September 2020 Māori Law Review
Editorial – Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa – Mā te Ture, Mō te Iwi
This editorial is provided by Jamie-Lee Tuuta (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri) and Dr Carwyn Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu), the new Tumuaki Wahine and Tumuaki Tane of Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa.
Editorial – Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa – the Māori Law Society
Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa – the Māori Law Society was founded in 1988 and held its first hui that year at Tunohopu Marae in Rotorua. It was established to promote fellowship and mutual support amongst Māori lawyers, to identify and respond to the legal needs of Te Ao Māori, to monitor legislation and law reform for Te Ao Māori, and promote professional development and education of Māori lawyers in terms of tikanga Māori and Te Ture Pākehā, amongst other key purposes.
Although Te Hunga Rōia has grown significantly since its founding, these purposes still underpin all that we do as a society and are reflected in our vision: Mā te Ture, Mō te Iwi – By the Law, For the People.
Te Hunga Rōia continues to have an active role in responding to the legal needs to Te Ao Māori and promoting law reform for Te Ao Māori, submitting on a wide range of legislative and policy proposals, and recently intervening in two significant proceedings (Zhang v R [2019] NZCA 507, which introduced a new guideline for judges sentencing people convicted of offences related to the importation, manufacture and supply of methamphetamine; and Ellis v R [2020] NZSC 89, specifically in relation to the relevance of tikanga to the issue of continuation of the appeal).
Over the last couple of years, under the leadership of former co-presidents, Marcia Murray and Glenn Tootill, Te Hunga Rōia formalised relationships with the New Zealand Law Society and the New Zealand Law Commission. While retaining our independent voice, we hope to continue to deepen those relationships to help achieve the purposes of Te Hunga Rōia.
Within the past year, we have also seen the release of significant reports such as Ināia Tonu Nei and Turuki!, Turuki!, which have highlighted the ongoing issues with the current justice system in New Zealand. We look forward to Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa playing a lead role in contributing to the reform taking place in this space.
We expect that Te Hunga Rōia will, more broadly, play a key role in encouraging the legal profession to engage more effectively with Te Ao Māori. This will be supported by advocacy, legal research, and developments in legal education, which our members are driving across the full spectrum of legal practice. Our academic members recently published a discussion paper, Inspiring National Indigenous Legal Education for Aotearoa New Zealand’s Bachelor of Laws Degree, which is intended to provide a foundation for progressing this conversation.
And, of course, we are only too aware of the various and significant impacts that COVID-19 has had and continues to have on our whānau and communities, including members of Te Hunga Rōia. Te Hunga Rōia will endeavour to support the membership and the communities we serve through these difficult times. This will include collegial support amongst our members and advocacy to ensure that the rights of individuals, whānau, hapū, and iwi are recognised and protected amidst significant legislative and policy responses to the global pandemic.
There are, as ever, challenges for us to address within the law. Nevertheless, this is an exciting time for Te Hunga Rōia and, because of the foundations laid by those who have come before us, we can meet those challenges with confidence and with clarity of purpose: Mā te Ture, Mō te Iwi.
