"Ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te ao – The child is at the heart of all that we do."

Mareta Hunt is a champion for child health equity, Māori well-being, and injury prevention, driven by kaupapa Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. With deep ancestral ties and a lifelong commitment to Te Reo Māori, she ensures Māori voices shape digital health engagement and policy.

Born into a diverse whānau of Māori, Pākehā, and Sāmoan heritage, Mareta was raised with Te Reo Māori, nurtured at home and through attending Kura Kaupapa Māori in Rūātoki and Wairarapa. Immersed in marae life, she developed a deep love for kōrero tuku iho and now advocates for normalising te reo Māori across all spaces, especially in digital platforms for tamariki.

Mareta is the Poutokomanawa – Director of Starship Digital and Community Engagement, leading initiatives that empower Māori and Pacific whānau. As Director of Safekids Aotearoa that provides practical advice based on international research, local knowledge and mātauranga, to help keep children safe from serious injuries like falls, drowning and incidents on the road. Mareta’s work has has embedded mātauranga Māori into child injury prevention, ensuring culturally responsive strategies for tamariki.

Her previous roles included:

• Senior Māori Cultural Advisor at Counties Manukau Health, where she co-founded Te Pokaitahi Reo Māori
• Hearing and Vision Technician/Community Health Worker at Counties Manukau strengthening whānau-centred care
• The University of Auckland Health Promotion, responsible for the delivery of smokefree health promotion to tamariki, young people and whānau to reduce the prevalence of smoking in two of South Auckland Intermediate schools.
• Project and Research Administrator at Te Rau Matatini (now Te Rau Ora)

She is an Indigenous Representative on the Australasian Injury Prevention Network (AIPN) and a member of Safer Communities Auckland.

Mareta studied Māori and Psychology at Massey University, earning multiple scholarships (Hauora Māori Scholarship from the Ministry of Health) and Te Rau Puawai, a partnership between Health Workforce NZ and Massey University giving bursaries and learning support to Māori  students who want to begin or complete a Massey University qualification mental health and wellbeing. Mareta has published on kaupapa Māori approaches to child safety, injury prevention, and Indigenous health systems.

For Mareta, Te Reo Māori is more than language—it’s identity, empowerment, and legacy. She works to ensure tamariki see and hear their reo in everyday life, moving beyond tokenism to meaningful representation.

Grounded in faith, whānau, and Māoritanga, Mareta continues to drive transformative change, ensuring tamariki Māori flourish in a future where their reo, culture, and identity are celebrated.

“Mahia te mahi hei painga mo te iwi”

Links:

Research Gate Profile: Mareta Hunt

Safekids News Article: Director Appointment 2021

Caregiver perspectives on the value of dogs and their effects on children in private and public spaces. Journal of Veterinary Behavior. Volume 78, March–April 2025, Pages 36-44

Aspiring toward Pae Ora: Values and strengths‐based child safety messaging in Aotearoa/New Zealand, July 2022

The shape of the New Zealand child injury prevention workforce, J Paediatr Child Health. 2022 Nov;58(11):1924-1928

Kawa haumaru: a mātauranga Māori approach to child safety in Aotearoa New Zealand. NZMJ 8 October 2021, Vol 134 No 1543