Source: Porirua City Council
Porirua City Council’s Maungaroa 2050 Māori Strategy is on track with its roadmap to support, elevate and enable the future aspirations of Māori, a progress report shows.
The strategy was developed following engagement with mana whenua and taurahere Māori and launched in late 2023. A report to Council today captured the first three years of achievements and progress and showed that a strong foundation has been established for advancing Māori outcomes across Council.
Manager Māori Strategy, Jade Williams, said the report highlights that meaningful progress has been made across all five strategic priorities of the strategy.
One significant strategic milestone during the period was the official signing of Te Wai Ora o Parirua – Porirua Harbour Accord (the Accord) on Waitangi Day 2025, she said.
“The Accord unites key partners (Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, Porirua City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Wellington City Council and Tiaki Wai) and signals our shared commitment to restoring the ecological, cultural, and environmental integrity of the harbour alongside stakeholders, community groups, and organisations.
“On-the-ground progress highlights include: planting and restoration projects; emergency preparedness and resilience through partnerships with Ngāti Toa Rangatira, marae and community organisations; support of Māori enterprise through BizHub, BizFest and Biz Ezi; expansion of bilingual signage; increased Council staff te reo and tikanga capability; and adoption of a new naming policy.”
At today’s meeting Ngāti Toa kaumatua Dr Taku Parai highlighted the significance of having a strategy based on Te Maungaroa – the anchor stone left by Kupe.
“It’s a very unique baseline to base strategy and reporting on. It belongs to us here, in Porirua,” he said.
Mayor Anita Baker welcomed the report, saying that partnering with Ngāti Toa and Māori communities means partnerships are stronger, Māori identity is more visible and community resilience is growing and Council capability is improving.
“In August this year Porirua City Council & Te Rūnanga O Toa Rangatira refreshed and signed Whakaaetanga Patuitanga 2026 | Strategic Partnership Agreement 2026, which outlines our shared commitment to our partnership with each other and provides the opportunity for Te Rūnanga to contribute to Council decisions and to provide leadership with the Council for Porirua,” Mayor Baker said.
The report shows that a strong foundation has been established for advancing Māori outcomes across Council, while also identifying the key gaps and opportunities that should shape the next phase of work.
A designed version of the full report presented today will be published in the coming weeks, and you can view the summary and tabled report here.
You can read the Maungaroa 2050 Māori Strategy on our web page.