ABOUT TE TAUMATA
Ko wai mātou
ABOUT TE TAUMATA
Ko wai mātou
TE TAUMATA Nau mai ki tō tātou whare!
We are the premier authentic voice for Māori on trade between New Zealand and the rest of the world. Our extensive and experienced network work directly with Māori businesses to deliver better trade outcomes for Māori and a more prosperous future for our whānau and communities.
To champion:
Sustainability principles and practices into all trade negotiations between Aotearoa New Zealand and the rest of the world.
To provide leadership:
Reintegration | Retooling (business support) | Re-energise (trade discussions)
Reintegration
Retooling (business support)
Re-energise (trade discussions)
It is through hard work and knowledge that we will achieve.
Mā te kaha o te mahi i roto i te mātauranga, ka whakawhiwhia.
- Danny Poihipi (Te Whanau a Apanui)
THE TE TAUMATA TEAM
Rawson Wright
Deputy Chair
Te Uri o Hau, Ngāti Whatua, Ngāti Porou, Te Whanau A Apanui, Ngāti Hine.
Rawson leads and advocates for several large Māori business initiatives in farming, forestry, and economic development. He has collaborated on indigenous research in South America and enjoys the relationships with our whanaunga in Canada, USA, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Australia, and the Pacific. His expertise lies in farming, forestry, carbon trading, housing, and IT. He has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from University of Auckland and NZ TCB in Dairy Farming.
Teresa Tepania-Ashton
Director
Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, Ngāpuhi.
After a 12-year career working internationally with Citibank (Vice President), CEO of Te Rūnanga o Ngāpuhi and 10 years as CEO of Māori Women’s Development Inc., Teresa continues to thrive as a Senior Executive, to put her decades of community and corporate governance experience to work for her people.
Teresa was awarded the Dame Mira Scazy Alumni Award (1999) from Auckland University, a finalist in the ‘Women of Influence Awards’ in the Not for Profit Category (2015) and Board & Management Category (2016). In June 2016, Teresa received a Member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to Maori and business.
Teresa is an outstanding leader and innovator that will add immense value to the kaupapa of Te Taumata.
Ethan Jones
Associate Director
Ngāi Takoto, Te Aupōuri
Ethan joined the Foundation’s business programme in May 2021 and is based in Auckland.
He spent five years living, studying, and working in China. Ethan first moved to China to continue studying Mandarin after completing his bachelor’s degree in Chinese and Modern Languages. He later worked in sales for ABI, a global Fortune 500 beer company, where he helped develop their portfolio and presence in the Shanghai craft beer sector. During his time in China, he was an active member of both the Hangzhou and Shanghai New Zealand business communities.
In 2019, Ethan returned to New Zealand and started a company focused on Chinese tourism in regional areas.
In 2018, Naomi was a finalist in the NZ Women of Influence Awards in the Diversity category and is a finalist in the inaugural Te Hapori Matihiko Awards in the Change Maker category.
Victor Goldsmith
Director
Victor has held governance and executive roles across numerous sectors, including Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for Ngāti Porou Forest Limited, Director of Awanui-Moana Limited Partnership, Independent Director of Ngāti Pahauwera Commercial Development Limited and Trustee of the Mānuka Charitable Trust. He has also been the National Operations Manager of ApiMed Medical Honey Limited, the General Manager of Ngāti Porou Miere Limited Partnership, CEO of Te Aupouri Iwi and Group CEO of Te Kaahui o Rauru.
Ernastynne Walsh
Associate Director
Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui
My speciality areas include creating transparency in analytics via open data and open-source code, creating frontline operational analytical models in Government, focussing on the privacy and ethics around predictive modelling and explainable algorithms.
Hone Tiatoa
Director
Ngāti Awa ki Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Manaia ki Ngāpuhi, Uri o Pou ki Ngāpuhi.
John holds multiple chairman and executive roles focusing on research and development for whānau, hapū, and iwi trusts and charitable organisations. John is also a Policy Advisor for the Māori interest within Article 2 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Prof. Dr Robert Joseph
Director
Tainui, Tūwharetoa, Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Ngāi Tahu.
Dr Joseph completed his Bachelor and Master of Laws degrees at Waikato and was admitted to the Bar in 1998. He is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand and was a senior research fellow for the Te Mātāhauariki Research Institute at the University of Waikato under the leadership of Judge Michael Brown and Dr Alex Frame. Dr Joseph completed a PhD in Law in 2006.
Tania Te Whenua
Director
(Tūhoe, Whakatōhea) BA LLB AGNZ is principal of Te Whenua Law and Consulting, assisting organisations to realise a commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi and enhance responsiveness to Māori.
Tania is a graduate of Victoria University with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Māori Resource Management and Bachelor of Laws majoring in commercial and international law.
She is also a chartered associate member of Governance New Zealand and a committee member, Governance New Zealand Women on Boards. In addition, Tania is a member of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Rivers Advisory Committee and a Local Government Development Contributions Commissioner.
Tania is interested in Māori social and economic advancement through sustainable commercial development, strategic relationship building and international trade. She is a former board member Global Focus, current lead Māori advisor to the Asia New Zealand Foundation and current legal counsel to the Federation of New Zealand Multicultural Councils. She is an inaugural alumnus of INDIGI-X, an international indigenous to indigenous trade exchange programme, and is currently contributing to an INDIGI-X report funded by the Indigenous Affairs Canada which aims to enhance Canadian First Nations fisheries trade to Asia modelled upon successful Māori fisheries enterprises.
As the mokopuna of Claude Edwards (Te Whakatōhea) and Waipiro Ihe (Ngāi Tūhoe) Tania recognises that international exploration, strategic relationship-building and trade are key tenets of Māori culture and is proud to work in this area as sustainable commercial development and global expansion are and have always been in accordance with our tikanga.
Lynell Tuffrey-Huria
Technical
Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāruahine, Ngā Rauru
BCA, BA, LLB, DipFinMaths, Barrister and Solicitor, Trans-Tasman Patent Attorney, Australian Trade Mark Attorney