoikoi hou māna e wikitōria ai tātou, ‘āke, āke, āke’. Nō reira, kia rere noa te reo pōhiri i konei. Nau mai, haere mai, e te iwi Māori, haere mai ki Ōhanga ki te Ao, e tūtaki ai koutou ki ōku
nei hoa kei ngā tōpito o te ao. Kei te pīrangi rātou, kei te pīrangi te ao ki te mahi tahi me te Māori, ko te kotinga tēnei i te whakawhirinaki o tātou ki te Kāwanatanga, ko tētahi huarahi pea tēnei ki te Mana Motuhake kua roa e tūmanakotia nei. Iwi Ora, āke, āke, āke, tēnei haramai nei.
Te kaupapa tuarua ka whakarewahia, āe, he moemoeā anō nō taku pāpā, ko Tahua Kotahitanga.
Ko Tahua Kotahitanga, he kete pūtea, e toro mai ai ngā ringaringa o tēnā, o tēnā, ki te kimi āwhina mai mō rātou. Ehara i te mea, he hōhonu te tahua pūtea nei, kāo, engari, e whakarewahia ana a Tahua Kotahitanga, nā te mea kua tini, kua mano ngā kaupapa Māori kua whakaurupātia e tēnei Kāwanatanga. E ai ki te kōrero, ‘kaua tētahi anō eka’, āe, kaua hoki tētahi atu anō Kaupapa Māori e tangihangatia, e hura kōhatutia, kua kī te urupā o tēnei
Kāwanatanga i ngā Kaupapa Māori. He hahu kei te haere!
Ko ēnei kaupapa, a Ōhanga Ki Te Ao, me Tahua Kotahitanga, he moemoeā nō taku pāpā, me te tiketike hoki o aua moemoeā rā, heoi, pēnei i taku pāpā, ka tuarā pahore, ka taniwha nihorau hoki taku kōkiri i ēnei kaupapa kia rangatira ai, kāo, kia ariki ai i ahau ana ōhākī. Ehara te Mana Motuhake i te kupu noa iho ki ahau, he oranga tēnei nōku. Ko taku pāpā te ika o tāna anō kaupapa, ā, e kore e moumou i ahau tana hā ki runga ki te whenua.
Kia aroha mai rā, e te iwi, i te rooooaaa o ēnei kōrero, heoi anō, kua roa hoki te tau, kua nihoroa te tau, he nui ngā kaupapa i mate rā ahau ki te whakautu. Kua kōrerotia ponotia te mamae o te tamāhine i te ngaronga o tana pāpā. Kua kōrerotia te Mana Motuhake, me te Tino Rangatiratanga, nō roto kē mai ērā, ehara i te mea nō waho. Kaua tātou e tuku mā ngā porotū kau noa e Māori ai tātou – Tino Rangatiratangatia tō reo, Mana Motuhaketia te taiao, Tino Rangatiratangatia tō hauora, Mana Motuhaketia tō pā harakeke, kei aua kaupapa rā te tino oranga mai o te Māoritanga. Kua kōrerotia hoki a Ōhanga ki te Ao, me Tahua Kotahitanga. Haere mai, haere mai, haere
mai.
E te iwi, i te tai e timu nei, hoki kāinga atu me taku aroha nui, hoki māmā atu, hoki hākoakoa atu, kaua te whāwhai, kaua te horohoro, kaua te taumaha, waiho iho mai ērā ki ahau, ki a au mau ai, hoki Māori atu ki ō koutou kāinga, haere ariki atu ki te ao. Pai mārire.
To the noble leadership of the Pacific nations: Crown Prince Tupouto’a Ulukalala, and Crown Princess Sinaitakala, representing the King and Queen of Tonga; welcome to our marae, in the company of the new chief of Fiji with whom we celebrated recently, Tui Lau Ratu Tevita Mara, welcome. To the heir of Prince David Kawānanakoa, descendant of the royal family of Hawai’i who recently passed, welcome. Te Ariki Quentin, salutations and welcome to you all. We welcome you into the caring embrace of the Māori people as we share in your loss. To the kaumāiti nui – the noble chiefs with whom we celebrated independence and cultural pride at the Maeva Nui festival; and also to representatives of the Royal House of Pōmare with whom we commemorated Matari’i this year, we bid you welcome.
To the esteemed traditional leaders of the Pacific and indeed to all of us, woven together to form the connective cloak of Tangaroa, instil into our gathering the awe and inherent power of the ocean; we welcome the multitudes who have streamed into Tūrangawaewae like the incoming and outgoing tides.
Hinana ki uta, hinana ki tai – through this tribal maxim, I acknowledge the majesty of Tongariro mountain, the compassion of lake Taupō-nui-a-Tia, the sacred lineage of Te Heuheu. Noble sir, Tumu, the house of Pōtatau acknowledges you with these words of welcome.
I wonder if thunder is resounding in the skies No, it is the emergence of the taniwha from its lair, Mōkau (the southern reaches) trembles, Tāmaki (the northern reaches) trembles, The land shakes, The moon wanes,
The stars fall from the sky, and Waikato emerges from its den … On the one-year anniversary of the death of a loved one, the expectation is to remove the veil of mourning and move into the world of the living…Such is the expectation. Though I would like to fulfill that expectation and alleviate any worry you have for me, I don’t actually know when I might arrive at that place.
This past year, at times, you have seen a physical figure amongst you, bereft emotionally and spiritually – escaping the realities of a new life, fleeing in search of the warm chest of comfort that once allayed a daughter’s worries, my father’s chest. And in those moments of escape, no matter how much I tried or wished for the tears to stop falling, they flowed like the Waikato river, springing forth from a deep sense of loss.
Such a high level of heartache that noone should have to feel. The intense grief that death has brought in this past year has been relentless. I don’t share this in search of pity, rather, it’s a reminder that I am human, just like everyone else. I have mourned my father’s passing here, as you have, and I remember him so that I may mourn him and share the pain and loss with my people. So, as a grieving daughter, I ask you to support me in my sorrow, to bring a sense of closure to the process of grieving our loved ones. And with this process having come to an end, I now look towards focusing on life. Let’s bring vitality into our homes and into our futures – Yes, a process of focusing on life – I like that. At this Coronation anniversary I have learnt that death is part of life, and life is also part of death, and if we mourn, remember and farewell our loved ones together, this brings healing, allowing us to lighten the burden of sorrow.
You have allowed me to do just that. Thank you, everyone, for remembering our loved ones and for bringing life to this process. Let the sunshine of a new day bring light and vitality! It’s been a momentous week, where I have seen great examples of kotahitanga (solidarity) – whether it’s in the kitchen, among iwi groups, or organisations, and as I watched various groups on social media preparing for their performances, I found myself strategising a way to be able to perform alongside you. I keep coming back to the realisation that this is exactly what my father dreamed of – our people with a shared purpose – and you have fulfilled that dream.
I’d like to focus now on the first topic of my speech – Kotahitanga. It’s a term that has become synonymous with my father, Kīngi Tuheitia. You have certainly realised the legacy he left us and I believe that if he were here, he’d be smiling because of the how the people have mobilised in these challenging times. Kotahitanga was evident at Waitangi, Rātana and in our long march to Wellington and the tangi of Nana Tariana – who created Whānau Ora and Nana Iri – the matriarch of Kōhanga Reo. We were there together, walking in solidarity towards Kotahitanga, Mana Motuhake and Tino Rangatiratanga. I want to acknowledge that. As Māori, we devote ourselves to causes. We mobilise. We work together with purpose, and pride ourselves on devotion to the cause. If the cause gathers momentum, more people join, and if the protection of Mana Motuhake is at stake, the world will witness the solidarity of our people. One of the beautiful things I’ve witnessed is the ability of te iwi Māori to unite.
But there is a ‘however’ in this story. If we don’t rise up, yell, wield weapons, fly flags or perform haka, we mistakenly think we’re ineffective as Māori. Being Māori is not defined by having an enemy or a challenge to overcome. Being Māori is speaking our language. It is taking care of the environment. It is reading and learning about our history. It is the choice to be called by our Māori name. There are many ways to manifest being Māori, not just in
times of protest. Being Māori is forever, but we must continually nurture that expression of being Māori to control our own destiny. My father said ‘Be Māori all day, every day’, because he knew we needed to be strong in
good times and bad, with or without protest. And that’s how we can express our vitality as Māori. I want to also talk about economic issues. We often think economics is not a Māori concept. The opposite is true.
In Te Wherowhero’s time, the Waikato river was the highway of our people, where countless vessels from each tribe carried resources, and from there the practice of trading, as we know it, originated. The reason I mention this in my inaugural speech is because I’m tired of talking about fighting and the ‘forever’ nature of that struggle. When will we be successful ‘forever’? When will we be healthy ‘forever’? And when will we be liberated from the struggles of the world ‘forever’?
It’s now 2025, we need to stop allowing external forces to hinder us. We need to walk a new path. We need a new direction. We need new solutions for the problems we’ve inherited. I offer two solutions, based on the vision of my father.
First is an economic intiative. Later this year, I will host ‘Ōhanga Ki Te Ao’ – a summit to develop economic opportunities for te Iwi Māori. Past battles were generally won by those who not only had resilience but also appropriate resources. We undoubtedly have the resilience, but when it comes to appropriate resources, an economic focus could be the very thing that will see us thrive into the future. I invite you to join us for this economic summit, Ōhanga Ki Te Ao, where you’ll meet some global alliances who are eager to work with Māori. Ōhanga Ki Te Ao is a chance to achieve our economic aspirations independently of government in our pursuit of self-determination, sustainable futures and thriving peoples.
Second is a capital initiative. This will be the formation of a Kotahitanga Fund with seed funding from iwi Māori entities. The fund will help Māori to unlock investment opportunities, given the disestablishment of many Māori initiatives by the current government. Echoing the catch-cry ‘not one more acre’, there is decreasing tolerance of the continuing disestablishment of Māori initiatives.
These initiatives are not the only pathways to economic independence. But they are a start. I have seen the struggles and the pain of our people. And I know we have the solutions. I know there is risk in such ventures, but like my father, I will work tirelessly to continue his legacy.
Independence is not just a word to me, it’s my life. My father didn’t get to witness the realisation of his vision, and I will work to ensure that the progress he strived for doesn’t lose momentum.
I’m sorry my speech has been so long; it’s been a year of reflection, and there is much to discuss. As the tide recedes, return to your homes with my best wishes. Return with a lightness and joy in your heart. Don’t be in a rush. Don’t be burdened. Leave those things behind for me to tend to. Return safely to your homes to “be Māori all day, every day”, and live life in the driver’s seat.
Pai mārire.
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