EP250 – Hiki Wairua Riki Nia Nia on Māori Health, Leadership & Whānau Wellbeing

In this episode, I sit down with Riki Nia Nia , CEO of Te Rau Ora , a Māori health organisation committed to strengthening the Māori health workforce, supporting rangatahi leadership, and ensuring whānau receive culturally grounded care and wellbeing support. Te Rau Ora plays a vital role across Aotearoa through initiatives that support workforce development, mental health and addiction services, kaupapa Māori health frameworks, leadership pathways, and community wellbeing kaupapa. In this kōrero, Riki shares insights from decades of working within the health sector and why this mahi is deeply personal to him. We dive into the stories that shaped him, from the influence of his koro and the philosophy of “hiki wairua” , to his māmā becoming the first Tongan wahine involved with the Māori Women’s Refuge movement . He also speaks openly about how his understanding of the health system supported his own whānau during a challenging time with his son. We explore bigger conversations around rangatahi leadership, learning to agree to disagree, lessons from Native American communities, Te Whare Tapa Whā , and the complex factors that influence whānau wellbeing. This is a powerful conversation about how our personal stories shape the work we choose to do and the impact we want to have on our people. This episode is a collaboration between the Planting Seeds Podcast and Te Rau Ora. 🔗 Learn more about Te Rau Ora:

You can listen to EP250 – Hiki Wairua Riki Nia Nia on Māori Health, Leadership & Whānau Wellbeing online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

EP250 – Hiki Wairua Riki Nia Nia on Māori Health, Leadership & Whānau Wellbeing is an episode from Planting Seeds by Raniera Rewiri.

This episode is 01:10:07 long.

This episode was published on Mar 16, 2026.

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