– Senior Consultant
Moana is a skilled communicator, facilitator and strategist. She has worked with a broad range of Māori groups and organisations, collaborating and negotiating with tribal representatives, legal professionals, government officials, Ministers of the Crown, kaumātua and kuia and traditional knowledge holders of all ages.
Moana holds a conjoint Bachelor of Law and Arts Degree majoring in Maori Studies from Auckland University and a number of professional development certificates.
In 2010 Moana was the recipient of the Te Hunga Roia Maori, Maori Lawyers Association award for Public and Constitutional Law.
Moana has spent twenty years in legal practice working for a range of Māori whānau, hapū, Iwi, trusts and organisations in the Waitangi Tribunal, Māori Land Court and general courts and in direct negotiation with the Government, with a focus on advancing Māori legal issues. Through her previous work experience, she has developed and maintained strong relationships with various Māori groups throughout the country.
She also has excellent drafting skills and experience in producing written material for a wide range of audiences. Moana is fluent in te reo Māori with a strong understanding of tikanga and kawa.
Moana hails from Ngāpuhi and is of proud English and Scottish stock. Moana has very strong connections throughout her iwi, both in Northland and in Auckland where 80,000 Ngāpuhi reside. She remains directly involved with her hapū undertaking a discreet project for Te Rūnanga o Ngāpuhi. She was coordinating counsel for the Te Paparahi o Te Raki Waitangi (Northland) Waitangi Tribunal Stage 1 Inquiry, which produced the key finding on the meaning and effect of He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti as of 1840.
She has also represented claimant groups in the Urewera Inquiry, Wairarapa Inquiry, Whanganui Inquiry, Ngāti Wai Mandate and Maniapoto Mandate Inquiries
The Waitangi Tribunal is also the largest contemporary source of Māori and Māori focused research reports on both the historical and contemporary issues facing Maori. Moana has extensive experience in reading and summarising and critically analysing much of this research.
Moana has also held a number of board positions including being a board member on Northpoint Trust, the Tuhoronuku Independent Mandated Authority and Te Kura Kaupapa o Whangaroa.