News

Building brighter futures for Murihiku Rangatahi

Building brighter futures for rangatahi in Murihiku is at the heart of a recently signed partnership agreement between the Te Rourou Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation and Hokonui Rūnanga Incorporated. The agreement will see the establishment of a hapū-led iwi-backed employment and training initiative to be developed and housed within Murihiku Regeneration.

Hokonui Rūnanga Incorporated Chair, Terry Nicholas says, “Murihiku Regeneration is excited to have Te Rourou Aotearoa Vodafone Foundation as a partner in this future focused initiative. The Vodafone Foundation is providing us with the support to develop a rangatahi focused skills hub. This initiative sits well with our Te Ara Aukati Kore (TAAK) – Pathways without Barriers initiative designed to ensure all local people can build the capability needed for emergent labour market and broader social and cultural life opportunities in the region.”

The Vodafone Foundation has made a six year commitment to Murihiku to fund initiatives that see young people thriving in their communities. Included in this is a focus on supporting Māori aspirations.

“Murihiku rangatahi are living within a unique local context – a place with its own histories, and complexities. We believe that the best solutions to these young people’s challenges will come from the local community. We’re here to enable and accelerate local solutions through long-term layers of support,” says Lani Evans, Head of Foundation, Te Rourou Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation.

“We have spent the last 12 months conducting research and building relationships among the community. We are thrilled to be working alongside Hokonui Rūnanga and Murihiku Regeneration, whose vision and values are so closely aligned with those of the Foundation.”

The Vodafone Foundation’s support has enabled the employment of local rangatahi Mapihi Kahurangi-Davis, as Kaiarahi Hōtaka-Programme Development Officer. Her role will be to develop the focus on rangatahi, and ensure that they have the support needed to grow. The next step will be to find a physical space and to align the hub to current Murihiku Regeneration initiatives and related work, including:

• Developing pathway planning for rangatahi as they move from school to employment.

• Ensuring strong local partnerships with hydrogen and other business investors to prepare a future workforce for a green energy and decarbonised economy.

• Developing a Worker Transitions programme under the Government’s, Southland Just Transitions programme response to the announced closure of the Tīwai Smelter.

The aim is for the rangatahi hub to be fully operational by early 2023. The focus will then shift to building the scale necessary to meet the needs of whānau and ensure they are empowered to live their best lives.

Ivan Hodgetts, Programme Lead, Murihiku Regeneration says, “We are very grateful to Te Rourou Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation for theirIvan Hodgetts - Te Ara Aukati Kore Programme Lead - speaking about the programme at the Science and Innovation Wānanga held in November last year. long-term commitment to creating a positive future for Murihiku rangatahi and for the funding they are providing to make this happen. We also appreciate the ongoing support and input of Tokana te Raki - Māori Futures Collective.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be on board the waka to build the world we want for our rangatahi and the future generations who come after them. We look forward to working collaboratively with our local Papatipu Rūnanga and our wider Murihiku whānau and community to make the dream a reality.”

Posted: 28 June 2022

Key meeting to discuss Tiwai Smelter matters

A meeting between Tā Tipene O’Regan (Upoko o Awarua) and Ivan Vella (Chief Executive Aluminium for Rio Tinto) was held at Te Whare o Ngāi Tahu on Tā Tipene O’Regan met with Ivan Vella - Chief Executive Aluminium for Rio Tinto.Tuesday 21 June 2022. The two had previously met in person in May 2021 and online in December 2021. Tā Tipene was supported by key leaders from Te Rūnanga o Ngai Tahu, Awarua Rūnaka and Murihiku Regeneration.

Awarua Runaka is leading the discussions with Rio Tinto around the future of the site, including addressing remediation issues, cultural and archeological matters of significance and also supporting community development. This process has been underway since February this year.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the future of the Tiwai Smelter and bring some finality to the potential for a Memorandum of Understanding to enable key issues and opportunities relating to the Smelter to be discussed and dealt with.

The meeting was constructive and outlined the Awarua perspectives and concerns. There was a commitment from Ivan Vella to try to address these issues and look to find an acceptable way forward.

These discussions will continue in the next few weeks.

Posted: 28 June 2022

Join us in celebrating Matariki!

Posted: 14 June 2022

Southland hydrogen moves ahead with final stage partner selection

Terry Nicholas: Hokonui Rūnanga Representative and Ngāi Tahu lead for this green energy programme.Two Australian companies, Woodside Energy Group and Fortescue Future Industries have entered final stage negotiations to become lead developer of the world’s largest green hydrogen production facility in Southland.

It is proposed the two companies will provide more detailed proposals to the joint Contact and Meridian Energy project team by the end of August, with the final selection of lead developer for the Southern Green Hydrogen project to be announced soon after.

The proposals received from both final counterparties during the initial selection process made it clear that large-scale production and export of green hydrogen or green ammonia in Southland is technically feasible and commercially sound, according to Meridian Energy CEO Neal Barclay.

“This is a complex project in a relatively new global market, and both the final counterparties have given us confidence that an economic project is achievable. Both have demonstrated that global markets for green hydrogen and green ammonia are imminent, and both are engaged in discussions with customers about buying the large volumes that the Southland plant will produce,” Barclay says.

Both Woodside and Fortescue demonstrated the technical capability needed to develop the project in time to capture early mover advantage in emerging global markets, according to Contact Energy CEO Mike Fuge.

“The final two counterparties have the capability, experience and motivation to make this project happen at pace. Importantly they have both mapped realistic pathways for taking this project to commercial operation,” Fuge says.

The final two counterparties were selected from four companies that were invited to submit responses to the Southern Green Hydrogen request for proposal in May. The next stage of the process will see Murihiku Regeneration, representing both Murihiku Rūnaka and Ngāi Tahu interests, working closely with Southern Green Hydrogen and the remaining potential developers to ensure the best possible outcome is achieved.

“We see green hydrogen as pivotal for the future of Southland-Murihiku and for Ngāi Tahu. We will be looking for a partnership that works to benefit our future generations, the community we are a part of, and the wider national interest,” says Terry Nicholas, the Hokonui Rūnanga Representative and Ngāi Tahu lead for this green energy programme.

For more information about Southern Green Hydrogen, visit www.southerngreenhydrogen.co.nz

Posted: 13 June 2022

New member of the Murihiku Regeneration Rōpū

Murihiku Regeneration is pleased to announce that Mapihi Kahurangi Davis will be joining Murihiku Regeneration as Kaiarahi Hōtaka-Mapihi Kahurangi Davis - Kaiarahi HōtakaProgramme Development Officer on 20 June 2022.

Mapihi brings new energy and enthusiasm for our kaupapa alongside her immersion in Te Ao Māori.

Portfolio Director, Terry Nicholas, said “it’s great to be bringing in a new generation into our mahi - someone who has the capability to work alongside whānau and help grow opportunities as our region transforms”.

Mapihi will be working with Ivan Hodgetts (Programme Lead, Te Ara Aukati Kore) as we develop our whānau capability strategy. We will have some exciting announcements of new initiatives in the next couple of weeks that Mapihi will play a key role in delivering.

Keep an eye out for further updates.

Posted: 8 June 2022