Nau mai haere mai

Whakatairangatia i te mana o te rangahau ā-hāpori me te mahi tahi

Community and whānau aspirations for research.

Kaiwhakahaere kōrero 

Kia ora e te whānau,

There’s something truly special and energizing about coming together with others for a shared purpose. At the end of February, Community Research participated in the Community Constellation two day hui, which was hosted by Hui E!. The energy in the room was palpable, reminding us of the real power of collaboration with those committed to creating positive change.

This was immediately followed by our Community Research Strategy Day hui with Kaitiaki. Again the power of having everyone in the room was fantastic! We reviewed the strategy we set in 2024 to assess its ongoing relevance in the current environment. It was affirming to reflect on the course we set out on a year ago, and that it continues to be the right direction towards our vision of a more equitable, engaged and inclusive Aotearoa informed by community knowledge.

We've just acknowledged International Women's Day.  We support the call to action to reduce the pay gap experienced by women. Reducing pay gaps strengthens the economy, fosters innovation, and improves community wellbeing. When everyone is paid fairly, workplaces thrive, families prosper, and our society benefits. As the first country to give women the right to vote, could we can lead the way on this next step in equity for women?

The New Zealand government is introducing significant reforms to the charity and not-for-profit sector. Check out the free webinar below which aims to unpack this proposal, and enable charities to be prepared for consultation on these proposed tax changes.

Read on to explore what’s happening in our sector and how you can be part of the kōrero.

Ngā mihi ki a koe, Lorna

Tautoko Session for Ethnic, Migrant and Former Refugee Researchers
Facilitator: Bev Tso Hong | Kaitūhono, Ethnic Research Engagement Lead, Community Research 
Date: Thursday, 20 March 2025, 11am-12noon. 
Register here

Our March gathering will be an informal session focusing on:

• Connections and Kōrero
• Launching the WhatsApp Tautoko community network, including guidelines for how we connect, network and operate together as a community.
• Topic focus for May session

What is an ethnic, former refugee, and migrant researchers online Tautoko session? 

Ethnic, former refugee, and migrant researcher Tautoko sessions provide a dynamic informal space that fosters a collective sense of shared purpose with opportunities to learn from each other, share stories, experiences, research activities, methodologies, challenges, gaps and explore ideas and opportunities. 

We celebrate all forms of community-led knowledge-making, whether it's community-based mahi and mātauranga, or based within organisations, the public service, or academia. If you are developing 'by community for community' learnings, we value your thoughts and contributions and want you to be part of our research network.  

避風港 | Tangata Tiriti, Tangata o te Kaipuke | People of the Treaty, People of the Ventnor

Be(com)ing Chinese Tangata Tiriti, converging narratives, and the on-going SS Ventnor story

Livestream: Saturday, 22 March 2025, 3:00 to 5:00 pm 

Community Research is pleased to support the livestream of 避風港 | Tangata Tiriti, Tangata o te Kaipuke | People of the Treaty, People of the Ventnor, Freeman’s Bay Community Hall, Tāmaki Makarau on Saturday 22 March.  The event starts at 2pm with Powhiri and introductory talks, followed by the Artists Talk (3pm) and Panel kōrero (3.30pm). Our livestream starts at 3pm.

The Artists Talk by JieYing Cai who has recently curated the exhibition 雙土海葬 DOUBLE BURIAL,  explores the unique relationship between Māori and Chinese through shared rituals around death, burial and afterlife. This exhibition ran from 2-28 February at the Shutter Room Gallery in Whangārei. JieYing will be telling us more about this exhibition and the artworks presented.

The Panel kōrero presents reflections about the exhibition, be(com)ing Chinese Tangata Tiriti, whanaungatanga, shared history, and the poignant intergenerational legacy of the SS Ventnor. This session will be moderated by award-winning playwright and performance poet, Nathan Joe, and features young Chinese New Zealander academics and creatives: Etienne Wain, Dr Lincoln Dam, Eda Tang.

For those of you who can, we encourage you to attend in person. Tickets to attend are available here. However, if you are unable to, you can connect to this event via our livestream link. We will also record this event to share afterwards.

Please register here to receive a reminder with the livestream link and to receive notice when the post-event recording is available.

Making Sense of Charities Consultation and Discussion Points

The New Zealand government is introducing significant reforms to the charity and not-for-profit sector. This session will discuss the consultation paper on tax and charities from the IRD as well as the key themes and issues charities should understand. 

The consultation paper is quite technical so this webinars aims explain what it covers in a simple way. We will also break down in a proactive way how charities might want to consider responding.

At the end of the session you’ll be empowered to understand what the consultation paper covers and what you might want to submit about.

Follow this link to register for this free webinar, and access resources, regarding these proposed changes to tax for charities. 

White Fragility
This episode, from Podcast series 2: Hoki Whakamuri, Haere Whakamua: Looking back to go forward, remains as timely now as ever in our current political context.

White fragility refers to the defensive reactions some white people have when their racial views are challenged, often manifesting as anger, fear, or guilt. This defensiveness can hinder meaningful discussions about race and perpetuate systemic racism.

Understanding the concept of white fragility equips listeners with the tools to engage in self-reflection, recognise their own biases, and participate more effectively in conversations about race. This self-awareness is a crucial step toward dismantling systemic racism and fostering a more inclusive society.

For a more comprehensive understanding, you can listen to the full episode here

This month, we saw research by Paora Moyle, 'Integrating Māori Ecological Wisdom and Civil Defence: A Contrasting Analysis of Vulnerabilities and Resilience in Hauraki Māori Communities' added to our collection. The paper spans two projects, one looking into the impacts of housing instability for Wāhine Māori facing mahi tūkino (family and sexual violence), and the other looking at Hauraki community responses to Cyclone Gabrielle. Having the two projects looked at simultaneously gives an important insight into how - while research may look at a discrete slice of a person's experience - people are complex and have intersecting needs, barriers, strengths, and goals.  

Moyle shares how seeking support can be further complicated by what Wāhine described as a "colonial constructed minefield" that often turns against them when they seek help. For example, seeking support for other needs can result in their children being uplifted. One participant voiced, "They're better off being invisible than seen." (p. 10). Moyle also discusses how the combined impacts of the Cyclone plus the housing instability in Hauraki often had a corresponding impact on increased violence in the home, and how the Cyclone revealed wide gaps in emergency planning for those with additional needs – including the elderly, neurodiverse, and disabled.

You can read Moyle's research here. And let me take this opportunity to remind readers that we are continuing to collect research relating to disaster response within communities in Aotearoa for our future update / broadening of the 'Learning from Christchurch' special collection.  

Recently Uploaded Rangahau

Critical Tiriti Analysis Community of Practice Hui - Unmasking Racism by Logan Hamley and Kyle Tan

Tertiary institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand have been placed under the spotlight for claims of systemic racism. One university progresses ahead of other universities in its attempt to fulfil Te Tiriti o Waitangi commitment through the introduction of the Treaty Statement. In this paper, the Treaty Statement is used as a case study to identify how universities articulate bicultural commitments.

You can read this research here

Ethnicity Data Standards Review

The February 2025 Quarterly update has been released by StatsNZ. Targeted staged StatsNZ engagements with government agencies begin in March. Stage One focuses on:

• the current state of ethnicity data across the government data system
• how ethnicity data is collected, coded, and used across government
• agencies’ ethnicity data needs
• agencies’ capacity, constraints, and readiness to implement changes.

Following Stage One, StatsNZ will decide next steps for further engagement with government agencies and broader engagement with iwi-Māori, community groups, researchers, and academics.

The next quarterly update will be sent out in May 2025. If you have any questions or wish to receive the quarterly update yourselves – contact ethnicitystandard@stats.govt.nz. anyone wanting to learn more about Te Tiriti, its history and what it means to a wide variety of groups and individuals from every part of Aotearoa. 

Treaty Principles Bill - Oral Submissions
These amazing kōrero are a fantastic resource for anyone wanting to learn more about Te Tiriti, its history and what it means to a wide variety of groups and individuals from every part of Aotearoa. 

Network Waitangi Whangarei(NWW) have loaded ALL the videos from each session onto their YouTube channel for all our convenience.

Here is a link to the submission by the awesome and highly knowledgeable Ngaire Rae on behalf of NWW

“Feel like you might say the wrong thing? Be confident supporting Rainbow folk with your FREE guide to being an LGBTQIA+ ally.

It has everything you need! Whether you think your ally-ship is pretty good already, if you're in the community wanting to support EVERYONE, or if you're just making new Rainbow connections.

Request your FREE guide now to get:

• Practical tips to being a super confident Rainbow ally
• Helpful definitions on terms you might not be fully across yet
• Easy-as explainers on gender, pronouns and words to embrace or avoid

Burnett Foundation Aotearoa are so excited to bring this guide to you! You'll LOVE it. And the Rainbow community will LOVE you for it too

Aotearoa Migration Research Network seminar series

Digital Health Access, Inclusion and Equity for Women from MELAA communities
Presenter: Rachel Mukwezwa Tapera,University of Auckland
Date:  Friday, 4 April 2025, 12-1pm

Rachel will present the key findings from her research on how women from Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African (MELAA) communities use modern healthcare technologies and services, exploring whether these technologies are effectively benefiting them.

To attend on the day -  Join the Zoom Meeting
https://auckland.zoom.us/j/91309977188?pwd=eCZfwdE6e7CZFxIngiZqIYUm1oUpWs.1&from=addon

Meeting ID: 913 0997 7188
Passcode: 911659

Belonging conversations: January - May 2025

Nōku te Ao Symposium: He reo tini, he wawata kotahi – Many voices, one goal to end mental distress discrimination.

SAVE THE DATE - 14 May 2025

Almost half of us in Aotearoa will experience mental distress in our lifetimes. Those of us with mental distress are often judged and discriminated against in communities and workplaces, as well as in Aotearoa’s institutions, legislation, services and the media.

This free event held in Tāmaki Makaurau will bring together policymakers, mental health professionals, frontline workers, social or community service providers, and lived experience advocates to take actionable steps towards ending mental distress stigma and discrimination at every level – internal, interpersonal, and institutional.

Our vision is a more equitable, engaged and inclusive Aotearoa informed by community knowledge.
Ko ta mātou whakakitenga he Aotearoa e tōkeke ana, e whai kiko ana, e whakamohio mai ana e te matauranga hapori.

Our Commitment: We provide our services free of charge to support tangata whenua, and the voluntary and community sectors. Community Research is a registered charity, sustained by donations and grants.

Your Support Matters: If you value our work, please consider making a donation. Your contribution helps us continue to foster a more connected and informed Aotearoa.