New Raukawa GM focuses on improved sense of kotahitanga among all hapū/iwi

Tiwana Tibble says combining resources and building a formidable presence is the most effective way to face the Crown.

New Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga general manager Tiwana Tibble may have had a long and successful career in investment and managing treaty processes, but he does not want to talk about himself.

Tibble said whatever someone has done in the past is in the past, and all that matters now is making the most of the challenges and opportunities ahead.

For now, that involves shaping Te Rūnanga o Raukawa, with its 25 iwi/hapū spread geographically from south of Ōtaki to north of Bulls, into an administratively strong and disciplined representative organisation.

In that work, he takes inspiration from many local leaders that have shaped his thinking.

“When I started my governance and business career in the early 1980s with the local Raukawa Maori District Council, I was young and inexperienced in a time of tribal leaders like Whatarangi Winiata, Kelly and Kawa Kereama, Iwi Nicholson, Mason Durie, Thompson Tukapua, and Rand Jacobs, to name a few.

“I saw they were committed people who became extraordinary because they could think and plan for the long term, they collaborated with others to create leverage, and they had patience. They put the work in, stayed focused, and persevered.”

Tibble said out of that planning, collaboration and patience came current iwi organisations like the Wananga o Raukawa, Kauwhata, Muaūpoko, and Raukawa Whanau Ora.

“Now as we have their achievements clear to see, we could overlook how much resistance, apathy, and parochialism they must have overcome to stand those organisations up. It is much easier to criticise what others are trying to build than to build something yourself.

“But I know we will have many committed people in the 25 hapū of Ngati Raukawa who decide to step forward to plan for the long-term, collaborate with other hapu, and be patient as they step their way through a treaty settlement process.”

Tibble says it is not for him to decide how the hapū of Raukawa will choose to advance their treaty settlement, but when they choose a path he is happy to apply his skills and that of the rūnanga on their behalf if that is what they want.

“What I have learned over the decades is that combining resources and building a formidable presence is the most effective way to face the Crown. It is harder to do that as a hapū, but as a larger iwi they will know they have to deal with you.

“I have seen the value in combining assets in post-settlement investing, where faster gains can be made by investing together rather than individually.

“I have also learned that in negotiations you don’t always get what you want right now but you can take wins and combine them with prior wins and create something sustainable. It takes long term planning, the ability to work with others, and patience.”

Tibble is now focused on best use of the executive committee process. Two AGMs in arrears have been sorted with healthy quorums and supported resolutions. A business plan was approved at the beginning of the year by the rūnanga, now the first six months progress has been reported on formally.

In the past there have been rotating boards of 25 people which made getting to decisions extremely difficult. “We need modern governance with a smaller and skilled group of governors so that things get done.”

“If we have a solid picture of where we want to go, then we put in place good administration and disciplines, bring in good people, and we work hard, stay focused, and be patient, then we can grow the organisation to be ready for whatever is asked of us.”

Tiwana Tibble is a Fellow Chartered Accountant with degrees from Massey University and Darden College in West Virginia, and a career that has included 15 years as CEO of Ngāti Whātua Orākei and working with Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Tūwharetoa.

He currently serves on the boards of Whakaata Māori, Taupō Moana Group Holdings, Te Wananga o Raukawa and the large geothermal power trust, Tauhara North No 2. Those boards administer more than a billion dollars worth of iwi investments.

“I grew up within Raukawa territory, in Feilding, and attended Hato Pāora College, so in a sense I have come full circle.”