Kia āta whakateretere i te waka, kei pariparia e te tai mōnehunehu te kura nei.
Steer the canoe carefully, lest this chief is drenched by the spray.
The relationship between Ngāi Tahu and the moana is deep and has many faces, and this issue of TE KARAKA focusses on a few of those. It is exciting to see Ngāi Tahu sailors join other Pacific Voyagers in reinvigorating our traditions as navigators and travellers, and re-cementing our bonds with our Pacific whanaunga. No less exciting is the promise held by the Kaumoana Kāi Tahu programme, connecting a whole new generation of sailors with those traditions, and giving them the skills and confidence that will take us all forward into the future. Meanwhile, young superbike rider Anthony Knowles, charts his own course at an entirely less sedate pace.
Whale Watch Kaikōura continues to fly its flag over waters a little closer to home, cherishing and celebrating some of Tangaroa’s most magnificent children and providing its unique form of manaaki to thousands of visitors a year. It is timely to reflect on the achievements of this great Ngāi Tahu enterprise and to look forward to future developments.
Against this backdrop of celebration of our maritime heritage, it is ironic that yet again we are forced to consider how best to deal with new legislation to replace the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004. The Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill appears to have as little capacity to recognise and uphold our rights and relationship with our takutai moana as its predecessor did. Despite our collective submission-writing fatigue, we will again have to make our objections heard. It turns its back on two decades of hard-won experience developing the truly innovative, principled, inclusive and empowering solutions that are the hallmark of this country’s approach to reconciling the rights of our indigenous and wider communities. As measured by practical and meaningful outcomes, this Bill in its current form represents a significant lost opportunity for us all.
On a brighter note, Murihiku has welcomed the Te Hokinga Mai exhibition to the Southland Museum and a profile of Mary Jane Thomas QC, also of Southland, reminds us just how formidable Ngāi Tahu women can be. As if we needed reminding of that!
