Judge
Hinewai Ormsby - Hawke’s Bay Regional Councillor.
Tēnā koutou katoa.
Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe, me he maunga teitei - Seek the treasure that you value most dearly, if you bow your head, let it be only to a lofty mountain.
Hinewai was born and raised in Hawke’s Bay, returning home to raise a whānau of her own after studying at the University of Otago, University of Auckland and the University of Alberta, and from international travel. Her ancestral links into Ahuriri and Heretaunga weave back to the first peoples of this region 600 years ago. She is a proud mother of 8-year-old Kaea and 5-year-old Kipa, while crediting her adult achievements to the support of her husband Cam.
Her expertise, experience and service canvasses across many sectors of our society and region including as a;
former Science teacher, business owner of Napier Māori Tours Ltd and Aquaculture Environmental Ltd, Hawke’s Bay Tourism Board Director, Papakāinga housing developer, native tree nursery grower, Waiohiki Marae Board of Trustee member, Community planting day coordinator and more recently as a Hawke’s Bay Regional Councillor.
Hinewai is one of nine, the only woman, Hawke’s Bay Regional Councillor’s elected in October 2019, representing the Napier Ahuriri constituency. Her community supported her with a resounding top voting poll, a massive achievement as a first-time candidate.
Hinewai believes Hawke's Bay can lead Aotearoa in job creation, sustainability, and healthy communities. She recognises that our beautiful region has immense potential in technology, entrepreneurial ventures and high-value agriculture. However, these things don’t co-exist without a thriving natural environment. She is passionate about supporting our communities to be strongly connected and enable building ourselves from the ground up, with a collaborative mission that we leave the world in a better state than when we came into it.