Wakatū board chair, Paul Morgan, provides an update on Covid-19 support available in Te Tauihu, and confirms Saturday 18 June as the new date for the 2022 special general meeting (SGM) .
Wakatū Chair Paul Morgan was inducted into the Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce hall of fame on Friday night, recognising his outstanding contribution to both business and the community at large.
Due to the recent community spread of the Omicron Covid-19 virus, the Board of Wakatū Incorporation has decided to postpone the Special General Meeting (SGM) which was due to be held on Saturday 26 March at Te Papa in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Our planned Te Hunga Panuku programme for that weekend has also been postponed.
Tēnā tātou katoa ki ngā whānau o Wakatū,
In this pānui, we let you know that nominations for the Wakatū board are open, and how you can nominate a member of the whānau to the board. We have information about our annual general and special general meetings through to the end of 2022.
Nominations for the Wakatū board open
Our Board of Directors sets the strategic direction for Wakatū. The Wakatū board is made up ofseven directors plus one associate director, all drawn from the Owners of the Incorporation.
Appointment on the board is for a term of three years and is made via an election process by the Owners. Terms are staggered so that some directors’ terms expire each year, although directors may stand for re-election. This rotation allows for continuity and stability at board level while providing for the election of new directors. Nominations for new directors are welcome.
This year the terms of three directors, Miriana Stephens, Johnny McGregor and Jeremy Banks expire at the 2021 annual general meeting, held in Whakatū on Saturday 4 December.
From left to right: Johnny McGregor, Miriana Stephens, Jeremy Banks
Miriana, Johnny and Jeremy are all eligible for re-election for a further term of office. They have advised they will be standing for re-election.
All nominations for new directors must be made by an Owner in writing. You can request a nomination form by emailing moana.oh@wakatu.org or phoning +64 3 546 8648
On the nomination form, please include brief details about the nominee. The form must also include the signed approval of the nominee to her/his nomination.
Completed nomination forms must be lodged by 5pm, Friday 17 September 2021 by sending to Kerensa Johnston, Chief Executive, Wakatū Incorporation, PO Box 440, Nelson 7040 or by email to moana.oh@wakatu.org with Wakatū Board nomination in the subject line.
Information about the election will be circulated to Owners with the notice of meeting for the 2021 annual general meeting.
You can read more about the Wakatū board on our website www.wakatu.org/our-people
Annual general meeting 2021
This year’s annual general meeting (AGM), will be held at the Trafalgar Centre, Nelson on Saturday 4 December, Covid-19 alert levels permitting. Registrations start at 8am at the Trafalgar Centre, with the meeting starting at 9am.
As we did last year, we plan on live streaming the hui. Details of how to register for the live stream will be provided when we circulate the annual report and AGM materials later in the year.
The AGM is one of the highlights of our year as it’s an opportunity to give our Owners updates on what we have achieved, as well as let them know about our plans for the future. It is also a time for us to get together, spend time with each other and reinforce connections between whānau.
Wakatū Owners bus tour 2021 - fully booked
Thank you for your interest in the Owners’ bus tour, which takes place on the day before our AGM.
The 2021 bus tour is now fully booked. Please email
moana.oh@wakatu.org or
phone +64 3 546 8648 and your name will go onto the waiting list in case there are cancellations.
We acknowledge that the ability to provide the bus tour will depend on the Covid-19 alert level at the time.
Please note, we will be visiting working operational sites as part of the bus tour. For this reason, and in order to comply with our health and safety policies, only adults and children over 16 years old can join the bus tour.
Tertiary education scholarship and associate directorship
Applications close on 31 August
Our tertiary scholarships are designed to build our leadership, connecting talented people to our tikanga and legacy. Through our scholarships we support a range of disciplines, with preference for studies related to our organisation and our businesses.
Each scholarship provides the successful applicant with financial support for fees and study resources, up to a maximum of three years. There are also incentives for studying te reo Māori, and achieving academic merit.
Applicants must be Wakatū Owners or descendants of Wakatū Owners, with successful applicants becoming part of our network, Te Hunga Pānuku.
Part of our Te Amonuku programme, the Associate Directorship provides our Owners with the opportunity to gain experience in governance at Wakatū.
As Wakatū grows and our organisation becomes more complex, it is vital that future directors are equipped with the commercial and cultural skills and experience required to govern and manage our taonga.
We are looking for Associate Directors with business acumen and at least ten years of sound commercial or professional experience in the areas that are relevant to Wakatū (for example, Whenua, AuOra, Kono and Manaaki).
As part of our commitment to ensure diversity and gender equality at all levels of our organisation, including management and governance roles, we strongly encourage women to apply.
Applicants must be Owners (shareholders, descendants of shareholders, or a member of a whānau trust holding Wakatū shares).
Apply online https://www.wakatu.org/te-amonuku-associate-programme
Applications close on 31 August
COVID-19
As our Chair Paul Morgan has already expressed, we know that the resurgence of Covid-19 in the community is a difficult and challenging time for many of our whānau.
In response to Covid-19, Te Kotahi o Te Tauihu was formed by all eight iwi of Te Tauihu. They are available to assist Te Tauihu-based whānau with questions or needs around kai, housing, wellbeing, employment and training.
You can contact them by phone on 0800 514 358, by email awhi@kotahitehoe.org.nz or on Facebook www.facebook.com/TeKotahioTeTauihu
You can also get information about government financial support available here.
Staying at Haumona and camping at Mārahau
To keep everyone safe, we only open our camping facilities at Mārahau and the Haumoma bach at Covid-19 alert level 1.
Covid-19 levels permitting, we are planning to reopen Haumona and Mārahau for overnight stays from Labour Weekend (Saturday 23 – Monday 25 October).
Everyone camping at Mārahau needs to apply for and receive a permit. This helps us manage the number of people camping on-site. The permit also contains important information about staying at Mārahau, including guidelines for parking for vehicles and boats, and how to dispose of your rubbish.
Camping at Mārahau is primarily for Wakatū Owners and their whānau, and priority is given to Wakatū whānau groups, particularly during the peak summer season. For camping over the Christmas/New Year period, please make sure you apply for your permit by 10 December. This means that we can issue the permits by 20 December – just in time for Christmas! At other times of the year please allow five working days for your permit to be processed.
All the information and application forms for camping at Mārahau are on www.wakatu.org/marahau-whenua
You can also email marahau@wakatu.org or phone 03 546 8648.
To book Haumoana go to www.holidaynelson.co.nz and search under Mārahau.
Save the dates - SGM and AGM 2022
We know that not everyone can make it to Nelson for the AGM, which is why we also hold a special general meeting (SGM) in Wellington.
The 2022 SGM will be held at Te Papa in Wellington on Saturday 26 March 2022.
The 2022 AGM will be held in Nelson on Saturday 3 December 2022.
We announce these dates well in advance to help you with your planning, but as we have found out this year, circumstances can change, so please keep an eye on the Wakatū website and Facebook page for any updates.
Koekoeā – the Wakatū magazine
The third issue of Koekoeā has been published, and includes an interview with four Wakatū wāhine, background on Karoi, our indigenous crops project, a recipe for creamed pāua and more.
Whānau survey
Throughout this year we have been rolling out the second module in our whānau surveys. The second survey is focused on various aspects of kaitiakitanga and the environment, with some questions about social media and employment.
The whānau surveys help us get a snapshot of the Wakatū whānau and guide our planning as we work towards Te Pae Tawhiti, the distant horizon.
If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to complete the survey, you can fill it out online here
Keeping everyone connected
Keeping everyone in our whānau whānui up to date with our news and opportunities is important. If you are the main contact for your whānau trust, please make sure that you share this pānui with all the members of your trust, and your wider whānau.
Please also let us know if your contact address has changed.
Anyone with a whakapapa connection to Wakatū can sign up to receive our e-pānui by email by filling out this form http://eepurl.com/cCeywz, by emailing info@wakatu.org or by phoning +64 3 546 8648
You can also keep up to date by following the Wakatū Facebook page www.facebook.com/Wakatu or our website www.wakatu.org.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Kerensa
Kerensa Johnston
Tumu Whakarae (Chief Executive Officer)
Wakatū Incorporation
Important update from Wakatū Chair Paul Morgan
Tēnā tātou katoa ki ngā whānau whānui o Wakatū,
As many of you will be aware, Aotearoa has entered into Alert Level 4 as of midnight last night for three days. The Auckland and Coromandel areas have entered into Alert Level 4 for a period of seven days, to be reviewed after three days.
This will be a difficult and challenging time for many of our whānau, especially those living in those directly affected areas, but I would like to express my confidence in our ability as a whānau to overcome this challenging time, as we have done in the past.
The management of Wakatū Group have met this morning to discuss the pathway forward over the short term for our kaimahi and operations. It has been decided that we take a cautious and common sense approach in the short-term, having all staff who are able, to work from home, and those whose roles do not enable them to do that, will stay home on special COVID leave over the course of these three days.
Of paramount importance to us is the safety of our people, and our team is working hard to ensure that any essential business operations and roles that must continue during this time, will be carried out in accordance and compliance with advice from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
In order to keep both our whānau whānui and kaimahi safe, the decision has been made to close visitor access to all Wakatū and Kono business sites while in Alert Level 4, including Wakatū House.
As this situation develops further, we will make sure we keep you connected and in the know via pānui and also on our Wakatū Incorporation Facebook page. Below you will find information on how to take care of yourselves and your whānau during Alert Level 4, courtesy of the Ministry of Health.
Kia manawanui,
Paul Morgan
Chair, Wakatū Board
Everyone must stay home
The most important thing you can do right now to protect whānau is stay at home – he noho kāinga, he oranga tangata.
The only reasons you can leave home are to shop for groceries, access necessary healthcare, get a COVID-19 test, exercise, or go to work if you are working in an Alert Level 4 service.
Please only make physical contact with those who you live with. This means hongi, harirū, and awhi with people outside your bubble should be suspended.
Kaua e āwangawanga, during this time, you will still be able to access all the essentials you need.
If you feel māuiui, do not go outside. Call Healthline or your GP to ask for medical advice.
Public spaces that must close
All public facilities must close. This includes bars, restaurants, cafes, gyms, cinemas, pools, museums, libraries, and playgrounds.
Indoor and outdoor events cannot go ahead. This includes social gatherings, hui, birthdays, tangihanga, and weddings.
Education
All schools and early childhood education centres are closed. Schools will be providing information directly to all parents about what this means for them.
Where possible, Alert Level 4 workers with children aged 0 to 14 need to make their own arrangements for childcare. However, we know this will not be possible for everyone.
Alternative arrangements are in place to allow Alert Level 4 workers to access childcare and continue to work. Your employer will let you know if you qualify as an Alert Level 4 worker for these purposes.
Alert Level 4 services
Rubbish collection will continue. Check your local authority's website for recycling.
NZ Post will deliver mail and courier drivers will continue to make deliveries.
Self-service laundries can stay open if 2-metre physical distancing is enforced.
Service stations will remain open and will be supplied.
Meeting friends and whānau
If you live alone, you may arrange with another person living alone or a household to be part of your household bubble. Heoi anō, they must be in the same town or city.
Tamariki can travel between the homes of separated parents so as long as they live in the same town/city.
It’s also okay for you to drop off groceries to others, but please drop the groceries at the door. Always keep a 2-metre distance.
Funerals and tangihanga
We acknowledge that this will be a challenging time for you and your whānau, especially if you are grieving.
Funeral directors can continue working at Alert Level 4. However, coming together for tangihanga is not permitted at Alert Level 4.
Only people from the same bubble as the deceased person can go to the funeral home and cemetery with the tūpāpaku, and only if these are in the same region. Kōrero with your funeral director about specific arrangements, including how to keep your physical distance.
If you ever feel you are not coping, it is important to talk with a health professional. For support, you can call or text 1737. It's free, anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to talk with a trained counsellor.
Accessing healthcare
You can still get medical help if you need it. This includes healthcare services, such as Healthline, GPs, cancer services, disability and aged support services. If you need to see a doctor or other medical professional, make sure to phone first.
Please only call Healthline if you or someone you know feels māuiui or you need medical advice, rather than general questions about COVID-19. It's important Healthline is free to answer calls from those who need it.
If you cannot get through and are severely unwell, for example having trouble breathing, contact emergency services (call 111).
Transport and travel
At Alert Level 4, all types of transport and travel are restricted. Only travel for essential reasons, such as to get food or medicine, or to go to work if you are an Alert Level 4 worker, is allowed. Public transport, taxis, and ride-sharing services for transport will still be available.
If you are away from home when New Zealand moves to Alert Level 4, you have up to 48 hours to travel home. However, please try and get home as soon as possible.
Exercise and recreation
It’s okay for you and your bubble to go for a walk, run or bike ride. If you do go exercising, it must be solitary, or with those in your bubble. Make sure to keep a 2-metre distance from everyone else.
Please do not do activities that may require search and rescue services. For example, don’t go swimming, surfing, boating, hunting, or tramping.
Update on the COVID-19 vaccination rollout
To limit the movement of whānau during Level 4, the vaccination programme will pause for all of Aotearoa for an initial period of 48 hours.
This means that all vaccination centres in Aotearoa will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday and appointments are cancelled – people who have appointments on these days will hear from us soon to provide information on rebooking. You will be contacted by text, email or phone call.
For more information on Alert Level 4 visit the Unite Against COVID-19 website.
We also want to remind you and your whānau to get information on COVID-19 and the vaccine from our trusted sources – the Ministry of Health and Unite Against COVID channels.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the team at: maorihealth@health.govt.nz
Mahi 2021
This is a big year for the protection of Mātauranga Māori in Aotearoa.
The Labour government has until December 2021 to pass a new law to protect Māori rights to taonga native plants. This is because Aotearoa signed up to an international trade deal which allows access to our native plants to cultivate new plants, including by overseas corporations.
The government was able to carve out an exception in the international trade deal in an effort to ensure compliance with Te Tiriti. But the terms of this exception are dependent on New Zealand passing the new law before 30 December 2021.
Because of the importance of our taonga plants and species to Te Ao Māori, this issue also overlaps with the commitments the government has made regarding implementing Wai 262 and the subsequent Waitangi Tribunal report Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, which recommends how Te Tiriti partnerships can be part of everyday life in Aotearoa.
Over 2021, Wakatū will be working on advancing the legal protections of plant taonga and at the same time, we will be working to advance the bigger Wai 262 goal of comprehensive Te Tiriti partnerships across government.
International trade
The international treaty at the heart of these issues is the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (the CPTPP).
The countries who have signed up to this trade deal include New Zealand, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, and Viet Nam.
The government recently sought public feedback regarding new countries joining the CPTPP including the United Kingdom. Wakatū made submissions before the 2 May 2021 deadline which called on the government to commit to strong Te Tiriti partnerships with Māori in the trade negotiation process.
Chapter 18 of the CPTPP relates to intellectual property, which regulates the legal rights over new ideas or new products. Under Chapter 18 the creation of new plant varieties is regulated under Article 18.7.2(d) which requires all countries to accept the international treaty on the protection of new varieties of plants (also known as UPOV 91).
However, under Annex 18-A, New Zealand reserved the right to adopt its own national law that gives effect to the international UNPOV 91 treaty, but it only has three years to pass this national law – this deadline expires on 30 December 2021. In addition, the provisions of this exception also state that:
Nothing in paragraph 1 shall preclude the adoption by New Zealand of measures it deems necessary to protect indigenous plant species in fulfillment of its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi, provided that such measures are not used as a means of arbitrary or unjustified discrimination against a person of another Party… The interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, including as to the nature of the rights and obligations arising under it, shall not be subject to the dispute settlement provisions of this Agreement.
The government now has a draft version of the national law known as the Plant Varieties Rights Bill (also known as the PVR) which would update the first version passed in 1987 to comply with the CPTPP before the December deadline.
The PVR Bill was introduced on 11 May 2021. Wakatū plans to engage in the consultation process once the Bill is referred to the Select Committee, which is when the public can make written and oral submissions seeking any necessary amendments.
Wakatū will be looking very closely at the different concerns which were raised by Māori across Aotearoa during the national hui on the PVR to make sure Te Tiriti partnerships are realised.
Waitangi Tribunal claim - Wai 262
The 30 December 2021 deadline under the CPTPP provides additional urgency with respect to the implementation of the Waitangi Tribunal recommendations resulting from the Wai 262 claim.
The Wai 262 claim relates to the intellectual property issues around new plant varieties, which is the subject of Chapter 18 of the CPTPP. The report on the Wai 262 claim is known as the Ko Aotearoa Tēnei report and it was the first to address the whole-of-government responsibility as a Te Tiriti partner.
The report found that the essence of Wai 262 is:
a claim about mātauranga Māori – that is, the unique Māori way of viewing the world, encompassing both traditional knowledge and culture. The claimants, in other words, are seeking to preserve their culture and identity, and the relationships that culture and identity derive from.
In September 2019, the government announced Te Pae Tawhiti to implement Ko Aotearoa Tenei under three broad kete of issues. Kete 2 directly relates to the implementation of the CPTPP Chapter 18 through the new Plant Varieties Rights Bill due to be released in mid-May:
kete 1 : taonga works me te mātauranga Māori
kete 2 : taonga species me te mātauranga Māori
kete 3 : Kawenata Aorere / Kaupapa Aorere (with an international focus)
Wakatū welcomes any input from our whānau on the PVR Bill.
Please email me if you have any thoughts to share or any questions about the PVR bill.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Kerensa Johnston
Tumu Whakarae (Chief Executive Officer)
Wakatū Incorporation
Kono, our food and beverage business, features in a new Māori TV series, Home, Land and Sea, which celebrates Māori success in the farming sector.
Last week we were proud to support Paul Morgan, chair of the Wakatū board, as he was inaugurated into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.
Paul is widely respected at home and globally as a Māori leader, lobbyist and entrepreneur who has been at the centre of economic development and political advocacy for Māori for over 30 years.
The award recognises the work that Paul has done over many years for the whānau of Wakatū leading the Wakatū Board, as well as his significant contribution to many other sectors across Aoteaora and internationally.
Last year, led by Rore Stafford, we were in the Wellington High Court in a judicial action against the Attorney-General, where we took action in an attempt to stop the Crown selling any more ex-Tenths’ reserves land in the Nelson rohe.
The case focused on land in Nelson, which is currently held by ACC and includes land that was once part of the Nelson Tenths’ Reserves. This case is part of the broader work happening following the Supreme Court win in 2017, when the Court held that the Crown, as legal trustee, owes a fiduciary duty to the Owners of the Nelson Tenths’ Reserves and Occupation Reserves in the Nelson rohe.
The High Court decision has been released. You can read the full decision of the Court here.
Negotiations over the return of thousands of hectares of Nelson land have hit a wall with local Māori asking for a little understanding from a Labour government they thought was dedicated to “kindness”.
Leading them, with a Supreme Court decision in his back pocket, kaumātua Rore Stafford could still make things messy for the Crown in the High Court.
This article by Joel Maxwell was published online in Stuff on 20 February 2021
The last man standing in a case that started decades ago, Stafford says the Crown should just give the land back.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed this week between Wakatū Incorporation and Cawthron Institute will further strengthen an already positive relationship, the Chairs of both organisations say.
Image: Miriana Stephens, Wakatū board member and Meg Matthews, Chair of Cawthron
In the latest video in the Making the Tenths’ Whole video series, Kerensa discusses the work that is underway to resolve matters with the Crown since the 2017 Supreme Court decision.
Paul Morgan (Ngāti Rārua, Te Māhurehure) has been announced as one of nine New Zealand business leaders to be inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.
Paul is widely respected at home and globally as a Māori leader, lobbyist and entrepreneur who has been at the centre of economic development and political advocacy for Māori for over 30 years.
In our final video in our Te Pae Tawhiti series, Kerensa Johnston, Wakatū CEO talks to our 500-year intergenerational plan from the perspective of the values and aspirations of our tupuna, “…in order to understand the future we looked back to the past...”
In the second of our Te Pae Tawhiti videos, Kerensa Johnston discusses the goals that underpin the activity at Wakatū.
We’ve made a series of videos to help whānau understand our 500-year intergenerational plan, Te Pae Tawhiti. In this series of videos, Kerensa Johnston gives an overview of Te Pae Tawhiti, and how it underpins everything we do at Wakatū.
As part of our Making the Tenths’ Whole video series, Kerensa Johnston talks about the work that is underway to resolve matters with the Crown, including a discussion of recent Court action.
We’ve made a series of videos to help whānau understand the journey to make the Nelson Tenths’ Whole.
We’ve already shared Rore Stafford’s kōrero, giving an overview of the history of the Nelson Tenths’ Reserves.
In this video, Kerensa Johnston gives more background, including talking about the Supreme Court case in 2017.
Kaupapa Tupuranga is a programme designed for whānau who whakapapa to Wakatū. Kaupapa Tupuranga aims to connect, grow and develop our whānau on our whenua. The current programme has an emphasis on working and learning in a horticulture and agriculture setting with a te ao Māori lens.
Paul Morgan, Wakatū Board Chair, has been invited to join the Council of the New Zealand China Council (NZCC) for a three-year term, while Miriana Stephens, Wakatū board member and Executive Director of AuOra, will be on the NZCC’s executive committee.