Te Tatau o Te Arawa | ELECTIONS 2019
Te Arawa Waka, Te Arawa rohe, Te Arawa tangata, tihe mauri ora!
Nominations have now closed for the Te Tatau o Te Arawa Board in the upcoming election.
We received a number of excellent nominations from both current board members and new candidates.
We now encourage Te Arawa iwi to register with Te Arawa Lakes Trust to be eligible to vote. It is important for all eligible voters (aged 18 years and over) to have their say, to ensure we have the best representation on the board and remain a powerful voice for Rotorua.
It’s easy to register online or at the Te Arawa Lakes Trust office at 1194 Haupapa St, Rotorua.
Visualising our Potential | Te Arawa E!
Rongo, Braxton & Cassius from Te Whare Whitinga o te Rā early childhood centre.
We’re on a mission to discover what Te Arawa descendants envision the future will look like for our rohe, and for future reanga of Te Arawa.
With leadership from an Advisory Group, made up of Te Arawa mandated rōpu, we’re asking Te Arawa uri what they think the future should look like for themselves, their tamariki, mokopuna and Te Arawa whānui.
Te Tatau o Te Arawa kaiwhakahono, Jenny Riini, says this will enable descendants to share their vision, ambitions and aspirations for our rohe – mai i Maketū ki Tongariro – to help weave together the foundations of a Te Arawa Vision which will look beyond 2050.
She says while Te Tatau is facilitating the process, it is Te Arawa who owns it.
“We’re just capturing the voice of Te Arawa so that we’re all part of creating our shared vision statement, values and strategic objectives that will take us into the future.”
“Right now, we’re focusing on our vision statement by recording kōrero from māngai from all our iwi across Te Arawa rohe that we’ll be sharing soon. We’ve also set up a vision statement survey with four pātai that we’d love whānau to answer. Getting whakaaro on the four pātai is the first stage of building the Te Arawa Vision. After this we’ll be holding workshops on our strategic goals and values.”
The Te Arawa E! vision statement survey covers the following pātai:
- What future do you want/what moemoea do you have for your mokopuna?
- What is the biggest take (issue/s) facing Te Arawa now?
- What do we need to do to deal with that take and build the future you envision?
- What’s the best thing about being Te Arawa?
To complete the online survey, please go to the Te Tatau o Te Arawa website.
Arapeta Tahana | Māori Development Consultant
Former Te Arawa Standing Committee member, Arapeta Tahana, played an important role in the establishment of Te Tatau o Te Arawa. He provides an overview on the journey to get to where we are now.
The Te Tatau partnership was initiated by the former Te Arawa Standing Committee (TASC), comprising Rene Mitchell, Kingi Biddle, Roku Mihinui, Potaua Biasiny-Tule, Waereti Tait and Arapeta Tahana.
The aim was to establish a new model for Te Arawa’s relationship with Rotorua Lakes Council that would enable greater voice, influence, and positive outcomes for Te Arawa and the wider Rotorua community.
Arapeta says while both models held the common aspiration of strengthening Te Arawa’s voice and influence within RLC’s governance, TASC was less effective in achieving this outcome.
“The major difference is the Te Tatau model enables Te Arawa to have greater influence and recognition in RLC governance activities. It promotes the wairua of partnership in the relationship, ‘me kī te whakatinanatanga o te kōrero - tatau, tatau’, in which we work in good faith to progress Te Arawa and the wider communities’ common aspirations.”
He says, more specifically, Te Tatau is a stronger model from the following perspectives:
- Governance Representation: Te Tatau has direct representation, with Te Tatau reps sitting on the two main decision-making committees. TASC did not have this representation and could only make recommendations for these committees or full council to consider.
- Resourcing: Te Tatau receives annual funding of $250,000 to support its mahi, while TASC had no budget.
- Guiding Principles & Values: Te Tatau is underpinned by key values and guiding principles that come from Te Arawa tikanga, kawa and view of the world. In contrast, TASC was underpinned by council values and protocols.
- Spirit of Partnership: The partnership espouses the importance of working together, respecting each other and focusing on the greater good (as opposed to individual agendas). It also acknowledges the need for both parties to build their understanding, commitment and resourcing to effectively work in partnership.
- Mana Motuhake: The partnership better acknowledges the mana motuhake of Te Arawa in terms of our aspirations, mana whenua status and though at times we may not always agree, this isn’t a reason to stop working together.
Arapeta says given the limited effectiveness of TASC, there was strong support from iwi members to develop a new model.
“We were also fortunate that RLC agreed to allow Te Arawa to independently develop the model and present it back to Council for consideration. This is an important point, as many council want to control these processes. RLC had the faith in Te Arawa to determine what’s right and here we are today with a more effective model."
“The process of developing and gaining iwi support for the new model occurred over a one-year process. A series of hui ā-iwi were held to present and refine options on how the model would work. This mahi culminated in the presentation of a new model to council which was then put to the wider community for their views.”
The proposal attracted over 2,000 submissions – one of the largest number of submissions council have received on a single kaupapa – and eventually resulted in a majority vote to establish the partnership model.
“The key message I take from this process, is that those closest to the kaupapa are best positioned to determine solutions. I believe Te Tatau has done a great job over the past three years. Firstly, I appreciate that as a new entity there was a need to establish foundational systems and processes. This work often goes unseen but is a critical part of supporting the longer-term effectiveness of Te Tatau.
“Most importantly, Te Tatau is playing an important role in changing the paradigms of RLC and subsequently local government around the motu. Te Arawa is showing the country that there are different ways of doing things and that effective Māori representation isn’t a threat to local government but rather new ways of working that are underpinned by values of togetherness, caring and love for those who share our rohe.”
Kerri Anne Hancock | Contractor
Kerri Anne Hancock (Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Rangiwewehi) of Kaupare Law & Consultancy was contracted by Te Tatau o Te Arawa to create a business case for Rotorua Reorua, following its introduction by Te Tatau, Rotorua Lakes Council and the former Minister of Māori Development, Hon Te Ururoa Flavell, and his officials in 2017.
“Rotorua was declared a reorua (bilingual) city prior to the general election. Following the announcement, it was really important to Te Tatau to understand just how we were going to make it happen,” she says.
“The first step was to work with Te Tatau and pick its board members’ brains to understand what a bilingual city looked, and what their dreams and aspirations were for Rotorua Reorua. From there, we were able to get a case approved by the council and support from Te Puni Kōkiri on how we were going to progress the Rotorua Reorua movement.”
Kerri Anne says Rotorua Reorua was delivered in two phases. The first phase involved getting immediate plans on the board to get things moving, such as policy work, creation of a bilingual business award, and a digital hub of information for organisations wanting to become bilingual.
“One of the really cool initiatives that came out of that first phase was the development of our te re Māori playground, Taikākā, in the Government Gardens. We know through studies that the creation of te reo Māori spaces helps promote the growth of te reo.”
“It was really cool that Rotorua created the very first te reo Māori papatākaro – a space for whānau to celebrate te reo Māori outside of kōhanga reo, kura and the kainga.
“Te Tatau created an environment where te reo Māori was being championed in the wider community. A good example of this is Te Aka Mauri’s, ‘He Aka Pikirangi’ programme – a wonderful pre-school programme established especially for our te reo Māori tamariki and a ‘Wiki o Te Reo Māori’ the community truly gets behind.”
Kerri Anne says the second phase was to go out into the wider Rotorua community to ask what people’s aspirations were for te reo Māori within our city, and the barriers to achieving them. Through an online survey, interviews and focus groups, Te Tatau were able to get a clear picture on what the people of Rotorua wanted.
“People who are passionate about te reo Māori already know what we want – things like good pronunciation and the status of te reo being lifted. But Te Tatau was also able to engage with the wider community. We discovered the average Rotorua citizen has a fear of saying things wrong, and require more information on where to access support for te reo Māori. Te Tatau knows how we can work to directly address these issues and help Rotorua Reorua be celebrated by the entire hapori (community).”
While New Zealand towns, Wairoa and Ōtaki, had previously declared their commitment to becoming bilingual, Kerri Anne says becoming the first city to make that commitment is huge.
“A lot of Rotorua whānau were already championing te reo Māori thanks to pioneers of te reo, such as Whaea Cathy Dewes and others. Our kids go to kura Māori and kōhanga reo, and it’s not unusual to hear other whānau speaking te reo Māori in the supermarket or at the swimming pool. Rotorua Reorua was really about putting a label on something Te Arawa and Rotorua was already passionate about and growing from there.
“Rotorua Reorua is about lifting te reo Māori from the piece of paper, or out of the tourism bubble, and bringing it alive and into the streets of Rotorua.
"Te Tatau understands the value of sharing our stories as a vehicle for celebrating and empowering te reo Māori and improving social outcomes and relationships in our reorua city."
Te Rua Wallace | University Student
Te Rua Wallace, (Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Tuwharetoa, Te Arawa) had relationships with Te Tatau o Te Arawa board members prior to the board’s establishment, so was pleased to assist her friends and former colleagues with events and promotions.
She says her biggest involvement was during last year’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori celebration at the Rotorua Night Market, hosting a rangatahi event.
“We organised rangatahi talent to perform for the public, including a local puna reo. We really tried to normalise te reo Māori within the community and had prizes up for grabs. It also coincided with the launch of Rotorua Reorua – the achievement of the city becoming bilingual.
“Already having good relations with board members, I wanted to help them because it’s a kaupapa I wanted to see flourish in the township. I went to kohanga reo and kura kaupapa so te reo Māori has been my world. It’s all I’ve known, so I was keen to jump onboard a kaupapa like that – even though when I heard we were going bilingual, I thought we always were. While it was becoming official for the rest of the community, my upbringing has always been that.”
Te Rua encourages rangatahi to ensure they’re registered with Te Arawa Lakes Trust so they can vote in the upcoming Te Tatau o Te Arawa election.
“We keep saying, ‘hear our voice, we want change,’ and we’re really vocal on social media about this. But when it comes to being around the decision-making table we tend to shy away.
“I encourage rangatahi to take advantage of an opportunity like this. This is one avenue to bring your Facebook and Instagram statuses to spaces of change and a chance to vote for our friends and cousins to be in these seats on our behalf."
“If we don’t act, next time the election comes around we may not have those seats anymore because we haven’t been participating.”
Te Rua says she’s confident the relationship between Te Arawa iwi and Rotorua Lakes Council will remain strong and hopes to see similar relationships established between other councils and iwi throughout the country.
ELECTION INFORMATION:
Anyone wishing to vote in the Te Tatau o Te Arawa Board election must:
- Be enrolled on the Te Arawa Lakes Trust Register and electoral roll.
- Be 18 years of age or over.
- Voting papers are distributed 17 July 2019.
- The election will be carried out by postal and internet voting.
- Voting closes 12 noon, Friday 9 August 2019.
