January 20, 2017
Urban advocates on Te Putea Whakatupu
Urban Maori advocates Willie Jackson and Norm Dewes have been appointed to the board of Te Putea Whakatupu, along with Iwi Chairs Forum advisor Willie Te Aho.
The trust was set up to allow Maori without a close connection to their iwi to gain benefits from the Maori fisheries settlement, but its board was dominated by iwi representatives.
That changed last year when the National Urban Maori Authority and Mr Jackson’s Manukau Urban Maori Authority took the Maori fisheries trust Te Ohu Kaimoana to court over its interpretation of the trust deed.
The court ruled all trustees must have experience in the needs of urban Maori.
The new directors will replace interim directors who were appointed by the High Court in July 2016.
Te Ohu Kaimoana chair Jamie Tuuta says the new directors have skills and experience in governance roles, understand the requirements of Te Putea Whakatupu Trust and are able to represent the interests of urban Maori.
“The Trust has been through a period of considerable uncertainty in recent months and this has constrained its ability to meet its legislative objectives. The new directors have articulated their vision in how they see the Trust operating in the future, and Te Ohu Kaimoana considers they have the right skills for the job of growing Māori participation in the workforce and the education system,” Mr Tuuta says.
Mr Dewes chairs Christchurch-based Te Runanga o Nga Maata Waka.
Mr Te Aho, a lawyer, is the former chief executive of Te Runanga o Turanganui a Kiwa and has worked with Auckland’s Waipareira Trust, Te Runanga o Kirikiriroa in Hamilton, and with Mr Dewes at Nga Hau e Wha urban marae in Otautahi.
Te Putea Whakatupu Trust was established in 2004 under the Maori Fisheries Act to administer a $20 million fund to promote education, training and research in fisheries, fishing and fisheries-related activities for Maori. In distributing benefits, the Trustees are to have regard for the interests of Maori who do not associate with their iwi or do not receive benefits from a Mandated Iwi Organisation under the Maori Fisheries Act.
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