Press Release

Urban Maori fight Iwi over Fisheries

Thursday, June 4, 2015

National Urban Māori Authority (NUMA) Chair Willie Jackson has vowed to use everything at his disposal to halt an Iwi cash grab of an urban Māori fisheries fund.

Jackson, the CEO of the Manukau Urban Māori Authority (MUMA), is appalled at a recommendation by a sub-committee of Te Ohu Kai Moana (TOKM) – the Māori Fisheries Trust – that Iwi take control of a fund set aside for urban Māori through the 2004 Māori Fisheries Act (MFA).

“There is $540 million in assets allocated for Iwi, of which less than 5 per cent is set aside to support the needs and aspirations of urban Māori,” Jackson said.

“Now Iwi are being told by TOKM to take it all. We can’t allow that to happen.”

Jackson said NUMA is left with few options but to head to the courts to ensure urban Māori were included as beneficiaries of the Māori fisheries settlement.

The legal threat has come following an independent review last year of the 2004 Act.

Te Ohu Kai Moana Trustee Ltd, which oversees the $540 million fisheries settlement reviewed the performance and all benefits of the entities formed as a result of the MFA.

TOKM, which is made up of seven members including the Iwi leaders of Ngai Tahu and Ngāpuhi, opposed all but one of the seven recommendations made by the reviewer involving the urban Māori fund – Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trust. That was the $20 million fund set aside for urban Māori.

The MFA Review recommendations were:

• That Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trust is not wound-up.

• That there is a new statutory corporate trustee appointed to manage that trust.

• That the new statutory corporate trustee continues to be called Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trustee Limited.

• That that trustee company be owned by at least NUMA, New Zealand Māori Council, Māori Women’s Welfare League and Federation of Māori Authorities (FOMA).

• That the Schedule 5 organisations who wish to participate each have one share with no distribution rights and that those shares be held by the boards of those organisations; and that Iwi design a representative body to hold between three and five shares also without distribution rights.

• That those shareholding organisations (by a majority vote) shall appoint five directors of Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trustee Limited who must have knowledge of and are able to represent the interests of Māori who reside in urban areas of New Zealand and otherwise have skills, knowledge and experience directly relevant to urban Māori.

• That a quorum of directors to transact business be three.

However, a sub-committee of TOKM instead recommended:

• the creation of a new Pan-Iwi entity (TrustCo) which would appoint up to five directors of Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trustee Ltd with a majority quorum.

• Directors should be appointed on merit, based on the current set of criteria in the MFA.

• Directors recommend annual plan, investment and distribution policies to TrustCo for approval.

• Greater investment in innovation, capability development and leadership building in alignment with iwi and other settlement entities.

Jackson said they had previously been forced into legal action to get recognition for urban Māori in the legislation.

“We want fairness,” Jackson said.

“The vast majority of Māori live in urban centres and those that are most in need are picked up and supported by places like Te Kohao Health, Te Roopū Awhina ki Porirua, Te Whānau O Waipareira and the Manukau Urban Maori Authority, who don’t receive one cent of settlement monies.

"NUMA has to scrap for every cent of funding we get to help the most in need in our communities and we will do what it takes for as long as it takes."

Jackson said more than 110,000 Māori do not know what their Iwi is. That means one in six Māori do not receive any financial benefit or support from their iwi.

Jackson said it was also disappointing that the group which played the biggest part in supporting the greatest number of Māori - whether they know their whakapapa or not - was NUMA.

“What saddens me is that the second largest tribe in this country is the ‘I don’t know my Iwi’ tribe,” Jackson said.

“That’s means a lot of Maori don’t receive any support from their Iwi.”

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