May 09, 2018
Youth as bonus in iwi governance
The winner of a new award for Maori governance says he would encourage young people to have a go at overseeing boards or trusts.
Whaimutu Dewes was given the tohu at this year’s University of Auckland business school Maori Business Awards for his contributions over the years.
At the moment he chairs pan-Maori fishing company Moana New Zealand and its Sealord subsidiary, as well as sitting on a number of iwi businesses.
As a young lawyer he was pushed into governance roles by his Ngati Porou elders, and he doesn’t see age as a barrier or patience as a virtue.
"That’s part of the value of having younger people. They think differently. They are using their sklills and they have less patience, and that is a good thing. It's not always able to be accommodated but it is still a good thing because it reminds you that you need to be trying to go faster," Mr Dewes says.
He says if people are good enough they are old enough to do the job.
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