Seeing the needs and meeting them

The AGM was held in a quiet corner of Splash Planet. Photo / Supplied

Tēnā tātou e aku rangatira, anei ētahi whakaaro mō te hui ā tau kātahi anō ka mutu. He aha ngā mea tāku i kite ai, he aha hoki ngā mea tāku i rongo ai i ō tātou tini whanaunga i tae ā tīnana atu me te mātakitaki a ipurangi nei i taua hui rā.

Just a short reflection on the things I saw and heard from our people at the AGM on Saturday, November 26. We saw more than 4000 iwi members and whānau enjoy our annual day at Splash Planet.

The weather was beautiful which made for a fantastic day for all.

I would like to make a few observations from our annual general meeting which was held in a quiet corner of the park and allowed for good discussion and engagement with our whānau. If you were not there or did not tune into the livestream, I encourage you to watch it (go to the Kahungunu Iwi Facebook page).

Bayden Barber.

The following were the key “takeaways” from the AGM from my point of view:

1. Kia Maumahara ki te Mana Āhua ake o Ngāti Kahungunu - We are all on the same waka, that is the Tākitimu waka! Upholding the absolute uniqueness of the living breath of Kahungunu is key to our success. No matter who you are and where in Ngāti Kahungunu you hail from, we are all trying to achieve the same vision, “that our Kahungunu people are achieving excellence in all areas of their lives.” Ki te Whaiao ki Te Ao Mārama. To achieve this we need to be working together as whānau, hapū and iwi along with our community partners.

2. Performance – it was clear from whānau feedback that we need to be doing more to achieve the aspirations of our Ngāti Kahungunu people. We need to aim for the highest mountain in terms of our performance or as the proverb goes, “whāia te iti Kahurangi ki te tuohu koe me maunga teitei.” A continuous improvement approach needs to be part of our ethos and culture. What can we do better? How can we improve what was reported at this year’s AGM? There is much to be done as a thriving iwi makes for a thriving community.

3. Transparency and Accountability – AGMs are about fronting our people and reporting on the past year and plans going forward. It was clear from the AGM that our people are looking for more accountability and transparency. The way we ran the AGM, allowing for questions etc. I think was a great start. An Audit, Finance and Risk Committee over the NKII Group is being established and will go a long way to allaying some of these concerns. But this needs to be imbued into the culture of the organisation. We are the kaitiaki of monies and assets that belong to the people, they are not ours. We must care for, protect and grow these iwi assets and be accountable for our management of them.

4. The Future is Exciting – I am optimistic about the future of our iwi. We have had some issues and these were canvassed at the AGM. The future however is very exciting. There is so much opportunity for our people going forward. Let’s seize these opportunities and grow a successful future for our Ngāti Kahungunu people.

Nō reira, kia kaha tātou as we navigate the rough oceans together and look toward reaching a future where our people can excel in areas of education, employment, housing, social and economic development, the taiao and cultural identity. E hara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari ko taku toa he toa takitini kē!

Nāku noa, me ngā mihi o te wā.