Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau has approved more than half a million dollars for marae development projects.
The council said marae were a ‘critical connection hub’ not only for tāngata whenua but increasingly for the wider communities
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and 2023 weather events, the council said the support and guidance by marae and their associated networks helped with community resilience due to their ability to find ways to thrive in the face of adversity.
Due to this, the ocuncil is increasing its focus to ensure marae infrastructure, capability and support systems are robust, efficient and resilient.
The council’s planning, environment and parks committee has allocated funding from its 2024/2025 Cultural Initiatives Fund to seven specific marae development projects.
Three of these marae are first-time recipients.
Committee chair Richard Hills said the funds approved on July 25 for grants in this financial year reflect a continued commitment in the Auckland Plan and Long-term Plan to ensure marae were self-sustaining and prosperous.
Hills said safe, healthy and warm marae and papakāinga housing were two of the 10 mana outcomes identified by Māori as key priorities in their Kia Ora Tāmaki Makaurau - Māori Outcomes Performance Framework.
“The grants approved will support mana whenua and mataawaka marae to manage the costs associated with their growth and connections into their communities,” Hills said.
The projects range from technical feasibility and design planning for Otakanini Haranui Marae in Kaipara, to supporting Ngāti Ōtara Marae in South Auckland with repairs and project management costs.
The Cultural Initiatives Fund allocates limited pūtea each year in the form of contestable grants for capital costs that support marae and papakāinga housing in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Twenty marae across the Tāmaki Makaurau region have been allocated these funds in the last 10 years.
This includes Ngāti Wai o Aotea Kawa Marae Trust on Aotea (Great Barrier Island), which last year was supported to become more self-sufficient with the installation of solar panels and a new hot water system.
In 2023 the fund supported Rereteewhioi, which has a new wharenui now under construction.
This fund sits alongside the council’s Marae Infrastructure Programme, which allocates non-contestable grants to more significant infrastructure projects.
Houkura Independent Māori Statutory Board member Glenn Wilcox emphasised the value of the Cultural Initiatives Fund for communities.
Wilcox said, “It’s great to see Auckland Council addressing a previously forgotten group of buildings and institutions that are particularly Aotearoa New Zealand and unique to our landscapes and communities. Marae are not just buildings – they’re about people and our relationships with those people.”
The council is continuing its focus on improvements and will review its Cultural Initiatives Fund, the Marae Infrastructure Programme and the overall Māori Outcomes Fund later this year to ensure the work is aligned and delivering for tāngata whenua and all of Tāmaki Makaurau.
2024/2025 Cultural Initiatives Fund grants approved:
| Te Herenga Waka o Orewa | $33,000 |
| Kaipātiki Community Facilities Trust - He Oranga Wairua Marae | $170,000 |
| Ruapōtaka Marae | $170,000 |
| Otakanini Haranui Marae | $70,000 |
| Omaha Marae | $20,000 |
| Ngāti Ōtara Marae | $45,000 |
| Te Hana Community Development Charitable Trust | $80,000 |
| Total | $588,000 |