Gerrard Albert

Gerrard is currently Chair of Te Kōpuka nā Te Awa Tupua, the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River) Strategy Group comprised of hapū and iwi leadership, local government mayors and chairs and sectorial and central government members.

Up to 2021, he was the inaugural Chair of Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui, the post settlement body for Whanganui Iwi in respect of legal recognition of Te Awa o Whanganui as a living and indivisible, metaphysical and physical whole, Te Awa Tupua.

Gerrard played a key role in the Te Awa Tupua negotiations from 2009, which culminated in a Deed of Settlement in 2014 and legislation in 2107. Te Awa Tupua flips the planning and regulatory paradigm to one which is led by the dictates and values of hapū and iwi, shared as a common and inclusive value set by all communities of the Whanganui catchment.

Gerrard’s focus is otherwise dedicated to hapū development, primarily for his Ngā Paerangi and wider karangatanga (kinship groupings) of the lower reaches of the Whanganui River.