Waituhi Consultancy

25/07/2026

Call to Action | Hapū Tikanga-Led Restorative Justice vs Family Dispute Resolution

Tēnā tātou e te whānau, aiga 🌺

What if Aotearoa gave greater space for tikanga-led restorative processes alongside Family Court proceedings where appropriate?

This is a question I have been reflecting on deeply through my own lived experience.

I currently have an active Family Court matter concerning the care and wellbeing of our three tamariki, mokopuna. While those proceedings continue, both parents have expressed a willingness to participate in a hapū tikanga-led hui to explore whether issues can be resolved—or at least meaningfully narrowed—before the final hearing.

For me, this is about far more than resolving a legal dispute.

It is about asking whether we can restore whanaungatanga, strengthen communication, rebuild trust where possible, and place the oranga of our tamariki ahead of ongoing parental conflict.

I recognise that restorative justice is not a substitute for the Family Court, nor should it be. The Court has an essential role in determining legal issues and protecting the rights and safety of all involved.

However, I believe there is an opportunity to ask a broader question:

Can a tikanga-led restorative process complement the Court by creating a culturally safe, trauma-informed space where respectful dialogue, shared responsibility, and child-centred decision-making can occur?

Our whānau, aiga have experienced the complexities of prolonged litigation involving multiple agencies and legal processes. Those experiences have strengthened my conviction that tikanga Māori offers more than cultural symbolism—it provides practical principles for restoring relationships, protecting mana, and supporting sustainable outcomes.

If assessed as appropriate, I believe a tikanga-led restorative process should be grounded in:
🌿 Manaakitanga – caring for the dignity and wellbeing of all participants.
🌿 Whanaungatanga – strengthening relationships and shared responsibilities.
🌿 Tika – ensuring fairness and integrity throughout the process.
🌿 Pono – encouraging honesty, accountability, and transparency.
🌿 Aroha – approaching one another with compassion and respect.

Ultimately, our tamariki, mokopuna deserve more than prolonged conflict.

They deserve adults who are prepared to seek understanding before division, restoration where possible, and decisions that uphold their mana, identity, whakapapa, and long-term wellbeing.

My hope is that this conversation contributes to a wider discussion across the legal profession, restorative justice practitioners, whānau, hapū, iwi, marae, policymakers, and our communities.

Could tikanga-led restorative justice become a stronger complement to Family Court processes in Aotearoa, where it is safe, voluntary, and appropriate?

I welcome respectful whakaaro from those working in restorative justice, tikanga Māori, Family Court practice, child advocacy, social work, mediation and Indigenous justice.

🐉⚜️🐉

01/07/2026

Kia ora e te whānau, aiga 🌺

I'm excited to share that I've refreshed my LinkedIn profile to better reflect the mahi I have been honoured and privileged to do through **Waituhi Consultancy t/a Ana Toi DC N8tives Whānau Ora** these past 3 years.

My work centres on child protection, whānau-aiga advocacy, kaupapa Māori leadership, Pasefika practice, education, holistic health and wellbeing. neurodiversity, and supporting culturally responsive systems change across Aotearoa, NZ.

If you'd like to keep up with my professional journey, connect for future collaborations, or learn more about my work, I'd love to connect with you on LinkedIn.

🔗 **https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonita-waimarie-mereana-rakena-22b1772bb/**

Ngā mihi nui to everyone who has supported our kaupapa. I look forward to continuing to work alongside whānau, aiga, communities, and organisations to help build safer, stronger, and more inclusive futures.

Grounded in tikanga Māori, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and trauma-informed practice.

"Healing people. Strengthening systems. Protecting Indigenous knowledge."

Nāku iti noa / Kind regards,
Fidelis et Constans

🐉⚜️🐉

23/05/2026

🌊 He waka wairua, he vaka tautua. We rise together 🌊

Kia ora, ia orana, mahalo, mālō e lelei, talofa lava e te whānau, ‘ohana, fanau, aiga 🌺

Waituhi Consultancy continues to shift.

What began as a management consultancy service grows into something bigger — an intergenerational kaupapa grounded in whakapapa, rangatiratanga, manaakitanga, collective wellbeing, and systems transformation.

Our mahi exists to strengthen whānau and aiga capability, restore wellbeing, and help create futures where tamariki, mokopuna, whānau, aiga and communities can thrive without disconnecting from identity, culture, or belonging.

Through kaupapa Māori, Pasefika, trauma-informed and neuro-inclusive approaches, we support transformation across:

🌿 Education
🌿 Holistic health and wellbeing
🌿 Community systems
🌿 Cultural capability
🌿 Trauma recovery pathways
🌿 Whānau and aiga capability building

At Waituhi, we believe healing and systems change belong together.

We believe mātauranga Māori matters.

We believe Indigenous knowledge deserves protection.

We believe future generations deserve systems built with dignity, inclusion, and restoration at their centre.

Our kaupapa weaves together:

🌊 Waituhi — collective waters, connection, belonging
💧 Waiora — restoration, wellbeing, flourishing
🛶 Matahourua — ancestral navigation and future-building
⚓ Hulk Marion — remembrance, truth-telling, and transforming inherited harm into restoration

Our focus:

✨ Strengthening whānau and aiga capability
✨ Rangatiratanga-led transformation
✨ Neuro-inclusive futures
✨ Takatāpui inclusion and belonging
✨ Trauma-informed systems design
✨ Indigenous knowledge sovranty
✨ Intergenerational wellbeing

This is not simply service delivery.

This is legacy building.

This is future building.

This is Waituhi.

Mō ngā uri whakatupu.

For future generations. 🌺

Nāku iti noa / Kind regards,
Fidelis et Constans

🐉⚜️🐉

30/04/2026

Opinion: Trust, Te Tiriti, and the Gap Between Commitment and Practice

Recent reporting on declining trust in policing highlights a growing concern within Aotearoa’s public institutions. For many Māori, however, this concern reflects a longer-standing pattern rather than a new development.

I write as a ira kore, wahine Māori mau moko kauae and māmā kotahi, whose experiences sit within the broader systemic issues identified through the WAI 2500, 2575, 2700, and 3060 kaupapa inquiries. These inquiries have consistently documented inequities across policing, health, and justice systems, alongside concerns about access, treatment, and outcomes for Māori.

In October 2023, I was apprehended by male police officers in Auckland during an interaction where I had already complied. I subsequently lodged a complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Authority. While individual incidents must be assessed on their own facts, it is also important to consider how they align with wider patterns already identified through public inquiry.

Over the past three years, I have also been involved in Family Court proceedings concerning my tamariki. The cumulative impact of this engagement has been significant, particularly in terms of mental and emotional wellbeing. This reflects concerns raised in the WAI 2575 Hauora inquiry, where system interaction itself can contribute to ongoing harm when it does not adequately support wellbeing.

At a structural level, Te Tiriti o Waitangi establishes an expectation that the Crown will actively protect Māori wellbeing and rangatiratanga. The challenge is not the absence of this principle, but the inconsistency of its application in practice.

When there is a gap between commitment and lived experience, trust becomes difficult to sustain.

This is particularly relevant in contexts where individuals are navigating multiple systems simultaneously — including policing, health, and family law — and where vulnerability may be heightened by factors such as trauma or marginalisation.

The concept of kaitiakitanga, often referenced within public sector frameworks, implies an active duty of care. Its meaningful application requires more than policy alignment; it requires consistent, relational, and culturally informed practice.

Without this, there is a risk that institutional responses will continue to fall short of both Tiriti obligations and public expectations.

If trust is to be rebuilt, it will require not only acknowledgement of inequities, but sustained alignment between what is stated, what is intended, and what is experienced.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/thedetail/579295/police-face-a-deepening-crisis-of-trust

🐉⚜️🐉

Government pressed for action as scandal over police handling of McSkimming complaints sparks national reckoning

19/04/2026

🌋 HE WERO KI TE KĀWANATANGA 🌋

Kua tae te wā kia kōrero tōtika.

Ko mātou Ngā Uri A Ihumātao ngā kaitiaki tūturu o te whenua, moana, awa, atea ki Ihumātao.

Arā, ka aukatihia mātou i a koutou.
Ka rāhuitia mātou i runga i te tika, te pono me te aroha.

He tohu wairua tēnei panui o te ara tika mō mātou.

🔥 He aha te tika o tēnei?
🔥 Mā wai te mana whakahoki whenua nā koutou i raupatu?

Mā mātou Ngā Uri a Ihumātao kē, i raro i te mana atua o te ihu o Mataoho.
Mataoho, te ahi tupua,
Mataoho, te ahi tawhito
ehara nō te Kāwanatanga.

He whenua ora.
He whenua tuku iho.
He whenua whakapapa.

E kore tātou e noho puku.

Ko te pātai nui ki a koutou, e te Kāwanatanga:
Kei te tū tika koutou?
rānei ka noho tonu hei kaiwhanako me te ringa raupatu?

This is a direct challenge to the NZ Government.

We, the Uri of Ihumātao, have been blocked from our own whenua, moana, awa and ātea.

This “trespass notice” is therefore justified.

Ihumātao is not yours to control.
It is whakapapa.
It is living whenua.

We are kaitiaki and we will not sit in silence.

✊🏽 KA WHAWHAI TONU MĀTOU, AKE, AKE, AKE ✊🏽

🐉🔱🐉

08/04/2026

🪶 He whakatūpato tēnei mō Ihumātao 🪶

24,000 signatures mobilised through SOUL
— including many tangata whenua in solidarity —
and approximately 900 registered hapū members of Te Ahiwaru

Kia mārama tātou:

Ehara tēnei i te whakataetae tau.
This is not a numbers game.

Tangata whenua — ahi kā — are the rightful kaitiaki and landholders through whakapapa, whatutoto, and native title.

That authority is inherent. Not granted. Not transferable.

⚖️ He whakamārama — structures vs whakapapa

A conglomerate — whether a charitable trust, corporate entity, or the Crown — is a constructed system designed to consolidate and control.

It is not whakapapa.
It is not ahi kā.
It does not hold native title.

🔥 Me kī ka tika — let’s be clear

Under current conditions, co-governance is often framed as partnership. But in practice, it can become:

⚠️ a pathway for Kāwanatanga to absorb kaupapa Māori
⚠️ a mechanism to shift authority from hapū to entities
⚠️ a dilution of tino rangatiratanga into shared control

As affirmed by Matike Mai Aotearoa:

✨ Hapū and iwi are inherent constitutional authorities
✨ Tikanga, He Whakaputanga, Te Tiriti uphold Māori decision-making
✨ True balance exists in separate but equal spheres — not absorption

❗ Nā reira — therefore

When:
– conglomerates speak for whenua
– governance structures override ahi kā
– “consultation” replaces decision-making

That is not partnership.
That is the quiet transfer of authority.

✊🏽 Kia ū ki te kaupapa

Yes — many of the 24,000 are our own people.

But still:

Support does not replace ahi kā.
Solidarity does not equal jurisdiction.

Because:

Whakapapa determines authority.
Whatutoto anchors responsibility.
Ahi kā holds the fire.

Ihumātao is not a development opportunity.
It is not a governance experiment.

It is whenua tuku iho.

Held by ahi kā.
Protected by whakapapa.
Exercised through tino rangatiratanga.

📍 He karanga ki te hui

There is a final opportunity to feed into these plans:
🗓️ Sunday 12 April
⏰ 10am
📌 Makaurau Marae — Ihumātao

Be present. Be heard. Hold the line.

Tangata whenua must lead — not conglomerates, not the Crown, not constructed entities.

Kia ū. Kia kaha. Kia mau ki te whenua. 🌿

Nāku iti noa / Kind regards,
Fidelis et Constans

🐉⚜️🐉

06/04/2026

🌿 Open Letter: Statement of Position — Te Whakaoranga me te Painga o ōku Tamariki 🌿

To those responsible for harm against me and my tama toa, toa Samoa 🌺

I write this statement as a māmā kotahi, a guardian of my tamariki, and a survivor of violence.

This statement is made to clearly affirm my position moving forward, with the welfare and best interests of the children as the paramount consideration.

1. Acknowledgement of Harm

The harm experienced by myself and my tamariki was real and had a direct impact on our physical, emotional, and wairua wellbeing.

That harm is acknowledged.
It will not be minimised or reframed.

However, it does not determine the future direction for my tamariki.

2. Paramount Consideration — Welfare and Best Interests

Consistent with the Care of Children Act 2004 (s4 and guiding principles under s5), and as reflected in my affidavit :

All decisions must prioritise the welfare and best interests of the children.

This includes:

Their safety
Their stability
Their cultural identity
Their educational continuity

These are determinative considerations.

3. Cultural Identity, Whakapapa, and Development

The children have established connections to their whakapapa, including Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, their whānau, aiga, and wider community.

Their identity, belonging, and access to kaupapa Māori learning environments are integral to their development, consistent with statutory recognition of a child’s multiculture, language, and identity.

Any arrangement that diminishes or disconnects them from these foundations is not in their best interests.

4. Context of Removal and Tikanga

In October 2023, the children were unilaterally removed from my care by whānau, aiga from our marae.

That removal was not consistent with tikanga Māori principles of protection, manaakitanga, and the safeguarding of wāhine and tamariki.

It represents a misapplication of tikanga in a manner that resulted in harm rather than protection.

As a consequence, the marae has not remained a neutral, safe, or culturally protective environment for myself or my tamariki since that time.

This context is directly relevant to the current arrangements and the need to prioritise environments that uphold both legal and tikanga-based wellbeing.

5. Reason for Application to the Family Court

My decision to apply to the Family Court for a parenting order was made to prevent further harm to both myself and the children.

It was an informed and protective step.

I have previously engaged in parenting support processes, including completing a Parenting Through Separation course while in the care of Women’s Refuge in 2016.

Further, guidance obtained through a Community Law Centre supported my understanding of my rights and responsibilities as a mother and guardian.

This application reflects a considered and child-focused exercise of those responsibilities.

6. Guardianship and Day-to-Day Care

I acknowledge that there is currently an interim day-to-day care arrangement in place.

However, consistent with the Care of Children Act 2004 (particularly s16):

An interim care arrangement should not be treated as displacing the mother’s continuing status and responsibilities as guardian.

Day-to-day care relates to the practical care of the children and does not confer sole decision-making authority.

Guardianship, including kaitiakitanga, remains a shared and ongoing responsibility to make or contribute to decisions affecting the children’s care, development, education, and cultural identity.

7. Good Faith Engagement

I have engaged in prior processes in good faith, including:

Participation in discussions facilitated by Lawyer for Child
Agreement in principle to shared care arrangements
Willingness to formalise those arrangements

Those efforts were not realised following the events outlined above.

Despite this, I remain committed to constructive, child-focused outcomes.

8. Current Position

My application is specific, practical, and restorative:

That the children be educated in an environment that supports:

Continuity of learning
Stability of routine
Strengthening of identity and belonging

This aligns with their welfare and best interests.

9. Forward Position

I am not seeking to escalate conflict.

I am seeking to ensure that:

Decisions are made in accordance with the children’s welfare and best interests
Cultural identity is actively upheld
Stability and wellbeing are prioritised

10. Closing Statement

Accountability for harm remains with those responsible.

My responsibility remains with my tamariki.

I will continue to act in their best interests with clarity, consistency, and good faith.

He kupu whakamutunga

Our tamariki carry whakapapa that binds our whānau, aiga across generations.

That connection is enduring.
It cannot be removed, diminished, or replaced.

Their future must reflect that truth.

He aroha mutunga kore 🤍

— A māmā kotahi, kaitiaki of her tama toa, toa Samoa

Nāku iti noa / Kind regards,
Fidelis et Constans

🐉⚜️🐉

06/04/2026

🌿 He tohu aroha. He tohu mātauranga 🌿

Kia ora, talofa lava e te whānau, aiga 🌺

This morning I share something very close to my ngākau…

I have taken my next giant leap of faith and officially accepted my place into the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Inclusive Education) at Waipapa Taumata Rau.

This is more than just study.
This is more than just a milestone.

✨ This is for my babies.
✨ This is for our whānau, aiga.
✨ And most of all… this is for my late pōtiki, Iki Boo 🕊️

Every step I have taken in this healing journey of ours is carried by aroha, by whakapapa, by whatutoto — the unbreakable bonds that connect us across Te Kore, Te Pō and Te Ao Mārama.

Inclusive education is not just a pathway… it is a calling.
A commitment to ensure that our tamariki, mokopuna — especially those navigating trauma, neurodivergence, and systemic barriers — are seen, held, and uplifted in their full mana.

Iki Boo, my ❤️'s…
I wear your korowai in everything I have done and continue to do.
In every book, every whakaaro, every space I step into — you are always with me.

This achievement is ours. Always 🤍

He uri mātou nō te aroha mutunga kore.
And I will continue to walk this path for our mokopuna yet to come.

Aku tino mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa who continue to hold and tautoko me, my babies and our staunch belief in this kaupapa.

Check out our latest updates at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonita-rakena-22b1772bb/

Nāku iti noa / Kind regards,
Fidelis et Constans

🐉⚜️🐉

03/04/2026

🪶 He mahi aroha. He mahi rangatira. He mahi mō ā tātou mokopuna 🪶

Kia ora, talofa lava e te whānau, aiga 🌺

I just want to take a moment to celebrate and share some of the behind-the-scenes voluntary advocacy and consultancy mahi I’ve been doing through Waituhi Consultancy t/a Ana Toi DC N8tives.

Over the past 10 months, I have been leading and co-designing kaupapa grounded in kaupapa Māori and Pasefika values — supporting our tamariki, mokopuna, whānau, aiga navigating trauma, neurodivergence, and systemic barriers.

This includes:

✨ Hōtaka Kaitiaki Pilot Programme in collaboration with Vaka Tautua
A whānau-centred guardianship programme supporting my own neurodiverse tamariki, whānau, aiga through holistic learning, hauora, identity and safe routines
→ grounded in Te Whare Tapa Whā & Fonofale hauora models

✨ Proposal to Te Ahiwaru – Ahi Kāroa Education Team
Advocating for culturally grounded, trauma-informed, identity-affirming support for neurodiverse mokopuna and their whānau
→ strengthening pathways for education, wellbeing and belonging

✨ Proposal with BPMG Auckland
Aligned with Wai 2500 & Wai 2700 kaupapa inquiries to support:
• Ngā Hōia Māori whānau
• Intergenerational healing and systems advocacy
• Mana wahine through the Te Ara Mana Wahine ki Te Puna Ora proposal to support Mana Wahine creating safe, tikanga-based spaces for healing, advocacy and collective restoration across our hapori

This mahi has been largely self-funded, voluntary, and driven by lived experience, aroha, and responsibility to our people.

It is about:

• Restoring mana
• Strengthening whānau, aiga
• Supporting our tamariki to thrive as themselves
• Challenging systems that were never built for us
• Rebuilding pathways grounded in whakapapa

I don’t stand above this mahi.
I stand within it — as a kaitiaki, morehu, māmā kotahi and proud ira kore wahine Māori mau moko kauae

And I will continue to show up 💯

If you are a whānau, aiga, NGO, social enterprise and potential partner who aligns with this kaupapa — Let’s connect. Let’s build. Let’s restore together.

Nāku iti noa / Kind regards,
Fidelis et Constans

🐉⚜️🐉

18/03/2026

Te Puna Taonga - He Maimai Aroha Project 🌿

Ko te kaupapa o tēnei mahi he tiaki, he pupuri, he tuku iho i ngā kōrero me ngā taonga.

Taonga are more than objects.
They carry whakapapa, mauri and memory.

Through this project I will be sharing what I learn about protecting taonga while studying Te Tohu Tiaki Taonga.

Together we can ensure the stories of our tūpuna are protected for our mokopuna.

Question:
He aha ngā taonga nui o tō whānau?
What treasures hold the stories of your people?

He aha tēnei mea te Taonga? / What is a Taonga?

Within te ao Māori, taonga possess both physical and spiritual characteristics.

Mauri (Life essence)
Taonga carry mauri, the spiritual life force embedded within the materials and the people connected to the taonga. This mauri reflects the relationship between the taonga, the environment it comes from, and the people who care for it.

Cultural and historical significance
Taonga represent ancestral knowledge and identity. They hold memories, events, and relationships that are important to whānau, hapū, marae, iwi and hapori/communities.

Examples of taonga include:
• whakairo (carvings)
• whāriki or raranga taonga
• photographs
• manuscripts or written whakapapa
• waiata or mōteatea recordings

He Taonga – Whakaahua ā Whānau / Whānau Photograph

He aha?
This photograph is a taonga because it carries the faces and memories of our tūpuna.

Ināhea?
Many photographs were taken generations ago and become important records of whakapapa.

Ki hea?
Photographs often come from whānau collections and albums.

He aha ai?
They show who we are and where we come from.

He pēhea?
To preserve photographs we should:

• store them away from sunlight
• keep them in acid-free sleeves or folders
• create digital copies.

Reflection:
A photograph can hold the mauri of a moment in time.

Nāku iti noa / Kind regards,
Fidelis et Constans

🐉⚜️🐉