Māori advocate Bernie O'Donnell has returned to his Taranaki home to support his iwi.
Māori advocate Bernie O'Donnell has returned to his Taranaki home to support his iwi.
Former Manukau Urban Māori Authority chairman and opinion writer on kaupapa Māori issues for the Herald Bernie O’Donnell was welcomed back to a new job back in his turangawaewae — and his former boss was on hand to do the handover to the New Plymouth District Council.
MP Willie Jackson says he’s known O’Donnell, the New Plymouth District Council’s inaugural director of iwi partnerships, since they worked alongside each other in Auckland’s Westfield meatworks, and he was one of his early hires when Jackson and John Tamihere established Radio Waatea.
Bernie O'Donnell and his long-time mate Willie Jackson.
“He came from the toughest of upbringings, just terrible, but he’s an example to others you can rise above that type of upbringing and become such a huge contributor and leader in his own right to te ao Māori,” Jackson said.
“To become what he’s become after his terrible start in life is wonderful — the chair of MUMA, manager of Radio Waatea , co-chair of Matawai , a leader alongside us of so many urban Māori initiatives — makes me very proud and I know his people will benefit hugely from his experience.”
O’Donnell said he was looking forward to seeing where his skills could best fit his iwi.
“There have been concerning glimpses emerging of late, especially from our whānau living over the ditch,” O’Donnell said.
“They’re not coming home because they have nothing to come back to. With that in mind, I finally got home.
“Its been a mission to achieve that to be honest. You can blink and 20 something years go by in an instant.
“My whānau and I left Taranaki around 2000. I had agreed with my old mate Willie Jackson to move to South Auckland to manage the urban Māori radio station Radio Waatea. The idea was we’d be there for maybe 5 years at the most with the intention to come back to Taranaki.
“Obviously, that didn’t happen. My wife Kura and I really got into working alongside Willie to build a broadcasting outfit that would make a difference for our people. What we achieved at Waatea is already widely known, but what we missed while we were changing the world for Māori was just how quickly time flew.”
“Its been a long road of return but I wouldn’t change a thing with regards to working in an urban Māori space. Eventually all of us need to return home. Its how do that is the real challenge,” O’Donnell said.
