Tena ra koutou

Māori voice added to NZILA Executive Committee - a non-voting voice has been added to the NZILA Executive Committee by Te Tau-a-Nuku. The idea was discused at last September’s annual hui of the Exec and Te Tau-a-Nuku/Nga Aho (the Māori Designer’s Collective), and put in place at last November’s meeting. The point being to provide a kaupapa Māori perspective at Executive Committee meetings, and to provide a better link between Tuia Pito Ora (the NZILA) and Te Tau-a-Nuku and its parent body Nga Aho - be it around conferences, governance, landscape assessment methodology or something else.

The representative will be Damian Powely (Ngai Tai ki Torere), who is a foundation member of Te Tau-a-Nuku and has been a practicing Landscape Architect for 12 years. For most of this time Damian has worked for local government in South Auckland - so he really understands committees and cultural diversity; and more recently he joined Isthmus’s Auckland Studio as an Associate Landscape Architect. As a Landscape Architect and Project Manager Damian is focused on stakeholder liaison, project strategy, design setting, community engagement and facilitation, and project implementation.

Damian’s tribal affiliations are to Ngai Tai ki Torere in the Bay of Plenty. He runs a kapa haka club at his local marae, he is studying te reo at an advanced level; and he is married with three delightful children, and he quite likes Rugby League.

Te Tau-a-Nuku thanks the NZILA Executive Committee for this opportunity to ‘sit at the table’, and looks forward to working with Tuia Pito Ora (NZILA) to advance the cause.