A korowai of support bolsters new research

New research, backed by a $60,000 Borrin Foundation Justice Fellowship, will examine how Māori collectives can lead in delivering health and child welfare services.

Led by the University of Auckland’s Dr Andrew (Anaru) Erueti (Ngā Ruahinerangi, Ngāti Ruanui, Āti Hau Nui a Pāpārangi, Ngāti Pākehā), the project will explore Māori self-determination in social services.

"This fellowship allows me to help imagine a future where tino rangatiratanga is not just acknowledged but actively lived," says the associate professor, "where Māori communities shape the systems of care and wellbeing that reflect our own values and aspirations."

Crucially, he says the research draws substantially from tikanga Māori—its principles of whakapapa, mana, manaakitanga and utu—as a method for addressing core questions around identification, authority, and engagement.

As part of the multi-year project, Erueti, who's Auckland Law School's Tumuaki Māori (Associate Dean Māori) and co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Rights, will explore the following questions:

• Who now occupies the rangatiratanga sphere?
• How can iwi and Māori organisations exert real influence in service delivery in a post-settlement era?
• How to address claims that Māori-specific measures discriminate against non-Māori and internal minorities
• How can Māori collectives engage more effectively with the Crown—and with one another?

Natalie Coates: Exploring tikanga's role in contemporary law

The only other awardee of a 2025 Borrin Foundation Justice Fellowship also has ties to Auckland Law School. A respected leader in the Māori legal community, Natalie Coates (Ngāti Awa, Te Arawa, Ngāti Hine, Tūhoe), is a former Auckland law lecturer and was co-director of the University's New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law.

Currently working as a barrister at Thorndon Chambers and a pouako at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, Coates was awarded a $120,000 Justice Fellowship to lead a series of wānanga exploring tikanga's role in contemporary areas of law such as contract, torts, and legal ethics.

Hon David Goddard KC, Chair of the Borrin Foundation's Grants and Scholarships Committee, says the Foundation is delighted to support the work of Coates and Erueti.

"The scholars to whom we have awarded these fellowships are examining the implications of tikanga Māori in critically important fields, and of tino rangatiratanga in the context of social services. The work of these leading scholars will contribute to our understanding of these issues and inform practice within te ao Māori and the legal system more generally."

Auckland Law School doctoral candidate Meredith Herbert was awarded the Borrin Foundation's 2025 Community Law Fellowship.

Herbert, who currently works as a solicitor and social worker at the Rotorua District Community Law Centre, received $52,400 to support her PhD research, which explores systemic barriers in welfare and tenancy law that impede access to justice for vulnerable populations.

As part of this research, she will conduct comparative analysis of welfare and tenancy systems internationally, including in Australia and the United Kingdom, as well as domestic research into the impacts of these systems on New Zealand's most vulnerable populations.

With the support of the Borrin Foundation, Herbert says she will be able to dedicate herself fully to advancing practical reforms that strengthen access to justice and reduce inequities in welfare and tenancy law. Her work seeks to amplify the voices of those most affected by systemic shortcomings, with the ultimate goal of contributing to more inclusive and fair legal frameworks in Aotearoa New Zealand.

"'Iti rearea teitei kahikatea ka taea, Although small, you can ascend great heights.' The support of the Borrin Foundation feels like someone has wrapped a korowai around my shoulders and said: 'Ae Meredith, you are small, but we believe in you. You can and will make a big difference through this mahi we are supporting."

Alumni awardees

Auckland Law School alumni are also being supported by Borrin Foundation awards this year. Three Auckland Law graduates were among seven recipients of the 2025 Borrin Foundation travel and learning awards:

• Luke Elborough (LLB, BA) received $9,984 to attend the Centre for Appellate Litigation as a legal fellow to observe their lawyers' tactics and strategies to challenge wrongful convictions.
• Bridget Fa'amatuainu (BHSc, LLB, MProfStuds) was awarded $10,000 to travel to engage with UK, African and Pacific scholars on trauma-informed law reform.
• Leon Tan (BCom, LLB) received $9,990 to travel to the UK and Australia to examine the barriers and enablers of incorporation of the UNCROC, to help inform incorporation in Aotearoa New Zealand in a way that is strategic, pragmatic and tailored to our circumstances.