Justin Tipa elected as new chairperson of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu

Protecting the taiao (environment) and promoting intergenerational transmission of te reo are the big challenges ahead for Ngāi Tahu, according to the iwi's new chairperson.

Justin Tipa (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe) is stepping into the role of Kaiwhakahaere of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, replacing Lisa Tumahai who steps down after seven years.

Tipa, his partner and their four boys reside on the pā at Moeraki, where he has been the chairperson of Te Rūnanga o Moeraki since 2019.

Working on the pā with a tea towel in hand is his 'happy place,' he said. And despite his new role he still expects to be thrown the tea towel at every hui he attends.

"Being the chairperson of my rūnanga as well and heavily involved in life on the pā certainly keeps me grounded and attuned to the views and issues that are facing our people day in and day out. While we've got a huge population, 80,000 tribal members, we're pretty few and far between with bodies on the ground to dig holes, wash dishes, look after our manuhiri," he said.

"Ultimately it's about having thriving pā, thriving villages, and when our pā, our marae, our rūnanga are thriving our iwi is thriving. And that will make it a lot easier for the large portion of our tribe that lives outside the takiwā (region) to re-engage in a positive manner."

Tipa has a background in language and culture revitalisation and is a practitioner of traditional karakia supporting many Ngāi Tahu marae to grow capacity on the paepae.

He said he would like to put a focus on te reo in the home and intergenerational transition, especially as the iwi approached 25 years of their te reo strategy, 'Kotahi mano kāika'.

"The reality is for a lot of our Tahu's we haven't had the privilege of being immersed and growing up within our mita (dialect) and so for a lot of our whānau it is acquiring the language ka tahi, ka rua ka aro atu ki te mita me ngā āhuatanga ake o te reo o Kāi Tahu."

Tipa said he heard a lot that tamariki wanted to hear their reo and tikanga valued within the iwi, from governance to marae.

Seeing that championed from the top of the governance table is something he would like to normalize, he said.

Tipa also acknowledged that the iwi's responsibility to the taiao, the environment, would be a big challenge moving forward.

"Most of our marae are coastal marae, we're located right down on the beach, and so we've got many of our urupā and some of our marae being inundated. Kei te ngahoro atu ki te moana."

When it came to the new government, which formed at almost the exact same time as Tipa was elected kaiwhakahaere, he said he was committed to work on behalf of Ngāi Tahu with whoever was holding office, no matter where on the political spectrum they sat.

"My focus is advancing [the] Ngāi Tahu agenda, it's not responding to the government. Heoi anō we will absolutely be doing our best to maintain and protect the Ngāi Tahu Claim Settlements Act, our rangatiratanga and whatever position it is that Ngāi Tahu is holding."

The first order of business is to noho and kōrero tahi with the new government, he said.