Pūkatokato ana te ngākau o tangata, kōrengarenga ana te puna roimata.
Whakangaeke ana te poho o te tangata.
He roimata ua, he roimata tangata.
Takoto mai rā te rau piopio, te rau o tītapu.
I kaha nei te ringa o aituā i ngā marama, kua hori nei.
Heoi anō, ko tātou te urupā o rātou mā.
Tihe!

Kua eke nei te tau hou, he aha ōu nei moehewa awhero hoki kia tutuki i a koe?

Ko ngā pia o ngā whare wānanga o te motu mai i Te Whare Wānanga o te Whare Tū Tauā tae noa ki ngā Wharekura, ki ngā whare wānanga whānui. He ākonga rangatahi mai, pākeke mai, kaumātua mai.

Me ki pēnei ai , whakakī ana tō kete uruuru rangi, tō kete aronui. I tutuki ai nā rau ringa, ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari, he toa takitini .

Heoi anō, e te tī, e te tā, koutou māte takitini, tēnā koutou katoa.
Tena koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

I hope everyone had a relaxing summer break and that you are all feeling energised for 2017. I spent the break on the West Coast and loved hanging out at home with friends and whānau.

To kick off the new year on a positive note, I would firstly like to congratulate all those Ngāi Tahu whānau members who graduated in 2016. It was overwhelming to see the number of graduates profiled in this magazine throughout the year and at the graduation services I attended. I graduated from Canterbury University myself and it was great to see such a large number of fellow Ngāi Tahu whānui participating in the Māori student celebration.

I would also like to congratulate all those Ngāi Tahu whānau members who were recognised in the New Year’s Honours list; and Richard Wallace on becoming the Bishop of Te Waipounamu. I attended his ordainment at Ōnuku in January and it was wonderful seeing all his whānau supporting him on his special day. It is great to have the first-ever Ngāi Tahu Bishop of Te Waipounamu – and a Coaster to boot. Kāti rā, ka tau ana, ko te Amorangi ki mua, ko te hāpai ō ki muri.

From a Ngāi Tahu perspective, 2017 is a very exciting year, marking 20 years since the signing of the Deed of Settlement. We are planning a number of initiatives to celebrate the occasion with Hui-ā-Iwi a key focus of our celebrations – watch
this space.

Initially we were planning for Kaikōura to host the event, but due to the quakes Te Rūnanga has made the decision to move Hui-ā-Iwi to Christchurch. The dates are 24 – 26 November, so put them in your calendar whānau and start making your plans to join the fun.

Other events I am really looking forward to this year include Naia te Toa, our rūnanga sports day which will give whānau from around the takiwā the chance to come together for some friendly competition; and Te Matatini, where we have four teams representing Te Waipounamu.

In February I went to the Iwi Chairs Forum in Waitangi. The Forum provides a great opportunity for iwi from across Aotearoa to come together and discuss some of the pressing issues for Māori.

Ngāi Tahu also commemorated Waitangi Day with the Ngāi Tahu Treaty Festival taking place at Ōtākou Marae This is always a great time of year for whānau to come together and discuss the fulfilment of Treaty obligations and the big issues for Ngāi Tahu.

As you are all aware 2016 was not without its challenges. In December 2016 Tā Mark Solomon ended his 18-year tenure as Kaiwhakahaere after choosing not to stand for re-election as Representative of Kaikōura Rūnanga. Over the coming months we will be completing the process to appoint a new Kaiwhakahaere. As Interim Kaiwhakahaere, I believe that it is my role to keep the waka on course, not to make any changes to our ordinary course of business, launch new initiatives or make substantive changes. I have therefore set up a wider advisory team that incorporates a cross-section of Rūnanga Representatives to help with interim decision-making.

I must also acknowledge that there have been issues at a governance level in regards to the leaking of confidential information. Te Rūnanga takes these matters seriously and I expect there to be a resolution in the very near future.

It was with great sadness that we saw the passing of Aunty Rima Subritzky and Georgina Hilda Mary (Tilly) Tainui in January of this year. My aroha goes out to their whānau.

I hope that the rest of the year brings positive outcomes for all our whānau and I look forward to a rewarding 2017.

Lisa signature

Lisa Tumahai