Tēnā koutou katoa, This pānui comes to you in the middle of Youth Week 2026. This Youth Week our team were being hosted by Ngāi Tahu, and had the opportunity to hear from the team at Tokona Te Raki about their mahi scaling and activating hope with a toolkit going into 500 classrooms, and working alongside 70 civically engaged rangatahi from across the motu.  This week has certainly been a big one with our second kanohi ki te kanohi hui with the Tangata Whenua Forum here in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, with a three year work programme, Constellation engagement and meetings with government officials. It is with a mix of pride and heavy hearts that we farewell our Kai Tūhono, Jess, after 18 months of being the absolute backbone of Hui E!, holding us, the Community Constellation, and the Tangata Whenua Forum together. Jess is off to a dream role coordinating local environmental kaupapa. Jess, we will miss the sunshine-in-human-form that you are. Haere pai atu, e hoa. Finally, CNA hosted a political panel last week to give communities a direct line to political parties ahead of the election. MC Jehan Casinader rightly observed that the conversation was eerily cordial; “community” treated as a benign, uncontroversial topic that can be kept safely separate from the gritty realities of funding cuts and chronic underinvestment. But communities are not a polite sideshow. We will not settle for a model that thanks us for doing what the state can’t or won’t, while expecting us to do more and more with less and less. Watch for our Budget 2026 analysis at the end of next week. Ngā mihi nui, Katie and Patrick PS. Some of you may have noticed that Katie is using a different surname now. She has gone back to using her birth surname of Boxall, so if you see that name instead of Bruce, you’ll know it’s the same Katie! What Hui E! has been working on New interactive map launched We are excited to bring to you the first look at our newly launched interactive map of the Community Constellation – what we all do and how we are connected and collaborating. Please share this far and wide so that the supports for our sector are transparent and accessible. Follow this link to view the map: https://www.huie.org.nz/community-constellation-sector-mapping/ Submission on proposed Policing Amendment Bill Community resilience comes from being community-led and community-rooted. So does community safety. We recently submitted on the Policing Amendment Bill. Community organisations build trust every day with rangatahi and whānau who have reason to be wary of authority. This Bill makes that work harder by widening Police powers without fixing the equity problems already identified. Follow this link to read the submission: https://www.huie.org.nz/submissions/ Social Investment Agency update Hui E! have been working at pace to secure a first up meeting with the Social Investment Agency’s new Chief Executive Brendan Boyle who has been in office less than a month.In the meantime, the new community-led commission pathway is open for expressions of interest, closing on 12 June: https://www.sia.govt.nz/social-investment-fund/pathway-three-community-commissioning. Watch your email inboxes for updates. Impact of rising fuel costs on […]

Message from the Hui E! kaiwhakahaera | chief executive When your job is convening brilliant people to meet and spark off of each other, then a highlight always has to be the annual Community Constellation hui where we come together kanohi-ki-te-kanohi. The energy, action-focus and stretch into uncomfortable issues and conversations was infectious.    We got to share in a few experiences of a papatipu leader in Ngāi Tahu who challenged us to sit in the problem and look for its crux without jumping to solutions. This was a really powerful way to gain clarity before acting, and one I am definitely going to use myself more often.  We focused on sharing and activating what already exists, so look out for an interactive map of our collaboration and independent analysis of sector data soon. Kia pai to rā,Katie Bruce What we’ve been working on In-person Community Constellation Hui Urgency, collective action, bravery and centering Te Tiriti were the sentiments echoed at Hui E!’s annual convening of the Community Constellation.   The Community Constellation, a collective of 25 peak body and capability building organisations convened by Hui E!, has now been meeting since late 2024. Brought together with the shared purpose of collective action to advocate and make visible the value of the tangata whenua, community and voluntary sector.   While it was acknowledged there is immense challenges within the sector from funding to increasing demand there was also a commitment to action and renewed energy to move forward.   Some key actions that the Constellation is drawing inspiration on are:  As we move forward into election year, there is opportunity to pool the talent, resources, expertise and passion for community.   How will you connect?  Starting in April Hui E! will be sharing behind the scenes, spotlights and interviews with the Community Constellation on Linkedin.   Social Service Providers Aotearoa Sector Leaders Hui  Hui E! Kaiwhakahaere Matua | Chief Executive, Tangata Whenua, Patrick Gemmell joined a sector leader kōrero hosted by SSPA in early February. Leadership, collaboration, Te Tiriti, devolution and data use were key themes. To see read outtakes follow this link.  Charity Services Hui This quarter’s meeting with Charities Services focused unsurprisingly on the hard deadline for incorporated societies to re-register, as well as opportunities to simplify and reduce compliance for small charities.   Updates from Charities Services:  Charitable incorporated societies will need to go through the full charities registration process if they miss the 5 April deadline to re-register as an incorporated society.  Incorporated Societies Register If incorporated societies are not re-registered by April 5, they risk serious legal, financial and tax consequences and will be struck from the Charities Register. The consequence included losing all access to the organisation’s bank accounts.    If you are a peak body for incorporated societies, now is the time to communicate to your members that they must re-register before the deadline to continue operating.   Information on how to re-register can be found through the NZ Companies Office:    If you are stuck, use the secure web message via myIR, and submit even a draft or an update of where you are with the process by 5 April. Also note that incorporated Societies that haven’t yet reregistered and likely cannot comply with their rules for notice etc now to approve new rules should use Schedule 1, clause 9 of the Incorporated Societies Act to adopt new rules and reregister – it’s a shortcut provision that means they don’t need to comply with their existing rules.  Key part of clause is below. Schedule 1, clause 9: Existing society may amend its rules to facilitate reregistration This clause applies— (a) to […]

Co-leaders and co-chairs with Tā Kim Workman and Haimona Waititi

Message from the Hui E! team Tēnā koutou e tau mai nei ki tēnei pānui   As we get closer to Christmas, we are reminded about the season of giving, care and being together to share the thoughts and reflections of the year with close kin.    We are acutely aware that it has been a difficult time for whānau across Aotearoa, so for the Hui E! Team, we hope that the content in this pānui provides some light, and we wish you all a happy and restful break.  Read on for information about what proposed tax changes mean for our sector. We also welcome new members to the Constellation, and are convening a Tangata Whenua Forum to help inform the direction of our work programme.   Enjoy the content in this pānui whānau and from your team here – we do hope this reaches you well.    Ngā manaakitanga ki a koutou katoa   Nā Jess, Katie, me Patrick mai i te tira o Hui E!    Introducing the Tangata Whenua Forum Hui E! embarked upon a series of engagements to look to convene a Tangata Whenua Forum of Iwi and Hapū leaders.  Hui E! wants to ensure that a treaty partner perspective and voice is accounted for in our work programme and with government departments to meet their obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.  An objective here is amplifing the treaty partner voice in conneciton with the sector wide voice whilst pursuing equitable change so that, hapū, iwi and whānau can continue to champion and tautoko their manaakitanga in their takiwā.   We have engaged face to face with the forum members, and we look forward to convening their first hui this month and discussing priorities that will support tangata whenua.  The co-leadership journey Hui E!’s co-leadership journey began over 10 years ago as multiple organisations came together to form Hui E!. Growth, change and re-envisioning the priorities of the organisation laid to foundation to realise that dream. Starting in 2026 we will be sharing Katie and Patrick’s reflections on being in a co-leadership model through video, personal reflections and sector voices. See below for a preview of the first reflections from Katie. Welcome to the new Community Constellation Members We are delighted to welcome the YMCA, Repair Network Aotearoa and the Rainbow Support Collective to the Community Constellation. Click here for more information about the Constellation and please do get in touch if you do not see your part of the sector represented or would like to discuss membership.  Taxation and the Not-for-Profit Sector – Targeted Government Consultation  The New Zealand Government is undertaking a targeted consultation with 50 community sector organisations (Hui E! is one of them) on proposed changes to tax rules affecting charities and not-for-profits, with submissions closing 24 December 2025. This follows a major advocacy win: the Government has removed charity business tax from the table after strong sector pushback, meaning charities can continue operating social enterprises and generating business income without additional taxation. The consultation now focuses on three key areas: donor-controlled charities (proposing a 5% minimum annual distribution requirement), raising the tax-free threshold from $1,000 to $10,000 for […]