Toitu Te Tangata, Toitu Ngati Porou

Strengthening te reo ake o Ngati Porou me ona tikanga; supporting the cultural and social development of Ngati Porou marae and hapu; identifying education and training pathways are just a few of the many activities that Toitu Ngati Porou is responsible for.

Toitu Ngati Porou was es­tablished by TRONPnui as a Charitable Trust in June 2013. The purpose of Toitu Ngati Porou is to carry out the cultural development activities of TRONPnui for the sole benefit and purpose of nga uri o nga whanau/hapu o Ngāti Porou mai i Potikirua ki te Toka a Taiau.

With such a wide and varied port-fo­lio (which also includes supporting so­cial, archival and environmental activi­ties) the first three years of Toitu Ngati Porou’s operation has mainly been con­centrated on four key priorities which include Marae Development, Ngati Porou Reo Revitalisation, Education and the Ngati Porou Outcomes Meas­urement Framework. This priority set­ting was a consequence of both informal and formal engagements that Toitu had undertaken with Ngati Porou members living at home and outside the rohe.

The cultural development activities of Toitu Ngati Porou are predominantly funded by a proportion of the annual div­idend that Ngati Porou Holding Com­pany distributes to TRONPnui. In the last financial year Toitu received a divi­dend of $1.5 million from TRONPnui.

As the dividend from TRONPnui varies from year to year, Toitu’s capacity to invest in a range of cultural activities has been restricted therefore, a major fo­cus has been on identifying alternative revenue streams from external co-in­vestors to generate an additional $2’s or $3’s for every $1 received from TRONPnui. Projects such as Nati Power, Nati Insure and Wai Whai Nati are the direct result of thinking outside the box to ensure the aspirations of the entity can grow and flourish.

The Trust Deed for Toitu Ngati Porou states that its principle objective is to “serve the needs of Ngati Porou now and in the future”. The investments Toitu Ngati Porou makes today in supporting our cultural identity, values and heritage will help ensure future generations will also be rewarded

To learn more about Toitu Ngati Porou and their initiatives read the Key Facts below go to http://www.ngatiporou.com/nati-biz/toitu-ngati-porou

Toitu Ngati Porou also invite Ngati Porou whanau and hapu members to attend two upcoming open forum sessions.The open forums provide an opportunity for whanau to be informed about Toitu’s activities and ask the board any patai.

Toitu Ngati Porou Community Open Forum

• FRIDAY 14TH OCTOBER 2PM START, HINERUPE MARAE TE ARAROA
• FRIDAY 9TH DECEMBER 2PM START, HINEPARE MARAE RANGITUKIA

KEY FACTS ABOUT TOITU NGATI POROU

Inaugural Board Members:

• Amohaere Houkamau (Chairperson)
• Barry Soutar (Deputy Chair)
• Amos Forrester
• Lillian Baldwin
• Rei Kohere
• Tina Porou
• Wiki Gilvray

Three board members (Rei, Lilian and Barry) were appointed as TRONPnui board representatives and through a formal application process the four remaining members were appointed as Community representatives by the TRONPnui Board. From the 1st September, 2016 Tina Porou and Barry Soutar will retire as Trustees.

Term of Office: Four years which includes the establishment term of 9 months (14 June 2013 – 31 March 2014) and subsequent term of 3 years (1 April 2014 – 31 March 2017).

Meeting Schedule: The Toitu Ngati Porou board meet bi-monthly. Alternate meetings are held on marae across the rohe to enable an open forum session as part of the board hui. This provides the opportunity for whanau and hapu members to come along and engage with Toitu board members about the kaupapa they are responsible for.

Key Facts About Toitu Ngati Porou’s Top Four Priorities

Marae Development:

• $5.2m for Ngati Porou Marae Development Grants over a 5 year period (June 2012–June 2017).The 48 Ngati Porou Marae (listed in the Deed of Settlement) have the opportunity to apply for $100k each spread over the five years. In addition $10k is available to each marae as a one off Capital grant. Funding rounds are conducted four times a year in March, June, September and December. Marae are able to draw down their full $100k, but to do so they must have support from other marae that are willing to forgo their funding entitlement for that year. Marae that have drawn down their full 100k entitlement are Pakirikiri, Tikapa Te Horo and Rongohaere. To date $2.54 million in Marae grants and $380k in Capital grants have been invested in Ngati Porou marae.
• A Marae Kaitakawaenga is employed to support Ngati Porou marae with their development needs by providing advice, information and facilitation services. This role is undertaken by Leeanne Morice who is based at the Ruatoria office (inside this edition of Nati Link there is a profile about Leeanne and her mahi).
• Nati Insure, Wai Whai Nati and Nati Power are three initiatives that have resulted from Toitu Ngati Porou partnering with external co-investors.
• Nati Insure is a partnership with Aon Insurance which offers collective marae insurance where marae can save between 30%–50% (and in some cases more) on their annual insurance premiums, and/or substantially increase their insurance cover. As of June 30, 2016, twenty-four marae have joined the marae insurance collective, with 3 of those marae being previously uninsured.
• The Wai Whai Nati scheme (supported by the Nati 2Degrees Association fund) has enabled 43 marae to now have access to internet connectivity, at no cost to the marae. Monthly internet charges have in the interim been covered by TRONPnui.
• The Nati Power scheme is an initiative piloted with Contact Energy in 2014. For every Contact Energy customer who joined Nati Power, Contact donated $50 to Ngati Porou marae to cover their annual electricity or gas bills. It is anticipated that the scheme will roll out again by the end of 2016 and the incentive payment raised to between $100 and $200. This could potentially generate between $250,000–$500,000 for our marae if at least 2500 customers sign up,

Te Reo Ake o Ngati Porou Strategy:

• In 2015, a review of reo strategies previously developed by TRONPnui and its predecessor TRONP was conducted by Dr Wayne Ngata. The best components were identified, and along with his own knowledge and expertise of current reo acquisition and revitalisation strategies, Dr Ngata developed a refreshed Ngati Porou Reo Strategy.
• Toitu presented the Ngati Porou Reo Strategy to TRONPnui for approval in May 2015 which triggered an approach to the Ngati Porou Holding Company for an extraordinary distribution dividend. $500k was subsequently approved and committed for Ngati Porou Reo revitalisation.
• An action plan has recently been developed to implement the first two years of the strategy (to find out more about the Reo Strategy and the Action plan look out for new uploaded information on www.ngatiporou.com).

Ngati Porou Education Strategy:

• Over the next year a Ngati Porou Matauranga / Education Strategy will be developed. This strategy will draw from previously developed Ngati Porou educations strategies, Hapu Matauranga strategies and best practice models.

Ngati Porou Outcomes Measurement Framework:

• Toitu is advancing the implementation of the Ngati Porou Outcomes Measurement Framework, which was developed by TRONP in 2007–08.
• This framework will enable TRONPnui to set specific targets across all their development priorities and business units, populate each of the businesses with relevant data that will assist and inform planning and growth projections, and then be in a position to track and report on performance across the group. Toitu has progressed, on behalf of TRONPnui, a data trial with Statistics New Zealand and a catalyst project with the NZ Data Futures Partnership.