4 minute read
Stepping up
Inspiration from his father and a promise to his mother are some of the reasons Rhys Mohi has embarked on a journey to gain a Masters in Māori and Indigenous Leadership.
Rhys began his study in 2022 with the University of Canterbury while still working at the IRD in Palmerston North, where he lives with his whānau.
“My greatest mentor in life is my pāpā, Douglas Mohi from Te Teko, who now resides in Whanganui with my māmā (Erana) on her papakāinga by Otoko pā – a man passionate about te reo and heavily entrenched in mātauranga Māori, a man who has taught me to never compromise your tikanga.”
Rhys’ father left school at 16 to attend Māori trade school and then had a successful plastering business in Palmerston North. But many people didn’t know the hard-working tradesman was fluent in te reo Māori, which led to his second career. After 22 years as a plasterer, he enrolled in a brand new programme, Te Atakura, to support people highly proficient in te reo Māori to become teachers of the language.
Once he graduated, Douglas became a teacher of te reo at St Peter’s College, eventually becoming head of the Māori department.
Of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi and Ngāti Rūai on his mother’s side, and Ngāti Awa and the hapū Ngā Maihi on his father’s side, Rhys identifies strongly with the words his dad always says: “Follow the footsteps of your tīpuna.”
While his dad is a fluent speaker of te reo Māori, Rhys is a few steps behind. “I’m on the language journey. I would be an intermediate speaker of the reo, but by no means fully proficient. I’ve really had to take up that challenge.”
That become pivotal when he and his wife, Nuwyne Kiri Te Awe Awe, began a family. Their four children, aged 21, 19, 17 and 15, have all been immersed in Te Aho Matua and Māori education. “They are all fluent speakers, so I had to lift my game.”
To help with his leadership studies, Rhys received a Te Āti Hau Trust grant, which he has found hugely helpful.“It was amazing. I was able to use those funds directly to support me in my wānanga travels.”
The grant helped pay for petrol needed to drive from Palmerston North to Taranaki, and also helped with koha for marae he stayed on.
IRD has also been supportive of Rhys’ academic journey, allowing him to take time for study and to go away. In the first six months of the programme, Rhys attended six wānanga on different marae, each three days long, as part of the Taranaki cohort led by Che Wilson.
Rhys was driven to do a Masters to help make changes at the IRD and to support iwi, hapū and whānau development.
“In order for me to do that, I needed to build up a better understanding of, in essence, what does tino rangatiratanga mean to me and that’s what prompted me to look at taking on this Masters.”
When he first started studying, his role at IRD was as Kaitakawaenga Māori, supporting Māori customers with their taxes and entitlements.
Now he has a new job at Inland Revenue. “I’m now a Domain Specialist, or Kaitohutohu, with a newly created unit, Te Kāhui Tūhono. There, we are looking to deliver our Māhutonga strategic approach, which integrates Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori principles, concepts, and practices into the way we work to support a shift in our organisational culture.
“I’m really excited with my new mahi. We have the opportunity to not only make our organisation a world-class leader in tax administration but also a worldclass leader in indigenous cooperation.”
Flowing on from his work at the IRD, Rhys says the study has alreadyhad an impact on him. “It’s enabled me to be staunch in my principles that have been passed on to me by both my father and mum – to be unapologetic about things relevant to Māori and being Māori.”
To gain his Masters, Rhys needs to complete six papers and a thesis, which he aims to finish by the end of 2024.
“There have been a lot of overnight weekends and finishing at five in the morning to complete my assignments.”
When Rhys does finish, he’ll honour his mother’s wishes.
“I gave her a promise that after studies I would be looking to put my hand up as a trustee and work on the marae committee. Those are my immediate goals. Just seeing the tireless work that my parents contribute to the marae, it will be nice to help them with that and their legacy.”
