Working together pays off for trusts

Te Rua o Te Moko secretary and chief negotiator for Taranaki iwi Nga Ruahine. PHOTO/ STUART MUNRO

Award-winning South Taranaki dairy farm Te Rua o Te Moko is an example of what can be achieved when people work together, the Federation of Maori Authorities conference was told.

The farm is made up of land owned by four different trusts. None of the blocks would have been economically viable on its own.

Secretary Daisy Noble said the joint venture was proposed in 2009 by the Maori Trustee, but was viewed with suspicion and distrust.

The land had been confiscated and owners remembered the faces of their ancestors, as they were removed from it. But they also thought of the faces of their mokopuna (grandchildren) and their needs in the future, and they agreed in the end.

Anne-Marie Broughton was one of those involved in getting to that agreement.

"It sounds like a big, hard job. Well, some of it was," she said.

There were 1200 named owners of the different land blocks but fewer than 50 were actively involved in the decision about whether to go ahead with the amalgamation. At least seven were openly opposed.

Many chose not to be actively involved and were content to be "change riders and allow the change drivers to get on with the job".

The owners had three goals when the farm was set up. They wanted to pay back any loans within five years, grow and own the dairy herd and take over the farming operation. Ms Noble said they now owned the herd and were well on the way to the other two goals.

But it had meant some sacrifice - five years when the owners would get little from their land.

"That was a huge ask but it was insignificant compared to the feeling of land ownership."

The owners had taken a first step to being responsible for themselves and were starting to feel a new boldness and confidence, she said. Ms Broughton said nearly all the initial opposers ended up as vocal champions of Te Rua o Te Moko.

Bussing to Tauranga to receive the Ahuwhenua Trophy for Maori excellence in dairy farming in June was a great thrill for the owners.

The farm got $40,000-worth of prizes and a huge cup.

The next goal is to regain ownership of nearby land and connect it up.

"This will take years to achieve but - you know what? - we aren't going anywhere, nor are our mokopuna and nor is the land," Ms Noble said.