Te Aroha owners take role in governing their land

Te Aroha owners take role in governing their land

Over 2000 owners of Te Aroha Aggregation farm in Waihi are celebrating a major milestone in its development, with an open day on Saturday. The day signifies the start of responsibility for the farm being passed back to the owners.

For the last three years, owners and trustees of the Māori-owned dairy farm have been supported by Te Tumu Paeroa to develop the skills and experience in governance so they can self-manage the successful enterprise.

Since 1989, Te Tumu Paeroa have been responsible trustee to Te Aroha Aggregation. Saturday’s ceremony signifies an important step for owners in the transition of management responsibility to them.

Brad Tatere, owner and Advisory Trustee for Te Aroha farm, says, “This is an exciting step for us to be taking. Te Tumu Paeroa have done a great job in supporting us to this point, giving guidance with our strategy which will ultimately lead to our owners’ aspirations becoming a reality. The farm’s in a strong financial position, and while there’s further development to be done on-farm, we’re now looking at opportunities in other sectors. We’ve been working alongside Te Tumu Paeroa in a decision making capacity for some time now. We believe the time’s right to formalise this and take over the governance of the farm and assets.”

“Together we’ve made a lot of improvements to the farm. Now we’re confident that, with that infrastructure and the level of expertise in the Trust, we’re well on our way to reaching our goals”.

“Te Tumu Paeroa will continue to play an important role in the future of Te Aroha, providing professional services to the trust. Our success will be a result of having strong capability around our table as we continue this journey”, says Brad.

Jamie Tuuta, Māori Trustee and CEO of Te Tumu Paeroa, says “We want owners to be actively involved in decision making for their whenua. Te Aroha is a perfect example of this in action. The owners and trustees that Te Tumu Paeroa has worked with over the last three years have shown a strong desire to create a legacy of success for their land and people. This is their next step in achieving that.”

Te Tumu Paeroa will continue to play a supporting role with Te Aroha as part of the Trust’s longer term strategic plan.

--ENDS—

Te Aroha Open Day

When: 10am – 3pm, Saturday 1 April 2017
Where: 381 Old Tauranga Road, Waihi
Events: Whakatau, Pou blessing, Farm visit & tree planting, owners update

Kai and refreshments will be available. Owners and guests will be briefed on health and safety requirements during the day.

About Te Tumu Paeroa

Since 1989, Te Tumu Paeroa, the organisation responsible for supporting the Māori Trustee, has been responsible trustee for Te Aroha Aggregation in Waihi.

Everything we do at Te Tumu Paeroa is focused on protecting and enhancing Māori land.

Our vision is to support land owners to use their land to its fullest potential – creating a legacy for this generation, and the generations that follow.

We look after 100,000 hectares of Māori land on behalf of almost 100,000 owners.

About Te Aroha Aggregation

Te Aroha Aggregation is a combination of Te Aroha Sec 1B Block III and Te Aroha Sec 2 & 3 Block III.

The farm has over 2,000 owners.

485 hectare Māori-owned dairy farm

Over the past three years a number of improvements have been made to the farm. The dairy shed and effluent pond received an upgrade, new lodgings were built on the whenua for farm staff, and fencing was added to protect the waterways.

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