Council and Ngāti Tūrangitukua win national award for excellence in Māori partnership
Taupō District Council and Ngāti Tūrangitukua have won this year’s Te Tohu Waka Hourua - The Buddle Findlay Award for Māori-Council Partnerships for their ground-breaking Mana Whakahono agreement.
The award was presented yesterday afternoon by Taituarā — Local Government Professionals Aotearoa, which is the national membership organisation for local government professionals.
Ngāti Tūrangitukua holds mana whenua over Tūrangi township and its surrounds, and together with the council has spent several years carefully discussing and negotiating a Mana Whakahono partnership agreement, which will be signed next month. The comprehensive agreement covers Resource Management Act, Local Government Act and Reserve Act matters and will be implemented by a co-governance committee equally made up of Ngāti Tūrangitukua and council appointees.
The award recognises programmes, projects or initiatives that demonstrate outstanding results from working in partnership with Māori. Entries may come from any area of local government activity but must be able to demonstrate a commitment to such partnership.
In the decision, the judges said the entry was a stand-out in this category with its focus on culture and behaviour change.
“This genuine desire to empower mana whenua in joint decision-making across the council made this the most transformative entry in this category. We look forward to hearing more of the progress Ngāti Tūrangitukua and Taupō District Council are able to jointly make for their community."
Council chief executive Gareth Green said it was an absolute honour that the council was recognised through the award.
“This award was a great recognition of the hard work that went into developing the Mana Whakahono agreement. It’s been three years of really hard mahi. We acknowledge our partners Ngāti Tūrangitukua who took the step to initiate the Mana Whakahono-a-Rohe process and who have been there with us every step of the way,” Mr Green said.
“It’s a new dawn for Tūrangi from a governance perspective and will enable the development of Tūrangi in a more inclusive way – it’s a wonderful example of what co-governance can be, and we hope it will be a model that other councils can follow.”
Tina Porou, who accepted the award on behalf of Ngāti Turangitukua, noted the long-term effects the government’s confiscation of most of the hapū’s land in the 1950s for a hydroelectric project had had on her people.
“Fortunately, Mana Whakahono has given us another opportunity to open a stronger relationship with the Taupō District Council in a way we have not seen in this country to date. This is not about a treaty settlement, this is about doing the right thing, and I want to really acknowledge the council as our Te Tiriti partners.”
Head to www.taupo.govt.nz... to learn more about the agreement. Information about the award can be found on the Taituarā website at taituara.org.nz...
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Calling All Puzzle Masters! Can You Solve This?
When John was six years old he hammered a nail into his favorite tree to mark his height.
Ten years later at age sixteen, John returned to see how much higher the nail was.
If the tree grew by five centimetres each year, how much higher would the nail be?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
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