He Rautaki Matauranga mo Te Rohenga Tipuna o Hikurangi Takiwa, the hapu endorsed education strategy is now available to download from the Hikurangi Takiwa Trust website.
Download: He Rautaki Matauranga mo Te Rohenga Tipuna o Hikurangi Takiwa (PDF)
General
Whairawa – Economic Development
Hikurangi Takiwa Trust’s draft Economic Development plan is now available for hapu members to provide feedback on and input further ideas.
Access the plan via the Rauemi page.
East Coast Digital Development Hui
Freshly installed Horehore / Makarika – Ruatoria radio wifi repeater owned by Evolution Wireless.
A hui hosted by Hikurangi Takiwa Trust was held at Kariaka Pa on 31 August 2015 to identify priority digital developments for our part of the world. With representatives at the hui from Te Araroa to Te Puia, the meeting notes were circulated to a wider group of East Coast residents for additional input.
Those involved agreed on the following:
Community Technology & Tourism Hubs
- Community Technology Hubs provide valuable opportunities for local residents who do not have internet access at home to have a relatively easy access option, with support to develop their confidence and skills.
- Community Technology Hubs provide people with opportunities to better understand the potential of internet access to make their lives easier – particularly in terms of communication with family, friends, businesses (especially banking, utilities and other services) and public services (Council, health services, WINZ, IRD, etc.).
- Community Technology Hubs can also be used as tourist visitor centres with information on local attractions, accommodation, food retailers.
- A number of existing facilities and groups exist in the villages[1] on the Coast that are already or could be utilised as Community Technology Hubs. What we need is a feasibility assessment for each community to:
- identify the most promising facilities in each community;
- a building report on what the facility already has and would need to be suitable as a Community Technology Hub (insulation, networking, internet connection, work stations, furniture, kitchen facilities, toilets, etc.);
- identify the potential host organisation that is already or could support one or more part-time staff members to provide training and support to users, and visitor information services.
Such a study would also look at shared services that could be offered between the hubs (such as a common server, software licenses, specialist equipment, specialist technicians and trainers, etc.)
Roadshow
- Information contained in the GDC submission to MBIE for the digital enablement EOI was inaccurate and misrepresented the reality of the situation for households, service providers and businesses on the East Coast. It needs to be corrected as it formed the basis for the bid and significantly over-claimed existing coverage.
- A significant barrier to more affordable internet access is lack of knowledge about what services are available for what price.
- A roadshow around Coast communities – probably through school and marae – could provide independent advice and information on options for home and business internet access (including ISPs products, phone/internet boosters, etc.), as well as engaging communities in discussions on digital development priorities and consultation to identify current blackspots in radio WiFi and cellular coverage.
Other barriers
- Significant costs are associated with establishing a new connection on the Coast because new physical infrastructure is often required in the form of a radio repeater – these usually cost $2-3,000 per repeater. To reduce the digital divide, residents should pay the same for establishing and maintaining internet connections regardless of where they live in the region. Subsidies for new rural broadband connections would reduce the current disparities that mean those in the highest deprivation areas pay the highest costs to access the internet.
- The Mind Lab is difficult to access from the Coast – both in terms of travel distance and cost for holiday programmes, etc. Is it serving the district equally? If not, what will be done to reduce the inequalities in access to this important and heavily subsidised resource for students, teachers and whānau?
- Access to technical support is more costly for the Coast because technicians servicing private homes, businesses, education and health providers and community services have to pay extra for travel time and mileage to have their machines serviced. How can we support technical support closer to where it is required if the critical mass does not yet exist?
- There are mixed messages about how much the fibre running around the Coast can be utilised by communities and facilities. We need accurate information on the possibilities and opportunities to utilise this vital piece of infrastructure for businesses, health and education providers and homes – especially those in close proximity to SH35 and the fibre cable installed by FX Networks.
Other opportunities
- Significant opportunities exist for cultural and business development if more investment is made in things like Code Clubs, Te Reo resources, basic technology skills, telehealth services, bee-keeping technologies, etc.
- The pilot project Ivan Lomax has undertaken with Tolaga Bay Area School to utilise their high speed connection for homes in the vicinity and sending data via a repeater on Titirangi has a lot of potential and Ministry of Education has explicitly encouraged schools to use their connections for community benefit. This need more support and a project focused on the potential for this solution to be implemented around the region.
If readers have other suggestions, please comment in the box below…
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[1] Hicks Bay, Te Araroa, Tikitiki/Rangitukia, Ruatorea, Waipiro/Te Puia Spring, Tokomaru Bay, Tolaga Bay.
TRONPnui candidate responses to hapu questionnaire
Hikuranga Takiwa Trust is an entity representing the six pa of Te Whanau a Hinekehu, Te Aowera, Te Aitanga-a-Mate and Te Whanau-a-Rakairoa in Rohenga 5. Whanau in our rohenga affiliate to all the other TRONPnui rohenga as well, so we sent this candidate questionnaire to all TRONPnui candidates to allow us to share the responses within our hapu and Ngati Porou whanui.
It was entirely optional for candidates to participate and some have not provided responses. Thanks to those (in red) who have responded, the answers are thoughtful and many are comprehensive. Feel free to leave comments below if you have feedback on the questions and/or answers. If other candidates submit responses, we will upload them, so please check back before you vote.
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A number of hapu clusters / rohenga are planning meet the candidates meetings. Hikurangi Takiwa Trust have invited Rohenga 5 candidates to our six-weekly hui this Sunday 13th September and we’ve included time for the candidates to speak to the hui and take patai from the floor.
Voting papers will be posted from Monday 14 September 2015. Voting will close at 12pm noon on Wednesday 14 October 2015. More information about the election is available at: www.ngatiporou.com
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Rohenga Tipuna 1 – Potikirua ki Whangaokeno
| KARAITIANA Tina | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| KOHERE Rei | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| PAHURU-HURIWAI Ani | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| PUKETAPU-WATSON Huti | (Noho Kaenga) |
Rohenga Tipuna 2 – Whangaokeno ki Waiapu
| GOLDSMITH Keryn | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| GOLDSMITH Victor | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| HIRSCHFELD Charl | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| IRWIN Kathie | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| MAHUIKA Matanuku | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| PAPUNI April | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| TANGAERE Patrick | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| TIBBLE Tiwana | (Kei Te Whenua) |
Rohenga Tipuna 3 – Pohautea ki Te Onepoto
| TANGAERE BALDWIN Lilian | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| TAWHIWHIRANGI Heni | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| WALKER Ngarangi | (Noho Kaenga) |
Rohenga Tipuna 4 – Te Onepoto ki Rahuimanuka
| HEI HEI Michael | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| PHILIP-BARBARA Glenis Hiria | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| REEDY-TAARE Mei | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| WALKER Lionel | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| WARMENHOVEN Marijke | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| WARMENHOVEN Tui Aroha | (Noho Kaenga) |
Rohenga Tipuna 5 – Rahuimanuka ki Mataahu
| KUPENGA Te Rau | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| NGARIMU Elizabeth | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| PARATA Selwyn | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| SOUTAR Barry James | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| TUHURA Kuini Moehau | (Noho Kaenga) |
Rohenga Tipuna 6 – Mataahu ki Kokoronui
| CHAMBERS Jack | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| KALE Fiona | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| PEWHAIRANGI Kody | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| RAIHANIA Na | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| TIBBLE Rhonda Maxine | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| WHAREHINGA Josh | (Noho Kaenga) |
Rohenga Tipuna 7 – Kokoronui ki Te Toka a Taiau
| BLACKMAN Kelly | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| GIBSON Harata (Charlotte) | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| OLSEN-RATANA Tina | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| TANGOHAU Maui | (Noho Kaenga) | |
| TE MOMO Fiona | (Kei Te Whenua) | |
| TUHIWAI-RURU Rawiri | (Kei Te Whenua) |
Forestry consultation predetermined – Hapu
Slash catchers in an East Coast stream could be removed under the proposed NES. Source: Gisborne District Council
Hapu representatives say MPI officials should follow the more conciliatory example of their Minister rather than taking offence at criticism of the poor process used to develop new rules for forestry.
Ministry for Primary Industries spatial, forestry and land management acting director Craig Trotter yesterday claimed MPI had taken a ‘collaborative approach’ to the the development of the proposed National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry ‘working closely with representatives from environmental non-government organisations.’
“That is complete rubbish” said Te Papatipu o Uepohatu Trust chair Tui Warmenhoven. We are the most affected region in the country and the only time we’ve seen MPI on this kaupapa was in March when they spent a couple of hours at a meeting in Ruatoria and recently in Gisborne when they presented the proposed NES.”
“It was clear at the presentation in Gisborne that MPI had not made any substantive changes based on the feedback they got in Ruatoria from East Coast hapu and iwi representatives.”
Mr Trotter also said MPI had given Gisborne District Council ‘ample time’ to have input into the NES wording.
“While GDC had a staff member on the working group, they were outnumbered by forest industry representatives for whom the NES is a license to wreak more havoc and care even less for our land and waterways” said Ms Warmenhoven, who is also a researcher studying the impacts of industry on the Waiapu river.
Ms Warmenhoven said it was clear when the NES was taken from the Ministry for the Environment and given to MPI that the focus was on reducing regulation and environmental protections.
“Just because someone was a member of the Working Group doesn’t mean they were listened to, and it was the same with the hui in Ruatoria – they used us to claim some degree of consultation and then continued with their industry-led plan to cut costs which our communities and catchments will suffer from.”
A number of regional councils have opposed the NES, especially in places like Malborough where scientific reports have shown a link between post-harvest run-off and a decline in the coastal marine environment.
At least two hapu groups within Ngati Porou are threatening to take a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal if a NES is adopted that does not address the environmental concerns outlined in the hapu and council submissions.
“We think it would have been wise for MPI officials to follow the example of Ministers Goodhew and Finlayson and not make any judgement or publicly criticise submitters while submissions are being considered” said Ms Warmenhoven. “It seems some within MPI may have already determined the outcome of the consultation process before they have considered the more than 16,000 submission received this week. That suggests this whole exercise, including the Working Group, may all have been an expensive sham.”
Ms Warmenhoven said, as part of Ngati Porou’s treaty settlement, the Crown committed to addressing the state of the land, waterways, and people of the Waiapu catchment, where much of the land is under Māori title.
“So the commitment has become a commitment for 100 years of restoration of the Waiapu catchment. How can we genuinely walk that 100-year road when we are creating a National Environmental Standard which basically throws all that acknowledgement, all that headway that we’ve made out the door?”
In a written statement, Associate Primary Industries Minister Jo Goodhew has said much of the land the trusts were concerned about was zoned as high risk or very high risk, under the new standard’s erosion susceptibility classification.
“For areas of very high risk, resource consent is automatically required and the council will be able to place site-specific conditions on the management of the activity. For high risk areas, stringent conditions will be imposed on foresters working without a resource consent.”
Hapu and GDC submissions both make the point that most of the land in the district is in the high risk category and will therefore be a permitted activity as a lot of problems occur on land at less than the 25 degrees threshold.
“We make the important point that it is much easier if the Consenting Authority is able to assess the specifics of each application based on the particular situation and impose conditions at that point rather than only having recourse to the expensive option of litigation if an activity isn’t complying with whatever generic rules MPI comes up with.”
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The hapu have made their full submissions available at: www.hikurangitakiwa.nz
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Contacts:
Tui Warmenhoven, Chair, Te Papatipu o Uepohatu Trust – Tel. 021 413508 – Email: tuiaroha@gmail.com
Pia Pohatu, Trustee, Hikurangi Takiwa Trust – Email: pia@uritukuiho.org.nz
East Coast hapū claim Forestry NES may breach Treaty
Slash catchers in an East Coast stream could be removed under the proposed NES. Source: Gisborne District Council
Hapū groups with kaiteki responsibilities under the RMA covering more than 60,000 hectares of land on the East Coast are joining Gisborne District Council in opposing proposed changes to national rules for plantation forestry, and suggesting Treaty of Waitangi breaches could result if the proposed National Environmental Standard (NES) is adopted by the government.
Hikurangi Takiwa Trust representing a collective of hapū covering 30,000 hectares south of Ruatoria and Te Papatipu o Uepohatu Trust hapū representing hapū in the Ruatoria area voted earlier in the month to oppose the NES for Plantation Forestry.
“We are very pleased to see Gisborne District Council joining hapu in opposition to these proposed changes” said Uepohatu spokesperson Tui Warmenhoven. “We have been studying the effects of forestry on the Waiapu catchment for decades and the rules as they stand are not doing enough, the NES proposes to relax those regulations even further.”
Large areas within the hapu estate are currently in plantation forestry and representatives from affected hapu participated in consultation hui held in Ruatoria and Gisborne earlier in the year. While a number of concerns related to the proposed NES were expressed to government officials, the hapu claim these concerns have not been addressed in the Draft NES that closed for submissions today.
Silt rising over five metres in a tributary to the Waiapu River, 2015
“We are advising the Crown that should the NES progress and these issues not be addressed, we reserve the right to seek remedy and protect ecological taonga (treasures) and wahi tapu (culturally significant sites) through the range of legal instruments available to us as Treaty of Waitangi partners with the Crown.”
The hapu believe the proposed changes will be devastating for the district – both in terms of the life of waterways and soil conservation.
“In addition to sharing many of the concerns that Gisborne District Council submission highlights, we are also keen to ensure the right for communities to prohibit Genetically Modified Organisms in the environment is preserved. The NES proposes to remove this right and hand it over to the EPA, an organisation now run by a GE proponent.”
The hapu have made their full submissions available here.
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Contacts:
Tui Warmenhoven, Chair, Te Papatipu o Uepohatu Trust – Tel. 021 413508 – Email: tuiaroha@gmail.com
Pia Pohatu, Trustee, Hikurangi Takiwa Trust – Email: pia@uritukuiho.org.nz
GIS Wananga registrations now open
Online registrations for the Hikurangi Takiwa Trust GIS / Google Earth “Mapping the Hapu” wananga 9-11 April 2015 at Hiruharama Pa are now open.
The wananga programme, event details and registration form are available at: http://earthoutreach.org.nz
TRONPnui Trustee Report – Feb 2015
TRONPnui Trustee Barry Soutar has provided the following report for the monthly Hikurangi Takiwā Hapū Collective hui scheduled for āpōpō…
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Haere atu ra e te autaia ki runga ite Takapau-a-Maui, ki nga tihi tane/wahine e tu ana hai tohu whakamahara ki a Nehe ma. Whakapiri atu ki a ratau kua nunumi ra ki te rori ki Te Reinga.
E Api e kore ano e rangona i to reo Nati e mirirmiri ana ki te taringa. Kai te paheke to momo i nga wharua o Waiapu. Na reira Korou, haere atu ra!
My apologies, but having attended the tangi for the last three days I have had to return to Auckland for family and work. I had originally intended coming to Whareponga for the Cluster meeting and signalled Manu accordingly. Here is brief report on TRONP activities.
· This is election year and new trustee/directors for the parent board must be in place by October. Hence, the election process commences from April.
· With the passing of the Chair, it is likely that appointment within the board of a new chair will occur at the next meeting Tues 24th Feb. Our trust deed may not require us to immediately seek a replacement trustee from Rohenga 2. Such a requirement is likely to be redundant anyway since full elections are about to start.
· It is our collective responsibility to ensure that as many of our whanau are registered with TRONPnui for voting purposes. And we should also encourage the best of our skilled people to offer themselves for election. My plea to you all is to help ensure that the relative skill level on the board is increased for the next round to benefit Ngati Porou.
· Ngati Porou Holding Company – is on-track with delivery of the agreed dividend to the parent ($2,000,000 for the year ending June 2015). It has superseded earnings expectations over the last quarter, but warns us proper measurement should only apply across the full year as peaks and troughs in equity markets are well-understood to occur monthly. They also acknowledge the gap between the dividend versus the size of need in Ngati Porou and will work closely with the parent and Toitu to explore further options to leverage all opportunities to increase support.
· Each of the subsidiary business units (farms/forest/fish) have been undergoing some reviews against performance and a certain amount of re-organising of governance has taken place where appropriate to sharpen the business. Integrating all of these into a single business strategy taking account of the wider needs of Ngati Porou economic development and personnel development is the current challenge underway.
· Toitu – has exhausted its expenditure for the year and consequently has volunteered to reduce its board costs by 50% essentially reducing meetings to bi-monthly. 89% of its annual distributions have gone to marae grants. The remaining 10% was allocated to a range of smaller projects including: building a spoken reo archive; aligning a single Ngati Porou reo strategy from the existing multiple versions; C Company; marae coordinator; and a $30k contestable fund.
· Hauora – East Coast Health Review has determined that it is at a critical and difficult juncture in the process that won’t be easy to progress and therefore a more time is needed to develop, consider and undertake all options/steps to reach an agreed solution. Likely completion is August, 2015.
· A major project is underway to build a 5-year financial model in order to test whether there is a more efficient way of managing our money flows in order to increase benefit for the tribe. Of course, this is a very complex exercise and a range of skills have been appointed to assist us to complete this project.
· Nati Insure – for our marae’s was launched at the AGM.
· Single Procurement – has been coordinated to leverage the collective buying power of the various subsidiaries and associated entities.
· Website – stage one of the roll-out has been completed and KPI’s have been exceeded in engagement through social media, etc.
· Te Tini-o-Porou (ex DB Hotel) – development is underway to refurbish for the needs of the combined social services units. This is being financed by the rental savings of the units into the new facility with guarantees over tenure. A special contract structure created by TRONPnui enables Ngati Porou local contractors to participate in the build.
· Contracts – with Te Toka Consortium for carpentry training has been issued. A Whanau Ora EOI has also been submitted.
· Housing NZ stock – is being transferred. Some Ngati Porou tenants have applied for clearance to purchase and these have been granted on receipt.
· East Coast Drinking Water – TRONPnui has requested negotiation of the closure of this scheme under our Relationship Accord with Crown.
· Waka – Te Aio-o-Nukutaimemeha is to be relocated to Hinepare Marae as landlords have requested its removal from the current paddock in Rangitukia.
· Appointments – a number have been made to fill new roles in the organisations, including seeking a replacement director on Holdco and seeking a new CEO to replace the retirement of Teepa Wawatai.
· Waiapu Restoration – Phase 2 is underway including: expanded workstreams; more parties involved; and a wider scope of operations.
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Barry Soutar
Tel: +64 (0)21 613 479
Email: barry.soutar@piata.co.nz
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Disclaimer: This information is provided by a Trustee of TRONPnui, it is not necessarily the views and positions of Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou or any of its subsidiaries, trustees or staff.
Hīkurangi Takiwā Trust 