Wairuatanga: wairua and spirituality Wairuatanga is underexplored in this discussion paper. Wairuatanga (often referred to as Article 4) in Te Tiriti o Waitangi refers to the active protection of Māori beliefs and values by ensuring inclusion, recognition, and respect for Te Ao Māori, including tikanga, kawa, reo and mātauranga Māori. This is important in the housing sphere where kāinga link to whenua and identity for Māori. Tikanga and wairuatanga are critical in understanding Māori notions of accountability. Te Aka, the online Māori dictionary, defines wairuatanga as spirituality. The notion of spirituality is particularly important in Te Ao Māori with reference to tikanga, customary practices and traditions. At a micro scale, we practise tikanga through karakia or waiata before/during hui or significant events – Berghan et al. (2017) state that they “provide space for spirit”.117 At an organisational and management level, a study by Craig et al.118 found three core Māori values that were important to accountability reporting objectives and practices of which wairuatanga was identified: spirituality (wairuatanga), intergenerationalism and restoration (whakapapa) and governance, leadership and respect (mana and rangatiratanga). At a national level in the statutory context, wairuatanga has not necessarily been widely explored in the concept 50 of accountability mechanisms, but it has been adopted once in statute within the Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi Claims Settlement Act 2005 where wairuatanga is defined in Schedule 12: The relationship between Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi and Toopuni is expressed in waiata, koorero, and karakia. Karakia, in particular, have always been used when harvesting kai. Wairua impacts upon the way in which individuals conduct themselves around kai, the harvesting of kai and the tikanga around the eating of kai. The recognition of wairuatanga in statute may be an opportunity to explore further the development of accountability mechanisms within the housing sector for Māori. Moreover, if we understand tikanga as the Māori value and wairuatanga as the application, as described by Durie,119 within the contemporary context, we can assume that those who may be appointed to the potential accountability mechanism and model should also have a deep knowledge and understanding of tikanga. Te Kāhui Tika Tangata New Zealand Human Rights Commission Housing Inquiry