“It’s just going back and lending my hand to carry the load. Stepping in and doing my part, whatever that may be. It may just be getting back in there and washing the dishes, and I’m happy to do that.”

But her iwi will be gaining more than that.

While finishing her Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in Māori Studies and Linguistics at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, Mereana began teaching here. She went on to make the switch from academia to journalism. She began reporting at what was then TV3 and subsequently has been overseas, first in London as a freelance correspondent and output editor at the international news agency Associated Press, and now at Al Jazeera.

Before that she was the science and technology editor, as well as the series producer and host of the programme Planet SOS, which sets out the facts and science of the world’s climate and ecological crises.

And yes, she says, that did include addressing the ‘elephant in the room’: Qatar’s economic reliance on the oil and gas industries. New Zealand didn’t get a free pass either, with another episode on agricultural emissions.

“It shocks me to think I’ve stayed 10 years, when I arrived here thinking I’d come for two or three at the outside,” says Mereana. “I’ve stayed this long because I love what I do at Al Jazeera. Plus I’ve been able to fill up my kete of knowledge.”

Knowledge to take home to Taranaki, and she says it’s time, in particular, for her and her English husband, Ben, to get their almost-six-year-old twins into a Māori-speaking environment so they can be immersed in the language and culture of home.

Mereana has only ever spoken to their daughter, Tapuwae, and son, Te Whetu Matarere, in te reo Māori. She says it would have been easier to speak in English but the language is the greatest taonga she can give them. “I’m sure they will thank me later!”

Throughout her time overseas, Mereana has travelled home to New Zealand at least once, sometimes twice, a year, but COVID-19 has put paid to that for the moment. She hasn’t been back for more than 18 months now. She had hoped to be at the University for the launch of its Living Pā project earlier this year, of which she is an ambassador.

She didn’t hesitate when asked to help promote the Living Pā. Of all the things she has done at Al Jazeera, Planet SOS is particularly close to her heart. “The whole concept around the Living Pā resonated for me, because it is about prioritising the environment, the planet, the world we live in.”

When she was in London, she performed across Europe and in the Middle East with the London Māori Club and for Manaia, a Māori performing arts company. She wasn’t long in Doha before she had arranged for the London Māori Club to perform at the Qatar premiere of alumnus Taika Waititi’s film Boy. She went on to create a Māori cultural group with other expatriates.

When first deciding to work at Al Jazeera, Mereana was mindful of her experience as a Māori journalist back in New Zealand.

“I wanted to join Al Jazeera because of its focus on telling the stories that are not being told and giving a voice to people who are not being heard. That approach was what drove me during my time as a reporter in New Zealand. Too often I encountered coverage of Māori issues that felt incomplete. It might have been that the people telling those stories didn’t know who to speak to or perhaps they just didn’t know what might be needed in that story to help people make sense of the issues. So coming to Al Jazeera felt like coming home but on an international stage.”

As she talks enthusiastically about Start Here—the subjects it has covered, those coming up—it is clear Mereana has lost none of that sense of curiosity central to good journalism.

“I love it. It’s an absolute privilege. It’s how I felt reporting in New Zealand. I still remember walking to Waitangi up the road towards Te Tii marae and thinking, ‘How did I get here? How on earth did I land in this place, able to tell their stories, having a reason to go up to talk to these wonderful people, these incredible leaders, Joe Bloggs on the street.’ That excitement hasn’t changed.”

Throughout her career, says Mereana, she has followed the teachings passed to her from her iwi—of whanaungatanga (kinship) and reciprocity.

“You can’t expect things in life. You earn it and you’ve got to keep delivering on it. You don’t take things for granted. That’s not the New Zealand way. It’s certainly not the Māori way and it’s not how I am. I don’t need to be in a particular position or job. I just need to be doing work that counts.”