Growing future leaders: Council welcomes Te Aka Pūkenga cadets
The partnership between Council and ngā iwi o Te Tauihu was celebrated with a pōwhiri held on 5 November at Whakatū Marae, welcoming two Te Aka Pūkenga cadets taking on new roles as part of our Te Tauihu iwi capability building programme.
The pōwhiri marked the official start of the cadetship for two wāhine, Hautai Greensill and Maraanea Matika Edwards-Mutu. They join the second intake for Te Aka Pūkenga, an initiative established in 2024 by ngā iwi o Te Tauihu in partnership with Nelson City, Tasman District, and Marlborough District Councils.
Funded through Central Government’s Better Off Funding programme, the cadetship aims to strengthen iwi engagement capability across Te Tauihu.
It offers cadets a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in local government and iwi organisations – as well as the wider community - while deepening their understanding of how both can work together across the rohe. The new cohort will continue to bring fresh perspectives and energy.
"Both wāhine bring unique strengths and perspectives to their roles, helping to advance council and iwi partnership aspirations. The intention of the cadetship is to grow talent, strengthen relationships, foster greater collaboration, and support better outcomes for everyone in our community,” says Nelson City Council Kaihautū Pania Lee.
Te Aka Pūkenga cadets are equally enthusiastic.
Hautai has connections across Te Tauihu (Tainui waka: Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Toa Rangatira. Ngāti Rārua through Hine-Tītama, wife of Rākaupukupuku (Tainui). Kurahaupō waka: connected as a descendant of Ururangi, wife of Kakati (Tainui)) as well as iwi and hapū connections within Te Ika-ā-Māui. She holds a Bachelors and Graduate Certificate in Health Science, along with environmental certifications in Rongoā Māori and Healing Horticulture.
Some of her experience includes a 1-day coastline survey of pipi beds along Whāingaroa Harbour, volunteering for Tainui wetland restoration projects (planting natives in a de-commissioned wastewater oxidation pond), dune work in partnership with Waikato Regional Council Coast Care Co-ordinator and assisting with the Tainui hapū native nursery.
“I hope as a tauira (cadet) to deepen my understanding of what is crucial to iwi and the wider community, so I can help tailor my support accordingly, whether it is to sustain and improve the health of culturally significant spaces and the taiao in general, or to allow a platform for people to share their thoughts or be involved in initiatives,” she says.
“As someone who is both Māori - with whakapapa ties to Te Tauihu iwi and Pākehā, I carry a legacy of service through my whānau. My mother and her father have a longstanding background in environmental work, my father, Alan Greensill, worked at Hamilton City Council for 30 years and another ancestor, John Abraham Roberts Greensill, served as Mayor of the Waitohi/Picton community in the 1880s.”
Maraanea (Ngāti Wairere ki Tainui, Ngāti Turumakina ki Tūwharetoa), is māmā to two little tamariki and is an advocate for youth mental health as the founder of Manawa Ariki - a kaupapa nā rangatahi mā rangatahi.
Earlier this year, she was honoured to be selected as the Nelson City Council rangatahi candidate for the 2025 Tuia Te Heretangata Kaupapa. This includes five noho marae across Aotearoa and monthly mentorship with Mayor Nick Smith, while also taking on the role of Cultural Advisor for Nelson Tasman Youth Workers Collective here in Te Tauihu.
“Te Aka Pūkenga Cadet Programme is an opportunity for me to support Māori representation within Council. To build purposeful connections with the local iwi of Te Tauihu and tautoko the development of Kaupapa Māori.
“I hope to learn about the aspirations of iwi for their whānau - what they envision for the future, the tikanga and uara they uphold, and the kaupapa they are working towards. Through whakawhanaungatanga and mahi tahi, I want to understand how Council can tautoko these aspirations and strengthen our relationships with hapori Māori across Te Tauihu,” she says.
