Angeline Ngahina Greensill (born 1948) is a New Zealand Māori political rights campaigner, academic and leader.

Early life

Greensill is of Tainui, Ngāti Porou, and Ngāti Paniora descent, born in the late 1940s in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

and raised at Raglan, on the turangawaewae of Tainui o Tainui ki Whaingaroa. She was educated at Raglan Primary, Raglan District High School, Hamilton Technical College, Hamilton Teachers College and at Waikato University. She holds a Trained Teachers Certificate, LLB (Bachelor of Laws), Bachelor of Social Sciences with 1st class Honours and completed a Masters of Social Science in 2010, with a thesis on the

Resource Management Act The Resource Management Act (RMA) passed in 1991 in New Zealand is a significant, and at times, controversial Act of Parliament. The RMA promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water. New Zea ...

, supervised by Robyn Longhurst. Greensill's first job was as a primary school teacher both in New Zealand and in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. Between 1984–1996 while raising her young family, she worked for her

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

as co-ordinator of employment and skills training and conservation programmes for youth in the Raglan Catchment area. After completing a law degree she was employed by

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

in 1999 to teach in the Department of Geography, Tourism and Environmental Planning specialising in treaties, Māori geography and resource management.

The environment

As an advocate for the protection of the environment and for Maori land rights of West Coast whānau and hapu in the Whaingaroa area since the mid-70s, Greensill's legal efforts have been crucial in helping to block human-cow transgenic field trials being conducted by AgResearch Ltd, and helped to educate Māori communities on the implications of

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...

. Due to her expertise in this field she was interviewed in the documentary film The Leech and the Earthworm by Max Pugh and Marc Silver.

Land rights

Greensill assisted in organising the land occupation at the Raglan Golf Course (see

Māori protest movement The Māori protest movement is a broad indigenous rights movement in New Zealand (). While there was a range of conflicts between Māori and Pākehā, European immigrants prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the signing prov ...

), which played a prominent role in helping recognise issues around Māori land rights in New Zealand. Greensill was with her mother, Eva Rickard, when she was arrested on charges of trespassing. Due to prolonged legal efforts the land was later returned to the local tribe. Greensill was also involved in land occupations at Bastion Point, Awhitu, and others elsewhere.

Political background

Ranked third, she stood in the in the electorate for the

Mana Māori Movement The Mana Māori Movement was a New Zealand political party. It advocated on behalf of the Māori people. It was founded by Eva Rickard, a Māori activist. Rickard was originally a member of Mana Motuhake, another Māori party, but quit when Man ...

but was unsuccessful. Greensill was one of the final co-leaders of the Mana Māori Movement, which she called into recess in 2005 so that the combined efforts of that party could be utilised in the founding and promoting of the

Māori Party Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

. In the past Greensill supported Māori political party Mana Motuhake. One policy Greensill has advocated for is the recognition in law of the 1835

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. Greensill unsuccessfully stood for the Māori Party in the Maori electorates of and Hauraki-Waikato in the New Zealand general elections of and respectively. In 2011, however, she joined the breakaway Mana Party, saying that the Māori Party was no longer listening to the people. She contested the Hauraki-Waikato electorate again for her new party in the and elections.

References

External links