Te Awatea Ward - Massey.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou kātoa

Te Maunga Haruru tōku maunga

Ko Takitimu tōku waka

Ko Mohaka tōku awa

Ko Waipapa-a-iwi tōku marae

Ko Ngāti Pāhauwera tōku iwi

No Mohaka āhau

Ko Te Awatea Ward tāku ingoa

Kia ora te whanau ō Te Hautū Kahurangi.

I would like to seek your support in becoming the Māori Rep on the National Women’s Committee.

I have represented academics as the academic rep and then the general staff as the general rep on the National Women’s Committee in the past, however my passion is to better represent wahine Māori in the future.

As the President of the Massey Branch of the TEU and having worked in the university sector for the past twenty plus years, I have seen and experienced the ideals and the reality for wahine Māori working within this sector. For instance; the dificulty of taking care of whanau while studying and working, the expectaions of collegueges and institutions placed differently on wahine Māori, promotions that have overlooked wahine Māori despite their dedicated contribution and payscales that haven’t been equitable.

As a wahine that relates to being strong and determined, who comes from a long line of other strong and deteremined wahine, I would like to offer my strength and experience towards working collaboratively to create a fairer, just and safer space for all women and promote the asperations of wahine Māori within the tertiary sector.

I would also be bringing with me a commitment to enacting and supporting the new rules that will guide us to be a union the honours Te Tiriti ō Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa by operating a co-governance structure with Te Koeke as our guide.

Ngā mihi ki a koutou

Naku noa iti

Nā

Te Awatea Ward