Acclaimed Indigenous Rights Advocate Honoured

Friday, 15 December 2017, 10:37 am
Press Release: Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Inc

Internationally Acclaimed Indigenous Rights Advocate Honoured

Ngāti Kahungunu legal scholar, Moana Jackson receives honorary doctorate

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc. wishes to congratulate internationally acclaimed, and one of Māoridom’s most important legal scholars, Moana Jackson of Ngāti Kahungunu and Rongomaiwahine descent who will today receive an honorary doctorate from Victoria University.

Moana Jackson is a member of the Ngāti Kahungunu Taumata, an auspicious group of leaders who provide expertise leadership to the Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporation.

The doctorate in law acknowledges the outstanding contribution Moana has to legal scholarships around Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to debates about how Māori are discriminated by the justice system and their place in New Zealand society.

Victoria University Chancellor Sir Neville Jordan says, "As well as leading debates about the Treaty of Waitangi and the treatment of Māori by the criminal justice system, Mr Jackson is considered one of the world's foremost experts on indigenous peoples' rights.”

Moana graduated with a Bachelor of Law from Victoria University in 1969 and from that moment onwards he has accomplished many things in the justice sector pertaining to the betterment of Māori. From co-founding Ngā Kaiwhakamārama I ngā Ture (the Māori legal service) and later Te Hau Tikanga (the Māori law commission) to investigation the justice system and its bias against Māori which led to the seminal report He Whaipaanga Hou.

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc. chairperson Ngahiwi Tomoana commented: “This is a huge acknowledgment for one of our finest leaders, Moana
Jackson who epitomizes tinorangatiratanga, and one of the staunchest advocates of Te Tiriti o Waitangi”.

Moana has spent decades fighting for indigenous rights and has influenced generations of policymakers and jurists alike. He also convenes the Independent Constitutional Transformation Working Group.

Tēnā koe, Dr. Moana Jackson, e whakahōnoretia nei e Te Whare
Wānanga o Wikitōria. Kua rangatira i a koe ō iwi, ō waka, ō karangatanga huhua. Ka heke te rae ki a koe, Moana. Tū mai rā, Kahungunu! Tū mai rā, Rongomaiwahine!

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