We All Live UnderThe Same Sky But We Don't All Have The Same Horizen.

The Seabed & Foreshore legislation is a hot topic at the present moment but I am wondering whether our leaders on the Iwi Trust and the new Runanga committee , understand what it means . How will they develop a process that enables Iwi members to understand and contribute to a Ngati Mutunga Iwi policy, on the Seabed & Foreshore?
I was especially concerned when I heard that the old song of " But you only want to take control away from the Island" was being sung by the committees again , when members say 'we want to have a say in what happens to our tribe.'

My question to them is" what do you control now?" .

This was a song sung by both NM Iwi Trust and the Runanga , way back in the 1990's, even after TOKM and government had made the rule that no iwi member could be excluded from the entitlements of Treaty settlements. It is what made a group from Christchurch and a group from the North Island, set up entities, to enable them to have a say in what was happening to their Iwi on the Chatham Islands. This was unfortunate as it set up another faction within Ngati Mutunga, which it did not need. However, we had no process to participate in the existing Iwi groups who represented Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri.

In fact the only thing they controlled , was the money in the bank that they had received from leasing fish assets from TOKM. and who was got the leased fish each year. It became clear that those on the committees, wanted to keep control over the resources , rather then take responsibility for the rangatiratanga o Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri, in its rohe potae.

Have things changed? What do they control now?

The customary rights of Ngati Mutunga? The land development ?, rates ? The government? The policies that affect the island? Submission to legislative changes are few and do you let the people know , what you are saying in the one's you do submit!! What about health services to the island? Education policies as they affect the island children? DOC? Economic development of the island? And the fish settlement for TOKM ? well...that is a story to tell your mokopuna....what a disaster!
How many millions have you received from the fish and how many millions have been spent on educating our children ? on training our young people? or on the health care of our old people and our young families? These are things you, as our leaders, ought to be dealing with. If you read your constitutions, it is all laid out there .

As well as all that, you are supposed to administer and manage the organisations , on our behalf and in the best interests of the members of the organisations i.e us the members of Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri.

Rangatiratanga, manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga are principles of Kaupapa & Tikanga Maori. Do these committee's understand their fiduciary duties of care of the people, within these principles?

As far as I can see, you don't actually control any of those things now - so what is it you are really concerned about? At best, we only find out what you are doing , after it has all happened. As for the customary rights of Ngati Mutunga, how many tribal members have had input into any policy development over the past 4 years? .

It is a bit like living in the dark ages ! It would be too easy to say ' lets help them i.e those who are on the committees, ' but I don't think they would listen to anyone...and they certainly don't ask us for opinions ! . While other tribes seem to have come into the 21st century, and try to comply with normal management systems, or at least we can see and hear in the media when they do things that are not quite right. No doubt you have read about the Danny Mullins and his team of cohorts who managed the Te Runanga o Atiawa ki Whakarongotai of Waekanae. What people maynot know is the close association with the Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri Iwi Trust as Danny was an active member of the Trust. . You might wonder how come ?

Well, if you go back to my earlier posts on the pre 1835 history, you will fiind some answers in the migrations that were taking place as settlors from Britian were making their mark in Aotearoa.
Along with the pressures that were occurring between tribes as they fought battles over territory, so too were tribes having to contend with the British settlors who were looking for land to settle. Soldiers, guns and new religions gave weight to the complexities of survival as a tribe. Mutunga Cheifs, along with those Cheifs of associate hapu and tribes, took part in various heke , to find new and safe havens for their whanau and hapu. These heke were usually carried out with great strategic intent, planned relationships and many battles that are still remembered today in whaikorero, waiata and haka. That was the custom pre 1840.

So what has that got to do with Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri Iwi Trust and Te Runanga o Whakarongotai ki Waikanae and Danny Mullins and his cohorts ?
Whakapapa is a grand thing - you can pick your firends but you can't pick your relations.
What you will find is that many whanau from Waikanae are descendant to Wharekauri whanau i.e those who migrated in the various heke from Taranaki, Waikato and other areas, eventually moved on and settled either to south of Waikanae or to Wharekauri. That was the custom of pre 1840 life in Aotearoa...That is the whakapapa of Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri

I was fascinated to find the names of tupuna of many whanau on the Islands today. Prominant names who laid claims to land blocks in Waikanae is that of Inia Tuhata.. and Mere Pomare..- she was the first wife of Inia Tuhata and the second wife of Wi Naera Pomare . Also we find tne names of Te Wiata, Tamati and many others...it explained why my father has land on Kapiti... It would be interesting to see who on the Islands Danny laid whakapapa to.

So.. that is why Treaty issues are critical for Ngati Mutunga...and the landblocks .that were set up by tpuna..It defines cut off points for those who settled on stayed and developed the land.and held the ahi kaa , those who .who love elsewhere, who while they may whakapapa , it is with a different relationship with the whenua, that needs to be defined and developed. I don't mean there is no relationahip , it will be different.
If you understand the full significance of the signiture by NZ to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, , you will understand why we have to get the Treaty Rights done properly. Before NZ signed ( by Dr P Sharples last week) 144 countries agreed and signed up, 4 had opposed (US, NZ Australia and Canado) and 11 had abstained. Australia and NZ have just signed.
Treaty matters are not racist issues, they are about the future of our kids and the Chathams.

The iwi of Wharekauri, seem to be lagging behind in the bog, a position that does us all no favours. It in fact, allows government to either keep on ignoring the Chathams or to just make rules to keep everyone in the same place., predictable and the same...
A website hides the truth - it looks good & probably cost as much, but where is it going? Where are the people policies ? It allows those with computers and internet connection ( those can afford it) to talk to each other.. but how about those who dont have computers? who don't have telephones?
A Chatham Island picnic won't cut it in a economic recession....makes you feel good but it but changes nothing...

Our whanau are leaving the islands so what are the leaders doing with our resources?

Find a way forward so that Ngati Mutunga can look after its people , its whenua and its future.

The Important Thing Is Not The Number Of Years Given To A Man But What He Does With Them

Well, the Hui is over and the new interim committee of the Runanga is in place .
However, already the underlying conflicts have threatened the peace of a new way forward. What a start!
Accusations of death threats!!! Sounds like someone is watching too many dvd's ! Such drama! Oh well, No doubt the appropriate people will sort that out.

Aue !! Upon the shoulders of those elected, lies the future of Mutunga
I salute their courage!

I was astounded to receive notices about the liquidation of a trust that seemingly, was holding the assets of the Iwi Trust. Does that mean the assets of Ngati Mutunga Iwi Trust, are now in the hands of the liquidator? What a mess! How did that happen? Paula, aren't you the Chairmaperson responsible for good governance? You are supposed to tell the members about signoificant changes to the assets of the people.

How can someone do so much damage in so short a time? If these documents are confirmation of such actions, then Ngati Mutunga is in pickle. Who is running the Trust? Who was the Chair when it happened? they should resign. Who were the advisors?
But the Iwi Trust non't have Treaty policies so it may well be that such compliance mechanisms , don't count. But how did they get the assets in the first place?
What are they doing? For those who may not know what's going on, the papers are added to the blog on the left. It will take you to the NZ Companies Office.
I will keep putting things up as they arrive

Few Things Are More Satisfying Then Being Able To Inspire Other Human Beings To Accept New Challenges

It has been almost 8 months since my last post - much has happened.
Decisions of the court have been made and set in place, and so now, we set
out on new journeys and challenges. It is a time of change.
Personally, the challenges of the past three years cauterised the very core but I
am mindful of the following words as we seek to rebuild Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri..

' There must be no bitterness in the reconstruction work. We must try to forgive those who injure us"
Madame Kai Shek.

As the journey to repair the splintered and charred whare that cloaked the journey through the very heart of the tribe, continues, it is with hope and anticipation of a better future for Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri, that I begin to write again.

As for the issues of the case, it seems important to let you know what has happened since the court decision. Throughout this blog, the consistent statement has been that the whole affair did not have to happen. So many rules of the constitution were broken that clearly the lack of management knowledge and skill of the Board members steering the ship. were wanting. While my goal was to get it resolved quickly, and to get on with the Runanga duties, if we look at the delays and time dragging by the Chairman and his advisor, it clearly was not a priority of the Chairman. It seemed they were more interested in playing the person and not the ball.

Throughout the 2 and half years, the process was thwarted by the constant attempts
to lay the blame for the debts upon me.
While it was difficult ignore the accusations, my advisers were adamant, that I
take a pathway that would lead the tribe out of the violence and destruction
that was being laid upon the Runanga, and leave aside the matters and accusations that were being slated me, until the main task was done.
For my part, it was imperative that the Runanga and the customary rights of Mutunga, be placed in a safe space, where the issues could be addressed in a proper manner and time.
It is the reason why I chose to negotiate a settlement as it was the quickest way to end the case.
In the event, the action taken by the Chairman ,destroyed the whole
internal and external infrastructure of the tribe. Networks and relationships
that had taken years to set in place, were wiped out. Today there remains but
the threads of the original whaariki, that was set in place by the old people.
The opportunity loss not only for Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri and its members but also for the whole Island community, has been significant.

Consequently, following the case,I laid a complaint to the Law Society,
against the legal advisor. The assumption is that it was he provided advice to the Chairman. Despite the difficulties around process, the situation remains on the table. While the argument is that lawyers are entitled to use a robust and forthright manner in the protection of their client, my concern remains.
The concern is that as an officer of the court , a legal advisor has duties in carrying out the roles and responsibilities of justice. An officer of the court must not use, or knowing assist in using ,the law or legal processes for the purpose of causing unnecessary embarrassment, distress or inconvenience to another person's reputation, interests, or occupation. An officer of the court has an over riding duty to the court, which includes a duty of fidelity or honesty to the court.

The concern expressed to the Law Society remains as follows;
Over the 2 and a half years I was consistently accused by the legal advisor, of being responsible for the financial decisions and situation of the Runanga even though he knew I was never the CEO or had any authority for financial decisions, and that he had lost the staff grievance case against the Runanga, in the Employment Court.
What I want to know is whether it is acceptable that " deception' be considered an acceptable form of strategy or action taken by an officer of the court, in the robust and forthright defense of the client ?
I await their reply...and will be relieved when the nightmare ends.....
The question is... have the lessons been learnt? Will the next
governing board of the Runanga , understand what happened? Or will
they continue to do things 'the way we always do things' and play the person and not the ball?
Perhaps the bigger question is 'what is it we want for our tribe ? 'for our Rohe? for our whanau?
Do we want or value our tribe Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri?
What do you want your tribe to do?
Do you know what your tribal land block or hapu is ? Did you know there was
one?
What do you want? What do you know?
My belief is that people have become so disconnected from the tikanga and culture of their tribal selves that when critical constitutional matters relating to their culture , arise, there is no understanding of its critical value in determining the impact uopon their needs and those of their whanau.

Consequently, I don't think people even think about these matters as the demands placed upon them to survive, overwhelms some and for others, closes down the freedoms of believing they have a right to the resources that have been caught in the tahae net.
The effort of trying to neeet the ever changing demainds of our daily lives, overwhelms and reduces the energy and time required , for us to consider these important things that are the real things that control how we live. Worse then that, no one really knows how to change what is happening.

My hope is that Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri becomes a time, a place and vehicle that grows the families of Ngati Mutunga , develops the Rohe o Wharekauri in a way that
brings prosperity for and from the resources and benefits the whole of the Chatham
Islands. It is our papakainga, our whakapapa , our tupuna rohe.
"If you want one year of prosperity,
Grow grain.
If you want to grow 10 years of prosperity,
Grow trees,
If you want one hundred years of prosperity,
Grow people "
Ref: Success is in Giving. W Harria1998.
It is a time for reconstruction......a challenging time of growth ....to be taken one step at a time..

cheers Evelyn