It’s all in the name

Our commitment to working with Māori as tangata whenua sits behind the Property team’s new name - Te Rōpū Whakaruruhau – the team that shelters.

Wayne Goodfellow, Planning And Programme Manager, Property, said the Property team works closely with our Kaupapa Māori directorate and he approached them for assistance on how the team could reinforce those connections, including the possibility of a new team name.

“Rather than just say what we are, we felt it was important to tell a story about our journey and what we do. I had some great discussions with our National Manager Kaupapa Māori, Piki Thomas, and we came up with some options for names for the Property team to consider:

Manaaki Tāngata – Caring for people

Rōpū Manaaki Tāngata – Team that cares for people

Te Whare Whakaruruhau – The home of shelter  

Te Rōpū Whakaruruhau – The team that shelters

Tāwharau Taonga – To shelter property/goods/possessions/important objects (including people)

“The whole process was a collaborative one with the entire team sharing their thoughts and suggestions and, in the end, they chose Te Rōpū Whakaruruhau. We are delighted to say that this has now been signed off by our Deputy Chief Executive, Russell Wood.”

National Manager Kaupapa Māori, Piki Thomas, wants to congratulate the team.

“I’d like to commend the values-based approach that Te Rōpū Whakaruruhau members went about adopting their new name. I could clearly identify Kia Tika, Auahatanga and Whanaungatanga as they went through their journey to land on Te Rōpū Whakaruruhau.”

Wayne said he would like to sincerely thank Piki, who also did a video to help the team with pronunciation of the new name, and the Property team for a great process and result and he would encourage other teams to do the same.