NTMDG Annual Report 2025-2026 by Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board

NGĀTI TŪWHARETOA MERCURY DEVELOPMENT GROUP

ANNUAL REPORT 2026

For the year ended 30 June 2026

NGĀTI TŪWHARETOA MERCURY DEVELOPMENT GROUP

NGĀ IHIRANGI CONTENTS 01 Mihi a te Heamana 03 02 Ko Wai Mātou 04 03 He Horopaki 05 04 Tirohanga ā Tau 06 05 Applications at a Glance 07 06 Ngā Whakanuitanga 08 07 Financial Report 2025/26 14 08 Proposed Budget 2026/27 15 09 Grant Recipients 17 10 He Pātai 27

$884,418

back into Tūwharetoa people and places across 256 grants this year

01 — MIHI A TE HEAMANA

SUPPORTING KAUPAPA ACROSS TŪWHARETOA This year, NTMDG supported kaupapa across sport, culture and iwi events. We received a record 333 applications which is a clear sign of how much this pūtea matters to our whānau and the many ways they are contributing to Tūwharetoa. Looking ahead, we want to welcome more kaupapa focused on our taiao and rangatahi, keep building our connections with marae and hapū, and make the fund accessible to whānau across our rohe. This reflects the purpose of the fund: caring for our taiao, supporting our people and keeping our tikanga strong. We are also progressing work through TMTB toward a group made up entirely of Tūwharetoa members. This has been raised at a number of AGMs, and we thank our Mercury partners for supporting this next step. Thank you to everyone who applied, contributed and gave back to our iwi this year. We look forward to supporting the kaupapa and people who will carry this work forward.

“A record 333 applications came to us this year - the clearest sign yet of how much this pūtea matters to our whānau.”

Sarah Asher

Sarah Asher Heamana - Chair

Heamana, Ngāti Tūwharetoa Mercury Development Group 03

02 — KO WAI MĀTOU

WHO WE ARE TŪWHARETOA REPRESENTATIVES

Sarah Asher

Heemi Biddle

Ngahere Wall

MERCURY REPRESENTATIVES

Leah Wyatt

Departed April 2026

Moko Tauariki

Beth Wotherspoon

Gavin Williamson

NGĀ KAIWHAKARITE

The Group meets bi-monthly, with grants approved and paid throughout the year.

Manaia Blaikie

Kiani Rowe

PROJECT COORDINATOR

It reports back to iwi each year at the AGM.

03 — HE HOROPAKI

WHAT WE DO NTMDG was set up in 2002 through an agreement between Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Mercury. We manage and distribute the funds provided under that agreement to projects that strengthen our people, our culture and our environment. Our initiatives extend to caring for taiao,

OUR KAUPAPA

Upholding our values and nurturing our connection to Lake Taupō and the Waikato River.

supporting kaitiakitanga, and fostering education, employment, health and wellbeing within our communities.

Connections

Kaitiakitanga

We keep our connection to Lake Taupō and the Waikato River strong, protecting our mana, knowledge, tikanga and wāhi tapu.

We care for the environment through restoration, research and remedial work, and support Tūwharetoa to exercise kaitiakitanga.

Wellbeing

Education

We back health, wellbeing and the events that bring whānau home and keep our hapū connected.

We back education and jobs for our hapū, so that our people can thrive at home and away.

04 — TIROHANGA Ā TAU

THE YEAR IN REVIEW This year we paid out more than $884,000 back into our people and places, across 256 grants. We received a record 333 applications, up from 206 the year before, showing continued strong demand for NTMDG support.

333

256

applications received

grants approved and paid

$884,418

paid to whānau, hapū and marae

APPLICATIONS AT A GLANCE Status

2025/26 2024/25

Total received

333

206

Approved

258

173

Declined

Membership criteria not met

—

Withdrawn

Strong demand for sport, a shift toward hosted events Sporting remains the largest category by number. Tūwharetoa Hosted Events was the largest by value at $255,000, a small number of larger marae and iwi-wide events rather than many small grants.

Where we want to see more This year we funded one multi-year taiao project, Puketarata Kāinga Hokia. We'd love to see more taiao and rangatahi kaupapa like it. Both have funding available in 2026/27, and new ideas are already coming forward.

05 — NGĀ TATAURANGA

APPLICATIONS AT A GLANCE GRANT FUNDS PAID BY CATEGORY Tūwharetoa Hosted Events

$255,000

Sporting Assistance

$244,200

Special Marae Grant

$120,000

Wāhi Tapu / Oral History

$104,000

Multi-Year Environmental

$63,375

Hapū / Wānanga Assistance

$52,843

Discretionary Grant

$45,000

RECEIVED VS APPROVED

SPORTING APPLICATIONS BY LEVEL 333 256

206

190 145

2023/24 Received

173

2024/25 Approved

2025/26

Regional

171

International (overseas)

International (within NZ)

International

National

Of 333 applications, 297 were sporting whānau and rangatahi representing Tūwharetoa at regional, national and international level.

06 — NGĀ WHAKANUITANGA

HIGHLIGHTS 2025/26

SPECIAL MARAE GRANT – $30,000

Korohe Marae - Marae and Papakāinga Improvements Ko Matauhipo te maunga, ko Waimarino te awa, ko Ngāti Hine te hapū Korohe Marae used its Special Marae Grant to

When strong winds lifted much of the

take on a list of long-needed repairs and

wharekai roof, the whānau acted quickly. The

improvements across the marae and

first stage of roof repairs is done, and the rest

papakāinga. Local contractors resurfaced the

is planned for the coming months.

road and driveway, concreted and tidied the marae-ātea, and cleared an overgrown corner

Still to come is the landscaping of the pā

of the papakāinga. New fencing now protects

harakeke. It will hold eight varieties suited to

the top boundary of the marae and a newly

all types of weaving, including piupiu making,

established pā harakeke.

with an information board sharing each harakeke's name and uses. The boundary

"Your tautoko is hugely appreciated."

fence beside the kaumātua flats will also be repaired to keep roaming horses out.

Korohe Marae Committee

6 jobs completed

in the first round of mahi

8 harakeke varieties for the new pā harakeke 09

HAPŪ / WĀNANGA ASSISTANCE - $10,000

Kura Taiao ki Tūwharetoa Kura Taiao ki Tūwharetoa brought together 176 whānau, rangatahi, kaimahi and taiao practitioners for two days of learning, connection and collective action at Tokaanu Marae. The wānanga strengthened our understanding of our responsibilities as kaitiaki, and our whakapapa relationships with our maunga, moana, wai, whenua and taonga species. Participants heard from respected mātauranga practitioners, environmental specialists, hapū representatives and rangatahi leaders. Kaupapa included maramataka, restoration, environmental activism, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, taonga species, waiata and rangatiratanga. Hīkoi and place-based learning were particular highlights, letting whānau engage directly with the whenua and the kōrero held within it. Feedback described the wānanga as inspiring, inclusive and deeply impactful. Many left with a stronger understanding of te ao Māori approaches to environmental care, and renewed motivation to act within their whānau, marae and hapū.

“Kaitiakitanga is not simply an environmental activity - it is an inherited responsibility grounded in whakapapa.”

176

whānau engaged in Kura Taiao

2 days

of wānanga at Tokaanu Marae

$120,000

Special Marae Grant paid to four marae

TŪWHARETOA HOSTED EVENTS – $60,000

Te Taiopenga o Ngāti Tūwharetoa Every year, Tūwharetoa comes alive for four

This year the festival marked 40 years. It

days as thousands of tamariki from across the

began with a dozen or so kapa performing on

rohe take the stage at Te Taiopenga. Kōhanga

the floor of a small school gym, organised by

reo, kura kaupapa, and primary, intermediate

a handful of teachers. They deliberately called

and secondary schools come together from

it a taiopenga, a festival, rather than a

as far as Putāruru, Tokoroa, Reporoa, Tūrangi,

competition, because it was meant to

Taumarunui, Manunui and Kawerau.

celebrate Tūwharetoatanga and welcome

More than 70 kapa and over 3,000 performers take part, and the standard of performance and te mita o te reo keeps rising.

everyone in the rohe to take part. That kaupapa still guides the festival today, and it is now one of the largest Māori events in the Taupō rohe.

Kaumātua, kuia and whānau fill the stands to tautoko their mokopuna, while many more watch on the livestream from home. Around the venue, stalls and kai vendors add to the atmosphere, making it four days of kapa haka, whanaungatanga and celebration.

"40 years of celebrating Tūwharetoatanga through kapa haka."

KAUMĀTUA LUNCH 2026

300+

$20,000

Kaumātua attended the lunch

Marae represented

contribution to the Kaumātua Lunch

HAPŪ / WĀNANGA ASSISTANCE - $2,000

Ngā Wai o Te Maunga Whanganui Bay Marae, Taupō Moana

Over 60 uri o Ngāti Te Maunga gathered at

Tamariki got hands-on with macroinvertebrate

Whanganui Bay for Ngā Wai o Te Maunga – the

testing and microscopes, facilitated by Natalya

first in a series of wai-focused kaupapa for the

Gibson, Waitiaki coordinator at the Tūwharetoa

hapū, built around connecting to each other, to

Māori Trust Board, alongside colouring-in

their wai, and to their mātauranga.

competitions and prizes.

Mahora presented the findings of her Masters research, including 26 years of water quality data for E. coli, nitrate, dissolved reactive phosphorus and eDNA. Whānau then presented the taiao mahi already underway across Ngāti Te Maunga – whakapapa, māra kai, taiao observations, fishing and whenua.

60+

uri o Ngāti Te Maunga attended

26 years

“The overall highlight was how inspired and meaningful this wānanga was for our tamariki, pakeke and kaumātua in understanding and thinking about our wai and taiao.” - Mahora Manuel-Hepi

of water quality data shared with the hapū

Hapū / Wānanga grants paid, totalling $52,843

07 — PŪRONGO PŪTEA

FINANCIAL REPORT Profit and Loss - Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board, Mercury Development Group. For the year ended 30 June 2026, with the prior year for comparison.

TOTAL INCOME

TOTAL EXPENSES

NET DEFICIT

$857,616

$1,013,352

($155,735)

Account

2026

2025

9,941.74

35,379.90

MRP Funding

847,674.72

765,572.40

Total Trading Income

857,616.46

800,952.30

2,062.19

2,280.52

—

(9.65)

298.09

343.00

13,924.63

960.00

Discretionary Grant

45,000.00

—

Koha

60,000.00

—

Meeting Fees

3,600.00

4,950.00

Multi-Year Environmental Projects

63,375.00

—

Office Expenses

13,060.88

15,036.93

Postage

—

467.82

Rangatahi Initiative

—

8,600.00

Special Marae Grant

120,000.00

111,000.00

Sporting

244,200.00

229,582.73

2,135.87

4,661.83

—

116,505.58

468.00

—

Tuwharetoa Hosted Events

255,000.00

92,045.00

Waahi Tapu / Oral History Projects

104,000.00

87,000.00

Wages

33,384.57

—

Wananga

52,842.50

10,000.00

1,013,351.73

683,423.76

(155,735.27)

117,528.54

TRADING INCOME Interest Income

OPERATING EXPENSES AGM Bank Fees Catering Consulting & Accounting

Subscriptions Taiao Travel & Mileage

Total Operating Expenses

Net Profit / (Deficit)

08 — TE TAHUA PŪTEA

PROPOSED BUDGET 2026/27 Mitigation funding of $765,572 is budgeted for the year ahead, with $1.76m of expenditure planned - drawing deliberately on accumulated funds so that pūtea already set aside reaches our marae and hapū. GRANTS

ADMINISTRATION

Special Marae Grant

$660,000

Administration support

$45,000

Taiao

$300,000

Office expenses

$15,500

Tūwharetoa Hosted Events

$230,000

Meeting fees

$5,500

Sporting

$200,000

Consulting & accounting

$4,500

Wāhi Tapu / Oral History Projects

$100,000

Subscriptions

$4,500

Kura Kapa Haka

$50,000

AGM

$3,500

Rangatahi Initiative

$50,000

Travel & mileage

$1,000

Discretionary Grant

$50,000

Catering

Wānanga

$40,000

Total administration

Total grants

$500

$80,000

$1,680,000 Total revenue

$765,572

Total expenses

$1,760,000

Net deficit

($994,428)

OPENING BALANCE 16 JUNE 2026

AGED PAYABLES FROM PRIOR YEARS

FORECAST BALANCE 30 JUNE 2027

$1,337,374

($74,493)

$268,453

08 — TE TAHUA PŪTEA

WHERE THE PŪTEA GOES NEXT YEAR TŪWHARETOA HOSTED EVENTS Pre-approved for 2026/27

Stream

Ruia Taitea

$50,000

Taiopenga

$50,000

Tū Whare Taiao

$50,000

Waitangi ki Tūrangi

$25,000

Kaumātua Lunch

$20,000

Toi Tūwharetoa

$20,000

Taikura

$15,000

Total allocation

TAIAO - HOW THE $300,000 SPLITS

$230,000

Multi-year projects Contestable funding Total

2026/27

2027/28

$240,000 $300,000 $60,000

—

$300,000 $300,000

Funding to know about Special Marae Grant: $30,000 is available to each of the 27 TMTB marae. $660,000 is set aside for the marae yet to receive theirs. Funds are held in trust until a marae or hapū meeting ratifies how they will be used. Multi-year taiao projects: Up to $100,000 over three years. Proposals are considered each September; hapū endorsement is preferred. Rangatahi Initiative: $50,000 available. Sporting assistance: Up to two grants per person each year for national or international representation.

09 — NGĀ ĀPITIHANGA

GRANT RECIPIENTS The following pages list grants paid during 2025/26, grouped by category. The “Applied” date shows when we received each application, so some applications dated before 1 July 2025 appear here because they were paid in this financial year.

256

grants paid