Tata mutunga ngā mahi mō te tau 2022. He tau o ngā wero. He tau o ngā āheitanga. He tau o te pouritnga hoki. 

Ahakoa ngā piki me ngā heke, mā runga i te manaakitanga, te whanaungatanga, me te aroha, ka haere waka eke noa tātou.

As the end of 2022 draws near, we reflect on the journey that we’ve had this year.

While COVID-19 impacted many of us, Te Taumata has been unrelenting in our advocacy for Māori interests both nationally and internationally, and has continued to stay strong, grounded, and committed to our kaupapa and values.

Te Taumata has made significant gains this year for Māori in global trade negotiations and at home – a testament to our ongoing strategy and approach.

Ka nui ngā mihi to everyone for your unwavering support and mahi – mā whero, mā pango, ka oti ai te mahi.

To our rangatira, Taa Toby Curtis, Taa Harawira Gardiner and Bobby Palmer who sadly passed away this year – moe mai rā.

What we have secured for our people will be a legacy of the strength and commitment of our past and present rangatira, who have and will continue to guide our mahi.

Te Taumata is committed to growing our influence and embedding our voice to generate new opportunities for Māori – and our future looks prosperous and bright.

Nō reira, mēri kirihimete ki ā koutou katoa, ko te tūmanako me pai haere i roto i te haumarutanga tō koutou wā whakataa i te taha i ā koutou whānau. Mā tēnei karakia hei whakakapi i ēnei kōrero mō te tau 2022, ā, hei whakarite i ā tātou mahi mō te tau 2023.

Kia tau ngā manaakitanga a te mea ngaro, ki runga ki tēnā, ki tēnā o tātou

Kia mahea te hua mākihikihi, kia toi te kupu, toi te mana, toi te aroha, toi te reo

kia tūturu, ka whakamaua kia tīna! Tīna! Hui e, Tāiki e!

Te Taumata highlights of 2022

Te Taumata facilitates largest-ever trade hui at Parliament

Te Taumata has successfully facilitated six regional trade hui across the motu, providing an unparalleled opportunity to connect ministers and trade officials with Māori business leaders to share and discuss issues, opportunities and strategies in trade.

This year we held our sixth trade hui at Parliament. The hui was hosted by Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta, and was the largest trade hui facilitated by Te Taumata to date.

The hui brought together hundreds of Māori business leaders, rangatahi, diplomats and government ministers to discuss how Aotearoa New Zealand can continue progressing Māori trade opportunities.

Ministers acknowledged the key role Māori play in trade. The fundamental elements identified and discussed at length at the hui were investing in research and development, protecting Māori intellectual property, nurturing rangatahi and authentically embedding Māori culture in premium export goods. These elements are key to realising the full potential of Māori in global trade.

The growing demand for our hui, and the interest we get from businesses and government wanting to take part, are testament to their value.

Trade hui are a cornerstone of our mahi, and we will continue working with local iwi to discuss topics relevant to each region and its people.

Next year, our seventh regional hui will be held on 23 March at Ōrakei Marae in Tamaki Makaurau – nō reira nau mai, haere mai.

New and existing partnerships flourish in 2022

A direct result of the success of our Global Māori Trade Strategy hui, Te Taumata hosted the Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand, His Excellency Mr Wang Xiaolong, along with a prestigious Chinese delegation at Rotorua earlier this month. The focus was on fostering mutual understanding, trust and trade between China and Aotearoa.

China is a significant trade partner for Māori businesses. Growing this relationship will undoubtedly present new trade opportunities in the near future.

This year, Te Taumata also embarked on our first indigenous-to-indigenous collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

This MOU represents another step towards enhancing and developing these connections while cementing our international partnership with the goal of supporting indigenous prosperity and wellbeing in both countries. 

Together, we share knowledge and ideas in international trade negotiations and procurement, and we are hopeful the MOU will help facilitate co-investment opportunities both in Aotearoa and Canada.

Te Taumata has continued to connect with other national and global leaders and organisations, such as the European Union Ambassador, Nina Obermaier,  Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr, and has recently met with ExportNZ and World Trade Organisation (WTO)  Director General, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in which two of our Directors, Hone McGregor and Carrie Stoddart-Smith, had attended the WTO 2022 Public Forum (WTO’s biggest annual outreach event) held in Switzerland in September this year.

Te Taumata recognises the value and importance of maintaining its existing partnerships and pursuing and investing in new partnerships that will benefit Māori businesses and the Māori economy.

Te Taumata plays pivotal role in FTA negotiations (UK/EU)

The New Zealand/United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has been a significant win for Māori.

Te Taumata played a pivotal role in the negotiations, advocating for and securing ground-breaking indigenous chapters and protecting key Māori interests and intellectual property that ensured Aotearoa secured gold standard agreements with the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom.

These FTA will unlock access to two of the world’s most lucrative markets and create numerous opportunities for Māori.

Both agreements also include, for the first time, a ‘Māori Trade and Economic Co-operation’ chapter, providing an important new platform to enable Māori to benefit from the agreement and co-operate to advance Māori economic aspirations and wellbeing.

As a result of the firm positioning and trusted advice of Te Taumata, both agreements have set a new standard for indigenous inclusion in free trade, not just for Māori, but all indigenous cultures.

As an established authority on indigenous trade, Te Taumata has guaranteed its inclusion in all future deals negotiated by Aotearoa. In turn, it has ensured better outcomes for Māori through trade.

International trade presents untold opportunities for Māori enterprise, and Te Taumata continues to instigate and lead conversations to guarantee our people have access to those opportunities.

Unlocking billions for Māori and the Nation

World Class Experts convened to develop a forestry practice (a practice supported by more than four decades of scientific research in Aotearoa) that will be vital to unlocking more than $16 billion in value for the Māori economy.

The group, brought together by Te Taumata (Māori Forestry Landowners) and funded exclusively by Māori forestry interests, is working to establish a best practice model for permanent transitional forest management.

Transitional forests use exotic trees as a nurse crop for the development of a biodiverse indigenous environment over time while rapidly sequestering carbon to support our nation’s climate change commitments.

Combining that scientific research with mātauranga Māori and established forestry expertise has allowed us to create a world-first, indigenous-led model to deliver real value to the local economy while ensuring climate change is a fundamental part of modern forest practice.

Unprecedented reach with Māori – a communications strategy that works

Te Taumata knows how our people communicate and how our people want to be communicated with.

Te Taumata has carried out a sustained and deliberate communications strategy, reaching our people both online and in person, resulting in an uplift in Māori/Crown engagement regarding trade.

Through regular e-pānui, social media updates, regional hui, and our recently relaunched website, stakeholder engagement and our Te Taumata database has significantly increased its database, building a strong base of Māori across the motu.

Te Taumata is being approached by some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading Māori businesses, wanting to support, partner and utilise our expertise as the premier voice for Māori on trade.

This stems from the trust we have built with our people to achieve better outcomes in an arena that we, as Māori, have been locked out of for generations.

By continuing to be a firm advocate for Māori interests in trade, Te Taumata has cemented its position as the central point of contact for government agencies and Māori businesses alike.