Finances and audit reports led the final afternoon of this year’s Te Rūnanganui o te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa that has shifted to a full online reporting mode.
Archibishop Don Tamihere opened the final business session of Te Rūnanganui on 30 September by sharing how this year Te Pīhopatanga had chosen to resource full online reporting to help keep everyone in the loop, especially those unable to be present.
For the first time, this year’s Rūnanganui has been livestreamed in full, and shared in pictures on Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa’s popular Facebook group, while the key conversations of each wānanga have gone out in news articles online.
“This was the most transparent hui of the Church we had ever seen.” said Archbishop Don.
In the business part of the hui, this shift toward fuller detail in reporting included a session looking at the Church’s finances, and a chance for delegates to question Gisborne-based auditor Hayden Keast who talked Te Rūnanganui through the recent audit.
Keast said that a clean audit report for 2019-2022 had been issued after nothing of significance or major issues had arisen in his analysis.While Te Pīhopatanga had been left with unspent monies over the past financial year, these pūtea were already allocated to future projects, he said.
The auditor explained how nine Pīhopatanga staff are now paid with funding from St John’s College Trust Board and Waiapu Anglican Social Services Trust Board, while three others on the payroll are the responsibility of Te Pīhopatanga.
Te Pīhopatanga acknowledged the Diocese of Waiapu for their support in a number of areas of work, including making it possible to offer trauma counselling to the Hukarere Girls’ College students after the loss of their school and home in Cyclone Gabrielle. Te Rūnanganui also thanked Bishop of Waiapu Rt Rev Andrew Hedge for his support and work across a number of areas.
Next Te Rūnanganui heard an update on the reopening progress for St Stephen’s – Tīpene School in Tāmaki Makarau. The Tīpene Trustees are now on track to renovate the historic buildings and build a new gymnasium that will let people watch sport taking place inside, as well as looking out onto the sports fields. Future plans include vocational lessons for tauira to better support their wider learning and help retain them for five years at kura.
Following on from the morning session, the hui unanimously passed a Mātauranga motion – to applause – after further discussion of what tikanga came into play when calling on mātauranga.
The Mātauranga Motion as passed read:
We reaffirm the centrality of Mātauranga to our Mission and Ministry.
We uphold our collective role as kaitiaki, under the mana o Te Pīhopa o Aotearoa, with the authority and obligation to determine the shape of our Mātauranga.
We strive for unity as Mihinare, and acknowledge the potential in terms of theological education.
We honour the struggle it took to achieve the self-determination we have in our theological education.
We support our indigenous whānau around the world as they seek self-determination in this area.
We seek the flourishing of our Mihinare kura.
Te Rūnanganui finished in time for the AILI Indigenous Leaders’ Awards which took place on the evening of Saturday 30 September.