Nau mai, haere mai to new DCE Piki Thomas

Pipitea Marae in Pōneke was filled with waiata and haka yesterday while along with friends and whānau, we officially celebrated the stand-up of our Kaupapa Māori and Cultural Communities Branch as well as welcoming Piki Thomas as the inaugural Deputy Chief Executive. 

“I am very proud of the drive that kaupapa Māori currently has in our organisation, which is down to a small but highly effective and incredibly passionate team under your leadership. It gives me great confidence to know you’re at the helm of Kaupapa Māori and Cultural Communities waka” Kerry said to Piki. 

The Kaupapa Māori and Cultural Communities Branch ensures Fire and Emergency stays true to our commitment to working with Māori as tangata whenua. A focus of the branch will be to strengthen our understanding of the significant role that Māori play across community resilience, emergency management and what it means for us as an organisation to keep Māori communities safe.

The Branch will also help us to understand and respond to the needs of a wider pool of cultural communities – this includes Pacific, Asian, Indian, Melanesian and a host of other cultures that enrich our country’s cultural fabric when they choose Aotearoa as their home.  

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, He tangata, He tangata. 

What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people.