Māori law students shine

Fourth year law student Teresa Brown (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, Te Uri-o Hau, Ngāti Hine) won the Kaupapa Māori Negotiation and sixth year BA/LLB (Hons) student Eden Amende (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tahu) won the Māori Issues Moot and the Best Māori Moot Group.

The Kaupapa Māori Negotiation saw Teresa bring manaakitanga and whanaungatanga to her negotiations. Her written documents were given high praise by the judges.

Eden won the Māori Issues Moot and the Best Moot Group prize with colleagues from the universities of Victoria and Waikato. She represented the Crown with a tikanga argument to withhold voting rights from an incarcerated wahine Māori.

The competitions are run annually by Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa. One student from each of the law schools in the country compete (the winner from each regional competition).

The Kaupapa Māori Negotiation competition was held in Parliament’s Great Hall and was judged by Lynell Tuffery Huria (Kāhui Legal) and Tai Ahu (Whaia Legal).

The Māori Issues Moot was held at the Supreme Court and was judged by Justice Joe Williams, Justice Ellen France, Associate Professor Amokura Kawheru, Judge Sarah Reeves, and Solicitor-General Una Jagose.