Dr Alistair Reese
Dr Alistair Reese, is of Scottish/Welsh/Irish/English descent and was born and raised in Hamilton, NZ. His eponymous ancestor Alexander sailed to Christchurch from Glasgow in 1867. After high school he spent ten years as a peripatetic traveller, including a two-year Pacific sojourn with the Fri Peace Odyssey. On his return to NZ, he settled in the Bay of Plenty in the Tapuika district of Paengaroa and has farmed there with his wife Jeannie [Canadian/ Lebanese/Mi’kmaq] for the past forty years. His daughter Naomi, son in law, Koro Nicholas and their baby son Akaripa Sean live nearby – they dream together of a better future for all who live in this land. He has postgraduate degrees in Theology, History and Tikanga Māori. Alistair is a Research Affiliate at the University of Otago and his research and speaking interests centre on New Zealand colonial history with a particular focus on the treaty and reconciliation.
Antony Nihoniho
Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Pākehā.
Lecturer (University of Canterbury), Pou Tāhū (Laidlaw College).
Antony is a lecturer in Māori and Indigenous Studies and teaches into multiple disciplines to assist the integration of te ao Māori (a Māori worldview). His Masters thesis completed in 2021 examines the mechanisms of colonization of his papa kāinga (ancestral home) in Tuahiwi, North Canterbury, where he currently lives with his wife and three children. He is currently completing a PhD which investigates the intervention of colonial capitalism in Māori relations with whenua (land) and how Māori may achieve collective wellbeing.
Antony also lectures at Laidlaw College supporting theology, counselling and education students to engage in te ao Māori from a Christian worldview. He is advisor to Christian kura, various Christian social support organizations and churches.
He is passionate about the interface between Christianity and te ao Māori, the biblical imperative within the history of Aotearoa New Zealand and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. His wife Elizabeth (Ngāti Pākehā) is a counsellor with Te Whare Awhero. They attend Grace Vineyard Church.
Huhana Pene
He uri tenei nō Ngati Porou me Ngati Maniapoto
Currently serving on Boards
Kaitiaki Whenua Trustee for both iwi o Ngati Porou / Ngati Maniapoto.
Kaitiaki Whakamōemiti mō te Hāhi Ratana.
Chairperson for a local Community Association.
Counselling Practice - for over near 18 years working with tamariki, taiohi, whanau, roopu. Bicultural Mauri Ora Practitioner / Counsellor working with ACC Sensitive Claims, Family Harm Family Court Reg. Counsellor, Relationships, Intergenerational Trauma & Abuse, HospCurice, Youth Residential, Womens Prison, Teen parent unit. Clinical and Cultural Supervisor.
Counselling Educator - Te Taupuatanga o te Whanau Bachelor Applied Counselling with Te Pū Wananga ō Anamata.
Currently working to complete PhD studies On wairua experiences of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Other work - Constitutional Review & Policy development.
Te Hurihanga Rihari
Te Hurihanga Rihari is the founder and pastor of Te Kupu Ministries and serves as the spiritual leader for Ngati Torehina ki Mataka. A people who have lived on the land called Mataroa in unbroken tenure since the arrival of their early ancestors. With a deep love for God, Te Hurihanga speaks passionately about a profound encounter that his early ancestors experienced on their mountain Mataka and how that event influenced their culture, traditions, and the arrival of the gospel hundreds of years later. Te Hurihanga believes that aspects of his people's encounters and experiences are relevant and important for our consideration today.