Kāhu ki Rotorua: Tūtaki mai ki ngā Kaitakawaenga Maori nō te Tari Tāke o Rotorua - IRD provides a tailored service targeted at assisting Maori tax payers

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Tokorua ngā Kaitakawaenga Māori hou kua tīmata ki te Tari Tāke ki Rotorua.

Ko te awhi i te hunga Māori kia hiki ai i te māramatanga e pā ana ki ngā tāke tā rāua aronga. Ko Jonelle Walters rāua ko Mere Wehipeihana ngā ingoa.

He uri nō Te Arawa me Ngāti Whakaue a Jonelle. I tupu ake ia ki tōna papakāinga e noho pātata ana ki te roto o Rotorua, ki Koutu. E rua ngā tau a Jonelle e mahi ana ki te Tari Taake, ā, i whakaaro ia ki te tono mō te tūranga o te Kaitakawaenga Māori ki te poipoi i te hononga i waenganui i ngā whānau me te Tari Taake me te tautoko i runga i te mōhio ki ngā tikanga Māori.

He uri nō Ngāti Tukorehe a Mere, kua mōhio ia ki a Rotorua hei kāinga mai i te wā rātou te whānau i hūnuku ki kō i a ia e pēpi ana. I tīmata a Mere ki Te Tari Tāke hei Kaitakawaenga Māori i te marama o Noema 2021.

Nā runga i tana haerenga a reo Māori me tana hīkaka ki te āwhina i ngā whānau Māori i tono a Mere mō te tūranga , i te mea, he pīrangi nōna ki te whakamahi i ōna mātauranga ki te tautoko i ngā whānau me ā rātou tāke

E hiahia ana rāua ki te whakatenatena i a Ngāi Māori kia tika mai i te tīmatanga kia kaua e whakamā ki te tono āwhina ki Te Tari Tāke.

He ratonga te Kaitakawaenga Māori e wātea ana mō te hunga takitahi, ngā momo rōpū whakahaere rānei, pērā i ngā karapu hākinakina, ngā Marae, ngā Kōhanga Reo me ētahi atu umanga kore-huamoni.

Ka taea e te Kaitakawaenga Māori te tuku a-takitahi i ngā tohutohu me ngā kōrero tāke; te tuku whakangungu tāke me ngā wānanga ki ngā rōpū Māori; te whakatū tari ki ngā pokapū rauemi, marae rānei me te tuku pukapuka kōrero e pā ana ki ngā tāke.

Hei tautoko i ngā whānau i te wā e herea ana e te COVID, ka taea e ngā Kaitakawaenga Māori te hui mā runga rorohiko, te waea rānei.

Inland Revenue Rotorua has recruited two new Kaitakawaenga Māori officers, whose focus is to provide education to help Māori understand their taxes.

Introducing Jonelle Walters and Mere Wehipeihana,

Jonelle is of Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue descent, raised on her papakāinga on the edge of lake Rotorua in Koutu. Jonelle has been with Inland Revenue for two years and was motivated to apply for the Kaitakawaenga Māori role to nurture the relationship whānau have with Inland Revenue and to provide support in a way that recognises tikanga.

Mere, a descendant from Ngāti Tukorehe has known Rotorua as home since she moved here with her whānau as a baby.

Mere joined Inland Revenue in November 2021 when she saw the opportunity to become a Kaitakawaenga Māori. Motivated by her te reo Māori journey and eagerness to help whānau Māori, Mere applied for the role as she wanted to use her knowledge to effectively provide tax support to whānau.

Jonelle and Mere have said they want to encourage Māori to get it right from the start and to not be whakama to ask for their help.

The Kaitakawaenga Māori service is available for any Māori individual or organisation in business including sports clubs, marae, kōhanga reo and other not-for-profits. Kaitakawaenga Māori can provide one-to-one tax advice and information, provide tax training and seminars to Māori groups, provide tax agencies at resource centres or marae and supply information booklets on a range of different tax obligations.

To provide support to whānau during COVID restrictions, Kaitakawaenga Māori are able to attend virtual visits and phone appointments.

- This article was written and translated by the official communications team at the Inland Revenue Department