He uri tēnei nō Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Rārua
Mai tō tātou tauheke mounga, a Taranaki, tae noa atu ki Te Tauihu o Te Waka
Arā, ko Tokomaru, ko Tainui ngā waka
Ko Ngāti Te Whiti, ko Ngāti Tāwhirikura, ko Ngāti Tūparikino, ko Ngāti Puketapu, ko Ngāti Rāhiri Pakarara, rātou ko Ngāti Pare Te Ata ngā hapū
Ko Matiu Pōhatu Jennings ange au
Pai mārire ki a tātou katoa

Matiu is currently the Kaihautū Rautaki Māori | Advisor Māori Strategy as part of the Leadership Team at Hīkoikoi Management Limited, responsible for a group championing and driving Māori worldview thinking, strategy, and capability building to deliver to the needs of our two Ahu Whenua Trusts and their associated entities.

Matiu’s core focus is on weaving our mana whenua kawa and tikanga throughout all areas of the organisation and ensure that the ōhākī (final instructions) of our tupuna, Te Wharepōuri Te Kakapi o Te Rangi, in 1842 remain at the forefront of our actions and our decision making, as the founding message of the Ahu Whenua Trusts.

“I muri nei, kia pai ki haku taonga Māori, ki haku taonga Pākehā, kia tae ake te haruru o tō reo ki a au i Te Reinga” (After I am gone, be good to both my Māori and Pākehā treasures, so that I may hear your voices echo in eternity)

Matiu spent the first part of his career working for the betterment of our children as a Head of Department Māori, teaching in several secondary schools and the PLD sector throughout Aotearoa for 13 years, before moving into Local Government. As the first Māori Liaison Officer at Upper Hutt Council in 2019 and then Chief Māori Officer at Hutt City Council, these roles focused on enabling Council to achieve better outcomes for Māori living and working in our cities by responding to our mana whenua aspirations and values. Ensuring that the right relationships and processes are in place to enable effective participation and a shared decision-making focus that is meaningful, timely, and inclusive. Mana whenua bring critical value to our takiwā.

This work then led Matiu to a role as Principal Advisor Māori-Crown Relationships at Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga (the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development), responsible for strengthening Māori-Crown relationships, co-ordinating activity relating to housing outcomes derived from the Crown’s Treaty settlement commitments , and building organisational capability to enable it to operate as an effective Treaty partner in better understanding the Crown’s obligations to Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Matiu lives in within our tribal takiwā with his wife, Lisa, and intends on spending this next chapter empowering and strengthening our people towards a sustainable, tupuna-driven, mokopuna-focused future.