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This article is a response to the recent surge of interest over extractive industry in New Zealand and the opposition to this by many iwi. The New Zealand government has in recent years made offshore exploration and production a high priority. By the extractive industry, we mean the people, companies, and activities involved in removing oil and gas, metals, coal, stone and other useful resources from the ground.

Science and evidence form the foundation of decision-making at the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). The EPA has committed to a multi-year mātauranga work programme that focuses on ways of weaving mātauranga, indigenous knowledge, into its decision-making processes. The first step is to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts involved, and their implications for the EPA’s decision-making processes. The aspiration is to weave an understanding of mātauranga into the daily work of the EPA, and to build on Mäori partnerships. The EPA has engaged proactively with Ngā Kaihautū Tikanga Taiao, the EPA’s statutory Māori advisory committee; Te Herenga, the EPA-supported kaitiaki network centred in the regions; and Ngā Parirau o te Mātauranga, the kaumātua group drawn from the Te Herenga network. One of the most critical strands of work of the mātauranga work programme will be to create a mātauranga framework for decision-makers to use to examine the veracity of mātauranga when presented as evidence. This paper explores the EPA’s journey towards being ready to create a mātauranga framework.

Mōteatea are the orally sung literature and one of its most famous composers was Ngāti Tuwharetoa and Ngāti Maniapoto’s Puhiwahine. This paper will explore the political philosophy and theory contained within Puhiwahine’s waiata pakanga (war song) ‘Mā Wai Rā’ written for Ngāti Toa relations particularly their war leader, Te Rangihaeata. The observations from these forms of indigenous oral literature are based in a form of emerging indigenous philosophy called whakaaro based philosophy and method. Additionally, the author introduces a Kaupapa Māori Research method Marae ā-Rorohiko which outlines how social media, in particular Facebook, can be used as a form of group validity or qualitative data gathering. The analysis of the moteatea will focus on building a first person understanding of Māori philosophy and undestandings of mōteatea settler colonialism, colonisation and the centrality of mana and aroha in Māori society. It will reveal the that Puhiwahine had a deep understanding of Māori philosophy and what was to come from her people. It will also provide new understandings around the white possessive doctrine and mana motuhake.

Internationally, declining voter turnout is a topic of considerable concern in many liberal democracies. In this article, we investigate whether these similar trends can be discerned in the voter turnout for Māori governance entities. We first explore some of the demographic contexts within which Māori governance entities operate with a specific focus on population, residence, and age. We then provide a detailed descriptive analysis of voting data from one particular entity: Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa, with whom we worked to understand how their elections inform their aspirations for continuing connectedness with tribal members. In the final section of the article, we present findings from an analysis of publicly available tribal voting data to see whether the trend of declining voter turnout is observable and whether online voting is shown to impact turnout.

This article analyses the protections the New Zealand intellectual property framework provides for the haka and matauranga Maori. Part II of this article defines the key terms of" misappropriation"," traditional knowledge" and" matauranga Maori" in order for the reader to fully understand these concepts in an indigenous, and specifically Maori, context. Part III of this article discusses the importance and signficance of haka in Maori culture, particularly looking at the history and significance of Ka Mate, the most well-known haka in New Zealand and the world. Examples of different companies, both New Zealand and internationally-owned, using the haka for commercial benefit are analysed to establish whether or not their use of the haka is misappropriation, and if so, the harm this misappropriation has caused Maori. Part IV discusses the current legal protections New Zealand provides for matauranga Maori and whether they sufficiently protect the haka and matauranga Maori generally. It will assess the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Act 2014 as a case study. Part V outlines the limitations of the intellectual framework. Part VI of this article looks to what legal protections would be sufficient to protect against the misappropriation of the haka and matauranga Maori generally.

This article explores ways to decolonise aspects of the intellectual property system in Aotearoa New Zealand, primarily in respect of trade marks. It considers the seminal Wai 262 report of the Waitangi Tribunal and builds upon its findings and recommendations, while also offering new ideas of legal reform for protecting matauranga Maori (Maori knowledge and expertise) from undue exploitation. This article also measures those ideas against the objectives and principles of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), as well as other internationally recognised rights. Essentially, this article maintains that for any mechanism to be effective in recognising and upholding the tino rangatiratanga (unqualified self-determination) of Maori over their own matauranga, that mechanism must be founded upon the principles of tikanga Maori (Maori laws and customs), which is a notion crystallised within the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It must also find its own meaningful place in the law of New Zealand that surrounds us today. It is only in this way that the extractive and thereby oppressive binds of the western intellectual property regime can be unpicked and put aside and the tapu (high status and associated sanctity) of matauranga can be upheld. These words are also an honouring of those who spent countless hours on the Wai 262 report. It is hoped this article gives new and much needed life to the issue of protecting matauranga Maori, which is still as relevant today as it was then. Kei aku rangatira, kei aku tapaeru, kei aku whakaruakaka, tenei e ngakau whakaiti nei (an acknowledgement of all those who took part in Wai 262).

Mixed-method bicultural research in Aotearoa New Zealand, including the weaving of Indigenous and other knowledge, is emerging within many academic disciplines. However, mātauranga Māori (the knowledge, culture, values, and world view of the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) and Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) is poorly represented within geomorphological investigations. Here, we review international efforts to include Indigenous knowledge in geologic and geomorphic studies and provide an overview of the current state of mātauranga Māori within research endeavours in Aotearoa New Zealand. We review three theoretical frameworks (i.e. methodologies) for including mātauranga Māori in research projects and three models (i.e. methods) for including Māori values within research. We identify direct benefits to geomorphology and discuss how these frameworks and models can be adapted for use with Indigenous knowledge systems outside of Aotearoa New Zealand. The aim of this review is to encourage geomorphologists around the world to engage with local Indigenous peoples to develop new approaches to geomorphic research. In Aotearoa New Zealand, we hope to inspire geomorphologists to embark on research journeys in genuine partnership with Māori that promote toitū te mātauranga – the enduring protection, promotion and respect of mātauranga Māori.

The removal of a Māori child in May 2019 led to widespread protest and the launch of four inquiries into the Ministry for Children, plus an urgent inquiry through the Waitangi Tribunal. Tamariki Māori are over-represented in the child welfare system, but the issues are not just about the system itself. The legacy of colonisation continues to have an impact, not just on individual whānau, but also on the loss of tikanga in relation to whānau. It is the tikanga of whānau that many protesters seek to protect. Furthermore, advocates for reform disagree on the extent to which partnership and biculturalism should be prioritised, or whether self-determination should be a minimum prerequisite for change. Understanding this difference of opinion is important because it affects our view of the child welfare system itself. This article explores these issues within the current context, where child welfare issues are a matter of considerable public debate.

Food sovereignty, the right of people to define and control their own food and agriculture systems (Patel, 2009), was a significant part of pre-colonial Māori economies as Māori practised mahinga kai where they lived off the land and were guardians of their resources. Today, after a long period during which Māori were stripped of many of their abilities to exercise sovereignty over their food worlds and food lives, Māori are working to rebuild their food sovereignty in a diverse economies framework (Bargh, 2011, 2012; Amoamo Ruwhiu & Carter, 2018; Bargh, Douglas & Te One, 2014; Fitzherbert, 2015). There is currentl‎y a limited amount of research examining Māori food sovereignty in these terms. In response to this research gap, this thesis examines how the relationships between iwi commercial food ventures and iwi food sovereignty are negotiated and developed using Whakatōhea Iwi as a case study. This research aims to map Whakatōhea’s food economy over time, document Whakatōhea’s loss of food sovereignty, investigate the relationship between the Whakatōhea mussel farm and Whakatōhea food sovereignty, and explore food sovereign futures for Whakatōhea. It develops four main arguments: 1. Over time Whakatōhea’s food economy has transitioned from a resource-rich diverse economy to an economy dominated by capitalist markets. 2. Whakatōhea has experienced a loss of food sovereignty since colonisation. 3. The complicated relationship between Whakatōhea’s mussel farm economy and Whakatōhea food sovereignty is continually being negotiated, but promises opportunities to build a new food sovereignty for whānau and hapū. 4. Several diverse economic initiatives can foster food sovereignty back into Whakatōhea’s food economy. This research makes several empirical, methodological, theoretical, and political contributions to foster new knowledge around Māori economies and Māori sovereignty.

The Covid-19 lockdown over March to May 2020 meant households became their own “bubbles”, with residents physically interacting only with those in their household and staying close to home. Māori leaders recognised the potential of the lockdown to exacerbate whānau vulnerability due to confinement, financial hardship and, depending on their household, issues of crowding or isolation. Steps were quickly taken to support households with care packages, health care and social connectivity. This paper describes these initiatives as mahi aroha and argues that housing is a foundation from which Māori go out into the world and add meaning and quality to the lives of others. If the mahi aroha of Māori during a lockdown or other crisis is to be sustained into the future, then access to quality, affordable housing must be ensured for Māori essential workers.