KOE KOE Ā
Whose land is it anyway? MANA MOTUHAKE AND A MĀORI RESPONSE TO COVID-19 K ER ENSA JOHN STON
‘W
hat are those Māoris up to now?’, my
of Aotearoa where hapū and iwi hold the balance
mum’s neighbour asked her the other day
of power, the leaders in those communities will
(from over the fence of course), fresh from listening
exercise their own authority to make decisions in
to the midday news.
the best interests of their community. And why not?
The problem? Hōne Harawira has closed the
They are simply applying their tikanga, to make
North! And in Te Whānau ā Apanui, the hapū has
decisions in the best interests of the collective,
taken control of the main roads in and out of the
according to the authority that the hapū has always
area to prevent tourists and those who don’t live
held, within the limits of its customary jurisdiction.
there from coming into the rohe in an effort to stop
This authority or mana has existed since time
the spread of Covid-19 in their community.
immemorial. It was affirmed (not created) by the
During a radio interview with Hōne Harawira about this, a few days into Alert Level 4, the
and rangatira in the north and East Coast of the
question was put to him squarely: ‘Who gave
North Island, and in other places throughout
you the authority to close the road?’ The wholly
Aotearoa.
positive reply was a masterclass in diplomacy – this
The recognition of the mana or rangatiratanga
was about saving lives and protecting vulnerable
of hapū over their lands in the Treaty is inherent
communities with poor access to healthcare, who
to the concept of the ‘essential bargain’ between
have been overlooked for too long. If the virus took
Māori and the Crown, recognised by the Waitangi
hold in these communities, the results would be
Tribunal. This is the Crown’s recognition and
devastating.
active protection of Māori authority in exchange
But the word hung in the air. Authority.
for Māori approval of the Crown’s right to govern
Who does have the authority to make decisions,
here, according to the conditions set out in the
especially in times of emergency? Our elected
Treaty. This laid the constitutional foundation
representatives and their officials assume it’s them
for our nation – and from 1840, legitimised local
– but the further you get from Lambton Quay and
and central government in Aotearoa. Since that
the so-called corridors of power, the less this holds
time, more or less, we have acted as if this applies
true.
throughout the country – even in places where the
Whether you are in the Far North, or on the East Coast of the North Island, or in other parts
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Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed by the Crown
Treaty was not signed by hapū, and they argue that they have never relinquished authority over their
