Hokonui Rūnanga

He toto o te tangata, he kai
Te Oranga o te tangata te whenua
Ti-hei Mauri ora
Ko Ōparure te Maunga
Ko Mataura te awa e rere atu. Ki te Ara a Kiwa te Moana
Ko Mārua – wai te whenua
Ko Mata Mata te mōkai o Te Rakitauneke
Ko Hokonui te Rūnanga tiaki
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangrangahanga
Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa
E, mihi atu ki ngā tini mate
O ia marae, o ia marae
Ngā Mate o tēnei rā,
o tēnā wiki
o tērā whakataumarama
Ki Rakuira tae noa ki Te Rerenga Wairua
E tangi, e poroporoaki ki a rātou
Ki tua o te Ārai,
Haere, haere, haere atu rā.
Āpiti hono, tātai-hono
Te hunga mate ki te hunga mate
Te hunga ora, ki te hunga ora.
Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Councillors and Hokonui Rūnanga hold a meeting to build ties

By Margaret Phillips, chief reporter – The Ensign

GORE district councillors and Ngāi Tahu representatives met in August in an effort to forge a closer relationship between the council and the Hokonui rūnanga.

Councillors attended a two-hour workshop at the rūnanga marae at Charlton, which involved local iwi members as well as Whale Watch Kaikōura founder Wally Stone.

The council and the Hokonui rūnanga have a memorandum of understanding aimed at building a stronger relationship, and this was a building block in that process.

This was the first time in the council’s 23-year history it held its statutory committee meeting outside the council chamber.

After the workshop on Tuesday, councillors stayed at the marae for the council’s committee meetings.

Heating, insulation website launched

By Russell Fredric – The Ensign

The Hokonui Social Services Trust has launched its Project Ora website. The website is designed to be an information source about home heating and insulation for whānau and the wider community.

Project Ora is an accredited provider of subsidised home insulation. It was initiated by Hokonui Rūnanga operations co-ordinator, Terry Nicholas in 2008 with the support of the Hokonui Rūnanga Social Services Trust.

The project also provides practical assistance to assess people’s eligibility for a subsidy.

‘It started off in the Eastern Southland area and expanded to other locations in the South Island,’ Mr Nicholas said.

The project had since become a collaboration between the The Hokonui Social Services Trust and Meridian Energy.

The aim of the website was to act as a tool-kit to provide home insulation information for Māori and to increase the number of homes with insulation, particularly in the high need areas of Southland, Christchurch and the West Coast.

Mr Nicholas said extensive research conducted by Otago University showed a disproportionate number of Māori living in damp, cold conditions. ‘Taking Mataura as an example, a recent study shows improved insulation was considered a vital intervention to improve health and wellbeing. Marked improvements in health were shown following insulation and heating upgrades,’ he said.

Although the website is targeted at Māori, the Project Ora home insulation programme is available to anyone in the community. Mr Nicholas said more than 300 South Island homes had been insulated under the project so far.

Project Ora is also supported by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority and Te Puni Kōkiri.