RĀWIRI BHANA

Rāwiri Bhana was raised between the villages of Ohinemutu and Maketū, which span the reach of his iwi Ngāti Whakaue and his hapū Ngāti Te Roro o te Rangi.  Being raised by both his parents and equally his Kuia and Pāpā, Rāwiri spent his early years surrounded by his marae and the world of iwi politics, coupled with being surrounded by the political influences of his Father who is a foundation member of the Polynesian Panthers. 

This upbringing played a huge influence on his ideas around what iwi governance is and what it isn’t.  With a deep ingrained sense of servitude for his iwi, hapū and marae with a gentle push from his kaumātua he has been lucky enough over the last 20 years to sit across the entire spectrum of his iwi and hapū governance opportunities.  Starting off as part of the succession plan of his iwi and hapū, Rāwiri has been fortunate enough to move into the Chair roles of both different Ahu Whenua Trusts, as well as the social and Treaty arm of Ngāti Whakaue.

Over the last 5 years he has began to move from outside his immediate iwi and hapū and now sits as Chair of IndigiShare (a fintech Trust whose goal is to make a difference one koha at a time), Chair of Te Ara Poutama Māori & Pasifika Trade Training Consortia, and more recently  has been made the Co-Chair of Community Governance Aotearoa that operates a co-governance model with equal Trustees from Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti

What Rāwiri is best known for within his community is his mantra of Mokopuna Decisions.  This has been his mantra for over the last decade shaped by his upbringing and is now slowly being taken on by many others.

What are Mokopuna Decisions? They are decisions that consider a long-term view, the intergenerational view as opposed to the decisions making for the now. Even more so when ultimately these decisions have negative consequences for our future generations. Strong governance practices should not mean that we have to compromise a strong value-based belief system.

SPEAKING IN SESSION:

"Co-chairing - Lessons from the For Purpose sector" - Day one, 1:50PM