Setting sail for new horizons.
Para Kore e-pānui, June 2025.
Toitū te Moana
He pitopito kōrero nā Arohanui West
Phil McCabe from Kiwis Against Seabed Mining (Left) & Para Kore kaimahi, Arohanui West (Right) at UNOC3 in Nice, France
In early June, we celebrated World Oceans Day, and world leaders gathered at the United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France, in the hopes of progressing global ocean action. That same week, breaking news revealed that a New Zealand bottom trawling vessel pulled up six tonnes of protected stony coral in a single trawl, making it the worst reported case of coral destruction in Aotearoa New Zealand waters in over a decade.
Over four million square kilometres of Moana are within Aotearoa’s boundary or exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This area is 15 times our nation's landmass and has the potential to be a flourishing, abundant, and protected ocean space for the descendants of Tangaroa and Hinemoana. Instead, New Zealand has outdated and weak maritime laws and has drawn international criticism for being the only country with vessels still bottom trawling seamounts in the South Pacific high seas.
I (Arohanui) had the privilege of also attending UNOC3 in Nice. Before I set off, I wanted to gain some perspective from our Māori communities - so I sat down with friends, whānau, hijacked a few of our wānanga and even asked a question poll on our Instagram story. The pātai was this: What is your vision for the future of our Moana, and what would need to happen for that vision to be realised?
The answers? We want to be able to eat from our pātaka kai. Our shared vision is that our Moana is healthy, abundant, and thriving with kaimoana. We start inland, minimising para (waste) and have strong restrictions on fertilisers so our rivers and lakes run clean too - it’s all interconnected. We want an international moratorium (ban) on seabed mining, to ratify the High Seas Treaty, increase transparency on commercial fishing practices, uphold and empower mātauranga Māori in maritime law, and give legal personhood to tohorā (whales).
As Māori, we are the descendants of voyagers. Our relationship with Hinemoana, Tangaroa and their uri (descendants) is as deep and as vast as the Ocean itself. The Moana is our lifeline. It provides sustenance to all things on earth and provides the very air we breathe. Ko au ko te Moana, ko te Moana ko au; I am the ocean, and the ocean is me.
I recall visiting Rarotonga in 2019 and seeing the departure point of our many waka from Avana Harbour. Kōhatu (stone slabs) etched with the names of our waka - Te Arawa, Aotea, Tainui - mark the spot. If you stand at these kōhatu and look up, you see a beautiful blue lagoon and beyond that lagoon, a great big ocean. I remember thinking, Why leave this beautiful, safe, tropical island? How fearless our tūpuna must have been to navigate the sweeping seas and set sail for new horizons.
There's a quote from Mike Smith that says, “Look up to the horizon, your solutions will be different.” As we navigate turbulent times and political uncertainty, it is more important now than ever that we be unapologetically Māori. That we tap into our kete. Observe like our tūpuna. Rest like our tūpuna. Navigate like our tūpuna. Gather like our tūpuna. Mahi kai like our tūpuna. Love like our tūpuna. Dream like our tūpuna. And know when to dare to do something new, when to set sail for new horizons, like our tūpuna.
Toitū Te Tiriti, Toitū te Moana,
Arohanui West
Sources:
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Ngā Karere - News
Here at Para Kore, we couldn’t be more supportive of Lawyers for Climate Action NZ. Karawhiua koutou ko ngā roia. Wepua te kawanatanga!
Lawyers for Climate Action NZ, alongside Environmental Law Initiative, are suing the Climate Minister over the Government's inadequate emissions reduction plan.
“We’re filing this case because it’s critical our government is held to account. The world’s leading scientists have made clear that this is the critical decade for climate action - but the NZ government has been quietly cutting climate policies, and relying on planting pine trees as an alternative.
Under the Climate Change Response Act, the Government has to put in place a credible emissions reduction plan for Aotearoa that sets out economy-wide policies and strategies “for meeting” our emissions budgets. Our emissions budgets are stepping stones towards NZ achieving its 2050 net-zero target.
Yet, in the face of warnings from our Climate Change Commission that there are “significant risks” around whether Aotearoa New Zealand will meet its climate targets, the government cancelled 35 climate policies and actions that were part of the first emissions reduction plan (2021-2025) - without consulting the public first, as required by law.”
Find out more here.
Para Kore and Hamilton City Council at Matariki Event
Para Kore managing waste at the Maanawatia a Matariki - Hamilton City Council's Event
Para Kore are proud to support the Hamilton City Council's ‘Mānawatia a Matariki’ event by running four waste stations, in collaboration with our mates at Go Eco to sort, minimise and ultimately divert waste from landfill. Mā pango, mā whero, ka oti te mahi.
Our main focus of the night was to separate all food waste and recyclables. We've already made suggestions and plans to introduce washable reusables for serving kai at future events. Our mates at Go Eco have a trailer full of event reusables (plates, bowls, cutlery) and aim to provide thousands of reusables at community events.
These stations were staffed all night, allowing us to interact with the community, celebrate Matariki together and raise awareness for our collective vision and kaupapa: oranga taiao, marae, oranga whānau. When our environment is flourishing, we flourish too.
If you see us at an event, don’t be shy to come and have a kōrero.
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Ngā wānanga e haere ake nei - Upcoming events
Calling all fixers and sustainability champions! After last year's successful inaugural event, get ready to mend, make do, and extend the life of your belongings at the 2nd Aotearoa NZ Repair Festival, happening September 6th to 14th, 2025!
Communities nationwide will host Repair Cafés (bring broken items to learn how to fix them), Workshops (learn to mend clothes, electronics, and more), Webinars (on how repair supports sustainability), and Community Building events to connect with fellow enthusiasts.
Everyone is welcome! If you're interested in participating or hosting an event, Expressions of Interest (EOI) are open until July 4th. Join us in building a more circular economy in Aotearoa! Register your EOI HERE
Our ‘He Mana Tō te Kai’ wānanga focuses on honouring the whakapapa, mana, tapu and mauri of our kai. It reminds us that kai is not a commodity; it is a taonga. He Mana Tō te Kai.
Join us to talk about saving money, wasting less kai, boosting food resilience and raising the inherent mana of kai.
This wānanga is available both online and in person, with programmes coming up in Westport, Tauranga and Ōtautahi Christchurch.
Check out all of our upcoming events and register here.
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Nau mai te wā o Hinetakurua - welcoming in the winter solstice
Photo from our Kaiārahi Hollie Russell on Huruiki Maunga, celebrating Puanga.
Mānawatia a Matariki mā Puanga! The Gregorian calendar recognises January 1 as the new year. This calendar originated in the Northern Hemisphere (Rome), where they celebrate the winter solstice in late December, early January. The winter solstice marks the beginning of a new year and a time to prepare for the year ahead. Here in Aotearoa, on the other side of the world, where it is the peak of Summer in January, it makes no logical sense to celebrate the new year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.
So whether you’re tangata whenua, or tangata tiriti, Para Kore welcomes you to celebrate the local new year, in your local place. Take some time to understand the local history, attend a hautapu ceremony, and share a kai (meal) with your loved ones.
Matariki calls us to slow down, reconnect with ourselves, the taiao (environment), remember those who have passed on, and set intentions for the year ahead.
From us here at Para Kore, ngā mihi o te tau hou. Happy New Year to you and your whānau.
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Ngā manaakitanga,
Arohanui West me te whānau whānui o Para Kore