Whadjuk visit to study Māori model as blueprint for wealth creation

A delegation from the Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation in WA will travel to New Zealand this month to study Māori corporate strategies as part of a governance and financial reset.

The week-long program will focus on investment models, asset management and governance structures led by Māori corporations, including Tainui Group Holdings.

Key Points

The visit follows an invitation from Waikato-Tainui and its commercial leadership, including executive chairman Tuku Morgan and chief executive Donna Flavell.

Whadjuk delegates are also planning to meet with the Māori Queen, Nga wai hono I te po. The itinerary is designed to examine how Indigenous institutions can build long-term wealth through enterprise and asset ownership, according to the Corporation.

Focus on Tainui Group Holdings

Tainui Group Holdings (TGH), the commercial investment arm of Tainui Iwi, will be a central case study during the visit.

Built from Treaty settlement assets, TGH manages approximately NZ$2.4 billion in total assets across commercial property, logistics infrastructure, hospitality and diversified financial investments.

Its holdings include Te Awa – The Base, one of Aotearoa’s largest shopping centres, and the Ruakura Superhub, a 610-hectare inland logistics and industrial precinct near Hamilton.

The group’s hospitality portfolio includes the Novotel Tainui Hamilton and ibis Tainui Hamilton, and it is a partner in the Pullman Auckland Airport hotel development alongside Auckland Airport and Accor.

TGH functions as the commercial engine of the Tainui Iwi. Investment returns are reinvested to grow the tribal asset base while funding iwi programmes in education, housing, health, environmental restoration and cultural development. The portfolio also features assets such as Amohia Ake, a recently completed four-storey commercial office building of 8,500sqm owned by Tainui Group Holdings.

Cultural engagements

Whadjuk delegates will receive briefings on Tainui Iwi settlement arrangements and economic development planning.

Site visits are scheduled to major commercial assets managed by TGH, including hotels, central business district developments and large-scale retail and logistics projects such as the Ruakura development and the Te Awa – The Base retail precinct.

Later in the program, the delegation will travel to Christchurch to meet leaders of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, with presentations on investment strategy, tourism enterprises and freshwater settlement arrangements. Delegates will also visit tourism operations in Queenstown to examine Indigenous-owned tourism assets and commercial partnerships.

WAC said the visit is part of a broader governance, management, operational and financial reset intended to strengthen the organisation’s economic foundations.

The Corporation has recently elected a new board chair, announced an election to fill a member-elected director position, appointed two new directors and announced a full historic financial audit.

Established in 2021 as part of the South West Native Title Settlement between the Noongar people and the Western Australian government, the Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation’s mandate includes supporting the social, cultural and economic wellbeing of the Whadjuk Noongar community.