Whai Rawa Archives - Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu

Whai Rawa
15 years on

KiwiSaver launched to much fanfare in 2007 with the promise of setting New Zealanders up for retirement or helping them get on the property ladder. But before KiwiSaver there was Whai Rawa, the investment scheme launched by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu the previous year. As the iwi investment scheme celebrates its 15th birthday, we look back at the journey that has seen the scheme grow to 30,000 members, with over $112 million invested.

Home is where the heart is

“Let there be peace in this home” – a simple sentence from Koata Te Maiharoa that wrapped his granddaughter Samantha’s new Christchurch home in a korowai of love.
“And people do love this house,” laughs Samantha. “They come and visit, say what a comfy home it is, and then fall asleep on the couch.”
After six years of sharing her parents’ house with her daughter, Brooklyn, the opportunity to now have friends over for dinner in her own home is the culmination of a three-year journey to home ownership.

Post Settlement – the journey so far

Te Kerēme – The Ngāi Tahu Claim – was lodged with the Waitangi Tribunal in 1986, and in the ensuing years of negotiations with the Crown the iwi began to mobilise in preparation for the long-awaited settlement. The passing of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Act 1996 established Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu to protect and advance the collective interests of the iwi.

Tūrangawaewae
Where do we stand?

In February the board of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu met at Te Kōawa Tūroa o Tākitimu in Jericho Valley, near Te Anau. This culturally significant site is in the heart of the takiwā of Ōraka Aparima Rūnaka, and the hosts took the opportunity to present to Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu (Te Rūnanga) about their land-based aspirations. For Ōraka Aparima, and many others, land is considered to be sacrosanct, valued for its intrinsic worth to the iwi as mana whenua, independent of its economic success.

Money Matters
10 Years of Whai Rawa

Rather than following the state’s example – and opting for student debt over savings – Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu leaders saw an opportunity to provide their people with increased access to tertiary education, home ownership, and retirement support. And so Whai Rawa was born.

Taking the long view

Radio host, TV presenter, mother, Whai Rawa member. When Classic Hits breakfast presenter Stacey Morrison meets other Ngāi Tahu she checks if they belong to Whai Rawa, the Ngāi Tahu matched savings scheme, and goes into campaign mode if they don’t. “It is your right if you are Ngāi Tahu to be part of Whai…

When and why credit checks fail

Every year some whānau can’t buy a car, take out HP, rent a whare or even sometimes get a job thanks to black marks on their credit files, writes Diana Clement. “It was only a little default.” But every year some whānau can’t buy a car, take out HP, rent a whare…

Ngā Take Pūtea
Outside the box, into a new home

“You WHAT?” This was the reaction when 20-year-old Ondine Grace told her friends that she was buying her first whare. Even more shocking for some of her friends, who had see-money-and-spend-it tendencies, was that Ondine had saved $22,000.

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