Gudgeon Bill: Te Whanau-a-Taupara Trust Empowering Bill — Second Reading Third Reading 
Gudgeon Bill: Te Whanau-a-Taupara Trust Empowering Bill — Second Reading Third Reading 
[Volume:608;Page:5728] 
BILL GUDGEON (NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand First supports the Te Whanau-a-Taupara Trust Empowering Bill. The bill seeks to dissolve the Waerenga-a-hika Trust and constitute the Te Whanau-a-Taupara Trust in order to modernise administration and remove existing impediments to its effective operation. All assets of the board are to be vested in the trust. 
Submissions received from the board and Te Whanau-a-Taupara mentioned the need to modernise the administration of the board; the restrictions imposed by the ties to the Anglican Church; the constraints on self-governance; and the problems caused by perpetual leases. Te Whanau-a-Taupara represents a section of Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki iwi who hold mana whenua over Waerenga-a-hika lands. These comprise approximately 245 hectares of predominantly pastoral land with an estimated value of $6.048 million that are currently held by the board. 
A quick historical review clarifies that the land was given to the Crown in 1857 by the Tauparawhanau which then gave the land to the Bishop of New Zealand. The land was later returned to the whanau in 1862 to become a charitable and educational trust to provide a school for Maori who had connections with the Anglican Church. After the enactment of the Waerenga-a-hika Trust Act in 1947 the object of the trust was designed and defined as being for the provision of scholarships for the post-primary education of children of the Mahaki tribe especially those of Te Whanau-a-Taupara. 
Submitters consider the requirement of the 1947 Act that the trust board be accountable to the Anglican Church is too restrictive but also recognise their cordial and harmonious relationship for many years. Concern about appointments to the board has been a factor and furthermore the requirement that the education grants be for attendance at Anglican schools only is difficult and becoming more expensive to fulfil. Furthermore there is creeping in a reluctance of non-Anglican whanau to send their children to Anglican schools. It has been noted that the Anglican Church is in agreement with the Waerenga-a-hika Trust Board about the non-necessity for it to maintain close ties with the church. 
The fact that the beneficiaries under the trust deed are related by blood does not prevent the purposes of the trust as declared by the trust deed from complying with the public benefit requirement of the law relating to charitable trusts. Unlike the Ngati Rarua-Atiawa Iwi Trust Empowering Act the bill does not require the trust to keep an official list identifying the beneficiaries. The board does have records of families who meet the criteria and plans to keep that list under review so that accuracy at all times is maintained. 
Clause 10E allows for the trust’s annual accounts and auditor’s report to be made available for inspection by any beneficiary at the trust office at any suitable time. The deed allows and widens the powers of the trustees to adapt and make changes in land use and also gives provision for board members to exercise business-orientated powers allowing them to invest trust moneys and assets in enterprises that will return a profit to the trust and giving them greater control of the use of the funds. 
New Zealand First supports the bill and encourages the trust to be accountable to the beneficiaries with integrity and honesty.