Profile:Trieste Hinekaharoa Turanga Iekuku Ngawhika, Health Protection Officer (HPO)

Iwi:Ngati Tuwharetoa/Te Arawa

Hapu:Ngati Makino, Ngati Pikiao, Rauhoto

Age:35 years

Status:De-facto relationship

Children:Teenageson attending Otumoetai College

Employer:Toi Te Ora-Public Health

Born in 1974 and raised in Rotorua, I flourished alongside 5 brothers, two sisters and numerous whangai. Our home was more than a half-way home – it was the kaianga for all our whanau. My parents Doreen Hinekaharoa Hunia and Te Kehuorongotama Anthony Ngawhika (deceased) had strong clear beliefs and values.They were always big in helping others - particularly whanau and suchemphasis frameswell the way I operate todayin my private and professional life.

Completing 7th form at Western Heights High SchoolRotorua was a feat in itself as I was one of four Maori to complete the year. Moving to Hamilton in 1992 Icompleted ‘Te Timatanga Hou’at Waikato University andchose to continue further study.I successfully completed my firstyear of study towards a Bachelor of Science in 1993 and by mid 1994 I found myself pregnant. Returning to Rotorua, my son was born in1995 whereI chose toremain close to family and friends. Admittedly my focuswas not on my studies but more on enjoying my twenties as a parent and socialising – being a haututu really until I eventuallyreturned to Waikato to complete my second year of study.

In 1999 I moved home to Pukehina where my father was raised. I love the scenery, ocean and laid back nature of Pukehina Beach and decided then to take up professional diving whilecompleting a year of the Marine Studies programme at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic in 2000. I’d also decided then that I wanted a career in aquaculture and conservation. During this period I became a volunteer fire fighter and for the next 3 years I was doing my part in the community. There’s a lot of camaraderie in the Fire Brigade and the skills and experience feature significantly with the essence of ‘Bro you got my back!’ beingmuch more realistic when under the threat of death from a looming fire. Suchexperienceswere added to my little kite.

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Training as a Health Protection Officer

At 30 I finally completed my Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree andwas successful with ascholarship application as a trainee Health Protection Officer with Toi Te Ora – Public Health. Armed with the scholarship,my family and I moved to Wellington for 10 months to complete a Graduate Diploma in Environmental Health. Having a weekly allowance, fees and course costs paid by the scholarship was a major boost.

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Returning toTauranga in 2005 I began training with Toi Te Ora – Public Health Services - the public health arm of the Bay of Plenty and Lakes District Health Boards. As a trainee I took guidance from a designated Health Protection Officer to learn the basics of enforcement and legislation relevant to the designation. Designation of a Health Protection Officer includes on the job training to achieve competence and is authorized by the Director General of Health as a required warrantunder public health legislation. By 2007 I was designated as a Health Protection Officer and Food Act Officer.

What We Do, The Challenges and … the “Paua Pack”:

As a Health Protection Officer (HPO) we protect public health by ensuring public health risks are identified and managed; investigate public health concerns; enforce public health legislation; provide advice and information to community leaders, members of the public and others who influence determinants of health. The enforcement component can feature tension, pressure, confrontation and conflict when dealing with the public and I find this can be unnerving sometimes. Such challenges can conflict with my personal values and beliefs although I have resisted changing my personal beliefs to accommodate professional etiquette. Consequently I have learned to mould the two together to enhance professional practice by using my “Paua Pack”.

  • Respect your elders;Showing respect is crucial regardless of the situation.As a professional this is a valuable attribute taught and modelled well by my parents. I acknowledge too thatrespect is like a koha and should be reciprocated in kind so negotiation, knowledge, tolerance and patience arein the Pack too.
  • Be generous and helpful; My mum is great at this – she’s lovely and will give the shirt off her back. While this can be taken advantage of my mum would say “well they obviously have more need than I do”.
  • Lead by example; As my dad would say ‘If I want someone to do something for me then I need to show them or tell them how’.
  • Whanau is important... My family are my support line and I can always count on them. Recognizing too that each person also has whanau and that such networks are integral in all relationships regardless of your kaupapa.

Being a HPO and Maori is rewarding and gives me a real sense of achievement. I love my mahi! Unfortunately being a potential Maori statistic is also daunting. Health inequalities that our people and Pacific Nations face are huge and some of the delivery of campaigns and information are not tailored to co-exist with Maori tikanga – a major frustration for those of us working in health. My preference is to develop processes to UN-learn the negative behaviours and attitudes by reaffirming more positive tikanga through whanau, hapu andS iwi development.

The humour for me now is that I have a career in health – when initially I thought I’d train in aquaculture and conservation. More ironic still is that in terms of Te Ao Maori, health is so broad that I will always have a Paua regardless of which profession I work in.