The Trust and the Treaty...
alexandra keeble
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Kia ora everyone,
My name is Alex Keeble – I don’t live in Paekakariki anymore but I have an interest in the Trust and its exciting vision. I asked some questions in the survey that was circulated late last year, and since then contacted Holly with my questions, who invited me to the Loomio discussion.
I have a background in Treaty work in and around NGOs and a passion for decolonisation and it’s from that place that I write. I reckon that a Trust with the kaupapa of land and housing at its heart needs to consider its responsibilities to / relationships with hapū and urban Māori, regardless of the resources that are (or aren’t) available to hapū to establish housing initiatives. I think it’s important to consider the relationship between colonisation, gentrification and housing affordability in a small village like Paekakariki.
I'm really pleased you’ve now initiated a meeting with Ngāti Haumia. To clarify from the minutes of 29 December, while my partner Waiariki Grace is Ngāti Haumia, I don't seek to be a conduit of any kind, I certainly don't represent anyone's views but my own, and I don't want to be a part of the collective.
But I do hope my questions about the vision or 'intentionality' of the Trust might help generate some good discussion:
• Could this be an opportunity for the Trust to support Ngāti Haumia people in particular to stay in and/or return to Paekakariki?
• Would it be possible for the Trust to support its beneficiaries to move from being tenants to land-owners (not simply through subsidised rent, which can still leave people poor even at the end of a long-term tenancy)?
• Put another way, how could the beneficiaries of the Trust benefit from real estate investment just as much as the investors (for example by taking a share of the profit from any property sale)?
• What could happen if all the decisions and resources of the Trust were equally shared between Pākehā and Māori?
Not small questions, but they might lead to exciting answers. In the meantime, Waiariki and I are so happy you've been able to help Pete and Raima stay in the village. What an amazing thing.
He mihi nui tēnei ki a koutou,
Alex
holly jane ewens Sat 11 Feb 2017 2:38AM
Kia ora Alex,
I tautoko what @markamery said above. It's so imperative to keep questions (and solutions) like these at the core of PHT. I'd be interested to know what you think might be a really inclusive, open platform for Ngāti Haumia to interact in such discussions. I still feel like we need someone on the Trust who maintains that vision/voice. I can't help but feel that if we have someone outside our Hāpu (say, one of us currently involved in the group) that we run the risk of keeping iwi on the outside rather than at the core. Not sure if I've explained myself well. Obviously face to face with Karl is great but it's still kinda exclusive if you get my drift?
Mark Amery · Fri 27 Jan 2017 4:21AM
Awesome Alexandra Awesome. We can't do this work without acknowledging the significant issues relating to mana whenua. I am personally of the view that we need to be clear enougb to recognise that putting the issues you mention front and centre of our view is vital to our obligations and core to the title of this thread. There are wounds and we can't just ignore them.