Te Hiku Forum

Draft Discussion Paper

Subject: Iwi farming & land development strategy

To: Te Hiku Forum members

Date: 28th July 2010

Purpose

1. The purpose of this paper is to outline an iwi farming and land development strategy and
to focus on what will be required to establish sustainable farming and forestry businesses
post settlement, protect iwi assets going forward and safeguard the interests of all the iwi.

Background

2. The AIP that was signed by Te Hiku iwi in January of 2010 included the return of seven
Crown owned farms to the five iwi, as well as the whole of the Aupouri State Forest.

3. There are also a number of farms, and forestry blocks already owned by Te Hiku hapu and
iwi. The majority if not all of these are run independently and there is little cooperation
between hapu and iwi in relation to these ventures.

4. Across the five iwi there is also a great deal of underutilised land, some of it suitable for
farming and other economic development, such as horticulture.

5. The notion of a collaborative approach to the development of a sustainable iwi farming

business of scale has been discussed in general terms by the Forum over the last few
years. The settlement gives us a unique opportunity to take a more strategic look at land
development in Te Hiku o Te Ika.

6. The return of the Aupouri State Forest will also give the five iwi a considerable area of
forest land. There has been a broad commitment made to manage the forest as a unit to
preserve the economy of scale. When combined with the other Maori owned forest blocks
the forest estate is significant.

7. The Forum established a sub-committee to look at the farming issues arising out of the
settlement. This committee consists of Winiata Brown, Paul White, and Rangitane
Marsden.

8. This paper seeks to identify the principles and models which could underpin a successful
pan-iwi farming venture and forestry venture to boost economic opportunities for the five
iwi.

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The future land base in Te Hiku

Settlement assets

9. The following lands have been identified as part of the treaty settlement packages for the
five Te Hiku Iwi:

Land block Area ha Iwi Current use

Te Aupouri State Forest 22590 All Te Hiku Iwi Forestry
Te Paki Farm Park 2800 Ngati Kuri Beef farming
Cape View 915 Te Aupouri Beef
Te Raite 1850 Te Aupouri Beef
Sweetwaters 2479 Te Rarawa, Ngai Takoto Dairy and beef
Rangiputa 3691 Ngati Kahu Beef
Kohumaru 945 Ngati Kahu Beef
Te Karae 1968 Te Rarawa Sheep & Beef
Total 37238

Existing Maori land ownership

10. There are nearly 1000 blocks of land held in Maori title across Te Hiku. This amounts to
nearly 50,000 ha. Around half of them are small whanau holdings of less than 4 ha,
making up an estimated 1000 ha. The balance falls into two categories. The largest part
is held by 11 trusts and incorporations. These blocks are large, with many owners and
they account for over 32,000 ha of the total. The other category of around 490 blocks
range between 4-200 ha and make up about 17,000 ha. This does not take into account
land owned by Te Hiku people not in Maori Land Court title.

Maori Trusts and Incorporations

11. More than half of the land in Te Hiku is currently managed by 11 trusts and incorporations.
These are listed below and they account for 32,300 ha.

Land block Area ha Iwi Use

Muriwhenua Ngati Kuri Forestry
Incorporation 5860
Parengarenga Te Aupouri/ Farming, forestry, fish farm
Incorporation 15590 Ngati Kuri
Parengarenga 3G Te Aupouri/ Forestry
512 Ngati Kuri
Ngati Kahu Ngati Kahu
Ahuwhenua Trust 1079
Ahipara B2 828 Te Rarawa Gumfields

Manukau A Trust 265 Te Rarawa Forestry

Te Whanau Nga-tai-a- Te Rarawa Conservation, possible wind farm
uru Trust 1069
Te Puna Topu o Te Rarawa Forestry
Hokianga 2975
Panguru Motuti Trust 837 Te Rarawa Forestry, honey
Tapuwae Incorporation Te Rarawa Farming and forestry
2070 Possible quarry.
Waireia Trust 1223 Te Rarawa Farming
Total 32308

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12. Many of the people involved with the governance of Maori land blocks also live away from
the rohe of Te Rarawa and few of these trustees and management committee members
have farming and management skills. These few Maori Trusts and Incorporations in the
area operate in isolation of each other and generally can’t afford to employ the appropriate
level of manager to lift business performance.

Small blocks

13. About 17,000 ha of land across Te Hiku o Te Ika is held in nearly 500 separate titles. The
average size of these blocks is around 35 ha and they generally have between 20 and 100
owners. Often the majority of owners live away or are deceased without successions
being undertaken. Many of these blocks are contiguous with one another and the main
concentrations of land are clustered in bout 30 of our Maori communities.

14. The overwhelming majority of these do not have any governance structures in place and
use of the land is often informal with casual grazing, and house sites being the main use.
While some of these lands are not suitable for farming development, a number of them
were used in the 1930-50s as small whanau dairy farms. When the economics of dairying
changed from the 1960s they were often abandoned as people went to the cities. Many
families have returned to these lands but few have been developed and there is little
economic benefit coming to the community.

15. There are a range of issues which are relevant to the future development of these lands
including the proliferation of small blocks, the increasing number of absentee owners, the
need for formal management structures, the need for more and improved housing, the
balance between conservation and development and the suitability of land for
development.

16. Discussions with people involved at an iwi and land block governance level revealed the
paralysing effect of fragmentation of land and absentee ownership. There is widespread
informal use of underutilised land in Te Hiku communities where adjacent landowners use
multiply owned blocks sometimes in return for paying the rates.

Developing a flexible iwi farming and land development strategy

17. There are a range of issues and challenges that need to be addressed in any Iwi farming
and land development strategy. These issues differ depending on the category of
potential land considered for such a strategy. As outlined above the Te Hiku land base
falls into three categories:
• Settlement land
• Existing trusts and incorporations.
• Small blocks

Issues relating to settlement land

18. Each iwi will have land returned to them as part of the Treaty settlement process and they
will have their own aspirations about its future stewardship. The land needs to be
considered in two parts. Firstly the Crown farms that are to be returned will vest in specific
iwi. Secondly, the forestry land will be returned to a holding company and ownership will
be subject to a mana whenua process. This may or may not lead to allocation of specific
and separate titles in the short to medium term.

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19. In all cases only the land is being returned, not the going concern. Four of the farms are
currently managed by Landcorp, two are leased out to private operators and one is in the
land bank. The forest is subject to a forestry license to Juken Nissho.

20. It is clear however that while the land will be an important part of rebuilding an economic
base for each iwi, there will be considerable benefit from the economy of scale that can be
created by working together. Consultation to date has revealed the following issues and
challenges:
• Each iwi wishes to retain its own foot print and does not want to amalgamate land
ownership.
• There is a desire to protect the land from future alienation by way of sale.
• All iwi are not currently prepared to get into the business of running farms or forests
post-settlement.
• Collaboration is seen as a sound business decision going forward.
• There may be some benefit in developing a medium term partnership with Landcorp
who currently run four of the seven farms coming back.
• There is a need to get the best expertise we can to oversee any farming operations.
• The need to respect the ahika and kaitiakitanga.
• Environmental sustainability is important.
• There is potential for diversification on several of the blocks being returned particularly
if a water supply can be secured.

Issues relating to existing trusts and incorporations

21. Discussions with some of the existing trusts and incorporations have revealed a range of
issues that need to be taken in to account if an iwi farming and land development strategy
is to be relevant to their interests. These include the following:
• There will be a degree of scepticism among trustees, committees of management, and
landowners.
• Most trustee and incorporations have had modest success at best and suffer from
increasing costs and low returns.
• There is limited cooperation between Maori blocks.
• There is scope to improve returns and reduce costs through collaborative effort, and
the sharing of services.
• Several trusts and incorporations have potential to grow but there is a lack of capital
for investment.
• We are not benefitting from the farming value chain, with others making most out of the
industry.
• Land owners are risk averse.
• Governance groups are interested in what an iwi farming strategy might offer but need
to be kept in the loop.

Issues relating to small blocks

22. The opinions of some land owners in a few of our communities have been sampled to
identify issues and interest relating to an iwi driven land development strategy. The
following points have been identified:
• Multiple ownership system has locked up land.
• The focus on absent individual shareholders does not bring communal benefit
• The lack of formal governance
• The need to create alignment and economies of scale
• Tension between conservation and development
• The need for capital
• Aversion to risk

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 • Lack of capacity and capability
• Housing as an integral part of development
• The desire for local involvement and control

Principles

23. From the various issues and concerns raised by the different land holding groups it is
possible to distil some principles. The following principles will be important to the
development of an iwi farming and land development strategy for Te Hiku.
• Iwi Leadership
• Economy of scale
• The need to work with the ahika
• Risk management
• Environmental sustainability
• Flexibility
• Diversification

Continuum of involvement

24. Any iwi farming and land development model will need to be flexible and allow for different
levels of engagement and participation over time. There are four levels of engagement
along the continuum of the proposed farming model. These include:
• Cooperation
• Collaboration
• Joint ventures
• Iwi collective

Cooperation

25. Cooperation can be described as increasing the level of networking and information
sharing for mutual benefit. Currently there is little cooperation across our existing trusts
and incorporations.

Collaboration

26. Collaboration is proposed to increase opportunities for the development of shared services
such as administration, accounting, human and resources support. It also offers potential
for group purchasing for things such as fuel, fertilizer, insurance etc, access to
management and farm advice, and finance. There would be opportunities to build a shared
machinery pool and look at the development of a training strategy and programmes to
serve all participants.

Joint ventures

27. A joint venture approach will lead to formal and informal partnerships and shared
strategies. From there new share farming practices and new land development will be
possible. There will be opportunities for joint Iwi investments, and land acquisition. Joint
ventures will lead to better integration and joint marketing opportunities which will allow for
cost sharing and better risk management.

Iwi collective

28. The development of a full iwi collective will come from a fully integrated iwi farming and
development strategy. It will generate corporate governance to oversee a range of leasing

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 options, share farming options and diversification. A land acquisition strategy would be
achievable allowing for active or passive involvement at a whanau, hapu, or iwi level. It
would see the development of a collective strategy where all the opportunities within the
value chain are exploited.

29. An iwi farming model for Te Hiku is proposed to create sustainable farming and land
development ventures that will improve the alignment of iwi and hapu land assets and
build an economy of scale that will benefit all participants. Key components of the model
include:
• A pan-iwi owned corporate farming body to spearhead the strategy.
• A parallel forestry body
• Joint ventures with existing trusts and incorporations.
• Partnerships with other faming entities such as Landcorp and possibly Juken Nissho.
• Joint ventures between Te Hiku iwi.
• Bringing in clusters of suitable land in key communities into formal governance
structures.
• Opportunities for hapu/marae and iwi to invest.
• Development of share farming and forestry, leasing and financing instruments to
encourage whanau and hapu farming.
• Enhancing returns to land owners and benefits for the community.
• An iwi land acquisition strategy.
• The development of a training component at a governance, management and work
force level.
• Provision for housing and papakainga development.

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 Te
Hiku
Development

Settlement
lands

Under
utilised Trusts
lands and Incs

Iwi Iwi

Iwi Iwi Iwi

Key priorities

30. The key priorities for the next two years will be:
• To complete the Treaty settlement process that will provide land assets.
• To seek agreement between iwi wishing to participate.
• To develop iwi structures and capacity in relation to farming and forestry enterprise.
• To work with Landcorp or other experts to develop post-settlement land management
options.
• To build a relationship with Juken Nissho.
• To build relationships with existing trusts and incorporations in Te Hiku to encourage
collaborative farming and forestry development opportunities.
• To undertake a systematic analysis of all Te Hiku lands including GIS mapping and
assessment of suitability for development.
• To identify communities who want to pursue land development.
• To assist hapu/iwi communities to create governance structures around land suitable
for farming development.
• To develop a suite a joint venture and share farming options for landowners, whanau
and hapu communities.
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Appendices

Scenarios

Scenario one

Two or more iwi An iwi farming joint venture is established between those iwi that want
agree to work to gain the benefits of working together. The following outcomes
together to manage would be sought:
settlement farms • Joint strategy developed.
• Relationship developed with Landcorp or other expert farmers for
transitional management of operations.
• Options for future management, investment and diversification
investigated.
• Building of capacity and capability.
• Decisions about long term strategy and investments.
• Returns dependent on inputs of land and capital.

Benefits:
• Economy of scale
• Cost reductions
• Sharing of risk
• Higher returns.
• Investment opportunities

Scenario two

Collaboration with Joint iwi farm management group work with existing trusts and
existing trusts and incorporations to:
incorporations • Develop shared programmes such as group insurance, fuel,
fertilizer buying cooperative.
• Develop shared services such as accountancy, legal, IT and
administration.
• Develop a shared training programme.
• Shared machinery pool.
• Set up marketing cooperative to add value and reduce costs.
• Develop regional farming strategy.
• Support acquisition of further land.

Benefits:
• Enhanced economy of scale.
• Further reduction in costs.
• Sharing of risks and opportunities.
• Higher returns.
• Building of capacity and capability.
• Flexibility to opt for what suits local aspirations

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Scenario three:

Working with Iwi farming joint venture group works with interested communities as
communities to bring a catalyst for the development of suitable land that is currently under-
some under-utilised utilised. This would aim to
land into • Develop clusters of new farm development in Maori communities.
development • Assist with the development of local governance.
• Expand farming operations using existing iwi infrastructure and
expertise.
• Bring iwi capital in to hapu development.
• Support the aspirations of ahika for development

Benefits:
• Overcoming obstacles for development in local communities.
• Creating new job opportunities.
• Enhanced economy of scale.
• Sharing of risks and opportunities.
• Building of capacity and capability.
• Opportunity for regional development strategies.
• Reinforce other aspects of development including housing,
training etc.

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 Appendices

Te Puna Topu o Hokianga: Te Puna Topu o Hokianga Trust is responsible for nearly
3000 hectares. It has the majority of its land leased out to Juken Nissho for forestry with
the balance under conservation covenant. The forest is currently being logged. It is
adjacent to and part of the west coast sand dunes. It is owned by 2200 shareholders
many of whom are deceased and missing. Issues that arise with these lands include:
• The sustainability of forestry on sand dune country.
• The impacts of the carbon emissions trading scheme and its review.
• The future prospects for forestry.
• Long term relationships with lessee, Juken Nissho
• Conservation issues

Waireia Trust: The Waireia Trust is responsible for in excess of 1200 hectares of farm
land which was returned to Te Rarawa in the 1980s after 70 years of dispute with the
Crown. It is a functional sheep and beef unit. While the beneficiaries of the land are the
people of Te Rarawa the trustees have traditionally been drawn from the local area.
Issues that arise with these lands include
• Returns from sheep and beef farming.
• Economies of scale
• Ongoing access to skilled managers
• The potential to contribute to an iwi farming strategy.
• The potential to include nearby under utilised land.
• Conservation issues.

Panguru Motuti Trust: The Panguru Motuti Trust is responsible for an area of 435
hectares of Maori land and has recently purchased another 400 hectares. The original
trust lands were leased out for forestry purposes in the late 1970s. The trees on the block
have now been harvested and the cash flow from stumpage has allowed the trust to
purchase a neighbouring block that was also clear felled recently. Both blocks are bare
and the trust is currently looking at its future options. It is investigating the assisted
regeneration of manuka as a way of promoting the honey industry. Issues for the Panguru
Motuti Trust include:
• Access to development capital
• The need to strengthen governance skills
• Weed infestation

Tapuwae Incorporation: The Tapuwae Incorporation is responsible for 1750 hectares of

multiply-owned land and another 330 hectares of land that it purchased in the 1990’s. It
has about 865 hectares of land in forestry with forestry licenses to Tai Tokerau Forests Ltd
and a private forestry investor. It runs an organic beef breeding operation on about 800
hectares with 700 breeding cows. The balance of the area is conservation land. The
Tapuwae and Motukaraka West lands in Te Huahua are near to the back of the Te Karae
Landcorp block which will be part of Te Rarawa’s treaty settlement. Issues that arise with
these lands include:
• The need for formal management structures on the small blocks.
• Economy of scale and the proliferation of small blocks
• Weed infestation.
• The need for more and improved housing
• The balance between conservation and development.

Manukau A Trust: The Manukau A Trust is responsible for an area of 265 hectares on
the West Coast at the mouth of the Owhata Harbour. It consisted of an area of sandhills

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 prior to its lease for forestry nearly 30 years ago. The trust has been inactive until quite
recently when new trustees were appointed. Issues for this trust include:
• The detrimental impacts of forestry on the sand dune ecology.
• The future use of the land
• Governance capacity

Te Whanau nga-tai-a-uru Trust: Te Whanau nga-tai-a-uru Trust is responsible for more

than 1000 hectares of coastal land. The trust has been in discussions with an energy
company with regard to a controversial wind farming proposal.

Ahipara B2 Gumfields: To be completed.

Other blocks
To be scoped out

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