From the Chair

Kia ora e te whānau

 

While many parts of the country have enjoyed a very warm summer so far, the weather gods have also played their part and caused consternation for anyone in their path.

Kawatiri and Nelson were struck simultaneously by Cyclone Fehi where the combination of king tides with unusually strong winds created havoc and severe damage in both localities. A number of our whānau down at Kawatiri were affected by the storm, in some cases having to evacuate their homes to move to alternative accommodation while the situation with their houses is assessed and repairs can be arranged. We have made our whare in Westport available to affected whānau, to assist them through this ordeal. 

A second weather event then hit Golden Bay just 20 days later, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. These events can be extremely traumatic for anyone who has the misfortune of experiencing them and I am sure you will join with me in wishing our whānau down in Kawatiri, a speedy return to whatever normal used to be for them.

We advertised late last year, to recruit a new general manager for the iwi. We have now conducted the first round of interviews and hope to shortly be in a position to make an offer to the successful applicant. Once they have commenced in the role, we will work with them in recruiting to fill the business support position, which has also remained vacant for several months now, while we worked through the requirements of the role going forward.

Work is continuing on progressing the Tasman water space settlement which I referred to last month. The structure of the various entities which will be required is now starting to take shape, and the various documents including constitutions, are being drafted by Te Ohu Kaimoana. We will shortly need to select the people who will represent us, on the boards of the new entities.

We will finalise the operating plan for the next 12 months at the board meeting later this month. By August we also need to have completed the strategy for next five years. We would like your input during this process and will advise more in the next couple of months on how you can have the opportunity to have your say.

Until next month…

Nga mihi

Brendon Wilson

Chairman, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō Trusts