National Nati news / Politics / Reo and Culture
Written by: Lilian Tangaere-Baldwin, Toitu Ngati Porou Chairperson
13 Nov 2017

Nga mihi nui ki te hunga e panui nei i taku ripoata i tenei wa. Ko te hao o taku ngakau kia neke whakamua te iwi o Ngati Porou i roto i nga ahuatanga o te wa, tae atu hoki i nga tau e heke mai nei. Ko a tatau mahi i enei ra, hei tuapapa mo a tatau tamariki, mokopuna i nga tau kei mua i a ratau. No reira kia tau tonu nga manaakitanga.

TOITU NGATI POROU BOARD

The Toitu Ngati Porou Board’s first term expired 31 March 2017. This was extended by the TRONPnui Board to 31 March 2018 to align with the timeframe provided for the review of the TRONPnui Trust Deed and the Toitu Ngati Porou Trust Deed. This would enable potential amendments to both Deeds to occur concurrently, in accordance with clause 10.1 of the TRONPnui Trust Deed. My appointment as Chairperson by the TRONPnui Board was effected at this time along with the Toitu Board appointing Amos Forrester as the Deputy Chair. It is with sincere appreciation and respect that I acknowledge the outgoing Chair, Amohaere Houkamau, for her sound leadership, unrelenting commitment to all things Ngati Porou, her fortitude, strategic ability and more importantly, her continued role and support as a Toitu Board member.

TOITU NGATI POROU FINANCIAL POSITION

Toitu’s 2016/2017 Budget was not fully realised as the Dividend forecast of $1,416,014.00 was not received from TRONPnui. This altered position saw the Board review its Business Plan to reflect the changes and to reconfirm its priorities. The Toitu Balance Sheet has net assets of $20,172,687 million of which $19,621,627 million are non-current assets comprising the intercompany loans from Toitu NP to TRONPnui. These non-current assets are the long-term debts or obligations that are not due within the fiscal year.

MARAE GRANT FUNDING

This is year 4 of a 5 year plan for Marae Grant Funding where Toitu received applications and paid out $1,020,000 in marae grants and $40,000 in capital grants. To date, a total distribution of $3,396,344 has been paid to Ngati Porou marae in Grants and $300,000 in Capital Grants.

NGATI POROU REO STRATEGY

The Toitu Board approved a revised Reo Action Plan and Reo funding business case that triggered the first payment of $250,000 to Toitu to implement the Te Reo Ake o Ngati Porou series of five funding programmes. In June ‘Nga Pu Whakaha i te Reo (Reo Champions), was launched, and the successful applicants selected. In addition to this, the TRONPnui Chief Executive secured funding from Te Taurawhiri i te Reo Maori to co-fund the ‘on-line Ngati Porou reo archive’ initiative within the Ngati Porou Reo Action Plan, and negotiated with the Radio Ngati Porou Manager to fund the Radio to do the ‘online NP reo archive’, as an extension of the archival work that Toitu invested in the previous financial year.

NGATI POROU OUTCOMES MEASUREMENT FRAMEWORK (NPOMF)

The NPOMF project was completed on 30 June 2017 as scheduled. We delivered a profile and comparative analysis with the extracted IDI (Integrated Data Infrastructure) data on Ngati Porou in Tairawhiti, including an automated analytical prototype for the development of profiles.

This included Ngati Porou in Tairawhiti by area, compared with other Māori and Non-Maori living in Tairawhiti. We engaged Waiora Pacific, who had worked with Te Runanga o Te Whanau a Apanui, to develop a presentation layer for Census and Ngati Porou Iwi Registry data, this displays Ngāti Porou and Tairawhiti data geospatially and through a dashboard.

We are able to view Ngati Porou Registry membership data by hapu and marae across New Zealand against the Ngati Porou population. The next phase of the project will be dependent on our ability to secure $1.5m–$3.0m investment from Iwi, Government, Philanthropic and private sector investors. We are currently pursuing a joint venture approach with Te Runanga o Te Whanau a Apanui, Te Aitanga a Mahaki and Waiora Pacific with a Business Case built around the establishment of IHI, an Intelligence Hub, that will:

  • enable and support access to government, private sector and iwi data
  • present data in meaningful ways
  • utilise a multi-disciplinary analytics team, who will be able to analyse the data from multiple perspectives, and provide richer, more meaningful understanding of our people, our place, and the opportunities and challenges they face.

FUTURE PLANNING

An enduring, connected and vibrant Ngati Porou are outcomes Toitu aims to achieve through its investment. In looking forward, Toitu Ngati Porou will maintain a focus on implementing TRONPnui’s two key cultural policies and investment commitments: marae grants and the reo strategy. Toitu’s priorities also include Ngati Porou education and matauranga aims and aspirations; joint venture projects within the TRONPnui Group on internships, micro-enterprise, and on long-term outcomes measurement.

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

I also recognise the support and contributions of fellow Board Members Rei Kohere, Wiki Gilvray and Amos Forrester and express the board’s appreciation of the dedicated TRONPnui staff that have worked alongside us, particularly Leeanne Morice, Jacqui Ata, Hiria Shaw and Trudy Lewis. A final acknowledgement to our CEO, Herewini Te Koha, who helped us to navigate through a myriad of complexities so we could carry out our duties in the best interests of Ngati Porou.

Naku noa,

Lilian Tangaere-Baldwin
Chairperson
Toitu Ngati Porou