May 30, 2013
Spectrum trust facing cash lack
The chair of Te Huarahi Tika says the Māori Spectrum Trust is now asset rich but cash poor.
The trust, which aims to increase Māori participation in telecommunications and technology, held its delayed 2013 annual meeting in Otaki yesterday.
Daphne Luke says its balance sheet to March last year shows a $23 million asset base through its investment in mobile phone operator 2Degrees.
She says that’s a testament to the work of its commercial arm, Hautaki Ltd, in managing the investment, but there are some immediate challenges in resourcing its work.
"You know not just our trustees but our Hautaki directors, our electoral college, nobody takes any fees, haven't taken any fees for a couple of years now. That is a sign of the commitment of the people we work with for Māoridom full stop," Ms Luke says.
The most recent available 2Degrees financial statement shows that while its directors did not get fees in the year to 21 December 2011, the Hautaki representative on the board, Bill Osborne, was paid $100,000 in consulting fees.
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