6 June 2025

Tēnā tātou e te whānau,

Mīharo te rā! A huge thank you to everyone who gave time on your long weekend to join us on Saturday, 31 May at Te Kia Ora Marae. Your presence, your energy, and your whakaaro filled the marae with wairua to keep the trust in good stead. Special acknowledgements to our kaumātua who gathered on Friday for the Nohoanga Kaumātua and returned on Saturday for the comprehensive update. Kei ngā ringa raupā a Te Kia Ora marae, ka mihi kau ana ki tō manaaki.

Trust Chair’s Kōrero – Rebuilding from the Ground Up
Our Chair openly shared a comprehensive overview of the Trust’s activities since the new board was appointed in January. Over recent months, our focus has been on restoring operational functions, regaining access to essential systems, recruiting a chief executive, and re-establishing the foundations necessary for transparent leadership. All with the goal of restoring strength and stability to serve whānau better. The honesty and clarity of the update gave everyone confidence that progress has been made and the hard mahi is well underway.

Commercial Update – Strength in Partnership
Kaipara Commercial Development Limited (KCDL) provided a timely and encouraging update. Their presentation highlighted consistent performance and steady leadership through a period of uncertainty and this was formally acknowledged. KCDL’s alignment with the Trust’s long-term vision ensures that our commercial arm continues to serve the best interests of whānau and future generations.

Restoring Compliance and Accountability

The Trust announced that full financial audits are now underway for FY 2023 and 2024, with plans to retrospectively report on FY 2022. This is the first time consolidated audits have been conducted across all subsidiaries — an important step toward restoring integrity and accountability, as requested by whānau at the AGM.

Strategic Planning – A Whānau-Led Vision

A strategic planning session helped reinforce our key workstreams:

1. Whānau, Marae and Hapū
2. Representation
3. Sustaining internal systems and operations

Whānau input was central to shaping these priorities, and the whakaaro gathered during our workshop will help lay a united path forward.

Responding to the 10-Year Review

The Trust presented its formal response to the 52 recommendations arising from the Independent 10-Year Review. This marks a shift from reflection to action. The review findings are being actively integrated into our “Sustaining” workstream to ensure meaningful, long-term improvement.

Dome Valley Update

A comprehensive update was given on the Trusts’ withdrawal from active court opposition to the Dome Valley proposal. We acknowledge this is a sensitive kaupapa, and while the Trust believes it has made the best decision for the entity, we fully respect the range of views held by whānau, all of which stem from shared concern for te taiao.

The Trust continues to work with Te Uri o Hau and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua to strengthen the consent conditions and any potential monitoring. Meanwhile, upcoming webinar and wānanga dates around the leachate report and consent conditions will be shared as they are confirmed. Whānau are encouraged to participate, with the first webinar taking place this coming Wednesday (11 June) and a consent conditions hui at Ōtamatea Marae on Saturday, 19 July. To register for either visit: https://www.ngatiwhatua.iwi.nz/wayby-valley

Ongoing Communications

To ensure whānau remain informed and connected, we will be issuing regular monthly pānui moving ahead. These will include updates, opportunities for engagement, and access to resources.

Keep an eye on the Kaiparamoana website (www.kaiparamoana.com), FB (Ngā Maunga Whakahii DT) and emails this month as applications will be invited for a grant disbursement and a kaumātua flat that will become available.

4 May 2025

This is an initiative out of Ngahere Ltd – the Ngā Maunga Whakahii subsidiary responsible for managing Kaipara’s forest estates. To ensure the safety of everyone legitimately using Woodhill Forest, unpermitted access is not allowed. There is a strong desire from the community to be able to walk in the ngahere and Hīkoi Ngātahi will formalise access for registered people to a dedicated, managed trail network at Muriwai.

Registered uri of Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara will not need to pay for membership of Hīkoi Ngātahi. For more information click here, or contact the Ngahere office on (09) 420 9566.