Pouwhakarae Report

E ngā iwi, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha o ngā hau e whā, tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, it is with pleasure that I present the Annual Report on the performance of Te Korowai o Ngāruahine Trust Group (“the Group”).

TE KOROWAI O NGĀRUAHINE GROUP STRUCTURE

The entities of the group structure include Te Korowai o Ngāruahine Trust, Ngāruahine Fisheries Limited, Te Kīwai Mauī o Ngāruahine Limited, and Te Rere o Kapuni Limited. Two new entities were established in this reporting year, the Te Korowai o Ngāruahine Custodian Trustee Limited (“Custodian Company”) and Te Kīwai Matau o Ngāruahine Charitable Trust (“Charitable Trust”).

The Custodian Company secures the properties and shareholdings of Te Korowai. Before this entity was established, the settlement assets were held in the names of the Trustees. These assets are now protected and preserved in the Custodian Company rather than by individual Trustees.

The Charitable Trust is now positioned to make charitable distributions. The Ngāruahine Whānui Distribution Policy will provide guidelines and requirements of hapū to receive a distribution or grant from the Charitable Trust.

2040 LONG-TERM STRATEGY

During the year, Te Korowai o Ngāruahine Board of Trustees (“Board”) completed the review of the long-term strategy. This was approved at the 2018 Annual General Meeting. This Annual Report is an account of the organisation's performance in line with this strategy.

STRENGTHENING GOVERNANCE

A self-governance evaluation review and an Institute of Directors three-day governance training, were part of the professional development programme for the Board. Well constructed and informed training will remain an ongoing priority for governance.

REVIEW OF THE TE KOROWAI O NGĀRUAHINE TRUSTEE STRUCTURE

A succession of consultation hui, distribution of a formal proposal, information hui and then a formal vote by Adult Registered Members have led to a review of the Trustee structure. In April, Ngāruahine members selected the Combined Hapū/Iwi model (9 Trustees) instead of the Iwi wide model (7 Trustees) as their preferred alternative for electing of Te Korowai o Ngāruahine Trustees. A referendum inviting all Adult Registered Members to approve or decline the Combined Hapū/Iwi model (9 Trustees) will be held in August this year. The outcome will determine the trustee structure for the 2020 year elections and beyond.

REVIEW OF THE TRUST DEED AND CODE OF CONDUCT

The 75% threshold to amend the Trust Deed was met (77.8%), and changes have been made to update the 2014 Trust Deed to 2019.

The Code of Conduct was also incorporated into the review. This document is now a separate governance document, known as the Board Charter (“Charter”). The Charter details the practices and etiquette for the Board, and is a guiding document to how Trustees will exercise their role as governors. The Charter is a living document, and can now be amended by the Trustees to stay current and in the present time. The Charter will be adopted in the 2019/20 financial year.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

The 2040 strategy and annual plan focus are on three strategic priorities:

Relationships Communications to strengthen our relationship with members and uri remains a high priority. There is now a full suite of communication pathways such as the Iwi newsletter ‘Te Korowai’, the weekly briefing ‘He Pākiki’, the Te Korowai o Ngāruahine half-yearly hui, website, and regular Facebook posts have helped communicate Te Korowai o Ngāruahine activities. The 2018 Iwi Survey informs the Board and Management, and will become a biannual event.

Building Capability Many Ngāruahine uri have participated in the different kaupapa Te Korowai management has organised over the year. These included wānanga facilitated by Te Reo o Ngāruahine, workshops on governance (effective chairing and finance essentials) targeting hapū and marae trustees with the Wheelhouse Group, and a Xero (accounting software) workshop with BDO Accountants.

Management also supported a kaupapa Māori science holiday programme for tamariki in October 2018. This led to Curious Minds, a community science programme involving tamariki from Manaia and Auroa Primary Schools.

The Board appointed the first governance intern (Te Wehi Wright), awarded 10 tertiary scholarships and established a joint scholarship with Parininihi ki Waitotara Trust. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed to provide joint scholarships for Ngāruahine uri attending Victoria University of Wellington. Te Korowai o Ngāruahine will explore how to take advantage of this new relationship in the next financial year.

The first Iwi Whānau picnic was co-hosted by Te Korowai o Ngāruahine and the Ngāruahine Iwi Health Service in the summer of December 2018. A warm sunny day at the Hāwera Aquatic Centre attracted many whānau who are not usual attendees to iwi, hapū or marae hui. For some, this was their first encounter with Ngāruahine even though they knew their Iwi affiliation. This picnic event paved the way for the highly successful ‘Swim like a Fish’ (an Iwi swimming programme), that aligned meticulously with the vision ‘Ka ora taku toa, kia tū Ngāruahine ai tatou'. This programme appealed to all ages, individuals, and whānau, and was made possible because of the positive relationships allying Te Korowai and the Ngāruahine Iwi Health Service.

Self-Resilience in the absence of a policy, no planning, and inadequate transparency saw the deferment of the Marae payments in February 2018. The Board began this financial year with a commitment to developing a Ngāruahine Whānui Distribution Policy where administration of funds would be equitable and sustainable from 1 April 2019. This policy is now complete.

Environmental resilience, led by the Research and Policy team (Louise Tester & Bart Jansma), has taken a considerable amount of time and effort. The drafting of the Ngāruahine Kaitiaki Plan and Mana Whakahono a Rohe Agreement has lead to in-depth conversations between Taranaki iwi, the Regional and District Councils. The agreement will outline how Te Korowai o Ngāruahine Iwi and Councils will discuss and agree on working relationships under the Resource Management Act. Both kaupapa are progressing slowly.

Te Korowai o Ngāruahine continues to respond to queries from government agencies such as the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Department of Conservation (DoC), Ministry for Environment (MfE) and is building relationships to benefit Ngāruahine. Te Korowai o Ngāruahine welcomes Bart Jansma to the team. Bart is a water scientist and brings to the Iwi his knowledge and matauranga to build upon the organisation’s environmental capability.

For Ngāruahine the Marine and Coastal Act (MACA) or Takutai Moana, has multiple and overlapping applications that continue to challenge Te Korowai o Ngāruahine. Therefore, all six hapū will be discussing how they can work together to progress this kaupapa.

The Board has resolved not to purchase any Deferred Settlement Properties (DSPs) and hapū have been invited to purchase these properties instead. If and when Te Korowai purchases any properties or assets, we will be consistent with the Deed of Setlement, and will make these decisions on behalf of all Ngāruahine uri.

Ngāruahine kaumātua accompanied Te Korowai o Ngāruahine and the Ngāruahine Iwi Health Service to the National Kaumātua Providers Conference in New Plymouth in November 2018. Since attending the conference, Ngāruahine has established a relationship with Hamilton-based Kaumātua Charitable Trust, Rauawaawa. The association with Rauawaawa has led to Ngāruahine being one of 10 groups who will participate in a nation-wide kaumātua research well-being programme. The detail of this kaupapa will unfold in the 2019- 2020 year.

FINANCIAL POSITION

Te Korowai o Ngāruahine Trust Group position shows a $2.4 million growth in capital. Our net assets are now in excess of $84 million, representing an increase in equity by 3%. Te Kīwai Mauī is at the start of a new investment journey to build a balanced resilient portfolio of direct investments. Overall the commercial group made a $3.9 million profit (after tax), up from $3.3 million from last year. From this, a distribution of $1.8 million was made to Te Korowai o Ngaurahine Trust for governance and operations which include direct investment back into the Ngāruahine community.

CONCLUSION

It has been a very busy year and due to the commitment of the Trustees, Te Kīwai Mauī Directors and the Te Korowai staff led by the Pouhautū, there have been a number of successful events. Equally, your support throughout the year has been formidable.

I acknowledge each and every one of you for this support.

As Pouwhakarae, I continue to look forward to leading Te Korowai o Ngāruahine into a future that truly represents “Ka ora taku toa, kia tū Ngāruahine ai tatou”.

Mauri ora!

Signed for and on behalf of the Te Korowai o Ngāruahine Trustees.

Bev Gibson, Pouwhakarae