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Source: Auckland Council

Auckland Council’s Parks, Arts, Community and Events Committee has approved allocation of funding from its 2022/2023 Cultural Initiatives Fund: a fund for marae and papakāinga/Māori housing development in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Councillor Alf Filipaina, chair of the committee, says that marae and papakāinga development are priority outcomes for Māori in the Auckland Plan and in the council’s Long Term Plan.  

“Marae are hubs that support whānau and community well-being. They are a critical cultural connection for mana whenua and Māori communities.

“In addition, marae manaaki (host) the wider community in times of need. As the region grows and we look to build more resilience, marae are playing an ever-increasing role.

“We saw this demonstrated during Covid-19 lockdowns when marae quickly mobilised to support communities with essential food, social and health services. 

“Papakāinga, Māori living together communally on ancestral whenua, also plays a crucial role, providing opportunities for affordable, secure housing and for whānau and hapū to live according to their social and cultural values.

“With our Cultural Initiatives Fund, we want to enable thriving and self-sustaining marae and to support the establishment of papakāinga across Tāmaki Makaurau,” says Councillor Filipaina.

Successful applicants for the 2022/2023 Cultural Initiatives Fund

The committee approved the following 10 applicants for funding totalling $1,199,662. The applications in this round support marae and papakāinga planning and design, professional fees, capital infrastructure, marae maintenance and repair, business planning and asset management.

MARAE

APPROVED FUNDING

Ngaa Hau E Whaa o Pukekohe

$170,000

Parish of Waipipi Lot 369a Trust (Rereteewhioi Marae)

$55,662

Te Kawerau Iwi Tiaki Trust (Te Henga Marae)

$75,000

Auckland Tuhoe Society T/A Te Tira Hou Marae

$79,000

Te Mahurehure Cultural Marae Society Inc

$170,000

Ruapōtaka Marae

$100,000

Manurewa Marae Trust Board

$170,000

Pāpatūānuku Kōkiri Marae

$110,000

SUBTOTAL

$929,662

PAPAKĀINGA

APPROVED FUNDING

Ngāti Tamaterā Treaty Settlement Trust

$100,000

Motairehe Marae Trust

$170,000

SUBTOTAL

$270,000

TOTAL

$1,199,662

Natasha Kemp of Manurewa Marae said that funding from Auckland Council’s Cultural Initiative Fund was much needed to repair a leaking roof in the marae’s Matukutureia and Matukutururu building.

“This building is the core of our marae, symbolising how the land provides for us and how it has an unbreakable bond with our people.”

On Aotea Great Barrier Island, Sonya Palmer of the Motairehe Marae Trust said that the funds will enable a marae and papakāinga feasibility study for the island.

“Our feasibility study will work towards providing much needed housing on an island that has very few rentals, meaning kaumātua and  other whānau return home to find no whare and little resource to provide warm, comfortable housing.”

Find out more about our Cultural Initiatives Fund, and our other community grants, at our website: www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/grants

MIL OSI