Tūhono (meaning to link or connect) is an advocate for and contributes to a network of Māori individuals, iwi organisations and other entities who engage with each other in fostering the identity, well being and potential of Māori.
Our Business
Our business is to ensure the promotion of:
- Spiritual and cultural wellbeing
- Education and personal development
- The relief of poverty through developing potential
- Enhancement of and benefit to the community
- Inclusive access, participation and accountability
We do this through our competencies of strategic networking, data management and innovation, and offer a service which ensures inclusive access, participation and accountability across the network.
The Purpose of the Trust
The Charitable purposes of the Trust as outlined in the Tūhono Trust Deed are:
- The Māori Affiliation Service
- Research Centre/Service
- Development Service
The Māori Affiliation Service
The Tūhono Trust was established under the Electoral Act 1993 to assist Māori to register with their iwi and other Māori entities, and to assist Authorised User Organisations (iwi organisations) to develop comprehensive and reliable registers of their members. Tūhono is Kaitiaki of the register of iwi affiliation, and enables Tūhono to achieve its charitable objectives by facilitating links, communication and interaction between iwi and their members. This requirement is set in an agreement between the Minister For Māori Development, The Minister of Justice and the Tūhono Trust known as the Māori Affiliation Service.
The Tūhono Central Web Service
The Tūhono central web service was developed in July 2009 to provide direct and automated updates of member's information to an iwi's database system. Besides automatically updating an iwi's database and capturing new registrations, the Tūhono web service ensures the network copes with technological changes. The service has high levels of security comparable to those used by banks.
Tūhono links to the Electoral Commission database, which is fed information by the Ministry of Transport, Land Transport, New Zealand Post and Department of Internal Affairs. This means that on the 15th of every month your iwi can be automatically and directly notified whenever a person changes their address details on their driver's license, car registration form or change of address form at the post office. It also updates when a person legally changes their name or dies.
However for your iwi to be updated automatically and directly, you and your whānau must be registered with Tūhono.