Progress for Te Hiku social accord

Far North iwi took the Te Hiku social development and wellbeing accord, signed by iwi leaders, the Prime Minister and two Cabinet ministers at Waitangi earlier this year, a step further yesterday when representatives met in Wellington to sign agreements with 11 Crown agencies, committing those government departments to work jointly with participating Te Hiku iwi to improve the well-being of whanau in the Far North.

"The deeds of settlement signed by Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri and Ngai Takoto in 2012 settled historic Treaty grievances for the iwi and contained agreed historical accounts about the interactions of those iwi with the Crown, Crown apologies for the injustices done to the iwi, and cultural and commercial redress for those injustices," Te Hiku Iwi Development Trust chairman Haami Piripi said before leaving for Wellington.

"Most importantly the social accord redress provided in the deeds has the potential to address the contemporary social and economic disparities that exist amongst our communities. These disparities are reflected in the social indicators and economic status of our households.

"Our situation has not been helped by the inefficient delivery of government services, which has resulted in haphazard and ineffective intervention regimes."

Deputy chairman Hugh Karena said the social accord meant Te Hiku iwi would sit at the decision-making table, together with government agencies that invested significant amounts of money in the Far North to provide services like the ministries of Social Development, Education and Justice.

"Iwi and the Crown will discuss the major negative issues affecting the lives of Te Hiku people, prioritise what needs to be done, and identify ways to tackle those issues," he said.

"Iwi will then work with Ministers and senior officials to direct Crown investment in Te Hiku to help solve these problems and improve the lives of our people. This will help free our whanau from the constraints and symptoms of socio-economic deprivation, which is the worst in New Zealand.

"Iwi will work with government agencies to improve education, health, welfare, housing and other social development indicators, and will make sure that local voices talking about local issues and proposing local solutions are heard by the Crown in those decision-making discussions.

"While the primary focus for the iwi is their members, it's important to note that the changes that iwi aspire to bring about will assist all members of the Far North community. Potential improvements in the delivery of education, health and welfare services, for example, will help learners, the unwell and those needing welfare assistance, both Maori and non-Maori."

It was also anticipated that the government departments involved would enjoy significant "cost efficiencies", while an active iwi dialogue with the Crown in Te Hiku to identify local problems and local solutions supported by Crown resources would likely require agencies to refocus and realign their business and investments to the needs of the people, the iwi strategies and objectives.

The social accord was about more than merely addressing the problems whanau faced today, however.

"Iwi intend to work with the Crown on plans for future generations of Te Hiku people," Mr Karena said.

"This will involve setting ideal outcomes for Te Hiku iwi to aspire to and setting in place the pathway, with the support of the Crown, to achieve five-, 10-, 15- and 20-year goals. From our perspective this accord is about long-term, sustained change which will improve the lives of Te Hiku people."

The accord provided for an annual cycle of engagement between the iwi, government agencies and the ministers who would oversee the relationship.

"We're excited by this new, innovative and cutting edge approach to the social development of our people, which we expect will make a real difference for our whanau as we move forward together," he added.

The iwi side of the initiative was being managed by the Te Hiku Iwi Development Trust, which had been established by Te Aupouri, Ngai Takoto and Te Rarawa to implement iwi participation in the relationship as well as supporting other cross-iwi initiatives that might arise from Treaty settlements and future joint endeavours.

Seats on the trust had also been reserved for the remaining Te Hiku iwi, Ngati Kuri and Ngati Kahu, should they wish to join the trust when they settle their Treaty grievances.

"Iwi leadership is key to the joint strategy of working together to effect change in Te Hiku," Mr Piripi said.

"Representation across the group includes Raymond Subritzky and Hugh Karena from Te Aupouri, Rangitane Marsden and Robert Tamati of Ngai Takoto, and Malcolm Peri and myself for Te Rarawa.

"However the most important thing is that we are all committed to working in unity for the benefit of the people in the Far North."