WHAI WHAKAARO: Kaua e Tuku
Dame Noeline, Cultural Logic, and the Institutional Fear of Wāhine Māori Leadership
We are told hākinakina unites us, across whakapapa, pāpori, iwi katoa. But the field, like Parliament, like media, is never neutral.
High-performance sport is not just about points and podiums. It is a complex cultural system built on inherited norms – pākehā norms that define what counts as success, who gets to lead, and how excellence is recognised.
Dame Noeline Taurua was not failed by performance — she was failed by process.
Her forced exit is not just the loss of a coach. It is the exposure of a system that celebrates Māori success — but recoils when Māori leadership challenges inherited norms.
The Cultural Logic of High-Performance Sport
Sport sociology calls it the “logic of performance”, everything must be timed, measured, and improved. It rewards speed, stats, structure. It serves institutions, not necessarily people.
But Māori bring a different lens: Whakapapa before position. That’s what Dame Noeline brings to her mahi.
Author's summary: Dame Noeline Taurua's exit exposes a system that fears Māori leadership.
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