While PoO has kept an eye on the funding deals which Beehive ministers are fond of establishing or replenishing, we are not oblivious to the dosh which is provided by local authorities.
Two examples have been drawn to our attention in recent days.
Down south, the Gore District Council has disclosed how much it has paid the Hokonui Rūnanga for environmental and cultural identity projects – but it is curiously coy about how much it has paid to iwi authorities in the last four years. Commercial sensitivity comes into its rationale.
Further north, the Marlborough District Council is not so coy as it draws attention to the rich swill it is providing for Matariki celebrations.
But – guess what? Without iwi support, you are less likely to get your snout anywhere near the swill. Oinkers with iwi support will be given preferential treatment.
The Gore District Council’s funding of iwi is the subject of a Southland Times report:
Details of payments made to iwi authorities between 2021 and 2024, and any payments classified as koha and paid by council, were requested under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
In its response to the LGOIMA request, the council disclosed four payments to Hokonui Rūnanga Floriculture Limited.
In 2021 it made payments totalling $7215, in 2022 it paid $84,414, in 2023 it paid $53,038, and last year it paid $61,990. The council response did not say what the payments were for.
The Companies Office register showed Hokonui Rūnanga Floriculture Limited had two directors, James Hennessey and Terrence Nicholas, and Hokonui Rūnanga Incorporated was the only shareholder.
Local authorities are persistently pressed by iwi leaders – who invoke the Treaty and its “partnership” provisions – to consult their Māori citizens.
But when they are consulted – it seems – Māori are disinclined to freely give their advice. Not down south, anyway.
“No taxation without representation” has been turned into “no consultation without compensation”.
Terrence Nicholas was up-front on the matter:
Nicholas, the Hokonui Rūnanga general manager, said the payments were for a combination of environmental and cultural identity projects, including consultation on the council’s waste water projects, the proposed district plan, and the library artworks.
“A lot of it will be preparing responses and consenting issues, that type of thing,’’ he said.
Are we all entitled to be paid for contributing our ideas when we engage in public consultations?
The Southland Times report continues:
The council also made payments of $19,108 in 2021 and $9295 in 2024 to Hokonui Rūnanga Incorporated, but what the payments were for was not detailed in the council response.
The response shows a koha of $200 was made to Te Rau Aroha Marae Bluff for a Waitangi Day function in 2021, and a koha of $500 was made to Hokonui Rūnanga Inc. for a mihi whakatau in May 2024.
In its response the council said there was an agreement for services in place between the council and Hokonui Rūnanga Incorporated which set out the standard charging rates to be used if the Rūnanga provided services to the council.
It said no further details would be disclosed due to the commercially sensitive nature of the information.
The Southland Times draws attention to a Charter of Understanding between the two organisations which was signed in 2021 (a time when the Ardern Government was keenly promoting the ideology of co-governance and power-sharing).
It included a clause that said: “Council will provide adequate resources to Hokonui to effectively facilitate Hokonui’s involvement in council business as provided for in this Charter. This may extend to the provision of technical advice, expertise, information and financial support. Areas where council will provide Hokonui with resourcing will include … payment for consultation when Gore District Council is an applicant for a resource consent (to be further detailed in an appropriate ‘Agreement for Services’ between the Parties).”
At the other end of the South Island, the Marlborough District has released a media statement pitched at organisations which are planning to hold an event to recognise Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki.
The council has ladled an unstated sum of money into a trough and is calling for local hogs to tuck in:
Council is seeking applications for the Mānawatia te Kahui o Matariki/Marlborough Matariki Event Fund which celebrates and supports the regeneration and sustainability of mātauranga Māori associated with Te Kāhui o Matariki.
The contestable fund aims to support events that recognise not only Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki, the public holiday, but also the wider kaupapa and principles of Matariki. The event must take place within Marlborough and be free or low cost, family-friendly and accessible to all.
But whoa: there is a discriminatory clause in the eligibility conditions and organisers of Matariki events are more likely to be given a helping hand with this public funding if they can stump up with iwi connections.
Priority will be given to events that can demonstrate documented support from iwi and must demonstrate how funding would advance and promote one or more of the three major principles of Matariki.
The council website provides more information. Here citizens are given an idea of how much money they might be given:
Mānawatia te Kahui o Matariki Fund celebrates and supports the regeneration of mātauranga associated with Te Kāhui o Matariki. The contestable fund aims to support the community in hosting events that recognise not only Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki, the public holiday, but also the wider Kaupapa and principles of Matariki.
There will be no maximum that can be applied for. However, it is likely events will be supported by $2,000 – $5,000.
Applications for the 2025 funding round open today and close 5pm 14 April. To apply go to: www.marlborough.govt.nz/recreation/events/manawatia-te-kahui-o-matariki-fund-marlborough-matariki-community-event-fund
And if you happen to be non-Māori and you can’t find a Treaty partner – best of luck.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
Further north, the Marlborough District Council is not so coy as it draws attention to the rich swill it is providing for Matariki celebrations.
But – guess what? Without iwi support, you are less likely to get your snout anywhere near the swill. Oinkers with iwi support will be given preferential treatment.
The Gore District Council’s funding of iwi is the subject of a Southland Times report:
Details of payments made to iwi authorities between 2021 and 2024, and any payments classified as koha and paid by council, were requested under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
In its response to the LGOIMA request, the council disclosed four payments to Hokonui Rūnanga Floriculture Limited.
In 2021 it made payments totalling $7215, in 2022 it paid $84,414, in 2023 it paid $53,038, and last year it paid $61,990. The council response did not say what the payments were for.
The Companies Office register showed Hokonui Rūnanga Floriculture Limited had two directors, James Hennessey and Terrence Nicholas, and Hokonui Rūnanga Incorporated was the only shareholder.
Local authorities are persistently pressed by iwi leaders – who invoke the Treaty and its “partnership” provisions – to consult their Māori citizens.
But when they are consulted – it seems – Māori are disinclined to freely give their advice. Not down south, anyway.
“No taxation without representation” has been turned into “no consultation without compensation”.
Terrence Nicholas was up-front on the matter:
Nicholas, the Hokonui Rūnanga general manager, said the payments were for a combination of environmental and cultural identity projects, including consultation on the council’s waste water projects, the proposed district plan, and the library artworks.
“A lot of it will be preparing responses and consenting issues, that type of thing,’’ he said.
Are we all entitled to be paid for contributing our ideas when we engage in public consultations?
The Southland Times report continues:
The council also made payments of $19,108 in 2021 and $9295 in 2024 to Hokonui Rūnanga Incorporated, but what the payments were for was not detailed in the council response.
The response shows a koha of $200 was made to Te Rau Aroha Marae Bluff for a Waitangi Day function in 2021, and a koha of $500 was made to Hokonui Rūnanga Inc. for a mihi whakatau in May 2024.
In its response the council said there was an agreement for services in place between the council and Hokonui Rūnanga Incorporated which set out the standard charging rates to be used if the Rūnanga provided services to the council.
It said no further details would be disclosed due to the commercially sensitive nature of the information.
The Southland Times draws attention to a Charter of Understanding between the two organisations which was signed in 2021 (a time when the Ardern Government was keenly promoting the ideology of co-governance and power-sharing).
It included a clause that said: “Council will provide adequate resources to Hokonui to effectively facilitate Hokonui’s involvement in council business as provided for in this Charter. This may extend to the provision of technical advice, expertise, information and financial support. Areas where council will provide Hokonui with resourcing will include … payment for consultation when Gore District Council is an applicant for a resource consent (to be further detailed in an appropriate ‘Agreement for Services’ between the Parties).”
At the other end of the South Island, the Marlborough District has released a media statement pitched at organisations which are planning to hold an event to recognise Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki.
The council has ladled an unstated sum of money into a trough and is calling for local hogs to tuck in:
Council is seeking applications for the Mānawatia te Kahui o Matariki/Marlborough Matariki Event Fund which celebrates and supports the regeneration and sustainability of mātauranga Māori associated with Te Kāhui o Matariki.
The contestable fund aims to support events that recognise not only Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki, the public holiday, but also the wider kaupapa and principles of Matariki. The event must take place within Marlborough and be free or low cost, family-friendly and accessible to all.
But whoa: there is a discriminatory clause in the eligibility conditions and organisers of Matariki events are more likely to be given a helping hand with this public funding if they can stump up with iwi connections.
Priority will be given to events that can demonstrate documented support from iwi and must demonstrate how funding would advance and promote one or more of the three major principles of Matariki.
The council website provides more information. Here citizens are given an idea of how much money they might be given:
Mānawatia te Kahui o Matariki Fund celebrates and supports the regeneration of mātauranga associated with Te Kāhui o Matariki. The contestable fund aims to support the community in hosting events that recognise not only Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki, the public holiday, but also the wider Kaupapa and principles of Matariki.
There will be no maximum that can be applied for. However, it is likely events will be supported by $2,000 – $5,000.
Applications for the 2025 funding round open today and close 5pm 14 April. To apply go to: www.marlborough.govt.nz/recreation/events/manawatia-te-kahui-o-matariki-fund-marlborough-matariki-community-event-fund
And if you happen to be non-Māori and you can’t find a Treaty partner – best of luck.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
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