Newsletter -He Pataka

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1 November 2016 (Issue 1) Rongomaiwahine Iwi Trust Inc. Newsletter -He Pataka Mihi tuatahi ki te atua, tuatahi ko nga aituā maha haere, haere, haere. E ōku nui e ōku rahi tēnā koutou katoa! Rongomaiwahine Iwi Trust Board 2016 Left to right: Leon Symes, Peter Whaanga, Pera Edwards, Moana Rongo,Sapphire Cooper, Morehu Cooper, Dawn Karangaroa, Florence Karaitiana, Tom Hemopo, Lucia Ehu-Hamilton, Daphne Ropiha Absent: Dot Williams & Miriama Ainsley, Paul Ratapu, Karena Kereru Board Report A quick catch-up on what we ve been working on for the past few months... We came together as a board after our AGM at Tuahuru in late November At that meeting, Moana Rongo was elected as Chairman, Pera Edwards as Deputy Chair, Daphne Ropiha as Board Secretary and Sapphire Cooper as Board Financial Advisor.The first agenda of the new board was to set a 12-month plan involving a clear step by step process for our Iwi to move forward. Key performance indicators were also set to track our progress. Whilst there are 24 key objectives, the ones listed below were the most important: Develop offices, Hauora and meeting rooms for the board to operate and to start offering services - we achieved this in March To clear debt inherited from previous years - this debt was cleared by June Launch our own website - our Rongomaiwahine website was launched May 2016 and is under constant development.. Join Rongomaiwahine Iwi Trust on Facebook! Rongomaiwahine Iwi Trust Website 1

2 Develop / buy our own electronic/web based database this was completed in July 2016, we are now enrolling members. Develop our own Asset Holding Company our kaumatua have named this entity Mahia mai Tawhiti, which is currently in construction.the first draft was presented at our 2016 Hui-a-Iwi. Initiate both the Kaumatua Advisory in February 2016 and Rangatahi Advisory Board in November 2016 please contact us if you would like to be involved. Creation of the Rongomaiwahine Aspirational Document - this will be the basis of our strategic plan. Initiate and formalise the legal action against Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated regarding the long standing (2006) dispute over our fisheries settlement this is currently in action...watch this space over the next coming month. IWI ONLINE DATABASE OPENING OF OUR HAUORA Membership IDs We are pleased to have finally got to the position where we are able to verify whakapapa within our system, which in turn allows us to complete the registration process and send out Membership Identification Cards. It has been a mammoth task firstly developing a system, gathering registrations, uploading them and then verifying the whakapapa. Over the next few weeks everybody we have registered over the age of 18 years will receive these cards via mail. For those who are unaware why signatures are required from our members, it is a fisheries legislative requirement as we desire to administer our own fisheries as a MIO in the very near future. The same legislation requires that these memberships are renewed every 7 years. Again thank you for your patience and please put these cards in a safe place as they will be required in the future for voting purposes. If you require further information please contact grace@rongomaiwahine.iwi.nz. Examples of IDs 2

3 Chairman s Corner Disclaimer: The following views expressed in this column are those of our chairman and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of any other trustees or the marae they represent. The purpose of this and following articles is to stimulate thinking, ideas and debate about issues happening within our iwi. land on YMCA road. Thanks to Ruawharo Marae, the Kahui / Cluster and RITB, a meeting was held for both DOC and Eastland and the project was stopped. RITB on behalf of our beneficiaries received an unreserved apology and we have agreed that any further projects will come via our board to be passed on to the relevant marae and/or whanau. Thank you DOC and Eastland for fronting up and recifying the situation, we all make mistakes and I commend your actions. Welcome to my first column as Chairman of the Rongomaiwahine Iwi Trust Board (RITB). Today I wanted to raise certain issues regarding the recently ratified treaty settlement. Firstly, thank you to everyone that has worked tirelessly in achieving the outcomes to date on behalf of the Rongomaiwahine/Te Rakato Cluster. We as an Iwi owe you all our sincerest gratitude. My following opinions are not intended as any form of criticism or negativity but rather as an opportunity to build on the fine work already achieved. Furthermore it is my opinion that if we do not start dealing with these issues I raise now, we will not have the opportunity to do so again. We as a board were alerted at our Hui-a-Iwi on 25 June 2016 that Te Tira Whakaemi o te Wairoa (TWOW) had approved a wishing to install an electricity substation on DOC administered However, the big concern for me was Te Tira having the audacity to sign off the resource consent; no consultation took place with RITB, the Mahia Māori Committee, our marae, our hapu or our whanau. If this is not a sign of things to come from Te Tira/Tātau Tātau, then I don t know what is. When did we as Rongomaiwahine ever cede the mana of our whenua to Te Tira? How dare Te Tira make these sort of decisions on Rongamaiwahine s behalf. This group was established for the purpose of negotiating historical treaty claims and is not, nor should ever be, a substitute for the crown s obligations to our whanau, hapu and iwi! The lack of character displayed by the individuals in this situation who signed this on behalf of Te Tira must also be called into question; it s not that hard saying sorry, this is a matter for Rongomaiwahine not us. Please see our letter to Te Tira in response to this situation attached overleaf. No response from Te Tira has 3

4 been received to-date which I bluntly interpret as arrogance and a clear statement of the disregard they hold for us as Rongomaiwahine. You may draw your own conclusions. The Hawkes Bay Regional Committee Act 2015 To make matters worse new legislation has come into force, namely the Hawkes Bay Regional Committee Act 2015 (HBRC Act 2015) which now also allows Te Tira / Tātau Tātau to even represent Rongomaiwahine on the HBRC Planning Committee. Whilst section 4 of the Act refers to Te Tira in the interim, section 5 notes that if the Crown recognises a governance entity itself (which is Tātau Tātau) then it will be that body, not Te Tira, that represents the Wairoa claimants body. The interim Tātau Tātau board has to decide who is going to be their representative, as per the HBRC Act That process should ideally mean that he or she is closely involved with the hapu/whanau groups that are the kaitiaki of the part of the rohe that is under discussion. In that space, the RITB would be wanting to establish a protocol with the said Tātau Tātau representative to ensure good communication, decision making processes and input from our hapu, marae and whanau. Sadly that s about all we can hope for unless we can withdraw post settlement and take back the HBRC representation for our whenua with us. Whether consent was obtained from Rongomaiwahine/Te Rākatō freely, inferred or by omission is irrelevant now, however we must now make sure that we can rectify the situation over the next 18 months. I m sure we will all agree that money is no substitute for our mana. Ensuring we of Rongomaiwahine can withdraw from Tātau Tātau immediately after settlement must be the preferred option as long as our own approved PSGE is in place. It doesn t mean we cannot work with the other clusters but more so in an independent and on a case by case manner. Our location, resources, skills, infrastructure and indeed our own investment risk profile we desire to work under, is unique to us and we should be concentrating on enhancing those positives and not trying to make a one case fits all approach that Tātau Tātau will provide. please also see d5aff097050d5dd933.pdf. To think that this viewpoint of superiority will somehow not flow over into Tātau Tātau, Rongomaiwahine being treated as an equal independent iwi rather than as a sub-set of Kahungunu, I think is sadly misguided. That being said, this is not about taking anything away from Kahungunu, it is about our pride, nothing more, nothing less. This is an opportunity for us as Rongomaiwahine to exert our mana to be treated as equals, no one else will do this for us! We share a common and close past and we will again, but the future needs to be based on equal footing and mutual respect. The questions I leave you all with in regard to Te Tira / Tātau Tātau are: When will we stop allowing others to take over the mana over our moana and whenua? When are we going to start relying on ourselves to solve our own issues and stop allowing others to make our decisions for us? When will we stop being dependent and finally say thank you for your help in the past but we wish to take it from here and we look forward to working inter-dependently with you in the future? I have personally witnessed great change with our iwi over the past 11 months. We are all using the term we a lot more, we are all starting to work together and most of all our meetings now are full of talk about our self-determination and independence, long may this continue! The next 18 months are crucial whanau, on how we wish to see ourselves in 20, 30 or even 100 years time. Let us be bold and make the most of the opportunities in front of us! Nga mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa, Moana Rongo Ultimately it will be the beneficiaries of Rongomaiwahine/Te Rākatō that decide our future in regard to the treaty settlement, that s why I believe it is my duty as chair of RITB to ask the difficult questions, to help stimulate debate and thereby helping to facilitate a more informed decision making process. Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated list Rongomaiwahine as a hapu of Kahungunu on their website, please see the following link Our marae are listed as part of their Tai Whenua and our fisheries from Paritu down and including all of Mahia Peninsula is listed as theirs again, 4

5 Copy of the letter sent to Te Tira Whakaemi o te Wairoa 5

6 Iwi Updates Health & Safety Training (OSH) Education and training of our people is a key part of our aspirational document. We as a board are very pleased to be offering our first course, the National Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety Level 3 at our offices in Mahia. We currently have 27 people enrolled in the pilot 15 week programme. Those who successfully complete the course will continue to the level 4 programme. We have a fantastic crew in our first group, who are supported nicely with the kai afterwards. We have many more programmes planned for the new year, if you are interested please contact Grace at grace@rongomaiwahine.iwi.nz. Rongomaiwahine Trust joins Tairawhiti District Māori Council (TDMC) Our board is committed to Rongomaiwahine leading a path of self determination, therefore having representation of our iwi at the highest level is required. TDMC presented at Te Rakato marae in late July, seeking interested groups from our region to affiliate with them. TDMC outlined they were in a re-development phase and wish to reconnect with groups within its boundaries. In the past Mahia Māori Committee (MMC) were involved, however this was through Kahungunu executive. Whilst we fully support any direction MMC wish to pursue, as a board we voted unanimously to affiliate directly with TDMC. On Tuesday the 18th of October was our first meeting as members of TDMC. Our board members elected the following members to represent us: Peter Whaanga - Lead Representative (RITB Trustee) Moana Rongo - Interim Representative (RITB Trustee) Morehu Cooper - Reserve Representative (RITB Trustee) Please note, Moana Rongo will be replaced by Anaru Te Nahu after the next board meeting, where the change needs to be endorsed. At our last hui-a-iwi we asked if there was anyone within the community who was passionate about being a representative for TDMC, and we are pleased to have Anaru on board. His background, experience and demeanor will be invaluable. Nga mihi Anaru.To ensure a cohesive and unified approach for our iwi, the MMC and our board members will work in collaboration on all issues. From November 2016 all meeting minutes can be viewed on our website. 6

7 Social Services Updates LITERACY NUMERACY AOTEAROA, WAIROA 2016 Whakarongo ki te karanga ō nga tangata o te whenua Heed the call for our people Literacy Numeracy Aotearoa supervisor Faye Tutahi and Rongomaiwahine Iwi Trust Incorporated Trustee Karena Kereru have established and maintained ongoing relationships through providing the people of Mahia access to Literacy Numeracy programmes. On 25th July 2016, Faye Tutahi introduced the learner license course, held at the Mahia Hauora. Their aim was to provide the venue and support for students of all ages. The outcome was to help the students further themselves in numeracy and literacy capabilities, and to become more self-determined when it comes to achieving one goal at a time. NEW ZEALAND RED CROSS MAHIA WAIROA, COMMUNITY TRANSPORT SERVICE This transport service is for primary health care (family doctor and nurse appointments that are non-acc related) and secondary health care (specialist appointments at Wairoa hospital). Due to limited seating, appointments must be made in advance (at least 24 hours), as this service replaces the $20.00 reimbursement voucher scheme. On the 29th of July at the Hauora, Mahia, six of our members were inducted and trained to become volunteer Red Cross van drivers. The van is available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for all residents. In addition to the 0800 Red Cross ( ) phone number and , people are able to call us on to confirm their booking. Although this initiative started on the 1st of August, we are going into our third month and the seats are starting to fill up on these days, so at the discretion of all voluntary drivers we have added Thursday to cater for others at late notice. BUDGET SERVICES WAIROA 2016 On Friday 27th of May 2016, whakawhanaungatanga between our team and Wairoa Budget Services on establishing and building on this relationship and their kaupapa to maintain for the people of Mahia. The Hauora has been offered as a venue for this initiative every last Friday of the month and there is no appointment time necessary. The importance of the people utilising this service must be registered with Budget Services in order to get aide grants from Work and Income, such as food, dental care, some maintenance on vehicles, high power bills and other. 7

8 Seism ic Su This is just to let you know that we have been contacted in regards to a survey in our rohe moana. It is very early days, but we ll be working very closely with the Mahia Māori Committee and we ll keep you all posted on the progress. Please note on the following pages show the extent of our rohe moana, which is a result of the excellent work done by the MMC. 8 rveyi ng Rongomaiwahine rohe moana

9 ing Seism rvey ic Su Rongomaiwahine rohe moana 9

10 Seis mic 10 Surv eyin g

11 STORIES Check out this article we found in the Herald s Canvas by Ben Warren from Be Pure Health. We re glad that more people are appreciating the beauty of Mahia. Warren boasts on our stunning sceneries with plentiful kaimoana, along with some interesting facts: Did you know that in the 1920 s the Māori of Mahia were deemed to be the healthiest people in the world? Have a read below 11

12 History & Stories of Rongomaiwahine Volume 1 In every issue we will endeavour to bring you different stories of Rongomaiwahine, story-telling is apart of our culture as Māori and helps us as an iwi to rememeber our ancestors. Poutama: Stairway into the universe By Pua Taumata Once upon a time in a village of Mahia-mai-tawhiti, the Waka Takitimu landed in a special place, where Kupe had left some of his crew to prepare the village, till the soil and grow kai, in preparation of the great migration which was to take place. Kupe brought with him tuber, seeds and the kuri which they used to catch birds. On the arrival of the Waka Takitimu, Ruawharo the high priest set up his whare wānanga in Mahia. Ruawharo held the knowledge of Atua and tipuna and had a dedicated crew to its preservation, protection and teaching of everything Māori. Ruawharo s first mahi was to place the spirits of his ancestors into the sacred maunga Taupiri, and place a rainbow between Taupiri and Hawaiki so that his ancestors spirits could travel to and fro anytime they wished. Our umbilical cord has never been cut from where life began as a race of chosen children of God. His next mahi was to place sand on Opoutama beach, to remind him where they had travelled from. The O was the Mauri. While admiring his new whenua he noticed a fairy dancing across the water in Opoutama, so he decided to build a poutama. The poutama was a method to measure the knowledge and progress of success, and technology. There was no ending, only a beginning. The beginning is a thought, a dream, an idea put into a planned practice. The poutama stairway is a Māori model and has never failed, we need to adopt this formula to strategise the fu- The fairy, Patupaiarehe or meteorite is a mokopuna o-hina-o- Te-Rangi. Hina-o-Te-Rangi is the ninth and youngest child in the cluster of Matariki who is kaitiaki of wishes and dreams.the fairy came from the heavens to show Ruawharo the promise land, in return Ruawharo built the poutama to allow the mokopuna to return to the cluster of Matariki. On a moonlit night you can see the twinkling and sparkling on the water, a taonga left to us from Hiwa. This awa is called Waipiata, also Ruawharo placed his youngest son Rangatira in Opoutama as a Mauri, a taonga from him and his ancestors o Hawaiki. Today the technology has progressed and now we have rockets to send into space, from Mahia-mai-tawhiti and still seeking knowledge from every step taken on the stairway into the universe, and we all lived happily ever after. The End. Conclusion Thank you all whanau for taking the time to read our first newsletter! We have a lot going on at home, within the iwi and especially with our board. Therefore we will make all attempts to keep you as up to date with happenings via our news letter, our website and on our facebook page. We ask that if you move and/or change your address please let us know so we may keep you better informed? If you have any comments regarding the content of this newsletter or if there s something you think we should add, please grace@rongomaiwahine.iwi.nz. Dont forget our AGM is at Tuahuru Marae 19 November at 11am, we hope to see you there! 12