The importance of tikanga Māori in Aotearoa’s legal system
Two lawyers teaching Māori customary law at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington are striving to support the next generation of legal minds.
Horiana Irwin-Easthope (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu and Rakaipaaka), founder of Māori law firm Whāia Legal, is teaching LAWS 313—Ngā Tikanga Ture Māori (Māori Law) at Te Kauhanganui Tātai Ture—the Faculty of Law along with her friend and Whāia Legal co-director Tai Ahu (Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Kahu [Te Paatu]). Both believe it’s more important than ever for students to learn about Māori legal concepts and practices.
The pair’s friendship blossomed after they crossed paths studying law and Māori language at Te Herenga Waka in the mid-2000s—they were both active members of Ngā Rangahautira, the Māori Law Students’ Association.
“Ngā Rangahautira was a really central part of my time at law school,” says Horiana. “I met people there who are now my very close friends and current partners at Whāia Legal. Those strong relationships are a real testament to the value of Ngā Rangahautira—law school can be quite an unfriendly environment for a lot of Māori students, so having a space to come together and support one another was really important.”
Horiana says in her first year at law school she got a front row seat to the real impacts the law can have on Māori.
“My first year—2004—was when the Foreshore and Seabed Act hīkoi took place, so we were literally across the road when it arrived on parliament grounds. In that moment, the reality of the effects of the law and those that wield power was on full display.”
After graduating with conjoint law and arts degrees (her BA majored in Māori resource management), Horiana worked at Russell McVeigh and boutique Māori law firm Kāhui Legal, before heading to the United States to do her Master of Laws at Harvard Law School. She then returned to Aotearoa and, after having her son, established Whāia Legal, with whānau, friend, and colleague Maia Wikaira joining in 2018.
Whāia Legal has a kaupapa Māori focus and works predominantly for Māori clients across different areas of law, with the aim of pushing the status quo to effect change. Whāia Legal currently has four partners, with offices in Wellington and Christchurch.
Tai and Horiana feel strongly about maintaining a connection to the law school and say it’s a privilege to work with the next generation of legal minds.
“I love the questions the students ask, their approach to work, and how smart they are. They are also strong in their tikanga and reo, which is awesome to see,” says Tai.
It’s amazing to work with students in this way—it’s important that we as practitioners keep in touch. These students will be the movers and shakers of our legal system, and it’s great that Māori thinking is at the forefront of the development of law.
Tai Ahu
Back when Horiana and Tai studied Māori customary law—taught then by Carwyn Jones—there were only about 15 students in the class. In 2024 that number has swelled to between 100 and 120. Horiana says the new requirement to teach tikanga as part of a law degree has obviously partly helped boost enrolments in LAWS 313, but the move hasn’t been without its detractors.
“It has been embraced by the majority of the profession and opposed by a loud few who believe there is no basis for tikanga as, or in, the law,” she says. “My approach is always to try to engage and understand the basis for differing views. Unfortunately, there are some people who hold those views who either refuse to be engaged or are unwilling to engage in debate grounded in reality. It will be an on-going process for the law school to navigate.”
Horiana also has serious concerns with the way in which the coalition agreements between the different political parties that make up the current Government—which are forming the basis of a number of actions the Crown is taking—are seemingly overriding Aotearoa’s constitutional arrangements.
To simply say, ‘well sorry, we’ve got a coalition agreement so we are just going to push ahead with this change,’ without considering the implications under Te Tiriti o Waitangi—or , for example, the Bill of Rights Act 1990—is fundamentally unconstitutional.
Horiana Irwin-Easthope
“The government—and the Crown, for the purposes of the Crown–Māori relationship—have a broad range of obligations. The implication of these actions is that agreements between three political parties are being held in higher regard than the Treaty of Waitangi—one of our constitutional founding documents. Something is wrong with that picture and should be of real concern to New Zealanders who care about the way power is exercised in our democracy,” she says.
However, Horiana and Tai and doing all they can to instil a sense of hope in up-and-coming young lawyers.
“I’m a big believer in hope—that’s what we’re striving to encourage, notwithstanding whatever else might be going on,” says Horiana. “The reality is that a number of young Māori people feel attacked and isolated by these policies and actions, so my focus is on reminding them that the law can be a tool to make a difference, whilst being realistic about the limitations of that tool. I have so much hope in what they’re capable of achieving, so I see my role as supporting them to do that.”