Hirini Kaa

Guest writer

Dr Hirini Kaa (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Rongowhakaata) is Kaiwhakatō (director) of Te Kākano Leadership Initiative. An historian by training, he has worked for his iwi, for social services, as a researcher, for the Anglican Church and his book Te Hāhi Mihinare was a finalist at the Ockham Book Awards.

Shane Jones in 1990. (Image: APN. Additional design: The Spinoff).

The reason the government can never erase mātauranga

Tino rangatiratanga is important, but mātauranga is what we are truly at risk of losing.

By Hirini Kaa | 24th November, 2025

We’re not all in this together?

Unity isn’t the destination – it’s the journey

Kotahitanga was never meant to silence dissent, but to serve a greater purpose.

By Hirini Kaa | 17th October, 2025

Archbishop Don Tamihere leading a haka, supported by his minita, after being installed as Pīhopa o Aotearoa at a service at Manutuke. (Photo: Lloyd Ashton, April 2018)

Mihinare: 200 years of Māori and the Anglican Church

In his new book, Anglican minister and historian Dr Hirini Kaa tells the 200-year story of iwi engaging with the church. Here he shares some of the threads of his life that led to writing Te Hāhi Mihinare – The Māori Anglican Church.

By Hirini Kaa | 16th November, 2020

Just over two-thirds of New Zealanders worry that they will have to work well past retirement age (Photo: Getty Images)

However well-intentioned, the euthanasia law can never be racism-proof

Hirini Kaa, an Anglican minister and historian who’s worked in the health and social services sectors, explains why he’ll be voting no on the End of Life Choice referendum.

By Hirini Kaa | 12th October, 2020

The Rev Thomas Kendall and Māori chiefs Hongi and Waikato, James Barry (1820). Image: Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington.

When Christianity came to Aotearoa: 150 years of The Bible in te reo Māori

A tool of colonisation or liberation? Te Paipera Tapu (The Holy Bible) turns 150 this year, with the first full translation being published in 1868. Dr Hirini Kaa shares some of the cultural and historical significance of this book.

By Hirini Kaa | 26th September, 2018

Beginning a long journey, or felling a tree to use as a waka? A perfect opportunity for a karakia. (Photo by Cam McLaren/Getty Images)

Waitangi delivers conflict, tension, discomfort. And it is essential for our collective soul

Today the prime minister should be at Te Tii Marae, leading our nation on the difficult path, and not back to Disney Treatyland, writes historian Hirini Kaa.

By Hirini Kaa | 5th February, 2017

Tumutumuwhenua watches over Ōrākei marae (Image: Hannah Peters/Getty)

‘Squatters on their own whenua’: Hirini Kaa on the age old problem with our brand new Unitary Plan

As the otherwise excellent Unitary Plan speeds to a near-inevitable passage today, one part of it remains both intact and very problematic. Dr Hirini Kaa reflects on the abandonment of the mana whenua provisions.

By Hirini Kaa | 15th August, 2016

Dear Mike Hosking – I saw your Waitangi rant, and I can help

Dear Mike Hosking – I saw your Waitangi rant, and I can help

You’re a great talker, but when it comes to Waitangi and Māori you’d do well to take my course, and listen for a change, writes Dr Hirini Kaa.

By Hirini Kaa | 12th January, 2016