Modelling the partnership journey through PAUA.

Kei raro i te toka motuhake e whakatu ana te paua i nga huarahi ki te kai o nga kaumatua: Beneath a unique rock the paua reveals pathways to the knowledge of elders.

My wife Te Auwe and I first became involved with NZNO in October 2003. This coincided with Maori researcher Sharon Clair successfully applying for the policy analyst Maori position at NZNO.

One of our first roles was to travel to Wellington to support Sharon as NZNO officially welcomed her into its workforce. During the powhiri, chief executive Geoff Annals spoke about NZNO's desire to develop its bicultural partnership. This stimulated my appetite to support Sharon in her new position.

After our return to Auckland, we continued to liaise with Sharon on how we could support her in her task of providing ongoing analysis, from a Maori perspective, of New Zealand's social and political environment as it related to NZNO's mission statement 2001-2005. We acknowledged the fact that, to achieve these expectations, NZNO needed to have effective relations with individuals and groups external to NZNO. Here was a wonderful opportunity for Maori expression to be heard.

To ensure that a Maori view was captured on these very important issues, it was proposed that, under our guidance, NZNO seek assistance to develop guiding principles from which to attain policy positions from Maori whanau, hapu and iwi. In November 2003, and acting as kalhapai to NZNO for the first time, we travelled to North Auckland to seek expressions on themes including biculturalism, the Treaty of Waitangi, child abuse, child poverty and euthanasia from Maori families in the area.

The PAUA (Progressively Acting in Unity and Aroha) Project was set up as the vehicle to assist NZNO achieve its vision of developing a bicultural partnership. PAUA guidelines were established in such a way that, once one clearly understands PAUA's objectives, it then becomes a matter of travelling the required pathways. Te Auwe and I have travelled extensively on such pathways to present PAUA objectives to our Maori people, adding to the themes mentioned above. Nurses' obligations to Maori and tikanga Maori and the above themes are enveloped within PAUA at all times. Discussions on any of the themes normally happen during the second or even the third meeting with families. During these sessions, it has taken up to four hours to record people's contributions. We are now returning to areas already visited to present the draft book of recorded contributions for clarification. We have over 40 NZNO PAUA kaihapai team members volunteering to support this process by circulating the draft book among their family and friends.

Here are a few expressions recorded so far:

* First and foremost, we would like to see the bicultural partnership developed through good faith, as through our experiences, free will learning makes people hungry for more.

* The Treaty of Waitangi is very important to Maori. The wish of our ancestors is that the treaty should be used to care for their children and great grandchildren.

* Nurses are to care for Maori with due respect and dignity, reflecting their cultural values.

* We support PAUA travelling to all areas of Aotearoa to collate Maori cultural values from each family, tribe and sub tribe.

Report by Koro and Te Auwe Te Pania, kaihapai to PAUA

Kaihapai: the person or people who go before, preparing and making safe the way for those following.