Bayden Barber: Collective strength - the vision for our iwi's future

Bayden Barber is a Hastings district councillor and is running in the election for chair of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated.

OPINION

The vision for Ngāti Kahungunu must be to come together and utilise our collective strength, as per the Kahungunu proverb "…ko taku toa, he toa takitini" (together we are stronger). Te kotahitanga o Ngāti Kahungunu / the collective strength of Ngāti Kahungunu is this vision.

Ngāti Kahungunu needs to take its rightful place at the top table of te ao Māori. We are collectively one of the largest iwi with over 60,000 whānau, over 85 marae and hapū. Our combined treaty settlements are worth nearly half a billion dollars across an area spanning from Paritū, north of Te Māhia to Tūrakirae on the South Wairarapa coast. This should give us the financial and social strength to match other successful iwi like Ngāi Tahu and Tainui.

However, we are not reaching these heights and our whānau are not getting the benefits that they deserve. The recent Kahungunu Chair debate highlighted that in 2021 our iwi posted a $10m loss. We must do better to improve our financial performance so that we are making money, not losing it. This will allow more investment into the things that are of vital importance such as health, education, jobs, housing and our environment.

The current iwi constitution has brought our iwi to where we are today and I mihi to all those who have contributed to this achievement, including our current chair Ngahiwi Tomoana for the all the mahi over those years. However, it is time to look at innovative ways to govern our iwi and fisheries assets to ensure our iwi's aspirations are realised for tomorrow and beyond.

We should extend the iwi board to include each of our Post Settlement Governance Entities (PSGEs). The current constitution does not allow this and, to be clear, this is not a money grab. Under the vision of te kotahitanga o Ngāti Kahungunu, the PSGEs would continue to control and grow their own assets as they currently do, but their coming onto the iwi board offers huge benefits.

Firstly, the PSGEs are commercial entities so they bring commercial skills and expertise that will add rigour to the board's decision-making processes. They also bring the mana and history from each of their settled claims which is hugely important to Ngāti Kahungunu's cultural and historical korowai.

Secondly, having these commercial skills working alongside the social and wellbeing skills of our taiwhenua is a strong balance of elements important to the commercial, cultural and social success of our iwi.

Lastly and most importantly there is an opportunity to collectivise and collaborate on issues that impact all of our communities, thus improving the benefits that flow to our whānau, marae and hapū.

The collective influence and political grunt that would come from te kotahitanga o Ngāti Kahungunu would ensure that we as an iwi could negotiate for greater outcomes for whānau. This becomes more pertinent due to major policy reform in New Zealand underway for the health sector, the Resource Management Act, Three Waters and the future of local government. We could have the impact that Ngāi Tahu and Tainui have in their rohe, benefiting our iwi and our community.

This collective strength will make it easier to get more from central and local governments, unlocking the purse strings and opening up opportunities that can make more of a difference in the lives of our whānau.

In order for us to truly affect change we need to participate in this election and vote! The voting papers are being sent out from the 24th of March and I encourage every Ngāti Kahungunu person over 18-years-old to vote, and vote for a positive change.

We are on the cusp of greater things for Ngāti Kahungunu. Let's bring our whānau, our marae, our hapū and our iwi together because as the proverb says "…ko taku toa, he toa takitini" (together we are stronger).

Bayden Barber is a Hastings District Councillor and is running in the election for chair of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated.