Ria Hall Speaks Out: Domestic Violence and the Complexities of Accountability Within Māoridom
Ria Hall, a celebrated New Zealand singer and former television presenter, has courageously shared her harrowing experience as a survivor of domestic violence, a story compounded by the subsequent public appearance of her former partner at a significant cultural event. Hall detailed the assault and her emotional fallout in an interview with Yvonne tahana for the Māori current affairs program Marae, sparking a national conversation about family harm and accountability within Māori communities.
The incident occurred early on a Tuesday morning at hall’s Bay of Plenty home while children needed to be prepared for the day. A verbal dispute between Hall and her former partner, Eruera Keepa, escalated when Keepa allegedly grabbed Hall by the neck and physically assaulted her. According to police statements presented in court, the altercation began after Keepa discovered a message on Hall’s phone from another man.
Keepa was later convicted of assaulting Hall and breaching a protection order.He received a sentence of six months’ supervision, was ordered to complete a stop violence program, and required to pay $1000 in reparations for emotional harm. The court lifted a previous name suppression order during the proceedings,revealing Keepa’s identity.
Just weeks after his conviction, Keepa attended the Koroneihana, the annual commemoration of the Māori Queen’s coronation – one of the most significant events in Māoridom. This occurred just weeks after his conviction. Hall expressed her devastation at witnessing Keepa represent his iwi, ngāti Rārua, at the event, particularly as he presented a whale jawbone to Te Arikinui Kuini Nga Wai Hono i te Po, the Māori Queen.
“There were people there that knew that he had just been recently convicted of assault,” Hall stated. “I was disappointed when no one did anything about it. I was disappointed that tikanga wasn’t used as the correct forum in that moment to sort that out.” She felt the situation signaled an acceptance of abusive behavior within the community, suggesting that the abuse of women was being sidelined to allow a perpetrator to speak on a public platform. “I felt very isolated all over again, traumatised all over again.That was unacceptable from my perspective.”
Ngāti Rārua released a statement confirming Keepa had resigned from all roles with the iwi earlier in the year,and that they were unaware of the lifted name suppression order at the time of the koroneihana. The iwi explained that it is not standard practice for the court to notify tribal organizations of convictions.
Following the incident, Tau Ihu representatives issued a writen apology to Hall, explaining that Keepa had “taken it upon himself to stand” after the mandated speaker was unable to attend. The apology stated, “We should have intervened to stop this, but we did not. For that, and for the distress this must have caused you, we are deeply sorry.” Representatives from Tau Ihu also visited Hall in Tauranga to offer a taonga (gift) as a gesture of reconciliation.
Despite the apologies, Hall hopes for a more comprehensive process involving both her and Keepa’s families to address the underlying issues.Remarkably, Hall expressed a desire for Keepa to find a path toward positive change. “He deserves to live a good life. I want him to live a good life.As hard as it is to admit that, I want him to be everything that he can be because he’s a real talented person,” she said.”He’s a real talented person and if he can take full accountability and really face some hard truths as to how he’s acted…, man I think he could get to a really powerful place.”
Keepa, in a statement, indicated he would not be discussing the details of their past relationship to protect their children, emphasizing his focus on building a respectful co-parenting relationship.
Hall’s story serves as a powerful reminder of the pervasive issue of domestic violence and the complex challenges of navigating accountability and healing, particularly within cultural contexts. For more on this story, viewers can watch Marae on TVNZ1 at 10:30 am on Sunday or stream it on TVNZ+.
