Kaihautū Leaders and Chief Executives Hui

Supporting relationship building and knowledge sharing between SAR agencies, recreational safety organisations, and iwi.

The inaugural Kaihautū Leaders and Chief Executives Hui was held in November 2023 in Wellington. Around 45 Kaihautū (liaison person), hapū/iwi representatives and chief executives attended, focussing on whakawhanaungatanga (relationship building) and sharing of mātauranga (knowledge).

This was the first time these groups had come together in one place to discuss their perspectives and understand the key issues, challenges and barriers for hapū/iwi engagement.

Sessions were either arranged for the entire hui, or as parallel sessions for kaihautū leaders and chief executives respectively. "We were able to tailor the sessions to the audience, to quickly bring the attendees up to speed with recent developments and fundamental issues," says Rob Hewitt, Kaihautū for the New Zealand Search and Rescue Secretariat. That gave us a better base to build on during the whole hui sessions.

A wide range of presentations were balanced with panel dis-cussions as well as plenty of deliberately informal kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) engagement.

"The hui helped us identify a range of key issues from many perspectives," says Rob. "The overwhelming theme is a strong desire to understand each other better, and to work together for better outcomes for the safety of all New Zealanders. The first hui has set a very positive foundation, and iwi are looking forward to holding the next hui on a marae."

Feature image: The members of the first Kaihautū Leaders and Chief Executives Hui. Courtesy Phil Grieg / Philmhaus

This story was originally published in the April 2024 issue of Link magazine.