Te Rika Liam Tuhoe Haturini Benfell

Incorporating his Tūhoe whakapapa, Liam seeks to establish a programme to provide upskilling and training to rangatahi regarding processes of Māori land governance and ownership.

Liam’s moemoeā…

In 1954, Te Urewera, the heartbeat of Tūhoe, was confiscated and transferred to crown ownership. For over half a century, Tūhoe remained landless and were thrust into poverty through no fault of our own. In 2014, our people signed our settlement and te kawa o te Urewera. As a result, our lands were returned to us and the identity of our tipuna ngahere was restored.

The kaupapa/project I am proposing is entitled ‘ko te whenua te toto o te tangata’. The name is derived from the whakatauki “Ko te wai te toto o te whenua, ko te whenua te toto o te tangata”. In essence, this programme looks to create a team of rangatahi and pakeke champions that can assist our kaumatua to navigate complex Māori land processes and achieve their aspirations concerning whenua. The programme will look to provide upskilling and training to rangatahi about navigating the complicated processes of Maori land governance and ownership. In particular, we will look at the Maori land court (succession, trust establishment, renewal of trustees and occupation orders), processes for developing papakainga, how to navigate te tumu Paeroa services, governance and how to best utilise pataka whenua.

For me, the whenua has always been a source of holistic well-being for our people. To ensure that these traditions flourish, I want to ensure that our people have the skills necessary to navigate the system that has been imposed on us.

The path to achieving these aspirations is clear. I would like to partner directly with hapū to tailor the programme and deliver these kaupapa on the marae. The kaupapa will always be community-based. The funding will be allocated towards advertising, securing spaces for the programme (marae hireage), resources for the programme, and recording the outcomes from the programme.

Key outcomes:

• Rangatahi will support their community and kaumatua
• Rangatahi will gain leadership skills to support their hapū
• Rangatahi are more knowledgeable about whenua