Mark Solomon Photo: David Hallet / The Press

Getting Tumanako Wereta to speak to the creme de la creme of Maori exporters at last year’s Tekau Plus symposium was no mean feat, as the chair of the Tuaropaki Trust shuns the limelight. A little trickery was required, admits organiser Wayne Mulligan, chief executive of Fomana Capital, the commercial arm of the Federation of Maori Authorities (FoMA).

But it was Wereta’s name that was the big drawcard, says attendee and Influencers judge Greg Cross. “It was obvious he was one of the most revered speakers there.”

Wereta’s inclusion in this year’s Influencers list is an important indication of Maori business growth, says Cross, and the Tuaropaki Trust is a shining example of how effective Maori business can be in creating wealth.

In ten years, the family-owned trust has grown revenue from $1.5 million to $59 million, profits from $225,000 to $17 million, and assets from $45 million to $582 million. What started as a bunch of amalgamated land assets in the 1950s has grown into a successful farming, horticulture, geothermal power and communications business, through some canny business sense and the trust’s willingness to work with others, Maori and non-Maori.

Mulligan says it was no surprise to see Wereta’s name on the list. “He’s probably part of the hidden gems of New Zealand.”

In 2005/2006 Maori assets totalled $16.5 billion, or 1.5% of New Zealand’s commercial assets; today, some put that figure closer to $18 billion. Though the bulk of those assets remain in farming, forestry and fishing, there’s been a move into less traditional ventures such as Tuaropaki’s successful foray into geothermal power, and Ngai Tahu and Tainui’s joint investment in retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare.

Tama Potaka, a Bell Gully solicitor who works with several Maori trusts, says it is inevitable more Maori organisations will come together to source skills, gain greater leverage from their assets, and branch out into less traditional areas.

Ngai Tahu chair Mark Solomon says there is plenty of activity in the Maori business world that simply never gets reported, often because many leaders, like Wereta, prefer to keep a low profile, crediting those who’ve gone before rather than themselves.

“But we can’t be like normal companies, which have 25- to 50-year lives. Ngai Tahu has to be multigenerational, because we are never going to leave this country.”


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