New Year Honours 2024: Professional director Tania Simpson ...

By Ala Ki Hihifo Vailal of Whakaata Maori

Tania Te Rangingangana Simpson (Tainui, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāpuhi)

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to governance and Māori

The title sits alongside others Tania Te Rangingangana Simpson already holds, including the rank of Commander in the Order of the Taniwha, a tikanga-based honour system established by Kīngi Tuheitia in 2014 to celebrate the efforts of Māori; and the rank of Dame Commander in the Order of St Lazarus, a charitable order established in Europe in 1098 that has been active here since 1962.

They are also milestones in her work as a professional director that began 27 years ago on a tragic note when her dad was terminally ill.

Simpson had already lost a brother to cancer and she wanted to make the most of her own life. So she moved from Wellington to the King Country where she was raised, set up her own business, Kōwhai Consulting, and never looked back.

Her past and present directorates with Auckland International Airport, Meridian Energy, the Waitangi National Trust and with her iwi, Tainui, in most cases are connected to improving the lives of Māori.

Simpson’s first job was with the Housing Corporation as a Māori housing officer. That led to developing housing and public policy focused on sustainability and supporting Māori.

She has served 15 years (and counting) with the Waitangi Tribunal. Previous to this, she managed the Office of Treaty Settlements and helped broker the return of the wharenui, Mataatua, to Ngāti Awa in 1996. It had been away for so long that many iwi members did not even know it existed.

As the first Māori director of the Reserve Bank - and despite not being an economist - Simpson brought the perspectives of grassroots communities to monetary policy and economic discussions. For her, this was linked to the long history of Māori involvement in New Zealand’s monetary system, including King Tāwhiao who set up a Māori bank in 1886 and printed his own banknotes.

“This is a history that is not well told or known but is relevant to the context of our current system,” Simpson believes.

She chairs the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge and is also on the boards of the Deep South National Science Challenge and Waste Management NZ. This is inspired by her optimism about issues others worry about, such as climate change and food security. Even the pandemic, had her appreciating the way Māori and the government worked together to support communities in need.

“It gave us a glimpse of what is possible with good engagement and partnering. It is a unique opportunity that we could make more of, and not just for social or crisis issues, but also for economic development.”