Māori Ward Councillor Kaipara District Council

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Pera Paniora

“The role itself comes with a lot of responsibility to uphold what is tika /right, and because it is the first of its kind, it means that there is no job description,” Pera says. “I have to feel my way through, and that’s scary at times, because I am not always going to get it right.” At the same time, she sees it as an opportunity. “It’s incredibly exciting and rewarding to be able to carve out a Māori flavour of councillor unique to the Kaipara.”

If anyone’s able to forge their own path, it’s Pera, who brings a wealth of experience to the role. A lawyer by profession, Pera currently works for her iwi Ngāti Whātua as a Senior Manager and in-house Legal Counsel. Before this, she spent six years practicing at a private law firm and has worked for the Ministry of Social Development and the University of Auckland - where she studied both law and arts (majoring in Political Science and Māori Studies).

In her spare time, Pera’s volunteered for a range of different kaupapa and initiatives over the years – including the Matike Mai led by the late Moana Jackson and Margaret Mutu, which culminated in the Matike Mai Report on Constitutional Transformation. And, crucially, she’s an avid cross-fitter, something that appears to be a common thread amongst her peers. “I am fairly certain that there are more cross fitting than non-cross fitting Māori Ward Councillors in Tai Tokerau,” she notes.

These multifaceted roles stand Pera in great stead at the council table. “It sounds a little bit cliché, but all of this experience has set a well-rounded platform that enables me to carry out my role,” Pera says of her journey to date. “I think it is very important to be able to communicate with people from all walks of life, but to also be able to advocate on behalf of others in an effective manner that will bring about change.”

Despite Pera’s abundance of experience and cross-fitting skills, she initially wasn’t sold on being a councillor. “To be frank, I didn’t want to run for council as I didn’t feel that I was “good enough”, or old enough, or enough of a role model,” she says. Fortunately, Pera had a solid group of people around her who knew she would do the job justice. “I was approached by a number of whanau, friends and community leaders whom I have great respect for, and who encouraged me to put my name forward,” she explains, adding, “I am born and bred in the Kaipara, all of my bones are here, and I am passionate about my people and our community. It wasn’t until I noticed a few tohu /signs that I sensed this was a path that had been chosen for me.”

As Māori Ward Councillor, Pera’s goals are to advocate for her people, for the protection and enhancement of te Taiao, and for more affordable housing. “There are opportunities to leave long-term legacies for our mokopuna in some of these areas,” she says. It’s this future-thinking that underpins a lot of Pera’s mahi, including when it comes to thinking about who eventually takes the reins from her. “I want to ensure that the next Māori Ward Councillor is culturally safe and well supported in the Māori Ward seat,” she says.

Pera brings these values to Te Maruata Rōpū Whakahaere, the Māori sub-committee of LGNZ’s National Council, which she’s a valuable member of. “The night before LGNZ’s annual conference, I got a text from a certain Mayor of the North stating that he thought I would be perfect for this role,” Pera says of how she got involved. She didn’t know what Te Maruata was yet, but she trusted Mayor Moko Tepania. “It turned out to be the best decision I have made so far in my term, because I have met some of the most amazing people and the strategic outcomes we have set genuinely excite me.” They excite LGNZ too.

It's Kaipara’s community spirit that Pera loves most about the rohe. There’s also no shortage of nearby ocean, lakes, maunga and ngahere, which she spends her downtime exploring. On a personal level, Pera’s goals are “to simply to focus on maintaining my hauora and that of my whanau,” she says. After all, you’ve got to make sure you look after number one when you’re giving so much to your community – something Pera does in spades.