A message from our chair

                                                                          Te Rua o Takurua  – July 2025

E tū e te tī, e tū e te tā,
E tū ake nei, hei rākau whakaruruhau mō te hunga ora.
E Takurua nā tō mātao, ka ngaua nei te kiko o te tangata. Hei whakamao i te mahara, hei whakatā i te hinengaro.
E Matariki, ko koe te kaitō i te hunga pakeke ki te pō: kawea ake ngā mahara ki ngā mate, ā tāheke tonu mai ngā roimata i ōku kamo.
Ka whakatō i ngā kakano mō te tau hou.
Homai e te wā i ngā hua mō te rangi, mō te whenua, mō te tangata.
Kia ū, kia māia, kia toi te kupu, kia toi te mana, kia toi te aroha.
Tīhei mauri ora!

I hope you and your whānau found time to come together at Matariki, a time for remembrance, a time for celebration, and a time to look forward and plan for the new year.

The planning for the Trust is an ongoing task and we continue to work at finding ways to deliver transformative benefits to our whānau. We have several activities happening on our whenua, and we want you to be part of these. We are planning a “hononga ki te whenua” in Te Whā o Mahuru (around September). Keep an eye out for registrations to this kaupapa on our Facebook and website.

We are launching entrepreneurship and financial literacy programmes over the coming months. We want to grow more Tūwharetoa entrepreneurs who can create opportunities, employment and self-sufficiency. More information will be available when the programmes are launched.

Supporting students through their studies has been a long-term focus for the Trust and this year we assisted 65 tertiary students. The interview below with one of our students and intern Waitapu Beech provides an excellent example of the benefits of higher education and the aspiration we want for our whānau.

Every three years Trustee elections are held, and I encourage all eligible owners and descendants to get involved in the process as outlined below in this newsletter and on the information sheet available on the website and from our Tūrangi office.

We are a large and successful ahu whenua trust with more than 15,000 owners with almost three times as many descendants, with substantial assets and a growing portfolio of investments. If you think you have skills and experience of benefit to the Trust governance team, consider putting your name forward as a trustee.

Finally, when you get a moment, check out our refreshed website.

Tina Porou, Chair

Takurua 

Mā te wiri o te kiri,
ka piri te tangata.
Ka piri a Tamanuiterā ki a Hinetakurua.

Ko ngā āhuatanga o tēnei wā:
– te hau mātao,
– te hukarere,
– te hukapapa.

He wā mō te wānanga, me te whakatau rautaki.
Ko ngā kōrero, mā te piri o te tangata, ka ora te iwi.

New-look website now live

We have refreshed our website, bringing in our new branding and highlighting the Trust’s mahi.

It’s a great reference point for finding out about the Trust, how to be involved through the registration process, and benefits and grants available.

The new site covers the Trust’s early days, purpose and progress into a multi-million-dollar entity for the benefit of its owners and their descendants. 

The Tangata section covers everything you need to know about registration and accessing grants. A Taiao section covers the important work being done out on the whenua.

Looking ahead it will enable us to set up a membership area to better engage with our owners via a secured portal.

Meanwhile, our commercial arm, Tupu Angitu, now has its own website.

It's LTFT election year

2025 is an election year at the Lake Taupō Forest Trust.

The Trust has a rotation policy which means this election will see three trustees remain, and nominations called to fill the four vacant trustee positions.

Nominations are now open, and forms and an election information sheet are available on our website and at the Tūrangi office.  Email: general@ltft.co.nz or phone us on 07 3868839.

Nominations close at 12 noon, Monday, 4 August.

A candidate must be aged over 18 years and be an owner in one or more of the Lake Taupō Forest blocks. If there are more than four nominations an election will be held by postal ballot.

Waitapu Beech is in the final year of her law degree.

Investing in the future

Each year the Trust invests in education, assisting young people connected to our lands, whānau and marae to make their way in the world.

This year we are supporting 65 applicants from our whānau for the academic year of 2025 with a grant of $1000 each.

Today we meet one such grant recipient in recent times – law student Waitapu Beech. Now in the last year of her degree, Waitapu is already finding valuable work opportunities like gaining a Trust internship at Whāia Legal.

Her ambition is to be “where I can help make sure that our tikanga, our reo, and our whakaaro are present at every table where decisions are made”.

Tell us about your whānau and why you decided to go to university and study law?

I have been privileged to be raised with my feet on our whenua, spending most of my childhood over the hill [Otukou Marae, Ngāti Hikairo, Rotoaira], at my marae, or at my koro Sam’s whare. These are the key spaces where I was fortunate enough to learn who I am, and how to carry myself in the world. Being brought up surrounded by whānau, kōrero, and tikanga has shaped the way I see everything, from how I approach study, how I engage with people, and the kind of mahi I want to do.

My nanny Rau was one of my biggest inspirations. She taught me the importance of having a voice, using that voice, and being that voice for others. We would spend our time talking about our future, me being a lawyer, and her being right beside me. My nanny Rau may not be standing beside me now, but her wairua walks with me every step of the way.

Growing up, I saw how so many decisions being made about us as Māori weren’t actually being explained to us. Our whānau would get these long pānui, full of big words, and we’d all be left asking “but what does this actually mean for us?” That didn’t sit right with me. I decided to study law because I want to be able to look at those pākehā-made policies and translate them into something our people can understand – plain, straight up kōrero. Law shouldn’t be something that locks us out, it should be a door we can open and walk through together.

What are you currently studying and how many years have you been at university?

I am now in my fifth and final year! I am studying a conjoint degree in Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Public Policy and minoring in Māori Studies. 

What is your end goal(s) when you complete your studies?

I want to be in spaces where I can uplift our people, where I can help make sure that our tikanga, our reo, and our whakaaro are present at every table where decisions are made. Whether that’s through legal advocacy, policy, or community engagement, my goal is to bring what I have learned back home. I want our whānau and our wider communities to feel confident, informed, and empowered, to be a part of meaningful engagement, and not just as consultants.

As an intern, what experience(s) helped you in your current study?

I have been very fortunate to intern across some beautiful kaupapa Māori spaces. I started as a River Iwi Intern with the Ministry for the Environment, where I worked in the Te Ao Māori Policy and Engagement team. From there, I joined Te Puni Kōkiri, first as an intern and later stayed on as an advisor, helping with kaupapa that uplift Pakihi Māori and communities. And now I am at Whāia Legal, where I get to work in a Māori-led legal space.

All of these experiences have strengthened my studies, not just academically, but spiritually too. Working in teams that value Māori engagement taught me the power of relationships, kōrero, and knowing who you are and where you come from. These internships reminded me that the law does not always have to look one way, we can shape it to reflect who we are as Māori.

Q: You secured part-time work with Whaia Legal when you were an intern. What are some of your duties there and how have they helped you in your studies?

Āe, I now work part-time as a law clerk for Whāia Legal. I was so happy and grateful to be offered the chance to stay on after my summer with Whāia. The mahi we get to do is so meaningful, it is all about supporting the values and interests of Māori. Being part of a kaupapa Māori legal space that is unapologetically Māori is powerful, it shows me how the law can work for us, not against us. It has also helped grow my confidence and understanding of how to walk in both worlds, te ao ture and te ao Māori.

My mahi includes providing support to both our litigation and commercial sides, whether that is conducting legal research, drafting, or helping with kaupapa that support the interests and values of iwi, hapū and Māori.

As a Māori student doing law, what advice can you give to those considering law?

Firstly, imposter syndrome is real. Walking into these big Pākehā spaces can make you feel like you do not belong. But kei te he tērā whakaaro. You do belong because we need more of us here.

Do not change who you are to fit into law, bring law to meet you! Let your reo, your tūpuna, your tikanga guide you. Ask questions, find your people, and never be afraid to stand in your truth. Your perspective as a Tauira Māori is your strength. Law can be a powerful tool for change, and there is no one better to wield it than our own.

Registration the key 

A recent drive to help with the succession and registration process has seen a number of people able to claim some of the $16 million the Trust holds in unclaimed dividends.

Distributions first began in 1996 but by focusing on more recent generations owed $5000-$10,000 we have a better chance of getting succession (Māori Land Court) and registration (with the Trust) completed.

Find out more at www.ltft.co.nz/registration or call into the Tūrangi office to talk it over with Keita or Shanyn.

Rhieve Grey and Shontelle Bishara are new Tupu Angitu associate trustees.

Younger voices join board

Tupu Angitu has followed the Forest Trust’s lead and appointed two associate directors.

Shontelle Bishara and Rhieve Grey have joined the Trust’s commercial arm to bring younger views and voices to the board, while also gaining governance experience and encouragement to go further whether it is becoming full trustees or work within other Tūwharetoa entities looking for new and younger faces.

Rhieve is of Ngāti Tūtemōhuta and Ngāti Manunui decent. He grew up in Taupō and attended Tauhara College. After finishing college he studied Māori Studies and Psychology at the University of Auckland before gaining a Rhodes Scholarship to study Public Policy and Government at the Oxford, England.

Rhieve credits his whānau and Tūwharetoa hāpori for giving him the skills and attributes necessary to succeed academically. Having just moved back to Taupō with his wife Amy (who also grew up here), Rhieve is eager to use what he learned abroad to serve his people and contribute in any way he can to Ngāti Tūwharetoa me te iwi Māori whānui.

Outside of this position Rhieve is a policy adviser and researcher specialising in foreign affairs and trade, as well as housing and kaupapa rangatahi. 

Shontelle says she is excited to be an inaugural associate director with Tupu Angitu and the opportunity that brings to generate economic benefits while safeguarding te taiao and the enduring sustainability and connection to whenua for future generations.

With extensive experience working in the public service and currently as Te Toihau Māori/General Manager Māori Futures at Scion (NZ Forest Research Institute), Shontelle’s career has been shaped by a deep commitment to advancing Māori economic, social, cultural and environmental aspirations.

Shontelle has worked with many iwi, hapū, whānau, land trusts and Māori businesses as they seek to grow and protect their resources and whenua. She says that strong foundation in whānau, hapū, iwi development and passion for empowering landowners in decision-making for their whenua underpin the perspective she intends to bring to Tupu Angitu. 

Shontelle has a BA (Political Science) with Victoria University, Graduate Diploma (Economic Development) with Auckland University of Technology, and MBA with Waikato University. As chair of Te Mahau Marae Committee, Shontelle is proud to be working alongside her whānau to lead a major redevelopment of their marae at Waihi.

Grants to kaumātua 

Every year, the Lake Taupō Charitable Trust automatically provides a kaumātua grant to all registered owners aged 70 and over, with no application needed. This year more than 1200 grants have been approved and paid.

If you haven’t received your 2025 payment, please get in touch with Shanyn or Keita on 07 386 8839, or visit the Tūrangi office.

Epic salvage

story told 

From the morning of February 14 2023, through to the end of June 2024, NZ Forest Managers staff and contractors operated at up to five times their normal capacity to minimise financial losses for forest owners following the devastating impact of Cyclone Gabrielle.

The salvage operation, which demanded a sustained and co-ordinated effort from many people. was ultimately judged a success, and NZFM felt it was important to document their experiences. It’s a great read.

Keep in touch, sign up

If you have whānau who aren’t receiving these pānui get them to sign up. All they need to do is email us at reception@ltft.co.nz and put “Email sign-up” in the subject line. There’s also a sign-up form on the website.

We will do a draw from among the new sign-ups with a $50 prezzy card to give away. Closes 15 August, winner notified by email.

We are also on Facebook and Instagram where our ngahere and rongoā reels show the wide margins of native bush we hold.