Te Rōpū Maori (TRM) have successfully filled their Āpiha Hauora (Wellbeing and Recreation Officer) and Āpiha Ahurea (Cultural Officer) at their most recent special general meeting (SGM). The VC has also committed to a $100k grant, allowing the Te Rito exec to be paid.
The SGM kicked off just shy of quorum. Uncontested candidates Renee for Āpiha Hauoa and Matangiorupe for Āpiha Ahurea were unanimously voted in after a revote due to a previous sole vote of no confidence, which would have meant another SGM on the cards for TRM. Critic says “phew”.
Big on the agenda was TRM’s exciting announcement that the Vice Chancellor has granted TRM $100k in funding. When approached about what they intend to use the funding for, co-Tumuaki (co-Presidents) Pou and Ngātiki told Critic Te Ārohi that $80k will be used as remuneration to pay for the Te Rito executive. This is to make sure the Te Rito members are being paid, bringing them into line with paid student executives like OUSA and UOPISA.
“Te Rito currently receives an honorarium at the end of each semester that is significantly less than our parallel student bodies,” Pou explained. “With this funding, we can ensure that our exec facilitates their roles without negatively impacting their studies and hauora and to recognise the mahi that they do.”
Critic was told that the other $20k will be used as a contribution to the 30th Celebrations of Te Rōpū Māori being an incorporated society. “The kaupapa for this celebration is to highlight and acknowledge the mahi of our tauira both past and present, and to celebrate Māori success at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka,” Pou said. He advised tauira to keep an eye out for the dates for this celebration – they’re still TBC.
Renee, who will fill the Āpiha Ahurea role, told Critic that she wants to “bring the ihi, the wana, and the mana to our Te Rōpū Māori spaces.” She is especially looking forward to TRM’s weekly Cultural Hours, which are open to all Māori and non-Māori – nau mai, haere mai! Built into this Cultural Hour this year is “Iwi o te Wiki”, where each week a new iwi will be chosen to be uplifted and celebrated through teaching waiata from said iwi. Renee empathises with those who are feeling a bit homesick, telling Critic that some may feel “disconnected from their Māoritanga. I want to bring the feeling of home to Dunedin with as much mana Māori that I can generate here at the uni.” Kia ora.
Incoming Āpiha Hauora Mantangiorupe told Critic that his objective focuses on being a support person and giving Māori tauira the best chance of a successful Uni year through their wellbeing and lifting their spirits. He told Critic that he’s keen on organising “sports, charity events or even setting specific activities that people love to do but can’t get being down here, like waka-ama or even tree planting.” He looks forward to seeing new faces, seeing Māori tauira thrive, and wants to “put Te Rōpū Māori in an even better position than it is today by doing my best and setting our tauira up for the future.” He promises that students can look forward to seeing amazing events organised just for them and having a person who they can go to and talk about “literally anything.”
If you’re interested in keeping up with pānui or kaupapa TRM has coming up, you can follow their social media channels to stay up to date. You can find them @teropu.maori on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and whatever other new socials you youngins are using nowadays.