Te Rōpū Marutau o Aotearoa

21/04/2026

Kia ora koutou,

It has now been almost a week since we came together at Waitangi for the TRMA 2026 Regional Māori Health & Safety Conference – TŪKOTAHI: Standing Together.

What a day it was.

From the pōwhiri through to closing reflections, the kaupapa was clear, this was more than a conference. It was a space to connect, to reflect, and to challenge how we think about health and safety in Aotearoa. The kōrero shared throughout the day reminded us that people, culture, and connection must sit at the centre of everything we do.

We extend our sincere thanks to all of our speakers and contributors who shared their whakaaro so openly. While Hon Brooke van Velden joined us via livestream and Hon Tama Potaka was unable to attend, we were pleased to have Pita Tipene and Penetaui Kleskovic step in and contribute to a powerful and meaningful panel discussion.

To our sponsors, supporters, partners, and especially our attendees who travelled from near and far, thank you. Your presence, your engagement, and your willingness to lean into the kōrero is what made the day so special.

A special acknowledgement to Dr Sarah Gardiner and the Care Pass team for hosting the evening Cocktail Hour and sharing a live demonstration of their digital platform focused on improving Recovery at Work. If you would like to learn more, you can contact Sarah directly at director@industrymed.com.

For those who attended, we are pleased to offer Certificates of Attendance. These recognise your participation in a full-day professional event and may support up to 6 hours of CPD .
To request your personalised certificate, please email office@trma.co.nz.

Ngā mihi nui to everyone who stood with us at Waitangi.

TŪKOTAHI – Standing Together.

13/04/2026

Ngā mihi nui to our incredible sponsors for supporting the TRMA Regional Conference 2026.

Your support helps bring this kaupapa to life as we stand together for better health and safety outcomes.

TŪKOTAHI – Standing Together

🎟️ A limited number of tickets are still available:
https://www.trma.co.nz/2026-conference

09/04/2026

When times are tough, what we invest in matters most.

Some may question whether now is the right time to attend a conference. We believe it’s exactly the time.

Investing through hardship and challenging times — is this bad business, or a sign of dedication, commitment, and grit?

At Te Rōpū Mārutau o Aotearoa, we continue to advocate for better health and safety outcomes because the need does not diminish in hard times - it intensifies. While costs rise and we transition through new legislation, these pressures grow, and those already doing it toughest feel it most. That reality does not change, and neither does our responsibility.

Our work is grounded in empathy and action. We deliberately keep our initiatives, including our conference, accessible - pricing at cost and returning any benefit back into the community. This reflects our belief that Manaakitanga/Caring is not an aspiration; it is a measurable demonstration, and how we at TRMA define our success.

TRMA is unfunded and is run by volunteers who sacrifice time, resources, opportunities, and funds, which continually keeps the viability of TRMA as an organisation at risk. But for TRMA, success is not defined by profit or ease. It is defined by safer workers, stronger communities, and how we demonstrate care toward others.

This conference is not just an event — it is part of a wider movement grounded in TŪKOTAHI – standing together.

If you’re in a position to attend, your presence matters.
If you support safer workplaces and stronger communities, this is where that commitment becomes action.

📍 Waitangi Treaty Grounds
📅 15 April 2026

🔗 Register here: https://www.trma.co.nz/2026-conference

01/04/2026

👉 Why are we still seeing harm in our workplaces?
🔥 A powerful panel. A real conversation about workplace safety.

We’re bringing together a panel of influential leaders to explore one of the most important challenges facing Aotearoa, workplace Health and Safety.

Dame Jenny Shipley, Huhana Lyndon MP, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi MP, Hon Tama Potaka, and Hon Brooke van Velden, together in one panel.

🎤 Facilitated by Dr Sarah Gardner and Jason Cook

This is about what really matters:
👉 Safer workplaces
👉 Stronger leadership
👉 Better outcomes for our people

But this is part of the conference line-up.
✨ Across the day, you will also hear from powerful keynote speakers, lived experience voices, and those who are helping to shape the future of Health and Safety in Aotearoa. You will gain practical insights you can take back into your workplace.

📍 Waitangi Treaty Grounds
📅 15 April 2026

👉 Explore the full programme and secure your place:
https://www.trma.co.nz/2026-conference

30/03/2026

We’re pleased to confirm that Hon Brooke van Velden, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, will be joining us at the TRMA Conference 2026 at Waitangi.

Hon van Velden will be speaking after lunch, before joining our Panel Discussion and Q&A, alongside a powerful group of leaders and decision-makers.

This is an important opportunity to hear directly from the Minister responsible for workplace health and safety in Aotearoa, and to connect those national conversations with what is happening on the ground for our people.

At TRMA, we know that real change happens when policy, people, and practice come together.

Grounded in kaupapa like Haumaru Tāngata and strengthened through the evolving thinking behind Te Takenga Mai, this kōrero is about more than systems, it’s about the wellbeing of our whānau, our workers, and our communities.

📍 Waitangi Treaty Grounds
📅 15 April 2026

Be part of the conversation.
Stand with us. TŪKOTAHI.

👉 Secure your ticket now: https://www.trma.co.nz/2026-conference

26/03/2026

🎤 Guiding the kōrero. Holding the space. Bringing it all together.

We’re excited to have Nik Jessop as MC for the TRMA 2026 Regional Māori Health & Safety Conference at Waitangi.

Nik will lead us through a powerful day of connection, whakaaro, and leadership, bringing together voices from across Aotearoa who are committed to improving health, safety, and wellbeing outcomes for our people.

This year’s kaupapa, TŪKOTAHI – Standing Together, is about more than conversation.
It’s about how we move forward together.

From keynote speakers to panel discussions and breakout sessions, this conference is designed to create space for real kōrero, shared learning, and collective action.

📍 Waitangi Treaty Grounds
📅 Wednesday 15 April 2026

Seats are limited — secure your place and be part of this kaupapa.

👉 Register now: https://www.trma.co.nz/2026-conference

25/03/2026

We’re pleased to welcome Mariameno Kapa-Kingi to the panel at the upcoming TRMA Regional Māori Health & Safety Conference at Waitangi.

Bringing people together who influence change at different levels is an important part of this conference. It allows us to better understand how decisions, leadership, and lived experiences connect, and where we can do better.

At its heart, this kōrero is not about positions or platforms. It is about people. It is about how we strengthen the safety, health and wellbeing of our whānau, our workers, and our communities.

To be holding these discussions at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds adds a deeper layer to the kaupapa. It is a place that reminds us of our shared responsibility to work together in ways that are meaningful and enduring.

Mariameno will join a panel facilitated by Dr Sarah Gardiner, alongside other respected voices, contributing to a wider conversation about how we move forward together.

This is more than a conference. It is a space to listen, to reflect, and to strengthen our collective approach to health and safety.

🎟️ Registrations are open - https://www.trma.co.nz/2026-conference
📍 Waitangi Treaty Grounds
📅 15 April 2026

23/03/2026

We’re proud to announce that Dame Jenny Shipley will be joining us at the upcoming TRMA Conference, held at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in the beautiful Bay of Islands.

To gather in Waitangi brings real weight to this kaupapa. This is where Te Tiriti o Waitangi was first signed, affirming the partnership between Māori and the Crown. It is the right place to be having these conversations about health and safety, because this work is ultimately about people, relationships, and the wellbeing of our iwi, hapū, whānau, and communities.

Dame Jenny will also join a panel of political representatives, facilitated by Dr Sarah Gardner. This will be a valuable opportunity to hear how decisions made at the highest levels of Parliament flow through to what is experienced on the ground. This connection is important, and it is not always visible unless we create space for it.

We also have a number of MPs who have confirmed their attendance, with more to be announced soon. It is encouraging to see that level of commitment to engaging in this kaupapa.

This is more than a conference. It is a chance to come together, challenge our thinking, and strengthen how we lead health and safety in a way that reflects who we are and who we serve.

Looking forward to the kōrero ahead.

18/03/2026

18/03/2026

🎥 Hear from TRMA Trustee Jodhi Warwick-Ponga

This year, we’re bringing the kaupapa north 🌊
📍 Waitangi Treaty Grounds – Bay of Islands

The 2026 Regional Māori Health & Safety Conference is more than just a hui it’s about standing together (TŪKOTAHI) to strengthen hauora, safety, and wellbeing for our people.

👕 Important reminder:
When you register, make sure you select your correct t-shirt size, we want everyone geared up and ready to stand together on the day.

But more than that…

👉 This conference is about protecting our people at mahi
👉 Sharing real, culturally grounded solutions
👉 Continuing the momentum of Haumaru Tāngata in action

Because no one should be harmed at work — and together, we can do better.

🎟️ Seats are limited – don’t leave it too late.
https://www.trma.co.nz/2026-conference

Register now and be part of the movement.

17/03/2026

🌊 Speaker Spotlight – Teira Tohu

What does Pacific navigation have to do with health and safety?

More than you might think.

When navigating a waka across open ocean, the crew must work together, read the environment, trust each other, and stay alert to changing conditions. Everyone has a role. Everyone looks out for everyone else.

These same principles sit at the heart of effective health and safety leadership.

At the TRMA Regional Māori Health & Safety Conference 2026, we are honoured to welcome Teira Tohu — navigator, kaiako, māmā and kaupapa leader.

Through her journey with Ngahiraka-mai-tawhiti waka and her work mentoring rangatahi, Teira brings powerful insights about leadership, collective responsibility, and how Māori knowledge systems guide us to move forward safely together.

This kōrero connects strongly with the kaupapa of Haumaru Tāngata and the conference theme:

TŪKOTAHI – Standing Together.

Because whether we are on the ocean or at work —
no one should be harmed on the journey.

📍 Waitangi Treaty Grounds
📅 15 April 2026

Seats are limited.

🎟 Secure your place:
https://www.trma.co.nz/2026-conference

12/03/2026

🎥 Hear from Dr Sarah Gardiner

Dr Sarah Gardiner will be leading the Panel Discussion and Q&A at the upcoming 2026 Regional Māori Health & Safety Conference.

The panel will bring together a selection of keynote speakers and presenters for an open kōrero exploring the future of health, safety and wellbeing for Māori in the workplace. This session will create space for discussion, reflection and questions from attendees as we explore the challenges and opportunities ahead.

The conversation builds on the wider work TRMA has been progressing across Aotearoa — including research and engagement with industry, iwi and communities to strengthen culturally grounded approaches to health and safety.

We are also in discussions with several national leaders and influential voices who may join us as keynote speakers and panel contributors. We look forward to confirming these exciting announcements soon.

📍 Waitangi Treaty Grounds
📅 Wednesday 15 April 2026

Under the theme TŪKOTAHI – Standing Together, the conference will bring together leaders, kaimahi, rangatahi and experts committed to improving health and safety outcomes for all.

🎟 Seats are limited — secure your place today.