Kia ora Trustees,

I’ve found your recently published Kahukuraariki Communication Strategy (https://www.kahukuraariki.iwi.nz/kahukuraariki-communication-strategy/) document on your website.

• Upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi: Our communications reflect the principles of Te Tiriti, ensuring justice, equity, and partnership guide every interaction.
  • Rooted in Mātauranga Māori: We honor the wisdom of our tīpuna, embedding te reo, tikanga, and kaupapa Māori in all that we say and share.
  • Strengthening Whanaungatanga: Every message seeks to build and nurture relationships, fostering unity and connection within our iwi and beyond.
  • Acting with Integrity: Our words are honest, our actions transparent, and our intentions grounded in the values of trust and accountability.
  • Inspiring and Empowering: We speak to uplift, to encourage participation, and to remind our people of their strength, resilience, and shared purpose for the future.

It talks about the Kahukuraariki Trust Board (KTB) being open, transparent, and inclusive to all Iwi members, it talks about being honest, transparent, trustworthy, and accountable, which are great ideals, but that’s certainly not my experience over the past 3 years.

The only experience I have of this Trust Board is that it denies Iwi members access to SGM, AGM and Resolution hui minutes, excludes Iwi members from attending and speaking at AGM/SGM and hui, and blocks Iwi members from its Facebook page, denying them a channel for open transparent discussion. Additional to this, I now read that the Trust Board plan to update the Trust Deed to exclude non-registered members access to information as clearly provided for in Clauses 12 and 33 of their Trust Deed. Will all Iwi members be allowed to attend these huis, and the SGM where all will be given the opportunity to discuss the changes to the Trust Deed, or will we be excluded yet again?

Also, could also please stop saying you represent Kahukuraariki, you do not represent my ancestors; you are the Kahukuraariki Trust Board, a Crown funded entity tasked with managing settlement assets, nothing more? You do not represent all members of Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa, and you do not hold a mandate to do so; as evidenced in the Trustee elections back in 2022, where half of the Trustees, including the current Chair, were voted in with extremely low numbers (33, 26, 32, 111=202), from a registered member database of some 3,000+ members.

Nga mihi,

Graham Williams

Member of Ngati Kahu ki Whangaroa