Portia is based in Ōtautahi, within the ancestral lands of Ngāi Tahu. We acknowledge Ngāi Tūāhuriri and Ngāti Wheke (Rāpaki) as mana whenua of Ōtautahi, and recognise the other Papatipu Rūnanga whose mana, whakapapa and takiwā form part of the wider landscape in which our community lives and works.
We recognise the enduring rangatiratanga and kaitiakitanga of mana whenua, their continuing relationship with the whenua and wai of this place, and their authority as tangata whenua.
We recognise Te Tiriti o Waitangi as foundational to Aotearoa New Zealand and to the relationship between Māori and the Crown.
We affirm and support tino rangatiratanga — the authority of Māori to determine and shape their own lives, communities, institutions, tikanga and futures.
We recognise that this authority was not created by Te Tiriti, but existed before it, and that Te Tiriti affirmed and protected it.
We recognise tikanga Māori as the first law of Aotearoa. Long before the introduction of English law, Māori communities were governed through sophisticated systems of tikanga, whakapapa, mana, ea, utu, tapu, noa, whanaungatanga and collective responsibility. Tikanga remains a living and evolving source of law, values and authority in Aotearoa today.
We do this because we are committed to access to justice for all, and without trust and legitimacy there can be no justice.
For Portia, commitment to Te Tiriti requires action. As a law firm committed to access to justice, we seek to ensure that Māori are able to engage with the justice system without having to leave their identity, whakapapa or tikanga at its door. We commit to working to ensure our services respect Māori understandings of whānau and relationships, recognise the importance of tikanga and te ao Māori, and respond to the barriers and inequities Māori experience within the justice system.
We understand that it is not for Portia to define tikanga for Māori or to determine what tino rangatiratanga should look like. Our responsibility is to listen, to learn, to build genuine relationships with Māori, and to ensure that our own practices support rather than diminish Māori authority.
Our commitment is therefore one of manaakitanga, respect, equity, partnership and action: supporting tino rangatiratanga, strengthening access to justice, and contributing to a legal system in which both Te Tiriti and tikanga Māori are understood, respected and given meaningful effect.
Kei Ōtautahi a Portia e tū ana, i ngā whenua tuku iho o Ngāi Tahu. Ka whakamihi mātou ki a Ngāi Tūāhuriri me Ngāti Wheke (Rāpaki), ngā mana whenua o Ōtautahi, me ērā atu Papatipu Rūnanga e hono nei ō rātou mana, whakapapa me ngā takiwā ki te whenua whānui e noho nei, e mahi nei hoki tō mātou hapori.
E mōhio ana mātou ki te rangatiratanga me te kaitiakitanga o te mana whenua e mau tonu nei, ki tō rātou hononga toitū ki te whenua me ngā wai o tēnei wāhi, me tō rātou mana hei tāngata whenua.
E mōhio ana mātou he tūāpapa matua Te Tiriti o Waitangi mō Aotearoa, mō te hononga hoki i waenga i a Māori me te Karauna.
Ka whakapūmau, ka tautoko mātou i te tino rangatiratanga — arā, i te mana o ngā Māori ki te whakatau, ki te waihanga hoki i ō rātou ake oranga, hapori, whakahaere, tikanga me te āhua o tō rātou anamata.
E mōhio ana mātou kāore tēnei mana i ahu mai i Te Tiriti; nō mua noa atu tēnei mana, ā, nā Te Tiriti i whakapūmau, i tiaki hoki.
E mōhio ana mātou ko te tikanga Māori te ture tuatahi o Aotearoa. Nō mua noa atu i te taenga mai o ngā ture o Ingarangi, i whakahaerehia ngā hapori Māori i raro i ngā pūnaha matatini o te tikanga, te whakapapa, te mana, te ea, te utu, te tapu, te noa, te whanaungatanga me te haepapa ngātahi. Kei te ora tonu, kei te whanake tonu te tikanga, ā, he puna tonu mō te ture, ngā uara me te mana i Aotearoa i ēnei rā.
Koinei tā mātou e tū nei, nā te mea e ū ana mātou ki te ara ki te manatika mō te katoa. Ki te kore te whakawhirinaki me te whaimana, e kore te manatika e tū.
Ki a Portia, me kitea te ū ki Te Tiriti i roto i ngā mahi. Hei umanga ture e ū ana ki te ara ki te manatika, e whai ana mātou kia āhei ngā Māori ki te whai wāhi ki te pūnaha manatika me te kore e whakarere i tō rātou tuakiri, whakapapa, tikanga hoki kia uru ai. Ka ū mātou ki te whakarite kia whakaute ā mātou ratonga i ngā māramatanga Māori ki te whānau me te whanaungatanga, kia aro nui ki te hiranga o te tikanga me te ao Māori, ā, kia urupare ki ngā tauārai me ngā korenga e ōrite ka pā ki ngā Māori i roto i te pūnaha manatika.
E mārama ana mātou ehara mā Portia e tautuhi te tikanga Māori mō te Māori, e whakatau rānei me pēhea te āhua o te tino rangatiratanga. Ko tā mātou kawenga he whakarongo, he ako, he whakawhanaunga pono ki te Māori, ā, he whakarite kia tautoko ā mātou ake tikanga mahi i te mana o te Māori, kaua e whakaiti i taua mana.
Nō reira, ko tā mātou pūmautanga he ū ki te manaakitanga, te whakaute, te ōritetanga, te rangapū me te mahi: he tautoko i te tino rangatiratanga, he whakapakari i te ara ki te manatika, ā, he whai wāhi ki te whakapakari i tētahi pūnaha ture e ū ana ki te māramatanga, te whakaute me te whakatinanatanga whai tikanga o Te Tiriti me te tikanga Māori.
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