Waikato-Tainui Trade Hui:
Being Māori
E hika ma tena rawaatu tatou, i roto i nga ahuatanga o te wa!
The fifth Te Taumata regional hui brought together New Zealand leaders of trade to discuss international trade opportunities arising from groundbreaking Free Trade Agreements with two of the largest economies in the world - the United Kingdom and the European Union, and the rapidly changing geopolitical shifts in the Pacific and across the world.
A highlight from the hui was hearing from Māori businesses from across the Waikato-Tainui and Maniapoto rohe with clear international trade aspirations tell of their journeys and challenges.
The hui provided an important platform, especially for leaders of Government, to hear first-hand from Māori businesses and to listen to the exchange on how Government can support our exporters.
We have collated some of these stories below.
Māori reclaim global trade
Indigenous world views are different and it’s important to acknowledge those differences in laws, institutions and practices, including in international trade.
Taking hui attendees back in time, Waikato University Professor and Te Taumata Board Member, Dr Robert Joseph, outlined the long history Māori has in international trade.
However he stressed the importance of remembering Māori values in relation to trade.
“When Cook came to New Zealand in 1769 it changed the face of our world view, we engaged actively in a lot of international trade in whaling, sealing and harakeke.
“This opened the door to more sordid areas of trade including in moko mokai (heads).
“Through colonialism, Māori were locked out of international and domestic trade. Now we’re passed that, have treaty settlements and treaty principles, it’s about partnership, protection, participation and prosperity.
The Free Trade Agreements recently negotiated signal the inclusion of Māori back into our international trade networks.”
Dr Joseph says Māori have a burgeoning economy and it’s important to remember the lessons of the past.
“Māori values are good for the whole country. The Māori world view is based on relationships and the three ‘R’s. – your rights and responsibilities within these relationships.
“These international trade agreements are based on relationships. Get the relationship right, then the transaction follows. Retaining that relationship is key – that is what mana is about.”
“Through colonialism, Māori were locked out of international and domestic trade. Now we’re passed that, have treaty settlements and treaty principles, it’s about partnership, protection, participation and prosperity."
- Dr Robert Joseph
Māori resilience helps grow multimillion-dollar enterprise
Coming from humble beginnings, Hohua Hemi used his guiding principles of integrity, honesty and hard work to grow his Māori business into a multimillion-dollar, global enterprise.
At 22, Mr Hemi founded IBC Autogroup and by his last year of university, the company was exporting 200 vehicles a month to New Zealand alone and was doing $20 million in business a year.
“I have always been motivated to look at more innovative ways to develop more efficient work flow processes rather than employ a large group of people.
“When the internet became available, we were among the first to switch from fax, modifying our software, building a website, and linking all our reports.
“The day we launched I woke up to find everything had sold – the problem was it hadn’t sold just once, each vehicle had sold five, 10, 50 times. I’m getting all this cash in, the cars have already sold, so all I could do was go find the vehicles.
“From that point forward, I realised this whole internet age was going to catch us by surprise. I immediately increased our IT department to a team of 12 and very shortly, my company was doing $100 million in business, having strong earnings and no debt.”
While the business has experienced periods of substantial growth, it has also weathered periods of economic downturn, including the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and, more recently, the economic impacts of COVID-19.
“As with the GFC, our sales immediately dropped 90 per cent when COVID hit and payments slowed to barely a trickle.
“However, we had learned and adapted since 2008 and unlike the GFC, our global operations were self-sustaining.
“IBC’s last financial year has just ended with $120m in sales. Our profitability is not bad and as a company we have reinvented ourselves in a way our competitors could only dream of.
“As a group, IBC’s fundamentals have never been better. My team has rallied around me, believed in my leadership and against all odds, we’ve not only survived but become stronger.”
Mr Hemi says as a Māori business owner, he is encouraged by the calibre of young Māori coming through the ranks and believes Māori values are a key component to running a successful enterprise.
Photo by Meg Jerrard on Unsplash
“It is up to us to teach our tamariki how to become proud Māori with the desire that burns deep inside that they will not be talked down to, but succeed.”
- Hohua Hemi
Torre dos Clérigos. The most iconic and visible of Porto's many Baroque buildings.
Torre dos Clérigos. The most iconic and visible of Porto's many Baroque buildings.
Ponte Luiz I. A cast iron bridge in the middle of Porto's old town. Look familiar? It was designed by a disciple of Gustave Eiffel.
Ponte Luiz I. A cast iron bridge in the middle of Porto's old town. Look familiar? It was designed by a disciple of Gustave Eiffel.
A modern tilt to the Baroque landscape: the Casa da Música
A modern tilt to the Baroque landscape: the Casa da Música
If you aren't stopping for custard tarts, you aren't doing Porto right.
If you aren't stopping for custard tarts, you aren't doing Porto right.
Ngāti Maniapoto on the power of making the right partnerships
Having settled its Treaty of Waitangi claims at the end of 2021, Ngāti Maniapoto is now focused on growing key partnerships that will foster growth for whānau at home.
Chairman Keith Ikin stresses how critical collaborative relationships will be moving forward to support the Ngāti Maniapoto in its aspirations.
“After 30 years of treaty settlements, it is time for Ngāti Maniapoto to break the focus away from the Crown and nurture our key relationships outside the Crown.
“These relationships start at home with other producers, farmers and industries that support the agricultural sector. There are significant opportunities for us to work collectively with those who reside with us to work towards shared goals and aspirations.”
Keith says as a significant exporter within the region, there is still a desire to work with Crown agencies and Ngāti Maniapoto has entered into a number of formal partnerships that will help grow its knowledge and experience.
“We are not here for five years, not 50 years, not 500 years, we are here forever, so we want to assure our mokopuna and generations to come that their inheritance is looked after.
“It’s a non-negotiable for us that our kaitiakitanga responsibilities are at the heart of everything we do. There is so much more we should and could be doing but we recognise we cannot do it alone.
“Seeking partnerships that recognise it is for us to set the priorities and be in the driver seat will allow Ngāti Maniapoto to shift our focus to the future.”
Māori drive cross-sector collaboration
Tourism boss Simon Phillips believes Māori are best placed to lead the push for an “Aotearoa provenance kōrero” which advocates for better inter-industry collaboration and trade outcomes.
Speaking from a tourism perspective, the Piripi Group Managing Director says there are multiple opportunities for cross-industry collaboration.
“There is an extensive relationship between tourism and trade already and there is room for Māori businesses in other sectors to explore tourism as a means to diversify.
“We know there is an appetite for it, as evidenced by cultural tourism which exports immense, immersive experiences that create enduring memories as our manuhiri leave these shores.”
Mr Phillips says Māori need to be less focused on commodities and more focused on price setting based on values.
“We need to espouse an Aotearoa provenance kōrero, as opposed to the siloed industry narrative – we’re all responsible for the economic performance of our country.
“Māori are well placed to drive these conversations. Our organisations feature across silos and industries and are always communicating, externally and internally, into the Māori economy.”
A message from the Chairman
Our regional trade hui are a fundamental element of changing the way in which Maori businesses can table the things that really matter, face-to-face with Government Ministers, officials and trade negotiators.
It has been incredibly rewarding to see the priorities that are important to Māori exporters reflected in the international negotiations to being formalised into the signed Free Trade Agreements with the UK and EU.
Not only are these changes good for Māori businesses, the benefits will ripple back into our communities and to our whānau, boosting regional and the national economies. Everyone wins!
- Chris Karamea Insley, Tiamana
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