1. When the rules change in any game, existing attitudes, skills and knowledge have to be transformed into elements and forms that can be learned or caught in a way that empowers and enables people, within the new environment and rules.
2. Through the school of hard knocks, most people learn the real lessons of life. lessons that guide their gut and tune their senses to the signals of the ever complex & changing challenge of daily life. Most people , however, have great difficulty sorting out their knowledge and how it fits or whether it fits, into the new way of doing thngs. And this includes those who are responsible for changing the rules and those who have assumed a role of interpreting the rules on behalf of others.m
3. There are many reason for this phenomena including
a) Schooling into mediocrity by our sociey's education system and middle class parents( G Ditzel- 2009)and other social & cultural norms. Following the rules is crucial as reward and punishment are pitted against each other as the accepted tool for compliance.
b) People have no systems or structures, either internally or externally, to properly help them develop their experiences, into tools and pathways, that they can use to help themselves, in the constantly & rapidly changing world that we now live in.
They simply do what they always have done and the new world rolls on - drowning them in its changing tide... They don't know that the rules have changed and most often, they have no idea what the new rules are.
4. The great hope is that people know something is not right as things no longer work as they use to. We have a sense that things are going down the plug hole, no matter what we do. But do we stop doing what we do? Mostly ...No.
Why? because that is what we were taught - to follow the rules , what everyone else is doing. Its the proper way to do things..
But What Happens When The Rules Change?
When life changes beyond all that we knew as a child, where and how do we take our next step forward?
How do we build the hope of a new & better day when we don’t have the skills or rules of the new way?
Or as new skills and rules are set out neatly in a report, do they fit with our internal knowing of what is needed to satisfy a sense of what we value and do?
So much has happened since the last post and yet nothing has been done to empower the people of Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri.
At best, it can be said that people are reacting to changes , but no one has really moved or done anything different to what they normally do.- and it shows.
Those who are involved in changing the rules, have and are, dislocating the core of our Iwi, by designing & controlling systems and processes that leave the people isolated and at the mercy of those who are on the Komiti.
A review of an organisation , tells you how and what systems & processes need changing, to make sure people line up and follow the rules that are already in place. 5 years down the track, people are still treating the Iwi as a part time job - and it shows !
Guess what! Its not! It is a serious full time job and you need highly skilled board members to make sure the work is being done properly.
It is horrendous that the Treaty audit on the Trust has been consigned to a secondary status, behind management and governance because there was no time to gather sufficient information!
Are you kidding? It was the Chathams that took the Sealord’s Deal!
Substantial Waitangi Tribunal hearings have been completed years ago. There is a mountain of information available –
Why don't you ask Iwi members/groups who hold the knowledge & information? Sometimes a series of hui-a-iwi is needed to develop agreement to decisions and to find a way forward.
Try doing something different instead of setting up a 'same old way of doing thigs facilitator' to consult the people about their tikanga and customs'
TALK TO THE PEOPLE
We do not need another report. We are a small iwi
It can only be said that the current Iwi Trust has derailed its Treaty based foundations and has thus disregarded not only its history and customs but significant Treaty legislation. It clearly indicates a huge lack of knowledge and skill on such matters. Consequently, the focus has moved to the assets and fish and relationships with like minded groups & persons - but what about the Iwi? . I am betting that even if you are told, you would not know what to do anyway. Consequently, the actions of the current Board to Treaty issues, appears lax and casual. it was up to them to prioritise the significant issues to be reported on.
I am including here a bit of your history , a voice from the past , to tell you about how importsant Mutunga was and is...My hope is you get the message. it is a significant one for this time, especisally as we have the Seabed & Foreshore issues to be debated amongst us. and yet you have not made contact with Iwi or set up a forum for us to participate or if you have, we haven't been told.
Whakaronga ki to tatou tupuna !
Waitangi 1905
Ki te Etitia o Te Puke ki Hikurangi.,
Tenei etahi kupu hei tuku atu mau , hei titro, hei mahara manga s iwi, ma nga kaimahi hoki i nga ture, ara, ma te kawanatanga.
He whakamarama atu i te ahua o te noho o nga Maori o tenei motu o Wharekauri; kua penei ta ratau noho me ta te Pakeha, i te mea kei a ratou te tikanga o o ratou whenua. Kua whakatipu i te taonga nga mea hikaka ki te mahi , kua puta mai he oranga ki era , kua titiro atu te hunga e ahu ke ana nga mahara ki etahi ke atu tikanga , i te ora ka puta mai ra ki ana nga mahara ki etahi ke atu tikanga , i te ora ka puta mai ra ki te hunga mahi. Kati, kua ahu katoa i runga i tera tikanga , i te mahi pamu.
Nga poraka i tenai tikanga i te pamu , Otonga poraka, 10,000 eka( he hipi, he kau, he hoiho, he poaka nga toanga o runga) , Kekerione 1000 eka, ( ko tana ahua ano nga tangata ), Wharekauri 5000 eka, Manukau 2000 eka. hui katoa ng eka kei to mahia e naga Maori ki te pamu , 23 500.
Ko nga taonga kei runga he hipi. he kau, he hoiho, he poaka, me te nui atu o etahi , hei tohu koia nei te ara e puta mai ai he oranga ki a tatau, he tahuri ki te mahi i ngqa whenua . E nga iwi, kei penei te mahara , na te papai ano pea o nga whenau i pai ai te whakatipu i te taonga. Kati, me ki atu au ki a koutou, ko aua ngaherehere ano me nga rarauhe me nga repo ngaere me te tini tu o etahi , engari na te hikaka tonu o te ngakau ki te mahi, i te mea kua kitea he oranga e puta mai ana i roto i te mahi i nga whenau.
he nui nga ahuatanga e puta mai ana i te mahi i nga whenua, he arai atu hoki i nga korero a nga Pakeha e ki nei he iwi mangere te Maori ki te mahi i o ratau whenua. Kati, he arai atu hoki i nga ture maha e hungaa mai ana hei muru i nga whenua o nga Maori.
na Inia Tuhata
When I think of the hours & hours of work, and the cost of that work, often paid out of their own pockets, to secure the Treaty rights, put in by our kuia and kaumatua, most of whom are no longer here, I am deeply concerned and angry. So many fought for that Treaty right - a right that belongs to all Mutunga o Wharekauri, not just those who signed up to giving away half our assets.
More importantly, if it wasn’t for one of our own, Bill Goomes, who put up his gear, his boat and information for Maori to demonstrate to Crown that there were Maori fishermen operating fully in the fishing industry, there would be no Maori fish for anyone in the country - including you on the Chathams. And what did he get for his contribution to proving Maori fisheries existed?
BUT YOU WOULDN'T KNOW THAT BECAUSE YOU WON'T ASK OUR OWN PEOPLE
WHY?
BECAUSE YOU DON'T VALUE OUR OWN PEOPLE.
WHY DON’T YOU GO AND ASK BILL TO TELL HIS STORY?
He deserves a better deal then what he has got now - then all of you sitting on the Board. Look after him - he is a taonga....
As for the contribution of Jim & Norman, it is without question. without them, you would not have what you have got now. Their fight for the treaty rights of Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri, enabled you to have the fish you have today.
And where were you when they were paying out of their own pockets to do the work?
How dare you diminish the role & significance of the Treaty to a back seat on the bus.!
e>Organisation & Governance Systems & Structures
Specifically, it is a great concern to see that the review, under governance principle one, identifies core agency/principle issues common to all organisations , and attributes difficulties to tikanga ( I presume this refers to tikanga Maori’ ) and the need to try and ‘minimise the difficulties that arise in fitting a Maori organisation into a pakeha legal structure. That is a bit like the debate on whether customary rights exist as in the Seabed & Foreshore Act. If you as the elected Board members, cannot put up front, the existing legislative protections for the customs, tikangs, tinorangatiratanga, manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga of Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri and its Rohe Potae, i.e the Treaty of Waitangi, then you should resign.
As it stands, I can see the Iwi Trust cuddling up to the Council and other local government agencies, so that you are all saying the same thing.
But, but what about the customary rights of Mutunga that already exist? they belong to our children , our mokopuna and those still to be born. This blog is a record for them in case something happens to me.
What a load of c---.! The comment of principle one, clearly shows that there is a perception that Maori have organisations that are different from pakeha and that it is difficult to reconcile them. It is a racist comment and should not be there.
Well of course they do...so do pakeha have organisations that are different from other pakeha. So what are we talking about here?
All organisations want to be successful and most set out clear goals and rules (tikanga) about why they have come together as an organisation.
Everyone knows there are laws & Acts governing how organisations are to be run and most set up skilled people, to carry out the work so that they can achieve the goals set. Even organisations managing the assets and interests of Maori, have such rules & systems e.g. TOKM ,Tainui, Maori Television, Te Wananga o Raukawa. Te Runanga o Kai Tahu.
The current mess in the Iwi Trust was & is a result of poor foundation systems set up in a covert manner,with poor management & governance skills. The people involved did not have the skills and refused to appoint highly skilled people who did!
BUT , we learn and move on. SORT IT OUT! LEARN & try not to do the same thing again
The rules are set out in the Acts, TOKM have clearly set out your agreements (I have put these on line so all can read for themselves) atnd the rest is about good management skill and expertise. But you need someone who is trained in corporate management. You are not running the local church committee nor its it part time – it’s a multi million dollar corporation, or was supposed to be.
Tikanga – (hopefully Maori ...or is there an emerging widget
A token comment is made that tikanga and kawa of Iwi are taken into account and customary values are to be identified – BY WHOM? WHAT IWI?
This sound like someone who is quoting the rules to apply for funding and needs to meet the criteria – so adds the words from the rules. but what does it mean?
What about Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri? Are you going to consult with the Iwi on tikanga? Or are you going to decide what our tikanga is, for us?
What does AHI KAA TUTURU MEAN? Where did that tikanga come from? What is its origin? Wikipedia?
It certainly did not come from my grandparents or greatgrand parents and that takes the whakapapa back into the 1860’s
You have the agreement with Tokm and the relevant Acts, and I set out the relevant clauses below I guess that means you have to talk to the Runanga - just as well we didn't have a copy of the agreement, back when wrote to you seeking a hui and you refused !! AND YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO ! THAT'S WHAT THE ASGREEMENT SAYS!
Its amazing what information and knowledge does to help empower the people ..
I think you all need to look up the definition of FIDUCIARY DUTY
A. Notwithstanding the transfer of settlement assets to the Trust or its AHC, Te Ohu continues to have obligations, consistent with both its duties and the purposes of Te Ohu Kai Moana under the Act, to assist and advance the interests of Iwi individually and collectively.
B. Prior to the transfer by Te Ohu to the Trust or its AHC of any settlement assets allocated to Ngati Mutunga (Chathams) under the Act and consistent with Te Ohu‘s recognition of the Trust as the MIO for Ngati Mutunga (Chathams) the Parties have agreed to the terms and conditions recorded in this Deed.
(a) it has at all relevant times maintained the mandate and confidence of Ngati Mutunga (Chathams);
(b) notwithstanding the transfer of settlement assets to the Trust, Te Ohu continues to have obligations, consistent with both its duties and the purposes of Te Ohu Kai Moana under the Act, to assist and advance the interests of Iwi individually and collectively;Finding Our Values by Facing & Confronting Conflicts
People join the Komiti in the hope of trying to change things but become cauterized by the dysfunctioning systems and the way things are done around the table i.e. the old way of doing things.
People have to be involved in the process of developing their Iwi organisations. We are unique and unlike any other Iwi in NZ. You are 800 km away.
By the way, I can’t work out why Kevin left – his presence made the lineup more independent less like a family affair .It also gives an excellent example of why we need a hapu styled model based upon our land blocks, as a system to define membership & customary whakapapa rights . Avoids the messy membership scrap going on About DIX whakapapa.
Hope there's no inside trading going on!..Who got the fish this year?.
In the case of the Runanga, this has been played out predictably as the Chairman ‘did things the way he always did ‘despite rules and regulations, telling him otherwise.
Iwi organisations are serious corporate business and should not be run like your farm or fishing business. The assets are not your personal assets - they belong to the people and there are rules you have to follow , as you have found out.! The last 2 years have not been a picnic !
As his actions contravened the Court order, I had to move to fix the potential mess. It demonstrates how such people can create costly events by dumb, ignorant actions.
a) Someone should remind the Chairman that he has to give notice of a meeting,
b)call meeting and actually hold a meetimg so that
c) the annual accounts can be received, approved and passed by the meeting BEFORE it is filed with the appropriate regulatory forums.
d) That the meeting should have a quorum and minutes should be taken.
Using a court case as an excuse not to call a meeting is a little naive but perhaps demonstrates what the real problem has been since he fired all staff of the Runanga in 2007. The hearing was already over Charlie! I am sure Helen Clark did not stop parliament when an investigation was being held into her speeding ticket
It is an example of the dis ease and old ways that plagues the Chathams. The rules have long changed.
Evelyn
