LTFT Newsletter - Issue 9

Te Reo Kākāriki ISSUE 09

Q U A R T E R LY N E W S L E T T E R

SEPTEMBER 2021

He Mamae Aroha

Tēnei te noho mokemoke, he hinganga tangata, oti tonu atu. “E ai ki te kī, “ka hokihokia he huanga, otirā me aha e hoki mai ai a Mate?”

Moe mai rā e te pou o te whare, moe mai rā e te paenga o te mahi, moe mai rā e te ringa tōhau nui o te iwi. E te Rangatira, e Hemi, moe mai, moe mai, moe mai rā.

It is with great sadness that we had to say farewell to another of our trustees, Hemi Biddle, who passed away in May. Hemi joined the Trust in 2017 and brought with him a wide range of experience and ideas, starting with his whānau farm in Waipiro Bay, to his time at the New Zealand Army, as well as time spent in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Although he was only with the Trust for a relatively short time, we valued his advice and commitment.

Tēnā koutou Message from the Chair Ko Te Reo Kākāriki tēnei e mihi ana ki a koutou e noho whānui ana ki te ao.

Tēnei te tuku pānui atu kia mōhio koutou mā ngā mahi e kawea nei ki muri, ki mua rānei mō te tupu rākau ki runga i ō tātou whenua. Nō reira ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa.

Ki a rātou kua whetūrangitia, e kemokemo mai rā i te rangi, kei te tika ngā kupu e kīia nei ‘He tātai tangata ki te whenua, ka ngaro. He tātai whetū ki te rangi, mau tonu, mau tonu.’ Nō reira moe mai koutou, okioki atu.

Ka hoki mai ki a tātou e noho nei i te ao mārama me te kī, tēnā koutou, tēnā rā tātou katoa.

The Lake Taupō Forest recently held a celebration marking the start of the second rotation harvest of trees. These trees were planted and are now owned 100% by the Lake Taupō Forest Trust. It was an important day for us as a Trust, and it was good to see all our forestry workers, staff from NZ Forest Managers and the Trust along with trustees and guests from the Crown present.

Overall, the Crown has been a good partner for LTFT. Although our relationship has had its ups and downs over the years, they have helped us to get to this point of full ownership more quickly and I thank them for that.

Our kaumātua Te Kanawa Pitiroi gave a blessing and karakia to mark the start of this new era. Following this, Spencer Asher-Waru, the mokopuna of John Takakopiri Asher, did the honours of felling the first trees. It was a great day.

Also, I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate John Hura who has been appointed General Manager at NZ Forest Managers. NZFM have proved to be invaluable to the Trust in the past and it is good to see one of our owners having worked his way up to now leading the organisation.

In this issue of Te Reo Kākāriki, we cover our recent celebration in the forest.

We also have included a paper from one of our founders, John Takakopiri Asher, who gives insights into the development of our forest from the 1970s. We talk to his mokopuna Spencer Asher-Waru, who did us the honour of felling the first trees in the second rotation, and Marama Hartley who started with the Trust in January 2021 working in Administration and Grants.

During June, we conducted a series of owners’ workshops so the Trust could work with owners to gather feedback and ideas that could feed into our strategy going forward. A big thank you to all those involved, and a summary of those workshops, is covered here.

In addition, with the Lake Taupō Forest Trust moving to full ownership of the forest, Lake Taupō Forest Managers has initiated the development of a Forest Research Strategy to help support our decision-making in the future.

Finally, we have an interesting article on how stress affects forestry workers – something which I thought we all should be aware of!

Lastly, as always, I want to thank you, the owners, for your continued support of the Trustees and staff over what is still a fairly uncertain time. Please continue to be safe, take care and be kind.

‘He aha te mea nui o te ao, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.’

Binky Ellis Chairperson

Fulfilling the Vision

As we drove up Kiko Road that morning, Tuesday 3rd August 2021, the sky above the forest was starting to clear after a heavy downpour the previous evening.

The air was still cool and damp in the shade of the trees as utes, forestry vehicles and forestry workers lined the roadway for the ceremony.

That morning saw the fulfilment of a vision that had been created 53 years ago by the then leaders of Tūwharetoa with the formation of the Lake Taupō Forest Trust on 11 December 1968.

Threatened with loss of land for unpaid rates, no capital for land development and no income, no ability to borrow, and many differing hapū and marae interests to bring together, Tūwharetoa leaders had to find a solution that would protect the lake, secure future land ownership and the future of the people.

Their vision was bold but difficult. It involved sacrifice with no benefits to the owners for a generation; innovation with the establishment of an umbrella land entity without land amalgamation; and trust that this far-sighted vision could be achieved. The Crown, initially a tough business partner, became more accommodating to expedite this vision as the years went on, agreeing

along the way to an increased share of income for Lake Taupō Forest Trust and a reduced period of lease for the Crown.

The strategy from the start had been to move the Lake Taupō Forest Trust owners from a position of disadvantage, where outside entities were trying to dictate control of the hapū and marae on the shores of Lake Taupō, to a position of advantage where the owners could gain back control of their own destiny.

No mean feat.

That cool morning saw the start of the harvest of the second rotation of trees – those trees planted and owned

by Lake Taupō Forest Trust – where the stumpage income and now the control would rest solely with Lake Taupō Forest Trust, and not be shared with the Crown.

Fittingly, Spencer Asher-Waru, the grandson of one of the key leaders of that time, John Takakopiri Asher, was tasked with commencing the harvest of the second rotation by felling the first five trees – effectively validating the foresight and courage of the koroua and kuia who started this journey over half a century ago, and bringing control back to where it belongs.

And so the first trees were felled, the rain clouds moved away and the road ahead steadily became clearer.

Spencer Asher-Waru

Following the karakia and speeches at the Lake Taupō Forest Trust ceremony, Spencer was given the task Continuing a legacy of starting the harvest on the second Spencer Asher-Waru, the son of rotation of trees – the trees planted Lorraine Asher-Waru and Ratu Waru and and owned 100% by Lake Taupō Forest grandson of John Takakopiri Asher, has Trust. worked in the forest for most of his life. ‘I started off at the bottom’, said Spencer, ‘on chainsaws, cutting the trees into logs once they were felled. That was 19 years ago, and since then, I’ve worked my way through all the jobs involved with harvesting.’

SPENCER ASHER-WARU (RIGHT) WITH LTFT TRUSTEE HEEMI BIDDLE

TE REO KĀKĀRIKI

Your koro was one of the key leaders that helped set up the Lake Taupō Forest Trust. How are you feeling?

‘I’m just really proud and humbled to carry this on for my whānau and to have helped to get our people to this point today.’

And your plans for the future?

‘For me, my ultimate goal is to get my own contract, that’s what I want, and then carry on our name in here. I’m just looking for that opportunity, but I’ll be patient.’

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THE START OF THE SECOND ROTATION

The original Trustees of the Lake Taupō Forest Trust were: - Hepi Te Heu Heu - Pateriki Hura - John Te Herekiekie Grace - Wairemana Tamaira - Robert Keepa - Brian Hauauru Jones - John Hoani Wall - Rangikamutua Downs - Bill Hawkins - Hema Maniapoto - Fearon Grace Special mention should be made of John Takakopiri Asher, the Secretary of the Trust and a key leader in the process, as well as the Trust’s lawyer, Russell Feist, who supported the trust from 1968–2012.

Working in the forest Things must have changed in the forest in the last 19 years from when you first started?

‘Yeah, there’s a lot more focus on safety now. Getting home to your whānau at night. That’s probably one of the biggest things we look out for.’

What time does your day start?

‘I get picked up at 6:00am, get to the site about 6:30, have our morning tailgate meeting then start the day. Then we knock off about 3:00pm.’

The use of machines has greatly increased productivity for harvesting forests. The machine you used this morning was a Hitachi excavator with a Woodsman processing head.

‘Yeah, this machine cuts up the logs and the boss asks for about 400 tonnes a day, so that’s about maybe 200 stems a day to put through here.’

So felling and processing one tree every couple of minutes.

That’s productive.

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The Māori, His Land & its Ownership, the Lease to the Crown for Afforestation

As part of the ceremony that morning, John Hura, General Manager of NZ Forest Managers, read from a report written by John Takakopiri Asher, the original secretary of the Lake Taupō Forest Trust. The report was written in the early 1970s.

Exotic Afforestation Lake Taupō is a national asset that provides a nation with electric generation, and, in addition, holiday relaxation. As such, the asset must be preserved and protected for all time.

It is a truism that the human being pollutes everything he touches.

Knowing this, the government of New Zealand commenced a study of a scheme of protection for Lake Taupō. To protect any stretch of water, one must first start at the protection of its watershed. In the case of Lake Taupō, its main watershed lies to the east of the lake. The protection of this watershed was the genesis of exotic forestation which is now known as the Lake Taupō forest.

With the exception of pockets of Crown land, these pockets of land are now Māori-owned through exchanges of Māori land for Crown land. The whole of the approximate 80,000 acres of Lake Taupō forest is owned by members of the Tūwharetoa tribe. There are 67 different land titles in the forest. Each title has its own ownership. The 67 blocks differ in size, ranging from Opawa Rangitoto 1D of 18 acres, to Tauhara South B1 of 14,045 acres. Similarly, each block differs in the number of owners, from Opawa Rangitoto 1D’s 30 owners (at that time) while Tauhara South B1 had 731 owners (at that time).

The leasing of the land to the Crown, which resulted in the present Lake Taupō forest, did not happen overnight.

Over a period of 3 years, meetings of the various owning groups were held.

Involved in these meetings were the TE REO KĀKĀRIKI

Tūwharetoa Trust Board as tribal council, The Department of Māori Affairs (Te Puni Kōkiri), Land Information New Zealand (Toitū Te Whenua), New Zealand Forest Service, The Department of Internal Affairs and the Electricity Authority.

Generally, the proposal to lease the tribal land to the Crown for afforestation was accepted by the owners. They saw the need for the development of their land – some development would provide employment and income for the owners.

The various meetings of owners culminated in a full general meeting in February 1969 at Tapeka marae, Waihi, where it was resolved that the said land blocks be leased to the land for afforestation. This resolution was conveyed to the Māori Land Court at its sitting in Tokaanu on 23rd February 1969, and the court, in a section 438 order/53, vested the land in eleven trustees with the power to enter into a leasing agreement with the Crown. The lease document was prepared by the trust’s solicitor, Tripe Matthews & Feist, and signed by the trustees and the Minister of Forests, Mr Duncan McIntyre, on behalf of the Crown.

The lease as signed provides for several things – the term of the lease to the Crown, development of the forest, income to be paid and an annual rental to the trust with stumpage to be paid when full utilisation of the forest takes place, etc.

In a way, the lease agreement is unique, as it is a basis for several similar leasing arrangements with the Crown by other Māori tribes. Since the commencement of the lease to the Crown of Lake Taupō forest, other tribal members of Tūwharetoa have also entered into a similar agreement with the Crown and this is known as Lake Rotoaira forest. This forest is approximately 40,000 acres and here, again, the same procedures of owner meetings and vesting of land in trustees by the court were completed.

There are other extensive areas of tribal land which will also be included in similar leasing arrangements, either to the Crown or to private enterprise. The members of the Tūwharetoa tribe accept most fully the dictum that their land must be made productive by its development to provide employment for its members 3

JOHN BISHARA, CEO LAKE TAUPŌ FOREST TRUST WITH IAN SHAPLAND, MARKETING AND SALES MANAGER, NZ FOREST MANAGERS LTD

and income for its future generations.

Due to the requirement at Lake Taupō, Lake Rotoaira and all their tributaries, streams and rivers must remain entirely unpolluted by any human or natural source. It is envisaged that no large wood and pulp production industry will be established in, or close to, the two forests. Environmentally, the whole of the Lake Taupō basin is tender and the mere mention of the lake basin being involved with the type of activities associated with the forest industry raises instantly the hackles of a thousand environmentalists.

The future for the members of the tribe is bright. The land which, for centuries, remained unproductive will now provide them with continuing employment and income. Above all, it remains in their possession.

In conclusion, I wish to quote a Māori proverb: ‘Mā te whenua kua ora te iwi; ka kore, kua ngaro’ ‘With land a people endure forever, without it they are soon lost’ Signed J T Asher Secretary

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PROFILE

Marama Hartley Administration and Grants

Marama Hartley has lived away from Tūrangi for nearly 20 years, with the last nine in Australia. However, with the onset of COVID-19 creating a lot of

How Stress affects Forestry Workers Forestry researcher, Trevor Best, has written a summary of research he was involved in at Canterbury University, on the impact of stress on the wellbeing of forestry workers, and how stress affects productivity and business profitability.

‘For the past 18 months, I have been asking machine operators in harvesting crews to tell me about the conditions or situations that result in them feeling some form of stress (positive or negative) at work. The objective has been to build a picture of the ways stress impacts the health of operators to identify what could be done to make their work healthier.

The sorts of questions I asked have been about what was liked about their work, what was disliked and what situations generated whatever they identified as stress. I took that approach because I wanted to build the picture from the perspective of the operators.

Nothing about them without them.

Responses have been quite consistent. By and large, the operators I talked to love their work. If there was a good fit between them and the specific work they were doing (harvesting, shovelling/skidding/hauling,

uncertainty last year, Marama decided that it was time to come home.

‘The town hasn’t changed much since I left’, said Marama. ‘I did try to come back at least once a year while I was away, so I could see gradual changes, but nothing drastic apart from the Hydro and fewer retail shops.’

Originally from Tūrangi with whakapapa to Hīrangi Marae, Marama applied for a position in Administration and Grants at Lake Taupō Forest Trust and started work in January 2021.

‘I originally worked here in the same position – Ownership Register Officer at the time – now it’s Administration and Grants – so I was quite familiar with the role. Not much had changed except for the database.’

Having spent so much time in Australia, was it difficult to come back to Tūrangi?

‘COVID made me hurry up and come back – I didn’t know what was going to

happen. I think there are more people in Aussie wanting to come back, especially my cousins and family who are still over in Aussie who want to come home. They’re in that point in their lives that they’re not getting any younger and they’re missing out on learning more about whakapapa – it becomes more important to us as we get older.

But the transition is not necessarily easy. ‘Living and working in Aussie, you’re paid more so you have to be prepared when you come home to work for less. I guess it depends on where your priorities are.’

‘I am enjoying the Forest Trust a bit more the second time round. I have a different perspective now, more settled.

I’m related to everyone here so that made the transition easier! I’m just excited to be here and be part of the growth that we’re expecting.’

processing, sorting/fleeting/loading), the work itself added to their sense of self andwellbeing. It enhanced their life. They felt better about themselves through the mahi.

The same could not be said, necessarily, of the way the work was organised. When questioned about situations that left them feeling “stressed”, the operators pointed to long work hours, the pressure to produce (particularly if the crew did not work well together), uncertainty over work and income continuity and not having a say over aspects of the work that were important to them. Most significantly, apart from the crew culture and its impact on who has a say on the job, these outcomes were the result of decisions made outside the crew environment before anyone turned a key.

Let me give you an example. The key resources impacting on the number of hours worked appear to be the length of the trucking day, the size of the skid and the number of log sorts expected to be stored, the targeted daily production and the length of the contract term.

Those factors dictate when the logging service is required to start and finish in the workday and the number of machines available to provide that service versus the targeted production.

Anything constraining flexible

machine capacity meant that the inevitable bottlenecks could only be solved by working longer hours and limited the crew’s capacity to use even the most basic forms of job rotation like covering breaks or sharing early load outs. Those key resources are all part of the harvest planning and management process.

What is tricky about working long hours is that most of the operators spoke about the benefits they had received from working those hours. It improved their ability to provide for their family. It helped to establish their place as a hard worker within the logging fraternity, able to be relied upon by their crew mates.

Working long hours enabled them to fit in and move up the ladder.

The issue, then, was not just the problems they faced as result of working long days, it was also the lack of control they had over those hours.

They had little ability to actively balance their recovery requirements or the time they spent with their whānau against the production needs of the contract.

It points to a need to consider health in the design of our logging work places and to broaden who we involve in the process.’

Read More Source: Best, T., Visser, R., & Conradson, D. (2021). Stress,

psychosocial factors and the New Zealand forestry industry workforce: Seeing past the risk of harm to the potential for individual and organisational wellbeing. New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science, 51 (5),1–13. https://doi.org/10.33494/nzjfs512021x93x TE REO KĀKĀRIKI

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Lake Taupō Forest Management – Forestry Research Strategy

The strategy that Lania is developing aims to advance, apply and protect the knowledge of the forests. It is about ‘supporting being kaitiaki of the mātauranga of the ngahere’. It will help forest managers and, ultimately, Lake Taupō and Lake Rotoaira Forest trustees to ensure that they are abreast of the forestry business, able to implement operational improvements, informed of impacts on the environment and ecosystems, can maximise business performance, and can plan for future events such as climate change and diversification.

Lania has been a forestry management scientist at SCION in Rotorua since 2010. Her research interests are in sustainable human-nature relationships, complex forest production systems, and change management and she strongly supports Māori forestry. Lania holds a Bachelors’ degree in Forestry Science with honours, and a Master of Management (Business) degree with distinction. She has previously worked for Fletcher Challenge, Carter Holt Harvey and Weyerhaeuser forestry companies across NZ and internationally. Lania affiliates with (Te Arawa – Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pikiao) and her mother Margaret (nee Hodge) is an owner in Lake Taupō Forest Trust.

Owners’ Workshops June 2021

acknowledged that extra resource would be required to make this happen, which might be complicated but not impossible.

In order to assist the Lake Taupō Forest Trust (LTFT) with their strategic direction, Lake Taupō Forest Management (LTFM) has engaged forest researcher Lania Holt to develop a forest research strategy for LTFM and identify the relevant priorities going forward.

The overall research objective is to ensure LTFT’s forests and lands are reaching their full potential, consistent with the Trust’s values/pou.

At the moment, forestry research is undertaken by many individuals and organisations including forestry contractors, Crown forestry, LTFM, NZ Forest Managers and the forestry industry through the Forest Growers Levy Trust. However, to have meaningful benefits for both LTFM and LTFT, the research requires coordination and focus that will be brought under a comprehensive research strategy.

As part of the Lake Taupō Forest Trust’s effort to gather opinions and feedback from owners and beneficiaries and improve communications, the Trust ran a series of workshops in June 2021 as follows: - Tuesday 15th June – LTFT Office, Tūrangi - Monday 21st June – Suncourt Hotel, Taupō - Thursday 24th June – Hawke’s Bay Racing Centre, Hastings - Tuesday 29th June –Copthorne Hotel, Rotorua The aim of the workshops was to elicit feedback from owners and beneficiaries about where they believe the Lake Taupō Forest Trust should be directing resources to help improve the lives of LTFT owners and beneficiaries.

The workshops were well-attended with around 50 people in total attending. Some of the ideas that emerged could be grouped into themes.

More Flexibility and Support

Access to the whenua

The need for more and better communication with owners and beneficiaries was seen to be important, especially with those further away from Tūrangi. Communication was needed not only to find out more about what the Forest Trust is doing, but also with things like helping kaumātua and kuia navigate Tūwharetoa organisations, government agencies, e.g. helping to fill out forms.

There was also discussion that this type of hui with owners and beneficiaries should be held more often, so that there is more frequent or regular two-way dialogue opportunities with the Trust.

It was felt that Lake Taupō Forest Trust is not flexible enough when it comes to taking on-board suggestions from owners and beneficiaries. It was thought that the Trust should take a supportive approach to new business ideas rather than remaining completely objective.

More connection needed between Tūwharetoa organisations There was some discussion around needing better connections and coordination between Tūwharetoa organisations to make life easier for owners and beneficiaries, especially when it comes to accessing grants and information.

More/Better Communication

Access to the whenua was one of the key issues raised, especially at the Tūrangi workshop. It was felt that there needed to be much more access available to owners and beneficiaries than there is currently. For example, a recreational access workplan could be developed in association with the LTFM/ NZFM harvesting/planting timetables and the recreational access areas would move according to harvesting/ planting requirements. Comment was made that this had been suggested in the past but didn’t go anywhere. It was

TE REO KĀKĀRIKI

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Empowerment

COVID-19 Alert Level 2

There were a number of other ideas raised that were thought would help empower people, specifically Lake Taupō Forest Trust owners and beneficiaries. These included: - Support for Education/Whare Wānanga – Create a whare wānanga in Tūrangi to educate our people about our whenua and our taiao; - Improving access to healthcare services for kaumātua – look at the healthcare that isn’t working for our kaumātua and improve it; - Support for Housing/Papakāinga housing – Utilise partnerships to support the increase of housing being built on our land; - Various business ideas, including: • Growing other crops on forest land, e.g. hemp; • Build/invest in shopping centres with homes around them for whānau; • Investing in trades businesses, e.g. building, plumbing, electrical; • Investing in renewable energy – need to look at the future and diversify.

All in all, there was a lot of good kōrero and ideas discussed.

The content received from the workshops has been collated into a report for the Trust, which will look at how some of the ideas can be incorporated into the Trust’s wider strategic plan.

The trust office is open to owners and visitors by appointment only.

Phone 07 3868839 or email reception@ltft.co.nz You must wear a face covering and scan the QR code, or sign the register before entering the office.

The Lake Taupō forest is open – 4pm-8pm weekdays and 7am-8pm weekends. You must hold a current permit and FOB key. FOB keys are available from NZ Forest Managers in Tūrangi and Tūwharetoa Maori Trust Board office in Taupō.

Visit our website www.ltft.co.nz.

Do you know these people or their uri?

The owners below are owed significant funds of unclaimed monies. If you know these people or their uri, we would really appreciate knowing their whereabouts so we can get them registered and have their monies paid.

SURNAME

FIRST NAME

SURNAME

FIRST NAME

AKITARA

Kerehi

TAUNAHA

Harai

AMOROA

Eruini

TE HEUHEU

Kapara

HARETE

Te Rou

TE MATARINA

Takihi

HAUMIHIATA

Kanara

TE POKE

Hiria

HOHEPA

Hare

TE ROHU

Te Wharenui

JACKSON

Mary

TE WARENA

Poihaere

MATENGA

Hare

TE WARENA

Rihipeti

MOHOPAPA

Tiria

TE WHAKARATO

Rawinia

NGAHUIA

Mariana

TOKOAHU

Tauri

NGAIRO

Kato

TUKINO

Te Araroa

NGAWAKA

Pirihita

TURAMA HENARE

Estate of

TAIHAKOA

Anatipa

TUROA

Pekamu

TAKIRI

Peti

WI TAKEREI

Wire

TAKIRI

Riria

WI TAUTEKA

Te Raima

The funds held for each of these are owners is $40k and over.

HEAD OFFICE

81 Town Centre PO Box 102 Tūrangi, New Zealand Telephone: 07 386 8839 Fax: 07 386 0188

CONTACT US

general@ltft.co.nz

+64 7 386 8839 www.ltft.co.nz

IMAGE PERMISSIONS:

Kākāriki courtesy of firinosa/123RF Stock Photo Other images courtesy of Lake Taupō Forest Trust, Lania Holt and HUIA