Source: New Zealand Government
More than $3.4 million of Government investment through the Māori Development Fund is helping three Māori enterprises create jobs, grow exports and build lasting prosperity, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says.
The investments reach from green hydrogen at Mōkai and an export apple orchard in Raupunga to premium New Zealand wine being sold across the United States.
“Prosperity does not stop at a business balance sheet. It means whānau in skilled work, local suppliers winning contracts, stronger regions and Māori businesses earning income from around the world,” Mr Potaka says.
At Mōkai, $865,000 is helping Halcyon Power, a joint venture between Tūaropaki Trust and Japan’s Obayashi Corporation, pursue green hydrogen exports using renewable geothermal energy. Halcyon has already completed a successful hydrogen shipment to Fiji and is now working toward the Singapore market.
In Raupunga, $2.1 million is helping Ngāti Pāhauwera transform 30 hectares of whenua into an export apple orchard. More than 23,000 trees have been planted, 19 new employees have joined its horticulture operations and more than $400,000 has been paid to local contractors.
In Marlborough, $100,000 has helped Māori-owned, B Corp-certified wine producer Tiraki strengthen its brand in the United States. Tiraki now exports to more than 30 markets and has expanded from eight US states into 12, securing another container order.
“Our role is to back Māori ambition, not constrain it. Māori are leading these projects, and Government investment is helping them go further and faster.
“These businesses are creating real opportunities for their people and regions while helping New Zealand earn more from the world.
“The package builds on our Government’s wider investment through the Māori Development Fund to back Māori ambition and help good businesses overcome barriers to growth. It is about turning Māori assets and ideas into productive businesses, secure incomes and wealth that can be passed on to future generations.
“When Māori enterprise succeeds, whānau and regions prosper, and New Zealand’s economy becomes stronger. Māori prosperity is New Zealand prosperity.”
Notes to editor:
- The Māori Development Fund is administered by Te Puni Kōkiri and supports the Government’s Going for Growth with Māori | Tōnui Māori economic growth plan.
- The fund primarily provides Government co-investment for projects that improve the productivity and value of iwi and Māori assets, support infrastructure development and increase Māori export revenue.
Budget 2026 provided $38.21 million annually for the fund from 1 July 2026. Its current priorities are improving the productivity of iwi and Māori assets and increasing Māori export revenue.
Whakapakarihia ana te hinonga Māori e ngā haumi o MDF, e hanga ana i te tōnuitanga tonutanga
E āwhina ana neke atu i te $3.4 miriona o te haumi Kāwanatanga mā te Tahua Whanaketanga Māori i ngā hinonga Māori ki te waihanga mahi, whakatipu hokotai me te hanga i te tōnuitanga haere ake nei, e kī ana te Minita Whanaketanga Māori a Tama Potaka.
Ko te whānuitanga o ngā haumi mai i te hauwai kākāriki i Mōkai me tētahi uru huarākau āporo hokotai i Raupunga ki tētahi wāina tino pārekareka o Aotearoa e hokona ana puta noa i Te Hononga o Amerika.
“Ehara i te mea ka mutu te tōnuitanga i te rau tapeke pākihi. Ko te hua ko ngā whānau e whiwhi mahi whai pūkenga ana, ko ngā kaiwhakarato paetata e wini kirimana ana, ko ngā rohe pakari ake me ngā pakihi Māori e whiwhi pūtea ana huri noa i te ao,” te kī a Minita Potaka.
Ki Mōkai, e āwhina ana te $865,000 i Halcyon Power, he ohu i waenga i te Taratī o Tūaropaki me te Kaporeihana Obayashi o Hapani ki te whai i ngā hokotai hauwai kākāriki mā te whakamahinga o te pūngao ngāwhā whakamōhou. Kua tutuki kē i Halcyon tētahi tukunga momoho ki Whītī, kei te whakarite tukunga ināianei mō te mākete o Hingapoa.
I Rapunga, e āwhina ana te $2.1 miriona i Ngāti Pāhauwera ki te panoni i te 30 heketea o te whenua ki tētahi uru huarākau āporo hokotai. Kua whakatōngia neke atu i 23,000 rākau, kua tīmata te 19 kaimahi hou ki te taha ahumāra, ā, kua oti kē hoki te utu i neke atu i te $400,000 ki ngā kaikirimana paetata.
I Te Tauihu, kua āwhina te $100,000 i te kaiwhakaputa wāina Tiraki, he kamupene Māori whai tiwhikete-B whai tiwhikete ki te whakapakari ake i tōna waitohu huri noa i Te Hononga ki Amerika. E hokotai ana a Tiraki ki ngā mākete 30 neke atu, kua whakawhānuitia ake hoki mai i ngā wahanga e waru o Te Hononga o Amerika ki te 12, e whakatutuki anō ana i tētahi tono ipu nui.
“Ko tā mātou ko te noho hei taituarā mō te hao nui a te Māori, kaua mō te aukati atu. E whakahaeretia ana ēnei kaupapa e te Māori, ka mutu, nā te haumi o te Kāwanatanga i āwhina kia whānui ake, kia tere ake anō hoki ngā kaupapa.
“E whakarite ana ēnei pakihi i ngā arawātea tūturu mā ō rātou iwi, rohe hoki me te āwhina i Aotearoa kia nui ake te whiwhinga pūtea mai i te ao.
“E ahu mai ana te mōkī, te haumi whānui ake a te Kāwanatanga mā te Tahua Whanaketanga Māori ki te tautoko i te hao nui a te Māori me te āwhina i ngā pakihi pai ki te kake ake i ngā ārai e aukatia ana te tipuranga. Ko te tikanga mō te tahuri i ngā rawa me ngā whakaaro Māori ki roto i tētahi pakihi whai hua, ki ngā whiwhinga pūtea haumaru me te whairawa e taea ai te tuku ki ngā whakatipuranga e whai ake nei.
“Kia momoho ai te hinonga Māori, ka pakari ake hoki ko ngā whānau, ngā rohe, me te ōhanga o Aotearoa. E rua, e rua, ko te tōnuitanga o te Māori, ko te tōnuitanga o Aotearoa.”
He taipitopito ki te ētita:
- Ka whakahaeretia te Tahua Whanaketanga Māori e Te Puni Kōkiri, e tautoko ana hoki i te mahere a te Kāwanatanga te Tōnui Māori whakatipuranga ōhanga.
- Ko te mahi matua a te tahua he whakarato i te haumi-ngātahi a te Kāwanatanga mō ngā kaupapa whakapiki i te whakaputanga me te uara o ngā rawa iwi, o ngā rawa Māori anō hoki, te tautoko i te whanaketanga o te hanganga me te whakapiki i te whiwhinga pūtea hokotai a te Māori.
I whakaritea e te Tahua 2026 te $38.21 miriona mō te tahua mai i te 1 Hōngongoi 2026. Ko āna paearu o nāianei ko te whakapai ake i te whakaputanga o ngā rawa iwi, Māori hoki me te whakapiki i te whiwhinga hokotai a te Māori.
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/09/04/mdf-investments-strengthen-maori-enterprise-build-lasting-prosperity/