Hui Report April 2006

Hui Report

Hokianga Accord Working Group
                            20 - 21 April 2006                               

	Prepared by Trish Rea 22 May 2006
		WARNING (PDF 1.2Mb)

The Hokianga Accord working group hui took place on 20 - 21 April 2005
Present:  Raniera T (Sonny) Tau (Ngapuhi), Graeme Morrell (Ngapuhi), Judah Heihei (Ngapuhi), Scott Macindoe (option4), Paul Haddon (Ngapuhi), Stephen Naera (Ngapuhi), Bruce Galloway (Mimiwhangata Guardians), Trish Rea (option4), Richard Baker (NZBGFC), Naida Glavish (Ngati Whatua), Rosemary Hauraki (Ngapuhi), Neha Hakaraia (Ngapuhi), Rawiri Wharemate (Ngati Rehua), Sonya Williams (Ngati Rehua), Robert Willoughby (Ngati Kuta), Bill Cooke (option4), Stuart Ryan (Hesketh Henry)

Introduction

It was a bonus to get the Working Group or 'short line-out' as it is now known, together so soon after the Whitiora Hokianga Accord hui on the 6th and 7th of April. Judah Heihei opened the short lineout hui with a karakia. This was followed by a welcome from Scott Macindoe and the Auckland based team. More people would be arriving during the course of the evening and others the following day.

After Scott’s summary of the agenda items Sonny gave a brief background outline of what had transpired prior to the last hui, in particular the letters from the Ministry denying the status of the Hokianga Accord as the mid-north iwi Forum. Mark Edwards, MFish Fisheries Policy manager, had confirmed the Hokianga Accord as the mid-north iwi Forum at the Whitiora hui earlier in the month.

Questions needed to be asked about the Ministry’s tactics particularly the exchange of correspondence over the two days prior to the previous hui. Discussion centred on whether these questions should be framed so they are suitable to be asked in Parliament during question time. The hui needed to decide who to give the questions to, whether Hone Harawira was the appropriate person, or whether they should be given to Parekura Horomia to follow up.

Hone Harawira was the Te Tai Tokerau Member of Parliament. Parekura is the associate Minister of Fisheries, the Minister of Maori Affairs and the Minister responsible for Te Puni Kokiri. It seemed that Parekura was the best person to start conversations with regarding the Hokianga Accord.

From a conversation Sonny had recently with Parekura it seemed he was unaware about the difficulties facing Maori in the north or the Hokianga Accord.

Correspondence with Minister

Sonny had asked for a meeting with Parekura to discuss the Hokianga Accord’s concerns. Information would be supplied to the Associate Fisheries Minister to support Sonny’s korero.

The Accord needed to be clear about its objectives and what it wanted from the Associate Minister. A position statement or copy of the Kaupapa Whakahaere would be given to him. A statement of intent in regards to the ongoing issue of customary matters, the immediacy of dealing with the Shared Fisheries Policy project and MPA's would be beneficial. If necessary, a meeting with Jim Anderton, Fisheries Minister, would also be requested.

Scott Macindoe and Trish Rea committed to delivering this information for Sonny.

	Correspondence with Ministry A letter of complaint about the Ministry’s obstructive behaviour needed to be initiated. Receiving important correspondence the night before Accord hui is unacceptable. The Ministry’s failure to address outstanding issues from the proportional allocation document needs to be highlighted.
Stan Crothers and other MFish staff made this commitment at the July 2005 Whakamaharatanga hui of the Hokianga Accord [1].
The letter should be from the perspective of a rights holder with status rather than just a complaint about MFish inaction. It should include a statement of what the short lineout’s intent was in regards to the Ministry’s failure to fulfil its obligations. This would put the onus of responsibility back on the Ministry. Stephen Naera and Scott Macindoe to draft this letter.

TOP

Hokianga Accord Status

In respect of the status of the Hokianga Accord as the mid-north Forum, an OIA request should be sent to the Ministry asking what the Justice Department’s criteria was for iwi Forums and who holds that information. The short lineout understands there are no criteria for Forum establishment. The OIA request would confirm its existence, either way. The key was, who held the responsibility for providing the capacity for tangata whenua to have meaningful “input and participation”.

The Ministry has asserted in a letter dated April 5th letter that the Hokianga Accord was not an iwi Forum, Stan Crothers wrote [2],

“I acknowledge your confirmation that the Hokianga Accord is the expression of the relationship between Maori and non-Maori non-commercial fishing interests in the mid North.  It is not an iwi Forum between the Ministry and Iwi.”

The issue of Ministry’s obligation to Te Uri O Hau and Te Roroa hapu was their business and was not related to the iwi Forum. MFish are well aware Te Roroa have other issues to deal with right now. Talk about joining the Hokianga Accord would have to wait until they had more time.

In contrast, the previous Minister of Fisheries, David Benson-Pope had already acknowledged the Accord as an iwi Forum in a letter dated 12th August 2005 [3].

“I am heartened that you have agreed to commence work with the Ministry on the development of regional iwi forums for Tai Tokerau as a means to provide for the input and participation of iwi into fisheries processes. I have been advised that you have chosen to invite recreational fishers into your forum to ensure that iwi and recreational fishers will be able to work together to address shared concerns.

"While the resourcing for the forums was intended to provide a means to discharge the Crown’s statutory duty to provide for the input and participation of iwi into sustainability processes, I understand and support your desire to work cooperatively with other stakeholders in the fishery to develop a shared understanding of each others values and objectives for the fishery and agreed solutions to achieve those objectives.”

Input and Participation

The short lineout asked the Ministry for their interpretation of input and participation in regards to tangata whenua involvement in MFish processes. This request was made during the December hui. Their response arrived on April 21st and is attached as Appendix One.

It also needs to be made clear to the Minister and Associate Minister that the Hokianga Accord was committed to being involved in the Shared Fisheries Policy project and the Marine Protected Areas process (MPA). The Accord would not be held up by ongoing discussions with the Ministry regarding an MOU or focus purely on customary spatial tools.

Iwi Mana

The mana of Maori identity is in the iwi. Iwi involved in the Hokianga Accord should make a very clear iwi statement clarifying their total support for the Hokianga Accord. Ngapuhi, Ngati Whatua and Ngati Wai had to clarify their position, they were not just ‘part of the mix’ in the Forum, they held the mana of their iwi in the Accord.

Sonny Tau and Naida Glavish to start work on these statements. Sonny would talk with Ngati Wai.  

New Initiatives Funding

In 2004 the Ministry allocated specific funds for the implementation of the MFish Treaty Strategy. The Accord needed to confirm these figures in the table below, from the 2004 consultation document, are what MFish finally agreed to.

MFish estimated costs for the project (all figures in $m and GST inclusive) [4]

It was unclear where the New Initiatives funding had been spent and this needed to be clarified. It was accepted that some of this money had been used to establish the Customary Relationship Unit, Te Tari o te Kahui Pou Hononga.

The New Initiatives funding was consulted and agreed upon in early 2004. Funds would have been targeted to specific areas before the Ministry had received its budget. Questions should be pointed directly to the Minister asking how the Ministry had fulfilled each of their targets, their obligations to tangata whenua as set out in the funding schedule. An Official Information Act (OIA) request asking for the background and process since 2004 should be fairly straightforward.

The short lineout understands Te Puni Kokiri (TPK) completed a report in 2004/05 specifying how the Ministry of Fisheries was delivering on the Crown’s purchase agreement, of building the capacity of tangata whenua. It is unclear whether the report was made public. The Hokianga Accord should request a copy this report, as it would have implications for all aspects of Maori fishing interests, commercial, environmental, customary and recreational.

An OIA to TPK or a direct request to the Minister should secure a copy of this document. The New Initiatives funding process would form part of this investigation.

Richard Baker to help tangata whenua get these underway.

TOP

Extension Officers There was some discussion whether the Hokianga Accord should accept an Extension Officer or ask the Ministry for the cash equivalent in lieu of an officer, until the Forum had agreed what role it wanted its Extension Officer to perform.
Four Extension Officers had been appointed so far. Although based in Nelson they were available to different areas until Ministry had contracts for them to be regionally based. Tracey Kingi had been appointed around four months ago and had been sent north to work with Ngati Kuta on their rohe fisheries management plan.

Under the purchase agreement each iwi Forum has $20,000 to cover costs and also an Extension Officer. The Hokianga Accord was ready for its Extension Officer. The question to Ministry should be, when is the contract available for the Extension services within the mid-north area?

The Accord does not need an Extension Officer as such, the contract for purchasing services was much more valuable to the Hokianga Accord. It was unrealistic to expect one person to fulfil the role to provide for the “input and participation” into fisheries management of the tangata whenua from the mid-north.

Hokianga Accord Hui Reports

Hard copies of the next hui report would be published soon. A brief discussion occurred about who would receive a hard copy from the Accord. The draft distribution list currently totalled 300 copies, although this could be amended by the time the report was prepared. A copy of the distribution list, an invoice for all the reports and copies for MFish would be sent to the Ministry via Stan Crothers.

Charitable Trust

At the last Hokianga Accord hui it was agreed to establish a charitable trust separate from the Forum that would have tax-deductible status for accepting donations. It would also be capable of applying for funds from other funding agencies, as long as the proposed project was for the benefit of the public as per the trust deed.

Worse case scenario is fourteen weeks from time of application to confirmation of the charitable trust, “Guardians of the Sea Charitable Trust/ Nga Kaitiaki o Tangaroa”. 

A trust deed had been prepared and reviewed by Bruce Galloway. It would be distributed to the short lineout for feedback by the following day.

A minimum of two trustees was required although five was the recommended number for the board. Sonny advised that Teresa Tepania-Ashton, Te Runanga A Iwi O Ngapuhi CEO, had agreed to be one of the trustees. A draft list of trustee names would be sent through to Bruce as soon as the people had confirmed their availability.

Issues of governance would be dealt with as soon as the trustees were confirmed. The board would choose the chairman of the trust.

Bank Account

The Hokianga Accord would obtain a bank account in its name; any incoming invoices need to be electronic so these can be approved online. Three people would be elected to be the approval team and the accounts person holding the chequebook would complete payment. 

The Hokianga Accord is an iwi Forum and does not need to be incorporated, at this stage anyway. Incorporation only takes a matter of weeks to complete if the Accord decides it wants to formalise its structure.

Bruce would confirm later if the Hokianga Accord had to be incorporated before it could receive grants from the charitable trust.

Hokianga Accord Budget

The Hokianga Accord needs to put together a budget for the next financial year and give that to the Ministry of Fisheries as the model for what the Forum considers it would meet its “input and participation” requirements. The budget could be part of a business plan that also needs to be designed for the Hokianga Accord for the next year.

Scott Macindoe and Robert Willoughby to work on the plan and budget.

[1]   https://option4.co.nz/Fisheries_Mgmt/fmmo70505.htm

[2]   https://option4.co.nz/Fish_Forums/halmf406.htm

[3]   https://option4.co.nz/Fish_Forums/images/halminr805.gif

[4]   New Initiatives consultation document, MFish, 10 March 2004

Page Two » » »

TOP