Chief Executive Officer, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu: Ben Bateman

Ko Matiti ki te ao
Ko Uruao kai ruka
Ko Rehua kai te patu
Ko maioha kai te rere
Tēnā koutou e te iwi

Kā mihi o te tau hou!
It is now January, and many of us will be enjoying the summer holidays. Heading home to Te Tai Poutini to spend time with my whānau, there are aspects of our Kāi Tahu way of life that resonate more than ever. Coming together on Christmas Day, I am reminded of the importance of our connection to our whenua, our ability to practise mahika kai to feed ourselves, and for our tamariki to be able to swim in clean water.

2024 has been a complex and challenging year. There have been external pressures that not only affect us, but all New Zealanders. Changes to the political and economic environment have accelerated, and the government continues with its agenda of division, advancing the worst breaches of Te Tiriti of our generation. Things are tough out there. Our financial performance as an iwi is impacted, and we know many whānau are also feeling these pressures.

In the last issue of TE KARAKA, I spoke about the need to move beyond short-term agendas, and double down on our intergenerational commitments. We are making great progress on this, and while we continue to fight to support Papatipu Rūnaka mana motuhake, and the assertion of rakatirataka, we can have hope for the future.

At this year’s Hui-ā-Iwi in Kaikōura, we launched Mō Kā Uri, our tribal vision for the next 25 years. Mō Kā Uri is about looking to the future. In bringing the vision to life, Tokona te Raki captured over 30,000 ideas from engagement with whānau.

For the Office of Te Rūnanga, our role is now to support the development and execution of Mō Kā Uri, turning the vision into action. It is fitting that during Matariki 2025, we will reflect and acknowledge what Ngāi Tahu 2025 has achieved and launch the full Mō Kā Uri strategy.

The actions we take today will impact the lives of our future generations. It is vital that we honour our tribal whakataukī – Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei – for us and our children after us. We have an intergenerational responsibility to ensure that the Office of Te Rūnanga is operating sustainably and offering whānau value for investment. Work is well underway to look at the impact of our mahi, and to assess whether our current investment and distribution settings are sustainable into the future.

As we prepare for the year ahead, we must demonstrate the same resilience, innovation and bravery of our tīpuna, and approach 2025 with ambition for the future of our mokopuna.