Wayne descends from Hemi Whiro and is the son of William (Bill) and Florence May Hemi.

He is a current Board member on both Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Kuia Trust and Kaikaiāwaro Charitable Trusts. Wayne sits on Te Putea Pou along with fellow trustee Rebecca Mason, and the Audit and Finance Komiti, with the trustee Emma Walker.

He is also Director on Te Hoiere Asset Holding Company Board, with Chris Royds and John Henderson and Marine Farm License 290.

Wayne and Elaine live in Richmond and have been married for thirty years. They have two children and three mokopuna, with another arriving in December 2017.

Wayne has spent most of his working life, (45 yrs) in the fishing industry, starting as a general hand in the early ’70s and moving up the ladder to various supervision, management, general manager, and director positions.

Wayne is now semi-retired and along with his Ngāti Kuia responsibilities, currently drives the bus for Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Tuia Te Matangi on a part-time basis. His interests away from work and family are music, sport, (couch critic only these days), boating and motorbike touring.