Amid ongoing efforts by the coalition government to redefine Aotearoa’s founding document, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori around the motu continue to collectivise and strategize ways forward. The recent ‘Designing our Constitution’ conference at Waipapa Taumata Rau was one such initiative. Held in memory of the late Dr Moana Jackson, the conference focused on the practical steps needed to design an inclusive constitution for all of Aotearoa. NPM was proud to sponsor a post-conference public lecture at Waipapa Marae by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Francisco Calí Tzay.
April also saw the announcement of the membership of two panels that will undertake major reviews of Aotearoa’s universities and science system. The announcement came on the heels of the government’s decision to halt the planned Performance Based Research Fund 2026 round and, before that, the cancellation of the ‘Future Pathways: Te Ara Paerangi’ reform. Given the significant time and energy that Māori researchers and institutions put into responding to the Future Pathways green paper and white paper consultation, our hope is that the new panels will take the time to familiarise themselves with the comprehensive recommendations from Te Ao Māori, and take them forward.
A synthesis of those submissions and the full submission from Te Pūtahitanga collective of Māori scientists and researchers can be found here and here.
Ngā Pou Matarua | Co-Directors
- Professor Tahu Kukutai
- Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora