Māori Advisory Group

Riki is a consultant specialising in environmental management and iwi Māori development, working with central government agencies, local government, iwi and hapū. 

As an adviser to the Freshwater Iwi Leaders Group and a member of the Ministerial advisory group Kāhui Wai Māori, he has an in-depth knowledge of Te Mana o te Wai in a policy context.  

Bonita has been a member of Te Puna since the Water Services Authority - Taumata Arowai’s inception in 2021. She is in her sixth term as a local government elected member, currently serving as the Māori Ward councillor and Deputy Chairperson at Taranaki Regional Council. She sits on Local Government New Zealand’s National Council as a regional sector representative and Te Maruata Rōpu Whakahaere, the steering group for the national collective of Māori elected and appointed members. Bonita is also a Commissioner with the Local Government Commission. She is an artist and passionate arts advocate, serving on the Arts Council for Toi Aotearoa Creative New Zealand, Te Ātinga, the contemporary Māori Arts committee of Toi Māori Aotearoa and chairs Toi o Taranaki Maunga Māori, a Māori artists’ collective in her home rohe. She has been actively involved in whānau, marae, hapū and iwi kaupapa all her life.

Stephanie is of Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Mamoe descent and specialises in intergenerational environmental outcomes and the interweaving of mātauranga and western science. She has qualifications in Biochemistry and Plant Cell Biology.

Stephanie has extensive experience in the governance sector and is the Chair of the Ngāi Tahu HSNO Kōmiti and a member of the pan Māori Te Herenga rōpū of the Environment Protection Authority. She is also a member of the Water NZ Te Mana o te Wai subgroup and Stormwater Committee.