Below are the biographies of the 9 Tribal Members who have put their names forward for Nomination to the Executive of Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Hikairo. Three of the nominations are for Officers (one each for the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer) and six as Executive Committee Members.
Please note that the Rangatahi Representative and the Kamaatua Representative are elected by these groups in a separate process.
Nominations for Officers
Tēnā Koutou Whānau,
It is amazing how quickly the year has gone, and we are again at the Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Hikairo Annual General Meeting. I would like to continue as the Chair of our Rūnanga because first and foremost I am passionate and dedicated to the vision of Ngāti Hikairo that is set out in the Moemoea. The Moemoea describes a people that experiences immense success economically and are entrepreneurial; we possess strong capability through education, and other equally recognized professions; we are healthy and participate fully in life; and we have woven a fabric of social cohesion – all of which integrates our hikairotanga. To do this requires an ambitious agenda to move beyond the mindsets of colonization and return to those mindsets of our tūpuna.
The starting points for this journey are:
- Resolving our Te Tiriti o Waitangi grievances that remain outstanding – WAI 30, Takutai Moana and Remaining Claims. We have made amazing progress this year to move beyond the Large Natural Grouping to a position of directly negotiating our interests as part of a tripartite with Waikato Tainui and Ngāti Maniapoto. The Tripartite Group is in the final stages, but we have Waikato Tainui’s agreement and an agreement in principle with Ngāti Maniapoto. This result imbues Mana Motuhake and Rangatiratanga for Ngāti Hikairo.
- Developing our strategic aspirations and future that brings to life our Moemoea and this is a key focus for further discussion at the Annual General Meeting this year. We do not have to wait for any treaty claim to be settled to start the conversation about our future position – we can do this now.
At the same time as working through these big issues, we still have to focus on business at hand, which will be the continuation of building our governance capability through policy and practice; leading critical resource management initiatives which includes Mangakaware, the water pipes replacement within Kawhia, and the review and update of our heritage and freshwater management plans; continuing to strengthen our relationships with local government councils; and participating in iwi events such as the Te Awamutu Museum Mātakitaki Exhibition; and participating in the health reforms as well as continuing to support programmes that keep our whānau safe during COVID .
The skills and experience that I have been able to offer in the Chair role in governance and as a Chief Executive, has stood me in good stead. But the role of the Chair has not been easy, and it is never just one person but that of the ‘many’ in terms of our whānau, kaumatua, kuia and my fellow committee members, we have together been able to achieve enormous success. Even though we are a small iwi in size, it has always been our story where our impact, as an iwi, has been substantial.
He iti te mokoroa nāna te kahikatea i kakati — (Even the small can make a big impact on the big)
Ngā Mihi
Susan Turner
Kurutia joined the Executive Committee after the AGM on 5 June 2021. In the absence of a person standing for Secretary, Kurutia agreed to be co-opted into this role.
He is semi-retired and comes from a governance background within the government sector. He has been board and corporate secretary for a number of companies and agencies and also held senior executive positions responsible for Policy, Legal Services, Research and Governance. He worked in the government sector for thirty years and in his last role was responsible for the relationship between ACC and the Ministries of Health, Business Innovation and Employment and Justice. He was also responsible for managing the relationship between ACC and the offices of the Ministers for ACC, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Justice and the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Kurutia hopes that he will be able to assist the Runanga build best practice processes and good governance models to assist with decision making and planning.
Duncan joined the Executive Committee on 26 February 2022, when he was co-opted into the Treasurer role.
He has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in accounting from Victoria University, and he comes from a legal, regulatory and business analysis background.
Duncan is a descendant of Pumipi Moke. He hopes to better connect with his Ngāti Hikairo whakapapa, particularly for his four children (David 4, Maia 2, Ethan and Levi 4 months). He also hopes to grow Te Rūnanganui’s financial management capacity and capability, and support Ngāti Hikairo’s broader aspirations.
Nominations for Executive Committee
Ko Tainui te Waka
Ko Hoturoa raua ko Rakataura nga tanganta
Ko Pirongia te Maunga
Ko Waipapa te Marae
Ko Ngati Hikairo te iwi
Ko Kawhia Moana te Moana
Tihei Mauriora
Ko Lees Seymour te ingoa.
My background and experience is as follows
1 Year on Te Runanganui o Ngati Hikairo
Passionate about Ngati Hikairo and our aspirations
Previous senior management experience in Forestry Industry. CEO for 19 years of Nelson Forests Ltd. Currrent;y Claims Manager for Ngaati Hikairo Takutai Moana Application and WAI30 and Remaining Claims.
Would like to continue serving and work for my people Ngati Hikairo.
Ko Pirongia Te Maunga
Ko Tainui Te Waka
Ko Kāwhia Moana, Kāwhia Tangata, Kāwhia Kai
Ko Ngāti Hikairo Te Iwi
Ko Jack Te Papi Te Onehahau rāua Ko Rangitutaki ōku Matua
Ko Marae Cunningham tōku ingoa
Tēnā koutou, Tēnā koutou, Tēnā tātou katoa.
I live and work in Hamilton.
I have been a member of Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Hikairo since 2020 and was recently nominated on to the executive committee at the AGM.
I have been a n.d.u union delegate 20 years plus.
As a team the Ruunanga has dedicated hours and hours of mahi for the Ruunanga – e mihi and e raatou kia taatou.
Much of this mahi is behind the scenes, noo reira, I am proud to join the team to do this for Papa o Kaarewa, Maungakaware, for our comms for our claims, e whia kee ngaa taatou kaupapa.
My wawata for the Ruunanga is for all three of our marae to be fully on board and for all ages of whaanau to be aware, to be involved to know what the ruunanga is up to.
Thanks to my whaanau for their nomination and as uncle Fred used to say:
Kia mau, kia mau, kia mau
Ko Ngāti Horotakere me Ngāti Puhiawe ngōku hapū
Ko Rangiahua toku whanau papakainga
Ko Ngāti Hikairo toku iwi
Tēnā koutou
My name is Pipi Barton. My father is Wally Barton, and my grandmother is Kaaho Ponui. I am a Registered Nurse, with extensive experience in health. I bring to my role on the Runanga many years of working for my iwi going back to the year 2003. I took some time off, then recently returned to the Runanga Exec in 2019. Over the years I have been involved in iwi development through mahi on the Resource Management Committee, where I was actively involved in kaitiakitanga within our rohe, some of this work involved developing long term management of many of our land based taonga within our rohe. Over the years I have also been involved in the Waitangi Tribunal Claims process.
Tēnā Koutou Whānau
My name is Ben Taui Johnstone. In 2022, I was co-opted by the Rūnanga to support Kurutia Seymour in the secretary role. I was brought onto the Rūnanga for two reasons – firstly to support Kurutia as he recovered from an illness; and secondly to encourage my development and involvement in iwi governance as a Ngāti Hikairo rangatahi.
Being involved in the iwi governance has encouraged me to understand more about my hikairotanga, our iwi and te reo. This experience has resonated very deeply with me; where I now have the opportunity to achieve a more relevant participation in my academic studies as I complete a Bachelor in Maori and Management with Te Wānanga o Raukawa. In this work I have been able to explore opportunities for sustainability within Ngāti Hikairo where it is possible for us as a people to achieve.
I would welcome the opportunity to be further involved with the Rūnanga and support their work as well as that of the Secretary, where I can learn more and grow. I also consider it is important that as rangatahi we participate in our future and to then be able to have a say on what this means for us.
In my career I have primarily worked in Government in Ministerial Units, supporting Senior Managers as an Executive Assistant and business support. I am currently focused on completing my degree and undertake contract work. My whānau are the Seymours and I am a mokopuna of Dulcie Seymour; and Ted and Rato Seymour.
No reira
Ben Taui Johnstone
Ko Pirongia-te-aroaro-o-Kahu te maunga
Ko Kaawhia te moana
Ko Waipapa te marae
Ko Te Whaanau Pani te Hapuu
Ko Ngaati Hikairo te iwi
Ko Thomas Tai Ahau
Ko Lucy raaua ko Joseph Tai ooku kaumaatua
I grew up in between Porirua and Kaawhia, going home every second weekend or so with my father to do mahi here and there. What I offer Te Ruunanganui o Ngaati Hikairo is my heart, my soul and a promise to be true to the Kaupapa of Ngaati Hikairo. This is a role I seek not for myself but for whanau and our iwi.
