Tēnā koutou e ngā huia kaimanawa ō tō tātou marae, tuatahi me mihi ka tika ki tō tātou Mātua Nui i Te Rangi nāna nei ngā mea katoa, ka huri ki ngā tini mate putuputu ō te wā, tiraha, takoto moe mai rā. Kia tātou ngā morehu o rātou mā tēnā tātou katoa.

E te whānau he nui tō mātou whakaiti ki mua i ā koutou i roto i tēnei tuhinga. Koia nei te tuatahi o ngā haepapa hei whakatau, hei whakarite anō i ā tātou kia tika anō te mahi, kia pono anō te mahi kia whakakotahi i ā tātou ki ngā mahi. Nō reira tēnei te whakapāha ā te Poari ki a koutou te whānau whānui. Kei raro nei ko ngā whakamārama mō te take nei.

The Marae Board is seeking the Marae whānau forgiveness. A grave error of judgement has been and was made. We intend to create a pathway of healing for our whānau and the legacy of our mokopuna.

This is only the first step of our apology process to regain the faith of our whānau, regather our Marae and move forward together as one. The Board offers a heartfelt apology to all the whānau of our Marae. We understand that this is a lapse of attention to detail and has a profound effected on many of our whānau as this is a breach of a important aspect of our tikanga, deeply regret any distress that our actions or inaction may have caused. 

Background:

Here is the information to add context to this kaupapa, late January, it was identified that the floods in the area had caused a build-up of fallen tree limbs and other debris on the trees on our marae ātea. Our board of trustees approved the clearing of the fallen debris and had identified some trees that could be a hazard and later become dangerous, posing a threat to our whānau.

Our Kaumātua in the flats advised us that sections of the ponga fence to the rear of their properties had fallen due to fallen trees and broken branches. A builder was called to assess the damage, who arrived with a quantity surveyor. The surveyor advised us that an arborist would be needed to assess any damage and other hazards along the affected areas.

On February 2nd, 2023, a report was issued to the General Manager, marked as urgent, requesting approval for the removal of debris and other remedial measures, such as securing the fallen fence with steel cables. Upon approval an arborist was contracted with the brief to assess the damage and other hazards along the affected areas. On February 17th, the arborist completed their risk assessment, with works to start on March 4th, 2023.

In short what we expected and what was actually done was extreme to say the least. As a Board and as members of the Marae whānau we were taken back with the work done.

As a way forward the Board would like to hold a Marae wide karakia once we have finished the fence, and we will chip the trees that were cut down back onto the whenua where they came from and plant more rākau and tipu that will be in harmony with the fence and kaumatua housing. We want to do this together as a whānau.

Nō reira koutou i tārehu i te pito ō tō mokopuna, ōu tamariki ki raro i ngā rakau ki te whenua, ki te honongā tangaengae ō tō tātou marae kei te tangi, kei te hotuhotu te manawa.

Tukunga mā te wā e rongoā, mā te kōrero e whakamāmā, mā te whakapono ki ō tātou tikanga e whakatika. Ko te aroha mauroa tēnei e hora atu nei kia koutou.

Noho ora mai ki roto i ngā manaaki.

Nā Mātou te Poari o Te Marae

Eynon Delamere

Aroha Te Namu

Carolyn Morgan

Tahuri Tumoana

Tom Harris

Pat Tobin

Joseph Waru

Maria Te Whiu

Gail Wilson