Kia ora Tatou
TRUST UPDATE
It has been some time since we reported to you on the Trust activities. The restrictions caused by the Covid–19 pandemic have affected us all in many different ways and will continue to do so for some time. However, our team we have been working away in the background to bring solutions forward to progress the development of our lands.
Back in April 2021 a hearing of the NZ Court of Appeal was held to determine legal issues that were inconclusive in the Maori Land Court. On 17th December the Court finally issued its judgment which was to dismiss the case. This was not entirely unexpected but in the course of their judgment they did give some guidance on how we can deal with land matters going forward. We can now plan our future development strategy with more certainty. It is a huge relief to have the distraction of these Court proceedings now behind us.
Our next step is to increase our communication and engagement with our owners as we consider the development options for what is an exciting opportunity for our Trust to make progress.
We have recently refreshed our website with new information and improved design to improve its visibility and user friendliness. This will remain the best place to get accurate and detailed information on the Trust. These days many people like to work through social media networks and in recognition of this we have set up a Trust Facebook page and are developing networks to share our information. We will be making more use of technology to communicate with our owners, and we encourage you to provide your email contacts to the office if you have not already done this. Some owners will have received this panui directly by email rather than postal service.
In February and March we are planning to hold a series of marae based engagement hui with owners to share and discuss our options going forward. At these hui we will be discussing the Trustees guiding principles for the block and seeking owner feedback on and input into them and how they can best be achieved. We will outline what is happening at Te Tumu and what our options are to progress development of our land. We will also be looking at bringing back the rotation election process of Trustees that was proposed in 2017 but was rejected by the Court. This will be an opportunity to bring in new skills and commitment to support the work of the Trustees that will become ever more complex as we progress our development strategy.
We had intended these hui to be in person but the developing situation with Omicron creates too much risk and so the first hui will be by Zoom only. We have published a meeting notice for this first Engagement Hui to be held on Zoom on 13th February 2022. As Zoom requires an email address pre-registration by email will be required to info@tumukaituna14.co.nz. We propose 3 follow up hui and if the environment permits, we will do this in combination of in person and by Zoom, but there will be restrictions on numbers in line with the then applicable Covid protocols. These are discussion hui and no formal resolutions will be sought until the 4th Hui once formal notification to owners of proposed resolutions has been done. In this current pandemic environment, we need to be ready to make changes to our processes and any updates will be on our website www.tumukaituna14.org.nz and on Facebook.
We are also working to secure external funding to help with building our capacity to pay for the work that needs to be done to progress our development strategy. New options have emerged for funding since we started this journey, but it takes time and expertise to work through the process to secure these funds. We will share with you how we are progressing with these at our hui.
Please visit our website and connect through Facebook. You can email the Trust directly through the Contact Us page on the website.
We look forward to engaging with you at our hui and online as we continue to navigate this unique environment to grow and develop our lands and create opportunities for our people and their whanau.
Nga mihi
Malcolm T Short
Chairman