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Te Tatau o Te Arawa and Rotorua Lakes Council reinvigorate Te Arawa Partnership Agreement

After more than 18 months of negotiations between Te Tatau o Te Arawa and Rotorua Lakes Council, the Te Arawa Partnership has been refreshed.Yesterday (11 December), the Council voted in favour of establishing a Te Arawa Vision Committee marking a significant step toward strengthening the partnership relationship between Te Tatau o Te Arawa and Council and giving effect to the Manatū Whakaaetanga (Te Arawa Partnership Agreement) initially signed in December 2015.Te Tatau lead negotiator, Te Tar...

Rotorua inspires Constable to dedicate his life to serving the community

Service to the community is a key life purpose for Constable Shonit Chandra after joining the police in Rotorua, a district he’s proud to call his forever home.Residing in Rotorua for the past 13 years, he’s a familiar face in Whakarewarewa. Constable Chandra, an Ethnic Liaison officer, joined the local force four years ago and loves it.“Rotorua is an amazing place with good weather and beautiful landscapes. I love everything about Rotorua. I’ve had nothing but great experiences here. Be...

Childhood crush inspired Ka Whawhai Tonu movie director's life path

A childhood crush propelled a local filmmaker to achieve groundbreaking storytelling in New Zealand cinema three decades later.Director Mike Jonathan (Te Arawa, Tainui, Mātaatua) grew up in Taumarunui and remembers his mother taking him to the movies to watch Utu when he was nine.“Utu blew my mind because I saw Māori people on the big screen. A lot of them were getting killed, and it made me really emotional at the time.“I fell in love with Merata Mita because of her moko kauae; she looked...

Tuia mentoring programme builds 'life skills' - Maringi James

Maringi James (Ngāti Whakaue) is a young leader from Koutu who is keen to bring a different voice to the 2024 Tuia programme. This initiative pairs young Māori with local mayors for mentorship to cultivate leadership skills and community engagement. Te Tatau o Te Arawa rangatahi representative, Kahutapeka Ututaonga, is a previous Tuia alumni.While she is currently based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Maringi says she applied for Tuia to learn more about her hometown and how Rotorua Lakes Council op...

Te Tatau o Te Arawa reaffirms its dedication to Welcoming Communities

Jude Pani, Kayla Christiansen, Christina Pope and Rajind Seneviratne...

Te Arawa entities endorse reorua road signage kaupapa

Te Arawa Lakes Trust and Te Tatau o Te Arawa are supporting a move to introduce bilingual road signage in Aotearoa because it would enhance the Rotorua Reorua (Bilingual Reorua) journey.On August 11, 2017, Rotorua declared its intention to advance as a bilingual city and district, pledging to support and promote both te reo Māori and English.“Limited progress has been made to date due to the complexities of the law, but the recent actions by Waka Kotahi and Te Mātāwai have opened the door t...

Te Tatau o Te Arawa board resignations announced today

With their appointments on Rotorua Lakes Council, Te Tatau o Te Arawa board members, chair, Rawiri Waru, and deputy chair, Lani Kereopa, have resigned from their roles on the Te Arawa board.Rawiri believes stepping aside will enable greater and more robust Te Arawa participation and involvement by Te Tatau o Te Arawa at Council. He says there has been some confusion amongst fellow elected members about his and Lani’s roles as Māori ward councillors, rather than Te Arawa councillors.“Firstly...

Are we on the right track, Te Arawa?

Te Arawa E!We need your help to ensure Te Tatau o Te Arawa is on the right track before entering negotiations with Rotorua Lakes Council to review our joint Partnership Agreement signed in 2015.Our chairman, Rawiri Waru, says the board has taken onboard the Te Arawa feedback from a hui held at Te Ao Marama in November and identified recommendations for the Partnership Agreement Review."Now that our city and district has a new Mayor, Councillors and new Te Tatau o Te Arawa members, we think its t...

Rotorua Housing Accord

Housing Accord renews the commitment by Government, Rotorua Lakes Council, Te Arawa and Ngāti Whakaue for better housing and social outcomes in Rotorua. The Accord seeks to:reduce the reliance on emergency housing provide better support and care to people in emergency housingincrease housing supply to ensure more Rotorua people have access to safe, dry, warm, permanent homes This pipeline of public, affordable, iwi and Māori housing will ensure Rotorua can be a strong, vibrant c...

Emergency Housing progress update

A Rotorua Housing Accord announcement between the Government, Rotorua Lakes Council, Te Arawa and Ngāti Whakaue will be made tomorrow. (Friday, 9 December 2022) The event is possible thanks to contributions by Te Arawa and Ngāti Whakaue. In case you weren’t able to attend the emergency housing hui for Te Arawa on 27 November, visit https://bit.ly/3W4hImx to read the progress update delivered by the Te Arawa Working Party responding to emergency housing. (Update: 09 December 2022: The Facebo...

In brief - November hui heads up

Te Tatau o Te Arawa has two upcoming hui on its radar:  Emergency Housing Hui - Te Papaiōuru Marae - 27 November 2022; and Te Tatau o Te Arawa Partnership Agreement Review hui - 29 November 2022 For more information visit HERE....

Meet the RLC candidates

Te Tatau o Te Arawa, Pakihi Ora, Te Arawa FM/ The Heat and Local Gecko Productions joined forces to create virtual sessions to meet candidates standing for the Rotorua Lakes Council.  We invited ward candidates and mayoral candidates to share why they were standing in the 2022 Local Election. Find out more HERE....

Te reo Māori to echo through Rotorua CBD

Caption: Te Tatau o Te Arawa manahautū, Jude Pani, Kōtihi Reo director, Dr Anaha Hiini, and Te Arawa FM/ The Heat host, Norm Rahiri, in Te Manawa.  ...

2022 Annual General Meeting

Te Tatau o Te Arawa's AGM takes place at GHA, 1108 Fenton Street, Rotorua from 2 this afternoon.  A copy of the Annual Report is available HERE. The hui which will be live-streamed via Te Tatau's Facebook page and will cover: ·        Reports from the board and the executive officer ·        Annual Performance Report, including a statement of financial accounts. Nau mai haere mai if you're available or watch the hui via...

Rotorua Reorua Quarterly Fund available again

The Rotorua Reorua quarterly fund of $2000 is again available. This little pūtea may help towards upcoming Rotorua community events scheduled for Te Wiki o te reo Māori which runs from 12 - 18 September. We accept applications in te reo Māori and English. Visit https://bit.ly/3AraWPP for the full guidelines including details of upcoming funding round dates. You can also download the application form via https://bit.ly/3PtoeiV Applications for this funding round close on 31 August with succes...

Rangatahi election results announced

Te Tatau o Te Arawa voting papers have been counted and the 2022 – 2025 rangatahi representatives are Te Waiarangi Merito and Kahutapeka Ututaonga.  Voting closed at midday. (05 August 2022) Election Services’ Dale Ofsoske, who is the Chief Returning Officer for Te Tatau o Te Arawa, declared the successful candidates after the votes were confirmed. The voting results show Maringi James received 627 votes, Tara Sears received 486, while 915 votes were secured by Te Waiarangi Merito and...

Words of wisdom for Rangatahi candidates

Outgoing Te Tatau o Te Arawa rangatahi representative, Danielle Marks, has some words of wisdom for the four wāhine vying for a spot on the board. Kahutapeka Ututaonga, Te Waiarangi Collier-Merito, Maringi James and Tara Sears are contending for the two rangatahi positions. All four candidates have outstanding skills, abilities, and iwi connections so it is expected to be a tight race. Danielle was 22 when she was elected to the board in 2019. She had been living in Hamilton, studying for ...

Expect mail about online voting

Thank you to all our whanaunga of Te Arawa who gave us a heads up about an omission in the recent Te Tatau o Te Arawa Rangatahi election form mailout. Unfortunately, the online voting credentials (access voting code and password) in that correspondence were missed out in the printing process of the forms. If you have already completed and returned the voting document by post, please disregard this pānui. If you’d like to vote online, please expect a letter in the mail soon from Election Serv...

Election called for rangatahi candidates vying for Te Tatau o Te Arawa Board vacancies

A Board election has been called for registered Te Arawa members to pick two rangatahi representatives for Te Tatau o Te Arawa before voting closes at midday on Friday, 05 August 2022. Board positions for the other 12 roles have been duly elected unopposed as candidate numbers did not exceed the number of available vacancies. Te Tatau o Te Arawa manahautū, Jude Pani, acknowledges all the candidates who put their names forward. “Thank you to all our kaitono pōti (candidates) who put their h...

Matariki 2022 Rotorua Reorua recipients announced

The Matariki 2022 Rotorua Reorua Fund of $10,000 was set up to support Te Arawa led or co-led Matariki projects that authentically recognise and celebrate te wā o Matariki - including the first ever official public holiday on June 24.  Te Tatau o Te Arawa and Rotorua Lakes Council would like to congratulate the following recipients:  Te Rāpaki-a-Tumatahi Marae - Māra kai.In Books We Trust - KUPU: Ngā Ringa Tuhituhi Māori Literary Festival.Waiariki Māori Hockey - Ha...

Call for 2022 Te Tatau o Te Arawa Board nominations

Te Tatau o Te Arawa is calling for candidates to put their names forward for the Board's upcoming election.  Nominations open on 11 May 2022.  Click here to read the full e-newsletter including a call from manahautū, Jude Pani, and outgoing board member, Eugene Berryman-Kamp, as well as election details.   You can also here to visit our website for more information....

Special Matariki fund for Rotorua announced

A special one-off fund is now available to Rotorua community initiatives that support Rotorua Reorua and celebrate this year’s first official Matariki public holiday on 24 June.Te Tatau o Te Arawa and Rotorua Lakes Council are pleased to announce the creation of a jointly funded round, Matariki 2022 Rotorua Reorua, valued at $10,000. Te Tatau o Te Arawa board member, Rangitiaria Tibble, says the pūtea ensures that te reo and mātauranga Māori are at the heart of this year’s Matar...

Te Tatau o Te Arawa pens submission on RDC (Representation Arrangments) Bill

Te Tatau o Te Arawa is urging our people to have their say on the Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill before submissions close on 20 April 2022.  Over the Easter break, Te Tatau o Te Arawa has written a submission in support of the Bill and we are making three key recommendations because:  it's a rare opportunity for us to lobby for better and fairer participation for our whenua Māori blocks, so that their vote counts in local elections too,we want to protect M...

Te Tatau o Te Arawa elated by Local Government Commission decision

The Local Government Commission has reached a decision on the Rotorua Lakes Council’s representation arrangement for the district, which will include three Māori seats in the upcoming local election. Published yesterday, the decision under section 19R of the Local Electoral Act 2001 determines that the Rotorua District Council election on 08 October 2022 will elect a mayor and 10 councillors. As a result of the announcement, Rotorua Lakes Council’s representation arrangement will comprise ...

Te Tatau appeals interim Rotorua Representation Review decision

Te Tatau o Te Arawa presented before the Local Government Commission hearing into the Rotorua Lakes Council's representation review today.  Te Tatau manahautū, Jude Pani, with support from board member, Rawiri Waru, laid out the board's concerns about the Rotorua Lakes Council's interim decision that would see only one Māori Ward included.  You can watch Te Tatau's presentation by scrolling to 2 hours 57 mins via the full hearing which can be found at https://bit.ly/3trRMWu.&nbs...