CEO Report

Anake Goodall

The last financial year will be remembered for the global financial recession that, after the panic and gloom subsided, has provided us with a time for reflection. Aspects of the global economic model have been tested and found wanting, and the need for the development of models that are sustainable over a long-term horizon has been reinforced.

Te Rūnanga Group has similarly used the recession as a period of opportunity to reflect and refine. Post the 10-year mark, we have enough experience, practical understandings and depth of insights to make simple, but important and considered, changes to the way we operate as Te Rūnanga Group. These changes have been led by clear instructions from Te Rūnanga for kotahitanga across the Group, increased efficiency and alignment of our organisational efforts, and improving the way we give effect to the fundamental principles of the Kawenata; the separation of pūtea management and benefit distribution functions.

These changes mean that our governance arrangements are stronger and more focussed than they have ever been. Te Rūnanga now has the mechanisms to direct Te Rūnanga Group through our planning cycle and align the activities of all entities within the Group. Our commercial subsidiaries now have increased specialist expertise on their boards, and we are giving effect to the Ngāi Tahu values and vision with a shared commitment that has not been seen before. These refinements, in my opinion, are part of completing the organisational design from the time of Settlement. This period of reflection has enabled us to do the finishing touches to our structures and to review and reconfirm Te Rūnanga's distribution priorities. The waka is now more seaworthy, streamlined and clear in its direction than it has ever been.

While we have been completing these internal refinements we have also been reconnecting with our communities. I am proud, for example, of the important work that has gone into the education hui bringing our rūnanga together, the recent RMA wānanga and many work streams that directly engage our people in their communities.

One of the most significant events must surely be the first Kura Reo Kāi Tahu at Te Rau Aroha Marae that brought three generations of Ngāi Tahu together speaking our dialect in an immersion environment. This is the first event of its kind in living Ngāi Tahu memory.

In March, while confirming the distribution budget in these financially constrained times, Te Rūnanga made the difficult decision to reduce the annual Whai Rawa distribution from the previous year's level. However, it retained matched savings contributions so as to ensure continuity for those members who were pursuing a saving culture at home – one of Whai Rawa's key goals. Te Rūnanga also resolved to maintain Kaumātua Grants at the previous year's levels and out-of-school tuition funding – decisions that hopefully lessen the effects of the recession for whānau and seek to honour those who have helped carry the load over the years, as well as maintaining support to those who represent our collective future.

A significant shift this past financial year has been the move to better understand and utilise technology to improve tribal communications. While the importance of communicating kanohi ki te kanohi will never diminish in our world, we are also continuing our tradition adopting new technologies to reduce costs and to extend our communications reach. Guided by your feedback to our readership survey in April, we have moved to make all of our publications available online. This is already a common feature of Whai Rawa with its annual report and investment statement having been offered to members electronically for the past two years.

We are also beginning to more actively harness our Community Relationship Management system that allows us to send targeted messages to whānau via text and email. Once in place, our new IT infrastructure will connect ngā rūnanga and Te Waka Kōtuia / the Office and deliver communications and technological benefits throughout the takiwā and beyond. Virtual communities, Facebook, Bebo and Twitter are the next frontier as we move to ensure that we are increasingly connected with the younger members of Ngāi Tahu Whānui.

The importance of connection cannot be overstated. The developments we are currently working on and the reconnections we are now making are manifestations of our quiet and unwavering commitment to doing what we are here to do better, and in more active partnership with those we are here to serve.

E rua tau ruru, e rua tau wehe,
e rua tau mutu, e rua tau kai

Two years of wind and storm,
Two years when food is scarce,
Two years when crops fail,
Two years of abundant food

Anake Goodall
Chief Executive Officer