News

Establishment of the Anamata Māia Rangatahi Advisory Group

UPDATE: This event has been postponed, our new hui date will be announced next week.

Anamata Māia - our rakatahi service, is seeking to bring rakatahi together next Friday for our first hui to begin the establishment of the Anamata Māia Rangatahi Advisory Group.

The role of this group is to inform our service of rakatahi experiences, needs and aspirations in real time, so that we can appropriately tailor and maintain our services to suit the rakatahi in our communities. This mahi wouldn’t exist without them and they deserve to have a say in how it rolls out.

Hui info can be found in the poster attached. Please share this out to any Murihiku rakatahi in your life that you think may be interested.

Posted: 6 April 2023

Regional Leaders Hui Focuses on Housing and Energy Priorities

Regionals Leaders met for the second Murihiku-Southland Regional Leaders Forum on 5 April at Transport World, Invercargill to discuss and workshop two key regional action areas – around housing and energy.

The Regional Leaders Hui is jointly sponsored by the Regional Public Sector Lead – Steph Voight, and Murihiku Regeneration Office of Upoko.

At today’s Hui, Murihiku Upoko Michael Skerrett opened and closed the Hui.Upoko Michael Skerrett presenting to the Regional Hui

Bobbi Brown from Great South, presented regional housing information highlighting the significant problem around regional housing in the areas of affordability, quality of housing stock and availability. Regional Leaders then had the opportunity to look at potential solutions and actions, which will be shared around attendees.

“Housing is a real problem for the region, and has no easy solutions. It’s something which really needs all of us to be working together on”, said Steph Voight.

This discussion was followed by a presentation from Steve Canny, Great South around the very recently released Murihiku-Southland draft Regional Energy Strategy 2022-2050. Steve highlighted both the significant challenges, and opportunities that the region has in front of it, as it moves through its energy transition.

“Our region is better placed that most in New Zealand to meet its 2030 and 2050 decarbonisation targets, however this will still require us to work collaboratively and with clear purpose to get there,” said Steve Canny.

The next Regional leaders Hui is expected to be planned for August-September 2023, to follow on from the Murihiku Regeneration 22-24 May Energy and Innovation Expo.

Posted: 6 April 2023

Murihiku and Ngai Tahu Attendance at Woodside New Energy First Nations Advisory Groups Roundtable

Terry Nicholas , Murihiku Regeneration Portfolio Director and Thomas Aerepo-Morgan, from Ngai Tahu, attended the April 2023 First Nations Advisory Group Roundtable, held in Perth Australia on 3 April, 2023. The Roundtable was sponsored by Woodside New Energy, who are looking to undertake a green hydrogen production project in Murihiku-Southland by 2030.Members of the First Nations Advisory Groups meet with Ngai Tahu representatives..

The role of the First Nations Advisory Groups is to provide independent expert knowledge, advice and recommendations on matters affecting First Nations peoples and communities that are of regional, national or global importance. The event is held yearly to help build awareness, understanding and set future processes, practices and priorities between the First Nations and Woodside as a large industrial player in Australia.

Attending the Roundtable, Terry and Thomas had the opportunity to share the history, cultural context and challenges faced by Ngai Tahu and also the opportunities being looked at through an intergenerational and regenerative lens of the Murihiku Regeneration kaupapa.Those feather in the lobby ae designed by a Noongar artist. They are the feathers of the osprey. The 3 feathers have 2 sides so the six sides represent the 6 Noongar seasons.

“It was an opportunity for us to share our experiences and learnings, but also get back some of the knowledge and insights from the First Peoples representatives at the roundtable, to then look at how we might work with Woodside in the future should their project proceed”, said Terry Nicholas.

“It was a great learning experience to be with the First Peoples Elders, and an opportunity to connect on our histories, culture and challenges. We can certainly take some of these insights back home”, said Thomas Aerepo-Morgan.

The Murihiku delegation is with Woodside New Energy, from 3-6 April and the visit has included commercial meetings and a visit to the major Woodside production projects sites in Western Australia to look at the impact on, and interactions with local communities.

Posted: 5 April 2023

Opportunity to have say on Murihiku Southland’s future energy needs

Murihiku Regeneration has partnered with Great South to support the development of the draft Southland Murihiku Regional Energy Strategy 2022 -2050, which has been released for public input.

The report see here, was developed by BECA and is now ready for public discussion.

The strategy identifies Southland’s potentially unprecedented demand for renewable energy and potential ways to meet that demand.

The draft Strategy for the region, is now open for consultation until Wednesday 26 April 2023.

Great South Strategic Projects General Manager Stephen Canny says,“ we are in the exciting position of having several new major industries eyeing up Southland. Having this strategy means that investors will have confidence investing in the region - we have a plan and a focus on renewable energy.”

The draft strategy presents three potential future scenarios for the region; baseline - where NZAS closes and Southern Green Hydrogen (SGH) does not proceed; transition - where NZAS closes and SGH goes ahead; and green energy growth - where both NZAS and SGH co-exist.

It also outlines potential new renewable energy sources such as further wind farms, biomass, solar, biogas and run-of-river hydro generation, and maps a pathway to address industry decarbonisation and to transition from a reliance on fossil-fuel transportation.

“Working together as a region and making use of rapidly emerging technology will be critical to make optimal use of this resource,” says Murihiku Regeneration Portfolio Director Terry Nicholas

An advisory group comprising iwi, councils, major local industry and the electricity sector guided the process and development of the draft Strategy.

There is opportunity for the public to find out more about the strategy at public hui in Gore, Te Anau, and Invercargill- with dates and locations as follows:

• Gore – Monday 17 April, 4.00pm
• Invercargill – Tuesday 18 April, 4.00pm
• Te Anau – Thursday 20 April, 4.00pm

For a consultation form, to view the strategy and summary and to RSVP for the public sessions please visit greatsouth.nz.

We welcome any comments or feedback on the draft document here

Posted: 4 April 2023

Two Million Dollar Murihiku -Southland Community Development Fund launched

New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited (NZAS) has today announced the establishment of a $2 Million Community Development Fund, supporting investment in community and infrastructure projects in Murihiku -Southland.

The Fund meets a commitment made when Murihiku Rūnaka and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, NZAS and Rio Tinto signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in October 2022. The MOU outlined an enduring partnership between Mana Whenua and the smelter, based on three key pillars - remediation, energy development and community investment.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Chris Blenkiron, Chief Executive NZAS said: “The commitment we have made today will support investment in a positive and sustainable future for Mana Whenua and the Southland region. The Community Development Fund will support new community infrastructure, enhanced social and environmental outcomes, and a strong, sustainable regional economy.

“NZAS are proud of the contribution we have made to Southland over the past 50 years. We want to increase this effort, support local projects, and be part of an even stronger future for the region,” Mr Blenkiron said.

The Community Development Fund will be administered jointly by Rio Tinto/NZAS and Murihiku Rūnaka representatives.

The Fund will support projects within four focus areas that reflect the priorities of Rio Tinto, NZAS, Ngāi Tahu, and the wider community:

­ Enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and health and wellbeing outcomes across the community.

­ Inter-generational culture, heritage, conservation, and environmental outcomes.

­ Unlocking human potential and community resilience through education, science and innovation, and workforce development.

­ Contributing to the region’s economic development and climate transition by supporting businesses to expand and new industries to emerge.

Rio Tinto/NZAS will make $2 million available to the Community Development Fund through to the end of 2024 and intends to extend the operation of the Fund beyond 2024 in the event a long-term future for the smelter can be secured.

Applications are open to all organisations in Southland, that meet Fund criteria.

Application guidelines and forms can be found at www.nzas.co.nz/pages/community-support-partnerships/, or enquiries can be made to [Enable JavaScript to view protected content] or downloadable from our website.

Community Fund Guide

Project Application

Posted: 3 April 2023