Nine enter Te Tohu Waka Hourua – the Award for Council/Māori Partnerships

Published:
Mon 14 Apr 2025

Nine entries have been received in this year’s Te Tohu Waka Hourua (Two Canoes) Award for working in partnership with Māori.

Sponsored for a fifth year by Buddle Findlay, Te Tohu Waka Hourua recognises initiatives that demonstrate outstanding results from working in partnership with Māori. Entries may come from any area of local government activity but must be able to demonstrate an understanding and application of te ao Māori, tikanga Māori and the principles of te Tiriti.

“While not quite a record number of entries for this category this year, the number of entries is higher than it has been since the inaugural year (2020)”, Chief Advisor Raymond Horan says.

“We have the usual wide breath of activity covered in this year’s entries including a flagship infrastructure project opening up a major development; a civic precinct; a co-designed website; a wayfinding journey across Southland that celebrates Matariki; and the co-location of council and iwi.

Raymond noted more councils are thinking more broadly about how they give effect to te Tiriti and te ao Māori, with three of the entries being strategies or frameworks for embedding te Tiriti or te ao Māori across the council as a whole.

The winner of Te Tohu Waka Hourua, the other six category winners and LGFA Taituarā Supreme Award will be announced at the Taituarā Awards Dinner at Tākina in Wellington on 12 June.

This Award and the Dinner would not be possible without the sponsorship of Buddle Findlay. Taituarā thanks them (and our other sponsors) for their ongoing support.

More news

View all news
ICMA 2025: Bringing back global perspectives to Aotearoa 
Wed 12 Nov 2025

ICMA 2025: Bringing back global perspectives to Aotearoa 

We hear from four Taituarā representatives on their biggest takeaways from the supersized local government conference in Florida.

Taituarā member profile: Sophia Sykes
Thu 25 Jun 2026

Taituarā member profile: Sophia Sykes

What began as a practical career move has become something more meaningful for Sophia – “I get to contribute to community good and do meaningful work with absolute legends.”

Taituarā submission on the Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill 
Mon 5 Jan 2026

Taituarā submission on the Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill 

The submission from Taituarā supports the general direction of the Bill while highlighting key impacts for councils, communities, and the future of transport funding.