New Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui a Orotū chief executive Mat Mullany on the paepae during the pōwhiri at Pukemokimoki Marae on Monday. Photo / Warren Buckland.
New Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui a Orotū chief executive Mat Mullany on the paepae during the pōwhiri at Pukemokimoki Marae on Monday. Photo / Warren Buckland.
There were family from Rarotonga and hapū from throughout Ngāti Kahungunu today as mandated Napier iwi authority Te Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui a Orotū welcomed home one of its own as its new chief executive officer.
New Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui a Orotu chief executive Mat Mullany on the paepae during the pōwhiri at Pukemokimoki Marae on Monday. Photo / Warren Buckland.
The pōwhiri for Matthew (Mat) Mullany (Ngāti Pārau, Ngāi Te Ruruku, Ngāti Matepū, Ngāti Hāwea, Ngāi Te Whatuiāpiti, Kuki Airani) was held at Pukemokimoki Marae, with more than 150 people present.
While having spent almost 20 years in Wellington working in the public and private sectors, most recently in the Office of the Auditor General, he maintained his strong links over the years serving his marae and hapū.
Standing in the morning sunshine in front of the wharenui, Mullany said he was excited to be back and pledged leadership to build trust in the taiwhenua, build partnerships and deliver for the people to empower them to “live life with a purpose”.
Three leaders, from left, Ngati Kahungunu Iwi chairman Bayden Barber, new Taiwhenua or Te Whanganui a Orotū chief executive officer Mat Mullany, and taiwhenua chairman Hori Reti after Monday’s Pukemokimoki Marae pōwhiri welcoming Mullany to the new job. Photo / Warren Buckland.
Taiwhenua chairman Hori Reti, who as chairman sits on the board of Ngati Kaungunu Iwi, said the taiwhenua is excited to have been able to appoint Mullany.
“Mat is a problem solver, a strategist, and has an unwavering dedication to the people of Te Whanganui a Orotū,” Reti said.
“We are delighted that he has brought his skillset home to benefit our hapū and marae and our region.”
Previously, Mullany worked at Deloitte and has experience at the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Education and Te Arawhiti, the Ministry for Māori-Crown Relations, and in a governance capacity served as a trustee of the Mana Ahuriri Trust, Ngāti Pārau Hapū Trust and Waiohiki marae.
Iwi chairman Bayden Barber, back home just four days from the 80th-year commemoration of the end of the battle of Monte Cassino in Southern Italy, said Mullany would be a valuable asset to the taiwhenua.
“He brings good experience from his time with the Office of the Auditor General. It will be great to have him back in Te Matau ā Māui,” he said.
Mullany said there remain big tasks ahead to address current inequities facing the people, but the hapu “have always had the solutions based on our reo and our tikanga”.
Te Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui a Orotū encompasses eight marae and 17 hapū from Te Hāroto to Kohupātiki (Clive). The marae include Te Hāroto, Petane, Tangoio, Waiohiki, Moteo, Wharerangi, Timikara and Kohupātiki, and is one of six constituent authorities of Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Inc.
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
