Slow down - both motorists and mobility scooters a reader warns. FILE PHOTO
Check your eyesight I WOULD like to pass on to riders and friends who may read this, a reminder to be aware of roads and vehicles at all times. Today [Wednesday] around the busy building near Hillview, I turned my vehicle from Te Kumi Rd into Hospital Rd (a notorious trouble spot) with a right-hand turn. As I was straightening up on Hospital Rd, a mobility scooter rode straight off the footpath in front of me attempting to cross the busy road with no hesitation from the footpath to the road. I had no trouble braking for him, and when he saw me he was shocked and stopped right in front of me. He then backed to where he came from but I waited and waved him on. It looked as though he hadn’t seen me so please could riders check their eyesight and perhaps make a point of stopping before going on to the road. This could have had a very different result. Please be extra diligent and careful as we don’t want any more accidents here and take this notice as a friendly reminder. N Grayson Te Kūiti
Where’s the trust? The boldness of the anonymous letter yesterday has inspired me to action. I wouldn’t have commented otherwise for fear of appearing conflicted or resentful since it is no secret that I have also made unsuccessful attempts to work in our iwi entity. The crux of the letter was clear though and I agree that we are not off to a good start in Te Nehenehenui and leadership decisions in the Trust are a cause for concern. I was shocked to see such a lack of transparency and general disregard for good governance process around the recent appointments. No call for expressions of interest from whānau for the board committees. No advertisement for new executive role vacancies. No accountability. No trust. No good. The timing and communication of those appointments was also poor in my view, and was an unnecessary distraction from the preparations and momentous occasion at Parliament. Or was that intentional – slip it in amidst the noise, done and dusted, move on, nothing to see here? Forgive my cynicism but that’s the problem when there is no transparency – it makes you wonder what else is going on. I credit that thinking to my parents, particularly my father whose brutal honesty is often unpopular but always founded in truth. Dad knows that sunshine is the best disinfectant. Te Nehenehenui, we’ve only just begun. With a lot of cash about to land in the bank and a trustee election coming in 2023, I strongly encourage all whānau to consider the type of leadership you want to see in the years ahead and how we might ensure that the elected few stay accountable to the hopeful masses. Te Nehenehenui, kia mataara! J Ngawaka (nee Taituha) Paraparaumu
Grave concerns I WOULD like to respond to the panui about the person who wrote about Te Nehenehenui Trust’s leadership. I would like to add my grave concerns for the way the board chair, the trustees and whoever is handling HR, regarding how they all have managed (or the lack thereof) to make a major stuff up with these executive appointments, and have to say it’s been disgraceful to say the least. I smell the stench of elitism, and all the trappings that go with that and guessing that it has been happening for a long, long time. I’m sure I know who the writer was talking about, and if it is the same person I know from Maniapoto, all I have to say is that she is a very smart and capable leader because of her results. She has a huge amount of respect and mana in Te Tau Ihu because of what she has done there. I have heard this through many independent sources. Wake up people, you are stuffing it up by not doing anything about the current leadership. Name and address withheld by permission
Another query I would like to respond to the letter to the editor about the wahine toa who missed out on the CE role at the Maniapoto [Māori] Trust Board titled Te Nehenehenui Trust Query. It saddens me to know that potentially many will suffer because of the few who are in positions of power right now, going unchecked and not being held accountable. I understand there will be new elections for the new trust but there is a lot of damage done already, what’s to stop more damage happening between now and then if this goes unchecked? E Tū Whanau. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know there’s a lot of rubbish going on behind closed doors right now because we have people we have elected, making decisions without doing things tika and transparently. Ring the trustees and put the pressure on them to give us answers because I think there are definitely some people on the board making dodgy decisions. Who’s the HR manager? As I said to the trustee I rang today: “sort your rubbish out or get off the board”. Their only reply was they were not aware of it. I for one want to find the right people and I know you can’t do that by ringing up the bros instead of advertising for the role. Reckless. (Abridged) L Rose Te Awamutu
Mud in your face I’D like to respond to a letter published last week about the lady who wasn’t good enough for her own tribe but went on to what seems to be a huge success for another iwi. Isn’t that mud in your face? It shows that the level of leadership here in the past has been, at best, terrible. Who is the HR leader? Who are the trustees? Who is the chair? HR takes care of the hiring process and final decisions are signed off by the board chair and trustees. It’s really simple cuzzies, doesn’t matter what you thought of them in the past, all that matters is results. If your trust board are behaving badly then you need to hold them to account for the bad behaviour. Ignorance is not an excuse for you or them. That’s the pālagi from my mother’s side talking. I call it how it is because I’m not from here but have lived here for eight years and know when leaders use their power for their own interests. Come to our island and you will see it for yourself. As a cousin to the native people of this beautiful country with a pālagi mother, get on the phone and pressure the trustees about the behaviour going on and more importantly, make them accountable sooner rather than later. You don’t want to wait till 2023 for the election process to form the new trust board because stuff like this gets worse the longer you leave it. And I’d find out who that wahine toa is and make sure she gets the interview she thoroughly deserves, because that ta’ahine has a record of results. M Tupou Ōtorohanga
Early warning I AM not from Maniapoto, and a pakeha, but I have holidayed here for many years and have got to meet many locals over that time that my wife and I have come to love. I saw [letter last week]. My background has involved board positions for some household brands across 35 years, so I’ve seen it all from a leadership and governance point of view. What you have is a $100+ million-dollar entity in crisis before it has already started, and I would say the tribe has lost not hundreds, or thousands, it would be potentially in the hundreds of thousands of dollars already, because of the way they have approached the settlement and what they have executed to date, assuming they have appointed any executive role(s) without advertising. Now I know Māori do things differently and I get that, so let this be a public record that you have been warned that $100+ million-dollar pakeha companies do not act this way at the board level. If they did, there would be a write-up on the front page of the Herald, heads would roll at least at the HR level but I would not exclude going higher. Take what you want from that. (Abridged) J Jay Address withheld by permission
Editor’s reply: We have been inundated with letters, too many to publish. Te Nehenehenui Trust CGO has told the King Country News as part of its right of reply, that much of the debate centering around this is in relation to an appointment made three years ago. In terms of what it does as a trust when it comes to senior appointments, it has advertised the positions as is normal practice and will continue to do so. On that basis, with the information on this and in the story on page 5 this subject is now closed.
Bank help BEFORE the Covid lockdown Ōtorohanga Household Budgeting Service had arranged with BNZ to have a meeting where people could discuss internet banking concerns with someone from the BNZ ‘face to face’. Some people had already shown an interest. Unfortunately, we went into lockdown the day before this was to happen. Due to the time lapse, a good number of people will have managed to get their internet banking sorted but it is our belief that there could still be some people who need help. The BNZ is also concerned with the number of scams that are currently circulating and would like to talk about how to avoid scams. A meeting is planned for Tuesday October 8 at the Senior Citizens Hall at 1.30pm. I am happy to be phoned for further information 078737721. Aileen Berrigan Budget Adviser Ōtorohanga Household Budgeting Service
Thanks so much ON meeting a lifelong friend from Hamilton recently at Bosco’s Cafe, he suddenly suffered a serious heart attack. We extend our grateful thanks to Doctor Buswell, the medical centre and hospital staff who took immediate control and stabilised him before organising an ambulance to Waikato Hospital, and surgery … they were outstanding. Also, our appreciation to the manager of Bosco’s cafe. It reinforced to us just how fortunate we all are to live in this town with its wonderful professionals, and kind, caring people. M and L Lamb Te Kūiti
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must be less than 300 words, must have the author’s name and contact details clearly marked. With-holding identifying details will only be done at the Editor’s discretion. Letters containing racism, or misinformation, will not be accepted. The Editor reserves the right to subedit to style, or to abridge any letter. Send to editor@kingcountrynews.co.nz
