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A project with a zero waste vision for marae is getting extra support to expand into new regions as part of the Government’s plan to tackle New Zealand’s long term waste problem announced Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage in Raglan today.

A grant of $528,000 from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) will help the marae-based Para Kore programme to expand to four new regions: Te Tai Tokerau (Northland), Wairoa, Maniapoto (Waikato/Waitomo) and Wairarapa.

“It’s great to mark ten years of the Para Kore flax-roots kaupapa, which has begun a revolution in how Māori communities minimise their waste,” Eugenie Sage said.

“Since its humble beginnings with volunteer pilot programmes running on three Waikato marae, Para Kore now has a vision for all marae to be working towards zero waste by 2025.”

Since 2008, Para Kore:

has expanded to operate in almost 400 marae, kohanga reo, kura or other Māori community organisations throughout much of the North Island.

has provided education, wānanga, events and training in waste management to more than a quarter of a million participants.

has been responsible for more than 350 tonnes of waste being diverted from landfill.

now employs 25, including 17 kaiārahi/regional waste advisors

has received almost $1.5m from the Ministry for the Environment’s contestable Waste Minimisation Fund.

Eugenie Sage congratulated Para Kore for its outstanding leadership in community waste minimisation.

“Para Kore whānau are passionate and committed to achieving a zero waste Aotearoa by working together at their marae, the heart of their communities.

“And they do it through māturanga Māori, te reo me tikanga Māori – that is Māori knowledge and the Māori way of doing things.

“The Para Kore model has been so successful that there are now marae, kohanga and kura throughout the country on waiting lists to become part of the programme.

“The new funding round will add Te Tai Tokerau (Northland), Wairoa, Maniapoto and Wairarapa to Gisborne, East Coast, Rotorua, Tūwharetoa, Hawke’s Bay, Greater Wellington, and Manawatū/ Whanganui, where Para Kore programmes are already well established.

“There are many lessons to learn from Para Kore, not just in Te Ao Māori, but for all in Aotearoa who have a deep love for our land and want a sustainable future for our mokopuna.”

Eugenie Sage said she encouraged more Māori organisations with an interest in doing work in the waste minimisation space to apply for funding in the 2020 WMF round.

Background:

The Waste Minimisation Fund

The Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) is funded through the waste disposal or landfill levy that was introduced under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008.

Fifty per cent of the money collected from the levy is distributed to councils to spend in accordance with their Waste Management and Minimisation Plans. The remainder (minus administration costs) is used for the WMF, which is managed by the Ministry for the Environment.

The purpose of the Act is to encourage waste minimisation and a decrease in waste disposal.

A list of projects that have been awarded WMF funding can be viewed on the Ministry for the Environment’s website .

Para Kore

Para Kore is a not-for-profit Māori organisation (by Māori, for Māori) with charitable status. It is a zero waste organisation with a kaupapa based on whakapapa to Papatūānuku and is expressed through an experienced and skilled team who work regionally delivering the Para Kore programme to marae and Māori communities.

Kua pānuitia e te Minita ki te whakawhānui i te Para Kore, e tautoko ana i ngā hapori Māori ki te whakaitii para

Kua whiwhi tautoko tua atu ngā marae e moemoea ana mo te para kore ki te whānui atu ki roto ngā rohe hou, he wāhanga mai te whakamahere a te Kāwana ki te rutu i te wā tino roa o te para raruraru o Aotearoa, te pānui ā te Minita Tuarua mō Te Taiao Minita Eugene Sage i Raglan i tenei ra.

Kua takohahia mai te Manatū mō Te Taiao Pūtea Para Kore he rima rau rua tekau mā waru rau tara ki te āwhina ngā hōtaka kaupapa marae Para Kore ki te whakawhānui ngā rohe hou e whā: Te Tai Tokerau, Wairoa, Maniapoto, (Waikato/Waitomo) me Wairarapa.

Te kī a Minita Eugene Sage, “he tino rawe ki te tohu i te tekau tau o ngā kaupapa Para Kore, kua tīmata i te whananga e pehea ai ngā hapori Māori te whakaitii o ā rātou para.”

“Mai i tōna tīmatatatanga humārire o te hōtaka kaitūao e whakahaeretia ana i runga ngā marae e toru o te taiwhenua o Waikato, ko te kitenga ināianei te moemoea a te Para Kore mō ngā marae katoa ki te mahi whakamua kia para kore i te rua tekau mano rua tekau mā rima

Mai ano i te tau rua mano mā waru, Para Kore:

He whakahaeretia ana i nāianei whā rau (400) ngā marae, kohanga reo, ngā kura me ētahi atu roopu hapori Māori puta noa te nuinga o Te-Ika-a-Māui.

Kua tuku whakaatu mātauranga, wānanga me te whakangungu o te tumu whakahaere ki te nui atu i te koata miriona tāngata whai pānga.

Kua whakaaro nui mō te nuinga atu i te toru rau rima tekau tana para (350) kua whakahurihia mai te ruapara

Rua tekau mā rima ngā (25) Kaimahi āpiti atu ki te tekau mā whitu (17) Kaiārahi a rohe Kaitohutohu Para.

Kua whiwhi i te tata atu ki te kotahi ira rima miriona tara ($1.5m) mai i te Manatū mō Te Taiao mai te pūtea tautohenga Pūtea Para Kore .

Mihi nui ana a Eugene Sage kia Para Kore mo tōna kaiārahitanga tino rawe i ngā hapori whakaitii para kore.

“Tūkaha ana te whanau Para Kore me te whakarato ki te whakatutuki i te Aotearoa kore para. Mahia ano e rātou i roto i o rātou wairua motuhake. Mahi tahi ai i te marae, te ngākau o ngā hapori. Pūnga ana ki ngā taiwhenua, he noho ana te niunga o ngā Māori

Ā e mahia ana e rātou mā te mātauranga Māori, te reo me ōna tikanga Māori – arā te mohiotanga me te āhuatanga ko tēnei te mahinga Māori.”

“Tino rawe ngā hua, ake ano mō ngā hapori taiwhenua i te takaoraora nui ake i o rātou whanaunga noho taone ki ngā tau otinga mō te para me tōna pūmautanga.”

“Nō te tino nui rawa atu te rawe o te tauira Para Kore e nui ngā marae, kohanga me nga kura puta noa i te motu kei runga i te rārangi tatari ana kia eke atu ki te wāhanga o te hōtaka.”

“Te rāuna tuku moni āwhina hou, ka tāpiritia atu, Te Tai Tokerau, Wairoa, Maniapoto, me Wairarapa ki a Tūranga, Te Tairāwhiti, Rotorua, Te-Matau-a-Māui, Te Whanganui-a-Tara whānui, Tūwharetoa me Manawatū Whanganui, ngā wāhi kua tatū ke ngā hōtaka ara Kore.

“He maha ngā akoranga ki te ako mai te Para Kore, ehara anake mai te ao Māori, enagri mō te katoa kei Aotearoa, he hohonu ana to aroha mo to tatou whenua me te hiahia i te pūmautanga whakamua mō ā tātou mokopuna.”

Kua kī a Eugene Sage e akiaki ana ia kia nui ake nga rōpu Māori e painga ana ki te mahi i roto te wāhi para kore kia tono mō te tuku moni āwhina i te rāuna rua tekau mano rua tekau (2020) Pūtea Para Kore.