Speech: 'The health of our communities is fundamental to the wellbeing of our nation'- Hon Tariana Turia

Community Organisation Grants Scheme National COGS Committee; 6pm Monday 11 May 2009; Wellington.


At the end of last week, as the siege in Napier unfolded, people all over New Zealand wondered how their community would cope with such a traumatic ordeal.

The media has been saturated with images of grieving family members; family members waiting to be reunited with those trapped beyond the cordon line, motelliers and local residents opening their doors to those who were unable to return home; and hundreds of volunteers who helped to support the Emergency Operation.

I would say to the Kahungunu ki Heretaunga local distribution committee, that the $5000 given for victim support in Napier last year, was one of the best investments they could have made.

The health of our communities is fundamental to the wellbeing of our nation.

The capacity of communities to endure crises; to support each other under difficult circumstances; and to demonstrate collective care is one of the most precious outcomes that the Community Organisation Grants Scheme supports.

And so I am delighted to be here tonight, to say a sincere thank you for the members of the National COGS Committee for the vital work you do.

The work you do is so significant in underpinning the wellbeing of communities throughout Aotearoa.

I am acutely aware of the support that COGS has demonstrated in our communities for now well over two decades.

COGS has made it possible for a huge number of community organizations to stay in good health and strong heart. The grants that have been allocated by COGS have kept community groups going, and in doing so, have added value to the communities they serve.

The list of organizations that COGS has supported is astounding. To name a few – there are marae; youth workers; Playcentres; St Johns ambulance; stroke support groups; heart children; Pasifika groups; ESOL tutors; supergrans; toy libraries; resthomes; kidney kids; foodbanks; sexual abuse survivors; IHC and Age Concern.

The National COGS committee has been an important central point, to oversee the amazing work that local distribution committees do in having to sift through the huge numbers of applications and somehow allocate priorities.

I want to congratulate the members who have completed three years of service and are tonight being recognized for the dedicated work they have done on behalf of our communities.

I therefore honour tonight, the following members:

Þ Sandra Terewi– the chair. I have had the privilege of knowing Sandra because of the wonderful work she has done throughout Whanganui for well over twenty years. It was as a result of this incredible service that Sandra was honoured with a Queens Service Medal last year.

Þ Memea Eleitino Bubsy Ma’aelopa –the deputy chair. Meme has been an active participant in serving Pasifika peoples in the Christchurch area for the last two decades. Tonight marks the end of his work on the national committee and we know that he will be sadly missed at both national and local level.

Þ Anthony Olsen will also be a big loss to the committee. Anthony is Chair of the Mataatua Local Distribution Committee. I am sorry that he has been unable to be with us tonight. In actual fact, it is a wonder that he has had any time for any thing else amongst all of his mahi, including as a trustee of the Ngati Tuwharetoa Bay of Plenty settlement trust; the Ngati Umutahi Marae, and the Tuwharetoa Marine Fisheries Trust, to name a few.

Þ Sue King has been a volunteer on the Hauraki Local Distribution committee and was invited to be a co-opted member of the National Committee in 2008

Þ And finally we thank Sumaria Beaton who has been on the Southland Local Distribution Committee since 2005 and brings her enthusiastic community energy to Wellington as well.

As well as recognizing the amazing commitment of these five, I want to also formally welcome two new members to the national committee.

There’s Brent Maru from Motueka, who in his capacity as Manager of the Motueka Recreational Centre has a huge amount of passion for a range of other non-profit organizations.

And I welcome also, Carl Pederson, who comes from Hastings - and the Local Distribution Committee I referred to earlier – Kahungunu ki Heretaunga. Carl, there would be no-one else in this room who will have such a personal and close involvement with the community suffering that the nation watched unfold; and I mihi to you and your committee; knowing the trauma and the pain that will amongst you for quite some time yet.

So tonight is a night to celebrate you all – and to celebrate what Television One has started to promote, as the “good sorts” of our communities.

The National Committee has had a lot on your programme. You have planned and facilitated professional development training events for local distribution committee members; and hui for chairpersons.

You have invested your best creative thinking in to ways of acknowledging the work of local committee members – the COGS diary and the newsletter published after local meetings are two good examples.

And you have negotiated a memoranda of understanding with both the Minister; and the Department of Internal Affairs.

The work you do is important; it is valued and it has come to be an essential part of the way in which we support our communities.

I want to congratulate all of you for the dedicated service you give on behalf of others; and it is my great pleasure, now, to present you with certificates of appreciation to express the gratitude we have for your achievements and your commitment to the community.