Growing the kū mara to fund Auckland’s future
Te Pū ia Tā papa is a $115 million Mā ori investment fund with an approach that is different from the typical New Zealand private equity fund. It reflects the Mā ori worldview, with longer investment periods and expectations than are found with similar mainstream funds.
Yes, we want it to be profitable and deliver good returns to its iwi investors. Importantly, it also reflects an enduring timeframe with generational investment periods of 15-20 years. The fund’s iwi investors are patient, focused on building a pool of capital for future generations.
That long-term outlook is pleasing to see reflected in the proposed Auckland Future Fund, which Auckland Council is currently considering. The aim is to establish an enduring, ring-fenced fund to carefully build for the future needs of Tā maki Makaurau — something consistent with a Mā ori worldview.
It is interesting to see some of the opposition emerging to Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposal — much of it from councillors with Labour Party leanings. I hope those councillors, whom I hold in high regard, give this careful consideration — as their parliamentary colleagues did last year.
In July 2023, Labour MPs ushered through Parliament the little-known New Plymouth District Council (Perpetual Investment Fund) Act. It was championed through Parliament by New Plymouth’s Labour MP Glen Bennett, and supported by every party — Labour and National, Greens, Act and Te Pā ti Mā ori, in a rare example of cross-party unanimity.
New Plymouth’s Perpetual Investment Fund had been set up the region’s district council two decades earlier to manage the proceeds from the sale of its local power lines company. It began with around $240 million. The fund is now worth about $340m. Meanwhile, it has paid more than $260m in dividends back to the New Plymouth council. However, it had no legal protection from a future council simply cashing it in.
Labour’s legislation gave the New Plymouth fund legal protections from future meddling. It ensures the perpetual nature of this fund continues for the benefit of the New Plymouth community into the future. It cannot be tampered with unless a future Parliament changes its legislative settings.
A similar legal structure could protect an Auckland model.
The mayor has proposed the Auckland Future Fund be established with the council’s airport shares and its port company as the founding base. I’d also encourage the region’s leadership — both around the council table and in Wellington — to consider, as New Plymouth did, the community’s investment in our local lines company, Vector.
Currently, the Auckland Energy Consumers Trust, or Entrust as it’s now known, owns 75.1 per cent of Vector. Entrust administers the shareholding — worth about $2.8 billion — on behalf of Aucklanders. It is protected by statute but is due to be wound up in 2073 (80 years after its formation) and its assets transferred to Auckland Council.
It is open for Entrust and an Auckland Future Fund to be combined with legislative backing and cross-party support. It would mean Auckland Council would be own a fund starting with about $6b in assets — the airport stake, the port and three quarters of Vector — which could be professionally managed to help provide for Auckland’s future, particularly future events like last year’s devastating floods and cyclones.
The name “Te Pū ia Tā papa” has its origins in the cultivation of kū mara, an iconic Polynesian food staple brought to New Zealand by Mā ori over 1000 years ago. A tā papa (or pā rekereke) is a seed bed used to grow the kū mara tipu (seedling).
The word “pū ia” in this context takes on the meaning of clustering or coming together. In essence, the concept symbolises the creation of a fund for growth and aligns with the first principles of iwi collaboration to provide leadership, governance and best practice to achieve high growth and stronger returns.
It would be quite something if Auckland Council decided to grow its kū mara. In 20 years, if it was to deliver similar return performance as we see from the NZ Superannuation Fund, an Entrust/Auckland Future Fund would be worth around $25b.
The next generation of Aucklanders might be rather grateful if Auckland’s leaders have that sort of foresight — but it will need leaders of all hues to come together to deliver it. Wishful thinking? New Plymouth did it.