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He Mihi
Ngati Porou i te ao, Ngati Porou i te po
Ko Hikurangi te maunga
Ko Waiapu te awa
Ko nga uri o nga whanau, hapu o Ngati Porou mai i Potikirua ki te Toka a Taiau te waiutanga e.
Tena tatau e pupuri nei i te ha o to tatau mihi to tatau tangitangi atu kia tatau.
“Kei te aha” te rerenga korero e mohio whanuitia e te ao no Ngati Porou.
E nga mate o te tau kua taha atu nei haere, haere, haere.
Takahia te ara o te takitini, takahia te ara o te takimano T
akahia te ara kua papatau e te hunga kua haere i mua atu i a koutou.
“I mahara hoki au he kai pai te aroha, kaore e ia he kai kawa e Kei hua mai koutou kahore ra he aroha, kei roto i ahau e kai ana e.”
Moe marie koutou atu ki te mana ki te ihi ki te tapu kei te po.
Kia ora koutou aku matua aku tipuna, aku tuakana aku taina, aku tuahine me wa tatau tamariki mokopuna.
Ka nui nga whakamatautau kia tatau o Ngati Porou, heoi ano, anei ra nga kaupapa kua kawea e to tatau Runanganui me kore e kitea he oranga mo Ngati Porou me ona hapu, a, e pupuri ai hoki i te mauri, i te ha, me te mana motuhake o Ngati Porou mo nga uri whakatipu.
Kua tautokongia te nuinga o nga hapu i te pire “Nga rohe moana o nga hapu o Ngati Porou”, a, kua tau ano tenei kaupapa ki mua i te kawanatanga.
Kua whakapau werawera a Toitu Ngati Porou ki te hapai i te rautaki reo a “kei te aha ma”, me te tuku piuta hei whakarauora to tatau reo i waenganui i a tatau tonu, ahakoa kei hea e noho ana me kore e warowaro e tatatangi te reo tuku iho a o tatau matua tipuna, ki o tatau kainga, ki o tatau hapori, ki nga huihuinga a Ngati Porou.
Kei te mau tonu te whakahaere o te Hauora ki roto i o tatau ringa ahakoa ona piki ona heke ona whakamatautau. Kei te kaha tonu a Ngati Porou Holdco te whakatipu rawa kia taea e Ngati Porou te waha i ana kaupapa mona, a, mo nga uri kei roto te kopu o te wa.
Reflecting on the past year, we recognise both the challenges and opportunities that were presented and I am pleased to note that optimism still abounds. The foundations are in place and the work is being done by Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou (TRONPnui) to achieve real gains for Ngati Porou.
Our challenge is achieving a balanced score-card that results in the cultural and social wellbeing and prosperity of our whanau, the responsible utilisation of our natural resources and the sustained profitability and productivity of the TRONPnui Group. The achievement of our strategic vision and mission is reliant on the optimal performance of the parent and all our subsidiaries and a ‘big picture’ approach to Ngati Porou investment. Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou needed good support from its subsidiaries to maintain its full operation this year.
You will all know that, in 2012, TRONPnui transferred all of its cash and commercial assets to its newly formed subsidiary, Ngati Porou Holding Company (Holdco). In exchange, TRONPnui receives an annual payment to help meet its various costs of operating. But in recent years TRONPnui took on some large one-off costs, like giving financial relief to Ngati Porou Hauora, and upfront investments, like buying Te Tini o Porou, that have put pressure on its finances and cash-flow.
TRONPnui subsidiaries have rolled their sleeves up to help. Toitu Ngati Porou operated on a reduced budget this year, and took other steps, to alleviate financial strain on TRONPnui. Ngati Porou Hauora achieved a budget surplus and needed no extra funds from TRONPnui. And Holdco paid a special dividend, as well as an advance dividend, in response to TRONPnui’s budget and cash-flow needs.
In the year ahead TRONPnui is implementing a programme to significantly reduce costs so that its operations can ‘break even’ financially within two years and be sustainable over the long-term. This is only fair to its subsidiaries and, most of all, to the beneficial members. I am confident that, at the entity level as well as the Group level, we will be reporting from a position of improved financial and operational strength as we go forward.
We have a lot to be optimistic about. This year TRONPnui finalised improvements to Ngati Porou’s foreshore and seabed Deed with the Crown. In January the various hapu collectives started the process of ratifying the changes to the Deed and proposed management arrangements, with most hapu affirming their support and keenness to get moving. While the Deed has yet to be passed into law, Ngati Porou hapu can be confident that TRONPnui will advocate strongly to the new government to make that happen. Hapu will then have restored to them real decision-making rights to their takutai moana and fisheries resources, and dedicated funding to help them to carry out those roles.
In 2016/17 TRONPnui participated in the Gisborne District Council’s hearing and submission process on its regional freshwater plan. We were joined in this work by our leading environmental resource experts and hapu practitioners and, while GDC ultimately made very few concessions in its plan, I am confident in our ability to influence freshwater plans and decision-making where it matters most: at the local catchment level.
TRONPnui continued its work on the East Coast Erosion Control scheme with GDC and the Ministry for Primary Industries. After years of lobbying from TRONPnui the Government approved changes to the scheme that remove funding hurdles for many of our land blocks at home. There are three years remaining for all of the affected land blocks to come into the scheme. Recruitment into the scheme, and uptake of erosion control funding, will be a high priority over that period.
As a member of the Iwi Chairs Forum (ICF), the Chair of the Iwi Leaders Group on Natural Resources (Pou Taiao) and a member of the Whanau Ora Partnership Group I have been able to contribute to the strategic direction, policy development and programme design for freshwater, climate change, RMA reforms, Whanau Ora, Oranga Tamariki Act and a range of police and justice kaupapa. Participation in these national forums and engaging with senior ministers of the Crown, enables Ngati Porou to participate in priority setting, to influence policy and legislation, while advocating for and protecting our position as Ngati Porou.
My job was made easier by the talented Ngati Porou team that worked tirelessly in the various technical support teams. I wish to particularly note the contributions of Tina Porou, Willie Te Aho and Whaimutu Dewes. On the local front our CE, Herewini Te Koha has also provided leadership as Co-Chair of Manaaki Tairawhiti, the Tairawhiti Place Based Initiative, a leading national example of the social investment approach, and in the development of the Tairawhiti Maori Economic Development Report and Action Plan.
In 2016/17 we started the implementation of the Te Reo Ake o Ngati Porou strategy. There is only one aspiration that this work is founded on: to have our distinctive reo once again flourishing in our homes, in our schools, on our marae, in our communities and in all facets of our lives. Te Reo ake o Ngati Porou is a taonga tuku iho mai i o tatau matua tipuna. It is our legacy and one that we have to take responsibility for. Others may help but, ultimately, ma Ngati Porou ano e whakaora tona reo. The revitalisation of our reo is a collective responsibility, Toitu Ngati Porou and the TRONPnui will play their roles but, more importantly, every Ngati Porou person needs to make their own commitment and every whanau needs to play their role. The future of Te Reo ake o Ngati Porou rests in all our hands. Ki te kore tatau e aro ki tenei ahuatanga ka memeha te puna, ka ngaro te waiu mo nga uri whakatipu.
The implementation of our reo strategy is led by Toitu Ngati Porou, our cultural development subsidiary. In addition to the original $500,000 investment committed by Holdco, TRONPnui secured $130,000 from Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori (Maori Language Commission) to support our strategy and its implementation. To kick it off, ‘expressions of interest’ were sought from marae, hapu, rohenga tipuna and taurahere to nominate their reo revitalisation ‘champions’. The champions will collectively, be able to access up to $100,000 over two years to support their coordination and promotional work at rohenga tipuna, hapu and taurahere levels.
With the funds received from the Maori Language Commission, TRONPnui worked with Radio Ngati Porou (RNP) to develop ‘digital’ reo resources from RNP’s recording archive as well as create new resources. This is part of RNP’s own work to set up an ‘online’ directory of language resources that will ultimately be available to all Ngati Porou members. As the implementation of the Reo strategy continues there will be further opportunities and resources to support language revitalisation efforts on the ground. Kia kaha ra tatau!
Through Toitu Ngati Porou more than $1 million in marae development grants were paid out during the year, alongside free marae wi-fi and competitive marae insurance packages. In all, Toitu has paid out more than $3.8 million in marae grants since 2013. The grants will continue in 2017/18 and until each eligible marae has uplifted its full grant allocation.
Ngati Porou Hauora and TRONPnui’s social service arm, Whanau Oranga, are the main providers of health care and social support services to whanau living between Potikirua and Kaiti. In January, the Tikitiki and Rangitukia communities endured the loss of their local health clinic. This added further to the stresses on health service provision at home and underlined the need to rethink our current model of service. Health and social services to whanau on the East Coast need to be accessible, effective and sustainable. This is by no means easy for a district that is rural and isolated, with a small population. So, in developing a new model of care, we may need to set aside what worked in the past and embrace new approaches and new technologies.
All parties will need courage, a willingness to innovate and compromise where that is appropriate, so that we achieve the quality and level of health and social support services that meet the needs of our whanau. This will be one of TRONPnui’s main priorities for discussion and negotiation with the new government. While the year has held its fair share of challenges I am pleased with many aspects of our health and social service arms’ performance.
As I stated earlier Ngati Porou Hauora (NPH) achieved a financial surplus for the year. This was achieved as a result of staff reductions and other budget measures it undertook during the year, as well as support from philanthropic funders. If NPH can continue to stay in surplus it will create a more stable platform for it to focus on service quality and coverage for our local communities.
Whanau Oranga carried out 3,000 plus social service engagements with individuals and whanau, including 1,500 or so intensive engagements. It also led a series of engagements to put the spotlight on two growing scourges within our whanau and communities: the use of ‘P’, and the impact of family violence.These are difficult and confronting issues and I encourage us all to speak out and to stand up to keep our mokopuna and our families safe, secure and well.
As one of only three accredited social housing providers in Tairawhiti, Whanau Oranga also entered into partnerships with Housing New Zealand Corp and the Ministry of Social Development to manage four new social housing units in Gisborne and set up a temporary housing facility for our men on release from prison. Increasing the supply of decent and affordable housing to our whanau will be an ongoing and long-term focus for TRONPnui and its social services arm.
TRONPnui is still working with the Department of Conservation on a new management strategy, Nga Whakahaere Takirua, for conservation areas within our rohe. DoC and TRONPnui representatives will have a draft strategy for hapu and community consultation in early 2018 and we can be optimistic that the new strategy will be a significant improvement on how Ngati Porou has been included in conservation management to date.
TRONPnui is playing a key role in regional economic development. Alongside our work on the regional economic action plan, and the Maori economic development report, Holdco entered into a formal partnership with Air New Zealand to explore commercial and environmental resource opportunities between Ngati Porou and the national carrier. All of this work better enables Ngati Porou businesses to progress opportunities for tourism, land development and high value produce. Moreover they signal TRONPnui’s focus on improving local transport infrastructure to help transform our economy for the long-term.
TRONPnui Group’s financial performance for the year was strong and in line with the Group’s commercial returns over the last five years. Total assets rose from $223.4 million (m) to $232.1m, while net equity improved by $10m. Within those improvements the Group’s borrowings reduced from $17.5m to $16m. This strong financial base enables the Group to look at the profitability and cost effectiveness of its various operations, while also assessing new investments and their potential benefits to Ngati Porou. This year Holdco has added berry-fruit and tourism to its direct investments. Berry fruit is an opportunity that, like manuka honey and forestry, can be tested and then scaled up in partnership with Ngati Porou landowners. Similarly there is growing interest in local tourism, and scope for Holdco and Toitu Ngati Porou to work with our business owners and ‘creatives’ to really grow tourism earnings at home.
This year we carried out the mandatory review of our trust deed, and I want to acknowledge the various Ngati Porou persons and roopu who gave us their feedback. Some of the feedback was concerned to ensure we maintain a steady course. Some proposed change, and even radical change, to our representation model while others urged TRONPnui to communicate and engage more with Ngati Porou at home and away. I can assure Ngati Porou that the Board has taken all of that feedback into account in forming its proposals, not just on the trust deed, but on the wider themes that came through in the review. We are committed to putting those proposals into action and being a more effective organisation for Ngati Porou.
The Ngati Porou Outcomes Measurement Framework (NPOMF) progressed by Toitu Ngati Porou provides us with data and analysis that enables us to better understand the current demographic, cultural, economic and social state and status of Ngati Porou living at home and throughout the country. The NPOMF will enable the boards and management of the TRONPnui group to set targets and monitor performance while providing Ngati Porou beneficial members with reports to assess the TRONPnui group’s financial and non-financial performance.
Yes, we need to be financially prudent, in what we do, and accountable to Ngati Porou. Equally we need to show how our good financial performance flows through to, and enables, Ngati Porou cultural, economic, environmental and social advancement.
In this annual report we can point to broad progress and achievement consistent with those objectives in future reports we want to be in a position to provide detailed evidence-based performance metrics. We have more to do and further to go.
Heoi ano kei te mihi ki nga tangata katoa i whai wahi ki nga kaupapa a Ngati Porou, kaoreha ki aku tuakana tuahine kei runga i te poari me to tatau kaihautu a Herewini Te Koha.
Ma te mahi ngatahi ka tu pakari a Ngati Porou. Kia tau nga manaakitanga a te Atua kia koutou Ngati Porou.
Meri Kirihimete me te Hape Nuia.
Selwyn Tanetoa Parata
Tiamana
Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou
