The PAUA Seed
PAUA developed out of my struggle to understand Te Runanga o NZNO Aotearoa and NZNO’s relationship and the relationship that NZNO has with other Māori organisations, hapū and Iwi.
To understand the organisation and where my place was in it I visited the organisation's mission statement which said the organisation is committed to the Treaty of Waitangi as its guiding document.
I asked why? And How? Does the treaty guide this organisation.
I took on board the mission statement and presented to the Board of Directors (BOD) a proposal to further develop the actions of this statement. I proposed that the reasons for developing the vision statement and the progress that has occurred with the development of the foundations for partnership, Te Runanga representation on the Board of Directors, Tauira Aaronui representation and the Policy Analyst Māori role derived from problems that this strategy and project are designed to address. Monoculturalism or a dominating culture is something of the past that NZNO needs to move away from if the organisation means to sustain itself.
I believed this organisation is genuine in its efforts to grow and is determined to progress. It is an organisation that takes action and the current nurses fair pay campaign is an example of this. I found myself immersed in a culture of collectivism and unity.
I thought how can I participate in assisting this organisation to grow through unified action as was being demonstrated by the extraordinary industrial and professional effort with the fair pay and safe staffing campaigns. I was once told by a colleague that Āta should guide all policy and Kaupapa. I knew at the time I was hearing something to be heard and revisited the paper Āta Growing Respectful Relationships by Teina Pohatu (2004). And realised that through Āta Aroha is achieved.
I looked at the Pāua shell and its many colours and thought of the diversity of difference and how difference can be contained and the result being something spectacular. Pāua provides us with sustenance as food, it provides us with an aesthetic quality to enhance our love for beauty and more importantly it is from Tangaroa and Papatuaanuku. As we continue to establish relationship with whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori we have learned that the Pāua means much more. For some it is a symbol of whakapapa and NZNO finds itself in a very unique situation of connecting with Tangata whenua through PaUA this requires and demands of us deep respect for the knowledge shared.
We are learning through PAUA that difference represents our individuality. We are building a vision that values and acknowledges that everyone has a contribution to make. To have a willingness to understand difference means allowing the minority group to participate in sharing ideas, aspirations and desires.
From this mutual sharing respectful relationships are formed and needs can be addressed and planned for. We have shifted from a structural model to a functional model. PAUA is a value based model that compliments our functional model.
PAUA will help us to determine our processes and help identify those that need to change.
In 2001 the organisation embraced a commitment to Te Tiriti ō Waitangi as our guiding document.
It became evident that the major obstacle facing the organisation was lack of knowledge regarding Te Tiriti ō Waitangi and the process of implementation into the daily regime.
For any organisation facing change translating the vision into reality can prove difficult. The new directive on Māori principles and practices and bicultural development will have an effect upon individuals and their working environment. It is believed this influence will be a lasting positive one. As Charles Handy puts it: ‘organisations as well as individuals, have therefore got to decide what they are about before they can decide what they have to do’. We may not of fully understood what we were about but we knew enough to believe in our vision statement and now we have made the decision on what we need to do. We need to Progressively Act in Unity and Aroha (PAUA).
Let us not forget that the key that has opened this door for NZNO is Aroha and the value that Aroha embraces is Āta, learning to grow respectful relationships.
NZNO is developing better systems of communication and function that encourages the celebration of being Māori, that’s got to be good.
Let us progressively act in unity and aroha, demonstrating the spirit of The Treaty of Waitangi by acting in GOOD FAITH.
Sharon Clair
Policy Analyst Māori
