Kia ora koutou,
Last week representatives of all eight Te Tau Ihu iwi met at Whakatū Marae in Nelson. The kaupapa was to seek the basis for an agreement on the tikanga, rights and responsibilities for taonga. This has been an issue for many years. The intent is to resolve this by iwi rather than through Crown involvement. It was a very congenial and positive couple of days. There were some hard issues discussed and whilst not all of these were resolved there was more clarity and a consensus on the way forward. It was recognised that more work was required, in particular, what joint ownership would look like, and the tikanga around this. A report from the Iwi Chairs’ is expected in the second quarter next year.
Monday’s “Fush” night was our community contribution to Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori again this year. This was a great success with over a hundred attendees. Anton’s lively and entertaining focus on ways to engage tamariki and integrate te reo into the home was memorable. It was a very entertaining evening augmented with excellent “fush” and chips.
We had our first Marlborough Chamber of Commerce ‘meet and greet’ event Tuesday evening in the foyer at Rangitāne House. It was a big turn-out with around 100 guests who were keen to hear our keynote speaker, Director Chair, Tā Mark Solomon. Tā Mark spoke of sustaining our economy and way of life in the future is dependent on ensuring our tamariki can positively contribute, and how this is related to the development of the Māori post settlement economy and partnerships with local businesses. It was a very interesting topic and a worthwhile evening.
Finally, please remember we are having a planting day at the Tuamātene Maara Kai this Saturday from 9am to midday. Takahi Whenua will be planting indigenous potato and kumara as well as many berry plants. Nau mai, haere mai, all are welcome, it will be a great way to spend the morning.
Mā te wā
Nick