The wardens were part of the initial pandemic response, ramping up community patrols, supporting vulnerable families and stepping in for volunteer drivers who had to stay at home. Following the Auckland wardens’ lead in helping with testing sites and preparing for the vaccine roll-out, the local wardens offered their skills, and were awarded a contract, so the staff on duty are acknowledged as professionals, not just volunteers. “The first thing we provide is a friendly face, to make people feel welcome,” Winiata said. “We are the type of people you more often see in a crisis, at a big event, at sad occasions, telling you that you can’t go there.
Hinemanu fights Taihape settlement Photo: Winiata (Mangaone) Marae/Maori Maps.
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Members of a Taihape area iwi are threatening a hikoi on parliament because of fears their claims are slipping through the cracks of the treaty settlement process.
Spokesperson Jordan Winiata says Ngāti Hinemanu has tried for three years to meet with ministers to address their concerns about being included in the Taihape-Mōkai Pātea Settlement.
He says Ngāti Hinemanu’s interests are split between Heretaunga Tamatea, which settled in 2015, and Mōkai Pātea.
But he says it has not been given an equal place at the table in the Mōkai Pātea negotiations, and it is being made invisible.