Te Kāhui Kaumātua o Ngāti Awa

TE RŪNANGA O NGĀTI AWA

Chief Executive’s Report

Our submissions continually assert that caring for water is an ancestral responsibility we “ have inherited as kaitiaki, and iwi, hapū and whānau have rights and interests in water that are guaranteed under Te Tīriti ō Waitangi. ”

Our operations this past year have focussed on the taiao, Tīriti ō Waitangi matters, rangatahi potential as well as our language, culture and identity. In the last year, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa with Ngāti Awa hapū and whānau have made several submissions and appearances on various taiao policy statements and consent applications. In the past financial year the Rūnanga appeared at two hearings on water management policy, and submitted on water allocation, use and management policies. Our submissions continually assert that caring for water is an ancestral responsibility we have inherited as kaitiaki, and iwi, hapū and whānau have rights and interests in water that are guaranteed under Te Tīriti ō Waitangi. The taiao is intrinsically connected to our identity and culture as Ngāti Awa and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa is committed to ensuring our rights and interests are recognised and upheld.

To this end, the Rūnanga has launched an appeal in the Environment Court against the consent approved for increased water extraction in the Awaiti aquifer for water bottling. This matter is ongoing, and we do not expect any significant outcome until 2019.

The Rūnanga is also responding to two Treaty claims and settlements that Ngāti Awa has an interest in. We will continue to work in partnership with Rūnanga Representatives and hapū on these complex issues that require a lot of resources and time to resolve. The Rūnanga has unanimously supported our actions taken to date.

The Rūnanga has continued to deliver free wānanga focussed on revitalising and retaining te reo Māori, our culture and identity as Ngāti Awa. You can read the highlights of these wānanga in this report, and I am pleased to advise that 115 Ngāti Awa people have participated in whaikōrero, whakapapa and Manu Kuia wānanga, and 60 people have attended monthly marae workshops aimed at building capability and capacity of the hapū in the last year.

Developing and fostering rangatahi potential has meant that we have concentrated on engaging with Ngāti Awa rangatahi aged 15 – 17 years to attend either monthly one day wānanga, or a block week of wānanga to provide leadership experiences. Ten rangatahi attended four wānanga over six months. We will continue to invest in rangatahi potential in 2019/2020 to build the next generation of leaders.

In the past financial year, the Rūnanga started the development of a Ngāti Awa Tourism Strategy to encompass our existing and future tourism operations. A key feature of this strategy is the focus on economic outcomes for Ngāti Awa, which includes employment and workforce development, and providing opportunities for Ngāti Awa people to leverage off our collective tourism assets to build their own tourism or supply businesses. In the next year Ngāti Awa Group Holdings (NAGHL) will be leading activities to increase the number of Ngāti Awa employees and opportunities for Ngāti Awa people within these tourism assets.

Putting Ngāti Awa people in the centre of our economic and commercial activities is integral to our collective advancement.

The performance of the Rūnanga Group for the year was a surplus of $7.9m for the year compared to $3.6m last year. Another excellent result from our equity portfolio and a significant increase in the value of our forestry land holdings has driven this very strong operating surplus. A steady increase in the value of carbon credits on top of the operating surplus means overall Total Comprehensive Revenue and Expense was $9.0m for the year compared to $3.3m last year. Careful and strategic management of our portfolio has driven an increase in our total assets to $151m, up from $142m in 2017.

Total assets have increased by $33m over the past five years and includes a broadening of our investment portfolio to include the growth areas of tourism and kiwifruit.

The Rūnanga itself incurred a loss of $0.3m compared to a loss of $0.2m in 2017. An increased dividend ($1.5m 2018, $1.0m in 2017) from our companies was offset by an increase in our salaries cost. This increase is a consequence of completing recruitment of a qualified team to deliver the best outcomes for Ngāti Awa.

I extend my thanks to the governors and staff for their continued support and hard work over the past financial year and acknowledge the many Ngāti Awa people who have volunteered and given their time and energy to the iwi. We have a busy year ahead, and I look forward to working with you.

Naaku noa,

Leonie Simpson