Tēnā koutou i runga anō i ō koutou āhuatanga maha. Ko whakarauika mai ā-iwi tātou katoa, ko whatua tonutia ngā aho tīpuna o te whare kia kaha. Tama tū, tama ora ko mau te toki ki te rika, he kai kei ō tātou ringaringa mō tātou, ā, mō ka uri ā muri ake nei.

By the time you read this, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will have met some of our He Toki ki te Rika graduates and current students.

The graduates and students were among a number of people the royal couple met during their tour of Ōtautahi.

The He Toki programme is proving a great success. He Toki is the Māori trade training programme at CPIT, which was launched last year to connect Māori to the recovery of Ōtautahi. The course is supported by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Te Tapuae o Rehua, CPIT, Hawkins Construction and Te Puni Kōkiri.

It’s no secret that I am a supporter of the programme, particularly its aim to make leaders of our people. I am impressed that so far over 200 students have been through the course. The students start off with pre-trade training qualifications and a work readiness passport and our expectation is that they go on to become qualified tradespeople and eventually progress to project leaders and business owners.

We know this path isn’t easy, so to help, the He Toki students are taught in a supportive cultural environment, learning tikanga and te reo. Also, Hawkins Construction have created a programme to get students ready for work. The programme Hawkins developed is the work readiness passport, which gives the students a set of practical skills, such as having a CV ready and having site safe tickets that they can show to employers to prove they are ready for work.

We are really grateful for their input and commitment to helping our people succeed. Indeed, we are grateful to all the partners who continue to commit funding and time to the project.

If we look at the statistics for this year’s student intake, I’m reasonably pleased with the result. Of the 116 who began the course, 90 completed. Of those 90, 40 are now in full time employment and 39 have gone into further study. I understand the others are contemplating further study or seeking work, so I hope that they all reach the short-term goals they have set themselves and then go on to do much more.

The programme will continue next year and now is the perfect time to get ready to be part of the recovery of Ōtautahi. With the $30 billion dollar investment into the region, there is going to be lots of jobs and lots of chances to up skill. We are anticipating that there will be 200 fully funded He Toki places next year. So if you know someone who might benefit, or you are reading this and think you might be interested in the course then call CPIT’s Centre of Māori and Pacifika Achievement on 0800 24 24 76.

And finally a short reminder whānau, if you would like to provide us with some feedback on Hui-ā-Iwi, please do so during the hui, or you can do so after the event via the Ngāi Tahu website.

E ngā mana, e aku rangatira, e te iwi whānui, naia anō te mihi kau atu ki a koutou, kei te mihi.

With Koanga (Spring) we see new growth and all around us signs of new life. There are also signs of a new chapter here at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu with two wahine into important roles.

Congratulations to Ann Wakefield, the new Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu representative for Ōraka-Aparima. I wish her well in this role and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Stewart Bull for all his hard work in the past 19 years as the representative for Ōraka-Aparima at Te Rūnanganui o Tahu and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu – ka nui te mihi ki a koe.

We have other rūnanga starting their election process now. I encourage you all to participate in your rūnanga elections and have your say.

Congratulations also to our new Chief Executive Officer, Arihia Bennett of Ngāi Tūāhuriri. While it will be sad to see Mike Sang go, Arihia is someone who Te Rūnanga knows will keep the waka moving forward. The next few months is a transitional period, where Mike and Arihia will work closely together to ensure a good transition of knowledge and kaupapa. We feel extremely fortunate to be welcoming Arihia who brings a vast knowledge and understanding of our rūnanga, hapū and organisational structures, not to mention her wealth of experience in management and the delivery of social services. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer of He Oranga Pounamu (HOP) and prior to that she was the Regional Manager, Te Waipounamu, for Barnardos NZ. Arihia has also held a number of advisory positions to government, including Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commissioner following the September 2010 earthquake. Many of you will remember Arihia when she was a director on the Ngāi Tahu Development Corporation board from 1999 to 2002 and then chair until 2005.

Not many organisations get the benefit of having a transition period between their top managers and we are extremely grateful to Mike for all his efforts during the past 18 months, particularly his wisdom and pragmatic approach to all the decisions that had to be made post-earthquakes. Please join me in sincerely thanking Mike, and welcoming and congratulating Arihia into Te Rūnanga, our first wahine in the role of CEO – e te wahine nui puku, naia te owha ki a koe.

In this edition you will find the latest annual results for the recent financial year. They show we have had another prosperous year, with successful programme initiatives and milestones reached. This is something for us to be proud of. The past year has not been easy, for staff in particular, with the earthquake zoning processes and the continuous delays with insurances claims. However, their ability to progress business-as-usual programmes, implement new programmes aligned to rūnanga aspirations and handle the extra work brought about by the earthquake recovery is extraordinary. I acknowledge and thank the staff from both Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corporation and Te Rūnanga for their hard work, efforts and commitment to their jobs and to the tribe – e kore e mutu te mihi ki a koutou.

Enjoy the warm weather of Koanga.

Noho ora mai
Mark.