Friday 3 March 2023 1:26pm
Kōpū unit co- leaders, from left are Mihiata Pirini, Metiria Turei and Jacinta Ruru. A key work programme for the unit is decolonising and indigenising the LLB.
The University of Otago’s second year Law programme got off to a special start this year. For the first time, tauira are part of a seven-day wānanga engaging with mātauranga and tikanga Māori.
“This is an enormous moment in legal education in Aotearoa, and I am thrilled to be part of the wānanga,” says key organiser, Faculty of Law Professor Jacinta Ruru.
All 255 tauira were welcomed with a mihi whakatau, led by Kaitohutohu Māori from the Office of Māori Development, Hata Temo, who was supported by Faculty of Law staff and senior students.
At the mihi whakatau are Metiria Turei Stanton, Hata Temo and Jacinta Ruru
Professor Shelley Griffiths, Dean of Law, welcomed the students to the 150th year of the study of law at Otago and specifically to the wānanga to begin their second-year journey.
Professor Griffiths said it was a joy to see them gathered together and explained during the wānanga they are being exposed to two strands of law in Aotearoa New Zealand – Māori law and law the settlers brought with them.
This wanānga was arranged by the Faculty’s Kōpū unit, which is co-led by Professor Ruru, Mihiata Pirini and Metiria Stanton Turei. Professor Ruru says the unit is helping to “reimagine law in Aotearoa by positioning mātauranga and tikanga at the heart of what we do”.
“The Kōpū team have done a wonderful job of putting this amazing programme together – something the Faculty as a whole is really proud of,” Professor Griffiths said.
At the mihi whakatau, the sense of community was at the fore as students were greeted by Second Year Convenor Professor Struan Scott, Convenor of Education Associate Professor Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere, and Convenor of Student Experience Associate Professor Anna High – as well as their senior lecturers who outlined what students can expect and what is expected of them during the challenging and exciting year ahead.
During the seven days of the wānanga, tauira were welcomed on to Ōtākou Marae, and invited to a conversation with New Zealand Law Society President Frazer Barton and King’s Counsel Anita Chan. There were also sessions on an overview of mātapono ture me mātauranga Māori – Māori legal philosophy and law, and the relationship between state law and Māori law.
Second year tauira attend the mihi whakatau in Archway 4 lecture theatre – as Professor Struan Scott observed, a full theatre warms a lecturer’s heart.
Mihiata Pirini says she’s been enjoying the energy around the students.
“The atmosphere is overwhelmingly one of enthusiasm and keenness to learn more.
“I’m also enjoying the waiata that we are learning and regularly practising over the course of the wānanga – not only an energy booster but an expression of tikanga Māori!”
Metiria Turei says the tauira are more than ready for this.
“Today’s law students want to understand how to practice law in Aotearoa New Zealand that recognises Māori law as a legitimate source of legal rights and responsibilities.
“Most students now see that understanding te ao Māori is a natural part of being a New Zealander. This is a significant step towards Tiriti-based nationhood.”
Second year law students from left are Eleanor Nixon, Charlotte Hewson and Harriet Nixon.
Eleanor Nixon, Charlotte Hewson and Harriet Nixon are beginning second year law and all agree the wānanga is a welcome change to the programme.
“It’s so cool to have tikanga and te ao Māori as part of the course, it’s been quite a colonial perspective and so it’s great to have more of a complete understanding of New Zealand,” says Harriet.
Eleanor adds that it is exciting to be part of something unique, that really reflects New Zealand. She is inspired by the three wāhine Māori leading the Kōpū unit.
Charlotte says, “It is giving us a new perspective on the topic, and it is really relevant.
“We are seeing more and more cases that consider tikanga Māori – that’s the future of the profession.”
This wanānga is an important part of the work the Law Faculty is doing toward the integration of Māori laws and philosophies across the core curriculum ahead of the revised regulations for legal education that come into effect on 1 January 2025.