Up to September 2021, Gerrard Albert has been the Chair of Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui, the post-settlement governance body for Whanganui Iwi (Iwi means a Māori tribal grouping) established at settlement of the tribe’s claim with the New Zealand Government in 2014. As a result of the claim settlement, New Zealand accorded legal personhood to the Whanganui River, flipping the existing paradigm by placing the River as the focus of human interaction in line with the indigenous value set of Whanganui Iwi, called Tupua Te Kawa, now shared with the nation. Since then, other nations have followed suit in an effort to protect the environment by according to values, or legal rights to natural resources.
Speaker
Gerrard Albert
Chair of Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui, Whanganui Iwi, New Zealand
