Te Manutukutuku

He manu tukutuku te rangi ka uhia he huruhuru te manu ka tau
Kites adorn the sky as feathers adorn the birds[1]

[1] Professor Sir Hirini Moko Mead in Bob Maysmor, Te Manu Tukutuku (Wellington: Steele Roberts, 2001)

The 'flying kite'

Te Manutukutuku, ‘the flying kite’, is the Waitangi Tribunal’s official newsletter. In the first edition in 1989, the director Wira Gardiner explained that the humble kite was chosen as the name because:

‘Te Manutukutuku’ is symbolic of a number of key ideas. In modern times we largely fly kites for entertainment. Politicians also tend to fly ‘kites’ of a different sort – when they want to test public attitudes for an idea they might have. We prefer that ‘Te Manutukutuku’ represents ‘the messenger’ as a means of telling people what is happening.

The newsletter has a key educative role in informing people about crucial Treaty issues and the Tribunal's roles and responsibilities. As well as the public at large, Te Manutukutuku targets Māori organisations, learning institutions, local and national government bodies, politicians, and the media, and it has a strong international readership.

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Subscribe to Te Manutukutuku by emailing WaitangiTribunal@justice.govt.nz