The Treaty & Me

Former New Plymouth Mayor Andrew Judd kicks off a free Treaty of Waitangi winter lecture series in Hawke's Bay on June 13. Judd, a powerful speaker who describes himself as a recovering racist, will explore the place of the Treaty in Aotearoa's future.
His Thursday June 13 talk is the first of four free fortnightly The Treaty & Me lectures in Napier and Hastings. The topic for Judd's Napier talk is 'Standing up as Treaty Partners', which is a good place to start because we're wanting to foster a public conversation about how Te Tiriti offers all New Zealanders a solid place to stand, says one of the organising team, Neill Gordon. If you live in Aotearoa you're either Tangata Whenua or you're Tangata Tiriti - here thanks to the welcome laid out at Waitangi in 1840.
The Treaty is our foundation as a nation and the positive relationship it promises is what our speakers will be focussing on over four Thursday nights in Napier and Hastings. Judd's June 13 talk at St Paul's Presbyterian Church in Napier will discuss what does it mean to be Tangata Tiriti and how Tangata Tiriti can be proactive. The audience will have the opportunity to put forward written questions to be addressed during a panel discussion on each of the four evenings.
The series continues fortnightly on Thursdays. On June 27 at St Matthew's church in Hastings, where veteran community campaigner Denis O'Reilly from Waiohiki and Central Hawke's Bay author Mary Kippenberger will help the audience lift their eyes to the future with a talk called 'Imagining Matariki 2050'.
On July 11 at St Paul's in Napier, the topic is 'What does honouring the Treaty look like?'. The panel that night is Hawke's Bay Regional Councillor Martin Williams, Aucklander Kirsty Fong of Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga and Napier-based Treaty educator and podcaster Gwyn John. The series concludes with 'Living a Treaty-based future – a youth perspective' at St Matthew's in Hastings on July 25.
Speakers at the youth night include Te Uranga Lee Belk and Piripi Winiata of Hastings firm Kawea Law and Layla Christison, a recent graduate of the University of Auckland Bachelor of Health Sciences who now works for Te Kura i Awarua Rangahau Māori Centre at EIT. The series' organising team include Napier City Councillor Maxine Boag, Heretaunga-based activist Nick Ratcliffe, Napier event organiser Neill Gordon, Ani Tylee of Napier and Marilyn Scott of Hastings.
Details: All nights doors open at 6.30pm for cuppa and cake, lectures start 7pm. June 13 - Standing up as Treaty Partners - Andrew Judd, St Paul's Presbyterian Church, 89 Tennyson St Napier. June 27 - Imagining Matariki 2050 - Denis O'Reilly and Mary Kippenberger, St Matthew's Anglican Church, 200 Queen St Hastings. July 11 - What does honouring the Treaty Look like? - Martin Williams, Kirsty Fong and Gwyn John, St Paul's Presbyterian Church Napier, 89 Tennyson St Napier. July 25 Living a Treaty-based future - A Youth Perspective, Te Uranga Lee Belk, Piripi Winiata , Layla Christison and Henry Lyons, St Matthew's Anglican Church, 200 Queen St Hastings. More information: Email ttaotearoa.gmail.com