Onamata/Purakau/Whakapapa
The evening began by whanau introducing themselves (whakawhanaungatanga) and being asked what outcomes they hoped to achieve by their attendance. Those present were the Ashby/Herepo, Marupo , Peia/Puriri, Takimoana, Taurua, Apiata, Hepi, Parata, Tane, Waiomio and Rameka whanau.
Wiremu was able to connect through whakapapa, all the whanau to each other, giving short stories from historical accounts.
He then proceeded to explain the various names of prominent hapu landmarks, the six (6) hapu associated within our rohe potae (Pouerua ki Rakaumangamanga) and the whanau names connected by whakapapa to those named respective hapu (Ngati Kawa, Te Ngare Hauata, Te Matarahurahu, Te Whanaurara, Ngati Kaihoro and Ngati Rahiri). As the evening progressed it was pleasing and noticeable to observe how positively and attentively the information was received with a desire to hear more of the same in the future.
As we Māori say; “Hinga atu he tete kura ara ake he tete kura”, “a fern frond dies with another rising to take its place”, a reference in the importance of kaumatua to pass on our hapu traditional knowledge and nurture those of us that follow to be strong, confident and secure in te ao maori.
Strategic Plan
The Strategic Plan was presented to attendees as a draft document open for discussion and feedback.
The Trust Board will use the strategic plan to define the vision for the Trust’s future and identify long and short-term goals and objectives.
Vision – What issues are the Trust trying to solve? If you went away and came back in 10-50 years what would you want to see?
Mission – What we are seeking to achieve in the short to medium term (5-10 years)?
Pou – The main drivers to achieve our mission.
Strategic Enablers – How we will achieve our vision/mission?
Tikanga – The foundation of the Trust – the morals and values that guide us.
Goals – The goals we have identified as being a priority for the Trust.
Key points / feedback received.
The Oromahoe Trust whenua has 7 different soil types, opening up other opportunities for land use than beef/sheep farming and forestry. Farming may be at risk in the future and currently all "eggs are in one basket".
Te Puni Kokiri have invited the Trust to apply for funding to investigate obtaining water from the aquafer that runs directly underneath the whenua. This would allow the Trust to:
Future proof the farming business.
Provide clean safe potable water for the Marae and community.
Allow for future social and commercial diversification.
The total investigation cost would be in the range of $180k. TPK would fund an initial grant of 10-20k to support a feasibility study.
Distribution Policies
The education and kaumatua/kuia grants policies have been updated and were presented to Beneficial Owners in draft form. A new draft distribution policy has also been introduced “Discretionary Grant”.
Key points / feedback received.
Education Grants
Currently the old and new education grants policy states that a kaumatua/kuia must forego their grant if they receive an education grant in the same year. Discussion was had around removing this and allowing kaumatua and kuia to keep their grant.
The new education grants policy does not allocate grants based on the amount of shares held. The previous Tertiary Grants allocation was broken up into “Under 25 Shares” and “Over 25 Shares” with different amounts provided to each.
Currently there are grants for Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education – could Kohanga Reo be included?
The new grants policy does not allow a recipient to receive a grant in subsequent years. They would have to wait until the next year to apply. The reasoning behind this was that there are other trusts and areas of funding that recipients may be able to access.
The new education grants policy does not extend to study overseas – could this be an option?
Currently the Trust has a partnership with the Maori Education Trust who contribute a further 40% of the grant amount to recipients. This has been running for the past two years and is expected to continue.
Kaumatua/Kuia Grants
Discussion was had around Whanau Trusts. If a Whanau Trust has a large number of shares, then could more trustees in the Whanau Trust be eligible for a Kaumatua/Kuia grant? Currently the policy only allows one trustee of a Whanau Trust to receive a grant.
The previous grants policy didn’t require an applicant to re-apply for the grant every year. In the past this has left the Trust paying grants to recipients that have deceased.
Discretionary Grant
The Trust is still to decide on an amount for the discretionary grant. Feedback suggested that the amount should be separate from the education grants allocation.
Trust Order
The Trust Order has not been updated since it was originally put in place in 1990. This year it is the Trust’s intention to update the Trust Order, however any items of importance will be brought back to the Beneficial Owners for consideration and feedback. At the 2022 AGM there were 3 changes adopted, which are awaiting confirmation by the Maori Land Court
General meetings can be attended in person or by electronic means.
The quorum for a general meeting has been changed from 30 beneficial owners to 21.
Voting shall now be by way of secret ballot, rather than a show of hands.
Totara Harvesting
An opportunity has presented itself to the Trust to carry out sustainable selective totara harvesting. The process would be approved and managed by MPI. The Trust would harvest one tree at a time and replant 4 in its place. The Totara is then milled and sold overseas providing a return to the Trust. This is still in the investigation stage.
Separate to the selective totara harvesting, the Trust has been carrying out tree felling around the stockyards site, with 6 large totara cut down to allow light into the stockyards building. The wood that can be milled from these trees, will be sold, with the remaining being stored, dried, and cut up for firewood.
There was also a discussion around building a sawmill, to enable the Trust to mill its own wood, however this is still in the investigation stage.
Land Use Opportunities
Trustees have been pro-actively looking at land use opportunities/diversification for the Trust land.
Hirini Tane was invited to speak:
Diversification is a reoccurring theme at AGM’s.
We have done sheep and beef pretty well, but there are broader aspirations.
Whanau may not be able to walk the whenua but may be able to eat from it.
We are facing an economic climate where food prices are high. As a Trust we may be able to look at the less productive farming areas and grow our own kai.
It is about investigating appropriate land use diversification and considering the implications of that. Water is a huge concern. The water will limit what planting takes place. There are many opportunities with the differing soil types found on the whenua. Once a direction has been decided, we can engage with experienced growers that would love to share their expertise.
The environment and climate change should be built into everything we do.
Papakainga may be an option, there was extensive research done some years ago.
Trust Structure
Currently the Trust is structured as one entity leaving the assets all in “one basket”. If the Trust diversifies in the future, this poses a risk to the assets. The way to mitigate this is to consider the formation of a company.
General Business
The Trust Order (Clause 20) states that Trustees can make General Community Payments. A contribution to the Marae was discussed. This could take the form of assisting with renovations, solar power or paying insurance premiums. There does however need to be a process in place and initially a feasibility exercise carried out. If beneficial owners’ money is being distributed to the marae there needs to be accountability. This will be discussed further at the AGM at the end of the year.
Ngati Rehia have developed a programme to put 10 students through Primary Industry Training out at Takou Bay. For more information please contact Whati Rameka at whati@ngatirehia.co.nz.
Once again, we invite you to view the report and following documents and provide feedback to the Trust Board for consideration. We kindly ask you submit your feedback by the end of August 2023.
Please email any questions or feedback to administrator@oromahoetrust.co.nz.
Nga mihi nui,
Trustees of the Oromahoe 18R2B2B2 Trust