Hikurangi Hapū Cluster Hui 9am-3.30pm, 10 Kohitatea – Penu (Rongo-i-te-Kai) Marae Draft Meeting Minutes Present: Keita Walker, Hera Gibson, Malcolm Gibson, Nicola Tuala, Natasha Koia, Tina Heeney, Agnes Walker, Donette Kupenga, John Heeney, Kuini Tuhura, Ike Campbell, Manu Caddie, Prince Ferris, Pine Brown, Tamati Kaihe, Tuheirirangi Tibble, Blondie Tibble, Lucky Reuben, Noema Pahau, Jury Harrison, Molly Para, Ngawini Keelan, Haro McIlroy, Marcus Akuhata-Brown (left 11.30am), Kura Walker (left 11.30am), Ane Wakerangi (left 11.30am). Apologies: Sarah Sykes, Barbie Wynyard, Doc & Lyndall Ngarimu, Raewyn Rickard, Claude Walker, Uncle Boysie, Eliz Ngarimu. Mihimihi: Keita Walker & Hera Gibson Karakia: Prince Ferris 1. Minutes of Previous Hui a) Motion: That, subject to the changes of adding Amiria Tuini Ngarimu-Bennett to the list of people present and an ‘E’ to Eliz Ngarimu’s name, the minutes of the hapū cluster hui on 13 Tihema at Te Aowera Marae be accepted as a true and accurate record. Moved: Agnes. 2nd: Donna. Carried. b) Matters Arising: i. There was a discussion on the importance of clarifying the rationale for including the various marae and hapū within the cluster/collective and that all six marae have whakapapa connections to each other and it was noted that this clarification kōrero is an action point in the draft Development Plan to be considered later in the hui. ii. Donnette asked for more clarification on the process as to how Mataanuku was appointed as a negotiator by/for Te Haeata. Kuini suggested we need to move on as Te Haeata was nearing the end of its existence and learn from the experience in terms of the PSGE design. Haro said this matter had also been raised at TRONP Board level. Donnette suggested the hapū cluster had raised the issue of TRONP’s role in any PSGE and expected that issue would have been raised at the AGM by the Te Haeata cluster representative. She would have raised the issue herself but it was clear from that hui and others that TRONP meetings are not safe for rangatahi to raise issues within. Haro said this issue wasn’t his experience as a younger member of the iwi but it was important for more young ones to have the courage to speak up if they had concerns about anything – he also said that he thought there were significant governance issues to be addressed within the iwi. 2. Nga Manuhiri a) Presentation from Matakaoa [Marcus Akuhata-Brown supported by Kura and Ane]: i. Explanation of why they were providing a presentation – by way of invitation from the hapū cluster to share their own cluster’s journey, developments to date and plans for the future in the interests of information sharing, mutual support and cooperation between hapū and within the iwi. ii. Overview of the rohe, location and names of the eight marae/pa connected to Matakaoa. iii. Background to the commitment some years ago when pakeke around Matakaoa realised their paepae torutoru was diminishing and agreed pakeke would serve and support the paepae on every marae in their area in recognition of the strong whakapapa and geographic connections within their rohe. iv. 2-3 years ago a number of locals decided to start spending more time together on a regular basis to share kai and kōrero about the area – local history, current issues, future plans, etc. Marcus took some of the pakeke on a haerenga to the Waikato where they stayed with rangatahi at university there – they were motivated by a scripture shared by a kuia about the old people dreaming dreams and young people having visions. This ‘intergenerational dialogue’ became a key commitment and a common dream and vision of strong, healthy marae developed as a priority for the hapū. The wellbeing of marae would ensure they were the ‘epicentre of the universe’ for whānau affiliated to the area. v. In 2008 a major joint building project was undertaken between all the hapū that included hosting 75 mostly Pakeha volunteer tradespeople who did major work on all the marae and St Stephens church. This experience was debriefed by the marae Chairpersons who realised it was the first time they had met collectively to discuss the issues that matter to their rohe. Over the next year they met every six weeks and these regular hui developed a ‘glue’ that enabled them to stick together and establish some common direction. vi. After all this they got a report from TRONP and found out they were a ‘cluster’ and that someone had been employed to coordinate them and a Te Haeata representative had been appointed. vii. Given the range of external influences and pressures being presented, the Chairs met again to consider whether they wanted to commit to working together in a more formal way so that the hapū could respond more effectively than if they just let things happen to them. They agreed to work together and began meeting fortnightly to look at the issues like FSSB, Te Haeata, etc. They quickly realised that while there were many skilled people within the tribe they may also benefit from some external expertise. They asked around the country and David Gray was a name that kept coming up so they approached him and he agreed to help them. David attended a hui in August 09 that included pakeke, marae chairpersons, the Te Haeata representative and hapū cluster coordinator. David presented a range of legal entity options for the hapū, none of which ideally suit the way whānau Maori relate, but he recommended a Charitable Trust as the best option and this was agreed by the meeting. viii. In September a hui of all the marae whānau (over 100 people) were asked if they were happy with the Chairpersons’ process and progress to date toward establishing a legal entity for the cluster of hapū. The hui gave their endorsement for the direction the Chairs had been moving in and David subsequently drafted a Trust Deed. This Trust Deed is designed to ensure that the hapū/collective cannot supersede the mana motuhake of any marae that is part of it. They then got Rikirangi Gage, from Te Whānau-a-Apanui to provide a cultural lens to ensure it the proposed entity had integrity from a cultural/tribal perspective, he made some recommendations for some tweaking, the cluster members have reviewed versions of the document a number of times, a final version that incorporates the principles and Tikanga expressed is being considered by each marae and with their agreement will be adopted by the end of January. In this Trust Deed only marae will be able to appoint or remove the Trustees, not the Trust itself or individuals – this ensures marae remain the locus of final authority. ix. The cluster plan to put the $35,000 from TRONP into the Trust and it will be used to implement a 12 month Business Plan to be finalised once the Trust is established. x. Marcus responded to questions from the floor about the utility of a Charitable Trust in terms of business enterprise, immediate benefits to beneficiaries, and the importance of being proactive around these issues and not allowing ourselves to drift into a hole and waiting for someone else to start the process. Marcus pointed out that the initial motivation for coming together was not the settlement, fisheries, FSSB or any other external influence – it was a desire to spend more time together and strengthen the marae and hapū within their rohe. He also pointed out that they ‘are not there yet, anything could still happen’. Marcus said they believe it is important that ‘home people’ present a clear message to the whānau living away from home about a direction for the PSGE and to this end the cluster are organising a number of hui over the next six weeks to determine their preference for the PSGE and this will be communicated to their whānau living away from home, other hapū clusters, Te Haeata and anyone else interested. They are keen to see some consensus develop between hapū clusters around a PSGE preference and believe a lot of common principles and ideas already exist about what the arrangements should look like. xi. By a unanimous vote of thanks, Marcus and the nannies were acknowledged for their presentation and a number of people expressed that they appreciated the sharing and openness and looked forward to working more constructively between these two hapū clusters and others in the future. Some people noted the high level of trust that had been built up within the cluster between marae and hapū as something to learn from and it was also noted that a strong spirituality, karakia and positive wairua had been the foundation for developing the relationships within the cluster. b) Haro McIlroy presented a second paper (attached) that he had prepared on a possible structure for the PSGE and invited constructive criticism of the ideas expressed once people had a chance to read and think about it. c) There was an extensive kōrero about the problems and limitations of discussing issues for the hapū in English – the reasons why so many of the whānau, particularly those in their 30s to 50s, have limited Reo and what can be done about it. 3. General Business a) Draft Hapū Development Plan (attached): i. The Plan had been emailed out and was presented for discussion. ii. The meeting unanimously supported the priorities and proposed tasks and agreed: That, while there were representatives from each marae present, it would be adopted at the next hapū cluster hui subject to formal approval from each marae top be sought in the interim period – and that this would form the basis of the proposal to TRONP for the $35,000. Moved: Agnes. Seconded: Ngawini. Carried. iii. Kuini put her name down to start work on the hapū profile action point – collecting available data on the state of the hapū – social, economic, cultural, linguistic, environmental, etc. iv. It was agreed that a Hapū Te Reo Strategy Working Group would be established to start planning a Te Reo retention and regeneration strategy – with a possible goal that in the foreseeable future hapū cluster hui could be conducted entirely in Te Reo as everyone would be confident and competent with their Reo. Hera Gibson, Keita Walker, Donnette Kupenga, Tarsh Koia and Prince Ferris agreed to be in this group. Sarah Pohatu and Nga Walker were also nominated. The first meeting of the group will be on the morning of 1 February at Donnette’s whare across the road from the 4 Square in Tokomaru Bay. v. It was also agreed that a PSGE Working Group would work on recommendations for the hapū and this group would meet on Wednesday 13 January at Porou Ariki, TRONP, Wainui Rd. Agnes, Molly and Donnette agreed to participate in this group and encouraged anyone else interested to let them know. vi. Agnes put her name down for the Fisheries Management item of the plan and Donnette and Agnes were working on a plan to tackle the Hapū Environment Plan. Manu is organising a couple of film and discussion evenings – one in Gisborne and one on the Coast that will use the resource developed by Mike Smith and Hinekaa Mako to help marae and hapū plan for Climate Change (www.tuanuku.com). vii. Feedback from Eliz Ngarimu (attached) was shared with the meeting and other priorities discussed included: the writing, in addition to Te Aitanga-a-Mate, of the other hapū histories; the urgency of housing for pakeke and whānau who want to live within the tribal area; the need for more support and opportunities for rangatahi affiliated to the hapū; the issue of public infrastructure including fresh water rights, high speed broadband; external relationships with other hapū clusters and getting organised to ensure that in the near future Maori who are sympathetic to the priorities of hapū on the Coast make up the majority of the elected members of Gisborne District Council. b) Motion: That, as a matter of collective interest, TRONP be asked to provide the cluster with minutes of its Board meetings. Moved: Agnes. Seconded: Malcolm. Carried. c) It was noted that the hapū cluster is expecting a response to the issue of Harataunga to come through Koro after the PAT meet again. d) Hiruharama AGM is on 7 February – all are welcome to attend (it will be just before the next hapū cluster hui). e) Next meeting: 7 February at Hiruharama Marae (time to be confirmed, but AGM will be held in the morning). Meeting closed with karakia from Uncle Prince Ferris at 3.45pm