Te Pūrongo o Te Rau Toi Tauira - Chairperson Report Will Edwards

E kore e kitea e au te tangi ki hāku mate. Ko Whaititiri pā kē ki te rangi, ko te matangi a Rupe noho te tini te mano, ko tai o te moana hāorooro ana ki te one i Waokena, tiehuria te wai o tō hoe ka kai te rae ki Rangitāwhi kua tangata kore ē.

He pata ua nō te rangi kua oti te hīri ki te whenua, he pawa auahi nō te whenua kua oti te hīri ki rangi - ko te tangata tōmua, ko te whenua tōmuri. Ahakoa te kātoro o te ahi, te whenua i murua me te iringa o te raupatu, ka mate ko te mate ka ora te manawa o te toa te manawa whētukituki o te tauira me te manawa kaiawatea o te iwi. Tēnei mātou e piki ake ana ki runga i te rangi whakamaruwehi i te rangi whakamarutuna kia mārohirohi, kia mākohakoha kia whakahoukura mai ai i toi o te ora kia whakarākei mai ai te whenua ki a titikaha mauroa kia titikaha maurongo.

E kore e mutu ngā mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

I am honoured to present, on behalf of Te Rau Manawaora o Parininihi ki Waitōtara, the Parininihi ki Waitōtara Trust, the annual report on the performance of our activities for the financial year 2021/2022.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

Hoa whakapakari i te Rau o te Kura (Building Potential)

Enabling our Rau Titikura shareholder whānau to follow their aspirations to become the people they want to be is both a pleasure and a privilege. Most of our educational grants support ākonga and rangatahi who we hope will contribute to the prosperity of Taranaki Māori in the future.

It is the view of the Trust that by enabling and improving the capabilities and knowledge in our iwi, hapū and whānau, we are helping to facilitate their sustainability, stability, and their ability to thrive as Taranaki Māori for generations to come.

This year the Trust, with the support of our iwi partners, business partners, Māori Education Trust, Victoria University of Wellington and Massey University distributed 198 educational grants and scholarships worth $247k, along with a $20k marae grant and a total of $22k to two community grant recipients.

Above: PKW host the inaugural Kura Taiao Wananga.

This means your Trust made 201 awards worth $289k – a significant contribution. Taranaki Tū Mai was the recipient of a $21k community grant. This is an important biennial event that brings together Taranaki Māori to celebrate Taranakitanga, whanaungatanga and kotahitanga. The celebrations and competition feature a wide range of sports, performances, and wānanga

Enabling Taranaki Māori to flourish goes beyond the distribution of pūtea, and the launch of He Kurataiao this year is a wonderful example of how we can bring people together for the collective good.

The event brought kaitiaki whenua together from all corners of the rohe for discussion and strategic planning around environmental care and protection, creating the opportunity to whakakaupapa i te kotahitanga (to unite and consolidate our efforts). The three-day hui saw around 100 environmental kaimahi, and members of the many Taiao teams recently established around Taranaki maunga, sharing knowledge and making connections.

Key points of discussion included the alignment of te ao Māori and science, incorporating cultural values into planning processes and environmental policies, commercial models, the challenges Māori face in environmental planning, and the critical sustainability of taiao teams on the ground.

He Kurataiao was borne out of our commitment to working more closely with hapū and iwi, and it was wonderful to see the number of relationships and connections being made. The Trust has pledged to support an annual He Kurataiao to maintain and progress this auspicious first step.

Future Goal: While community grants and education scholarships will remain a key activity for the PKW Trust, maintaining the traction gained through He Kurataiao will be a clear focus for the year ahead.

He puāwai nō roto i te Whanaungatanga (Relationships to grow resources)

Working in partnership with PKW Group suppliers, iwi, other Māori trusts and educational organisations enables us to provide more support and opportunity for our uri and rangatahi.

Forging relationships with a shared kaupapa is a key strategic aim for the Trust because it enables us, and those we support, to achieve more than we would working alone.

This collaborative approach has seen us establish a new relationship with the Māori Education Trust, which has meant they were able to add to our Iwi Scholarships, increasing the funding from $2500 per year to $3750. Additional funding is also now available for students at Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington already receiving a PKW Trust grant or scholarship.

Above: PKW host the inaugural Kura Taiao Wananga.

The Trust now has 21 scholarship partners.

Future Goal: To continue to identify funding and vocational training opportunities on behalf of our shareholder whānau.

Pūtea Tāpui (Unclaimed dividends)

Identifying shareholders, or their tamariki mokopuna, with unclaimed dividends continues to be a challenge for the Parininihi ki Waitōtara shareholder engagement team. The amount remaining unclaimed has now reached $5.7M.

Future Goal: To continue the drive to find missing shareholders, protect their whakapapa connection to Parininihi ki Waitōtara, and reduce the pool of unclaimed dividends.

Whakahouhou i te Te Rau Manawaora (Governance Restructure)

The governance review of the PKW Trust, carried out by independent auditor KPMG, has been completed and a leaner, more efficient, structure is now being put in place.

This will consist of a committee made up of two members from the PKW Committee of Management (one of whom will be Chair), one independent director and a shareholder representative elected from the floor at the AGM.

This is the first time an independent director will have been appointed to the Trust’s governance team and will help ensure that the right skills and experience in the charitable and funding space are accessible during any decision-making process.

We will, of course, keep Rau Titikura informed of appointments as they happen.

Future Goal: To review and refine the Trust’s strategy once the new committee structure is in place, so enabling us to work in a collaborative and complementary manner in the wider iwi collective. Identifying and focusing on what we do well will be our guiding kaupapa.

Pūtea o Te Tau (Revenue)

The contribution from Parininihi ki Waitōtara Incorporation to the Trust for the year was $287k (an increase of $78k on last year) with a further contribution of $39k from our partners. This gave us a grant revenue total of $326k. Interest income totalled $127k - $125k from the PKW Incorporation loan and $2k from bank deposits.

He Mihi (Acknowledgements)

As always, I wish to acknowledge and thank Te Rau Rengarenga o Parininihi ki Waitōtara, the Committee of Management, for its ongoing support of the Trust.

Thank you too, to our Rau Titikura and their whānau, for their desire and determination to do more, be more, achieve more for both themselves and their iwi – our recipients are our future, and we are so pleased to be able to support them on their journey as proud Taranaki Māori.

Ngā mihi

Will Edwards - Te Rau Toi Tauira o Te Manawaora o Parininihi ki Waitōtara