We have grown up with a national consciousness that tells us our nation stands on three distinct pillars: our Ekalesia (church), our Ui Ariki (traditional leaders), and our Kavamani (government). But has there been another pillar that since August 1965, leaders of our country — visionary men and women — decided on to uphold our nation also: Aotearoa New Zealand and our people in New Zealand, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.

We had the opportunity then to cut away what was “from Tom Scott’s Years of the Pooh Baah to David Stones Paper on Self-Government in the Cook Islands 1965” at times a colonising, belligerent, and overbearing colonial power.

We could have followed the path that Samoa took on New Year’s Day 1962, gaining full independence. Samoa’s interactions with colonial New Zealand saw the rise of the Mau movement, alongside bitter death and aggression – be it the influenza epidemic brought by a New Zealand ship, the Tulane, or the killing of Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III, a prominent Mau leader, by New Zealand military on December 28, 1929.

But that is not our story, nor is it our journey.

Instead, on August 4 and formalised on August 8, 1965, our leaders chose free association with Aotearoa New Zealand. For a range of internal and external reasons, we chose to constitutionally and strategically add another pillar to our national consciousness. That pillar – New Zealand – has been an integral part of our nation-building since. A decision made in 1965, tested many times since, and one we must consider again as we mark 60 years of self-government in free association.

Whether in health, as we fly our people to and from the New Zealand health system; in education, as we gain New Zealand accredited qualifications recognised at home and abroad, homes we buy and capitalise on, voting in New Zealand elections or through our use of a New Zealand currency and passport ranked among the top in the world – we have leaned into the benefits of this fourth pillar since 1965.

And New Zealand has leaned on us also – with the blood, sweat, and tears of our people – my parents and grandparents included. From the 500 soldiers in World War 1 to Coastwatcher’s in the Pa Enua, we have more than done our part. From the factory floors to the halls of local government and Parliament, we have made our indelible mark on the identity of Aotearoa, the New Zealand government and its economy.

In 2018, a government report revealed that Pacific peoples contributed $8 billion annually to New Zealand’s GDP. According to the 2023 census, Cook Islands Māori made up 21 per cent of the Pacific community – or 97,000 people. Our contribution? An estimated $1.68 billion annually. As Cook Islands Māori, we have well-earned our citizenship and a voice around the parameters of our relationship with this fourth pillar of our country.

And as we celebrate Matariki — the Māori New Year — here in Aotearoa this weekend, those same 97,000 Cook Islanders will in one way or another, celebrate it also. To mark Matariki, we pause, we reconsider, and re-evaluate ourselves and our relationships since this time last year.

And as we do, we call on the leaders of nations globally to do the same. To find the blessing – as Jesus called us to – leaders who are not merely peacekeepers, but peacemakers. Because peacekeeping does not create peace. Peacemakers create the conditions for peace within the turmoil. They lead us – as people and nations – to the table of humanity, to drink from the cup of relationship, and to lay down the words of division, the momore and korare of war – whether those wars be of mind, word, religion, or nationhood.

Diplomacy and peace are not found at the end of long-winded press releases, especially in the global, regional, and local context we now face. Nor are they found in the echo chambers of officials calling each other out behind closed doors, or in speeches hurriedly drafted in the haze of ego rather than in the clarity of reconciliation and peace.

Diplomacy is found in the heart of peacemakers. Those who can shape peace from conflict. Those who see peace even when all we can see is the fog of war and division. These are the leaders we desperately need — at home and around the world.

Who will have the courage to find the path to peace? Because it is courage, not ego, that finds the way.

Who will look beyond rhetoric to truth? Because it is truth that clears the path forward.

And who will hear the voice of the people – the call for unity of mind, spirit, and purpose? Because it is these leaders we can trust and stand alongside who will lead us – together – into a unified and prosperous future.

And in the words of our first premier and prime minister, sir Albert Henry, a man who saw a vision of us together, both New Zealand and a self-governing Cook Islands building a country where no one in the tribe was left behind.