Donna M Tai Tokerau Durie-Hall, BA, LLB(Otago), is Ngati Rangiteaorere from Mokoia Island, Lake Rotorua. She is the principle at her own law firm, Woodward Law Offices, Wellington. Donna is a legal adviser to Sir Graham Latimer, President of the New Zealand Maori Council, National Maori Congress and Federation of Maori Authorities (Te Arawa). She is the jointly nominated solicitor for the Maori Appointors to the Crown Forestry Rental Trust, and has overall management responsibility for the Maori Electoral Option Campaign 2001 on behalf of the National Maori Organisations. Donna has represented the Maori Council and Maori Congress at international forums worldwide. She represented New Zealand Maori at the United Nations launch of the Decade of Indigenous Peoples and the 5th Year Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is currently an expert adviser on indigenous issues to the World Conservation Union based in Geneva, Switzerland. Donna is married to Justice Edward Tai Tokerau Durie, former Chairman of the Waitangi Tribunal.
Biographical sources
- Wheen, Nicola Rowan ."The Waitangi Tribunal." Bridget Williams Books, 2004.
Non-fiction
- "Whanau, Hapu, Iwi: A View of the Māori Family." Standing in the Sunshine: A History of New Zealand Women Since They Won the Vote. Principal author and principal researcher - text and illustrations Sandra Coney. Auckland, N.Z.: Viking; Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1993. 68-69.
- Donna Durie-Hall discusses the various meanings of "whanau" in Māori society, and the impact of parliamentary legislation which she asserts has not accommodated the needs or character of Māori whanau.
- "Māori Marriage: Traditional Marriages and the Impact of Pakeha Customs and the Law." Standing in the Sunshine: A History of New Zealand Women Since They Won the Vote. Principal author and principal researcher - text and illustrations Sandra Coney. Auckland, N.Z.: Viking; Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1993. 186-187.
- Donna Durie-Hall discusses the traditional marriage arrangements of the Māori and writes how these were influenced by the introduction of Pakeha wedding practices, Christianity and legislation. She examines issues involved in the dissolution of marriages. She also discusses the dual loyalties of Māori to marriage and whanau, hapu and iwi links.