Rakaitemania Parata Gardiner
Policy Adviser

Tena tatau i nga ahuatanga o te wa,

He uri tenei no te maunga e kore e neke, a Maunga Hikurangi. Ko Waiapu toku awa, e whakairotia ana i tona ake ara i te whenua o aku matua tipuna o Te Aitanga a Mate, o Ngati Horowai, otira, o Ngati Porou. No Ngati Awa, no Ngati Pikiao, no Ngai Tahu, no Te Whanau-a-Apanui, me Te Whakatohea hoki ahau. Ko Rakaitemania Parata Gardiner toku ingoa.

I was raised in the shadow of my ancestral mountain, Hikurangi, in the capital of paradise, Ruatoria, on the East Coast. I was blessed with an upbringing at the centre of a dynamic web of orators, debaters, thinkers, and storytellers. Because of this, I am a passionate linguist - te reo ake o Ngati Porou was my first language, English my second, and Brazilian Portuguese my third.

I have lived in Wellington for over ten years and attended Wellington Girls’ College and Victoria University. I have come from the Ministry of Justice, where I was a policy advisor in the Policy Group, and then in the Post-Settlement Commitments Unit of the Crown-Maori Relations Roopu.

I am keen to make my contribution to NZMT through policy and building the cultural fluency of our organisation and staff.

Tena koutou, otira, tena tatau katoa.

Dani McDonald
Communications Adviser 

Tēnā koutou katoa,

Ko Āraiteuru, ko Uruao ōku waka. Ko Te Atua o Taiehu, ko Pukekura, ko Aoraki kā mauka. Ko Otākou te tai. Ko Kāti Tāoka, ko Kāti Huirapa o Arowhenua, ko Kāti Hateatea ōku hapū.  Ko te Rua Tītī te papa kāika.  Ko Kāi Tahu, ko Kāti Māmoe, ko Waitaha kā iwi. He uri ahau o Pōtiki i te taha o tōku whaea. No Ōtepoti ahau. Ko Dani taku ikoa.

 Firstly, thank you for the opportunity to serve NZ Māori Tourism as the communications adviser. I am itching to master my role and soak up all the knowledge from Pania and my colleagues. There is a lot of soaking to do!

I grew up in Dunedin, where my mother underwent her BA in te reo Māori and IT, and my father was a fisherman in Otākou. As a child, I was involved in the Kai Tahu Whānau group and travelled to British Columbia, Canada,  as part of a cultural exchange with the First Nation people. That experience sparked my love of travel and discovery.

I come from a background in journalism, more recently a reporter for Stuff. I’m passionate about writing, travelling and imagery.

I look forward to bringing my experience to NZ Māori Tourism.

No reira, tēnā tātou katoa.

The Greening of Superyachts

In these challenging times when our Pacific Islands face the very real threat of climate change, there is still reason to be optimistic in the yachting community, Managing Director of New Zealand Luxury Experiences John Panoho writes. Click on the photo to read further.

Halal hangi on the tourism horizon?

Shoot your game the halal way and cook it in a hangi? It’s a vision proposed by MAZE Chief Executive Andre Taylor, who is keen for Māori business operators to take a slice of booming Halal tourism market.
Click on the photo to read further.

MBIE's Māori Economic Development Group, with the support of Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, Ministry for Primary Industries and Te Puni Kōkiri, are hosting a series of meetings to discuss capability and innovation pathways of support and partnership with Government and local business networks.

The programme will include inspirational speakers and local businesses talking about their experiences, as well as short introductions by government agencies on support and partnership for Māori enterprises.

Click on the button above to register.

Tauranga - Wednesday 7, November
Gisborne - Tuesday, 13 November
Hastings, Wednesday, 14 November
Nelson, Saturday, 17 November

Qualmark is launching a new award, the 100% Pure New Zealand Experience Awards, which will be held annually in April.

Tourism operators who hold Qualmark Gold status will be eligible to apply each year. Applications will be assessed by a judging panel made up of representatives from Tourism New Zealand and Air New Zealand.

Qualmark will provide information to  licence holders about the 100% Pure New Zealand Experience Awards criteria over the coming months. Entries open int he New Year.

Click here to quickly find opportunities, training, compliance dates and related tasks from across government. You can search by region, date, and category.

From left, our Chief Adviser Hoki-mai Chong, China Travel Services' Lisa Li and our deputy chair Daniel Walker went to the opening night of the musical comedy City of 100 Lovers in Auckland's SkyCity.  The musical was part of the pre-opening for the China New Zealand Year of Tourism. Make sure you check it out.

Quick Response Grant
Up to $7,500. Helping New Zealand artists, arts practitioners and arts organisations to create and distribute their work. Decisions take five weeks and typically one in four or five applications get funded.
Closing date: 9 Nov 2018.

Tohunga Tukunga Mentoring Programm
Up to $5000. The Tohunga Tukunga mentoring programme offers funding to help preserve and pass on contemporary and traditional Ngā Toi Māori (Māori arts) knowledge and practice. Three mentoring opportunities are available in each of the three annual funding rounds. Closing date: 9 Nov, 2018.

Toi tipu Toi rea – emerging Māori artist grant
Up to $7500. The Toi Tipu Toi Rea is a grant to support Māori artists or practitioners, at an early stage of their career, to undertake an arts project. Closing date: 9 Nov 2018

Are you ready for the Year of Tourism? Don't let your Māori Tourism business miss out. The 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism has a range of tools and training available at the China Toolkit. There is information on China's language and etiquette, plus further training and ideas to add value to your business.

The Government announced it will invest $1.5 billion over 25 years in Porirua City. Part of that will see 4900 homes built, as well as improved amenities across the city. That includes a renew of about 2900 state homes in the east and west of the city, and build approximately a further 2000 affordable and market homes, including Kiwibuild homes. Click on the link above to read more.

New Zealand Māori Tourism attended the opening night of the NZ Asia Pacific Film Festival at Sylvia Park Hoyts.
The NZAPPFF is an annual event that showcases the best films coming out of Asia Pacific. It's well worth checking out the films.  Dying To Survive (which played at the opening night) is the second biggest film in the world for 2018. And it's director Wen Muye's first film!