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Tena tatau, i runga i nga ahuatanga o te wa. Ko taku ripoata tenei, hei whakamarama i a koutou i nga mahi a Toitu Ngati Porou, i nga marama kua pahure ake, kia kite ai e ahu ana tatau ki hea. Ko te whainga kia whai hua ai nga mahi, kia tipu ake ai he painga ma tatau, kia pai ai ta tatau kokiri whakamua i tenei ao. Ma te mahi tahi, ka ngawari ake te haere tahi, i nga tau e haere ake nei, i raro i te maru a to tatau Kaihanga.
This year, Toitu Ngati Porou had to work within much tighter funding limits than in previous years. This was part of a concerted effort, with our parent (TRONPnui) and Ngati Porou Hauora, to bring expenditure into line with annual income. With that in mind, Toitu focused on two main areas of funding:
A one-off contract with the Ministry of Education offered an opportunity to inform, and re-catalyse, our efforts to advance the development of a Ngati Porou Matauranga and Education Strategy. The Board has confirmed a Strategy framework and looks forward to making progress on that front this year.
The Ngati Porou tourism strategyis also progressing well, as we work in partnership with others and tap into a number of exciting opportunities to lift local tourism earnings. There is more about this later in my report.
The review of the TRONPnui Trust Deed has direct implications for Toitu Ngati Porou, as changes to the Deed also pose questions about Toitu Ngati Porou’s membership, future role and structure. Against that backdrop, I want to acknowledge and thank my Toitu board colleagues for diligently going about their work with little fuss, while working through budget constraints and future uncertainties.
As at 30 June 2018, Toitu Ngati Porou has total assets of $20.96m, which is almost entirely made up of loans (totalling $20.8m) made to its Parent. Debts or liabilities for the year, total (just on) $224,000.
By agreement, the term of Toitu’s loan to the Parent has been extended to allow Toitu and its Parent to settle the loans in a way which is fair to Toitu and viable for TRONPnui. We hope to see this completed by early 2019 and before the 2019/20 budget is developed. The settlement will deliver certainty to Toitu (or its replacement) on the amount of ‘base’ funding it will receive each year for charitable purposes and distribution, as well as meeting its own operating costs.
This is year five for the Marae Development Grants programme. Since its inception in 2013, Toitu has distributed close to $4.1m in marae grants, including $390,000 paid this year. The amount paid out this year is down on the grants made in each of the first four years and we still have another $1.1m to distribute before each eligible marae has received its full grant entitlement. We did operate under very tight budget constraints this year but I am pleased to advise that all eligible funding applications we received were approved and paid.
Ko te oranga o te reo, kei nga arero o te hunga whakamahi i te reo. No reira, koira tatau e whai ana, ki te whakapau kaha, ki te whakapakari i te Reo ki te akiaki i o tatau whanau, i o tatau hapu ki te korero i te reo.
This year, we initiated language programmes to support the implementation of our long-term strategy to revitalise te Reo o Ngati Porou. The programmes were taken up by a cross-section of hapu collectives at home - five groups and 157 participants in total; and taurahere roopu from throughout the country - four groups, and 87 participants plus whanau in Tamaki Makaurau.
The programmes included:
This year, we distributed $150,000 to this work and made commitments totalling $240,000, over two years. In 2019, we will allocate further funds so that more roopu and hapu collectives can get their language activities under way.
In our first year of language investment, Toitu Ngati Porou helped Radio Ngati Porou (RNP) to test and set up an online language resource. We must also acknowledge Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Maori for their funding support towards this project. We are optimistic that RNP will build on this work, to make the online archive readily accessible to all Ngati Porou.
This year, we followed through on a first round of hui we held in 2017, by hosting workshops with local whanau in the tourism and hospitality sector, and those wanting to participate. This work-stream was led by our board member Amohaere Houkamau. Attendees were pleased to review the NPEC tourism strategy and brand development work that had come from their input in 2017. There is strong, local buy-in, to tourism development at home. The opportunities this could present for whanau enterprise and local marae are numerous and wide-ranging.
The ‘on-the-ground-interest’ marries well with the investment Holdco is injecting into a premium Maunga Hikurangi experience and other tourism sector ventures in our region. The Maunga Hikurangi experience is poised to attract greater numbers of (paying) visitors to our rohe, and that bodes well for our café owners, accommodation operators - including marae stays, artists, guides and storytellers.
We have forged some great partnerships to help us move this work forward, with NZ Maori Tourism, Pania Tyson-Nathan (CEO), Hokimai Chong and the associated expertise of Simon Wi Rutene, international ski ambassador and entrepreneur, Hana Pomare, principal of Hana Ltd (publishing company), KPMG Business Development Advisor- Jess Wood-Waikari and Simon Hunter.
We thank them all and look forward to seeing our local enterprises build on these positive foundations.
The Runanganui is the main provider of community-based social services and support to Kaiti and the East Coast. Toitu Ngati Porou has taken on the role of working with the Runanganui’s social services leadership team, to look at how the services can better work with whanau so that our tamariki mokopuna can better enjoy ‘well lives’ as Ngati Porou.
The blueprint for this transformation work, ‘Te Ara Kainga’, was developed almost 30 years ago, by Ngati Porou community whanau development workers. Toitu will lead community consultation as we work with our social services and government funders, to develop and test a new model of care based on our values and aspirations as Ngati Porou.
In addition, to the grants distributed this year, our Ngati Porou Marae Kaitakawaenga, Leeanne Morice, helped Ngati Porou marae and community groups access a further $300,000 through lottery grants funding and she continues to support marae to secure, lower insurance premiums and internet connectivity.
We also saw four Ngati Porou carpentry apprentices complete their tutelage under Uncle Joe Ngarimu and gain their Level 4 carpentry qualifications from the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT). Our newly-qualified carpenters were the first intake, under a marae-based apprenticeship scheme the Runanganui developed with EIT. The training scheme was hosted by Te Horo, Tikapa and Reporua marae, as each marae underwent significant restoration and renovation developments.
I acknowledge and thank my board colleagues Amos Forrester (Deputy Chair), Wiki Gilvray, Rei Kohere and Amohaere Houkamau. I also want to thank our management and staff: CEO, Herewini Te Koha (I appreciated your sage advice), CFO, Wayne Panapa, Marae Kaitakawaenga, Leeanne Morice, Rapaea Parata, Albie McFarlane, Katherine Tuhaka and Jacqui Ata. Thank you all, for your excellent work, support and commitment to Ngati Porou.
Naku noa,
Lilian Tangaere Baldwin
Chair
Toitu Ngati Porou
