Purpose

The purpose of national representation is to bring these collective interests to the table in a wide range of settings with the objective of:

making tertiary education more accessible and affordable to Mâori;

improving its quality and accountability to Mâori students;

changing and transforming institutional environments so that our participation can be successful;

promoting the use and education of te reo and tikanga Mâori;

working with our own people, community groups and government to achieve the above goals.

Te Mana Âkonga is grounded by and asserts mana Mâori motuhake and tino rangatiratanga, as reaffirmed in both the 1835 Declaration of Independence and in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. As a voice for tauira Mâori that is independent of both the institutions in which we study and of government, we are able to advocate strongly for Mâori and student issues and exert pressure to make real the guarantees made by the Crown to hapû in these nation-to-nation documents.

Te Mana Âkonga is the parallel body to the New Zealand University Students' Association (NZUSA). We have a Te Tiriti o Waitangi-based Memorandum of Understanding whereby each organisation recognises the autonomy of the other and strives to reflect the economic and political equity envisaged in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. While the respective memberships have many similar concerns such as rising fees and levels of student debt, being organised as two autonomous organisations allows the distinctive focuses and issues of each to be addressed.