Something wicked this way comes

Waaka Vercoe did not resign as the chairman of Ngati Awa’s audit committee, he was pushed.

Mr Vercoe was replaced on the committee by new board member Brian Tunui. The committee is also comprised of board members Regina O’Brien (Gina) and Charlie Elliott, two representatives from accountant firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers and independent member Peter Taylor.

Speaking at the board meeting in April, Te Pahipoto representative Mr Elliott was adamant that Mr Vercoe was forced to stand down at the end of last year.

Mr Elliott said he and Mrs O’Brien had gone to see Mr Vercoe after hearing the long-serving governor had been removed from the committee through the grapevine.

“Gina and I spoke to Waaka about this issue and Waaka didn’t resign, he was made to,” he said.

Mrs O’Brien verified Mr Elliott’s account of the conversation with Mr Vercoe, however there was no further discussion this issue by the board.

The issue of Mr Vercoe’s absence was first raised by Te Runanga o Ngati Awa chief executive Enid Ratahi-Pryor at the meeting with Ngati Hokopu at Wairaka in March.

Mrs Ratahi-Pryor said Mr Vercoe stood down voluntarily because he was getting old and tired.

“He decided it is time for a change. It is time for new blood.”

After that meeting I decided to check out Mrs Ratahi-Pryor’s statements and I came away with the same story as Mr Elliott and Mrs O'Brien. 

I sat with him for four hours in the kitchen of his Wairaka home and I was entertained with a series of stories and anecdotes.

But also during that conversation he confirmed that he had been pushed out of his seat at the head of the audit committee by chairman of the tribe’s commercial arm, Ngati Awa Group Holdings Ltd (NAGHL).

Mr Vercoe said Wira Gardiner had forced him off the committee after he refused to allow Omataroa Trust, which he also chairs, to back a honey venture that Mr Gardiner was promoting.

He was obviously disappointed.

And yes, he is getting old and perhaps his advanced years mean that his mind is not as sharp as it was but he still has experience and knowledge.

He feels he still has something to give the tribe.

Mr Gardiner could not be reached for comment.

Coincidentally, however, Mr Vercoe was the person who signed off the controversial audit committee that highlighted Mr Gardiner’s role in the conflict of interest surrounding NAGHL board member Graham Pryor.

Obviously this is a he says/she says situation but I would like to know how people are selected for the sub-committees of the TRONA and NAGHL boards and who decides when the members should stand down.

The committees are important tools in the operations of Te Runanga o Ngati Awa and at the end of the day the organisation was created to manage our assets. Therefore I would like to know that the responsibility has been entrusted to the people who have the right skills and motivations to do the jobs.

Meanwhile, speaking of jobs I wanted to share some news. On the back of this blog I am currently in talks with the editor of the Whakatane Beacon, Mark Longley, about becoming a regular contributor to the newspaper.

My proposal was that I could be a weekly contributor who writes about local issues as a trained journalist and from a Maori point of view.

Mr Longley has been reading this blog and said he would be very interested in a regular column.

We spoke of broadening the focus of Tu Mai Te Toki.

And while Ngati Awa politics will at times be the subject of the column, neither of us want it be contained to such a narrow purpose. Nor do I want the column, and the blog, to always be negative.

He has gone away to crunch the numbers and asked to see a draft column so he could see how I write.

Therefore, I wanted to show Mr Longley, and you, that I could write about another issue.

This is what I submitted:

A group of Whakatane residents have fiercely opposed a scientific trial to clean up the poisoned Kopeopeo canal.

Submissions on the Regional Council's application for resource consent to remove and clean up sediment contaminated with dioxins from the canal closed this week. A decision will be announced after a hearing but given the level of interest in this situation I decided to write about the debate.

The Kopeopeo canal was identified as a contaminated area after surface run-off and storm-water containing Pentachlorophenol (PCP) from the NZ Forest Products Ltd sawmill was discharged into it between 1950 and 1989.

The chemical, used by the mill to treat timber, has been found to contain dioxins that can cause diabetes, pancreatic cancer, leukemia, auto-immune diseases and other disorders.

A group of residents attended the consultation meetings held by the Whakatane District Council and many of its members were strongly vocal at the final meeting held at Wairaka Marae this week.
They believe the dioxins could be spread if the resource consent is granted and they want to leave the clean-up until further research has been done.
Listening to their points it seems there is an element of "not in my back-yard" and I reckon they have missed the point.

The canal is not the only contaminated site in the area. 
There are at least 36 sites in Whakatane, more across the country, and the Regional Council is using the project to trial the process with the hope that it could be used to clean up the other spots.

It is something my Dad believes in.

He was five-years-old when he used to swim in the Kopeopeo Canal every day. By the time he turned six, his family had moved to Muriwai Drive and the house across road from the mudflats that were beginning to be filled with waste from the mill.

Then when he was 18-years old, he started working at the mill.

My Dad knows about PCP and has the scars to prove it.

Buckled by the debilitating disease that has turned his body against itself, my Dad has lived with it for almost every day of his life. It is a legacy he has passed on to me and perhaps to my son.

As a result he is passionate about finding a way to clean it up and that is why he joined the watchdog group, Sawmill Workers Against Poisons (SWAP).

Now he is the chairman and a facilitator for the group. He has read the research, talked with the people and heard the arguments.

It is not going to be easy but he says he has faith in the science.

Under the trial, the Regional Council is working with the community on the project to clean up the canal to remove, store and clean up the contaminated sediment using bioremediation. The method looks to break down contaminants using trees and mushrooms.

The next stage of the trial requires a section of the canal to be drained, the sediment removed and trucked to three separate pits that will be lined with Geonet mat to stop the contaminants leeching out. The pits are then inoculated and planted with mushrooms and trees

It is hoped that the levels of dioxin in the soil will be reach acceptable levels within 15 years.

The process was designed by scientists from Massy and Waikato Universities and the operations have been planned by experts who have been careful and meticulous.

Risks are minimal, my Dad says to me, and the results could be immense.

The time for sitting on our hands is over.

Revelations of a chairman

The man in charge of growing Ngati Awa’s $110 million assets was adamant that he has done nothing wrong despite rubberstamping a deal with his mate's company worth $3.8 million.

“I am not prepared to stand down from NAGHL (Ngati Awa Group Holdings Ltd) because firstly I am here to protect the commerciality of NAGHL,” he said.

Called to report to the Te Runanga o Ngati Awa (TRONA) board after revelations that NAGHL had paid $3.8 million to a carbon credit company without prior necessary approvals, Ta Wira Gardiner’s argument was persuasive.

He said that Graham Pryor was not a director of NAGHL at the time the contract with CO2 New Zealand Management Company was instigated. In fact, according to Sir Gardiner in the interest of succession planning, Mr Pryor had only been invited to join the tribe’s investment committee.

“And if there is an area that I should be accountable and disciplined then it is as we got into period of uncertainty I should have been a lot stronger and apologise for that.”

But Sir Gardiner backed his skills as a chairman of a corporate organisation.

“I’m prepared to stack my reputation against anyone in the country except for maybe Fonterra.”

In regards to the latest revelations around the carbon credit investment, Sir Gardiner said there had been no wrong-doing.

Sir Gardiner said Mr Pryor had been part of the Central North Island (CNI) settlement representing Tuwharetoa and was made a director of CO2 New Zealand Management Company as a result.

He said when he became aware of the potential conflict of interest he required Mr Pryor to resign as a director of the company.

It was a compelling argument and rather than facing any further questions Sir Gardiner was commended by board chairman Te Kei Merito.

But let’s recap.

A report to the audit committee outlined the incident. In the report it was stated that Mr Pryor had received legal advice which was addressed to the NAGHL board.

The legal advice raised serious issues concerning the suitability of the investment and contract for Ngati Awa. Mr Pryor did not pass on the advice.

In addition the report also stated that based on advice from Mr Pryor, Sir Gardiner approved the $3.8 million deal with C02 New Zealand Management Company without gaining approval from the NAGHL board or the TRONA one.

“The director (Mr Pryor) advised the chairman that the board had some time approved the contract. There is no documentary evidence (minutes or other record) to evidence apart from a “heads of agreement” with CO2 that had been signed much earlier and pror to due diligence and legal review,” the report noted

It was also discussed that there has been poor documentation in regard to services provided in lieu of repayment of a loan balance. The loan was not disclosed in the report.

Furthermore, it seems attention from this blog and certain media outlets have got the former civil servant a little hot under the collar.

In full swing of his statement to the board Sir Gardiner said he was concerned that information was being leaked because of posts on this blog, stories in the beacon and a news report on Maori Television’s Te Kaea.

Sir Gardiner said the information was coming from the TRONA board and that if the leaks continued he would have to implement restrictions.

“We are legally required to provide you with quarterly reports but if it is going to result in danger then we may not to be so open.”

Sir Gardiner also issued a challenge at the TRONA board meeting, which was held last Friday at Te Manuka Tutahi marae in Whakatane, that he would be willing to sit down and talk with anyone who had the manners to put their inquiries to him.

Additionally, to combat the “negative” media Sir Gardiner said he would like place half page advertisements in the newspapers explaining the failed investments to the “shareholders”- that is the tribal members.

“But not with the Beacon. I do not like the Beacon. I do not want to support any newspaper which always focuses on the negative.”

So here are my problems with Sir Gardiner’s statements at the TRONA board meeting last week.

Firstly if Mr Pryor was not part of NAGHL when the decision to invest $3.8 million with C02 New Zealand Management Company then why did he receive the legal advice? And why has Mr Pryor not been reprimanded for not passing on that crucial advice?

Rather Mr Pryor was made a director of NAGHL and also the chairman of the investment’s committee following the investment.

Secondly, why did Sir Gardiner not check that there had been the necessary approvals before committing the $3.8 million? I mean that is a lot of money, particularly on the back of losing $5.2 million through the failed golf course with Birnie Capital and the internet service provider company, Go Net.

Thirdly, what did the Beacon get wrong? And more interestingly does Sir Gardiner dispute the latest story to feature in the Beacon about there being an out-clause for the carbon investment?

And lastly, I would like to take Sir Gardiner up on his offer to sit down and explain things. I stand by every factual statement that I have made on this blog and I would like to know if Sir Gardiner can do the same for the assertions he made to the board at last week’s meeting. If anyone can give me a contact number, I would be happy to give him a call and set up a time.

Next time I will return to the subject that I had already said I would discuss in this post and that is the change in directors on the audit committee.

Ma te wa.

Bad things happen when good people do nothing.

A controversial report is calling for the structure of Te Runanga o Ngati Awa (TRONA) to be reviewed.

The suggestion was noted in a report from the audit committee but was overshadowed by the revelation that there had been a serious issue around a conflict of interest. The report stated that a director of the runanga’s financial arm, Ngati Awa Gro up Holdings Ltd (NAGHL), had faciliatated a business deal with a company where he was also a director.

Written as a result of an audit into the organisation’s financial accounts by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the report was signed off by the then-chairman of the runanga’s Audit committee, Waaka Vercoe.

Today, in a bid to add context, I propose to discuss the structure of the runanga. It was outlined by the runanga chief executive Enid Ratahi-Pryor at the meeting with Ngati Hokopu at Wairaka last month and I believe that to have a better understanding of some of the things that are going on in the runanga we must discuss it here.

At the head of the organization is the TRONA board with 22-members elected by the hapu of Ngati Awa. A chairman is selected to represent the board and in this case this is Te Kei Merito from Poroporo.

Mrs Ratahi-Pryor said she works very closely to Mr Merito.

“Your link is through the board. (Chairman) Te Kei Merito is my boss. I actually link directly to Te Kei. Initially I didn’t have a link to the hapu but im going to change that.”

To the side is the financial arm of the runanga, NAGHL, which is charged with managing the financial assets of the tribe and “creating wealth”.

Every year NAGHL give TRONA a $1.5 million dividend to help develop social initiatives such as education grants and iwi development.

NAGHL is governed by a board of five directors including Jo Mason, Waaka Vercoe, Graham Pryor, Brian Tunui. Former civil servant Wira Gardiner chairs the board.

According to Mrs Ratahi-Pryor beneath these two structures are several boards.

The executive committee made up by Mr Merito and board members Pouroto Ngaropo and Materoa Dodd.

Remuneration is Mr Merito and Mr Ngaropo along with the chief executive and board member Regina O’Brien.

The group charged with the organisation’s investments is new NAGHL director Brian Tunui and the man who helped facilitate the deal with CO2 New Zealand Management company, Graham Pryor. Civil servant Kay Read was recently appointed to the investment committee as the third member.

Mrs Ratahi-Pryor said Mrs Read’s appointment was in the interest of succession-planning but did not expand on how the selection was made.

And finally the Audit Committee which is made up by board representatives Charlie Elliot and Mrs O’Brien, two representatives from PWC and independent member Peter Taylor. The committee was chaired by Waaka Vercoe, however he was recently replaced by Mr Tunui.

Mrs Ratahi-Pryor said this was because Mr Vercoe was old and getting tired.

“He decided it is time for a change. It is time for new blood.”

Mrs Ratahi-Pryor, herself, is the chief executive of TRONA and NAGHL. The two roles were amalgamated under previous chief executive, Tiaki Hunia, who held the position for three months before he quit and Mrs Ratahi-Pryor was appointed.

And while many of the “bad” investments were made under another chief executive Jeremy Gardiner we must remember that before she took on her current role Mrs Ratahi-Pryor was a TRONA board member and a NAGHL director.

According to other board members Mrs Ratahi-Pryor was an active member of the board and the minutes of previous meeting shows she was often vocal in meetings.

With this in mind, shifting the blame for poor decisions is simply not feasible. Sure most of the bad investments were made under the previous chief executives particularly Mr Gardiner jnr but Mrs Ratahi-Pryor was part of the decision-making team and surely she must accept responsibility for this as much as anyone else?

Whether she was incompetent or ignorant it simply does not matter because as philosopher Edmund Burke said: ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’.

And that is why I started this blog.

It wasn’t to personally attack anyone. I do not have any personal agenda and I will not share my opinions about personal lives unless it affects the operations of the tribe.

But I will no longer sit back and do nothing about what I think is a very serious situation. As I have said before, I believe my role is to provide as much information as I can so that you can make your own informed decisions.

Elections for the TRONA board are this year and we have an opportunity to let our leaders know what we think.

And while I am delighted that many of you have chosen to share your opinions and thoughts I am disappointed that some of the comments have taken to slandering others without much proof. While some of the statements are probably true, the anonymous nature of the poster makes it unfair on those who are being targeted.

Many of you have noticed that I have chosen to use my real name, I have not hidden behind a pseudonym or remained anonymous, and as part of that I must be confident that the information I choose to share on here is correct and that I can back it up if I need to.

And I am confident that every statement of fact that I have made on this blog can be backed up with documents or through other people’s evidence.

So whanau, continue to share your thoughts but please ensure that you maintain a healthy respect for each other.

Heoi ano, next week I am hoping to confirm the story behind the change in the people on the audit committee.

Ma te wa.

“The problems are solved, not by giving new information, but by arranging what we have known since long.”

If you want to know what is going  on with Te Runanga o Ngati Awa go to your hapu meeting.

Or at least that was the message from Te Runanga o Ngati Awa through chief executive Enid Ratahi-Pryor at the special meeting held at Wairaka Marae on March 6.

And she is right but here is my problem. I went to my hapu meeting. I got given a copy of the key point summary of the TRONA board meeting that was held last month.

However that report does not match my recollection of the meeting.

Where was the mention of the Audit Committee report and the potential workshop? Or the media threat and new embargo policy? Or the adoption of the new conflict of Interest policy? Or even the discussion of this blog?

There was none of the controversial stuff, instead what is in there is all of the feel-good stuff that paints the runanga out to be doing a good job, but how is this fair?

Don’t get me wrong, the runanga is making some positive moves in some areas and I am really glad of that but there are also some very concerning signs and I would feel better if we had a bit more of an idea about what is going on.

I mean how do you lose $5.2 million in less than five years and no-one is held to account?

I for one would prefer a copy of the minutes to be given to hapu delegates that way we know what motions have been passed and what has been discussed at the meeting.

And while some of you may say and think that it is the job of our hapu delegate to inform us, I have serious doubts about the sharing of information that exists within the runanga’s structure.

Bear with me and I will explain my reasoning.

At that meeting at Wairaka Marae, Mrs Ratahi-Pryor had come armed.

Rather than adhering to outline that had been identified by those in attendance she made a presentation.

She began by outlining the structure of runanga, pointing out that board chairman Te Kei Merito is her boss.

“Your link is through the board. (Chairman) Te Kei Merito is my boss. I actually link directly to Te Kei. Initially I didn’t have a link to the hapu but im going to change that. That is why I am here,” she said.

She said it was part of a new initiative to “walk among the people”.

“It is about me coming to put some reality to some of the korero… This evening is about starting a journey, a journey of discovery.

“I have heard that many of the voices aren’t being heard and that is why I’m here…. Much of what I’m hearing is about accountability, transparency and responsibility.”

She then launched into plans to relocate the runanga’s offices from Ngati Awa House on Louvain Street.

Explaining the offices were too big because of the scaling back of staff she said Ngati Awa House could be leased out and earn a rent.

The property has been registered with a real estate agents and when a tenant is found then the runanga’s offices will be relocated.

Mrs Ratahi-Pryor said management was considering three options: the army hall near the wharf, the old court-house building or some other site.

However according to Mrs Ratahi-Pryor the army hall site was too valuable for offices and it could be used to build a boutique hotel, shops or an office building to be leased out.

Turning her attention to the court-house and the strip of land behind it, she explained that this site was considered very viable because of the proximity to the wharenui.

“There is a Mataatua and we believe we need to be near Mataatua so that it can be kept alive and warm.”

She then went on to say the runanga could not afford to build new offices at the moment but it was hoped that they would one day and the tentative plans are to develop the land next to the court-house.

This is land that is currently being used for affordable iwi housing to uri from Ngati Hokopu ki Wairaka, Ngati Hokopu ki Hokowhitu and Wharepaia.

Mrs Ratahi-Pryor said a new office could be paid for by using the land more effectively.

“Currently we are trying to use the assets of Ngati Awa more efficiently.

“We haven’t yet come to any firm idea as to what the triangle will look like. I’m not into turfing our people out but it is about development.”

Situated in the heart of Wairaka, the news that runanga had plans to develop this land shocked many at the meeting.

There had always been the rumours that the runanga was looking at developing this land and there it was clearly outlined on a schematic plan.

But, she said, nothing had been confirmed yet because she knew that things were likely get more difficult once Ngati Hokopu knew for sure.

And now here is where it gets interesting.

Mrs Ratahi-Pryor said once a tenant is found for Ngati Awa House, the runanga could move into the court-house because the TRONA board had signed off on it and no resource consent was needed.

“Yes, we could move in tomorrow if we wanted to.”

However Ngati Hokopu ki Wairaka delegate Charlie Bluett disputed the claim that the board had passed a resolution allowing this to happen. He said that was not his recollection.

Mrs Ratahi-Pryor was confident this was so and was supported in her stance by TRONA deputy-chairman Pouroto Ngaropo, who had also attended the meeting. And as further evidence she said she would get a copy of the minutes of that meeting and give it to Ngati Hokopu.                                                                   

Ngati Hokopu ki Wairaka still have not received a copy of the minutes or any evidence of the resolution and I have spoken to another board member who agrees with Mr Bluett’s assertion. So who has the right recollection? Hopefully Mrs Ratahi-Pryor will remember to send the minutes soon so that we can see.

And hopefully this explains my doubt around whether the right information is coming out of the runanga.

I mean, did you know that Graham Pryor is the head of the Investments Committee and Brian Tunui is the new chairman of the Audit Committee? But more about that later.

Ma te wa.

Taking back the power

The chairman of Ngati Awa’s financial arm approved a $3.8 million contract with a carbon management company without gaining his board’s approval first.

Outlined in an Audit Committee report, the incident was described as “a serious breach in the organisation’s internal controls”.

The report had been based on an audit by the international accounting firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, that was commissioned to review the financial reports of Te Runanga o Ngati Awa (TRONA) and Ngati Awa Group Holdings Ltd (NAGHL).

“This is in regard to the (NAGHL) chairman and a NAGHL director not following prescribed processes for investment decisions and not obtaining the required NAGHL board approval,” the report noted.

NAGHL is the subsidiary which takes care of the tribe’s financial assets. It is governed by a five-person board and chaired by formal civil servant Wira Gardiner.

According to the report Sir Gardiner and NAGHL director Graham Pryor executed the $3.8 million contract with CO2 New Zealand Management Company without first taking it to the NAGHl board for approval.

At the time Mr Pryor was also a director of the carbon management company that had received the contract.

“The director advised the chairman that the board had some time approved the contract. There is no documentary evidence (minutes or other record) to evidence apart from a “heads of agreement” with CO2 that had been signed much earlier and pror to due diligence and legal review.”

In addition Mr Pryor also failed to pass on legal advice received by him but addressed to the board. The advice, which was about the situation, raised serious issues concerning the suitability of the investment and contract for Ngati Awa.

It was also noted that there has been poor documentation in regard to services provided in lieu of repayment of a loan balance. The loan was not disclosed in the report.

As a result the Audit Committee requested a policy around conflicts of interest be drafted. The report was presented to the Te Runanga o Ngati Awa board at the meeting in November.

At the board meeting in February the chief executive of Te Runanga o Ngati Awa, Enid Ratahi-Pryor, presented the Conflict of Interest policy.

Mrs Rātahi-Pryor said the runanga was in danger because it didn’t have a policy around this area. She asked the board to approve it in principle and she would return at the next meeting with feedback.

“The runanga does not have a policy and this places the runanga at risk.”

She also said that she had commissioned her own independent report.

“I’m surprised about PWC, that they didn’t go down to these levels and identify places where changes could be made… I’m concerned that there was a $900,000 budget blowout in previous years.

“Rogue spending is quite easy by the CEO but we just need to know how they get through the systems. I know how they got through the systems.”

It was also noted by Nga Maihi representative Regina O’Brien that the board had failed to discuss the report in any comprehensive manner at the previous meeting.

“The audit report got five minutes because we were in a hurry to go to lunch.”

Her point was backed by Poroporo kaumatua and board member Joe Mason, who acknowledged that the report had raised important points.

“The audit committee meeting report needs to be considered by the board. It is important document and it deserves consideration by the board. There is no harm however in a special meeting to have a look at the document.

“There are some important recommendations in the document. There is no harm, if there is a special take, of calling a special meeting.”

The board elected to discuss the report at a workshop to be held at a later date.

Ok, with all that explained the big questions for me are: is Graham Pryor still a director of NAGHL? And what processes are there so that individuals cannot spend tribal money without first gaining approval?

This makes it two more questions for Mrs Ratahi-Pryor to answer at the meeting with Ngati Hokopu to be held at Wairaka Marae tonight.

Which brings us to the meeting and I have to commend Mrs Ratahi-Pryor for wanting to come.

I have already posed several questions through this blog and I can assure there will be many from others in the crowd tonight. Some will be uncomfortable.

There are not many who would stand in the face of criticism and offer to explain how it went so bad. I think it goes a long way that Mrs Ratahi-Pryor is willing to come and answer our questions kanohi ki te kanohi.

I also applaud her decision to conduct her own audit. Obviously she is also concerned about some of the tribe’s expenditure.

And clearly the terms of reference for the audit by PWC did not include the decisions around investments or any of the processes around it, it just looked at the financial recordings.

But it must also be remembered Mrs Ratahi-Pryor was a board member and a director on NAGHL when a lot of this spending was going on – if she didn’t know what was going on, what hope do we have?

We are the people and I reckon it’s time we took back the power.

Information is power

Once again I am a little bit late with this post but I wanted to take my time so that my approach is measured and considered.

As you are aware I was meant to talk about the Ngati Hokopu hapu meeting after it was announced  that the chief executive of Te Runanga o Ngati Awa (TRONA) would attend and answer questions.

Enid Ratahi-Pryor had said she would like to attend the meeting to “decipher” and “demystify”    information coming out of the runanga.

However because it was the first meeting of the year it was felt there was too much business to get through so Ngati Hokopu requested Mrs Ratahi-Pryor attend another meeting at a later date.

That meeting is to be held at Wairaka Marae on March 6 at 6pm.

Therefore this week’s post will not be about what was discussed at the Ngati Hokopu hapu meeting; rather I would like to take some time to talk about the TRONA board meeting held at Te Manuka Tutahi last week.

It is the first board meeting that I have attended and I left feeling even more despondent.

I have a number of concerns but today I will highlight one area and that is: Ngati Awa’s financial arm will not be able to give the full annual grant to the runanga this year after heavy losses by its carbon credit investment.

Every year Ngati Awa Group Holdings (NAGHL) gives TRONA $1.5 million to fund the tribal operations.

However the group’s accountant, Murray Haines, told the TRONA board that NAGHL would only be able to give $400,000 from operating cash flows this year.

“An estimated $1.1m of the obligation funding will need to come from reserves due to the Carbon impact.”

Mr Haines said the tribe’s investment in carbon credits had recorded a year-to-date loss of $809,000.

“It is expected that the total for this financial year will be $1.9m. In the review by PriceWaterhouseCoopers it was concluded that an inflation adjusted carbon price of $25 per term was required. The current price is $2.35.”

The investment has already cost the tribe $2.2m in previous years and now the Runanga is considering whether to write the asset off.

“Writing off 100 per cent is the worst-case scenario. When I say write off it means that instead of keeping it as an asset we make it a cost,” Mr Haines said.

The report also highlighted that a net loss of $939,000 is being predicted with an expectation that the return on investments of 1.2 per cent instead of the budgeted 3.5 per cent.

On a positive note Mr Haines was able to say that an agreement with GoNet had been reached where the internet service provider would pay for the shares acquired from the tribe.

Mr Haines had claimed at last year’s AGM that the tribe had sold the shares for nothing but last week he outlined a plan for GoNet directors to pay $300,000 for the shares. The first instalment is due in April.

In addition Mrs Ratahi-Pryor had declared earlier in the meeting that the organisation had achieved a cash-neutral position. In other words the amount of money coming into the organisation was the same as what would be going out for this year.

The board gave Mrs Ratahi-Pryor a round of applause when she announced the achievement however only one member raised concerns about having to take money from the reserves to fund the runanga’s operations when it was outlined by Mr Haines.

When Mr Haines started his financial report four members left the table but as he went along hapu representative Regina O’Brien made it clear that she disapproved of having to take money from the tribe’s reserves.

She said she was deeply concerned that TRONA would have to use money from the reserves for operations.

Her point was noted but board chairman Te Kei Merito decided to move the meeting on and the situation wasn't discussed any further.

Meanwhile during the meeting Mrs Ratahi-Pryor said a reporter from the New Zealand Herald had obtained a copy of an audit report that had been commissioned from the international accounting firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers .

Mrs Ratahi-Pryor suggested the board pass a motion to embargo the meeting report until the next hui. The board voted and passed a resolution for all of those in the public gallery to hand the meeting report back before they left.

During Mr Haines presentation Mrs Ratahi-Pryor approached me and asked me to return the report immediately. There were four other people in the public gallery but I was the only person approached.

I declined and said I would return the report before I left the meeting.

The move to restrict information deeply concerns me. As an uri of Ngati Awa I believe it is my right to receive information about the runanga and its subsidiaries.

Add to that there is no legal requirement of embargo. It is a request not to publish the information before a certain date, that is all, and in this case the date is two months away at the board next meeting on April 26.

After much consideration I have obviously decided to ignore the request not to publish information from the report and have chosen to share it with you.

My reasons are simple.

In the past three years the runanga have lost $5.2m in failed investments and from what I can tell from attending the board meeting is that we stand to potentially write-off another asset. In addition we are also losing money despite the chief executive’s assertion that the runanga is cash-neutral.

And even though it maybe the hapu representatives’ responsibilities to report back to the people this is too important to leave up to chance that you might attend your own hapu meeting and then hear a fair report of the goings-on at the runanga. The internet has the ability to reach so many more people and I am determined to share whatever information I find out.

What you choose to do with that information is up to you.

The house that Wepiha built 2

Ok so a German reporter, her photographer and two Maori entrepreneurs walk onto a marae in Whakatane and are greeted by a woman demanding money.

Sounds like the start of a bad joke, right?

Well no, unfortunately it is a brief description of what happened when my cousin William Stewart tried to take some of international manuhiri to visit the Mataatua Wharenui.

William owns a fledgling tourism company based in Whakatane called Nativ ConnectioNZ with two of our other cousins, Briton Williams and Leslie Manuel.

Their aim is to offer international tourists insights into indigenous Aotearoa by exploring traditional Maori concepts and customs through a series of unique and personal Maori experiences. In other words they offer a range of tourist products that include guided walking tours where the boys tell tribal stories and other anecdotes at some of the most beautiful points in Whakatane, the opportunity to put down your own hangi and then share that meal in an intimate back-yard setting and a chance to share in that warm fuzzy feeling that most Maori feel when they go home.

The foundation of the products is the Maori belief in the responsibility of manaakitanga.

It is an idea that the cousins have been working on for a number of years, with a range of skills and experiences they would quietly mull over the vision whenever they had a chance to get together.

Finally last year they got to launch their idea after securing a contract to cook a hangi for 600 Australian cyclists passing through Whakatane on their way to Rotorua as part of 5 day tour of the North Island.

The event was a success and the cousins used the money they made from the venture to launch Nativ ConnectioNZ: Real Maori Experiences.

At the time William was working as a consultant for the runanga applying the expertise he had gleaned from the four years at Tourism New Zealand working as a Media Advisor.

As part of his contract with the runanga William managed the project team that were charged wth the respnsibility of delivering a “world class” market-aligned visitor experience at Mataatua Wharenui. 

The project team, which included very highly regarded Wellington consultancies Leuthart & Co and Click Suite, had written a strategy for how the $1 million visitor experience at Mataatua wharenui should be rolled into market and it was obvious that they had a clear vision of what was needed for the experience to be commercially succesful.

In addition to creating a world class product William also believed that the visitor experience would provide much needed employment for the iwi and provide the runanga with a strong platform from which to grow a commercial tourism portfolio.

However when the proverbial hit the fan, it became obvious that there were those within the runanga who did not share William’s vision and therefore his future at the organisation was uncertain, so he pitched an offer as a compromise.

In the offer he outlined what he believed were the negatives that the runanga faced in terms of the visitor experience including the tension between allowing the wharenui to earn its keep and the belief by some that it should be accessible to the iwi 365 years days a year and also the expensive upkeep of the wharenui.

With an annual operation expense of almost $170,000 recorded in 2012, William acknowledged the runanga’s reluctance to commit anymore tribal funds to the complex.

So he suggested the runanga could ‘lease’ the facility to NATIVConnectioNZ Ltd between 9am to 10am 364 days per year, with the exception of Christmas day, to conduct a one hour Mataatua experience.

He said his company would be willing to pay $100+GST for each hourly engagement, which would put it in par with current conference charge outs of $1000 per day.

According to William the benefits of the suggestion were that the wharenui would then be available to the iwi to use for the rest of the day from 10am, the runanga had the opportunity to earn the passive income of $36,400 and the $1 million tourism investment would be able to be marketed as it was planned by the project team.

It was also understood that should demand for the product increase then Nativ ConnectioNZ would be keen to apply for an additional hour between 6pm and 7pm, taking the possible income to more than $70,000.

The offer was initially made to the runanga through accountant Murray Haines and then to  NAGHL through Graham Pryor. At that stage William was hopeful that he would be able to make a presentation to the board so that they could consider the offer.

However as each board meeting came and went William and the Native ConnectioNZ boys failed to get admitted on the agenda.

Finally frustrated at the lack of traction in just getting time to present their idea, they went to the Ngati Hokopu Hapu meeting in November with their proposal.

Their goal was to seek Ngati Hokopu’s support in getting time on the agenda at the next board meeting.

To add weight to their grievance they also shared a story about how in the previous week they had hosted a German magazine to promote their business.

As part of the day they took the group that included the German reporter to the wharenui to take in the light show and tour.

When the group arrived at the wharenui there was some time until the morning show began and so William and Les decided to introduce their guests to their direct ancestor Toihau, who sits front centre as the Pou Mua, to explain and authenticate their connection to the house, the land and the people of the area.

Just as William was explaining his and Leslie’s conncetion to Toihau, the Marae general manager rounded the corner demanding to know if the group were paying customers.

Rather than introducing herself to the visitors, she continued to tell William off for not seeking permission from the runanga to enter the marae grounds.

Insulted and saddened the boys chose to usher their manuhiri from the marae and they returned to William’s home on Harvey Street to wait for the hangi to finish cooking.

After the meal William offered to take the group back to the wharenui so they could see the light show. However the group chose not to go back to the wharenui saying they did not feel welcome at the marae and preferred to stay at William’s home.

The story shocked Ngati Hokopu and at that time it was undertaken that hapu representative Charlie Bluett would approach runanga chairman Te Kei Merito to request a time at the next board meeting for William and his lads to make their presentation.

Mr Merito’s response was that while he supported the communication he wanted to be able to present a charter for the Mataatua wharenui before William’s proposal could be considered.

That charter was presented at the December meeting and since then the board now meet on a bi-monthly basis.

It has been seven months since William first made the proposal to the runanga and still he has not been given time to present his company’s case to the board.

And while they have all but accepted that they are not going to be able to gain access to the wharenui, William and his lads have continued to slog it out in order to get Nativ ConnectioNZ up and running with the goal of providing jobs for not only themselves but also for others.

They have come with alternative products including using the museum in Whakatane to try and illustrate some of our proud history.

They have hosted a swag of tourists, operators, film crews and other manuhiri trying to get their product out there.

And they have been innovative in their approach to sharing some of our proud tikanga and stories often calling on friends, family and other contacts to ensure their business is a success.

As a result I have been fortunate enough to be part of many of the tours as an extra pair of hands.

Whether it is watching the German reporter put down his own hangi in a hole that has been heated by a gas torch and a leaf blower or collecting pipis with the British backpacker and the girl from Switzerland or even waking up at 5.30am to cook smoked fish and white sauce with the Kahawai that was caught the day before by the American and Canadian – the experiences have been amazing.

The whole approach to opening up your home and delivering on our ancestral reponsibility to manaaki manuhiri reminds me that our culture is beautiful and unique.

It is just a pity that the boys’ cannot use the wharenui to showcase that ethos.

Meanwhile runanga chief executive Enid Ratāhi-Pryor is set to attend the Ngati Hokopu hapu meeting this weekend and along with all of the other questions I have already sentto  her, I would also like to know why my cousins still haven’t been given a chance to pitch their idea to the board?

Next week I plan to give an account of the Ngati Hokopu meeting that is to be held on Sunday at 11am at Wairaka Marae. Perhaps I will see you there?

Ma te wa.

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