Maori success stories

To be fair and even handed, I am looking for success stories particularly regarding the utilisation of maori Land for profit. If anyone has any information on this I look forward to hearing from you.

Self help

there are some great self help books. one of the best places to start is the Louise L Hay you can heal your life. I initialy thought this book was for weak people with weak minds. Its a bit flowery at the beginning but you get the message. Another of her books is the power is within you. These books can be a pick up if you are down, sick, hooked on drugs or in bad relationships.

Another book was feel the fear and do it anyway. I cant remember the Author but I ended up doing a Science degree after reading it.

Other self help series include The rich dad poor dad books. I am interested in hearing from people that have benifited from these books and others like it.

Kiwi emblem

This is a little gem that I got sent from aussie. Possibly the work of expaits I guess. Generally aussies dont give a stuff what happens over here. While I was studying in aussie they couldn't believe that i was coming back to NZ.
to them it is like going backwards.

Maori leadership

Direct negotiation implies a meeting of chiefs. Unfortunately Maori have cast aside their traditional whakapapa chiefs in favor of modern academics (mostly educated in Pakeha mainstream institutions). We tend to select our leaders from people that have worked in government and know the ropes. We are impressed by those that know how to access government grants and funding pools (putea).

Have Maori forgotten how the colonization engine has affected them? Businesses don't select their business managers form the state sector. They select from the private sector. Why is it that Maori select from the state sector?

When the crown and Maori meet to negotiate on one side there is the minister of justice, a bunch of influential CEO's, a chief crown negotiator all backed with the resources of the state. On the Maori side there are often government employees (or ex employees) with little financial backing and little experience in dealing with the crown. If you are a government employee, to go against the government of the day would be financial suicide.

Assistance for Maori in Aquaculture

Poutama trust- This was by far the most helpful organization to me when graduating from university and entering the business arena. This organization helps those that can not get bank loans etc. Even with 50 hectares of land (including three beaches)and a freehold home we were unable to borrow even ten thousand dollars due to our land status (Maori)and bank policy (BNZ - Coromandel) without putting up our whole block as collateral. History tells us not to do this. Thanks Poutama and team.

Technology New Zealand- This organization can be quite useful if you have something unique. In my opinion it is advisable to apply for pakeha putea as they are larger and Maori putea tend to be under resourced and over subscribed. I found that I personally had greater success with pakeha funding opportunities.

Te ohu Kaimoana- I was extremely fortunate to be the recipient of Te ohu Kaimoana's premier scholarship to study at the University of Tasmania. Our family farm benefited through a joint research project in crayfish culture. The project was a joint effort with Maori research company (Konaki), Kennedy Bay Mussels, Waipaua aquafarms with funding and financial assistance from Technology NZ and Te ohu Kaimoana. Further results were achieved after the completion of the project with high stocking densities, survival rates, growth rates and sales of up to $1000/ kg for crayfish. Te ohuKaimoana is designed to help iwi rather then individuals. Dont get into aquaculture expecting them to bail you out. It wont happen.

Te Puni Kokiri- This is the name for the old Maori affairs department. This organization offers advise to Maori. It appears last on the list of government departments and has one of the smallest putea of any government departments. The staff are under resourced, nicely dressed, have nice cars and the buildings appear well adorned with Maori decorations. This department is a token gesture of governments commitment to Maori and the treaty of Waitangi. Do not go in with high expectations. Staff here are confined by low putea, and stringent bureaucratic regulations.

Hauraki Maori trust board- Offered no support to Waipaua. Perhaps there are difficulties in working with 12 tribes as well as individuals. Dont get into aquaculture expecting HMTB to; bail you out, help employ staff, or create employment opportunities or help financially with training assistance programes or subsidies.

Fighting over fish-the art of negotiation.

Recently Sam Morgan negotiated the sale of is internet company (trade me) for $700 million dollars. This is sheer genius considering that the company was started in August 1999 by a thirty year old with $150,000 in shares, and the company has no property portfolio.

Some of the greatest minds Maori have to offer went into negotiation on behalf of iwi (owning %100 of their fisheries, guaranteed under article two of the treaty)with the crown. The resulting document was "the Maori fisheries act 2004", providing the framework for the allocation to iwi, of their share of $750 million dollars worth of assets.

Was this a good negotiation in your opinion? Where Maori leaders under duress, or undue influence? Are we Maori our own worst enemies when it comes to gaining a consensus among ourselves?

What qualifies me to talk about Maori economic development?

You might be wondering how it is that I am qualified to talk about Maori economic development so here it is;
First and foremost I am a Maori land owner. Anyone who still has Maori land knows the difficulties in trying to make a buck from it. As a family we have invested approximately 1.5 million dollars in time and in-kind labor, into our aquaculture venture. As a business we have invested approximately $600,000 of cash into our pilot operations.

Since we initiated the operation, there have been a number of government legislative interventions that have affected our success. These include; The fore shore and seabed act. The introduction of seaweed into the quota management system, aquaculture moratoriums and subsequent aquaculture management areas.

However I don't think we can blame the government for the failure of our small business. If our paua farm was viable in its present form I would still be pursuing it. Thats life. I have learned and grown from the experience.