Annual Report 2015

Weo Maag

Iwi appointee

Weo is a tribal member

of Maniapoto and is a

current trustee of their Iwi

authority, Maniapoto Maori

Trust Board. He was an

inaugural member of the

Guardians Establishment

Committee (forerunner

to the WRA) and was

also a negotiator for Nga

wai o Maniapoto (Waipa

River) Act 2012. Weo

has a particular focus

on the sustainable use

of land and water, and

improving economic

and environmental

performance specifically

on Ahuwhenua Trusts

(Maori land). Weo

is a member of the

Collaborative Stakeholders

Group for the Healthy

Rivers: Plan for Change/

Wai Ora: He Rautaki

Whakapaipai. He is also a

Trustee and a committee

member of several

entities and has a diploma

in Agribusiness, and is

also a certified Resource

Management Act

hearings commissioner.

Weo lives in Te Kuiti.

Alan Livingston

ONZM

Crown appointee

Alan is a sitting councillor

on the Waikato Regional

Council after completing

four terms as the Mayor

of Waipa District Council.

In addition he completed

two terms as a Waipa

councillor. He is a Crown

appointee to the Waikato

River Authority and

was a Crown appointee

to the Authority’s

forerunner the Guardians

Establishment Committee.

He is a graduate of Lincoln

University with a B Agri

Com in valuation and

farm management.

For the past 30 years

Alan has been a sheep

and beef farmer at Te

Pahu. He is a life member

of the QEII Trust and a

covenanter of two bush

blocks plus smaller bush

areas which have been

fenced and retired.

He is a former Trustee

of the Maungatautari

Ecological Island Trust

with which he has

continuing involvement.

Alan is the co-chair of

Waikato Regional Council’s

Healthy River: Wai Ora

Committee and chair

of Waipa Catchment

committee, and also

a trustee of Sport

Waikato and director of

Waikato-Bay of Plenty

Magic netball.

Traci Houpapa

MNZM JP

Crown appointee

Traci specialises in

strategic and economic

development, advising

public and private sector

clients throughout New

Zealand. Traci’s work takes

her to both marae and

boardroom settings.

Traci is an experienced

company director,

and holds a number

of directorships and

Ministerial appointments.

She is the first female

chairman of the

Federation of Maori

Authorities representing

a mainly primary sector

asset base valued at

around $8 billion, and

the deputy chair of the

State Owned Enterprise

LandCorp Farming Limited.

Traci also chairs Te

Uranga B2 Incorporation,

a Maori owned farming

entity and the National

Advisory Council for the

Employment of Women,

an advisory council to

the Minister of Women’s

Affairs. She holds

governance roles on Nga

Pae O Te Maramatanga,

Diverse NZ Inc, the Rural

Broadband Initiative

National Advisory

Committee, Strada

Corporation and the

Beef+Lamb Wool

Levy Group.

Traci has an MBA from

Massey University, and is

a Member of the Order of

New Zealand, a Justice

of the Peace, and a

Marriage Celebrant.

Vanessa Eparaima

MNZM

Iwi appointee

Vanessa (Raukawa,

Tuwharetoa) is the

Raukawa Settlement Trust

Executive Chairperson,

Chairperson of the

Raukawa Charitable Trust,

and a Director of Raukawa

Iwi Development Ltd.

She is the Chairperson of

Kakano (a six member Iwi

collective which holds a

shareholding in Kaingaroa

Timberlands), a Director of

CNI Iwi Holdings and the

Co-Chair of CNI Iwi Land

Management. Vanessa was

recently appointed to the

Council of Te Wānanga

o Aotearoa (Te Mana

Whakahaere) and is a

recipient of a New Zealand

Order of Merit for services

to Maori. She is a business

consultant, company

director and former chief

executive in the tourism

sector. Vanessa sits on a

range of business and not-

for-profit boards. She is a

passionate advocate for

Maori, the community and

for environmental issues.

She has a strong history

of working with the wider

community, kaumātua,

iwi chairs, Ministers,

Members of Parliament and

numerous stakeholders to

achieve positive outcomes

for the communities she

serves.Vanessa is married

to Ngarepo and is the

proud mother of three

young adults.

Heemi Biddle

Iwi appointee

Waikato iti, e rere mai na i

nga maunga tapu e tu kau

atu ki te hau Tonga.

Puta atu ki a Waikato

Runga, ka rere ka puta ki

te whatu i te korowai tapu

ko Taupo Moana. Ara te

ia e ū atu ki a Waikato-

nui me tōna kī; “He piko,

he taniwha, he piko, he

taniwha”. Anei te mana o

te wai.

Heemi is of Ngati

Tuwharetoa descent and

can whakapapa to Ngati

Tahu, Te Arawa, Ngati

Raukawa, Ngai Tuhoe and

other hapu and iwi of the

Central North Island.

His career has seen him

involved in a number

of industries including

forestry, tunnelling,

security, education,

banking and more

recently geothermal

energy development.

He has a NZ Certificate

in Forestry, Bachelor of

Business Studies degree

majoring in finance and he

has completed professional

governance training in

both Australia and New

Zealand. He is a current

member of the Tuwharetoa

Maori Trust Board and

other current involvements

include:

• Chairman Tauhara

Middle 15 Trust

• Opepe Farm Trust

• Lake Taupo Forest Trust

• Lake Rotoaira Forest Trust

• Ngati Tuwharetoa

Fisheries

• Tuwharetoa Hapu Forum.

Waikato River Authority

Annual Report

2015

www.

waikatoriver

.org.nz