Hero Potini from Ngāti Tamaoho opened the Symposium with a mihi whakatau, inviting the thoughts of good to find a solution of enhancing our moana, so we have a taonga to hand down to the next generations.  He also acknowledged our loved ones that have passed on, and that with the sharing of baskets of knowledge, we must find a pathway. He also remembers Sir Graham Latimer, a champion in treaty claims.

See Hero's video

Jill Naysmith is the Chair of the Manukau Harbour Forum, which is a committee of Auckland Council made up of the nine local boards that surround the harbour. She extended her welcome to all attendees, introduced the nine members of the Forum and conveyed that the day was about giving back to the communities of the Manukau Harbour, to recognise each other and to comprehend the depth of interest the passion to recreate the mauri - or life-force - of the harbour.

View Jill's video

Richelle Kahui-McConnell, the event MC, continued the welcome and gave a thank you to the speakers and the team in producing today. She also emphasised the importance of recognising the restoration and enhancements of the Manukau, as well as understanding the generations.  She acknowledged there is a strong commitment today to hear the mana whenua voice.

Communications graduate Sophie Johnson shared a short documentary "Makings of a Kaitiaki" which she completed as part of her undergraduate degree. The documentary is a touching kōrero with her grandmother, Dame Ngāneko Minhinnick, who shares stories of her youth and the influence that the Manukau Harbour has had on her life. As an advocate for the harbour, Dame Ngāneko Minhinnick continues her environmental fight, believing the harbour has its own mauri and mana which needs to be protected.

View Sophie's introduction and 'The Makings of a Kaitiaki' documentary

Brownyn Turner of the Manukau Harbour Restoration Society gave an account of the MHRS, its work plan and achievements, and a call for more science, honesty, collaboration, innovation and funding. This organisation is working towards restoring the Manukau Harbour as a recreational and environmental gem and its focuses are after quality, access and infrastructure, management, changed attitudes and better public sector decisions. 

View Bronwen's video
View Bronwen's PDF presentation on the MHRS website (10mb)

Kowhai Olsen presented a moving account of her ancestors’ perspective of  years of living on the Oruarangi Estuary of the Manukau – Mauri Ora, Marui Tu, Mauri Mate details the evolution of their playground, their food source deteriorating in front of them.  Where once streams and plentiful kai moana were, now lie tyres, weeds and over time, watercress has replaced seafood as the treat to bring home. Kowhai has inherited her father’s passion for education and passing this down the generations, and supports research through western science, believing this will confirm what has been known by the tangata whenua for quite some time, passing this down their generations to build prepared Kaitiaki. 

View Kowhai's video

Lucie Rutherfurd is an Awhitu original. While a farmer living off the land, she was a founding member of the Awhitu Landcare Group.  She is a passionate advocate for the environment, especially water quality and has watched as pristine beaches turn to silt and mud.  Lucie brings the farming perspective to the table in this video, she talks about her passion for education on the subject, and shares her vast knowledge on nitrates and pollutants.

View Lucie's video

Clinton Duffy is the Technical Advisor for the Department of Conservation’s Marine Ecosystems Team.  In his message Megafauna; restoration and protection, he shares a wealth of information on an impressive range of creatures living in the harbour that are very much worth saving. From the great white shark, to 20kg snapper, and all of the stingrays, dolphins and fur seals in between, his passion and knowledge of megafauna are massive and give a lot of reassurance that our harbour has a future.

See Clinton's video

Operations Manager at the Manukau Beautification Charitable Trust, Lincoln Jefferson spoke on a topic he is passionate about: Improving the mauri of the Manukau one project at a time.  He discussed the urban dumping ground featuring nappies, tyres, and eels playing with plastic bags and the effect on the community one of their projects: The Largest Single Environmental Clean Up In NZ has ever had.  This event attracted 1900 volunteers to help clean up 10 kilometres of Manukau’s Puhinui Stream.  The results were astounding.

View Lincoln's presentation

Raveen Jaduram is Chief Executive Officer of Watercare Services Ltd.   The role of Watercare is to provide safe drinking water, and to remove nasties from water pollution, and discharge the rest. Raveen explained the new vision for Watercare: To be trusted by communities for exceptional performance every day, and how this has led to them funding a project The Centre of Excellence over the next few years to care for the Manukau Harbour with evidence from research being available to everyone. He also announced that Watercare would fund a three-year study of the Manukau Harbour.

View Raven Jaduram and Craig Mcilroy's video

Craig Mcilroy is the General Manager of Healthy Waters at Auckland Council.  This department has recently been renamed from Stormwater to reflect its expanded responsibility for Auckland Council's implementation of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management. Craig discussed the involvement and contribution of Healthy Waters with the Centre of Excellence, feeling that they will be the glue that will hold the internal relationships together – not only with Watercare but other stakeholders as well. He feels collaboration and projects such as the Centre of Excellence are what is needed to get key community outcomes.

View Raven Jaduram and Craig Mcilroy's video

Gareth Williams from GWE Consulting Ltd has extensive NZ and overseas experience with innovative municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities including anaerobic digestion in the paper/pulp, food and beverage and oil and gas sectors.  With his NZ and overseas experience in all aspects of wastewater treatment, Gareth brings a wealth of knowledge and ideas towards anaerobic digestion of organic waste.  He discusses the benefits - both economic and environmental - of taking food, wood and organic waste, then converting it to methane, water and other residual organic nutrients. 

View Gareth's video

Programme Manager for Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group (IKHMG), Willie Wright shares the success story that is the Kaipara Harbour Management Plan.  He outlines the process followed to bring the Kaipara back to life, with fish stock, declining biodiversity, and poor water quality being three of the issues they faced.  With shared vision, shared approach and shared strength the multiple partners collaborated to create a single plan to achieve their common goals, which included to protect and restore the mauri of the Kaipara, to protect and restore biodiversity and to restore sustainable fish and invertebrate stocks.

See Willie's video

Artist Charlotte Graham grew up in Mangere with a bountiful supply of scallops, oysters, fish and flounder from the Manukau.  Art was in the family, and was part of their lives, and would have connections to their everyday life as it does for Charlotte today.

At the Manukau Harbour Forum Symposium Charlotte told the stories of our featured mana whenua artists, Raewyn Graham, Te Rongo Kirkwood, Isaac Kirkwood, Jimmy Kouratoras. showing connections to their art and their world. Charlotte presented the winners of the Mauri o te Moana Awards with a copy of an original artwork she herself had created.

View Charlotte's video

Awhitu Landcare started in 1994 with a small number of landowners concerned at encroaching sand blows damaging west coast farmland, and the environmental damage caused by pests. Today this group of 80 volunteers promotes and implements pest control, erosion control, planting and recycling.  The results they have achieved are truly outstanding. Their presentation – Restoration Over The Years, uncovers their dedication to preserving the birdlife, coastal land and vegetation.

View Awhitu Landcare's video

Young New Zealander of the Year 2013 Sam Judd works with Sustainable Coastlines - a globally recognised movement that inspires, educates and enables communities to protect the places they love.  His talk includes displays of plastics from tyres, disposable items and factory run off to birdlife with plastics inside. It is an inspirational, eye opening message.  It is Sam’s mission to reduce the littering habit and educate people about how the damage is not only to birdlife and the environment, but also filters down to those closest to them.

View Sam's video

Waikare Komene is the driving force behind The Roots Creative Entrepreneurs – a social enterprise, a movement and a network.  They are all about creating opportunities and platforms for our young people, and allowing them to create solutions for the problems that we are leaving behind for them.  They educate young people about waste, environmental awareness and sustainability, making their mark on the community in a positive way as they do it.  Waikare took attendees on an uplifting journey where they discovered the potential destiny of each of those abandoned shopping trolleys you see.

View Waikare's video

Jill Naysmith with members of the Manukau Harbour Forum returned to stage to present the Mauri o te Moana Awards to three recipients. Watch the video to learn how these three groups have contributed to the restoration and preservation of the wildlife, marine life and the natural balance of land and water of the Manukau.

View the presentation

With a thank you to all involved for making the Symposium happen and acknowledging the gathering of those who share a common interest, Hero closed the event. Hie Poroporoaki included a special mention to the partnership between the Maori and Polynesians who have make the area their home as partners and finished with a karakia to complete this very special day.

View the Poroporoaki/farewell