Tui Tuia (Māori Cultural Advisory Committee) - New Zealand Disability Support Network

Purpose

The purpose of the Māori Cultural Board Advisory Sub-Committee is to:

Provide advice to the NZDSN Board on te reo and tikanga Māori
Support NZDSN with tikanga Māori practices and te reo Māori translations
Provide comment and recommendations on matters of NZDSN policy and practice to improve cultural responsiveness to Māori
Support and strengthen engagement between NZDSN members and mana whenua in their respective regions
Build the knowledge of the needs of Māori staff and clients within the NZDSN membership and how these needs can best be met

The group is an advisory committee that can make recommendations to NZDSN, but does not have decision making authority.

Responsibilities

Members are required to:

Attend bi-monthly advisory committee meetings regularly via VCR and/or telephone (NB the VCR will be provided, without fee, by Te Roopu Taurima in Whangarei, Auckland, Waikato and Rangiora)
Work on project teams and/or working groups between meetings
Feed information from the advisory committee to their networks and bring Māori issues and ideas to the Advisory committee
Assist NZDSN to canvas Māori views from the NZDSN membership
Members will be expected to be prepared and on time for meetings
Cover their own costs for participating in the advisory committee

Membership

The Advisory Committee will comprise of a maximum of six members from within NZDSN, including a board appointed convener who shall also be a current board member or will be appointed as co-opted.

Members need to:

be conversant with the tikanga of their Iwi
have a working knowledge of te reo Māori
have the ability to work with other people and work in a team
demonstrate leadership
be proactive
be committed to attending meetings regularly
be nominated by the CEO of their disability support organisation.

It is expected that the membership will provide broad representation, with consideration given to:

gender
age
lived experience of an impairment
geographical location
type of disability sector knowledge and experience

Registrations of Interest

NZDSN and the Chair of the Māori Cultural Advisory Committee invites you to register interest by nominating one of your staff for a position on the committee. The purpose of the Committee is to:

Provide advice to the NZDSN Board on te reo and tikanga Māori
Support NZDSN with tikanga Māori practices and te reo Māori translations
Provide comment and recommendations on matters of NZDSN policy and practice to improve cultural responsiveness to Māori
Support and strengthen engagement between NZDSN members and mana whenua in their respective regions
Build the knowledge of the cultural needs of Māori staff and clients within the NZDSN membership and provide support to NZDSN members to meet identified needs.

Members will need to:

be conversant with the tikanga of their Iwi
have a working knowledge of te reo Māori
work well in a team
demonstrate leadership
be proactive and committed
be nominated by the CEO, or Board Chairperson, of their disability support organisation.
bring a commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the constitution of NZDSN.

If you are interested in being nominated for or nominating a person to be part of this sub-committee, please contact admin@NZDSN.org.nz.

If you have any questions you can direct these to the Chair of the Advisory Committee, Tania Thomas, by email, Tania.thomas@terooputaurima.org.nz or by phoning Tania Thomas on 0272912084 or 09 2766282

Reference Links

To find further te reo and tikanga resources, to go to Te Roopu Taurima’s site.

Ngā Waiata me Ngā Hīmene Pukapuka, A Resource Book Containing Māori Songs and Hymns (PDF document)Download

Maori Resources
Maori Resources

Positions

The NZDSN Board will appoint a Chair and Deputy Chair.

The role of the Chair is to:

work with the Advisory committee to compile the agenda
run the meeting according to the set agenda
take notes at all meetings, type notes and distribute meeting notes within one week of the advisory committee meetings
let all members know of up and coming events and meetings
facilitate the development and implementation of the advisory committee’s annual workplan
Liaise with the NZDSN Kaumatua for his/her input as required

In the absence of the Chair, the Deputy Chair will run the meeting.

Removal

If an advisory committee member misses more than three meetings in a row without providing an apology, their membership on the advisory committee will cease.

Term of Appointment

Any person appointed to the Advisory Committee shall be appointed for two years.

If an advisory committee member resigns during the year, the advisory committee is able to co-opt new members for the remainder of the year.

Meet Our Team

Tania Thomas
Committee Chairperson

Tania hails from the Far North; her iwi is Ngati Kahu on her father’s side and Irish on her mother’s side. Tania has three adult daughters and three grandchildren.

Tania’s current role is as Manawhakahaere/CEO of Te Roopu Taurima, kaupapa Maori disability support organisation. Her past roles have included:

National Manager Field Services at the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind.
General Manager of Presbyterian Support Northern

Tania has also held senior positions in two crown entities:

Director of the Centre for Family and Whanau Knowledge at the Families Commission
Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner – disability in the Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner, where she held the portfolios for disability, allied health, Maori, mental health service users and prisoners;

Tania is currently the co-opted Chair of NZDSN’s Maori Cultural Advisory Committee. The committee’s role is to advise the NZDSN Board on matters that enhance and support cultural responsiveness to Maori. The committee is a resource to members of NZDSN.

Tania is a Board member for the National Advocacy Trust whose staff hold statutory roles under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act. Tania also holds a director role in Rotary for the Otahuhu, South Auckland Club. She is her marae representative on Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngati Kahu, she is the runanga secretary and is also a director on her iwi’s corporate body.

Tania has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Auckland.

Committee Members

Graham Warren
NZDSN Kaumatua

Graham Warren was appointed NZDSN’s official kaumatua in February 2019. Graham has been involved in an informal capacity with NZDSN for some years now providing advice and cultural leadership to our business in a wide variety of capacities from Board meetings through to our annual conferences.

Graham has had a long history with ACC, starting in 1976 in a front line role at the Wellington Regional Office and moving across the Cultural Services Team, and Claims & Management Operations Groups. Graham has worked on the concept of Tika and Whaia Te Tika programmes. He finished his role with ACC as the National Manager, Cultural Services.Graham brings a wealth of experience to NZDSN and is a learned counsel on all matters cultural.