“Amohia ake te ora o te iwi, ka puta ki te whei ao”, look after the wellbeing of the people and we will get through this”. King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII
Dear Whanau,
We are all operating in a time of uncertainty and in an evolving and dynamic time. Over the past 2 years, Covid-19, has forced us to adjust and adapt our tikanga to keep each other safe. Our number one priority is the wellbeing of our manuwhiri and whanau and so we need to ensure our new Policy and Procedures are in place before opening the Marae. The Taniwha Marae Trustees met on Sunday 5th of December 2021. The top priorities for discussion were COVID-19, the new “Traffic Light” Protection Framework and what these mean for our 2022 Poukai and the status of the Marae going forward. When considering the time it will take to develop and implement new Policy and Procedure, and then planning a Poukai that operates under those new conditions we have collectively decided there are just too many time constraints to commit successfully and safely to opening the Marae. Therefore, with regret I want to inform you that the Trustees have made the difficult decision to not have the 2022 Poukai. We have informed Kiingi Tuheitea who is supportive of our decision. Horahora, Kokohinau, Maurea Marae have also cancelled their 2022 Poukai due to Covid-19. The marae will also continue to be closed until further notice, while we work through the details. The toilets and the gate will be locked. These decisions have been made with the best interests of our manuwhiri and whanau in mind and have not been made lightly. We have never cancelled a Poukai, but we have never dealt with a pandemic of this magnitude at Taniwha either. We will be holding a virtual waananga on 18th January 2022 7pm - 9pm to discuss proposed measures to enable the marae to be opened up again.
Regards Mere Wilson Chairperson – Taniwha Marae Trustees
