This article was published in 2016. To maintain an accurate record of our history, we have kept references to previous organisation names and terms such as New Zealand AIDS Foundation, Ending HIV and Love Your Condom.
NZAF board’s Māori advisory group, Te Ropu Ki a Tau o Te Waka, announce that they are stepping down, vacating the waka to allow new Māori leadership to take the NZAF forward.
The day after giving a beautiful mihi whakatau (welcome) for new NZAF board member James Hudson, the members of the NZAF board’s Māori advisory group, Te Ropu Ki a Tau o Te Waka, announced that they are stepping down, vacating the waka to allow new Māori leadership to take the NZAF forward.
The outgoing members of Te Ropu - Trevor Wilson, Kevin Haunui, Shannon White and Richard Tankersley - said that the organisation’s support for Takatāpui and responsiveness to Māori had come a long way since Te Ropu was formed in 2010. They said that, "while it has not always been easy, the board has its ears open in a way that was not possible when we began."
At the NZAF board meeting on Saturday, the outgoing members of Te Ropu fully endorsed NZAF’s draft strategic plans to end HIV transmissions within a decade and to enhance the organisation’s responsiveness to Māori, which they had considered as part of a three day hui the previous weekend. They also said that, while it was time for new leadership, they each remained personally committed to the NZAF.
At an emotional board meeting, James Hudson, who has been appointed as convenor of the Board’s Māori subcommittee, conveyed his deep gratitude for his mihi whakatau and for the work of Te Ropu members.
NZAF board Chair David Friar thanked each member of Te Ropu personally and on behalf of the Board for their many years of voluntary service and mahi in serving on Te Ropu, and said that the board recognised and appreciated the passion, commitment and dedication that they had each brought to the kaupapa of the organisation.
David Friar commented that, "With the next Hui Takatāpui to be held later this year, NZAF will have strong opportunities to consult with the community about NZAF’s support for Takatāpui and responsiveness to Māori, the mahi required to end new HIV infections in New Zealand, and Māori leadership on these issues.”