Hearn Memorial Lecture 2023: Hoihio – conversations not for the dinner table
The Tony Hearn QC Memorial Lecture was held in the Limes Room of the Christchurch Town Hall on Wednesday 19 July 2023.
This was not your usual lecture. There were 3 high-calibre speakers (Dr Diane Menzies, Dr Alayna Pakinui Rā and Mr Nathan Capper) and the format was interactive. Some tricky patai were posed to the audience to discuss amongst themselves over dinner, with a further discussion of the topics and the audience responses, following on between dinner and dessert, between the speakers, and with the audience.
The tricky patai were as follows:
Where do we want to be as a nation in 2040, 200 years on from signing Te Tiriti o Waitangi and what does Te Tiriti o Waitangi ‘actualised’ look like?
People think in different ways in different cultures. How does, or should, resource management law reflect those multiple realities?
How do we give Mana Whenua agency in managing their rohe/takiwā? And how do we support the capability and capacity uplift of iwi Māori, to be able to effectively support the nation in navigating complex futures?
Future demographics show that one in three children born in 2040 will identify as Māori. What will their expectation of resource management law be, given we know that they will have different values and needs to what we have today?
What do people think ‘mātauranga’ is?
What will giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi under the NBEB/A actually mean in practice?
The expectation wasn’t that these questions would be fully answered but that we would start the difficult and uncomfortable conversations that are required to address them. The hope is that starting these conversations will increase our understanding and that these discussions will continue within our day-to-day practice and the organisations where we work.
The ‘lecture’ ended with a call for a commitment from the audience to identify the steps they might take to keep the korero alive, and several pledges to that end.
Overall, the event was (IMHO) challenging, thought-provoking, and rewarding. It was delivered with aroha me wairua, and in the interests of furthering understanding for katoa (all) in Aotearoa New Zealand’s future.
For those who were unable to attend, a recording was taken of the event. Copies can be made available for the price of a virtual ticket.
