The Te Arawa Standing Committee was formed in 1993 by Council and Te Arawa Iwi. The committee’s purpose is to review matters of Council which may impinge upon the collective resources of any Te Arawa tribe, sub-tribe, hapu or whanau. The committee shall in no way usurp the tino rangatiratanga of any Te Arawa tribe, hapu and whanau.
Meetings are attended by senior staff, CEO, Kaupapa Maori Director, Policy Analyst/Maori research officer, other staff members and are sometimes attended by other Councillors as well. Eight Council meetings are held annually.The meetings are open to the public
Six Marae meetings are scheduled annually at Marae located within the Rotorua District Council Boundaries. Marae meetings enable council and TASC to meet face to face with Tangata whenua/Maori and discuss matters of importance to that Marae and or community.
A. If you (the public) want the committee to raise a matter at the next meeting
Then you need to advise the Director Kaupapa Maori or Chief Executive Officer of the matter within 5-10 days before the scheduled meeting.
B. If you wish to speak at the next scheduled Te Arawa Standing Committee meeting
Make a request to a committee member or the Director Kaupapa Maori 5-10 days before the scheduled meeting. All requests to speak must be accompanied with a brief report or presentation, which if approved is placed on the committee agenda.
C. Who decides, who can speak or which items are considered for the meeting agenda
The chairperson approves all representations from the public
The above meeting protocols are common to most council committees eg, Finance, Works, Planning and Bylaws etc.
Click here for Te Arawa Standing Committee meeting minutes and agenda's
Click here for Te Arawa Standing Committee meeting schedule
Click here to view Maori Committees advisory groups booklet
Click here to view Protocols between Tangata Whenua and Rotorua District Council
Administration
The Standing Committee meeting fees and mileage is administered by the Democracy team. Specific budget items, (eg consultation, hui, and/or training) have been serviced by the Kaupapa Maori unit and/or Democracy. The Te Arawa Committee is also asked to nominate representatives onto other Council Committees eg Creative Communities and Community Grants Committee
Process for Establishing Te Arawa Standing Committee Members
The Term of office is for three years. There are nine members in total on the Te Arawa Standing committee. Three of those members are representative of Rotorua District Council:
Chairperson Mayor Kevin Winters
Deputy chairperson Deputy Mayor Trevor Maxwell
Councillor Cr Bob Martin
And three members are appointed from the following organisations;
TE PUKENGA KAUMATUA O TE ARAWA
Te Pukenga Kaumatua o Te Arawa is a group of elders of Te Arawa, who provide advice to the Te Arawa Trustboard and other Te Arawa affiliated organisations
FEDERATION OF MAORI AUTHORITIES
Te Arawa Federation of Maori Authorities is an organisation, which is representative of 32 Maori land trusts in Te Arawa. The Federation offers training and business support for trustees and or land managers
TE ARAWA LAKES TRUST
The governing structure that represents Te Arawa descendants on lakes, resource and hapu/iwi development matters.
Elected Iwi members to Te Arawa Standing Committee
On 11 July 2007 a meeting was held at Te Papaiouru, Ohinemutu to discuss a review of the Te Arawa Standing Committee. A resolution was passed to nominate a working party to undertake a review of the Te Arawa Standing Committee and to report back to the iwi on specific objectives, those being;
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That a working party be nominated from this hui to undertake a review of TASC
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That the review be undertaken prior to the TASC Iwi elections which are to be held in November 2007.
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That the working party report back to the iwi prior to the elections
On the 18th October 2007 a second Te Arawa Hui-a-Iwi was held at Te Ao Marama in Ohinemutu to present back to the iwi the progress of the TASC review.
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Representation and election process - Are the current processes adequate and appropriate to enable informed, equitable participation for Te Arawa in Council decision-making processes. The review needs to cover all aspects of representation including the current appointees nominated from Te Arawa organisations onto the TASC committee.
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Are the Terms of Reference for the Te Arawa Standing Committee - specific, measurable, attainable and relevant.
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Functionality is the committee resourced adequately to enable informed and participatory decision-making for Te Arawa.
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How is the committees actions, strategies and decisions monitored and evaluated.
The working party recommended to the hui that the review be undertaken within a 2year period, so that all aspects of the committee could be explored and a comprehensive report can be presented with a view to mandate and implementation. The timing of the TASC presentation needs to occur so that it does not co-incide with national elections.
However Te Arawa still needs to have a decision-making presence in Council, so it was also recommended that the current appointees from Te Pukenga Koeke, Federation of Maori Authorities and Te Arawa Lakes Trust remain, along with current elected iwi representatives, Mr Piki Thomas, Mr Hawea Vercoe and Mrs Rene Mitchell.
For futher information visit Kaupapa Maori or email Kaupapa.Maori@rdc.govt.nz