E tangi tonutia ana ngā mate huhua o te wā. Haere atu rā ki te kāinga wairua i te rangi, ki ngā mātua tīpuna kua whakawhiti atu rā i te pae o mahara. Hanatu rā koutou, okioki mai rā. Rātou ki a rātou, ā, tātou ki a tātou.
Nāia te mihi kau o te wā ki a koutou i runga i ngā tini āhuatanga o te wā. Mauri ora ki a tātou e te iwi.
I expect you are all getting busy with only a few weeks to go before Christmas. The iwi calendar is jam-packed with tribal events and celebrations. By the time you read this we will have all caught up at Hui-ā-Iwi in Dunedin and some of us will also have attended the 50th anniversary of the Shotover Jet in Queenstown. The other events which are just around the corner are the Iwi Communications Practitioners’ Forum and Iwi Chairs’ Forum to be held at Arahura Marae in the first week of December. In the December issue of Te Pānui Rūnaka we will provide some photos and feedback of the Hui-ā-Iwi and the Shotover Jet celebrations for you to enjoy.
Earlier this year, I was invited by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Peter Dunne to be on the Archives Exhibition Project advisory group, which involves relocating the Treaty of Waitangi, Declaration of Independence and other constitutionally significant documents to the National Library in Wellington.
The Department of Internal Affairs has also been engaging with the Te Taitokerau Iwi Chairs given the historic link, and together they are developing an educational programme about the Treaty, which will be incorporated into the new display.
Recently, I met with the department and Te Taitokerau Iwi Chairs to view the Treaty. This is something all New Zealanders should have the opportunity to do. I look forward to seeing this project develop and the benefits it will bring to the country.
Throughout the year I have been giving you all updates on what’s happening in the freshwater space. We anticipate that we will meet our deadline to present a plan to the Crown in February 2016. Recently iwi leaders completed a round of political engagement with the Māori Party, Labour, United Future, NZ First and ACT. The purpose of these hui was to provide parties with information on the Ngā Mātāpono ki te Wai framework and the freshwater objectives of the priority work streams.
All parties were supportive of the Ngā Mātāpono ki te Wai framework and there was significant interest in the mechanisms required to give effect to iwi aspirations to access a fair portion of the economic opportunity.
As a follow up to these hui, a number of parties will attend the Iwi Chairs Forum in Arahura in December where they will have an opportunity to show how they might work with iwi.
Over the years, we have been working closely with the iwi of Whanganui and supporting them where we can.
In late October, our Whanganui relations visited the office to introduce the newly-appointed chair and board directors. This was an opportunity for us to network, share information and to provide an overview on what Ngāi Tahu are doing. The visit was a success and they also had the opportunity to engage and network with our
Te Pūtahitanga whānau.
We were also honoured and humbled as Whanganui presented a stunning Pakohe Patu to the iwi.
Mark.