Waipapa Marae to host Te Whakakitenga Review of Waikato Tainui

Teenei te reo karanga ki a koutou kia whakarauika mai ki eenei hui moo Kaapuia. Noo reira, rau rangatira maa, nau mai, haere mai.

Our tupuna awa brings life and wellbeing. Its waters nurture the whenua and sustains us both physically and spiritually. Where it moves to, we know there will be growth and development.

Our form, shape and the pathways we take are there to service our marae, whaanau and hapuu. The landscape for whaanau is changing, the challenges they face are increasing, and we need to consider if our structure best allows us to respond to these challenges.

In May 2022, marae representatives overwhelmingly supported the decision by Te Whakakitenga o Waikato to review our progress as a tribal entity. 

Since then, Te Whakakitenga o Waikato has been on a journey to undertake a review of Waikato Tainui to ensure our organisation continues to serve the needs of marae, whaanau and hapuu.

Kaapuia is the name of this review of our organisational structure.  It seeks to bring about transformative change to better service our marae, our whaanau and our hapuu.

The name Kaapuia stems from a tongikura of Kiingi Taawhiao and reminds us of the importance and strength of being unified.

“Ki te kotahi te kaakaho ka whati, ki te kaapuia e kore e whati.”

There are three pou guiding the review approach:

Be people-focused: Nurturing our people by ensuring that our organisation is focused and geared to create meaningful change for our marae, whaanau and hapuu now and in the future.

Be future-focused: Ensuring our organisational structure can pivot, turn and divert when necessary. A durable structure means that the iwi can be more responsive to the changing and dynamic needs of marae, whaanau and hapuu.

Be legacy-building: Grounded in our history, support our ability to collectivise and organise ourselves well for the betterment of the iwi, in a way that will be perpetuated for generations to come.

Upcoming Kaapuia engagement hui

We know it's important that the voices of our marae, whaanau, hapuu and kaimahi inform the future of our tribal entity. Te Whakakitenga o Waikato resolved on  7 October 2023, to engage with marae, whaanau, hapuu and kaimahi on the Kaapuia review.

The next stage of the Kaapuia review will be engagement - there will be four  hui-a-rohe, two online hui and one hui-a-iwi.  

Further details for these engagement hui are as follows:

Hui-aa-rohe   
Date: Sunday November 12th
Location: Mangatoatoa Marae, Tokanui
Time: 10am - 1pm

Online Hui
Date: Tuesday November 21st
Location: Zoom
Time: 6 - 8pm

Hui-aa-rohe
Date: Sunday November 26th
Location: Waipapa Marae, Kaawhia
Time: 10am - 1pm

Online Hui
Date: Wednesday November 29th
Location: Zoom
Time: 6 - 8pm

Hui-aa-rohe
Date: Sunday December 3rd
Location: Rukumoana Marae, Morrinsville
Time: 10am - 1pm

Hui-aa-rohe
Date: Saturday December 9th
Location: Te Manukanuka o Hoturoa Marae, Auckland Airport
Time: 10am - 1pm

Hui-aa-iwi
Date: Sunday December 10th
Location: Tuurangawaewae Marae, Ngaaruawahia
Time: 10am - 1pm

To RSVP please register your attendance via the registration form here.

More information:

For up to date paanui please visit the Kaapuia website.

If you can’t make any of the planned hui, please let us know your thoughts and feedback on the Kaapuia review by going to the contact page on our website. Here you can share your whakaaro on the future of our tribal entity.

The Kaapuia website has been developed as a platform for marae, whaanau, hapuu and kaimahi to explore and engage with the Kaapuia review. It will be updated regularly as the review continues. We encourage you to visit the website where the most current and accurate information about the review can be found.