Tēnā koutou ngā uri o Ngāti Rangitihi
The year is now well underway and it promises to be an exciting one for Ngāti Rangitihi. The mahi that our trustees and staff have undertaken at the back end of 2017 and the early stages of 2018 has meant we are well set for a successful year.
A key focus of our work this year is on advancing our Treaty settlement. Our negotiating team has been working with officials and we have made excellent progress, particularly in demonstrating our mana whenua status in Matatā. We will be meeting with Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little on Tuesday 24th of April to discuss an Agreement in Principle shortly and will keep all of you updated as we move through the process.
More broadly, the Trust is continuing to implement projects we initiated last year, including helping our young people achieve in education through another one-year contract with the Ministry of Education (MOE) and continuing to support our Wi-Fi for Matatā programme. It is great to see these programmes getting such strong support from our whānau and delivering meaningful gains to our tamariki and rangatahi.
It has also been pleasing to see the three campgrounds we manage on behalf of the Department of Conservation – Ash Pitt, Brett Road and Tapahoro – in operation this summer. This year we had the added challenge of water quality issues at Tapahoro campground which saw us temporarily close the campground for safety reasons.
I hope some of you have had an opportunity to visit the Waimangu Volcanic Valley eco-tourism experience we jointly own in partnership with Tūhourangi. This investment is an exciting opportunity for Ngāti Rangitihi and will bring important strategic and commercial benefits to our iwi.
Finally, I’m excited to welcome Kereama Wright to our team. As part of his new communications role, he’ll be working to engage with the wider iwi this year, primarily by sharing stories and information via the Trust’s Facebook page and website. If you haven’t already liked our Facebook page, search Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Trust and give us a ‘like’ to keep up to date with the latest Trust developments.
Ngā mihi,
Leith Comer, Chairman
Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi