Ka whakairira e te hekeretari mō te Manatika a Andrew Kibblewhite tētehi karere whakamīhā ki ngā pou-mahi katoa mō ā rātou mahi kua oti nei i a rātou, me te mea hoki kia mōhio ai rātou kai te kitea rātou e te mārea kai te rangona ā rātou mahi whakahirahira e te Tari. Ko tētehi o ēnei toki ko Warena Morgan.
Kātahi nei ia ka whakawhiwhia ki Te Tohu Amorangi a Te Kawa Mataaho.
He tohu e tika ana ki te tangata wairua nui nōna ki tana mahi otīā ki te hāpori whānui tonu. Ko ngā kupu kōrero kua whakairongia ki te rae o tana taonga e mea nei, ' Kai te kitea te wairua mākohakoha o Warena e piataata kau ana, he awhina tangata te take, ko te hunga ka hau mai ki te ātea nui o te Kooti.
Mō te whakaū kaha, me te matawhaiaro tūnaha, mō te hāpai i te reo Māori me te kawe i ngā tikanga a te Māori e whakahīhī ai te rohe nui o te Manatika, nā reira e hāneanea ai te poho o ngā hāpori Māori kua whai take tā rātou reo kōrero, ā, e noho māuri-tau ana '.
'Kai te matatihi o Tarawera te wairua o Warena mō āna mahi, he tangata māia ki te whāngai kōrero ki te hunga pakiki, he tangata poipoi hoki te hunga ka hiahia ki te ako i te reo me ngā tātai kōrero hoki – e tika ana tēnei taonga māna".
Nā tōna rangatira, nā Dan O'Brien ngā kupu whakamihi i tuhi. Ae, e mea nei a Warena e tika ana hoki tēnei hōnore nui māna i runga hoki i te mōhiotanga kua pau i a ia e wha tekau tau e mahi nei mā te Manatika.
'E tau ana te ngākau i taku whiwhinga ki te taonga nei, nō reira he whakamihi nāku ki Te Tāhu o te ture e māia nei ki te kawe i ngā tikanga o Te Ao Māori ki Te Kooti, ā, e mahi tika nei ahau i āku tini mahi i kōnei hai āpihā'.
'Ko ahau te tangata i tīpakongia i tētehi rōpū rua tekau mā rua o ngā tangata o tētehi rōpū matotoru rawa e wha tekau mano tangata i Aotearoa nei. Ka whakahīhī iti nei ahau. He Pirihimana ētehi, ko ngā manuao MSD anō hoki ētehi wheoi anō nō ngā tōpito mahi katoa o Aotearoa - me noho puku te tangata'.
Ko Warren Ruru Morgan tēnei, ko Warena ki ētehi, ko Ware hoki ki ētehi, te tangata i pōtingia e ngā hoa tokomaha i Rotorua nei, ā, me ngā hoa o wāhi kē atu – hei tā Warena, 'I whakaiti au'. Engari e hoki kau ngā māharatanga ki ngā rā o mua koia tētehi o ngā pou haka i tū mō Tūhourangi-Ngāti Wāhiao, whaihoki ka heke iho taua puna mātauranga ki te ātea o Te Kooti.
I te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e iwa tekau mā toru nānā hoki i tāti tētehi rōpū waiata whakangāhau, ka whakaemingia e ia ngā pou-mahi e hiahia ana ki te ako waiata i ngā wāhanga huhua o Te Kooti. Nā kai te kaha tonu rātou.
Ka whia kē hoki āna tūnga mahi mā te hāpori atu i tana mahi i Te Kooti, he pou ia mā Te Pūkainga Whakaaweawe o Te Arawa, kai te ohu o Ngāti Tuwharetoa Collective Governance Gropu me tētehi atu rōpū e kī a nei ko The Ruapehu Social Wellbing Advisory Group. Ko tētehi mahi whai tikanga ki a ia ko te whakaoatitanga o te Tīati nui ( Justice Harvey Layne) i te kooti teitei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā, ā, nō te Mei o tēnei tau hoki ko te whakaoatitanga tuatahi ki runga Marae ara ko tā Justice Kiri Tahana i te pā taunaha o Te Waiiti.
Nō te wā o te māuiui kōwheori i whakapāohongia e Warena me tana hoa rangatira a Cheryl Adams tēnei karere nui, he mataku nō rāua ka kore e hoki mai ki Aoteroa nei. I tā wāhi kē rāua e whakangā ana, i te whenua o Ītārī ko rāua me tētehi rōpū momona e rua rau tangata nō Ahitereiria, ā, he kotahi rau e rua tekau tangata hoki nō Aotearoa nei.
'Ko te tikanga, he wā whakangā e rua wiki te roa o ta māua hararei, e hoa, ka tae ki Ītārī e hakoke kau ana, ka pai katoa te rangi tuatahi i Rōma māua e haere ana e hika nā wai rā – rangi tuarua mai kua mau kē māua ki te hōtera – kai raro katoa a Ītārī i te mana o te māuiui kōwheori'. He tino waimārie rāua i puta rāua i taua whenua i hoki tika mai ki Aotearoa i mua rawa i te katinga nui o te motu. Kua nama tērā haerenga e hoa mā.
Taihoa koe Ītārī.
— Na Raimona Inia i whakamaoritia
Every day around the country, public servants are doing great work to make a difference for Aotearoa and New Zealanders — usually without fanfare. However, a Public Service Day ceremony at Government House in Wellington gave outstanding frontline public servants the acknowledgement they deserve.
The Secretary for Justice, Andrew Kibblewhite, posted a special message to all staff about how proud he and the ministry were of the achievements of three staff including Rotorua court registry officer Warren Morgan.
Warren was awarded Te Tohu Amorangi a Te Kawa Mataaho, the Public Service Commissioner's Commendation for Excellence for a frontline worker.
That commendation is awarded for outstanding spirit of service shown by a public servant. The citation accompanying the award reads: "Warren's passion for helping people is clear in the care and compassion he shows to everyone who enters the court.
"His dedication, personal approach, and use of tikanga and te reo Māori are treasures that he brings to his work in the Ministry's central region. This helps Māori communities especially and makes them feel heard and understood.
"Warren is a proud public servant – the kind of person for whom service is a higher calling and not just a job. He loves to share mātauranga Māori with others and he gives his time freely to build understanding of te reo and tikanga among his colleagues.
"Warren is a worthy recipient of this Commendation."
Warren recalls how honoured and humble he felt.
"Standing at the award ceremony when my name was called and having my photo and citation up on the big screen being read out by the MC (Matai Smith), in front of the Governor General Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro, Deputy Prime Minister Hon Grant Robertson, Minister of Pubic Service Chris Hipkins and the NZ Public Service Commissioner Peter Hughes, I was not only proud of the mahi I have done, but I was proud to stand for Te Arawa, and proud to be Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao."
Although humbled by the recognition, Warren acknowledged that he had put in the mahi over the nearly 40 years he has spent with Justice.
"Receiving this award was huge for me as an appreciation of all the years I have dedicated to Te Tāhu o te Ture (Ministry of Justice) in promoting tikanga and Te Ao Maori in the Courts, whilst also carrying out my Court Officer duties.
"To be one of 22 chosen to receive a commendation from 40,000 Public Service workers around New Zealand, which included Police, Corrections MSD and other departments and service providers was a bit overwhelming."
Warren Ruru Morgan, also known as Warena and Ware received acknowledgements from co-workers right around the country not just from the Rotorua court and the national office.
"I whakaiti au."
A noted Tuhourangi-Ngati Wahiao haka exponent, Warren shared his knowledge and experience with work colleagues and in 1993 started the Rotorua court waiata group.
He represents the ministry on a number of community and leaderships groups in Rotorua and the surrounding Waiariki Region: Te Pükainga Whakaawe o Te Arawa, (Rotorua Collective Impact Governance Group), Ngati Tuwharetoa Collective Governance Group, The Ruapehu Social Wellbeing Advisory Group.
He rates as a highlight participating and translating in the first High Court bilingual swearing-in ceremony of a High Court Judge (Justice Harvey Layne), and in May this year, the first ever High Court bilingual swearing-in ceremony on a marae (Justice Kiri Tahana at Waiiti Marae).
Warren and his partner, Cheryl Adams, made the news in Aotearoa just before the first COVID-19 global pandemic lockdown in 2020, because they nearly got stuck in Italy, along with about 200 Australians and 120 Kiwis in their tour party.
"We had a two and a half weeks holiday booked to tour Italy and the Mediterranean countries.
"On the first day in Italy, we completed a scheduled one day escorted tour around the streets of Rome, but the following day, we were confined to our hotel because COVID was spreading rapidly through Italy."
They managed to get out of Italy literally a couple of hours before the borders closed.
That's a trip they are looking forward to finishing when people can travel again.
