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Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne law student Safari Hynes (Photo: Supplied; additional design by Archi Banal)
Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne law student Safari Hynes (Photo: Supplied; additional design by Archi Banal)

ĀteaApril 7, 2022

‘Matua Moana made me want to be a thinker, an educator, an organiser and a doer’

Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne law student Safari Hynes (Photo: Supplied; additional design by Archi Banal)
Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne law student Safari Hynes (Photo: Supplied; additional design by Archi Banal)

As Aotearoa mourns the passing of Moana Jackson (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou, Rongomaiwahine), law student Safari Hynes tells Nē how the man revered by many as ‘the conscience of the nation’ changed his life.

The outpouring of aroha from across the country for Moana Jackson, revered indigenous rights lawyer, philosopher and “conscience of the nation”, as he was described by Ani Mikaere in her whaikōrero at his tangihanga, speaks to the impact he had on so many. 

Over the past week, thousands across the country paid tribute to the late Moana Jackson in person at his tangi, while social media has been flooded with quotes, videos, stories and messages from those who were inspired by his work and the way in which he carried himself.


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Victoria University law student Safari Hynes, of Rangitāne and Ngāti Kahungunu, was one of those whose life trajectory was altered by Matua Moana. 

“He made me want to be a thinker, an educator, an organiser and a doer. He made me want to educate and organise our people to completely transform our constitutional arrangements to reflect our status as tangata whenua.”

An internationally renowned indigenous rights lawyer, Moana Jackson helped author a number of landmark documents, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and Matike Mai Aotearoa, the latter of which was formed with the intention:

“To develop and implement a model for an inclusive Constitution for Aotearoa based on tikanga and kawa, He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tireni of 1835, Te Tiriti o Waitangi of 1840, and other indigenous human rights instruments which enjoy a wide degree of international recognition.”

These reports have helped educate the Crown of their roles and responsibilities to Māori, as well as support Māori to understand the impermeability of those rights under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and how that might be applied through the legal system. 

Moana Jackson (Image: Tina Tiller)

Moana Jackson was the voice of reason for Māori in our struggle for self-determination, but he also offered non-Māori the chance to understand their own privileges in the historical backdrop of Māori being disenfranchised from land, culture and heritage. 

When word came of his passing, Hynes offered his support to Matahiwi marae, sitting on the paepae throughout the tangihanga last week. He played a helping role in picking up koha put forward by manuhiri, and supporting waiata of hau kāenga, while having a front-row seat to the demonstrations of aroha conveyed by the multitudes who made the journey to pay tribute. 

At the request of Moana Jackson, wāhine Māori were encouraged to speak on the marae ātea at his tangihanga on Matahiwi marae. A number of iwi maintain this practice, where many other iwi have tikanga around the protection of wāhine and whakapapa. The mana of his dying wish was honoured with an unprecedented number of wāhine Māori speaking on the marae ātea over the course of the tangihanga. 

 “The number of wāhine that spoke on the marae was beautiful. Having not seen that before, it was amazing,” says Hynes. Watching the rōpū Asians for Tino Rangatiratanga speak on the paepae illustrated his impact not just on Māori, but on tauiwi as well. It was amazing seeing all the different people he touched from all around the motu, from the Māori nurses, to Ihumātao, to Ngāti Wai who came to acknowledge his help with their kaupapa,” says Hynes.

In terms of articulating tino rangatiratanga and the rights of tangata whenua, Moana Jackson was the godfather. 

“It was so beautifully put by whaea Ani Mikaere, he was the conscience of our nation. He was the lead thinker and kept us all on our toes.”

His calm and composed presence would draw people in to engage in every word, none of which were wasted or spoken in haste, but delivered methodically in a simple and direct way that could enlighten even the most feeble minds who challenged him

He was the personification of humility. He would put the effort in, where possible, to greet every person that walked into a room for one of his kōrero. He would always be thankful for emails and getting in touch with him. He was never concerned with receiving big awards, or titles, or being lauded by people. As a young, egotistical university student, he was and continues to be my example for how to behave and for how to carry myself,” says Hynes. 

Moana Jackson receiving his honorary doctorate from Victoria University (Photo: Leonie Pihama)

When others argued emotionally against Māori rights, claiming they’re no different to the rights of non-Māori citizens under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Jackson would calmly respond with facts in a way that was effortless yet powerful. 

It has been said by many young Māori lawyers that Moana Jackson was their inner voice, such was his leadership. For Safari Hynes, Moana Jackson was his exemplary role model, and will continue to be present in his thoughts. 

“He is my hero. He’s who I’m trying to channel when I’m thinking, he’s the voice inside my head that says, “How can I look at this from another angle?” I’ll be asking myself ‘what would Moana think’ very often.”

His noble chieftainship outshone those who tried to challenge him, and his perspective on topics was a reassuring voice for Māori seeking to understand how to articulate our thoughts on mana motuhake. 

He once told me that belief was the worst thing colonisation took from us. He worked so hard to instil that belief back into all of us. The belief that our ways of living pre-colonisation and our entire being as Māori were sufficient for us. That we didn’t need to try and be like Pākehā, or use Pākehā systems, in order to thrive,” says Hynes. 

Moana Jackson had the ability to shut down, in an educational and respectable manner, the most racist and ignorant arguments put forward by the foolish and uninformed who on many occasions attempted to challenge his expertise on Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

He could take complex issues and draw upon the right analogies and stories to step-by-step help anyone understand and draw their own conclusions. This is a rare skill,” says Hynes. 

An unparalleled thought-leader, Moana Jackson was one of the foremost speakers on race relations in Aotearoa, an exceptional articulator of Māori and indigenous rights and a beacon of unwavering truth for constitutional law in the context of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

“I remember him telling me that law school and the work we’re doing [Tiriti work] is tough but to never lose sight of the bigger goals that we were fighting for. He’d often say ‘stay brave’, which I take as a whakahau for never compromising our beliefs or what we want, that our people have compromised enough over the last 180 years and that we must keep pushing for the absolute realisation of tino rangatiratanga.”

His passing has had a tremendous impact on many Māori and non-Māori, although his legacy will not be left in the dusty pages of history. 

The Matike Mai report is one of the most important documents that has ever been produced in this country’s history, a process which Moana Jackson led.   

“It’s very easy to get caught up in blaming the Crown for everything they’ve done and continue to do; what’s more difficult is figuring out how all of our hapū and iwi are going to fundamentally change the systems and structures of this country. We will ensure that this kaupapa he led and all others that follow in its wake will be realised.”

It was put forward at his tangi that the government include the teachings of Moana Jackson in the revised compulsory history curriculum.

Time will tell how the government maintains its role as Treaty partner to Māori, and how it honours the legacy of one of the most influential figures in the history of Aotearoa.


Follow The Spinoff’s te ao Māori podcast Nē? on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast provider. 

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Design: Tina Tiller
Design: Tina Tiller

Pop CultureApril 4, 2022

TV co-creators Michael and Matariki Bennett on whānau, fantasy and the art of letting go

Design: Tina Tiller
Design: Tina Tiller

Filmmaker Matariki Bennett interviews her dad Michael (and vice versa) about working together writing and directing Te Kohu – The Mist, the latest episode of TVNZ horror anthology Beyond the Veil.

Michael: Do I interview you or do you interview me?

Matariki: We take turns…?

Michael: So Matariki, tell me about your new film Te Kohu. 

Matariki: Our film! Te Kohu is a story of a family learning to let go, letting their daughter fly. Specifically, it’s about an 18-year-old wild-spirited young Māori woman who has to choose between living in our world or living in the world of the Patupaiarehe, the tribe of the fairy people, when she falls in love with a Patupaiarehe. So really, it’s about her sister and her family being able to let her go. 

Michael: What was confronting and amazing about making this film with you was there was the story on screen and the story in our real world. You’re the youngest, you were 18 when we were making the film, the same age as the character Whetū. We’re telling the tale together of a young woman going to join the fairy people, but in a way, we’re telling the story of you and your siblings spreading your wings and flying. 

Matariki: Yeah, exactly! I remember when you, mum and I first started writing it, I was still living at home, then I went flatting and I would come around at 9am after being out all night and my friends would be saying what are you doing? And I’d say I’m making a movie with my family! 

Michael: So is now a good time to ask how you sprained your wrist last night? Outside which bar…?

Matariki: Stop it! It’s funny and beautiful, art imitating life. 

Matiriki Bennett and her dad Michael on set (Photo: Matt Klitscher)

Michael: There’s a thing I’ve always grappled with. With both your parents being creators, you and your siblings have turned out to be artists, and I’m never sure if that’s the greatest gift we could ever give or if we have somehow condemned you all!  There’s an aspect to Te Kohu about how scary it is to know we can’t always protect the people we love – kids grow up, they make choices, and you just have to open your fingers and let them go. As a parent, there’s something cathartic in this storytelling; maybe for you, aspects felt autobiographical?!

Matariki: Absolutely. And there was a real fluidness about telling the story of a loving family, when it was us as a family telling the story. There’s an ease to it. We (Tīhema, Māhina and l) grew up on film sets. I’ve seen you can follow your dreams and make a living from it. But also, there’s an ease in that the work isn’t scary – it’s not a mystical thing – all of us kids know how to be professionals, how to fit into the filmmaking process, and how to do really good work in that process. 

Michael: On Te Kohu I will never forget this magical moment. The five of us – Jane, you three kids, me – we were around the monitor, something unbelievably beautiful was happening onscreen – 

Matariki: Yeah, yeah, I know the exact moment you’re talking about!

Michael: Then I saw, in the reflection of the screen… us. All of us super concentrated, doing our jobs. But also, all five of us immersed and transported by the beauty of this thing unfolding, this thing we were creating as a whānau. If I do nothing else in my life professionally, that moment will keep me happy.

Matariki: I remember most the start of the shoot, the sun coming up over Te Maania, the beautiful homestead that was the family home in the film. The whole cast and crew holding hands as whānau did a karakia together. The feeling of that took away any fear and tension, I just knew we were all together and something special was going to happen. The other moment was at the waterfall where we shot, mist all around us – the magical moment where the sister and the Patupaiarehe fall in love. The elements and the landscape and the mist and the camera making this amazing painting-like image.

A scene from Te Kohu – The Mist (Photo: Supplied)

Michael: Directing is always a bit scary. Every time I step out on set as a director, I have no idea if this crazy wonderful vision is going to work, and I feel like if you’re not a bit scared then you’re not doing the job properly. Do you feel that way?

Matariki: It’s a big responsibility, not just your dream, you’ve dragged fifty people along with you…

Michael: But I learned so much from working with you. I carry that tension and responsibility in my jaw. I know, I’ve seen photos of myself, it’s not pretty! But with you, there’s just such joy as you work. I know you’re feeling just as much responsibility as me, but you have a good time. You have confidence in your storytelling voice and, of course, your reo. You were able to hold your own on set!

Matariki: The cast and crew were amazing. I loved being director with you. And sometimes being able to put you in your place! The time you were directing one particular scene and my scene was next, and you were about to steal my mirror shot that I’d planned for ages that was going to be in my scene –

Michael: In my defence, there was a mirror in the shot, it wasn’t a mirror shot!

Matariki: I told you what you were doing, you pulled your head in and you changed the shot. So, thank you, co-director… 

Michael: Thank you, co-director!

Te Kohu – The Mist screens at 9.25pm tonight on TVNZ 2, or stream the whole series now at TVNZ OnDemand.

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