Discourses/7. New Zealand: “I Have a New Taiaha”: Learning New Ways to Advocate for the Rights of Mokopuna Māori

Abstract

This chapter describes the authors’ work with a uniquely Aotearoa New Zealand group, the Māori (indigenous people) Wardens. Their experiences of learning about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) in the context of their lived experiences of childhood is revealed based on interviews and comments shared during Child Rights and Advocacy workshops. The chapter reveals two key messages; first, that the UN CRC is not currently promulgated effectively to promote and protect children’s rights; and second, that Māori Wardens are in a unique position to advocate for the ‘hard-to-reach’ and the most disadvantaged. In their voluntary role they witness first hand, the impacts of harsh, neo-liberal economic ideology on whānau, where, as is revealed, they recognise the unrealised potential of principle articles of the UN CRC.