Professor Dame Farah Palmer steps down as Māori Rugby Board Chair

English translation to follow below

17 tau a Kahurangi Farah Rangikoepa Palmer (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato) e mahi ana mō te poari whutupōro Māori, ā, kua tae te wā kia hiki āna haepapa hei heamana.

I mihia a Kahurangi Farah ki tōna hui ā tau whakamutunga, i tutuki i a ia ngā wāhanga e toru ki te poari whutupōro Māori, ka mutu hoki tana noho hei mema o te poari whutupōro Māori. 

I tohua tuatahitia a Kahurangi Farah hei mema o te poari whutupōro Māori i te tau 2007, i te wā i tohua ko ia te wahine tuatahi ki te poari whutupōro o Aotearoa i te tau 2016. I noho ko ia te māngai o te poari o Aotearoa ki te poari matua, me te aha ka riro i a ia te tūranga heamana.  

I puta i Kahurangi Farah te kōrero i te pō nei ki te hui ā tau, he hōnore nui kia ārahi ai ia i te whutupōro Māori i tēnei wā e whanake ana te hākinakina i Aotearoa. 

“Ko te āpitihanga kia whai wāhi he māngai Māori nō ia rohe ki ngā mema poari tētahi tino aupiki. Me te aha, ko te tipu o te whanaungatanga i waenga i ngā poari e rua me te whai wāhi a te poari Māori ki ngā kōrero rautaki, ki ngā hui me ngā rangatira kia whai wāhi hoki ki te arotake i te tono Silver Lake”.

“Ki te iwi whutupōro Māori, ngā rangatira, ngā rangatahi, koutou e tākaro ana, koutou e mātaki ana, ngā mema poari me ngā kaitākaro, koutou katoa – kia kaha tonu, kia ū ki ō mātāpono kia eke ai koe” hei tā Kahurangi Palmer.

Anei te kōrero a te heamana tuarua o te poari Māori, a Doug Jones (Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Ngāti Kahungunu);

He nui ngā koha a Kahurangi Farah ki te whutupōro Māori me te aha kua eke ki taumata kē. Ko ia te mutunga kē mai o te mana wahine, tōna ārahi, tōna mahi me tōna āhua, nā whaia anō ko ia te wahine tuatahi  ki te poari whutupōro Māori, ki te poari whutupōro o Aotearoa hoki, me te aha inā tata nei ko ia te heamana tuarua. Tērā te wā tino kore nei te wahine e whai wāhi atu ki ēnei tūranga, ā, kua maori noa i te momo i a Farah”. 

He wā pai te hui ā tau ki te huritao i te tau kua hipa me te whai whakaaro ki te tau tuarua o te rautaki whutupōro Māori. Ko ngā pou rautaki e whā: Tātakitanga: Uplifting Māori leaders; Puawaitanga: Enhancing Māori through rugby; Hauoratanga: Promoting holistic wellbeing and Angitutanga: Uplifting Māori lives. 

I tipu te hapori Māori e kuhu ana ki te whutupōro,  41,072 ngā kaitākaro i tākaro i te tau 2023. He 25% te pikinga mā ngā kōtiro, mareikura me ngā wāhine, ā, he 7% te pikinga mā ngā tama, whatukura me ngā tāne. 

“Kua tipu te tokomaha o ngā kaitākaro wāhine i ngā rohe katoa, me te aha 11 ngā rohe kua neke atu i te 20% te tipu o ngā kaitākaro. He mīharo te kite atu i Tūranganui-a-Kiwa i tipu ngā kaitākaro wāhine Māori mā te 95%” hei tā Kahurangu Palmer.

Neke atu i te 500 ngā Māori i whai wāhi atu ki ngā hōtaka Tu Toa Māreikura, Whatukura hoki nā Tiki Edwards rāua ko Kahu Carey i whakahaere. Ko te whāinga o te hōtaka he whakamahi i te whutupōro ki te whakaako i ngā rangatahi ki ngā mātāpono Māori kia pakari ai tō rātau tū i te ao hei rangatira.

Kei te piki haere te nama o ngā kaitākaro kua puta i ēnei hōtaka, ā, e eke ana ki taumata kē, pēnei i a Tamaiti Williams i tohua ki te kapa Ōpango #1209 i tēnei tau.

Ka tohua te māngai hou ki te poari Māori kia pūmau ngā ritenga o te poari o Aotearoa hei ngā wiki e tū mai nei. Whai muri i tērā ka āhei te poari Māori te tohu i te heamana hou.

Kia kitea te rīpoata a te New Zealand Māori Rugby Board panaia tēnei.

Te Poari Whutupōro Māori 2023:
Kahurangi Farah Palmer – Chair
Rob Clark - Te Hiku o te Ika Chair
Andre Baker – Te Tini ā Māui Chair
Dayveen Stephens - Te Waipounamu Chair
Doug Jones – Appointed Member
Anne-Marie Jackson – Appointed Member
Arran Pene – Appointed Member
Warren Alcock – Independent Member
Merewaakana Kingi – Independent Member
Jacob Ellison - Emerging Director

ENGLISH

17 years of service on the New Zealand Māori Rugby Board (NZMRB) will soon come to an end as Professor Dame Farah Rangikoepa Palmer (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato) is set to stand down as chair.

Dame Farah was recognised at what will be her last NZMRB Annual General Meeting (AGM), as she will retire after three terms on the New Zealand Rugby (NZR) Board which will see her also step down as NZR representative on the NZMRB. 

Dame Farah was appointed as an independent member of the NZMRB in 2007 and then, when she was elected as the first female member of the New Zealand Rugby Board in 2016, she became the NZR representative on the NZMRB and replaced Wayne Peters as Chair.

In addressing the AGM this evening in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Dr Palmer highlighted what an honour it had been to lead Māori rugby during a transformative time for the sport in New Zealand.

“The inclusion of independent and appointed members as well as the regional Māori representatives is one of many highlights. Along with, encouraging greater engagement between the two Boards, insisting the Māori Board be involved in strategic discussions, CEO and Chair forums, and part of the Silver Lake and Governance Review process.

“To Māori in rugby, as rangatira and rangatahi, both on and off the field, around boardrooms and on rugby fields, and everything in between – keep striving, stay true to your values, and you will thrive,” said Dr Palmer.

NZMRB Deputy Chair Doug Jones (Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Ngāti Kahungunu) said;

“Our Kahurangi, Dame Farah’s contribution to Māori rugby is significant and set a new precedent. She is the epitome of mana wāhine and her leadership, service and diplomacy as the first Māori wāhine to chair the NZMRB and serve on the NZR Board, recently rising to Deputy Chair of that Board.  Where the presence of a wāhine around the Board table was once unheard of, it is now a new norm thanks in large part to Farah”.

The AGM was a chance to reflect on a strong year, the second year of the Māori Rugby Strategy being in place. The four strategic pou being: Tātakitanga: Uplifting Māori leaders; Puawaitanga: Enhancing Māori through rugby; Hauoratanga: Promoting holistic wellbeing and Angitutanga: Uplifting Māori lives.

There was an overall increase in Māori involved in rugby, with 41,072 players taking the field in 2023. This was a 25% increase for kōtiro, mareikura and wāhine and a 7% increase for tama, whatukura and tāne. 

“All regions have shown growth in wāhine player numbers, with 11 provincial unions showing more than a 20% increase. Poverty Bay in particular showed a 95% increase in wāhine Māori playing rugby which is awesome to see,” noted Dr Palmer.

More than 500 Māori participated in Tu Toa Māreikura and Whatukura programmes, led by Tiki Edwards and Kahu Carey. The programme has a focus on turning rangatahi into rangatira and uses rugby to teach young people about Māori values and ways of living to cope with the world we live in today.

An increasing number of players from these programmes are progressing to higher honours and in 2023, the programme celebrated its first All Black representative when Tamaiti Williams became All Black #1209.

New Zealand Rugby will appoint its new representative on the NZMRB when the NZR Board is ratified in the coming weeks. Following this, the Māori Rugby Board will have the ability to choose their Chair for the first time, following changes to its constitution approved tonight.
 

To view the New Zealand Māori Rugby Board Annual Report, please click here.

The 2023 New Zealand Māori Rugby Board:
Professor Dame Farah Palmer – Chair
Rob Clark - Te Hiku o te Ika Chair
Andre Baker – Te Tini ā Māui Chair
Dayveen Stephens - Te Waipounamu Chair
Doug Jones – Appointed Member
Anne-Marie Jackson – Appointed Member
Arran Pene – Appointed Member
Warren Alcock – Independent Member
Merewaakana Kingi – Independent Member
Jacob Ellison - Emerging Director