NZTE

advised that our ECSD Funding for our Kaitiakitanga Program has expired. ( Almost $90k was outstanding from the original $100 offered)

See our Program Overview
See our Roadmap

This program was initiated at a time where our Iwi, school and community were subject to big stresses, so the NZE component has been subject to some disruption.

The delays were compounded by the toxin investigation delays in the compound (see above) which has blocked the proposed Nursery and Whirinaki Centre projects (using ECSD funding)

The Kaitiakitanga Program Co-funder partnership (Strategic Expertise Ltd) and external volunteers have allowed many other activities to proceed positively.

The Tipu Ake Organic Leadership Model pioneered at our Kura attracts international recognition. External agencies have been slow to appreciate it benefits and its implications.

In addition, many other projects by the Runanga (eg house repairs / painting) marae, the school, broadband, Minginui Village, Whanau Support and DOC support (species recovery) have proceeded independently. As have our external connections

Our Community desperately seeks to find long term work Enterprise and work opportunities, starting with our youth, which we understand is exactly the kaupapa of this fund.

Our Community should not be penalized for Government / system delays outside our control.

In addition, as a result of political sensitivities at the time, the protocols for uplifting these funds were changed from the advice given at the start of the program. The result was that the proposed rolling budget with quarterly uplift claims based on the last period's performance were were replaced by the need to plan and document a single project at the start. This placed unreasonable demands on the Volunteers who just needed some funds to buy materials to get things started; learning about enterprise as they went.

Our Co funding partner / consultant has suggested that the NZTE action of terminating this contract could be seen as a breach of contract on the part of NZTE

Use of the compound was cleared when asbestos roofing was replaced in May 2008. In addition, the building of the main road information kiosk by local people (Thanks DOC) makes it essential for the village to have the Whirinaki Centre and Nursery in place to support visitors and local enterprise activity.

MSD

The employment policy currently applied to people in the Village is destructive of community. Many are required to travel 4 hours each day to Te Puke for long hours of seasonal work, meaning they are tired and do not have the energy to commit to local community development activities.

The youth employment / training policy forces rangatahi to leave the valley leaving the old, beneficiaries and the very young. This borders on a Kiwi form of "The Stolen Generation" that does not encourage community/Iwi leadership development and succession.

Find innovative ways to support people (particularly youth working on essential community development projects for the common good which involve a large personal development / training component) to receive the unemployment benefit and top ups to the minimum wage. This allows positive initiatives to be undertake giving continuity between seasonal and short term contracts. More importantly it enables those concerned to practice the skills needed to grow their own local enterprise activity to generate future revenue streams.

With the summer tourist season approaching, this support is urgently required to allow local projects currently waiting in the "pending" list for resources to proceed. eg Whirinaki Centre / Nursery / Water Supply / Whirinaki Restoration

For youth employment development there are people in the village who are dedicated to this kaupapa and in their own time or as part of their other work are already taking young people with them. This activity needs to be supported and the time seen as a valid (though perhaps not certified) youth training and leadership development programme.

RED FLAG: On 23 July 07 the group traveling to Te Puke each day were terminated on the grounds that there was not enough work and people imported from overseas on seven month contracts with government had priority.

ACTION: The community requires immediate restoration of its Kaitiakitanga Program funding (above) that they can self manage to support the direct costs of getting on with with local projects in preparation for the summer peak visitor season. eg Nursery, Whirinaki Centre, This will require WINZ support re payment of benefits and coordination re top up /training allowances.

DIA

The Digital Strategy Community Fund advised the Minginui Council that the Whirinaki Interactive application was not to be funded.

See Webpage

See our fund application

Our partner consultant checked with Internal Affairs and was advised that the evaluation was marked down on all categories - This makes no sense technically. On further questioning they stated that they did not think it had the required support from other parties, but had made no enquiries to confirm that or otherwise. The community and supporting parties have proven capability to undertake this internationally pioneering project.

We suspect that this is yet another of our applications that has been effected by current political sensitivities, delays and stresses surrounding Treaty negotiations.

One key outcome of this application was to provide employment and career experience for young school leavers who now have to move out of the area, leaving role model and youth leadership growth gaps in our community.

Our intention is to ask for a high level a re-evaluation of this application by the Ministry of Internal Affairs prior to the next funding round .

DOC:

The Department of Conservation DOC has big plans for development of the Whirinaki Park which could create new opportunities and employment for our community to partner in.

Traditional contracts awarded by DOC to businesses in the village may have been awarded to external parties, in what is described as a "preferred contractor" arrangement.

It feels like DOC decisions have been made here with little local input , communication or understanding. This does not equate with the DOC community partnership kaupapa, nor does it respect the heavy the responsibilities that Ngati Whare carry as kaitiaki of the Whirinaki.

We understand (Nov 07) that a report funded by DOC and TPK report is being commissioned on the benefits to the community of DOC plans for Whirinaki. Why is our community / Runanga not a partner in this? particularly since much background for this was done with UNITEC Students in 2004 as our Community concept plan

We need to know the protocols for evaluation and award of DOC contracts so we can offer against them. See example http://www.whirinaki.biz/hineteiwaiwa/

We need to know what support DOC provides to encourage the growth of local businesses and the community expertise / facilities needed to support the expansion they think will happen.

On 16th Aug 2007 our community made the Director General of DOC aware of our concerns re questionable tendering award practices used for the the award of DOC work contracts in Whirinaki particularly the recreation contract. We understand an internal investigation has taken place, but as of Dec 2 07 the results of this have not been made public. Even Contorta pine contracts that local contactors have always done have been given to an external contractor.

A further official question to the Director General DOC on 21 Feb and his reply on 27 Feb has resulted in some positive dialogue to address outstanding issues and improve communication with its Iwi partners. We thank DOC for getting local people involved with construction of the new Information Kiosk and Developments at Mangamate waterfall area .

On 7th July The contract for Kiwi recovery work held by a Minginui resident (who works selflessly 24/7 - totally committed to the Whirinaki, Minginui Village, the Kura and most importantly all local tamariki) was awarded to an external party without even an interview process. The community does not see this as supporting of a community partnership that uses living whole systems thinking to lever win-win opportunities for all parties.

ACTION: Ongoing Runanga and community discussions with DOC (and others agencies) are underway to ensure that new projects and work contracts factor in the outcome value and payback of local partnerships, ongoing local guardianship, local knowledge, local security (eg minimising risks around vandalism, CITES trade in endangered species, DIDIMO etc), ongoing learning, school participation, community capability development, and the environmental travel / time /climate change costs incurred by outside contractors traveling to work here each day (and worse still the long stressful trips daily by displaced local workers for work outside). All of these outcomes are specified in DOC, carbon neutrality, sustainability, sustainable tourism, community development, education , and the Cabinet managing for outcomes policy commitments on official Government websites.

ACTION: DOC has many truckloads of pumice ready to spread on the "H Tree" Track close to the Village. A local Minginui team just laid off from seasonal work in Te Puke wishes to start immediately to carry out this and other future DOC work.

DOC Env BOP F&G

Contracts have been awarded for environmental restoration work in the Whirinaki Valley by external bodies (Fish and Game), whilst funding applications to the Sustainable Management Fund for Stream restoration in Minginui Village were declined.

See Restoration projects

WDC / Env BOP

For some time the community and other agencies have been concerned about their rubbish tip which leaches into the Whirinaki River. It is illegal and all want it closed.The Whakatane District Council have a Statutory responsibility under the Local Government and other acts to action this.

(Also it has become the habit of people from outside coming with trucks and trailers to collect firewood, to bring and dump their rubbish here rather that paying to do so at their town refuse stations.)

ACTION: The Minginui Council already arrange their own rubbish collection each week. All it takes to allow them to recycle and divert this is to provide each home with recycling bins and have WDC establish a transfer / recycling station with an appropriate range of covered hoppers that are transported by them to either Whakatane or Murupara. See recycling project

Almost all organic food scraps in Minginui are already recycled as food for local pigs.

See MfE Progress report on Toxins May 2008

TPK / TWNAT Trust Runanga etc

The previous Village Council Manager, appointed when the village was returned to the Iwi by government, made a retrospective claim for income claimed before local village people took council took over his responsibilities. This involves a bill including court costs of around $30,000 plus our legal costs - A burden our community cannot afford. Following the recent court case, the village council has been placed into liquidation.

This is undermining the progress the village has made in managing its own affairs by removing the legal structure under which they operate.

Now that we have grown the skills to allow our Village Council (under the Ngati Whare trust) to take responsibility for managing all village council operational affairs, We do not consider it reasonable that we should carry the burden of costs incurred by previous management regimes established by the Maori Land Court in earlier times.

Action: Urgently re-establish an new entity with bank accounts to allow day to day operations of the village to continue and grow.

Action: Urgently overcome local blockages that are holding up the house painting project for which funding has been made available.

Also the water supply upgrade project which was initiated by the Village Council is in jeopardy. This is a pre-requisite for most commercial enterprise / tourism activities being considered by the community.

As this is the only home of Ngati Whare Iwi (an endangered species) it is important that the legal structure used in the village for house ownership will guarantee that homes will be permanently affordable for residents who may not be receiving city level incomes. If not house, prices in this area will be determined by international purchaser income levels and locals will be driven out as has happened in places like Queenstown. (Our community has established close links with the Lopez Island Community Land Trust in Washington State US who have adopted a very innovative approach to counter this. They share their learnings)

Many of the assets of the village (see Village Hall Restoration) are deteriorating as a result of a lack of maintenance and funds. The structure of this important community resource is sound but access is not secure so it also poses a danger for unsupervised children. The Minginui Whanau Support Trust have assumed responsibility for getting quotes to replace the rotten wooden frames with new Aluminum ones including toughened glass and other items needed to make it secure and watertight so it can be used. They are urgently looking for community support funding sources to help do this.

Iwi, Community and Village

relationships have been stressed by many of the big things that we have had to go through lately, including treaty negotiations.