CHAIRMAN S REPORT FOR 31 OCTOBER 2014 HUI

Transcription

1 1 CHAIRMAN S REPORT FOR 31 OCTOBER 2014 HUI Recommendation: i. That the Board receive this report ii. That the Board accept the following recommendation: 1. Recommendation: That the Board of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi hereby declares duly elected as board Chairman for the next three years Raniera T (Sonny) Tau and hereby declares duly elected as Deputy Chairperson of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi for 12 months Carol Dodd E Te Poari Tena Koutou Travelling to the Rua Rau celebrations in Sydney with our Kaumatua and Kuia in the last few days has been an eye opener for those Trustees who attended with them. Our Kaumatua and Kuia did us all proud by their presence and mahi they did on behalf of Ngapuhi. This was a once in a lifetime experience for many of them who had not been out of Kaikohe in the last sixty years, let alone overseas. I elaborate more on this in the body of my report. With the advent of our AGM tomorrow, this will be our last meeting and as per usual, the dressed rehearsal of what we will be presenting to Ngapuhi tomorrow. Included, as part of our AGM preparation today, is the reporting of our subsidiaries, Ngapuhi Asset Holding Company Limited and Ngapuhi iwi Social Services Ltd. As the 100% shareholder in both companies, they must report to this board on their governance and operational activities over the last twelve months. I look forward to their reports. With the advent of the National iwi Chairs hui in Tauranga in a couple of weeks I also report on a number of issues that affect Ngapuhi, as an iwi, and is relevant to iwi katoa across the motu. If there are any issues that need addressing at a National level, this is the hui to do it. Ellection for Chair and Deputy Chair Section 4.7 and 4.7A of the Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi Trust Deed states: 1.1 Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and Secretary: (a) (b) The Trustees shall elect one Trustee to act as Chairperson for a 3 year term, provided such Trustee has been a Trustee for the previous 12 month period. The process for nominating a Trustee for Chairperson is as follows:

2 (i) (ii) When the position of Chairperson is vacant or will soon be vacant, the Trustees shall agree a date for the meeting of Trustees to elect the Chairperson. Where possible, this will immediately precede the Annual General Meeting of the Trust. The Secretary shall notify the Executive Committee of each Takiwā or Taurahere (as described in paragraph 5 of Schedule 1) of the date of that meeting at least 10 Working Days in advance. 2 (iii) In order to be nominated for the position of Chairperson, a Trustee must be nominated by the Executive Committee of their Takiwa or Taurahere and seconded by the Executive Committee of another Takiwa or Taurahere. (iv) Written notification of nominations must be received by the Secretary at least 5 Working Days before the meeting of Trustees to elect the Chairperson. (v) If no valid notifications are received, the Trustees shall themselves nominate and second candidates for the position of Chairperson. (c) (d) (e) The Trustees shall elect a Chairperson from the valid nominations. There shall be no restriction as to the number of times that a person is eligible for reappointment as Chairperson. The Proxy Trustee elected on behalf of the Takiwa or Taurahere whose Trustee is Chairperson of the Trust shall, for so long as that Trustee is Chairperson, be an additional Trustee of the Trust, and shall have and may exercise and discharge all of the powers, rights, duties and privileges of a Trustee. Where the Trustee who has been appointed as Chairperson is required to retire from office in accordance with Schedule 1, that Trustee shall cease to be the Chairperson. However, if that Trustee is immediately reappointed by their Takiwa or Taurahere in accordance with Schedule 1, he or she shall continue as Chairperson for the remainder of the three year term specified in clause 1.1(a). 4.7A Election of Deputy Chairperson and Secretary (a) The Trustees may also elect one Trustee to act as Deputy Chairperson either as the need arises or from year to year, provided such Chairman s Report to the Board of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi 15 September 2014

3 Trustee has been a Trustee for the previous 12 month period. In the absence of the Chairperson, the Deputy Chairperson shall have and may exercise all the powers of, and shall perform all the duties, of the Chairperson. (b) The Trustees shall appoint a non-voting Secretary who may be honorary, or may be a full-time or part-time employee of the Trust. As I have notified Trustees in my last three reports, this year is the third year for the Chair of the Trust and elections are to be held as per the Trust Deed. The process for electing a Chair and Deputy is that nominations are to be submitted in writing and to the secretary, Anaru Kaipo, by the last meeting before an AGM To be valid, candidates must be nominated by their own Takiwa/Taurahere and seconded by another Takiwa/Taurahere To date there has only been one nomination for Chair that is Raniera T (Sonny) Tau nominated by Te Hauauru Takiwa and seconded by Te Ropu Takiwa o Mangakahia and Nga Ngaru o Hokianga There has been only one nomination for Deputy Chair Carol Dood nominated by Te Ropu Takiwa o Mangakahia and seconded by Ngapuhi ki te Hauauru Takiwa Given that situation, there is no need for an election I therefore declare Raniera T (Sonny) Tau duly elected as Chairman of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi with Carol Dodd as Deputy Chair Recommendation: That the Board of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi hereby declares Raniera T (Sonny) Tau duly elected as board Chairman for the next three years and hereby declares Carol Dodd duly elected as Deputy Chairperson of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi for 12 months Maori Water Rights Claim - Ongoing For years now Maori have been seeking to clarify with the Crown where Maori sit with respect to their water rights On 30 July this year the NZ Maori Council and Hapu led charge against Crown re; Maori rights to water Tribunal encouraged Government to put on hold their desire to sell of shares in Mighty River Power until this matter was addressed Governments initial reaction was to go out and consult with iwi Iwi Leaders and NZ Maori Council met together in Wellington on 6 th Aug Worked out that Maori should have one direction on what our rights should be Monday 13 th August met with Deputy PM and Minister Finlayson and about 30 iwi Leaders Iwi Leaders made five comments o That a rights and interests framework must be established nationally then each iwi hang their specifics of that framework o Before having mana from the iwi Leaders forum the Crown must deal directly with Chair of iwi Leaders group - Water Tumu Te Heuheu o Crown Officials must be more transparent and take notice of what iwi technicians are saying and report correctly to Ministers o That Minister of Maori Affairs must be involved in these korero going forward 3

4 o That iwi Leaders do not believe that the sale of shares in Power Companies and water rights and interests are not connected and that if the Crown decide to go ahead and sell shares without the rights and interests question being answered they do so at their peril, iwi Leaders do not agree with them Meetings have been had right across the country at this time, led by Willie Te Aho and Donna Flavel seeking the view of iwi across the country On 20 October Ngapuhi had our hui at the Te Kotahitanga Marae Hui was well attended with much feedback from those in attendance Looking forward to the report on all hui across the nation and feedback at the next iwi Chairs Forum hui at Tauranga 27 & 28 Novemeber Review of Te Ohu Kaimoana and Subsidiaries This has been on the table for the last six months This is the industry where Ngapuhi has the bulk of its assets tied up We need to pay special attention to this review After 11 years of operations it is now time to review the performances of TOKM and its suite of companies including, AFL, Te Putea Whakatupu and Te Wai Maori Trust On 19 September had meeting of Mandated iwi Organisations at Kohewhata Marae to feedback for feedback and submissions on the review The Ngapuhi representative on the review committee Alison Thom attended along with the Tai Tokerau iwi representative Kevin Robinson The reviewer Tim Castles also accompanied them The discussions were robust and very informative It was obvious that many in attendance did not know what TOKM actually did on behalf of Maori in the fishing industry That is one of the strong points Ngapuhi made and advised on how we saw that communications can be improved Grateful to the Board members who turned up for the hui Ngawai, Carol We have made a submission to the reviewer outlining what our Asset Holding Company thinks as well as gathering the view of Ngati Whatua This was a joint effort between Ngapuhi and Ngati Whatua MIO s There is a joint submission made with the sanction of Ngati Whatua which is in your correspondence packs Again the Terms of reference for the review are as follows: TERMS OF REFERENCE 1. The entities to be reviewed under these Terms of Reference are the four entities referred to in s.114 (4) of the Maori Fisheries Act 2004 ( the Act ), namely: (a) Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Limited; (b) Aotearoa Fisheries Limited; (c) Te Putea Whakatupu Trustee Limited; (d) Te Wai Maori Trustee Limited; and, to the extent included by the definition of governance arrangements in s.122 (2) of the Act, the procedures and criteria to appoint the members and alternate members of Te Kawai Taumata. Chairman s Report to the Board of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi 15 September

5 5 2. The review of those entities is to consider and report on the following topics and issues set out in 3-9 below. 3. The effect on those entities of the governance arrangements provided for by or under the Act as those arrangements relate to: (a) The performance of those entities in achieving their duties and functions; (b) The ability of those entities to deliver benefits to their beneficiaries; (c) The ability of those entities to contribute to achieving the purposes of the Act. 4. The consideration of and reporting on 3 above should include an assessment of: (a) The extent to which the performance of the entities duties and functions have been affected by their governance arrangements (including the processes for appointment of board members, financial performance and reporting, and the possible collaboration between the entities); (b) Whether there are any aspects of the entities ss.105/106 audit findings or reports or subsequent plans that are relevant to that performance issue in 4(a) above; (c) If there are such aspects under 4(b) above, the reasons why they are relevant, the extent to which they are useful or instructive in answering the performance issue 4(a) above; (d) The extent to which the current ownership of shareholding in Te Putea Whakatupu Trustee Limited has affected its ability to deliver benefits to its beneficiaries in a manner similar to or comparable with the deliveries by other entities to their beneficiaries. 5. The effect of the restrictions on the disposal of settlement assets as they relate to the ability of: (a) Mandated iwi organisations (and their asset holding companies and subsidiaries of the asset holding companies) to deliver benefits to the members of their iwi; and (b) Aotearoa Fisheries Limited to deliver benefits to its income shareholders. 6. The consideration of and reporting on 5 above should include an identification of the nature of those effects, and: (a) Subject to the limitation that any changes still need to be consistent with the purposes of the Act and Te Ohu Kai Moana, whether there should be any changes to those restrictions referred to in 5 above, and (b) If so, what changes would be desirable (noting, however, the limitation in s.124(2) of the Act relating to restrictions on disposal of settlement quota to mandated iwi organisations and Te Ohu Kai Moana Group). 7. Whether, without creating an inconsistency with the purposes of the Act or with the purpose of Te Ohu Kai Moana, the interests of the beneficiaries of the Deed of Settlement would be better served by changes to: (a) The governance arrangement of the entities; (b) The restrictions on the disposal of settlement assets. 8. The consideration of and reporting on 3 and 7 above would include an assessment of the extent to which the voting shares in the shareholding structure of Aotearoa Fisheries Limited affect its ability: (a) To perform its duties and functions;

6 (b) To deliver benefits to its income shareholders; (c) To contribute to achieving the purpose of the Act Whether, without creating an inconsistency with the purposes of the Act or with the purpose of Te Ohu Kai Moana, the interests of the income shareholders of Aotearoa Fisheries Limited would be better served by changes to: (a) its voting shares;(b) its divisions, subsidiaries and associates; (c) its structural configuration, including its allocation of its assets and debts; and if so, the nature of those changes. Review of offer by Crown for new Aquaculture Space in Northland 16 September had meeting with all Te Kahu o Taonui members re: above Opened with iwi having a discussion with our National iwi Chairs technical working group Talked about the offer that the Crown is making with regard to this matter Two separate issues pre-commencement aquaculture space i.e. space created before 1992 and new aquaculture space post 1992 Valuations as presented to group were questioned at length up for negotiation What was the methodology in working out these valuations? Iwi not settled on some of the issues raised in the discussions Spoke about a review clause being inserted into the model, as the estimates may very well be short Iwi need to have input into detail of this review clause Each iwi needs to put up one member of their iwi to the working group to deal with this issue These people will negotiate with MPI TOKM will provide a report to the iwi Boards for their information Short line out to meet on these matters during October TOKM will put out a template on a regional agreement and what that might look like I understand that this position has now been put with our CEO being part of the working group on behalf of Te Kahu a Taonui Defibrillators on Marae At the Te Hauauru Takiwa meeting last month Dr. Roger Milner spoke to our Takiwa regarding having defibrillators strategically stationed on Marae throughout our Takiwa The benefits of this is that as soon as someone has a cardiac problem, the machine will be available for use He said that the machines are relatively easy to use and training will be provided to Marae representatives free of charge The largest numbers of people dying as a result of cardiac failure are Maori men The stats tell us that those who do not get attention or the use of a defibrillator, only 10% survive. With the defibrillator, 60% survive The cost of one of these machines is about $ $3000 Marae in our area who have already got these machines installed have raised the funds themselves and have found the benefits very encouraging Chairman s Report to the Board of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi 15 September 2014

7 I can think of many who have died at the Marae of cardiac arrest Tommy Thompson, Wallace Himiona, Ben Matthews, Raumati Para So we have our own who have passed and maybe if a defibrillator was available they would have had a better chance? I am wondering where we stand as a Runanga on this? My Report From TIMA As Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi Representative I sent you all the decision of the Waitangi Tribunal granting applicants an urgent hearing on the Crown recognition of the TIMA Mandate We have reacted to that in the best way we possibly by gathering those who want to be part of the litigation in support of Tuhoronuku We are especially thankful for the Hapu and K/Kuia who decided that enough is enough and just want to push on with the issues We have ask a number of Hapu who support Tuhoronuku to put together affidavits to produce to the hearing There has been a great uptake of that issue by a number of Hapu On 23 September met with OTS to further progress the Tuhoronuku Mandate and map out our immediate pathway forward from here There are a number of Hapu who have stepped forward and are currently working on their evidence This is a distraction which takes us of the main objective given to Tuhoronuku by Ngapuhi katoa, to settle our historical grievances against the Crown for breaches against Te Tiriti o Waitangi We expect a good turnout of support for that hearing 7 Te Ropu Kaumatua Kuia o te Whare Tapu o Ngapuhi As alluded to in the introduction to this report, I report more indepth on the travels of Te Ropu Kaumatua Kuia to Sydney In 2006 Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi had a review of its internal systems and capacity by APR Consultants Part of their recommendations was that Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi establish a Kaumatua Kuia Ropu to ensure Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi were meeting their Cultural and Spiritual obligations to Ngapuhi Terms of Reference were devised and at the 2008 Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi AGM, these Terms of Reference were adopted and the inaugural committee was established It is a legal requirement encapsulated in the Trust Deed of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi, that this Ropu is in place and functional On 9 October had a meeting of K/Kuia to fill vacancies left on the Ropu by death and retirement We had two who had passed on, two who resigned and many inactive Judah Heihei and Denis Hanson have passed with Andy Sarich and Mori Pera having tendered their resignations There were five people nominated to the Ropu and all five were accepted onto the Ropu Steve Morunga, Lovey Wynyard, Winnie Matene, Queenie Matene and Wiremu Wiremu are the new members

8 The Board of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi look forward to working with them In my last four reports I spoke about the effort that Te Ropu Kaumatua Kuia were putting in to raise funds to take a trip to Sydney as part of the 200 year commemorations of the establishment of a strong relationship between Maori and the Parramatta community through Samuel Marsden and his relationship with Ruatara This relationship was forged in all aspects of life at that time as Ruatara and other Maori Rangatira search for better methods of trade between different Nations The Kaumatua Kuia Ropu attended the festival proper on this kaupapa and had a wonderful time meeting and greeting the Dhari indigenous people of the Parramatta area as well as many Ngapuhi whanaunga domiciled there Ngapuhi also had a Kakahu tent at the festival and I understand it was very well patronised The Ropu visited with the Sydney Museum in central Sydney where we viewed many Maori artefacts of many years ago that are held in the basement of that museum. Many identified as Ngapuhi artefacts and I would like to think that once Ngapuhi has a whare pupuri Taonga, that these pieces might be returned to us? Conclusion With the advent of our Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi AGM tomorrow, I look forward to a positive outcome as we have a wonderful story to tell our people. The growth of our Asset base over the years is a testament to our very conservative and frugal Management of the Asset entrusted to us for and on behalf of Ngapuhi katoa. We could grow the Asset quicker but the risk would be too high. It goes without saying that the Crown s recognition of the Deed of Mandate Ngapuhi bestowed on Tuhoronuku in 2011 is indeed an historic achievement. A great deal of publicity has been generated in relation to this mandate, which is intended to settling all historical Crown breaches against Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The Runanga has played a major role in enabling this process to commence and move forward. We must be proud of the achievements of Tuhoronuku and wish to acknowledge those who participated, whether they agreed or not, the opportunity was provided. As Ngapuhi are aware Te Ropu o Tuhoronuku has severed all ties with the Runanga and has become an independent entity in its own right. The entity is now known as Tuhoronuku Independent Mandated Authority (TIMA). As you are all aware, the Waitangi Tribunal has granted applicants an urgent hearing into the Crown s mandate recognition processes and we are currently preparing for those hearings. Many Hapu have showed a desire to participate in these urgent hearings, in support of TIMA. We are very grateful for their support. As I said in my last report, despite these challenges, as TIMA, we will not be slowing down or deviating from our Mandate pathway. As you Trustees are aware, I am the current Runanga representative on the new TIMA board and it is my responsibility to report on the progress and activities of TIMA. In that regard I will continue to provide reports to this board as matters progress. Chairman s Report to the Board of Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi 15 September

9 9 TIMA has a full schedule of work planned with two immediate tasks. The first is to advertise and appoint a Ngapuhi negotiators team and the second is developing PSGE options for consultation with wider Ngapuhi. I look forward to the renewed challenge of this important mahi whilst bringing Ngapuhi katoa together in one final push to settlement. It is hoped that all will be on board to finish this kaupapa. Advertising for negotiators for Ngapuhi has been and closed. We received some 26 expressions of interest and time is now being allotted to hold the shortlisting and interview processes. An independent advisory group is being established to assist the appointments panel with this task. I reiterate that it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the great mahi being achieved by our operations team and especially the leadership of Allen Wihongi as he drives to achieve our business plan and further expand on our strategic goals. We are in very good hands which frees me up to continue maintaining and building Ngapuhi s relationships with all our stakeholders including, the Crown, local government, other iwi, political parties, businesses and our beneficiaries. I do understand that we have had two senior Managers resign their positions as they have decided to move on. We wish them well in their future mahi. This is a success for Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi who have been able to grow these people and add to their skills sets to the point that they have now elected to move on to other mahi. From a National political iwi perspective there are many important issues being addressed by different iwi Chairs leading technical advisory groups. As I said Sir Tumu Te Heuheu is leading the water challenge. Dr. Api Mahuika of Ngati Porou heads Climate Change. Naida Glavish of Ngati Whatua spearheads National Housing issue. Professor Margret Mutu of Ngati Kahu leads the matter of Constitutional change. Ngahiwi Tomoana of Ngati Kahungunu heads Maori Economic Development. I am heading Whanau Ora, Te Ture Whenua Maori Hou and assisting with Commercial Housing. I am also leading Chair for the iwi Collective. The matter of Mining and Oil drilling is being led by the eight iwi Chairs from various Taranaki iwi. These issues are being thrashed out with the appropriate Ministers in a Rangatira ki te Rangatira setting. Folks, believe me it works. The sheer number of matters in front of iwi at this time makes up a large agenda for Maori katoa and is why the iwi Chairs forum have been very successful in driving towards an outcome with the Crown. We do not make binding decisions on any matter with the Crown but come to a point where a report back to the iwi Chairs forum is made and iwi/hapu make up their own decisions from there. Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi is no different and will make decisions that are conducive to promoting greater outcomes in our journey to bring to pass the perpetual moemoea o Ngapuhi-nuitonu, ara, kia tu tika ai te whare tapu o Ngapuhi. Mauri Ora Raniera T (Sonny) Tau CHAIRMAN