Leading from the front issuu

“The crux in fully honouring Te Tiriti is about
power, about rebalancing and redistribution and that’s
a significant challenge but also a great opportunity.”
INTRODUCING
SHARON
ANNETT
Based in Ōtautahi, Christchurch, Sharon,
who runs Treaty Education, has led Treaty
workshops in Christchurch, Te Waipounamu,
Hawke’s Bay, as well as throughout the country.
She has more than 20 years broad teaching
experience from early childhood through to
adults, as well as in mainstream, bilingual, total
immersion and rural and urban locations. With
her life-long passion for Te Reo Māori, Sharon
weaves together her diverse experiences, skills
and knowledge to facilitate Te Tiriti learning,
and nurture change with people from a broad
range of groups and organisations.
In 2008 she moved to Hawke’s Bay with her
husband Bevan Tipene and their three children.
Tuanui, Waitaha and Mitarina. Bevan was Ngati
Kahungunu from Porongauhau and the couple
wanted their kids to connect deeply with
their father’s side of the whānau as well. Sadly
Bevan passed in 2010 and the family eventually
returned to Otautahi, where in 2015 Sharon
started working with Robert Consedine, in
what became a fortuitous collaboration. Sharon
eventually worked with a number of Robert’s
clients, leaving him free to retire with an easy
mind, knowing his vision for Treaty training was
in safe hands.
“More people are acknowledging that
if we want to do the right thing, we
need to honour the original intent of
the Māori text of Te Tiriti, so yes, there
is definitely a changing landscape, and
around the constitutional conversation
as well. People are asking, ‘If we were to
honour Te Tiriti, what would running
our country look like?’ A lot of people are
really quite open to that conversation.”
Above: Tipene whānau land at Porongauhau.
Healing our History through Te Tiriti 201