Maori members of the Anglican church from all over New Zealand gathered at Te Papa i o uru marae at Ohinemutu in Rotorua, for their 16th biennial Synod, known as Te Runanganui o Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa on Thursday evening.
The four day gathering will be led in its discussions by the most Reverend William Brown Turei.
One of the most lively is likely to be a debate by would-be MPs from the Labour, Maori and Mana parties, who will attempt to persuade the runanganui that they can produce the goods for Maori, if they are elected.
